tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post8085370187988740815..comments2024-03-19T10:41:35.976-05:00Comments on Bronze Age Babies: Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez's Clown Prince of Crime - Joker 4Doughttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04248324005584963229noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-18231123072703177812016-10-04T04:06:54.266-05:002016-10-04T04:06:54.266-05:00It was much later, but DC did publish a series in ...It was much later, but DC did publish a series in the early 90's(I believe) with a villain protagonist-Eclipso ran for twice as long as Joker (18 issues). The death toll was much higher, even killing 13 or so superheroes who had teamed up to stop him in one two-issue arc(the female Wildcat and Dr Midnight, Creeper, some other 2nd tier heroes). I enjoyed the series, but I guess it's hard to sustain a title when the primary character is pure evil...Otto Sellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04776234775816814926noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-90362418300069988642014-07-26T18:03:14.790-05:002014-07-26T18:03:14.790-05:00Very nice review! I enjoyed the Joker series when ...Very nice review! I enjoyed the Joker series when it was first published -- it never really pretended to be anything other than a silly fun boo, and as far as that goes it always delivered! Thanks for bringing back some fun memories.Goldenrulecomicshttp://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/goldenrulecomicsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-64739336472437487612014-02-22T01:13:09.310-06:002014-02-22T01:13:09.310-06:00(Snort) Ollie Queen and Ollie North! Hey, guy from...(Snort) Ollie Queen and Ollie North! Hey, guy from Super Team Family, ya gotta show this titanic team-up!<br />Seriously, Doug, I do the same thing. I once referred to Laurence of Arabia as "Laurence of Olivier."<br />In front of my college professor, no less.<br />And twenty years later, I have even less of an idea what I'm talking about!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-68885640551985861772014-02-21T22:47:56.208-06:002014-02-21T22:47:56.208-06:00As far as I know, the Yellow Claw was the first ou...As far as I know, the Yellow Claw was the first outright badguy to have his own ongoing series, for all of 5 issues I think, in the mid-50s (Marvel's Atlas years). As for Dr. Doom, he had a one issue appearance in Marvel Superheroes, but his first ongoing series was in Astonishing Tales, split with Ka-Zar for the first 9 issues until the Lord of the Hidden-Jungle shoved out the metal-clad Lord of Latveria. The Joker's certainly an interesting character, but I'm not sure he could really carry his own book for very long as he isn't particularly complex, being mainly a psychopathic killer who rejoices in creating chaos. Dr. Doom is just as murderous but has also been played up as a bit of an anti-hero. Then there's Dracula, the bad guy who's had the longest run in comics -- of course, he's been a success in literature, theater, and movies as well, long before Wolfman & Colan did him proud in the comics! And the real Vlad Dracula (Tepes was what his enemies called him, not his actual name) was so brutal he makes Victor Von Doom seem like a hell of a nice guy.Fred W. Hillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07602124919964053532noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-25386676742654875252014-02-21T18:15:14.991-06:002014-02-21T18:15:14.991-06:00I hate sneezing in the middle of a post, I always ...I hate sneezing in the middle of a post, I always forget my point!!!!<br /><br /><br />The death spiral lead to a glut of titles flooding the newsstands. Everybody was getting a title if for no other reason than to lock up spinner space.<br /><br />And as I'm learning from Groovy's blog, many of the Marvel Premiere's and Marvel Fanfares and Marvel Features were 17-18 page stories with no back up features. I think the big guys were 21 to 22 pages, but some of the lesser titles were under that.<br /><br />But it gave us great things like the Hostess ads and cool Keds sneakers.<br /><br />The Prowler (losing his train of thought at the drop of a.......).