Review- CRIME DOES NOT PAY ARCHIVES VOL. 5

CRIME DOES NOT PAY ARCHIVES VOL. 5 (Dark Horse, First Printing, 2013; Hardcover)

Collects Crime Does Not Pay #38-41 (cover dates March- September, 1945)

Writers: Dick Wood with one story by Milt. J. Kramer

Artists: Charles Biro, Al Fagaly, Dick Briefer, Jack Alderman, C.L. Hartman, Norman Maurer, Rudy Palais, Robert Q. Sale (as Bob Q. Siege), and other unidentified artists

The quality of the stories and artwork have rebounded nicely after the dullness that was Volume 4. The gist of this series is that it is a “true crime” anthology style that depicts crime from different eras and countries, with an emphasis on crime of the 1920s and 1930s.

Mister Crime is the host, and he is essentially the devil on the shoulder of these would be criminals as they embark on their life of crime. In #41 we see his counterpoint, the “angel on the shoulder” of the criminal, Officer Common Sense. Neither one of them are visible to the characters and they break the fourth wall in regard to the fact that they are speaking to the reader.

While this series was lurid for the time, in all fairness they do not glorify crime. The criminal is always shown getting killed by police, sitting in an electric chair, or ending up in prison. There is an over the top, sensationalist angle played up for kicks, though.

The Dick Briefer Who Dunnit? recurring strip has run out of steam. I was thankful to see Robert Q. Sale take it over in #40. Issue #39's King Killer Of The Mountain is one of the better tales in this book. The quality increases across the board with #41, and I am looking forward to reading Volume 6. I know from reading Blackjacked And Pistol-Whipped: A Crime Does Not Pay Sampler that the series' best days are ahead of it.

Sadly, Dark Horse pulled the plug on this line after Volume 10. They cancelled the already fully restored and ready to go Volume 11 as well as the already solicited Volume 12. Dark Horse has recently revived their Creepy and Eerie Archives, so I am hopeful that they will revive this line of books as well. I have no interest in the Gwandanaland print on demand books found on Amazon which complete the run. Dark Horse could even up the price $10-15 to make up for the low print run if that is what it would take to finish up this line of books.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4 out of 5.

The OCD zone- This is the part where I go into tactile sensations and materials of 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.

The Dark Horse Archives line of books are narrower than the original comic books.

Linework and Color restoration: Solid “frame up” restoration done off of scans of the original comics.

Paper stock: Thick uncoated stock. It has a creamy off-white color, being close to Mint condition pulp paper in appearance while being of sufficient thickness that it feels like 'Archival' quality paper. It also has the sweet, delectable smell that only Chinese made books have.

Binding: Sewn binding which is stiff and does not lay flat. This book is light and small enough where it is not an issue.

Dustjacket and Hardback cover notes: Nice faux leather casewrap with die foil stamping. Dustjacket has a decent lamination.

Review- ROY THOMAS PRESENTS PLANET COMICS VOL. 1

ROY THOMAS PRESENTS PLANET COMICS VOL. 1 (PS Artbooks, First Printing Revised, 2013; Hardcover)

Collects Planet Comics #1-4 (originally published by Fiction House Comics, cover dates January- April, 1940)

Writers: Dick Briefer, Ken Jackson, Bob Jordan, Herman Bolstein, Fletcher Hanks, Don Varick, Wilson Locke, Lin Davies, Beekman Terrill, Arnot Bissel, Wm. S. Mott, Stan Ford, Fred Nelson, Ned Small and other, unidentifed writers

Artists: Lou Fine, Dick Briefer, Malcom Kildale, Ken Jackson, Alex Blum, Henry Kiefer, Alvin Charles, Will Eisner, George Tuska, Arthur Peddy, Fletcher Hanks, R. Louis Golden, Bob Powell, Alex Blum, Leonard Frank, Charles Sultan, Dan Zolnerowich, Gene Fawcette, and other, unidentified artists

I have a certain fascination with post-Depression era optimism. The future looked bright. Then, as now, technology was advancing and improving life. It's a world view that is missing from all post-Blade Runner Science Fiction. Our dystopian future has become a dystopian present, making this an even more escapist read. I keep waiting for humanity to reach it's Star Trek moment, but we seem to be going in the opposite direction.

Buck Rogers kicked off this genre a decade earlier than these comics. It was his wildly successful imitation, Flash Gordon, that is the biggest influence on the stories presented in this anthology series. Flash Gordon is one of those rare cases where the imitation was more imaginative than the originator. Alex Raymond's influence is stamped all over these comics like a boot print. Primary colors abound, in part because of the primitive four color printing press and in part because Flash Gordon made great use of reds and yellows and shied away from blends.

Like all Golden Age comics, these can be overly simplistic, silly, and unintentionally funny, but that's part of the charm for me. On a purely historical level this series is essential reading. This is the stuff that made kids like George Lucas spark their ideas. These stories also entertain in their own right, albeit in a silly way.

