Marvel Absolutely Everything You Need To Know (A Madman Re-Read)

I've been re-cataloging my comic book collection into a new, hopefully more dependable database. It's been a lengthy, often times tedious, process. Going into my second year of working on this project, I've begun focusing on my graphic novels. That's how I came across this book for a re-read. (And yes, I know that this book is NOT a graphic novel.)

My first read was back in 2017. So a lot of the factoids I previously glossed over, had been essentially forgotten. Especially a lot of the more recent stuff. The more established lore of the heart and soul of the Marvel Universe, I pretty much know like the back of my hand. So I felt I'd benefit from a second glance at Absolutely Everything You Need To Know. True, this book is almost a decade old, published in 2016. That means there's a lot of material that's not even covered here like the coming of America Chavez, Spider-Gwen and Gwenpool. You will not learn about 'The Reckoning War', 'Extreme Carnage' or 'The Death of Doctor Strange.' Readers shouldn't even expect recent anthropomorphic fan favorites Alligator Loki and Jeff, the Land Shark here. 

DK did release an update. But that was in 2019! There's just too much newer stuff that won't be found in this book. If you're a newer reader of comics, you'll learn a lot about the foundation of Marvel Comics. If you're a more established reader looking to get caught up on what you've been missing in recent years, you are out of luck. And I would say that it's not just 2016-present that you will miss out of of you read this edition. I feel like the years 1995-2010 were just glossed over. Deadpool is barely even mentioned. Same goes for Blade, Ghost Rider and even your favorite team of mutants. Yes, the X-Men, arguably Marvel's most popular franchise, only get 4 pages out of over 250+ focused on their exploits. It really feels like the Avengers are the Star attractions of this book.

Avengers heavy exploits such as 'the Civil War,' 'the Age of Ultron' and 'Secret Invasion' are given a prominent place inside. Be glad the authors and editors included those episodes here. Without them, I don't think Wolverine or She-Hulk would even be mentioned in this book. I've not read the reissue of this book. But I'm hoping that instead of trying to revise the information in the first print, DK would have made the 2nd edition more of a compendium of overlooked characters and recent Marvel events. 

Also, despite this book focusing on alternate Earth's and timelines, you will not find anything on Marvel's impressive backlog of comics based on licensed franchises such as Star Wars, GI Joe or Transformers. 

Once again, my biggest peeve with this book was the format. I appreciate that they tried really hard to jam pack as much information and factoids into every 2-page feature. But I hated how they formatted it. Some paragraphs would be printed sideways. The data flow had no set pathway. Everything was so random, I'm pretty sure I missed something. 

Some 2-page spreads were entirely flipped on a 90 degree axis. Instead of reading about the history of Thor and Loki like you would hold a traditional book, their article was formatted in such a way that you had to read it like you were looking at a Playboy Playmate centerfold. I'm so very glad when I got to those segments of the book that my wife didn't assume that I was looking at some dirty pictures of the Invisible Woman or something. 

I enjoyed the read. Lots of knowledge to be gleaned. An amazing assortment of thrilling artwork from over 80 years of Marvel Comics history. Though trying to navigate it was like walking through a labyrinth without a map, a torch and assurance that the Minotaur isn't secretly about to pounce on you. I think it's time to pass this on to another reader. I just hope that the used bookstore that I am gonna trade this in at doesn't think that it's a reference book that is too out of date for readers.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Stan Lee: A Life of Marvel (2025 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

Just weeks after the death of comic book legend Stan Lee, Entertainment Weekly issued this commemorative magazine. The 80 page book was filled with dozens of photos of Lee through the years from his days in the US Army as a playwright to editor of Marvel during its heyday in the 1960s all the way through to the end of his life where he spent the last 4 decades making memorable cameos and appearances in virtually every Marvel movie made up until that time. Stan also appeared on a variety of TV shows such as Heroes and The Big Bang Theory. He was also animated as himself on shows such as The Simpsons and Ultimate Spider-Man. Let's not forget his two season stint as the creator and host of the reality series Who Wants to Be a Superhero? But according to the Man himself, Stan's favorite movie role was as himself offering sage romantic wisdom to Jason Lee's (no relation) Brodie in Kevin Smith's Mallrats.

There are a number of tributes to Stan in this retrospective. Kevin Fiege thanks Stan for laying the foundation of the Marvel universe. Todd McFarland reflects on the day he met Stan when he was only 16 and gained a mentor for life. Finally, many of the stars of the Marvel Cinematic Universe are quoted, presumably from their social media accounts, mourning the death of the Marvel legend. 

The impact Stan's creations made on television and movies are explored with Spider-Man receiving the most attention. If you're expecting an in-depth look at the comic book industry, you'll want to look elsewhere. While his time as a writer and editor are covered in this book, a majority of the comic book images inside are of titles Stan had very little to do with. The controversies surrounding claims that Stan Lee was the singular creator of characters such as the The Fantastic Four and most of the original Avengers line up are briefly mentioned. But the majority of this book is designed to praise Stan; not bury him. Even the allegations of financial mismanagement and elder abuse against some of his assistants and daughter are buried under piles of positive encounters with an iconic figure that every fan must admit, seemed to be the happiest guy in the room everywhere he went when his adoring public was present. 

