Review- ALL STAR COMICS ARCHIVES VOL. 6

ALL STAR COMICS ARCHIVES VOL. 6 (DC, First Printing, 2000; Hardcover)

Collects All Star Comics #24-28 (cover dates Spring, 1945- April/May, 1946)

Writers: Gardner Fox with two-page text stories by Jay Marr, Jim Robinson, and Jesse Merlan

Artists: Joe Gallagher, Martin Naydel, Joe Kubert, H.G. Peter, Stan Aschmeier, Paul Reinman, and Jon Chester Kozlak

If you have never read an issue of All-Star Comics then I'll fill you in really quick. This title is the home of the Justice Society Of America, the first superhero team in the history of comic books. The issues are set up in what is now called a comic jam format. Each character is handled by a different artist, often the creator of the character. The team meets for a few pages, are presented with a case, and then split up to solve it, reconvening at the end to compare notes and solve the mystery or issue at hand.

Why is there even ONE way to skin a cat???

Our victory in World War II was hardly assured when issue 24 was released in early 1945. Carter Hall (Hawkman)'s neighbor's son has been drafted and sees no reason to fight Germany. Somehow the fairy spirit Conscience answers their call and splits the team of The Flash, The Green Lantern, Johnny Thunder, The Atom, Dr. Midnite, Wildcat, and Mr. Terrific (although not their secretary, Wonder Woman) up and sends them back through various points in time to show how savage and evil Germany is. Comic book propaganda at its best.

#26 is my favorite issue in not only this book, but in the whole series thus far. Metal creatures from Jupiter come to Earth. They are made of metal yet also feed on metal, taking on the properties of whatever kind of metal they consume. Each member figures out a way to beat these foes that they cannot physically defeat. It's a lot of fun to read and turned things around for me. The first two issues in this book were decidedly average for the era.

Issue 27 was a touching way of telling kids to not only be kind to people with various handicaps, but to adults returning from the war without limbs. The team used handicapped kids to help them solve their crimes. Issue 28 is more typical Golden Age fare, with someone from the year 11,946 looking back on the jars of paint and wondering why they shouldn't be used. It's told in a way that the adventure was a matter of record. It was a neat way of telling this tale.

Whoa! The ship that the unnamed Metal creatures from Jupiter arrived in looks an awful lot like the one that the Chitari used in The Avengers movie.

I am reading this line of Archives at a clip of about one per year, so I should be finished reading all 11 of them by 2022! Stay tuned.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 3.25 out of 5.

The OCD zone- This is the part where I go into tactile sensations and materials used in physical media. Those with heart conditions, high blood pressure, or women who are pregnant should exit my blog at their earliest convenience, as their safety cannot be guaranteed beyond this point.

There are two one-page non-JSA stories in each issue, none of which are reprinted here.

Linework and Color restoration: The issue cover restoration is awful. The covers are cropped and there are endless coloring mistakes on each and every one. Worse still, DC never bothers remastering their material, even when better methods or source materials become available like Marvel does. This early DVD-level restoration will be passed off as 4k HD on fans in the inevitable Omnibus of this series.

The cover to #26 has the issue number removed from the cover.

The interior restoration is perfectly serviceable by today's standards and was excellent for the time this book was originally published. The linework looks good compared to scans of the original comics. The color palette is faithfully maintained although some blends are off. It could look so much better if DC allowed some of the current restoration pros take a crack at this stuff.

Paper stock: Super thick off-white coated stock.

Binding: Beautiful sewn binding.

Dustjacket and Hardback cover notes: Laminated dustjacket. Casewrap is faux leather with dye foil stamping. DC doesn't make books this classy anymore.

Binding: Perfect bound trade paperback.

Cardstock cover notes: Matte coated cardstock cover.

