Longbox Junk Halloween Horror 2023 part 4 - The Many Ghosts of Dr. Graves #56 (1976)

Welcome to Longbox Junk, the blog stuffed absolutely FULL of comic reviews nobody asked me to write!

October is here! There's a nip of cold in the air and Wal-Mart has their Christmas trees out! Only a few more weeks until I get to see our otherwise very normal 40-something secretary stumbling drunk in a sexy kitty costume at the company Halloween party!

But THAT'S not the Longbox Junk Halloween party.  Let's keep THIS party going by inviting a few more ghosts, shall we?  WE SHALL!

THE MANY GHOSTS OF DR. GRAVES #56

Charlton (1976)

COVER: Mike Zeck

THE COVER:

For some reason,,I don't like this cover very much.  It's not a bad cover. . .I've seen a LOT worse, trust me.  It's very nicely-done and filled with detail.  I don't know why it's not hitting the spot.  I think maybe I just don't really like the monster, because I do like almost everything else here.

Anyway, for Mike Zeck fans, this is his first published cover, so there's that.  Let's get inside!

THE STORIES:

Three full-length stories, a one page filler, and a two page text story pack this comic FULL of spooky stuff.  Let's take a look at each one in their own turn. . .

AN AMUSING PLACE

SCRIPT: Joe Gill (as Tom Tuna)

PENCILS: Jose Ferrer

INKS: Jose Ferrer

THE STORY:

We follow a young man as he flees the scene of a murder. . .a robbery gone wrong.  Pursued by the police, he takes refuge in an old amusement park that is closed on this rainy night.

The killer quickly realizes that something is terribly wrong with the park as the lights, music and rides turn on and off by themselves.  As he runs through the park, trying to escape, the rides and other attractions torment the young man.

Later that night, two police officers find his dead body.  Recognizing him as the killer they've been looking for, they find it ironic that he died in the very amusement park owned by the man he had murdered!  DUN-DUN-DUNNN!!

The End.

THE REVIEW:

And we start off with yet ANOTHER "Murdered Man Gets Revenge From Beyond The Grave" ghost story.  *sigh*  The 2023 Longbox Junk Halloween party is having a bit of trouble finding some good ghost stories, I guess.  I mean, it's not a BAD story, it's well-written and I really like the dark and moody artwork. . .it's just that. . .come on.  Is EVERY ghost story in these Bronze Age anthologies going to tug on the same story hook?  

Overall, not a BAD story, and the art is really good.  I'd just like to see something different.

 NEXT!

THE GUARDIAN!

SCRIPT: ? (Joe Gill?)

PENCILS: Steve Ditko

INKS: Steve Ditko

THE STORY:

When a thief learns that the loyal protector of an old man's safe stuffed with cash has died, leaving the loot unguarded, he decides to make an easy score.  Unfortunately, he finds the safe still protected. . .by the guard's GHOST! DUN-DUN-DUNNN!!

THE REVIEW:

This one page filler is just that.  Filler.  It's painfully predictable and the art by comic legend Steve Ditko looks sketchy and unfinished.  It's cool that they told a whole story in six panels, but other than that, there's not much going for this one.

NEXT!

HOUSE GUEST

SCRIPT: Joe Gill

PENCILS: Charles Nicholas

INKS: Vince Alascia

THE STORY:

A famous retired actress comes to Doctor Graves to hire him for an investigation of her mansion.  It seems that there's a ghost wandering about.  She's not frightened, but just wants to bring the spirit some peace, if she can.  

Doctor Graves agrees to take the case.  Later, at the mansion, Graves studies the history of the old house and discovers that one of the owners disappeared in 1871.  His younger brother was declared heir and married the missing man's widow.  Graves has found his ghost!

Doctor Graves discovers a sealed off portion of the mansion by studying the architect's drawings.  There, he finds the Skeletal remains of the long-missing man and they are laid to rest with a proper burial. . .hopefully bringing the wandering spirit some peace.

After the funeral, a handsome man introduces himself to the actress as a distant relative of the man who they just buried.  She is taken by the man's kindness and, some time later, they are married.  Doctor Graves follows the relationship with interest, because the man knew details about the case that only Doctor Graves and those who had been alive in 1871 should have known. 

Had the spirit of the missing man somehow inhabited another body?  

I guess we'll never know! DUN-DUN-DUNN!!

THE REVIEW:

Okay. . .not bad.  At least it wasn't ANOTHER "Revenge From Beyond The Grave" story.  I liked the angle of Doctor Graves. . .ghost investigator for hire.  I don't think I would mind reading a whole issue based on the cases of Doctor Graves.  I mean, his name IS right there on the title.   The art on this one looks more like something you'd see in a romance comic.  That's not a bad thing.  It's a good fit for this calm, sedate tale of ghost investigating.

