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Reviews and commentary by Tony Isabella
"America's Most Beloved Comic-Book Writer & Columnist"
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TONY'S ONLINE TIPS
for Thursday, May 15, 2008
On this date in 1252, Pope Innocent IV issued the papal bull which authorized the torture of heretics during the Inquisition. The bull was confirmed by Pope Alexander IV on November 30, 1259, and by Pope Clement IV on November 3, 1265. When reminded of this anniversary, the Rev. John Hagee said, "I knew there was something about those Catholics I liked!"
President Bush marked the occasion with a hot dog lunch with his White House torture club. At one point, he turned to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and said, "Gosh-darn it, Condi! I should have run for Pope. Heh, heh, heh."
In other torture-related news:
The cover of Adventures Into Terror #4 [June, 1951] was most likely drawn by Carl Burgos. "The Torture Room" was a three-page story wherein a Nazi concentration camp commander was captured by his prisoners and put in a secret torture room. It was drawn by Don Rico and possibly written by him as well. Feel free to write your own joke here about President Bush or newly-converted torture supporter John McCain.
That was gloomy. Let's see if I can lighten the mood with a few reviews.
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TOTO! THE WONDERFUL ADVENTURE
Yuko Osada packs an awful lot of story into the first volume of his Toto! The Wonderful Adventure from Del Rey [$10.95], but the unfolding events never seem rushed. Even better, from the start of the tale, Osada gives us a protagonist we can root for and relate to. I was hooked within the first few pages.
Kakashi is a small-town kid with a big dream inspired by the father he barely remembers. He wants to travel the world and will risk everything to achieve that dream. Before long, he's fallen in with the criminal-but-unwaveringly-loyal Man Chicken Family and adopted Toto, a puppy who is far from an ordinary canine and who is being sought by powerful, secretive forces. By the book's end, our hero has formed an alliance with an exasperating young lady name of Dorothy. Hmm...
Toto! is rated "T Ages 13+", but there's nothing in the first volume I'd consider inappropriate for younger readers. It's an exciting and fun story, but it's got some emotional weight, too. When Kakashi speaks of his father and of his dreams, when he forms a bond with the head of the Man Chicken Family, when he witnesses the loyalty of the gang members for one another, those things kick the book up a notch.
Toto! The Wonderful Adventure Volume 1 earns an impressive four out of four Tonys.
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UNCLE SCROOGE
Maybe it was me, but something was just, well, not quite right about Walt Disney's Uncle Scrooge #374 [Gemstone Publishing; $7.99]. Continuing the title's celebration of its lead character's six decades in the comics, not even the cover by Scrooge creator Carl Barks worked for me. The actual drawing/layout was bland and the gag wasn't particularly amusing.
Inside the issue...
I didn't dislike Pat and Carol McGreal's "A Gal For Gladstone" - with lively art by Massimo Fecchi - but it was strange to see Gladstone Gander bereft of his luck and a disguised Magica DeSpell romancing him so successfully she develops feelings for him. It was a good story, but it also fundamentally changed the dynamics between the two characters. Even in the more-or-less continuity-free zone of Disney comic books, that isn't something to be ignored. Maybe the McGreals wrote too good a story. Maybe more writers should follow their example.
In Lars Jensen's "Rainbow Raiders," Brigitta MacBride, who has a thing for Scrooge, cuts the world's richest duck in on a device that turns rainbows into gold. But Scrooge comes too slowly to his realizations of both MacBride's motives and the shortcomings of the device. There's one nice scene where one of the poor townspeople who lives in a valley noted for its rainbows drives home what said displays mean to them, but that's pretty much it for good moments in an otherwise tedious story.
In William Van Horn's "Easy Circumstances," Scrooge yearns to be accepted by a pack of social butterflies and stoops to seeking advice from his more witless than witty half-brother Rumpus McFowl. If I were Scrooge, I'd have insisted on DNA testing before I would even talk to his so-called half-brother. It's a story that never works from start to finish.
Frank Jonker's "Discreet Delivery" - with art by Sander Gulien and dialogue by my pal Dwight Decker - was an amusing story for its four pages. Scrooge and co-star Donald Duck were in character as the former hires the latter to deliver a priceless violin. But I thought the Beagle Boys were less than their usual clever selves, probably because the short page count demanded it.
Happily, the remaining features in the issue were all pretty good. In "No Need To Know" by Frank Jonker with art by Jordi Alfonso and Comicup Studios, Gyro Gearloose has the Valentine's Day blues and the result is a sweet little episode. Though only a single page in length, a 1947 Donald Duck gag by Barks elicited an audible chuckle from me. Finally, there are two pin-ups by the wondrous Don Rosa: a Gladstone Gander one inside the issue and the third in a series of a dozen Scrooge posters commemorating Scrooge's anniversary on the back cover. The inside back cover has Rosa's comments on this poster and some reader comments.
Walt Disney's Uncle Scrooge #374 was a disappointment, but it still earns three Tonys, largely on the strength of the lead story and the shorter features.