Review- ALL STAR COMICS ARCHIVES VOL. 5

ALL STAR COMICS ARCHIVES VOL. 5 (DC, First Printing, 1999; Hardcover)

Collects All Star Comics #19-23 (cover dates Winter, 1943- Winter, 1944)

Writers: Gardner Fox and Sheldon Mayer (co-plotter) with Jack Kirby (some Sandman rewrites)

Artists: Joe Gallagher, Stan Aschmeier, Joe Simon, Jack Kirby, Bernard Baily, Joe Gallagher, Sheldon Moldoff, Joe Kubert, Cliff Young, Steve Brodie, and Frank Harry

The novelty of reading scarce and expensive old comics has long since worn off for me after nearly fifteen years into the golden age of collected editions. We fans have been spoiled rotten by the embarrassment of riches shoveled at us in all directions in any number of formats. Since the novelty is gone, we are left with two avenues with which to judge these works. One is reading these comics in a purely academic sense, weighing their historical significance against other comics of the day. The other is how does it read through modern eyes in 2017. Modern meaning my middle-aged eyes, for what it's worth, but eyes that have still never read these comic books before.

With that in mind we jump in to this sixth volume in the line (there was a Vol. 0). The award winning formula of the day is still intact. The team starts each issue with a meeting and are suddenly presented with a challenge or mystery of some sort which requires the team to split up in order to tackle the problem more efficiently. This formula is used in every issue. While this might seem tedious or monotonous to a modern day fan, bear in mind that these comics were read primarily by children and that many people didn't buy every single issue of every title back then.

At this point The Justice Society Of America is Hawkman, Johnny Thunder (and his Thunderbolt), The Spectre, Sandman (the second, crappier version), Star Man, The Atom, Doctor Fate, Dr. Mid-Nite, and their secretary, Wonder Woman. Yes, that's right, the second most powerful member of the team is left behind to take notes. Societal mores being what they were, I guess that this appealed to the kids of the 1940s.

#20 finds the team fighting their first true super villain, The Monster. While they have fought costumed foes before, this is the first one with augmented abilities. The story in #21 would have done nothing but create multiple divergent timelines rather than solve the problem that the team faced. I wonder how the DC continuity experts have worked that one out. The Psycho-Pirate proved to be a worthwhile nemesis in issue 23.

This was a moderately entertaining read. The stories have no plot twists and the endings are telegraphed a mile away, but these were aimed at children over 70 years ago. It's easy to criticize the lack of sophistication in the writing or artwork here in 2017. This stuff is still important and worthy of your attention. If it weren't for The Justice Society Of America we would never have gotten The Justice League of America for Stan Lee to rip off with The Avengers.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 3.5 out of 5.

The OCD zone- The following are omitted from this book:

On Silver Wings, a half page text story from #19.

Fuller Phun And Archibald Club one page gag strip from #20.

Fat And Slat one page gag strip from #21 and 22.

Who's Who In Whoville one page gag strip from #23.

Pervia Problem, one page text story from #23.

Why were these omitted? DC's collected editions department has little method to their madness.

Linework and Color restoration: Off-white matte coated stock with a slight sheen.

Binding: Smyth sewn binding. It's a little tight but loosens as you read it.

Dustjacket and Hardback cover notes: Thick laminated dustjacket. Casewrap has faux leather grain with foil stamping. 

Review- ALL STAR COMICS ARCHIVES VOL. 4

ALL STAR COMICS ARCHIVES VOL. 4 (DC, First Printing, 1998; Hardcover)

Collects All Star Comics #15-18 (cover dates February/March- Fall, 1943)

Writers: Gardner Fox with Sheldon Mayer, and Jack Kirby 

Artists: Frank Harry, Joe Gallagher, Sheldon Moldoff, Stan Asch, Joe Simon, Jack Kirby, Ed Dobrotka, Bernard Baily, Howard Sherman, Pierce Rice, and Arthur Cazenueve

One thing becomes crystal clear five volumes (Vols. 0 and 1-4) in to this series of the original Justice Society Of America: They had a winning formula and they stuck to it. Kids back then didn't always have access to every single issue like they would today, and this approach probably wasn't even frowned upon even if they did discover it. In each issue there is an opening scene with a meeting. Each member sets out to do their part and they meet up again at the end of the issue. I like how each character's creator does their part of the story and they all contribute to the panels where multiple characters appear. It's a precursor to the comic jam.

