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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 Monday, November 7, 2005
Tony's Online Tips is going on a brief medical leave. The target return date is Monday, January 6. In the meantime, please enjoy the TOT Archives as well as the other daily content found here at World Famous Comics.
ALL-AMERICAN COMICS #53 [October, 1943] cover-featured Green Lantern in "The Mail Goes Through," a human interest tale in which the ring-wielding hero helped a man redeem himself to his family. I know this only because I looked it up here:
my.execpc.com/~icicle/GAGAGLLIST.html
Today, I'm counting on my mail to get me through this column. There's a lot going on in my world right now - see the "Tony Stuff" section further down in the column - and, to buy myself some time, I'm devoting most of today's TOT to your letters. But not before I tell you the above cover was drawn by Irwin Hasen, the editor of record for the issue was Sheldon Mayer, and that the contents were as follows:
GL in "The Mail Goes Through" by Alfred Bester (script), Paul Reinman (pencils), and Sam Burlockoff (inks);
Mutt and Jeff by Al Smith (as Bud Fisher);
The Atom in "Colors and Crime" by Ted Udall (script) and Joe Gallagher (pencils and inks);
Dr. Mid-Nite in "Caught By Coincidence" by Charles Reizenstein (script) and Stan Aschmeier (pencils and inks);
Scribbly and the Red Tornado by Sheldon Mayer;
Jimmy Stone in "No Evidence Part 2," a text story credited to Evelyn Gaines;
Red, White, and Blue by Udall and Gallagher; and,
Hop Harrigan by Jon L. Blummer.
The OFFICIAL OVERSTREET COMIC BOOK PRICE GUIDE says that this Golden Age goodie could sell for $1225. I couldn't find any recent sales of the issue on eBay.
The cover shown above and the contents/credit information is courtesy of the GRAND COMICS DATABASE [www.comics.org], one of the most valuable comics resources online. I usually find an excuse to visit the GCD at least once a day.
Now let's dive into my e-mailbag...
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ALFRED'S FAN FICTION
Back in the Batman covers of the 1960s, Alfred wrote a series of speculative stories about the second Batman and Robin team, the grown-up Dick Grayson and the son of Bruce Wayne. I got a kick out of these stories as a kid and they have been a recurring opening theme for my columns this year. After one such opening, I got this note from DAVE VAN DOMELEN, addressing my comment that Alfred wrote these stories for his own amusement only:
Well, I've seen fanfickers with smaller regular audiences than Alfred's. At least Alfred never brought slash into his stories, tempting as it may have been....
I thought I knew what "slash" fan fiction was, but, just to be sure, I asked Dave to elaborate:
I was using the classic definition, derived from "Kirk/Spock" originally. Not slashER. Generally male/male relationship stuff, ranging from manga-ish stories of delicate romance to rutting smut. Like most non-formal terms, of course, the meaning has gotten vague over time and can sometimes mean any stories which feature romance between canonical characters. However, it usually means guy on guy action.
On a related note, do you read the web-comic SHORTPACKED? If not, you might want to check out a recent strip:
http://www.shortpacked.com/d/20050824.html
Now that's funny stuff!
As for fan fiction, let me head off my receiving links to this or that site by stating once again that I *never* read fan fiction of any kind featuring characters not in the public domain. It's a legal thing for me, but don't let that stop those of you who enjoy this stuff from having fun with these stories.
Now excuse me while I go back to writing my latest neocon fan fiction...
George's face went even more slack than usual when he gazed upon Condi and Ann, wearing nothing but the matching pairs of high heels they had bought in Paris. The shoes cost more than it would cost to buy body armor for a soldier, but how could he deny himself this executive privilege...
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NO APOLOGIES NECESSARY
Here's a note from ANDREW WALES:
I'm sorry to have steered you to a stinker!
I'm the reader who recommended ALPHA FLIGHT to you. Of the people I've talked to about the book, it was either hated fiercely or loved. I don't know why, but I thoroughly loved it. Maybe I have a very strange or juvenile sense of humor but I thought it was funny. And I loved the art! Oh well...
Regarding your question, we've been using Blockbuster.com and have no complaints. Netflix is probably very similar. We've found all kinds of great movies our local store doesn't carry. We also like to get "Season 1" of shows we've missed out on. For a while we were "24" junkies! Take it for what it's worth, I'm sure you're wary of my advice at this point!
Andrew, my friend, neither you nor any other TOT reader ever needs to apologizes for recommending something I end up not liking. Geez, if I had to do that every time *I* recommend something one of my readers ends up hating, I wouldn't have time to write anything else other than apologies. Reviews are what they are; they should never be considered as written in stone.
