Non Fiction Book Reviews #99

DC COMICS:

SIXTY YEARS OF THE WORLD'S FAVORITE COMIC BOOK HEROES

by Les Daniels

In February 1935, a writer known as Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholas launched a publication called New Fun: The Big Comic Magazine that ushered in a new era of publishing and entertainment. The company he created would be known as DC Comics, but by 1938 due to debts to printers, distributors, and writers he had lost control of his company. He died in 1968, all but forgotten. Harry Donefeld and Jack Liebowitz took over the ailing comic book company and in 1940 named it DC Comics. But before that the company needed a star to survive, and this star would come from two boys from Cleveland, Ohio. Siegel and Shuster came to DC in 1936 creating supernatural and detective comics before they made their mark with Superman. Superman appeared in Action Comics #1 (1938) and would change the industry. DC's next star was Batman who was created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger in Detective Comics #27 (1939) and in 1940 Batman would get a sidekick. DC had other superheroes that in 1941 teamed were teamed together in the Justice Society of America and Batman and Superman teamed up together in World's Finest Comics. Wonder Woman was created for the girls, and like Batman and Superman has been in continuous publication for over fifty years changing with the times. In 1945 Superboy appeared and Siegel and Shuster were not happy with this creation but soon learned that they had sold away all the rights to Superman to DC. It would be 1975 before the two got a settlement from DC Comics and credited for their creation. After WW II superhero comics had declined and DC went into animal comics, humor, westerns, romance, and horror comics to keep afloat. The biggest danger to the comic book industry came from Dr. Frederic Wertham in 1954 with Seduction of the Innocent. To pacify all the Comics Code Authority, a self-censoring body, was created. In 1956 Julie Schwartz, DC's editor, created the "Silver Age" by recreating old superheroes. For the young readers The Legion of Superheroes (1958) and the Teen Titans (1966) were created. The new superheroes teamed together in the Justice League of America (1960) and in 1963 would team up with the "Golden Age" superheroes. In the 1970s DC revamped their superheroes to keep up with the times, but the biggest changes came about in 1986 when DC simplified the stable of superheroes in a very dramatic fashion. In 1993 DC killed Superman and resurrected him. Batman lost his second Robin, the first Robin became Nightwing, and got a third Robin. By 1994, the DC universe was "cleaned-up" again thanks to the 1986 "clean-up," which should do until the next "clean-up" is needed. A fascinating look at DC Comics from 1935 and all that has gone on in the DC universe.

SUPERMAN:

THE COMPLETE HISTORY

by Les Daniels

Since 1938 Superman has come to symbolized freedom, justice, and "the American way" in the comic books, radio, television, motion pictures, books, toys, and video games. Science fiction fans Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster created Superman, bill Dunn, in a short story in the January 1933 issue of their zine Science Fiction, Dunn was an megalomaniac In 1936 the Superman we know was crated. Siegel an Shuster approached Dell Publishing in putting Superman into a comic book. Their creation was rejected and the two then approached United Features Syndicate about a Superman strip that was rejected. Siegel and Shuster talked with M. C. Gaines who sent them to Detective Comics, Inc. who accepted Superman. After five years Superman would finally appear in print. Action Comics #1, June 1938, was a success, but it wasn't until the eleventh issue that Superman would appear on every cover. Sales were nearing a half a million and that would be doubled. With that came the "Golden Age" of comic books and scores of superheroes from other publishers. On January 16, 1939 a daily black-and-white strip appeared followed on November 5 with a color Sunday page. Superman ran continuously until May 1966, and then revived from 1977 to 1983. Ray Middleton was Superman in a personal appearance at the 1939 New York World's Fair and in a comic book. Superman novelties began appearing in 1939 from membership buttons, puzzles, paint sets, paper dolls. games, greeting cards, bubble gum, and so much more. In 1940 The Adventures of Superman came to radio and would stay on the air until 1951. It was on the radio show that Superman and Batman teamed up and where kryptonite first appeared. In September 1941 came the release of the first Superman cartoon produced by Max Fleischer that ended in 1943. In the 1960s came Filmation's Saturday morning series, in the 1970s came Hanna-Barbera series, and in 1996 came a new animated series. Superman first appeared in the movies in 1948 starring Kirk Alyn, George Reeves played Superman in a movie and in television in the 1950s, Christopher Reeve played Superman in four movies starting in 1978, and Dean Cain played Superman on TV from 1993 to 1996. Superboy appeared in a pilot in 1961 starring John Rockwell and in a TV series in 1988 first starring John Haymes Newton and them Gerard Christopher. In 1957 was the pilot The Adventures of Superpup starring Billy Curtis in costume and in 1984 came the movie Supergirl starring Helen Slater that led DC to kill off Supergirl. Despite all the changes, Superman is still going strong and this book chronicles the complete story of Superman from the minds of Siegel and Shuster to the American icon he is today.