Issue 15 introduces the Brain Wave, a villain with an enlarged bald head who “can create anything that he can think of—and control it!” He returns in #17 after surviving his seeming suicide at the end of his first appearance, reducing the JSA to the size of toy dolls. #16 finds the JSA battling the Nazis on the home front when they infiltrate the coal mines and factories that the Allies needed to assure their victory. The absolute good versus evil of Golden Age comics is something that you would never see today. Nowadays we would be told by Social Justice Warriors how we should be sensitive to Nazis or how not all Japanese are like the ones who attacked us at Pearl Harbor. #18 is fun. King Bee uses insect hormones to trick men into committing crimes for him. The insect hormones gives the men the proportionate strength and abilities of the insects.

Wonder Woman doesn't see much action here, as she is merely the team secretary. It's amazing how different the world was 75 years ago. A woman could only be a secretary on a team of men. Hawkman's portions of each issue rule. Simon and Kirby's ham-fisted reboot of the Sandman sucks. The original was so cool. Starman is pretty cool too. The Spectre is more powerful than any member on this team and yet he never wins the day here. His portrayal in More Fun Comics is more in line with what modern fans might expect. Johnny Thunder is annoying, as his shtick wore thin fast. His Thunderbolt saves the day more often than not. It's omnipotent, and only it's sense of humor making Johnny jump through hoops for it makes things somewhat interesting.

The days before drunk driving laws.

This was a fun read. Golden Age comics are simplistic and crude by today's standards but they ooze with charm. I have to be in a certain mood to read them, but they read fine as both comic book entertainment and from a historical perspective.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 3 out of 5.

The more things change...

The OCD zone- There are multiple omissions from the original issues reprinted in this book. #15 omits the Flying Colors one page strip as well as the Hop Harrigan text story, also one page. #16 omits the Victory Puzzles half page and the 1.5 page Hop Harrigan text story. #17 omits the 1.5 page Hop Harrigan text story, ditto #18.

Linework and Color restoration: I did not do any comparison to scans of the original issues this time out. I have been very busy refurbishing and relocating my Fortress Of Solitude. Sorry.

Paper stock: Off-white matte coated stock with a slight sheen.

Binding: Smyth sewn binding. It's pretty tight, requiring two hands to keep it open. It's not a huge deal since the book is 224 pages.

Dustjacket and Hardback cover notes: Thick laminated dustjacket. Casewrap has faux leather grain with foil stamping. It's a shame that DC doesn't do this for their Omnibus hardcovers these days. 

Review- ALL STAR COMICS ARCHIVES VOL. 3

ALL STAR COMICS ARCHIVES VOL. 3 (DC, Second Printing, 1997; Hardcover)

Collects All Star Comics #11-14 (cover dates June/July, 1942- December, 1942/January, 1943)

Writers: Gardner Fox and Sheldon Mayer

Artists: Sheldon Moldoff, Jack Burnley, Harry G. Peter, Cliff Young, Ben Flinton, Howard Sherman, Stan Asch, Bernard Klein, Joe Gallagher, Jon L. Blummer, Lou Ferstadt, Pierce Rice, Jack Kirby, Joe Simon, and Howard Ferguson

The Justice Society of America are the first team of superheroes in the history of comic books, so their significance cannot be overstated. The team at this point in time consists of Hawkman, the Sandman (in his wretched Kirby-designed second costume), The Atom, Doctor Fate, Doctor Midnite, Starman, Johnny Thunder and his thunderbolt, The Spectre, and their secretary and emergency reserve member, Wonder Woman.