While most of the stories are variations of the Buck Rogers/ Flash Gordon riff, I enjoy strips like Auro, Lord Of Jupiter. It's a ripoff of Tarzan...but on Jupiter! Hilarious. What it lacks in originality it makes up for with ambition. By issue 4 it morphs into some kind of Flash Gordon ripoff with no real explanation how or why.

I am sure that someone somewhere will be triggered by this panel. 

Fletcher Hanks takes the cake for batshit crazy comic book writers and artists. Hanks' artwork is bizarre, with barrel-chested he-men with necks as long as a giraffe. His work (including this story) have been reprinted before by Fantagraphics across two softcovers and, more recently, in one big fat hardcover. His stories make no sense, turn on a dime, and often just skid off of the tracks and into a ditch. Other times, like the one reprinted in this book, they just end with no real resolution. He is, in his own way, an absolute genius.

Issue 3's Amazona, Mighty Woman seems completely out of place. It is an Earthbound strip and has nothing to do with the rest of the series in tone. It's cool but it doesn't fit in with the sci-fi theme. It's more of a superhero story than a science fiction one.

I love the Fiction House house ads in these comics. I would love to see PS Artbooks tackle more Fiction House stuff like Jungle Comics, Fight Comics, and Jumbo Comics. I am glad that PS has reprinted the entire run of Planet Comics across 14 hardcovers. On one hand they pump out too many books too fast, but on the other hand they have covered so much ground so quickly. My wallet and bookshelves curse them while my heart sings! A pox upon you, PS Artbooks!!!

Junk Food For Thought rating: 3 out of 5.

The OCD zone- Please note that this is the revised first printing of the book. PS subscribers like myself got the first printing of this book, dated September 2012 with the same ISBN, which was sourced from microfiche and looked abysmal. They recalled the book from Diamond Book Distributors and scanned newly purchased original copies for this version.

I enjoy huffing these Chinese made books. PS Artbooks smell the best. Whenever I crack one open I sit there and snort it...Oh yeah, that's the stuff.

Linework and Color restoration: Raw scans with minimal tinkering. They remove all color from the word balloons, leaving them as bright white as the paper stock. The original printed comics had shoddy printing, and that is presented here warts and all. Off register printing and line bleed are all present, just like they were back then. The printing seems more accurate here than in comics from the 1950s, with far less line bleed and off register printing than you see in some of these PS books.

Paper stock: Uncoated bright white stock.

Binding: Sewn binding. Lies mostly flat.

Hardback cover notes: No dustjacket. Image printed on casewrap with matte finish and spot varnish. 

Reviews: Dick Briefer's Frankenstein

DICK BRIEFER'S FRANKENSTEIN(IDW, 2010; Hardcover)

Collects selections from Prize Comics Nos. 7-9 and Frankenstein Nos. 1, 8, 15, 20, 24, 28, 31 (cover dates December, 1940- June/July, 1952)

Writer/ Artist: Dick Briefer

This is essentially a sampler of the three different eras of Briefer's take on the Frankenstein monster. The first was a crude Horror take. The second version was a comedic take on ol' Frank. The emphasis was still on the macabre.

The third, and final incarnation of Briefer's Frankenstein was an intense, Horror-laden take. 

This was my favorite of the three, although I would love to see a comprehensive collection of all eras of the character. I had read all of this era before in Idea Men Production's 2006 black and white trade paperback. While it collects this era in its entirety, it is dark and muddy, whereas this book is incomplete but in full color. I reviewed the 2006 TPB way back when in my blog.

The OCD zone- The paper used in this book is thick, uncoated stock with an off-white, creamy color similar to pulp paper prior to aging. The restoration is high resolution scans of the original comic books, with no additional work done. You can see every imperfection in the original printing process, for better or for worse. The book has sewn binding, but the paper is so thick and tight in the spine that it doesn't lay flat until the middle of the book. I can't really call foul at the book's price point of MSRP $21.99, though. This book is a bargain.

EDIT- I can't believe that I forgot to mention the die-cut cover. Frankenstein's eyes are cut out, and when you open the book there is a second-phase, comedic Frankenstein picture. A nice, and completely unnecessary, touch. Also worth mentioning is that there is no dustjacket and that the images are screen printed on the cover itself. There is no wax coating on the cover and it is fairly easy to scuff. I'm not sure if I like this recent trend in hardcovers. 

The All-New, All-Different Junk Food For Thought

OK, not really. What I meant to say is that this is the first all-new blog post since I signed up for Blogspot last month. All of my other posts have been re-posts from my myspace blog (RIP). My last post over there was on July 4, and since then I have been sitting on my reviews. Here we go...