Overall, a pretty good little story that I wouldn't mind reading more of.  I'm just glad it wasn't another ghostly revenge tale.

AND SPEAKING OF GHOSTLY REVENGE TALES. . .

GHOSTLY RETRIBUTION?

(2 page text story with illustrations)

SCRIPT: ?

ILLUSTRATIONS: Tom Sutton

THE STORY: 

A rich heiress hires Detective Le Fleur to investigate the hostile ghost of her former husband haunting her and her new husband.  She's convinced that the ghost won't rest until she is dead.  Le Fleur was a good friend of her deceased husband and no believer in ghosts.  He thinks there's something else afoot.

Later, as the detective hides, he hears screams coming from the woman's rooms.  He confronts the killer. . .her young husband, wearing her former husband's suit and made up with phosphorescent paint.  He's scared his wife to death!

When asked why he didn't stop him from killing her if he knew who the culprit was, Le Fleur reveals that she had killed her former husband, his good friend, in much the same way.  Now justice is served.  To seal the case, Le Fleur kills the young husband, leaving no witnesses beside himself.

The End 

THE REVIEW:

Very nice! A ghost story that's not a ghost story at all.  This little text piece is actually one of the better parts of this issue.  It's another ghost investigation tale, but with a twist that I actually did not see coming.  Nicely done.

AND FINALLY. . .

THE MONSTROUS MAN

SCRIPT: Joe Gill

PENCILS: Mike Zeck

INKS: Mike Zeck

THE STORY:

The Wooding Circus has come to town.  The cruel owner, Noel Barr, proudly displays the crown jewel of his freak show. . .TERRORO, THE MISSING LINK!

The half-man creature assaults a young woman from his cage, causing her boyfriend to attack him in her defense.  After the incident and the circus closing for the night, we learn that Terroro is actually a well-spoken (but violent) man named Johnny.

The next day, a deputy arrives with a notice that the circus is being sued by the young couple Terroro attacked.  Barr flies into a rage and cruelly punishes Johnny with the electric belt and bracelets Johnny wears, controlled by Barr's cane.

Barr tells Terroro that the lawsuit will ruin him, so they're going to pay the couple a little visit.

That night, Barr and Terroro sneak to the couple's home, but they are caught in the act and Johnny is shot before they can make their getaway.  Barr berates the badly-wounded Terroro as he tries to figure out how to hide his involvement. 

As Barr and Terroro argue, Johnny realizes that Barr has lost his cane, the controller of the shock belt and bracelets he wears, during their escape.  The next day, the battered and broken body of Barr is discovered in Terroro's cage.  We are told that Johnny later suffered a heart attack and died as well.

The End.

THE REVIEW:

Okay.  That was NOT a ghost story.  Maybe more of a "Misunderstood Monster Gets Revenge" story?  Well, no matter WHAT the story framework might be, it's not a very good story.  The art, on the other hand. . .Mike Zeck provides some of his early work and does NOT disappoint!  The art is really detailed and eye-catching.  It's the only thing saving this story.

Overall, a disappointing story backed up with fantastic art.  That's all that really needs to be said.

CONCLUSION

All in all, not bad, but it could be better.  Some of the stories are pretty bad.  Some are pretty good.  The art, except for Ditko's on the one page filler, was consistently good, with interesting and varied styles.  The text piece was surprisingly good as well.  Good taken with bad, I'd recommend this issue to horror comic fans.  It's not the greatest horror comic I've ever read, but it's a decent read and worth a look.

The Many Ghosts of Doctor Graves was a pretty long-running series, clocking in at 72 issues.  Some of the stories have been reprinted, but there's no collection of the series, so you'll have to dig the individual issues out of back issue bins to read them.  Fortunately, issues of this series are pretty common finds in the bargain bins.  I've collected quite a few of them over the years, so they're out there if you want to find them.

UP NEXT. . .

Let's take a look at an issue of one of my all-time favorite comic series. . .

WEIRD WAR TALES!

Be there or be square.

Longbox Junk Retro Review - Emergency! #3

Welcome to Longbox Junk!  It's the blog absolutely STUFFED with comic book reviews nobody ever asked me to write.

Every now and then, I like to take a step back away from my usual bargain bin fare and shine the spotlight on one of the older (and possibly, but not always, more "valuable") comics in my collection.  This is one of those times.  

Strap into the Longbox Junk time machine, because it's time for a Retro Review!

The comic at hand holds a lot of nostalgia for me.  Reading it takes me back to my younger days in the 1970's in a big way because it's a comic book tie-in to one of my favorite T.V. shows back then. . .Emergency!  

