Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon.
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| Image by Tumisu from Pixabay |
A man far wiser than I once said, "Happiness. Happiness. The greatest gift that I possess."
That's because it's the mind-melting return of the feature in which you - not I - must decide the topic for debate.
All I can assume is he didn't possess a Chopper bike.
Nothing could be a better gift than that.
However, there is something I do possess.
And that's ignorance.
For, if blessed are the ignorant, I have been amply gifted by the gods, as I don't have the slightest notion what we're going to be talking about tonight.
Therefore, make sure to suggest that topic in the comments section before. And soon we shall see just how tickled I am.
Posts
20 comments:
SPEAK YOUR BRAIN TOPIC:
WHO WERE YOUR FAVOURITE SUPER-HEROES/CHARACTERS (?)
Introduction
(Warning: self-indulgent!)
With Captain Britain, I was a latecomer! My first Captain Britain was his title's finale, in its original form ( Super Spider-man & Captain Britain # 247's Slaymaster showdown!) Nevertheless, I was hooked! Aged 8, I identified with Captain Britain. In infancy, my toy knights (Britains) had rampant lions on their shields. Captain Britain had a rampant lion on his chest. Plus, a knight's bascinet helmet seemed to be evoked by Captain Britain's mask line. Captain Britain's weapon was a staff/star sceptre – staffs being big in the 1970s ( In Robin Hood, Little John had a staff; on 'Kung Fu''s opening scenes, Caine & Master Po had staffs; so did Monkey!) My first Captain Britain story's inking was fantastic, too. Only when Wonder-man knocked out the Sub-mariner, in Spider-man Comic # 328 (& in subsequent Avengers) did I see that inking again!
But, unfortunately, my first Captain Britain tale was also the last ( MTU # 65/66 reprints notwithstanding! ) The bone thrown to me, however, was the UK 1978 Captain Britain Annual, for Christmas! Super Spidey # 247's back cover advertised 1978's UK Christmas Annuals. On a black background, the listed Annuals' titles, in white print, had a special “glow”, to my 8 year old eyes! According to C.S. Lewis, true joy lies in the anticipation, not possession, of something. Well boy, did I EVER anticipate that Captain Britain annual, knowing that, on Christmas morning, it would be under the Christmas tree! ( Along with 1977's Superhero card game! )
Adding to my Christmas anticipation, Captain Britain featured on December 1977's SSM # 255 and MWOM # 274 'Seasons Greetings!' double-page Christmas poster ( in a trio, with the Black Panther and Daredevil), on the right ( Spidey, Hulk, Thor, Iron Man, Captain America, and...Santa (!) being on the poster's left! ) Then...Christmas Day 1977 finally arrived – it was the happiest day of my life! But, what did the 1978 Captain Britain Annual I unwrapped start with? Well, Captain Britain's origin story, of course...
Captain Britain – A Semi-Scottish Superhero?
Captain Britain's origin is powerful and evocative. A stone circle, in the Cheviot hills, hosts a fateful choice. Does Brian Braddock choose the sword, or the amulet? The Lady of the Northern Skies presides over Brian's decision, along with Merlin, their giant, god-like faces fixed in the heavens ( on opposing sides of the stone circle.) “The Lady of the Northern Skies” - what an evocative name! Was Claremont secretly a poet? ( Also notable is Stonehenge, in the south, isn't the setting. Instead, Claremont 'flips the script', with a remote northern location.)
To the reader, it's like a fairy tale or a medieval romance scene, its protagonist's ethics tested by two symbolic objects!
A somewhat similar decision happens in the appendix No.1( Fragment of a Romance which was to have been entitled Thomas the Rhymer), starting 'Waverley', by Sir Walter Scott (the famous Scottish historical novelist.)
In Scott's appendix, Thomas the Rhymer makes horse dealer Canobie Dick choose between a sword and a horn.
“Well,” I hear you say, “it's vaguely similar to Captain Britain – but not that much!”
My riposte is that, a couple of paragraphs above, Scott mentions “the Black Rider of Cheviot” - and let's remember Captain Britain's stone circle's in the Cheviot hills!
And Scott also describes Thomas the Ryhmer as “the Merlin of Scotland, and to whom some of the adventures which the British bards assigned to Merlin Caledonius, or the Wild”. Let's not forget Merlin's part in Captain Britain's origin, too! ( the English/Welsh Merlin culturally appropriated, as far as proud Scot/Scott is concerned!)
Chris Claremont's Scottish interest, starting with Moira McTaggart, pre-dated even the Byrne era (when Proteus really cut loose! ) But, I digress...