For more in-depth looks at the highs and lows in the life of Stan Lee, Stan's own graphic novel autobiography Amazing Fantastic Incredible: A Marvelous Memoir as well as Tom Scioli's I Am Stan: A Biography of the Legendary Stan Lee are reads that cannot be missed. And to truly decide if Stan Lee is comics' biggest hero or villain, read Scioli's Jack Kirby: The Epic Life of the King of Comics that tells of the legendary Stan Lee/Jack Kirby collaboration from the King's point of view. 

No matter how you feel about him, Stan Lee will be missed.

Completing this review completes Task #40 (Prose Non-Fiction About Comic Book History) of the 2025 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

The Portable Obituary: How the Famous, Rich, and Powerful Really Died by Michael Fargo

Writer Michael Largo crafts an over 300 page obituary column paying tribute to some of the most famous and infamous people to ever have lived. There's also quite a few people that have become forgotten over time, slipping through the cracks of pop culture and world history. 

I thought that Largo's writing style was clear and concise. I learned a lot of interesting things from those lesser known celebrities to how medical terms involving the cause of death have changed over the years. I thought it was ironic how over 100 years ago, wealthy people were said to have died of exhaustion while the poor were categorized as dying of laziness; when in reality it was their living conditions and manner of life style, through excess or severe want that were the true culprits.

I thought that there were several notable figures absent from this book. Largo covers how a number of presidents die. However, there's no mention of JFK. Bobby Kennedy, Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr., are also omitted from this work. Michael Largo has another book called Final Exits, about the various ways people have died. I want to read that book. Perhaps he focuses on assassinations in that book and thus didn't want to repeat himself... 

Some of the facts the writer presents seemed contradictory to other books and documentaries I've seen over the years. Some of it could just be me remembering details differently. Though I must ask why Largo neglected to mention the resurrection of Jesus Christ in his listing on the founder of Christianity? Whether the author believed in Jesus as Savior or not, to not mention that many believe Christ rose from the dead was a serious oversight. Michael Largo wrote in other obituaries that further similar important religious figures are believed to have returned to life. Or never passed at all. Why not with a historical figure whose proclaimed resurrection is the founding tenet of one of the most important religions in human history?

The inside cover states that this book covers over 1,000 famous deaths. However, that's a deceptive blurb. I would say that Michael Largo covers probably 300 deaths in great detail and another 100 in 1-2 sentence factoids. The remaining majority are regulated to an index which tells of famous people such as Buddy Hackett and Wyatt Earp, with only a birth date, date of death, age at the time of death and cause. Imagine that, your whole life summed up in 3 short lines- just like a standard obituary.. 

Lastly, this book claims that Michael Largo has a humorous slant on the deaths of these notable figures. I understand that when dealing with such a morose subject, a hearty sense of humor is vital to prevent yourself from falling into a depression. However, I didn't really think the writer was all that funny. Informative? Absolutely! I devoured this book. It was an entertaining read. However, I felt like the attempts at humor were mostly bad puns and the equivalent of undertaker Dad jokes.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

The Book of Unusual Knowledge

I bought this book over the summer during the 301 Endless Yard Sale taking place in Smithfield/Selma, North Carolina. A kid of about 15 was selling it. The mysterious title of The Book of Unusual Knowledge intrigued me. The picture of Stonehenge is was enticed me to pick it up. The factoid about how many endless hours it took to erect the stone monoliths sold me on the book. One portrait of Abe Lincoln and the book was mine. 

This book is massive. Just under 600 pages in length if you remove the index. A hardback, it's 'deceptively lightweight' as my bride described it one night when I asked her to hand it to me. 

Inside are articles on the real names of celebrities, Popes who were murdered in the Vatican, famous UFO sightings and much more. Some of the material isn't what I would consider 'unusual knowledge'. Information on the various sightings of the Virgin Mary is unusual. The history of that raining summer in Geneva which inspired Mary Shelley to write Frankenstein is not. With topics like movies, animals, pop culture and holidays, what is considered unusual knowledge is really up to the reader to decide.

This felt like one of those Uncle John's Bathroom Readers. Only there aren't any stupid puns about having to poop. There are a few quiz type activities like linking the musician name with their real identities. No article is longer than 3 pages. Okay; there might have been one or two that were 4 pages in length. Most were only a page long. So there's a ton of relatively short reads. However, it took me a long time to read because of how huge this book was.

BuzzFeed listed this 2012 fact book as one of the best gift ideas for the 2024 holiday season. The retail price on Amazon is decent and publisher Publications International Ltd. offers over a dozen more similarly bound books including one volume about cats and another about crime. I'm very tempted to buy another book to increase my unusual knowledge over as I did enjoy this book even though some of it seemed like pretty usual stuff 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

The He-Man Effect: How American Toy Makers Sold Your Childhood

Box Brown explores how corporations have manipulated our fandoms in this 2023 non-fiction graphic novel. While Brown explores the affects of propaganda on the American populace during the two World Wars, his focus is on toys because many of those psychiatrists who used science to ideally heighten pro-American sentiments ended up being hired by advertising agencies after the conflicts. In between the first World War and the attack on Pearl Harbor, women were the primary targets of those advertisers. However, with the baby boom after the fall of Japan, companies were made aware of a brand new untapped market: children.