The show (and the comic) follows the day-to-day exploits of a team of paramedics (John Gage and Roy DeSoto of squad 51).  As a kid, I LOVED this show!  My brother and I used to watch it any time we could.  And when we couldn't watch it, we were in the yard playing it! 

 After my brother left active duty in the Army, he actually became a paramedic.  I think maybe those days in the 70's playing and watching Emergency! might have had a little something to do with that.

The show itself was a pretty big hit in its time (lasting a respectable 6 seasons).  I'm not sure how well it's remembered these days, but I have the feeling it's one of those kinds of shows that people don't think about much now, but when you mention it to someone of a certain age there's an "Oh yeah. . .I remember that" sort of thing.

I was never aware that Emergency! Even HAD comics until recently, when I found this issue at a little antique shop a few towns over that my wife wanted to check out.  I could NOT wait to get home and read this baby!

So yeah. . .big fan of the Emergency! T.V. show.  Now the question is whether or not the comics can stand up and deliver some of that nostalgia I have when I think of long-ago afternoons playing paramedic with my brother.  That's a pretty tall order, but let's find out!

EMERGENCY! #3

Charlton (1976)

COVER: Jack Sparling

THE COVER:

We're off to a good start because THAT is one great cover!  Beautifully painted by prolific Bronze Age artist Jack Sparling, this cover has a real sense of motion and action. The splashes of bright and dark colors combine to give this a feeling of chaos barely being controlled by the featured firemen.  This isn't just a great comic book cover, it's a great piece of art, period.  Let's get inside!

Two stories in this issue. . .an extra-sized comic story and a short two-page text piece (With some of John Byrne's earliest comic work illustrating it!).  Let's take a look at each one in their own turn.

ONE BIG HAPPY FAMILY

SCRIPT: Joe Gill

PENCILS: Jordi Franch Cubells (As J. Franch)

THE STORY:

A new fireman is transferred to Station 51 from another station for personality conflicts with the men there.  Joe Diskin quickly lives up to his reputation as rude and unfriendly at the station, but when he's on the job, he's a skilled and brave firefighter that helps the paramedics of Squad 51 through a rough situation while rescuing people trapped in a raging fire.

Thinking that the men of Station 51 just got off on the wrong foot with Diskin, Paramedic John Gage decides to try and make friends with the new man.  Unfortunately, despite his best efforts, Gage runs into a brick wall of unfriendly behavior from Diskin, causing Gage to wonder if maybe there's no getting through to him.

Despite Gage's failure to make friends with Diskin, the new firefighter once again proves his worth while assisting the Paramedics during a harrowing rescue operation during a blaze at a power plant, risking his life to keep the flames at bay while Gage and his partner, Roy DeSoto, save trapped workers.

As the days go by, Gage is more determined than ever to break through Diskin's hard shell, even though the rest of the men at Station 51 have given up.  Finally, Gage manages to get Diskin to socialize with him by challenging him to a handball game. 

After returning to the station, Gage and DeSoto discover that the other men of Station 51 are passing around a petition for their Chief to transfer Diskin to yet another station.  The Paramedics immediately stand up for Diskin, telling the others that the new man may not be friendly, but he's a good firefighter that deserves as much of a chance as anyone else.  Unknown to them, Diskin overhears the whole thing.

Later, as Diskin assists the paramedics during another fire, he finally has a friendly word for the team as he challenges them to another handball game.  It seems that Diskin has decided he wants to be part of the Station 51 family after all.  

The End.

THE REVIEW:

Okay.  Not bad!  I wanted some of that nostalgia from Emergency! and I got it.  This story reads like a "lost" episode of the show!  I like that it took just as much time with what was going on at the station as it did with action scenes, just like many of the T.V. show episodes did. 

There's really not that much to the story. . .a new guy has trouble fitting in and Johnny Gage takes it on himself to try to bring him into the "family". . .but it's that simple framework that allows the writer to provide a story where I can almost HEAR the voices of the actors from the T.V. show as I read it.

The art for this story delivers in a big way!  A lot of the Charlton comics had great covers and not so great art inside.  This comic is not one of those.  The artist manages to mostly capture the likenesses of the T.V. actors, but where the art REALLY shines is during the action scenes of billowing smoke and chaos!  Some of the station scenes are a little sketchy, but the firefighting action more than makes up for it.

All in all, just a great little story!  I'll tell you true. . .it makes me want to go watch some Emergency!

Let's see what the backup text story is about, shall we?  We shall!

TRIAL BY FIRE

SCRIPT: ?