In the Scottish Merlin's test, Canobie Dick, by choosing the horn instead of the sword, decides wrongly. That shows cowardice. Claremont, however, subverts Scott's symbolism. In Captain Britain's origin, Brian correctly rejects the sword's violence, and chooses the amulet, winning the Lady of the Northern Skies' praises!
Becoming Captain Britain, Brian magically dons a red costume, with a yellow lion rampant emblazoned on his chest. Chris Claremont (or Herb Trimpe) subverts, once again, a traditional motif. The Royal Banner of Scotland has a red lion rampant, on a yellow background. Thus, in Captain Britain, the Royal Banner's colours are inverted, with the lion changed to yellow, and the background to red ( a comment on royal rule, “flipping the script” so to speak? )
Brian's pursuer, criminal Joshua Stragg, gladly choosing the sword, is transformed into a villain named “The Reaver” - a Knight in armour whose sword blasts deadly energy bolts. “Reaver” is a play on words. The lawless Scottish/English border being like the 'Wild West', the Rievers were its inhabitants (names like Robson, Armstrong, etc denoting Riever ancestry! )
Traditionally, knights in shining armour were “goodies”, in medieval romance. Claremont, however, also subverts that fallacy. After all, historically, a knight enforced a king's (or feudal lord's) top-down power. Being a tool of such power structures is something Brian must reject, to become Captain Britain!
Captain Britain's the UK's Captain America (supposedly). But, America's spirit embodied by George Washington - Claremont subverts that too! After all, Brian's surname is “Braddock”. So what? Well, as a young man, Washington soldiered for the British. But General Braddock's fall (in the 1750s), led to Washington's rise – propelling him on the path to “greatness”. Naming British Marvel's answer to Captain America “Braddock”, shows more than a little wry humour, on Chris Claremont's behalf (maybe ironic humour, in fact! ) Captain Britain's girlfriend is Courtney Ross. “Betsy Ross” isn't a million miles away - the female name associated most with USA patriotism! More wry humour?
( After 1978's Captain Britain Annual, two earlier Captain Britain stories fell into my hands, at a junior school sale – a diving bell/robot lake-monster tale ('Warlords of Atlantis'-style), and a werewolf battle. I also acquired MTU # 65 ( Spidey vs Captain Britain, with outstanding Perez cover!) in Malta - and, later, 2 Captain Britain Summer Specials. During the Marvel Revolution, however, I was horrified/ disgusted when Captain Britain was slain by 'Death's White Rider'. Adding insult to injury, that same foe got dispatched by the Black Knight's sword very easily, shortly afterwards - major disrespect to Captain Britain's prowess! )
My above thought experiment's for your interest, and entertainment (for Scots and semi-Scots, in SDC's membership particularly, and Captain Britain fans too, of course!) Our sister blogs may nick SDC's ideas, uncredited, but – to quote Danny Devito in 'LA Confidential' – you heard it here first! “Off the record, on the QT, and very hush-hush!”
So, as we've seen, Captain Britain started, under Claremont, with a very Northern feel ( before Friedrich's “stately Braddock manor” was unhealthily introduced! ) QUESTION: Captain Britain was my favourite superhero (the Black Panther came second!) Who was your favourite superhero? (And who came second?) Might any elements of my thought experiment hold water, as far as you're concerned? What do you think of your national character's origin story? Captain Britain, Captain America, Banshee (I didn't say Shamrock!), Dennis the Menace, Oor Wullie, the Broons, etc. ( For other national superheroes, see 'Contest of Champions' !) And, more than one version/ incarnation of that superhero existing, which is your favourite, and why? Or just vent your spleen!
Afterward
Concerning 'Waverley'...A Hull friend(35years ago)'s tutor nominated 'Waverley' for 'most boring book ever written'. I like Scott, so decided to form my own opinion! Reading 'Waverley' myself, I took a different view. After 35 years, I've forgotten the story, but remember finding the Thomas the Rhymer fragment interestingly similar to Captain Britain – I also remember Waverley's hero stopping off at Ferrybridge (!) on his way back! ( I posted Ferrybridge Power Station's tragic demolition on SDC, a few years ago! ) Incidentally, Waverly (spelled differently) is also The Man From U.N.C.L.E.'s boss (a fact 'The Footage Detectives' mentioned on Easter Sunday, in connection with a Blackpool boarding house (?)
Phillip
Oh boy, after they Magnum Opus, dare I mention that Alan OSMOND has passed? He was the driving force behind the Osmond Brothers, and wrote such cherished songs as “ONE BAD APPLE ” “CRAZY HORSES!”
Charlie - Could we all have a try at the topic first, and then go "off piste" afterwards? : )
Phillip
Of course! My apologies!
Phillip, thanks for the topic and for the dissertation. I'm not sure I can add much to it.