It turns out that our tiny undeveloped brains cannot tell the difference between the fictions of a TV show and the commercials that fill in gap time. So when a kid sees Superman telling kids that Wheaties is the only cereal for him to eat, they believe that in order to be just like the Man of Steel, the kiddies need to eat Wheaties too! This blending of the two types of media got so bad that restrictions were made by the FCC, thanks to a bunch of angry moms, that prohibited children's programming from being essentially a 30 minute commercial for products. There were a few exceptions like Sesame Street, which was considered educational for children and being on public television, never ran commercials. It's also why during the 60s and 70s, that TV shows like Laugh-In, which was clearly for more mature audiences could appeal to children on lunch boxes and trading cards. It wasn't considered kids programming, so those shows could license out products meant for kids. It also explains why the 1970s was the best decade for cartoons.

This all changed in November, 1980. Ronald Reagan became President and he appointed those to head the FCC who opposed the restrictions on advertising to children during the Saturday morning cartoons and after school programming. Mattel was about to launch a new toy line that promised to rival Kenner's Star Wars behemoth, Its main character was called He-Man. However, capturing the imagination of the youngsters who would demand mom and dad buy it for them would be no easy feat without able word of mouth and frequency on the airwaves. With FCC deregulation of kids programming, Mattel was able to produce an animated series that would essentially be a 22-minute commercial for the Masters of the Universe toyline. 

Thanks to the series produced by Filmation, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe became a cultural touchstone for children in the mid-1980s. I should know, I was on of those kindergartners who started to drop their Star Wars figures and instead pickup a He-Man and a Skeletor figure. I still love the original He-Man series. I've bought massive omnibuses containing the entire run of mini comics inserted with each action figure. I also have a book devoted to the seldom seen newspaper strips. I'm currently on the hunt for the comics produced by Marvel imprint, Star Comics, without going bankrupt doing so. 

While my love for He-Man hasn't diminished reading this historical account of pop culture in the 20th century, I am chagrined to see how much I have been manipulated by Mattel, Kenner, Hasbro and the likes. Eternia's Prince Adam doesn't say 'By the power of Gray Skull. I have the power.' to become He-Man, though it helps. That was an ear worm planted by toy designers to trigger something in our little pea brains to want to consume more Masters of the Universe merch! The same goes with 'Yo, Joe!', 'Thundercats, Ho!' and so many other catch phrases of my childhood.

I'm almost mad at Box Brown. I've enjoyed a lot of his previous works. But with The He-Man Effect, I feel like he exposed the man behind the curtain. There was just a little too much of Adam Ruins Everything that destroyed some of the magic of my youth. The book does explain very well why we get upset when our favorite childhood franchises are rebooted or made 'woke' with diverse casting changes or switching genders of characters. But what I'm most upset about is that these toy lines and animated series that were bright spots to a childhood fraught with bullying and abuse, weren't there to make me happy and secure. They were created to make people rich. Thanks to Box Brown, the truth about my childhood heroes is that they weren't there to protect me. They just wanted my money.

Worth Consuming, but man does it hurt.

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Funny Things: A Comic Strip Biography of Charles M. Schulz

Such a novel concept. A graphic novel biography about cartoonist Charles Schulz done in the comic strip style of his beloved Peanuts characters. Like the adventures of Charlie Brown, the strips are funny, poignant, sad, joyful and full of self deprecating loathing. Charles Schulz was Charlie Brown - always doubting and never feeling good enough at anything.

There's a lot of interesting segments of Schulz's life and career that I was extremely interested in learning more about. His childhood inspirations for the cute little redhead girl and Snoopy. The lengthy session of rejection upon rejection from publishers and syndicates. How A Charlie Brown Christmas got off the drawing board and onto our television sets. His infidelity, resulting in a divorce from his first wife.

Let's talk about that last part. I didn't check this graphic novel out from my local library for the sordid parts of Charles Schulz's life. I honestly didn't even consider that part of his life when I was deciding whether or not to select this book. But as I started reading through Funny Things, I started wondering how creators Luca Debus and Francesco Matteuzzi how they were going to cover such a delicate topic. Harder topics such as the lingering death of Schulz's mother from cancer was dealt with in such a gentile way. There were still elements of humor as the lad known to family and friends as Sparky had to say goodbye to his mum before being shipped off in service for the American Army during the height of the second world war. So how was Schulz's affair with a woman half his age going to be portrayed in this book? The answer: discretely and an inferred blame on Ol' Sparky.

I was also interested in learning about the last days of Charles Schulz and his retirement of the Peanuts comic strip. I remember it being a big deal that Peanuts was coming to an end after 50 years. It was an eerie and poignant coincidence that the artist died the night before the last strip was to run in Sunday papers worldwide. I didn't know that he was extremely ill with cardiac issues and incurable colon cancer. While the reader doesn't have to say farewell to Charles Schulz, the book does end with a bittersweet moment of the beloved artist finally realizing how much people loved him and his gang of Peanuts!