ILLUSTATIONS: John Byrne

THE STORY:

While his usual partner, Roy DeSoto is on vacation, Johnny Gage is teamed up with a new paramedic who transferred from the firefighting team.  Although the new man seems to be a good paramedic, one of the other firemen warns Gage that the new guy quit firefighting because he lost his nerve after being injured in a fire.  Fortunately, after being rescued by the new man, Gage realizes that the warning was off base and the new paramedic will fit in just fine.

The End.

The entire story is scanned below. . .

THE REVIEW:

This story follows the same theme as the main comic offering above. . .a new guy having trouble fitting in and John Gage helping him along.  It's. . .okay.  It's not bad, but I would have rather seen a bit more page space given to the main story instead.

I guess the main draw here is that this actually has some of John Byrne's earliest comic work.  There's not much of it, being spot illustrations for a text piece, but you can definitely see a master's hand at work here, even in the tiny amount we're given. 

Overall, this backup story is okay.  I personally think the space could have been put to better use expanding the main story for a couple more pages.  The art is an interesting artifact of comic history. 

CONCLUSION

So there it is.  Emergency! #3.  

I'm glad I found this comic and now have it in my collection.  It really DOES read just like an episode of the T.V. show. . .to the point that I could almost hear the voices of the actors in my head when I read it.  This story could EASILY have been adapted for the show.  

Is it the best comic I've ever read?  No.  Not even close.  But what this DID do for me was take me back in time to the 70's like I was taking a trip in a paper time machine and left me wanting more!  I really don't think there's much more I could ask from a comic book.

If you were a fan of Emergency! Then I heartily recommend this comic.  If you're looking for something a little unusual that doesn't involve superheroes, then check this out.  I'm probably a little biased because the T.V. show holds some great memories for me, but it's really a decent comic even without that connection.

The series was very short. . .four issues only.  There was a second Emergency! series (also from Charlton) that also ran for only 4 issues.  I don't see that they've been collected in any way, so I guess finding these in the wild or buying the issues online is the only way to get them.   Luckily, it doesn't seem the prices are too bad.

Up Next. . .

I'm not really sure!  It's flea market and yard sale season and I've had a REALLY good run of luck finding great comics out there so far this year.  So I might do a few more retro reviews spotlighting some of them.

In any case, be there or be square!

Longbox Junk Halloween Retro Review - Haunted #1 (1971)

Welcome to Longbox Junk, where I write comic reviews that nobody ever asked for!

There's a crisp coolness in the air. The leaves are beginning to fall. It's October! It's time for some annual Longbox Junk Halloween Fun! That's where I dig through my collection and unearth all manner of spooky or scary comics and post as many as I can over the next 31 days!

For those of you who were enjoying my series of Longbox Junk Retro Reviews, I sincerely apologize and. . .HAH! Just kidding! We're going to start the Halloween Fun off with another Retro Review!

I noticed as I was digging through my many longboxes seeking out older comics to feature in my recent run of Retro Reviews that I actually have quite a good handful of older "horror" anthology titles including Witching Hour, Haunted, Chamber of Darkness, House of Mystery, Monsters Unleashed, and MORE! More than enough of them to carry this whole month!

SO. . .

I'm gonna keep the Retro Review fun going right on through Halloween.
Welcome to the first Longbox Junk Halloween RETRO Horror month!

Let's get things started by cranking up the Longbox Junk paper time machine and setting the dial for 1971 so we can take a look at Haunted #1, featuring legendary comic artist Steve Ditko!

Ready? Atomic batteries fully charged! *throws giant switch*
WOOOOOOOOOOO-EEEEEEEE-OOOO!

Longbox Junk Retro Halloween Fun. . .Let's do it!

HAUNTED #1

CHARLTON (1971)

COVER: STEVE DITKO

THE COVER:

I absolutely LOVE this cover! It makes regular appearances on my Halloween version of the "Wall O' Covers" in my office at work.  I love the stark white background.  I love the brilliant colors.  I love the way Ditko uses the ghostly eyes and mouth as floating picture frames previewing the stories inside. There's nothing I don't like about this cover!  

THE STORIES:

SCRIPTS: Joe Gill

PENCILS: Steve Ditko

INKS: Steve Ditko

There's three full comic stories and a short text piece in this issue, all by the same team.

Let's take a look at the stories each in turn, shall we?  We shall!

THE ROOM OF MADNESS

A powerful businessman purchases a cursed Persian carpet and quickly descends into madness before becoming the rug's final victim. . .

A pretty straightforward story following a steady track from showing the rug being cursed in centuries past through a few owners (including Hitler) to its final owner and victim. This story really didn't grab me at all.  It's not BAD, there's just no real thrills or chills to be found.  The little ghostly narrator appearing in almost every panel is sort of annoying.  Ditko's art seems to be lacking something as well.  Some panels seem sketchy and sort of unfinished.