As for my favourite super-hero, I always had a soft spot for the Thing and his informal ways. For some reason, the Sub-Mariner always grabbed me. As did the Son of Satan. I clearly liked short-tempered people with pointy ears.
Steve - Oops! I hope it didn't sound too academic! Anyway, dangermash & Charlie are both way smarter than me, so they can unravel something out of my conjecture! Likewise, Sean & b.t. have vastly more comics experience to draw upon, than me, to reach conclusions!
Yes, the Thing really came alive, as a personality, perhaps more than any other character. It's his voice, and turn of phrase! Namor's arrogance works, perhaps because it's more "real", and honest, than, say, a goody two shoes, like Reed Richards. The Son of Satan's a good choice, too - in Marvel terms, he was about a decade ahead of his time!
Phillip
Not nearly as detailed as Phillip’s Master’s Thesis, but…
Batman was my first ‘Favorite Superhero’. I was 5 when the Adam West show debuted — pretty much the perfect age, in retrospect — and I thought Batman and his whole wild world were just mind-bogglingly cool. As ‘Bat-mania’ kicked into high gear, sleek and stylish Infantino / Anderson images of Batman and Robin were everywhere, on assorted merchandise as well as on the actual comics.
But the first Batman comic I ever owned was BATMAN #193, an 80-page Giant that came rolled up in my Christmas stocking, full of Golden Age reprints. I didn’t like it much at the time — I thought the stories were a bit too silly and the chunky art by Sprang, Burnley and Moldoff wasn’t as appealing as the Infantino/Anderson stuff that was otherwise dominating the 60s Bat Zeitgeist. But it’s grown on me over the decades.
By the time I started buying comics on the regular in 1973, I was much more into the Marvel characters, and bought way fewer DC books. I think the first Batman comic I bought with my own money was probably THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD 111, in which Batman ‘teamed up’ with The Joker. I was pretty blown away by Jim Aparo’s art. I think B AND B was the only Batman title I bought regularly in those first few months of Avid Fandom, purely because of Aparo.
b.t.
Phillip- most sincere kudos to you for your in-depth discussion of CB! I must admit to only having read his appearances in Marvel Team-Up, so your information reeeeeallly expanded his backstory for me.
b.t.- aah, how many of us were first hooked by Adam West and Burt Ward (and, to be fair, Cesar Romero)? I'd seen Superman on his black-and-white show, but he never had the flair that Batman displayed! And your comments about the art in your Batman giant also struck a chord. When I first discovered Spider-Man, it was during the heart of the Romita era. I picked up some Ditko reprints at the time, but as you said, found them off-putting. It was only years later that I came to equally love Sturdy Steve's groundbreaking work.
All of which serves as a good way of giving an answer to Phillip's topic: my favorite character being Spider-Man. Again like b.t., my interest here was piqued by television; in this case the 1967 Spider-Man cartoon on ABC television. That was top draw every Saturday morning, and it was so cool seeing the villains from the comics appearing on tv as well (Mysterio being the best, imho- between the classic Amazing Spider-Man 66-67 and Mysterio's origin on the cartoon, I was all in on ol' dome head).
Well this is tough… very tough! Reason being that Charlie suddenly had a switch flip around 1971 and he bought Spidey 100 off the spinner and never looked back for the next 6 years, until he was around 17 (last year in high school). He bought all the Marvel stuff and some DC (mostly war).
BUT… Charlie feels a special affinity and affection for LUKE CAGE HERO FOR HIRE (black dude/ inner city and I was growing up in Gary, Indiana) and INVADERS (I loved nostalgia ) because I got in on the beginning and was able to follow them for a few years sans problem!
Redartz:
I had the exact same experience with the George Reeves Superman show — I really WANTED to like it, and I did watch it occasionally, but it never really “wowed” me. Whereas the Batman series was like grabbing ahold of a live wire, right out of the gate. It didn’t hurt that my folks had just bought our first color TV a few weeks before the premiere — our entire family was dazzled by it.
Also, I had a similar reaction to the Ditko Spider-man comics. But unlike you, I never have quite warmed up to the early Spideys. I do appreciate them for what they are, how revolutionary they were in the scheme of things but i still prefer the Romita and Andru eras. Strangely enough, I kinda like Ditko’s Creeper and Blue Beetle runs more than his Spideys for some reason. And I dig his Dr. Strange comics. And love-love-LOVE the gorgeous b/w horror stories he did for the Warren mags. I’m definitely a Ditko fan — just not of his Spider-Man. I know, it’s kinda weird.
b.t.