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GET MORE TONY
Shipping from Marvel Comics in July is Essential Fantastic Four Volume 7 [$16.99], which collects Fantastic Four #138-159, Giant-Size Super-Stars #1, Giant-Size Fantastic Four #2-4, and Avengers #127 into a hefty 560-page blast from the past. Including in this tome will be the one issue of the title I wrote. Oh, the stories I could tell about having something like three days to get that issue plotted, drawn, scripted, inked, lettered, colored, proofread, and sent to the printer. Except that I've probably already told them many times over.
One of the nice things about Marvel reprints, besides getting so many pages of comics for a relatively few bucks, is that Marvel sends send me checks when they reprint my old stories. I may be a bit biased here, but I prefer this to, say, a publisher who never reprints any of my stories and doesn't pay me for a action figure made of a character I created.
Not that I'm naming any names here.
In conclusion, buy Essential Fantastic Four Volume 7. You'll get a bunch of fun comics from the 1970s and I'll get a few bucks down the line. Which I'll use to buy comic books. It's the circle of comic-book life and it's a beautiful thing.
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TONY POLLS
Last week's Tony Polls had such an embarrassingly low voter turnout I almost left them up for another week. For whatever reason, they just didn't connect with TOT readers. Hopefully, this week's questions are more interesting and will attract more voters. In the meantime, here are the results of the clearly uninteresting questions from the week of May 6...
Did you participate in FREE COMIC BOOK DAY?
Yes.....61.54%
No.....38.46%
If you did participate in FREE COMIC BOOK DAY, did you go to more than one comic-book store?
Yes.....29.83%
No.....70.37%
If you did participate in FREE COMIC BOOK DAY, how would you rate your FCBD experience?
Near-Mint.....25.49%
Fine.....23.53%
Very Good.....23.53%
Good.....13.73%
Fair.....7.84%
Poor.....5.88%
I didn't vote on any of the above questions because I didn't go to any comics shops on that day. I don't think I ever remember the last time I went to a comics shop, but it might have been over a year ago when my seeking to buy comics at one shop was clearly an unwanted distraction to the jerk behind the counter and his sweaty Internet surfing. Worst comic book shop ever.
But I digress.
I'm delighted over 86% of the Tony Polls voters who did go to shops that day has a good or better experience and I hope to join your number next year. In the meantime, a retailer friend is sending me a bunch of this year's FCBD offerings. When I get them, I'll read them and review them for an upcoming TOT.
Have you seen the new IRON MAN movie?
Yes.....65%
No.....35%
If you did see the new IRON MAN movie, how would you rate it?
Near-Mint.....64.91%
Fine.....28.07%
Very Good.....3.51%
Good.....0%
Fair.....0%
Poor.....3.51%
Pity me. I'm one of the few people in comics who hasn't seen the film yet. But in light of the overwhelmingly positive response from friends who have seen it - and that would pretty much be all of them - I plan on seeing it as soon as I can get even half a day ahead of my schedule.
This week's questions revolve around DCU: Decisions, a four-issue mini-series which will examine the political leanings of various super-heroes. You can vote on them here:
www.worldfamouscomics.com/tony/poll
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TIP THE TIPSTER
Tony's Online Tips is a reader-sponsored feature, made possible through your "Tip The Tipster" donations. Today's column and several more like it are being brought to you by a reader whose donation was the second-largest in TOT's history...and I thank him for his incredibly generous support. Thanks to readers like him, we're funded through the end of May. If you'd like to contribute and keep TOT running, click on the "Tip The Tipster" link you'll find elsewhere on this page.
Thanks for spending a part of your day with me. I'll be back tomorrow with more stuff.
Tony Isabella
<< 05/14/2008 | 05/15/2008 | 05/16/2008 >>
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THE "TONY" SCALE
ZERO: Burn your money before buying any comic receiving this rating. It doesn't *necessarily* mean there's absolutely nothing of value here - though it *could* - but whatever value it might possess shrinks into insignificance before its overall awfulness.
ONE: Buy something else. Maybe I found something which wasn't completely dreadful in the item, but not enough for me to recommend it when there are better comics available. I only want what's best for you, my children.
TWO: Basic judgment call. I found some value, but not enough to recommend it. My review should give you enough info to decide if you want to take a chance on it. Are you feeling lucky today, punk? Well, are you?
THREE: This denotes something I find perfectly respectable. There are better books out there, but I wouldn't regret buying this item. Based on my review, you should be able to determine if it's of interest to you. Let the Force guide you.
FOUR: I recommend anything earning this rating. Unless you don't like the genre, subject matter, or past work of the creators, I believe you'll enjoy this item. Isn't it uncanny how I can look right into your soul that way?
FIVE: Anything getting this rating is among the best comicdom has to offer. You should buy/read this, even if the genre/subject matter doesn't appeal to you. It's for your own good. Me, I live for comics and books this good...but not in a pathetic "Comic-Book Guy" sort of way.
Please send material you would like me to review to:
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