Not a great start.  Let's move on to the next tale. . .

REVENGE OF THE SLAVE GHOST!

An evil man discovers the means to bring spirits to the earthly plane through science.  After he successfully manages to enslave the spirit of a good man to do his evil deeds, he goes too far and finds himself enslaved in turn by malevolent ghosts.

Another story that's just sort of interesting, but not really memorable.  Like the first story, it's extremely straightforward and lacks any sort of thrills or chills that might be expected in a horror/supernatural comic.  The ending doesn't really make much sense either.  It just sort of comes out of nowhere, like the writer just decided it was time to wrap up the story any way he could.  Ditko's art here is an improvement over the first story, but still seems to be lacking a certain something.

Moving along. . .

IT'S ABOUT TYME

A scientific genius with powerful psychic abilities named Mister Tyme invents a machine that can predict the stock market.  A rival steals the machine's data, but kills Tyme's assistant in the process.  Tyme is framed for the murder, but uses his psychic powers to show the police what really happened.

This story was pretty bad.  It doesn't make much sense at all, and seems like the writer just took a bunch of concepts and threw them against the wall to see if any would stick.  It looks like Mister Tyme is supposed to be being built into a recurring character, but I don't have any other issues of Haunted to see if that's what happened.  In any case, this story is weak and all over the place.  Likewise, Ditko's art is all over the place, swerving in quality from panel to panel on each page of the story. 

AND FINALLY. . .

TRANSMUTATION TROUBLE (One Page Text-Only Story)

A famous hunter defies popular opinion by his belief in witchcraft.  He discovers a herd of shape-shifting deer and wounds one, discovering the next day that it is the daughter of a friend.

This is one of most poorly-written text stories I've ever found in a comic.  Look. . .I realize that these text pieces are basically page fillers and probably the feature that is paid the least amount of attention to.  I'm pretty sure that most of the time they're never even read.  But still. . .a LITTLE bit of effort could be expected.  This reads like something a twelve year old kid would handwrite in a spiral notebook as the first chapter of a never-finished story that he lost interest in as soon as he got his bike fixed.  Not a great way to end the comic.

CONCLUSION

I bought this comic for the awesome cover. . .and truthfully, that cover is the best thing to be found here.  Overall, this whole comic was pretty disappointing.  None of the stories were memorable in any way, and struggled to reach a high bar of "Sorta interesting".  

For a lot of comic fans, the main draw here isn't the writing, though. . .it's going to be Steve Ditko's art.  Unfortunately (with the exception of the cover) this is not the best example of Ditko's art talents.  

There are those who think that Ditko can do no wrong, and I'm not here to try and knock a comic legend off his well-deserved pedestal, but a simple look at the few pages I scanned above will tell the story. . .the art here is average at best,  and fairly poor in places.  EVERY comic talent, no matter how great, has phoned it in from time to time.  This comic looks like one of those times for Ditko.

All in all, unless you're a big Steve Ditko fan, I can't recommend this comic.  It's kind of a shame because that awesome cover builds a sense of expectation, but this is just one of those times when I have to say that they all can't be winners.

Up Next. . .

More Longbox Junk Retro Halloween Fun!

We didn't get off to a great start with Haunted #1, so I'm sending the paper time machine all the way back to the Golden Age and before that pesky Comic Code thing. 1953's Chamber of Chills #17!

Be there or be square!

Wayback Wednesday - The Six Million Dollar Man #1

"Steve Austin, astronaut.  A man barely alive."

"We can rebuild him.  We have the technology.
We can make him better than he was.
Better. . .stronger. . .faster."

There might be some disagreement out there, but in MY extremely humble opinion, Steve Austin, The Six Million Dollar Man (also known to us kids at the time just as The Bionic Man) is the ultimate 70's superhero.  

There are some that might claim that he isn't a superhero at all, and belongs in the realm of science fiction. . . but as far as I'm concerned, the work of the finest scientific minds fused with the soul of a man isn't just A great 70's superhero, but is THE superhero that defines the 70's.  

Science today is taken for granted.  I'm probably making myself sound old, but in the 70's, Astronauts were still the great American Hero.  The moon landings were still fresh in the collective memory.  The world was on the edge of major change in technology.  You could SEE the future coming.

The Six Million Dollar Man was a reflection of these things.  He was technology ahead of his time in a world that was advancing toward major breakthroughs, but not quite there just yet.  This was a character that seemed possible and real in a way that someone like Superman could never be.