I'm very glad for this book. After learning about Schulz's infidelity after being told for years how godly a man he was, I was put off reading Peanuts for a very long time. But this book helped me to realize that people are human and they make mistakes. Really dumb mistakes. Funny Things helped me to repent of my judgmental ways and to forgive Schulz, even though he never did any wrongs against me. How pompous was I?!

A must read for fans of Snoopy, Charlie Brown and Peanuts. Yes, there are several Schulz biographies out there. But there's never been anything like this graphic novel biography from Top Shelf Productions. Combining interviews from the creator himself with some dashes of artistic license, Funny Things should not be overlooked if you are a fan at any level of a blockhead and his beagle.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Jack Kirby: The Epic Life of the King of Comics (A Madman Re-Read)

After reading Tom Scioli's biography of Stan Lee, I wanted to revisit his account on the life and times of frequent Lee collaborator, Jack Kirby. There were 2 questions I wanted to answer: 1) how much comic book history is repeated between the two graphic novels? and 2) whose account of the early days of Marvel Comics seems the more honest? 

For the first question, not a whole lot is repeated between the two books. In the two volumes, we see how Stan and Jack first met, why Jack was fired from Atlas, Jack's return to Marvel, Jack's departure for DC and that's about it. No panels seem swiped. The dialogue in the two books is differing. If you read one book and then the other, you will not feel like you were gypped. Though written, illustrated and even lettered by the same creator, the Jack Kirby biography and the Stan Lee account are completely different.

For question #2- I believe Jack Kirby. For one moment do I not doubt that Stan Lee loved the fans. He was an entertainer and he knew that if not for the readers of his comics, he and the rest of the Marvel bullpen would be out of a job. I also believe that Stan cared very deeply about his staff. But when given the chance to excel over them, it's my opinion that Stan Lee would connive, back-stab and steal the glory whenever possible. 

When it comes to Jack Kirby, was he hardheaded? Absolutely. Did he make some horrible business decisions? No doubt. However, a lot of Kirby's trouble was based on trying to be a good provider for his family without the benefit of having a good friend that he could rely on for good advice. I think if the team of Kirby and Joe Simon still existed in the 1960s, Kirby wouldn't have received a screw job from both Stan Lee and the high-ups at Marvel years later when the company began making incredible profits from licensing everything from actions figures to bed sheet sets.

I still love Stan Lee's work. But having now read 2 graphic novel accounts of his life, I have less respect for the Man behind the curtains. I hate to think that the way Stan was mistreated and abused by his caretakers in the last couple of years of his life was karma getting back at him for how he treated Kirby and others. Yet, if Stan Lee's life was plotted out like one of the Marvel co-creator's many, many comic scripts, that ironic twist would have been taken straight from the Stan Lee playbook. 

Since I've read Jack Kirby's biography before and wrote a detailed review that I feel still speaks for how I feel about the book, I'll end my reflection here. Nothing new to add and I would hate to repeat myself. 

Both Tom Scioli biographies are fantastic reads that should be read as a companion set!

I Am Stan: A Graphic Biography of the Legendary Stan Lee

My wife knows that I'm a big fan of both Jack Kirby and Stan Lee and got me both of Tom Scioli's graphic biographies of these two Marvel legends. The favorability of Stan the Man had lessened in my eyes after reading the Kirby book. Stan Lee took advantage of the King. But to be fair, a lot of high ups in the comic book industry used Jack Kirby as their personal door mat. 

Knowing how Stan Lee came off as a massive jerk in Scioli's other work, I held off on reading this book which I got last year for Christmas. But I couldn't hold off any further as I Am Stan was just sitting atop my 'To Read' pile just screaming to be read. 

With Stan Lee as the subject, Tom Scioli does seem to paint the man born as Stanley Lieber in a more favorable light. There's no doubt that Stan was a master storyteller and a lot of the anecdotes he regaled both interviewers and audiences seemed to evolve over time; getting more and more wilder and inaccurate with every retelling. As Scioli utilized a slew of articles and writings by and about Stan Lee, a lot of material is more positive about Stan as history is often told by the victors. However, I am glad to say that Stan Lee is portrayed as far from perfect.

For one thing, Stan was a workaholic. Makes sense as his father was often in-between jobs and seldom actively searching for work. However, Stan's work ethic caused friction between him and his beloved Joan, whom I did not know until I read this work that she was married to some other dude when Stan met her. I also expected Scioli to reveal that Stan was cheating on Joan with possibly his gal Friday, the Fabulous Flo Steinberg. However, it appears that in that regard, Stan was a saint!

Stan Lee was also a businessman. As much as he acted as one of the people in his monthly 'Stan's Soapbox' columns, Stan was the MAN, taking the side of big business when approached to support a comic book writer and artist union in the 1970s. That's despite claiming to be all for it years later once he was nothing more than Marvel's Chairman Emeritus.