THE OFFICIAL BATMAN BATBOOK

by Joel Eisner

William Dozier, the executive producer of Batman, started off as a literary agent who became the head of writing and story department of Paramount Pictures. Six years alter he moved to RKO and in 1951 he joined CBS as their executive producer of dramatic productions. In 1964 he started his own production company, Greenway Productions. After failing with his Charlie Chan pilot, he got Lorenzo Semple to write the script for the Batman pilot. Ty Hardin was the first choice for the role of Batman but was doing spaghetti westerns and Adam West and Lyle Waggoner were tested for the role. Adam West understood what they were doing with Batman and got the role. Neil Hamilton had been in films since the 1920s but he suffered because of his drinking problem, he was still the only choice for Commissioner Gordon. Madge Blake was hired as Aunt Harriet because of the allegation that Batman and Robin were gay. Alan Napier who portrayed Alfred the Butler, was the first actor hired. He had a long career in the movies first in England and then in the United States. As for the role of the narrator, eight professional voice actors were auditioned, but none had the correct attitude for the narration and Dozier decided to do the narration. For the role of Robin they needed somebody who looked youthful but wouldn't grow out of the role and had to be athletic. Bert Gervis, Jr. was a professional ice skater who knew karate and at twenty he looked younger and changed his name to Burt Ward when he got the role of Robin. . Although the Batman pilot failed with the preview audience, ABC-TV was desperate for programming and signed for thirteen episodes. When Batman premiered in January 1966 it was an instant hit and ABC-TV's biggest rating success. By the third season ratings for Batman were declining and Yvonne Craig, as Batgirl, was brought in to spice up the show. But ABC-TV canceled the show and the sets were torn down, which proved to be a mistake since NBC-TV wanted to pick up the show. While doing Batman Dozier produced The Green Hornet that only lasted one season and produced Batman - the Movie (1966). Batman still delights all to this day. A good look at Batman with plenty of Bat-facts and Bat-trivia!

BATMAN COLLECTED

by Chip Kidd

Since 1939 the Batman mythology has captured the American imagination and from the 1940s onward Batman has spawned thousands of toys, gadgets, and other collectibles. In Detective #27, May 1939, Batman appeared and in Batman #1 (1940) Robin joined the team. Columbia brought out Batman serials in 1943 and then another one in 1949. In 1943 a Batman radio program was proposed, but despite the appearance on the Superman radio show, the Batman show never came to be. Then in 1966 the Batman merchandise flood gates broke open when the Batman TV series premiered. The first episode was broadcast by ABC-TV on January 12, 1966. The show ran for two and a half seasons for 120 episodes and went immediately into syndication where it has been every since, there was also a Batman movie in 1966. If anyone says that they have a Batman item for sale, it's probably from 1966. Although the 1966 Batman was far different from the 1939 creation, it still delighted all from children to adults and continues to do so. In Detective Comics #327 (1964), Carmine Infanito gave Batman a"new look" with a yellow oval added to the bat symbol on Batman's chest. Like Superman, Batman finally had a logo. During the TV show Topps Inc. brought out trading cards with original artwork. Captain Atom was Ideal's answer to G.I. Joe. Captain Action could be transformed into other comic book characters, including Batman. Although Captain Action was a hit, he never had the staying power of G.I. Joe. In 1986 a new era began for Batman with Frank Miller's Dark Night Detective and a new interest in Batman began that led to the Batman movie (1989) staring Michael Keaton. Batman earned $400 million worldwide and that meant that there would be sequels. Sadly though, they weren't as well done. Warner Bros. pumped out the merchandising and now with Batman: The Animated Series with its fantastic artwork and scripts, Batman is here to stay. Since Batman appeared in 1939, Bob Kane's creation has continued to fascinate.

G. I. JOE:

THE COMPLETE HISTORY OF AMERICA'S FAVORITE MAN OF ACTION

by John Michlig

In 1963 Don Levine was Hasbro Toys' creative director who met with licensing agent Stan Weston on April 11 and Weston suggested that a male-Barbie large articulated sized military doll with lots of accessories would appeals to boys. Levin was intrigued by the notion of a doll for boys and went back to Hasbro to work out the concept. Merrill Hassenfield had no desire to sell a doll, but Hasbro had lost $27,000 on a product named Flubber and needed a hit for the 1964 toy season. But the concept seemed to good to pass up, and he decided to make Merrill believe in it as much as he did. The product development department of Hasbro met with Levin and found the concept appealing and called the doll an "action figure." It would be twelve inches tall; big enough to be dressable with accessories, but small enough to keep the price point manageable. Sculptor Walter Hansen was responsible for crafting accessories on a tiny scale needed and Hugh O'Connor was in charge of creating plastic molds and tooling. Using a beefed up Ken with hand-sewn uniforms with accessories. Levine presented the concept of the action figure to Merrill Hassenfield who was intrigued but worried about the small company taking on the project. Levin went ahead and gave the figure named "GI Joe" that Hassenfield liked and gave the project the green light. Sam Speers and Walter Hansen worked on the articulated body and a simple solution was found, a ring-thread nail. For GI Joe to sit a ball-hip would be involved and that was the little rubber sphere in the cores of golf balls. Sculptor Phil Kraczowski did the face of Joe in ten days and the scar was added so that the face could be trademarked. Another identifying factor that had actually been a mistake but was kept was on the right hand: the thumbnail was reversed. That would nab a knock-off attempt in a year after after Joe's introduction. At the 1964 Toy Fair GI Joe was introduced to so-so excitement. So Hasbro advertised on television and that mad Joe a best seller. In 1967 a talking GI Joe was introduced and it sold well. But the GI Nurse that appeared in 1967 didn't sell that well and is now a hot collector's item. By 1969 Joe had changed from being a soldier to an adventurer and became part of an "adventure team." In 1970 Joe got hair which was an electrostatic process to adhere flocked fiber on Joe and so Joe got a head of hair and a rugged beard. By 1975 with sells in decline new Joes' were introduced: a bionic man, a superhero, an eagle-eyed Joe, and then an eight and a half inch Super Joe. In 1978, after fifteen years of action, GI Joe ceased to exist In 1984 a three inch GI Joe appeared and became a runaway success that made Hasbro the world's largest toymaker. In 1991 the twelve inch version of GI Joe returned to the delight of grown-up baby boomers and the original Joe's are very collectible The fascinating history of an American original.

Copyright (c) 1999 by wmt matrixzine@aol.com. All rights reserved. These reviews many be freely distributed with proper attribution. Copies may be printed for non-commercial use. Redistribution, publication, or archiving of these reviews on any other terms require my consent.