I don't think I speak for ALL the children of the 70's, but I'm pretty sure I speak for a lot of them when I say that the Bionic Man was OUR hero for OUR time.  Steve Austin always used his powers for the greater good, even if it meant going against the direct orders of his O.S.I. "controllers", and THAT makes him a hero, whether he wears a cape and mask or not.

THAT SAID. . .

My love of this character is based almost entirely on the extremely popular (at the time) T.V. show and accompanying movies starring Lee Majors.  At the time, I didn't even know that there WERE Six Million Dollar Man comic books.  The spinners at my local stores when I was a kid only had DC and Marvel comics. . .maybe a few Disney comics for the little kids.  It wasn't until the early 90's when I started seriously collecting comics instead of just reading them that I discovered the existence of companies like Charlton.

I managed to FINALLY find a few of the Charlton Six Million Dollar Man comics (This one plus Issues #2 and #6) in the back issue bins of a comic shop in Idaho while visiting one of my nieces a few months ago.  So how do the comic books stand up against my nostalgic memories of the T.V. show featuring one of my favorite superheroes of all?

Let's find out!

THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN #1

CHARLTON (1976)

SCRIPTS: Joe Gill

PENCILS: Joe Staton

COVER: Joe Staton

There's two comic stories and a short text story in this book.  Let's take a look at them each. . .

THE BEGINNING OF THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN

Colonel Steve Austin is a veteran Astronaut and test pilot who barely survives a bad landing in an experimental aircraft.  Oscar Goldman (An agent of  O.S.I., the Office of Scientific Intelligence. . .or Office of Strategic Information, depending on the source ) informs Austin's doctors that the government has taken an interest in him, and is willing to pay to "improve" the injured man with millions of dollars worth of cybernetic implants.

After the successful operation, Goldman tells Austin that the price for his life is that he now works for the O.S.I., and after some intensive training missions, Colonel  Steve Austin. . .the Six Million Dollar Man. . .is ready for his first assignment.

The End.

The first story in this comic is basically the origin story of the Six Million Dollar Man, expanded out from the narration at the beginning of the T.V. show to give a bit more detail to Austin's deadly accident and the process that led to him becoming the Six Million Dollar Man.  As a big fan of the character, I REALLY liked this story a lot, and it made me like the character even more!

One thing that especially stood out is the last panel pictured below (the page very nicely shows the struggle to keep Austin alive) where the critically-injured test pilot regains consciousness for the first time and realizes the shape he's in.  The first words from his mouth are "Why? Why didn't you let me die?"

That's a really dark place that the show never went to, and that one single panel gives the character a layer of depth and reality that I'd never considered before.

Also unlike the show, one of the training montage panels shows that Austin's bionic parts can be swapped out for different missions. . .in this case, retractable swim fins for an underwater training mission.  The T.V. show probably didn't have the budget (or special effects technology) to show this aspect of the character, but now that I've seen it, it makes perfect sense.

The line art and inking on this first story are both very nicely done. . .unfortunately, the art is marred by extremely sloppy and occasionally garish coloring.  It's a damn shame, to tell the truth, because there are several scenes that SHOULD be epic and dramatic that are practically ruined by the bad colors obscuring the great art underneath.

Overall, if this one story were all that there was to this comic, I would be more than happy.  It's a great expanded origin story for the Six Million Dollar Man that goes beyond the sketch we got at the beginning of the T.V. show.  It's pretty short, and the otherwise great art is botched with bad coloring, but to me, this story is worth the price of the comic alone.

NEXT!

THE SECRET WEB

Colonel Steve Austin is assigned to fly an SR-71 spy plane over China to gather intelligence on a new long-range missile system.  A malfunction causes the jet to crash near the missile base, and Austin is captured.  The sadistic director of the base decides to use both Col. Austin and a Chinese scientist (a woman named Nai Ku) that has been working with O.S.I. to field test a deadly combat robot also being developed at the secret weapons base.

After a tense battle, Nai Ku manages to reprogram the robot to attack the Chinese soldiers guarding the laboratory, making it possible for her and Austin to escape.  After commandeering a helicopter, Austin uses his laser eye to destroy the experimental missiles before making their way to a nearby airfield to steal a jet and fly back to friendly territory.

Back at O.S.I. headquarters, it's revealed that the intelligence gathering was a ruse, the jet was purposely sabotaged to crash near the secret base, and that the REAL mission was to extract Nai Ku.  Steve takes Oscar Goldman's dangerous subterfuge in stride, chalking it up to just another day at O.S.I.

The End.

After the great opening story, I felt a little let down by this one.  Not that it's BAD, it's just that it had to follow a pretty good act.  While the story itself seemed a bit contrived and weak, there were parts of it that I really liked a lot.  First off, we got to see Steve Austin in the kind of adventure that a T.V. budget and 70's special effects could never have pulled off. . .him piloting an SR-71 Blackbird over China. . .