<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-9595291473393446922014-02-21T18:11:13.067-06:002014-02-21T18:11:13.067-06:00I think, in my opinion as a US American, that both...I think, in my opinion as a US American, that both major companies seemed to be locked in a death spiral of competition to once and for all knock the other one out. DC had a larger stable of characters to put out there, but a mid-70s book with the villain as the protagonist (the Joker) and the good guys as the antagonists (Ollie and Dinah) had a very fine line to walk. How close to bad can you get your main character without losing any sympathy the read has? I know that some have referenced Super Villain Team Up, but as one would see on the Longbox Graveyard posting Super Diva Team Up (thanks Longbox), Doom had sabotaged Namor's suit and was holding Namor's people hostage. Hardly a team up in the true sense of the word. <br /><br />Doug, you were mentioning how the book ends with the Joker's death but he's back in the next issue, no explanation, no beat missed. I remember the run of Marvel first issue books where Nova or Spider-Girl or insert name here had the cover blurb teasing their first mission would be their last. After awhile, I think it had to become a running joke. <br /><br />And Hoosier X, if it had been Ollie North, he would not have been selling to the Joker, he would have been using a Canadian company to supply the Star City Police Department with body armor, riot gear, special arms and an urban assault vehicle (thanks Sgt Hulka) in their fight against the Joker, resupplying the Canadians with American munitions in exchange for funds which would then be used to supply elements on New Apokolips in their struggle against Darkseid. <br /><br />The Prowler (keeping it tight and keeping it real, and a card carrying member of the New Pedantic Panther Party).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-22858840369339438892014-02-21T15:22:44.230-06:002014-02-21T15:22:44.230-06:00Garett -
Karen and I don't have a lot of New ...Garett -<br /><br />Karen and I don't have a lot of New Teen Titans in common, but that is a subject we've discussed in the past as a major hole in this blog's library of reviews. And regarding the growing up of that title's stories, do keep in mind that it was published post-1980; not sure that arbitrary date makes any difference, but I do think DC tried to write their stuff in a bit more of a mature manner toward the end of the Bronze Age.<br /><br />DougDoughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04248324005584963229noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-40205338950244686312014-02-21T15:09:09.936-06:002014-02-21T15:09:09.936-06:00Nice review, nice art. I wouldn't normally pic...Nice review, nice art. I wouldn't normally pick Colletta to ink Garcia Lopez, but he does an alright job here. It's more simplified than most Garcia Lopez work, but it works for a Joker story like this. <br /><br />I'll take a look at the TPB--haven't read any of these tales. Joker is such a great villain. Humorous and threatening! Someone like the Penguin has the humor, but I can't see as a threat.<br /><br />I'm not a big Green Arrow fan, but I like the relationship of Ollie and Dinah, and a Bronze Age title for them with stories and art like this would've been a treat.<br /><br />I don't mind the fictional cities. Also DC was certainly not "forever written for 10 year olds"--has there been a review here of the New Teen Titans by Perez yet? To me that's a central title of the Bronze Age.<br /><br />Anyone liking this story should check out Batman Vs Hulk, with Garcia Lopez art (inked by Giordano) and Joker again as the villain. Garettnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-9223126903710256482014-02-21T13:47:20.112-06:002014-02-21T13:47:20.112-06:00Doug, it might not be a coincidence that there are...Doug, it might not be a coincidence that there are a lot of series dedicated to unsavory types in the past 10 years, and the fact that I don't collect new comics.dbutler16https://www.blogger.com/profile/00046066729353639991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-91071801410689578972014-02-21T11:34:15.991-06:002014-02-21T11:34:15.991-06:00If it had been Oliver North coming to the rescue, ...If it had been Oliver North coming to the rescue, he would have been selling arms to the Joker and using the money to fund Darkseid.<br /><br />And the Black Canary would have been doomed! (Or maybe just forced to use her sonic powers.)Hoosier Xhttp://mushtown.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-48269332740834866862014-02-21T11:02:00.317-06:002014-02-21T11:02:00.317-06:00That's be a great topic for a post. Villains ...That's be a great topic for a post. Villains with their own books and/or villains turned heroes (which is usually how they end up w/ their own books - I think Venom falls into that latter camp, but not ever read much with Venom in it, I couldn't tell you).mr. oyolahttp://themiddlespaces.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-34439032038242626192014-02-21T10:13:26.062-06:002014-02-21T10:13:26.062-06:00Yeah, Dave, the two Dr. Doom series I alluded to w...Yeah, Dave, the two Dr. Doom series I alluded to would be the short run in Marvel Super-Heroes and then SVTU as you mentioned.<br /><br />As I said above, I think in the past 10 years there have been a whole bunch of minis dedicated to those unsavory types. But for the reading period most of us enjoyed in the '60s-'80s, not too many.