You might blame Stan's ego on his family. His mother smothered him with praise; perhaps in hopes he'd grown into someone other than his father. Stan could be modest. However, he also couldn't help himself to ham things up. It's a tale almost as old as time. The guy looked upon as the leader gets all the accolades. As their heads balloon up with the forthcoming perks and riches, the leader forgets the little guys, causing friction if not all around dissension and broken relationships along the way. 

Jack Kirby's love/hate relationship with Stan Lee is covered in large part in this work. Thankfully, Tom Scioli doesn't just repeat everything that transpired between the two founders of the Marvel Universe play out exactly as it did in the earlier Kirby biography. If there was ever a time I would expect a comic book creator to phone it in with repeated swipes of previously published material, it would be in this book. Yet, Scioli doesn't fall into that trap!

Reading this biography has got me itching to give the Kirby graphic novel another read in order to compare notes. I've got a perfect chance to do so coming up in a couple of weeks. I'll be interested to see where Tom Scioli repeats himself as well as portraying incidents that are covered in both histories differently. I don't normally like to do a re-read. But this is one of those exception times where I'm actually looking forward to it.

I'm also hoping that Tom Scioli doesn't stop with the graphic biographies of comicdom's biggest names. Julie Schwartz, Bill Gaines and Steranko are just a few subjects I would love to see Scioli give notice to!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Classics Illustrated: A Cultural History, 2nd Edition by William B. Jones, Jr. (2024 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

It started years ago with a 'good story'. #129 'Davy Crockett'. Thus began a lifelong devotion to Classics Illustrated by author William B. Jones, Jr.

Jump to 1992. An abortive account of Bill Clinton's rise to the White House leads Jones into a bout of writers block. His editor instructs the writer to craft a list of ideas; one of which is a historic account of Albert Kanter and his dream of creating a line of comic books that inspire countless generations to further explore the classics of world literature. 

After a 1993 phone interview with former Classics Illustrated artist Rudy Palais, Jones began a near decade of research, interviewing artists, writers, editors and fans to craft an extensive history of the line. Starting as Classic Comics as an imprint of Elliot Publishing in 1941, Kanter took the series private with the creation of the Gilberton Company, Inc. the following year. As comic books came under fire as the leading source of juvenile delinquency by 'experts' such as Dr. Wertham, Kanter made a brilliant attempt to distance his volumes from the industry by rebranding them as Classics Illustrated.

While Kanter's decision saved Classics Illustrated through the tumultuous 1950s, the move would ultimately halt production of new works at the beginning of the hopeful 1960s. The United States Postal Service ruled that Gilberton was publishing books, not periodicals. This decision would remove the much needed second class parcel classification essential for direct sales subscriptions. The company appealed and was overruled resulting in Gilberton ceasing publication of all-new works in 1962. 

For another decade, Classic Illustrated would exist only in reprint form. Kanter would update the existing books with new scripts and art. Its most popular and iconic update were the painted covers. In 1967, the line was sold to Frawley Corporation who unfortunately didn't understand how to properly publish comics. The original Classic Illustrated would cease entirely 4 years later. Over the next 3 decades, various companies would attempt to revitalize the brand. But none of them could ever match the success of Gilberton.

Jones second edition would expand upon the writers and authors that graced the Gilberton doors. Not a fan of the witch hunt of the Senate hearings that resulted in the creation of the Comics Code, Albert Kanter became a lifeline to a number of EC Comics staff including Joe Orlando and 'Ghastly' Graham Ingels. Even a pre-coronated Jack Kirby worked for a time on Classics Illustrated as did cover painting genius George Evans and comics strip maestro Al Williamson. 

The updated volume would also research Canadian Jack Lake's digital reproductions of both the main series and its sister publication Classics Illustrated Junior. Jim Salicrup would end up licensing the brand from Jack Lake Productions to create brand new titles in the mid 2000s with Papercutz. Jones would close out his updated research with a look at fanzines devoted to collecting any and everything Gilberton and the fans that collect it.

Classics Illustrated: A Cultural History is 381 pages long. However, only about 300 pages are what I would determine to be readable. There are over 50 pages of appendices that read like the Dewey decimal system. What can you expect from a series of 170 comics that were collectively reprinted nearly 1,400 times! 

The binding for this book is similar to a college textbook. Add in appendix A-J, extensive chapter notes that were cross-referenced and perhaps the largest index on comic book history and you've got a reference book that comic book historians will salivate over. Almost a balanced look at Gilberton, warts and all. A little bit of the commentary does dote too far over the complaints and praise on multiple aspects of the books chronicled over the years from fans collective. Otherwise, this would be a required reading for any History of Sequential Arts course.

Completing this review completes Task #50 (Prose non-fiction about comic book history) of the 2024 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Planet of the Apes: Original Trading Card Series

In 1968, 20th Century Fox introduced the world to the futuristic landscape of the Planet of the Apes. Based on a novel by Pierre Boulle, but nowhere near as hi-tech, the film starring Charlton Heston gave birth to a number of sequels, a TV series, comic book, toys, Dr. Zaius bank (for all you Reality Bites fans out there) and not 1 but 2 reboots! Oh, and a trio of trading card sets.