All four issues stick to the same formula. The team meets up, the stage is set, and they either split up to tackle the problem individually or become separated, with the team reconvening at the end to defeat their foe. Each character's strip is handled by the team that created them, so this is a precursor to the “comic jam”. Most interesting is how each character's creator draws them in the panels and covers where the whole team are assembled.

Wow, this panel has it all. Native Americans worried about turning traitors to the country that stole their land and referring to the Japanese as "yellow men". 

Issue 11 shows that America had entered into World War II, with Japan's sneak attack on Pearl Harbor fresh on everyone's mind. The members of the JSA all decided to volunteer to enlist in the armed forces, albeit in their civilian identities. They all manage to somehow sneak their superhero outfits along, changing into them on the battlefield. German and Japanese stereotypes abound in these comics, so they may seem politically incorrect by 2016 standards. Bear in mind that our country was in war, and they were the enemy at that point in time. These comics are fascinating time capsules of a bygone era.

My favorite issue in this book is #13. The Germans gas and knock out the JSA, loading them each onto a separate rocket destined to one of the nine planets in our solar system. I found it amusing that the supernatural Spectre could be gassed into unconsciousness, but you have to supersize your suspension of disbelief when you read Golden Age comic books. I found our then-current knowledge of the planets to be amusing as well. People's imaginations were running wild. Fast forward nearly 75 years later and we know so much more about the planets and outer space in general even though we still have a long way to go. I wonder what comic book fans in 2101 will think about our science fiction of today.

I love the rawness of Golden Age comics, and how the creators made up the rules as they went along. There is a freshness to this stuff that no longer exists in the medium. I enjoyed this book as a book and loved it as a historical document and artifact. Either way it deserves a place in your collection.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4.25 out of 5.

The OCD zone- RIP DC Archives.

Linework and Color restoration: This is an overall solid restoration job, especially for the era that the restoration work was done in. The linework is good, although there are spots with the occasional dropout. The color palette is maintained for the most part, although the color blends have that airbrushed gradient look not found in the original comics. There are also coloring errors here and there.

Paper stock: The paper in this book is perfect. Off white thick matte coated stock.

Binding: Smyth sewn binding. The binding is quite stiff and the book doesn't lay flat.

Dustjacket and Hardback cover notes: Dustjacket has a lamination. The hardback has that faux leather casewrap and foil stamping on the front and rear covers as well as the spine. 

Review- ALL STAR COMICS ARCHIVES VOL. 2

ALL STAR COMICS ARCHIVES VOL. 2 (DC, First Printing, 1993; Hardcover)

Collects All Star Comics #7-10 (cover dates October/November, 1941- April/May, 1942)

Writers: Gardner Fox, Sheldon Mayer, and William Moulton Marston

Artists: Everett E. Hibbard, Martin Nodell, Bernard Baily, Ben Flinton, Stan Aschmeier, Sheldon Moldoff, Cliff Young, Jack Burnley, Harry G. Peter, and Howard Sherman

The Justice Society Of America was the first superhero team in comics. In an age where there are ten Avengers teams the superhero team may seem tired and old, but back in the days leading up to World War II this was a groundbreaking concept. The JSA undergoes a few membership changes during this book, with Green Lantern stepping down after #7 and Dr. Mid-Nite (with his owl sidekick, Hooty) stepping in. The roster of the team is as follows: Green Lantern (#7 only), The Spectre, The Atom, Dr. Fate, Hawkman, The Sandman, Hour Man, Johnny Thunder, Dr. Mid-Nite (#8-on), and Starman (#8-on).

I found Johnny Thunder to be an annoying character. He is an idiot who has control over a Thunderbolt, basically a genie that can do anything and is seemingly impervious to harm. He has to summon the Thunderbolt by saying the magical Badhnisian phrase “Cei U” (pronounced say you), which he always does by accident. He can never figure out how to summon the Thunderbolt, often getting into worse trouble until he accidentally summons him. The Thunderbolt seems to like to take the piss out of him, needling him in ways like not answering the magical Badhnisian phrase when Johnny was in Cuba because he didn't say the magic phrase it in Spanish. None of which makes sense since it is a Badhnisian phrase and not an English phrase to begin with, but there you have it.