. . .and then destroying a missile with his LASER EYE!

Like I said about the first story, this story shows new powers for The Six Million Dollar Man that make perfect sense once you see them.  Laser Eye. . .how could they NOT have had that on the T.V. show?  I feel a bit cheated now, that all those times I played Bionic Man with my friends, I COULD have been zapping them with my awesome laser eye!

On the bad side of things is that about half of this story is basically a "punch the giant robot" comic cliche battle that's STILL being used as story filler to this very day (Black Widow #1, 2019.  I'm looking right at YOU).

The line art and inking remain pretty strong in this story, perhaps just a BIT weaker than in the opening story, and still badly marred by sloppy coloring that occasionally obscures the good art underneath.  One thing I really DID like about the art in this story is the way that Austin's bionic powers were portrayed.  

In the show, it went to slow-mo and we got that iconic "NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA" sound.  Hard to do in a comic book.  Instead, the panels break down into smaller panels focusing closer and closer on the bionic action.  It's a nice compromise that works very well. . .

Overall, this story is a bit weaker than the first, but I still found it pretty entertaining.  It showcased the kind of missions and new powers for Steve Austin that the budget and technological limits of 70's T.V. could never have given us.

AND FINALLY. . .

NO WAY OUT

The last story in this comic is a two page text piece. . .

After successfully landing an experimental aircraft from orbit for NASA  (obviously an early version of what the 70's were imagining the Space Shuttle would be), all Colonel Steve Austin wants is a 10 day rest.  Oscar Goldman and the O.S.I. have other plans and Steve's next mission is planned for the following day.

To make sure he stays put, Goldman has Steve put under guard, but the Bionic Man uses his laser eye to make a stealthy escape.  Later, he calls Goldman to remind him that he's still a man and not just a tool, and that he'll be back in 10 days.

The End.

I liked this little story quite a bit.  It's well written and perfectly captures the "Man" in the Six Million Dollar Man in a very short space.  I'm not normally a fan of text stories taking up space in comic books that could be used for actual comic stories, but this is one of the exceptions.

CONCLUSION

As a fan of the Six Million Dollar Man, I've been wanting to get my hands on some of these comic books for years.  I'm happy to say that I wasn't disappointed.  

This comic had a fantastic opening origin story that gave the character some unexpected depth, a somewhat weaker but still entertaining main story that showcased the kind of missions that 70's T.V. could never give us, and a short text finisher that illustrated that there's still a Man in the Six Million Dollar Man.

Despite sloppy coloring, the line and ink art was strong, and despite some comic cliche robot punching, the writing was likewise strong.  All in all, this is a pretty great comic book for fans of The Six Million Dollar Man.

BUT. . .

What about for those who AREN'T already fans of the character?  I had my comic lovin' daughter give it a read.  She's watched a few episodes of the T.V. show with me here and there, but old T.V. shows aren't really her thing.

She also found the coloring to be extremely sloppy, but her general opinion of this comic is that it's pretty good, and better than some of the superhero comics of the 70's she's read.  I asked her if she'd want to read another one and she was like, "Sure, why not?"  So I'll chalk that up in the win column.

That said. . .

My daughter also pointed out to me that to HER eyes, some of the dialogue was pretty cringeworthy in a casual 70's misogynist way.  Steve Austin gives the female scientist he rescues in the second story two "Honey's", two "Baby's" and a "Sweetheart" in the space of 15 pages and about 1 hour of knowing her.  She found it more "Funny-Cringe" than "Offended-Cringe", but I can agree that the Bionic Man's swagger is definitely 70's-Tastic.

So. . .in the end, sloppy coloring marring the otherwise good art, some cliche robot punching, and a bit of 70's dialogue that might fall flat on younger readers doesn't stop this comic from being a good read for both fans of The Six Million Dollar Man or those new to the character.

Up Next. . .

Back to Longbox Junk business as usual with Marvel's 1983 4 issue "Cloak and Dagger" mini.

Be there or be square!

Wayback Wednesday - Cowboy Western #57

WAYBACK WEDNESDAY

COWBOY WESTERN #57

As far as popular entertainment goes, "The Western" is a genre that has all but disappeared.  Historical research and general hindsight has pretty much washed away the shine that used to glow from the legendary figures of the old west, showing them to be deeply flawed (and for the most part, mentally disturbed) individuals on BOTH sides of the law.  The strife between brave cowboys and vile redskins has been revealed as government-sponsored genocide.  The heroes have become the villains.

