Mood:
a-okTopic: Comic Books - New
Continuing my new series on comics and graphic novels that I found out about at the 2009 Long Beach Comic Con... Is 'Silver Comics' - the comic book series! I moved this blog up to this morning's post, because after yesterday's blog post about the passing of George Tuska, (click here), I was a little sad, and was thinking about the early years when I really loved this industry as a kid enjoying a hobby... And then after posting the Blog about George Tuska on my Facebook Wall, I was informed by other FB Friends that Joe Rosen had just passed away earlier in the week. Which I had not heard about... So I definitely wanted to blog about something happier here this morning! And let me tell You... this series of comics from Juan Ortiz, Inc. is a Fun Read! And it is SO CLOSE to what really 'grabbed' me in the 'Marvel Age of Comics' and made me a lifelong fan of comic books! Reading the first issue made me feel like I was part of 'Silver Comics Universe', right from the start! Just like Stan Lee used to do when he was getting the first issues up and running of the Marvel Superheroes that he, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, Don Heck, and others introduced to kids like me! Okay, so you already know how I feel about this first issue... So what is the first issue all about? Here's what the PR says about it: "Silver Comics #1: $2.95, 32 b&w pages, cover by Frank Brunner The End: "The Snake and The Zombie!" Johnny Ortiz (writer, artist) Crime boss The Snake attempts to kill rival crime boss The Zombie, and learns The Zombie is actually The End in disguise. The End stabs The Snake and throws him into the water, apparently killing him?? Sea-Bolt: "The Reign of the Sub-Humans!" Johnny Ortiz (writer, artist), Dan Beltran (co-writer), Mark Prudeaux (inker) Sea-Bolt disrupts Zarro's torpedo attack on a cargo ship. Zarro captures Sea-Bolt. Dr. Monster: "The Origin of Dr. Monster, Part 1: The Cosmic Crime!" Johnny Ortiz (story, layouts), Dan Beltran (writer), Vince Musacchia (penciller, inker) Count D'sa tricks Man-Star into killing an unarmed peace officer. Planetary sentries arrest Man-Star for murder. The Man Called Santa: "'Twas The Night Before Doom!" Johnny Ortiz (writer, artist), Chris Roberts (co-writer) A Martian flying saucer digs underground in the Nevada desert, then resurfaces. Santa and his mighty reindeer chase the saucer in their orna-copter. Santa jumps onto the saucer and is captured by Satan, who is under the control of the Martian Nodge. Cloud Buster: "Cry, The Bedeviled Planet!" Johnny Ortiz (writer, penciller), Dan Beltran (co-writer), Mark Prudeaux (inker) Cloud Buster battles a cybernetic dragon. As Zeta Base is evacuated, Professor Rendell reveals himself as a traitor and kills Karl. As Fog Wraiths enter Zeta Base and attack, Gail detonates a nuclear bomb to destroy the base and protect its secrets."
The only thing that was different in reading the above stories from the 'Good Old Days', is that the stories here in 'Silver Comics' were in black and white. Which was OK to me, because the storylines and art were pretty darn good! (I have mentioned before that I don't like the 'Essentials' format because they are in black and white, but that's because I originally read them in the color format!) Here's my thoughts on each feature: THE END: This feature was more pre-Code style to me. That is to say the heavy usage of black inks in the panels, and the way the panels were 'cut up'. Altho it was a little out of chronological order for 'Silver Comics', it was a good feature, and the Silver Age of Comics did start in 1956, so OK, it was an 'early' Silver Age story... THE SEA-BOLT: Yeah! Like I was reading a Subby story in Tales To Astonish... very enjoyable! DOCTOR MONSTER: Good Origin Story! THE MAN CALLED SANTA: What a concept! CLOUD BUSTER: Reminded me of some of the early tales when the MoNSTer comics were evolving into Sci-Fi and then Superheroes comics! I truly enjoyed this first issue of the series! This would be a good introductory issue to start off tweens into reading comics! Plus it is a good issue for those that grew up in the 'Marvel Age of Comics', to remind them that comics can be Fun! No 'Grim n' Gritty' in these pages! Silver Comics #1 truly is a 'homage' to the 'Silver Age of Comics'! It is a refreshing alternative to what I mostly see on the stands nowadays! And the front cover by Frank Brunner definitely is just a 'taste' of the goodies you'll find inside this issue! You can find out about the latest updates plus what you can purchase from the Silver Comics folks by going to their Facebook Fan Page by clicking here! BTW.... Whereas Tina and I don't publish comics or books (yet?) or set up at comic cons anymore, (except at our own Facebook Virtual Comic Con Dealer Table), we do have thousands of indies and mainstream comics in our own online store. Be sure to check out our new listings of comics, graphic novels, Comic Con exclusives and more pop culture items for sale in our online eBay Featured Store that our blogs are based on! It's due to sales at this online store that keep us going with the ability to post blogs like the one you have read here today! Thanks again to all of YOU reading our current and archived blog posts! We do blog daily on comic book creators, comic book reviews, and other pop culture news and events including some TV shows and theatrical films! ~ Michael @ ComicBookCollectorsBlog.com
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