The stories are all set up in the same format. The Justice Society meets up, encounters a problem, and then they all split up to tackle this multifaceted problem, meeting up at the end. There is little to no actual teamwork in terms of battles. The artwork is done in what the kids call “comic jam” format, where each character is handled by a different artist, usually the one who created the character.

I bought this book because I love Golden Age comics with the original Sandman and The Spectre. Even though they are handled by the same creative teams as their solo adventures the stories here are inferior. When it comes to comics one has to have what is commonly referred to as a suspension of disbelief. If you think these comics through too much there will be holes, and that goes for all fantasy created in any era. My suspension of disbelief ran into a wall when The Spectre, who battled entities on the spirit plane in his own strip, was raising money for war orphans. That issue was out several months before the United States entered World War II. The Sandman changes his costume over the course of this book with no explanation given. His new costume looks closer to the wretched Joe Simon/Jack Kirby version of the Sandman. His original costume was rooted in the 1930s pulps.

I especially enjoyed #10, where the team had to journey 500 years into the future (2442) in order to retrieve the formula to prevent bombing. Lots of interesting ideas in that story. It is funny how outdated many of the science fiction ideas of 500 years in the future are 75 years after publication. While there were times that this was a clunky read it was by and large very enjoyable. There are a handful of politically incorrect things that are unintentionally funny, but one shouldn't find offense in such things if you read this in proper historical context and as an example of the history of the medium. That is asking a lot of modern fandom, I know, but trying to appreciate things for what they are instead of what you wish they were will lower your stress level.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 3.75 out of 5.

The OCD zone- DC Archives are well made books.

Spine without dustjacket.

Linework and Color restoration: The covers look wretched, with lines dropped or made murky. The original color palette is faithfully maintained throughout. The linework looks a little blotchy, with the black lines looking thicker than the scans of the original comics that I have done comparisons with. This was a perfectly serviceable restoration job for 1993 that, knowing DC, will never be remastered using modern technology. Scanning has come a long way, and this was recolored prior to Photoshop. Marvel always takes another look at their material every time they rerelease it, and if superior source materials surface or better techniques arise then they will seize the opportunity to make these books the best that they can be. DC seems to shrug their shoulders.

Paper stock: The paper in this book is perfect. Off white thick matte coated stock.

Binding: Smyth sewn binding. The binding is quite stiff and the book doesn't lay flat.

Front cover without dustjacket.

Dustjacket and Hardback cover notes: Dustjacket has a lamination, while the foil coloring becomes discolored with time, even when not left in direct sunlight. The hardback has that faux leather casewrap and foil stamping on the front and rear covers as well as the spine. 

Back cover without dustjacket.

Review- ALL STAR COMICS ARCHIVES VOL. 1

ALL STAR COMICS ARCHIVES VOL. 1 (DC, Second Printing, 2000; Hardcover)

Collects All Star Comics #3-6 (cover dates Winter, 1940- August/ September, 1941)

Writers: Gardner Fox with Charles Reisenstein and other, unidentified writers.

Artists: Everett E. Hibbard, Sheldon Moldoff, Bernard Baily, Creig Flessel, Howard Sherman, Ben Flinton, Martin Nodell, Howard Purcell, Hal Sharp, Cliff Young, Irwin Hasen, Stan Aschmeier, and other possibly unidentified art assistants.