As for DVD rentals, I ended up taking a trial membership with NETFLIX . I liked it so much - they've a branch warehouse in nearby Cleveland - that I signed up for their three DVDs at a time plan, which, so far, suits my family well. But, honest, it had nothing to do with you. You're still okay in my book.
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BLOCKBUSTER VS. NETFLIX
Andrew's recommendation of Blockbuster for my DVD rental needs stemmed from my asking TOT readers which online rental service they prefer. On that, I also heard from MICHAEL PULLMAN:
Go with Netflix; it's a pure little guy vs. big guy thing on my part, but that would be my call. And I doubt I have to tell you this, but consider very carefully before you watch SIN CITY with the kids. Lots of blood and boobies.
And also from JOHN DETRICK:
You mentioned you're thinking of going with an online rental system. From my personal experience, Netflix is tremendous. I've been a member for over a year now and have had no problems. Their service is fast. They get the movies the day after I send them, turn them around the next day, and I have the movie the day after that; the only slow times seem to be the fault of the USPS, who sometimes take an extra day on one part of the transaction.
I've found their selection to be incredible. I've yet to find a movie I want to see they don't have, including a lot of obscure films...and their service has been good. I've received two damaged discs (scratches) and they were very good about immediately sending replacements, without waiting for the damaged discs to be returned. They also have a friends page, so you can snoop and see what your friends are watching.
I used to buy a lot of DVDs, but since I've joined, I've not bought any, as it's cheaper just to order them. If I want to watch them again, I can order them again later!
To be fair, my parents and my sister belong to Blockbuster and they seem to like it. One of the perks is that you can get coupons for renting movies in the store. That doesn't interest me, since if I wanted to drive into the store, I wouldn't use the online service in the first place! But if you enjoy shopping in the store sometimes, Blockbuster could be for you! Hope you find something that fits your needs!
Do I have to throw in the traditional "love your column?" I think I will anyway! You're one of the best columnists out there! Now all we need to do is find more comics writing for you to do! I've said it before, but I desperately want to see you writing the Avengers for Marvel - go ahead and pick your own team; it can't be worse than what Bendis has cobbled together - and have written them saying so. Though it would be nice to see you writing other Marvel work, Avengers was always a favorite, and I just think you'd do right by them. Perhaps someday we'll see!
Thanks for the kind words, John. I'd certainly like to write for Marvel again. Of the Big Two, I think they would be the better fit for me at present. But I also realize they are seeking their writers from other than the ranks of their veterans. That doesn't mean I won't pitch them something in the near future, but I have to recognize that doing so is a long shot.
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TONY POLLS
New questions are posted most every Saturday at our TONY POLLS page. This week, the questions concern age and content advisories on comics, graphic novels, and related material. You can cast your votes by going to:
www.worldfamouscomics.com/tony/poll
I'll have the results of previous TONY POLLS questions for you later this week.
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TONY STUFF
Let me try to keep this as brief as possible. TONY'S ONLINE TIPS is a two-man operation. I write the columns and Justin puts them on the Web. At the moment, both of us are suffering from some fairly serious health problems.
I won't presume to fill you in Justin's woes, especially when I can instead direct you to his girlfriend Suzi's A HELL OF A BLOG at her A HELL OF A GIRL website:
hellofagirl.typepad.com
Suzi is, indeed, a hell of a girl and I check out her blog on a regular basis.
As for my own older than dirt self:
Likely as a result of having to deal with the Contractor From Hell for way too many months, I have the highest blood pressure I have ever had in my life. I swear the nurse blanched when she took it last week. They had me taking blood pressure medication before I left the clinic and my body is having a hell of a time - which is no relation to a certain hell of a girl - adjusting to the stuff. Worse yet is that I'm not yet done dealing with Satan's Contractor; the work his company did for us failed to pass what were to have been their final inspections and I'm anticipating a battle royale over the absurd final bill he handed me.
Worst of all is that my father will be having hip replacement surgery in two weeks from today, something which, at his age, will require a long recovery time and as much help as my siblings and I can give to him and our mom. Between this, my own problems, and Justin's problems, it'll be a minor miracle if we don't miss a few TOTs here and there.
I am still hoping to attend MID-OHIO-CON [www.midohiocon.com] on November 25 and 26, but that isn't something I can absolutely guarantee at this writing. It depends how my dad is doing and how much lower my blood pressure is by then. If it's at all possible, I *want* to be at my favorite comics convention. I just don't know that it will be possible right now.
Hmm...that wasn't as brief as I had hoped, but I figured this was the best way to let most of my friends and clients know what's going on with me. Keep a good thought for me and mine and we'll do our best to get better quickly.
Thanks for spending a part of your day with me. I'll be back soon with more stuff.
Tony Isabella
<< 11/01/2005 | 11/07/2005 | 12/23/2005 >>
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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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