A year after the success of the first film, Topps released a 44 card series based on the film. Due to a licensing agreement with Heston which only allowed Topps to use his image a grand total of 9 times, the company had to get rather creative in the images used. Ironically, 4 of the photos of Heston are of him from behind and you can't even see his face!

After the success of the the Apes films on both screen and being re-aired on TV, CBS decided to produce a live action TV series. To help market the show, Topps was once again tasked to create a trading card set, complete with stick of bubble gum. As the show was currently in production, Topps didn't have any issue showing the likenesses of the main cast. There were just no images of guest stars, unless they were in a monkey suit. Regrettably, the card set did little to promote the show. Despite huge ratings for the 2-hour premiere, the live action Apes series lost viewers pretty quick. According to the author of this chronicle of trading cards, Gary Gerani, almost as soon as cases of wax packs arrived in stores, CBS cancelled the series.

A couple of years later, the Planet of the Apes returned to TV as an animated series. It lasted about as long as the live action version. Burnt by the poor sales of the second batch of trading cards, Topps passed on a set based on the Saturday morning cartoon. With the toons demise, no new Planet of the Apes were released for decades. 

Jump ahead to 1994 and the Universal Pictures film and Generation X opus, Reality Bites. The main character played by Winona Ryder accidentally breaks Ben Stiller's vintage Dr. Zaius bank. Immediately, I'm floored with a rush of Planet of the Apes nostalgia. It had been years since I even thought of those movies. Almost immediately, a new wave of toys, clothes, and VHS/DVD sets devoted to the original 5 movies seemed to begin flooding the market in the late 90s and I took full advantage of the revival.

By the new millennium, it appeared that the world was ready for a return to the Planet of the Apes. Tim Burton was allowed to reboot the franchise and he put his unique touch on the franchise. Aside from that twist ending that rivals the iconic twist of the 1968 original, the reboot wasn't all that great. But once again, Topps was there to capture the action. This time with artifact cards, a rare coin card (that I really want one of) and autograph cards that include original stars Charlton Heston and Linda Harrison, who I did not know this, has a cameo in the 2001 feature.

I really liked this book. Both the front and backs of all the cards are presented, making it the next best, and most affordable, thing to actually owning all 3 original sets. I wasn't so keen on how the back of the card is presented on the opposite left to the front of each card. I felt that the front should be on the left side with the back switched to the other side. Though I guess Abrams Books or Topps felt doing it the other way was more aesthetically pleasing.

I think I found this book for mega cheap at Ollie's. Or maybe a used book store. Though I don't think I am going to keep this book, my interest has peaked on several other trading card book releases. There are collections similar to this one of Garbage Pail Kids, Star Trek, Wacky Packages and more. Plus several Star Wars ones. All of which I want to read. Plus, I think my wife will appreciate me owning them. I think I can get away with owning books about card sets as opposed to filling the house with a bunch of cardboard clutter.

Perfect for fans of Planet of the Apes, trading cards and Topps. Even if you own all 3 sets, this book is a must as it includes an exclusive set of cards that were produced just for this collection!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Dick Giordano: Changing Comics, One Day at a Time by Michael Eury (2023 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

Back Issue's Michael Eury chronicles the life of comics great Dick Giordano. Giordano was a soft-spoken man who let his proteges speak for themselves. Imagine if there was a chart that depicted Stan Lee as the pinnacle of self-promotion in the world of comic books, then Dick Giordano would be on the other end of the spectrum. Yet that doesn't mean that the predominantly DC Comics writer, illustrator, inker and editor was any less influential to the medium than Stan Lee was.

Throughout this biography, Dick Giordano is referred to as an amazing teacher and mentor who always fought for his employees. Neal Adams might get all the credit for ensuring Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster received over-due compensation for their body of work. But it was Giordano who was working behind the scenes with both DC and Marvel executives to provide not just royalties but work and recognition to countless talent who worked for peanuts in anonymity in the early days of comics.

If you were a DC Comics fan who grew up during the late 70s and early 80s, then you owe your awesome childhood to Dick Giordano. Along with working on the comics themselves, the Italian New Yorker had a hand at any and all promotional and commercial items featuring the likes of Superman, Batman and friends. Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez gets almost all of the credit for the design of the beloved Super Powers toy line from Kenner. But it was Giordano who inked every little bit of packaging that made these 1984-86 action figures and accessories so eye-catching.

Without Dick Giordano, Charlton Comics would have folded in the 1960s. Having penciled most of Charlton's Western and War lineup as a freelancer, Giordano became the fledgling publisher's editor in 1965 introducing the company's Action Heroes line, who would later join the ranks of the DC Universe a couple of years before Charlton gave up the ghost in 1986. 

Dick Giordano was such a soft-spoken kind of fellow, that I long gave Crisis on Infinite Earths creators Marv Wolfman and George Perez grief over the death of one of my all-time favorite characters, Supergirl. Yet I learned in this book that the driving force behind the demise of the Maid of Might was Giordano! However, fans should delight in knowing that Dick was instrumental in keeping Hawkman off the Crisis chopping block!