The Justice Society Of America was the first superhero team in the history of comics. That alone makes this book historically significant and worth a read. In Don Thompson's Foreword he claims that this is the first time that superheroes ever met one another in comic books. This is false. Over at Timely's Marvel Mystery Comics the Human Torch met (and battled) the Sub-Mariner in #8 (cover date June, 1940, on the stands months before that). Thompson was a respected member of the original organized fandom in the early 1960s, back when comic book collecting was not considered a serious hobby and long before these characters entered mainstream and I respect him, but he is wrong. Crossovers as such existed in some of the earliest newspaper strips at the turn of the 20^th century, going as far back as The Katzenjammer Kids.

Way to go, Flash, think of ways to put honest firemen out of work.

That aside, this is a fascinating read. For starters, the characters all meet up and then go their separate ways to uncover whatever case they are working on. The kids these days call them “comic jams”, where one creator hands it off to the next. Each character's creator and primary artist handles their respective strips, and then there is a resolution at the end where they all meet up and solve the case. This formula is repeated in all four issues collected here. What makes this interesting is that instead of the anthology format used in all comics of the day you have one 58 page long story.

Comparing unions to Nazis. Sheesh.

I like how the JSA has a clubhouse where they meet. The simplicity of the times was evident throughout these comics. While the fashions and architecture of the time were contemporary to readers when these issues were originally published they only add to the escapist pleasure of the stories for me. I also enjoy the slang peppered in casual conversation. When modern writers try to write period piece comic like this they always come off as fake because they lack the reference points that the writers who were active during this era had.

Hey kids! Pop a pill and get super powers...just watch out for the crash an hour later. Coming down is a drag.

I enjoyed The Spectre, The Sandman, and the Hawkman parts of the stories the most. Flash is more enjoyable here than he was in other books that I read. 

 

There is some great talent on this book. Sheldon Moldoff's Hawkman is stunning, even if he totally swiped tons from Alex Raymond's Flash Gordon strip. Gardner Fox manages to juggle all of the balls between the various creators of each character, and for the most part it works. #7 is the weakest issue in the book.

I have several more of the books in this lane aging to perfection in my backlog with no real timetable on reading them. I guess that I'll get to them when I get to them. It's not like another year or three is going to matter with comics that already over 70 years old.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 3.75 out of 5.

The OCD zone- I like DC Archives. Back when SUVs were getting to be the size of tanks automakers started touting the “garageability” of Ford Explorers. Here in the Omnibus age, where books exceed 1,000 pages and have even hit the 1,500 page mark, I enjoy the “readability” of a 270-odd page book.

Linework and Color restoration: While the color palette is faithfully maintained, the linework is pretty washed out. This was remastered in 1991 using Greg Theakston's Theakstonizing method, where old comics are chemically treated and the color is removed. From there some of the lines were redrawn by hand, and it is obvious how many lines were washed out with this technique. Credit where credit is due, this was the state of the art technique of the day and Theakston was the pioneer in comic book restoration.

Scan of the original comic.

...and the version from the Archive. Notice how blotchy the linework is in places and how washed out it is in others. 

I was impressed by how close the colors were. The blends were done prior to Photoshop, so they were done by hand and therefore lack the cheesy lazy airbrush gradients found in many later DC Archives.

Think of this as a state of the art VHS remaster from 1991. Play that same VHS on a modern television and you will see graininess and the inferior techniques in comparison to what can be found in Blu-Rays. It is unfair to criticize the VHS remastering using this criteria, and it is unfair to outright condemn the work done on this book using 2015 eyes. This was a very good restoration job for it's day. It's a damn shame that DC never ever ever revisits and remasters their material. This material could look so much better. DC could use the Marvel strategy and rerelease this in an Omnibus, using the new format upgrade to defer the restoration cost. DC would simply slap the old files into a new book, like they are going to do in the forthcoming Golden Age Batman Omnibus. Sad.

Paper stock: Wonderful creamy off-white matte coated stock. Perfect.

Binding: Smyth sewn binding, lays perfectly flat.

Dustjacket and Hardback cover notes: Laminated dustjacket. Casewrap has grainy faux leather feel with foil dye stamping.