But that hasn't always been the case.  There was a time in popular American entertainment when the Cowboy was king.  Western movies, T.V. shows, books, and comics were dominated by tales of the wild west.  Men of stern character fought to tame a lawless frontier full of outlaws and savage indian tribes. 

 The "Golden" age of  western entertainment is arguably the 1950's.  Classic movies such as The Big Country, High Noon, 3:10 to Yuma, Shane, Rio Bravo, and many more ruled the box office.  Gunsmoke, Rawhide, The Rifleman, Wagon Train, Maverick, The Lone Ranger, and others were the most popular shows on television.  Songs by Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, Tex Ritter, and other "Singing Cowboys" were all over the radio.  

And then there were the comic books.  Kid Colt, All Star Western, Rawhide Kid, Lone Ranger, Cisco Kid, and so many others.  If you love Westerns as much as I do, then there's no way you can't consider the 1950's as the single greatest era of Western entertainment of them all.

On today's "Wayback Wednesday" we're going to take a look inside a random comic from that Golden Age of Westerns. . .Issue #57 of Charlton's "Cowboy Western", from October of 1955.

I'm gonna review what has probably NEVER been reviewed, because that's what I do here.  Let's get to it!

COWBOY WESTERN #57 (Charlton)

First off, I can't really credit or mention by name any writers, artists, inkers, color artists, etc. . .on this issue except for Stan Campbell, whose signature is on the cover.  It's obvious from the different art styles and writing that at least 4 artists and 3 writers worked on this issue, which covers a pretty wide territory. . .4 stories between 4 and 7 pages long, 2 one page stories, and a 2 page prose story.  I have to say, that for a kids dime this comic was packed FULL of Western goodness!

So let's break it all down. . .

THE TRAP

Wild Bill Hickok saves the life of an outcast Comanche brave, then helps him regain his place in the tribe after helping reveal the conspiracy behind the crime that led to his banishment.

This story is well-written, and probably the best of the bunch.  I can tell by the look of it that Stan Campbell (the cover artist) probably also drew this story.  The coloring is a little heavy-handed on the Indians, and the backgrounds are sparse, but all in all, this was a very nice story.

THE LAST SHOW

Annie Oakley foils a robbery at one of her shows, then when the escaped criminals try to get their revenge on her down the road at another show, she turns the tables and foils them AGAIN.

Another pretty well-written story.  I liked the art on this one better than the opener, except the coloring was extremely sloppy on a couple of pages.  You can definitely tell this is a product of the 1950's from Annie Oakley's hairdo, wasp waist, and big bullet-bra boobs. . .but I'm pretty sure that 50's boys reading this didn't mind one little bit.

THE RANCH BOYS

This one page "joke" story was pretty bad.  Lousy art, sloppy colors, and a weak joke.  The whole thing was pretty pointless except as a space-filler.  Moving on. . .

GHOSTS IN GHOST TOWN

A two page text story with no illustrations, it's actually not bad at all.  Pretty good, really.  It's about some students trying to pull a prank on their professor and him turning the tables and scaring the hell out of them instead.  I sort of wish they would have skipped the "Ranch Boys" thing and made this story a 3 page illustrated story instead.

CASCADE CITY

Jesse James and his brother Frank are trying to lay low in the town of Cascade, but when the hotel they are staying in is attacked, they step in to stop the robbery and are forced on the run once again, despite their heroic actions.

I liked this story quite a bit.  The "outlaws on the run, but doing good deeds" Robin Hood feel of it was very nice, and the art was also some of the best in this issue, despite some very sloppy coloring in certain parts of it.

CHUCK WAGON GUS

Another one pager, but better than the first one in this issue.  The art was nicely done, with an exaggerated, comical look to it and the joke was actually sort of funny.

THE RENEGADE ROBBERS

Golden Arrow (a blonde white man with a bow and arrow described as "The Robin Hood of The West) helps save an indian chief from an attack by another tribe, then helps recover a box of stolen jewels.

This was the worst of the regular length stories.  The art was sketchy and looked really rushed.  The colors were extremely sloppy through the whole thing.  The writing was just. . .bad.  The dialogue, especially with the indian characters, was awful.  The whole plot of the story was ridiculous.  NOT a good way to end the issue.

CONCLUSION

Overall, this book was 70% good and 30% crap.  The best story was the opener "The Trap", and the worst was the closer, "The Renegade Robbers".  The art in general was decent, with some very nice panels to be found throughout.  Unfortunately, the sloppy coloring through the whole issue marred some of the better art.  I have to say that for a comic book from the 1950's viewed from a perspective of 60 years of revisionist history and western deconstruction, I was surprised to find myself liking it as much as I did.    

See you next Wayback Wednesday!