Changing Comics, One Day at a Time was published in 2003. As of the Charlotte HeroesCon of 2007, Giordano was still signing copies of the book which is now no longer in print. Only digital copies of this biography remain for sale by publisher TwoMorrows. Giordano was said to have retired from the con circuit in 2008, spending his remaining time with his children and grandchildren. Richard Joseph Giordano passed away at the age of 77 at his Ormond Beach, Fl. home on March 27, 2010.

Completing this review completes Task #50 (Prose non-fiction about comic book history) of the 2023 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

A Smithsonian Book of Comic-Book Comics

This is one of those books I remember having from my first collection (that was stolen). This book was published in 1981; meaning I was 3 or 4 when it was released. I don't think that's when my parents bought it for me. I somehow remember seeing this book advertised on TV and wanting it really, really bad. I also remember opening the book from its shipping box on my parents' kitchen table and looking through it and being disappointed...

Over the years, as I read the book again and again, I came to appreciate it a little more each time. When I found this book recently once more at my favorite used book store, I finally understood this book's brilliance!

This book isn't comprehensive. While Superman, Batman and Captain Marvel are examined in this book, other important early superheroes like Captain America and Wonder Woman are noticeably not just absent, I don't think either are mentioned in any of the essays written by comic book historians J. Michael Barrier and Martin T. Williams. 

This book covers comics published up to 1955, right when the industry imposed the self regulated Comics Code Authority. A good stopping point if you were writing a multi-volume look at the history of comic books. EC Comics was the main target of the evils found in comic books from Dr. Wertham and state senators. As a result, no less than 5 stories from that legendary publisher are included in this book. Yet none of them are of the sci-fi or horror titles that ignited the comic book scare of the 1950s!

A number of legendary creators are examined. There are works from Walt Kelly and his critter creation, Pogo, John Stanley's version of Little Lulu and Tubby and Will Eisner's The Spirit. A seasonal story from Carl Barks starring Donald Duck and Uncle Scrooge are also included. I would have finished this book a couple of weeks ago. But I wanted to enjoy Barks' 'A Letter to Santa' during the holiday season. Thus I waited. 

To my big surprise, the stories I was the most enamored with were the Scribbly stories, featuring the Ma Hunkel Red Tornado stories. Created by Sheldon Mayer (Golden Age Green Lantern), these stories were clever parodies of the age of mystery men, lively illustrated and just oh-so fun to read. To my knowledge, those stories have never been collected. Thus, other than the 4 stories comprised here, unless I max out my credit cards, I'm probably never going to get to read Ma's further adventures. 

I really enjoyed this collection. The artwork is so starkly different from what I grew up with and primitive compared to modern comics. The scripts are like works of art. They capture the dialect and tone of the times. For a kid born anywhere after 1977, these things are like trying to read Shakespeare. When I was young, everything just looked off and I couldn't really understand the stories. Now I am 45 and I felt like I was in the presence of greatness. and well into that presence I was. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars,

Amazing World of Carmine Infantino (2022 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Challenge)

My Mount Rushmore of comics would be comprised of Stan Lee, Julius Schwartz, Will Eisner and Jack Kirby. After reading this book, I might have to change my line-up. 

I knew of Carmine Infantino's work on The Flash and ushering in the Silver Age of Comics. I was familiar with his work on Adam Strange and Star Wars. But I never really knew just how much of an influence on the DC Universe and comics itself that Infantino had until now.

If not for Infantino:

+ The look and feel of Batman would be very different including DC Comics' loss of rights to the character.

+ DC's 1960s beloved oddball characters such as Deadman, Detective Chimp, Bat Lash, and Strange Sports Stories would not exist. 

+ DC might have folded in the 1970s during a time when newly formed Warner Bros. was looking to unload the fledgling House of Superman that was being crushed by upstart Marvel Comics.

+ The policy of returning rights and artwork to artists might never occurred. Or possibly been seriously delayed well into the 80s or later.

And there is so much more. So much, it fills a volume!

Amazing World of Carmine Infantino is over 170 pages of comic book history. Filled with his artwork, sketches and words, this autobiography is also an oral history as many of Carmine's peers and influences offer insight. There's also a ton of praise from countless others who benefited from Infantino's talent and tutelage. 

Within the last year or so, I read the graphic novel biography of Jack Kirby. Having finished this autobiography, I see now how much Carimine Infantino was the Jack Kirby of DC Comics. He did everything. Infantino was a writer, plotter, artist, cover artist, editor, publisher and later DC Comics president. But unlike Kirby, Carmine didn't get as screwed by his publishers as The King did. As for when Kirby was with DC, the promised creator freedom didn't appear. Infantino doesn't seem to blame executives for the thriving failure of Krby's Fourth World as Jack always did. Infantino just blames poor sales and moves on.

Dosed Carmine paint a rosy picture of himself? To some degree. But he also seems not to bear grudges (though, boy, does he hate Bob Kane) and he is willing to point out his shortcomings and defeats. Don't expect to get too much a reveal in the artist's personal life once he gets going in the comics profession. 