THE ZOMBIE FACTORY (Idea Men Productions, 2007)

Collects selections from Tales From The Tomb (Vol. 2 ) No. 2, (Vol. 4) Nos. 4, 5 (Vol. 5) No. 1, Tales of Voodoo (Vol. 3) Nos. 1, 2, Terror Tales (Vol. 2) No. 5, (Vol. 3) No. 3, (Vol. 4) No. 6, (Vol. 6) Nos. 1, 4 (Vol. 9) No. 1 and Witches’ Tales (Vol. 6) No. 1 (cover dates January, 1970- January, 1978).

This is an interesting collection of mostly B and C level black and white Horror from the '70s. Credits are nearly non-existent, which is a pet peeve of mine. It would be nice to know what issue which story came from, as well as who wrote and/or penciled it. The scans are way too dark, likely done to compensate for the deterioration of the pulp paper used back then. I'm sure that a C-level publisher like Eerie (no relation to Warren Publishing's superb Creepy and Eerie) didn't bother archiving their stats for later use. This is an okay read if you can find it, although I would have preferred a more comprehensive hardcover collection.

CAPTAIN BRITAIN AND MI-13 VOL. 2: HELL COMES TO BIRMINGHAM (Marvel, 2009)

Collects Captain Britain and MI13 Nos. 5-9 (cover dates November, 2008- March, 2009)

This series is worlds better than most of the current stuff being put out by Marvel. It's a shame that this wasn't the first arc, rather than the always gimmick-y crossover spin-off that it had. Maybe if Marvel would let a series find its own footing rather then being shoved into crossover after crossover we wouldn't see the amount of launches, re-launches, and cancellations that we currently do.

SIN CITY VOL. 4: THAT YELLOW BASTARD (Dark Horse, 2005)

Collects Sin City: That Yellow Bastard Nos. 1-6 (cover dates February- July, 1996)

SIN CITY VOL. 5: FAMILY VALUES (Dark Horse, 2005)

Collects Sin City: Family Values Original Graphic Novel (cover date October, 1997)

SIN CITY VOL. 6: BOOZE, BROADS & BULLETS (Dark Horse, 2005)

Collects Sin City: The Babe Wore Red, Sin City: Silent Night, Sin City: Lost, Lonely & Lethal, Sin City: Sex & Violence and Sin City: Just Another Saturday Night (cover dates November, 1994- October, 1998).

SIN CITY VOL. 7: HELL AND BACK (Dark Horse, 2005)

Collects Sin City: Hell and Back Nos. 1-9 (cover dates July, 1999- April, 2000)

This is a super fast paced read, and it works for this type of series. Frank Miller's artwork is growing on me, as he makes excellent use of black and white and solids. The occasional color inserted into the black and white color scheme is interesting as well. I really like the paper that these books are printed on, as it has an intoxicating smell. I like how all of the characters and settings all circle around and intersect in each other's stories without becoming directly involved with each other, and without it being necessary to know any of the previous stories. One could literally pick up any book in the series and have an enjoyable read.

BLAZING COMBAT (Fantagraphics, 2009; Hardcover)

Collects Blazing Combat Nos. 1-4 (cover dates October, 1965- July, 1966)

The Warren magazines were the natural successors to EC Comics. Frontline Combat and Two-Fisted Tales depicted the horrors of war in often unfavorable ways, and this series ups the ante with it's early anti-Vietnam angle. The title was blackballed by distributors and cancelled, which is a damn shame considering the quality. The EC stable turns in fantastic artwork all around, and Russ Heath does what is, in my opinion, his finest work ever. The book is a super high quality presentation, with superb uncoated, thick paper stock, spotless art transfers from pristine sources, and luxurious sewn binding, all in hardcover to boot. The only gripe that I have is that the Frazetta covers are shrunk down to 1/4 page in the back of the book. Aside from that, this is the definitive document on this series for the ages. Interviews with James Warren and Archie Goodwin provide invaluable insight into the minds of the men who made it happen.

SWAMP THING VOL. 7: REGENESIS (DC, 2004)

Collects Swamp Thing (Vol. 2) Nos. 65-70 (cover dates October, 1987- March, 1988)

SWAMP THING VOL. 8: SPONTANEOUS GENERATION (DC, 2005)

Collects Swamp Thing Nos. 71-76 (cover dates April- September, 1988)

This series doesn't seem to miss a beat after the departure of Alan Moore. I was delighted to see Alfredo Alcala's finely detailed artwork grace these pages.

THE MONSTER OF FRANKENSTEIN (Idea Men Productions, 2006)

Collects The Monster of Frankenstein Nos. 18-33 (cover dates March, 1952- October/November, 1954)

This collects the obscure series by Dick Briefer, and is outstanding! Gruesome, gory and violent, this is not some campy or watered down version of the monster. Briefer's artwork is unusual, but has a style that is pleasing to the eye. I wish that this series was collected in a full color, high end hardcover rather than this black and white trade. Oh well, when you are dealing with comics as obscure as this, you have to take what you can get. I highly recommend this book to all fans of Horror comics.