<br /><br />DougDoughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04248324005584963229noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-1013929777436396342014-02-21T09:58:49.016-06:002014-02-21T09:58:49.016-06:00Doug, I've often complained myself that Bronze...Doug, I've often complained myself that Bronze Age DC splash pages are not part of the story. That drives me crazy. One good thiing about Bronze Age DC is that the stories are usually one patters so when I pick up random issues in the dollar bin of my LCS I usually get the whole story.<br />I wasn't aware that this was available in TPB. I'm glad to see that they offer something relatively obscure like this.<br />I am a fan of Luis -Garcia's art.<br />Marvel had a supervillain team up series for a short while, right? dbutler16https://www.blogger.com/profile/00046066729353639991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-28726762529899500172014-02-21T09:38:24.209-06:002014-02-21T09:38:24.209-06:00Matt, I'll defer to your knowledge of modern c...Matt, I'll defer to your knowledge of modern comics. That's a list I'd not have been able to come up with. Although I'd argue that the creators probably wouldn't agree with you on Batman and Wolverine; Punisher, too.<br /><br />It's still a short list. Seems to work better for mini-series.<br /><br />DougDoughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04248324005584963229noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-73269893196323178062014-02-21T09:14:24.578-06:002014-02-21T09:14:24.578-06:00What's up with GA's legs on that cover? Er...What's up with GA's legs on that cover? Ernie was pumping out covers left and right, maybe this was a rush job. Not his best work.<br /><br />How many antagonists have had their own books? Hmm...Punisher, modern Wolverine, modern Batman, Venom, Carnage, everything at Image...Doc Savagehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08783244633195233970noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-8987215653086518822014-02-21T08:41:47.616-06:002014-02-21T08:41:47.616-06:00This entire DC title has that fresh, frothy aroma ...This entire DC title has that fresh, frothy aroma of..<br /><br />"GUILTY PLEASURE".<br /><br />Art looks gorgeous, and as gushed about the similarly brief Shanna title, Vinnie can always make the ladies look their best. He aways draws very distinctive eyes and facial features. <br /><br />The writing is harmless enough, in a DC way.., like enjoying a nice candy bar. Frankly, the art & writing strongly reminds you of those Hostess full-page ads running at the time.<br /><br />I was going to pick up the individual issues (will still pick up the first ish though..), but may just settle for the tpb here.david_bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00218727673816200051noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-79643058044186716692014-02-21T08:35:48.896-06:002014-02-21T08:35:48.896-06:00Hahaha!! Jeez, what a goof-up that was! Could you ...Hahaha!! Jeez, what a goof-up that was! Could you get further apart than Oliver Queen and Oliver North?<br /><br />Great catch, J.A. Goes to show that no matter how much one proofreads, there's still bound to be a forehead-slapper in the post somewhere.<br /><br />Man, what was I thinking??<br /><br />Thanks again - it's been corrected.<br /><br />DougDoughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04248324005584963229noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-47168489587797199452014-02-21T08:27:29.513-06:002014-02-21T08:27:29.513-06:00Doug, I believe you meant to type "Oliver Que...Doug, I believe you meant to type "Oliver Queen" not "Oliver North". <br /><br />Otherwise, thanks for the review, I've been thinking of picking up the Joker tpb and probably will, even if Black Canary is poorly depicted here (secret identity be damned!). I picked up a few issues of this series over the years and thought they were pretty good. I've always been a fan of "villain-centric" titles like this, Super-Villain Team-Up and Secret Society of Super-Villains.J.A. Morrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15800901321134394272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-2060208247220732402014-02-21T08:02:57.453-06:002014-02-21T08:02:57.453-06:00Nice review, Doug. Seems like a nothing-spectacula...Nice review, Doug. Seems like a nothing-spectacular, yet still readable Bronze Age DC offering. And I like the art, too, although Colletta would not be my first choice for inking Garcia-Lopez.<br />I'm actually seriously thinking about getting this Joker book (although I'm still a bit miffed that this got published while I'm still waiting for Ragman).<br /><br />And since you brought it up, DC kind of led the way with these villain-headlined books: besides Joker and Secret Society, there was also Kobra.Edo Bosnarnoreply@blogger.com