An enjoyable book, Amazing World of Carmine Infantino highlights an exciting time in the comic book history- The Silver Age. If you are a Marvelite, you probably wont do flips for this book. But if you are also a comic book history, this is a fascinating account of how the 'enemy' operated in the early days of the war between DC and Marvel.

Now, who do I replace on my comic book Mount Rushmore???

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #28 (Prose non-fiction about Comic Book History) of the 2022 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

The Nearly Complete Essential Hembeck Archives Omnibus

Fred Hembeck- The Man who launched a thousand optometry appointments. 

Fred Hembeck has been a part of my life for a very long time. From his hilariously deadly Fred Hembeck Destroys the Marvel Universe to his splash page spreads in Marvel Age to his similar postings in DC's Daily Planet, I cut my teeth on the cartoonist/comedian/comic book historian. While I am sorry for the bite marks, I am even more sorry to say that none of those amazing works I previously mentioned are in this book. 

The omissions are due to those works being owned by DC and Marvel and this massive work was published by Image. But packed within this 900 page behemoth are all of Fred (and your) favorite characters. Superman. Spider-Man. Jimmy Olsen, The Hulk, Nick Fury, Bizarro. Dennis the Menace. Wife Lynn and daughter Julie. And of course Fred!

The majority of work in this collection is from Hembeck's Dateline: @!!?#, a regular comic column that appeared in various incarnations of the Comic Buyers Guide. There's some rough drafts, experimental non-comic book related work. That tragic assault on a Native American family by US cavalrymen will haunt me till the day I die. Plus, there are dozens on comic book cover recreations; including some brilliant switches that take a DC icon and a Marvel regular and put them in the other's books. 

As I mentioned earlier, this book is just a fraction under 1000 pages. I should have finished this book in just a couple of months. But I took my time. For one reason, Hembeck is noted for using very, very tiny letters, as he's got lots to say on the subject of sequential art. So I would have to take breaks due to eye strain. Unfortunately, some of the Datelines didn't reprint very well either due to smudging or too dark inking. So I had to skip a couple of them as they were indecipherable. That being said, reading 2 or 3 of Fred's Dateline: @!!?# reports,which are normally only 1 page in length each, is tantamount to reading an entire magazine's worth of articles. 

If this type of writing/reviewing style sounds familiar, yeah it probably does. I do see a little bit of Fred Hembeck in my love of comics. Makes sense. I see a lot of my most beloved professors from my degrees in both culinary and history in my day-to-day professionalism. They say that if you spend 10,000 hours on something, you become an expert in it. At age 44, I probably qualify as such with comic books, though I still have much to learn. And Fred Hembeck was and is one of my comicdom professors. 

Oh, yeah... The other reason for taking so long to finish this work! I didn't want my time with Hembeck to end!  I've been honored to be a Fred Hembeck acquaintance for almost a decade now. I bought a Supergirl sketch card from him on eBay and wound up a friend on Facebook. Every year, my family look forward to his witty (and long) birthday wishes to me. Now we've evolved into rivals playing each other on a music trivia app. 

So when I closed the book on this for the last time I was sad. But then I realized that Fred has a website. And it is still accessible. So I've got lots more education to gain from Mr. Hembeck!

And sir- if you're reading this- Very sorry for those bite marks! Hope they've healed!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Tis the Ugly Sweater Season! Advent 2021: Day 9

 

I had so much fun yesterday exploring the 1980s through ugly Christmas sweaters. So I decided to keep that sorta fun alive by looking at the 90s for Advent Day 9!

Oddly enough, the main image was taken from a Thanksgiving episode.

Christmas Spice is my Favorite Spice.

For those Nirvana fans...

Harry & Marv from Home Alone.

I love the Big Lebowski. One of the greatest films ever made!

Be sure to wear this when you light up your Log... it's big, it's heavy, it's wood!

I hope you enjoyed this look at 90s inspired ugly sweaters. Let's not end that fun just yet. Here's a look at Christmas commericals from the decade. Enjoy.

Tis the Ugly Sweater Season! Advent 2021: Day 8

For Day 8 lets go back to that totally tubular decade- the 1980s! It was a fun time full of pop culture icons that will never fade! So enjoy this look at everything from Alf-to-ZZ Top!

The website I got this image from says that this sweater is 3-D. I can't for the life of me figure out why makes it 3-D. 

This tribute to a major award lights up.

Sadly, George Michael died in his sleep on Christmas Day, 2016.

In America, the 80s was the Reagan 80s.

The debate continues- is Die Hard a Christmas movie?

Ugly holiday sweaters for the whole family courtesy of the Sears Christmas Wish Book!

The name of this sweater is Ghosts of Christmas Pasts. I love it!

This pastel sweater with a rainbow maned unicorn screams 1980s!

I know that the legacy of the Cos has been tarnished beyond repair. But as a former history major, I refuse to edit history. If you are exploring ugly sweaters in the 1980s, you have to include Bill Cosby.

The 80s were all about pastels!

Let's not let the 80s nostalgia end yet. Here's a look at another annual event that started in the 80s- holiday shopping frenzy! Enjoy!