Back in the day, from about age 8 to 14, I'd only be bought the one Spider-Man comic each week, although I did get a couple of Avengers annuals and was bought one issue each of Avengers, Dracula Lives and Planet Of the Apes. And I had some vague pre-school memories of a few Marvel strips in Pow, Fantastic, TV21, etc - comics that were too old for me.
So I'm restricting my list to strips that I read in Spider-Man Comics Weekly and its successors. It's a weird list because I was young, didn’t give any credit for the quality of the artwork but would give black marks for lack of interesting villains and for any raising of the language bar that made stuff harder to binge read.
- Number one was obviously Spider-Man. Including Marvel TeamUp however crap it was.
- Two was Avengers. Didn’t take me long to get into it after it moved to my comic. This was the Swordsman/Mantis era.
- Three was Iron Man. Just a long standing supporting strip. Looking back now, it doesn't seem that special. Maybe I liked Iron Man because of those pre school memories.
- Thing teamups probably come in at four. It was all about his personality but there was also that weird feeling of being in the presence of royalty, what with him being an FF member.
- Then there was Thor, Captain America and (briefly) FF. I would read these but they weren't my favourites. Thor was a long standing support act but I was put off by the Shakesperian language, the Asgardian mythology (hated that story where they travelled through space in a Viking boat) and the deus ex machina fight resolutions, The other two I struggled to get into when they switched over into Spider-Man. Criminal when you consider Captain America was in the Steranko era.
- And then there were the strips that I never read and would celebrate when they were switched out. Doctor Strange, Moon Knight, Invaders and (sorry Phillip) Captain Britain. All too hard to read or lacking decent villains. When Dez changed anything and I quickly dropped out, did Nova and Silver Surfer strips join Spider-Man? I can tell you they’d not have stood a chance.
b.t. - Sounding academic's the least of my worries - discussing heraldry & flags, I'm sounding like George Lazenby, infiltrating Kojak's babe-infested lair!
But, to be serious...
Starting aged 5, that's really something. Christmas - and the run up to Christmas - seems a theme. I remember Colin telling me he started, in late autumn, aged 8, like me...only a few weeks, then Christmas is knocking at the door!
For me, Adam West's Batman's absolute coolest thing was the batmobile being nuclear powered - and that distinctive howling (?) noise - I can't think of a word to describe it - of the batmobile's engine being activated!
Back in the day, atomic/nuclear power...well, it was frightening and totally awe-inspiring, simultaneously! Which film noir has an atomic Pandora's box, that's opened at the end, with a terrifying, blinding glow - signifying infinite power? Well, you know what I mean!
Redartz - Your days "in the trenches", doing BITBA, means that you know that - although great fun - writing these pieces takes some energy. Thanks for the empathy!
On holiday, in America, Reeves Superman re-runs caught my eye, on US tv (as a Brit, American tv having dozens of channels on the dial was amazing, considering UK tv only had 3 channels, back then! ) Having watched Christopher Reeve's Superman, by then, the "faster than a speeding bullet, jumping tall buildings in a single bound", seemed a bit corny. But, even as a kid, I knew the old Reeves Superman was a period piece.
First seeing Spidey, as a character (Super Spidey & CB # 247's cover/ Amazing Spider-man # 169), his mask/eyes appeared incredibly powerful/enigmatic, & "spiderish" ! The 60s cartoon captured that "feel" - definitely in its opening theme/scenes.
I came to Mysterio late( I was aged 9/10!), when Spidey & the Torch tackled him, in Spider-man Annual 1979. Nevertheless, it was one fantastic full-length story, with Mysterio being an absolutely terrific villain!
b.t. - Compared with Ditko, the Romita art definitely looks much better, as you get older. However, I first read Ditko Spidey in my brother's Spidey pocket-book (aged 8), and I think they are some of the best Spidey stories ever - partly because Spidey is shown as being truly powerful (and he'd not even reached his full potential, we are told! ) - not level-pegging with the Punisher, as he was in some UK reprint stories, during my era!
I think Ditko's best when you are young. My all time favourite Ditko is Shade the Changing Man # 6 - it's an absolute masterpiece of surrealist weirdness! Like a Ditko Dormmamu on steroids!
Charlie - Gary, Indiana was like a Luke Cage story? That's one tough town! Seriously, Luke Cage had a great back-story, and rogues gallery of his own (even if Dr.Doom, welshing on his fee is particularly memorable!), giving him "depth", as a character!
Phillip
Phillip
Dangermash - Yes, Nova briefly joined Spidey - I remember Carmine Infantino Nova art, with Dr Sun (brain in jar-head villain! ) The Silver Surfer was in Hulk Comic, I seem to recall (although Spidey & Hulk merged, so he may have hung on then, too - I forget! )
The Avengers - Well, that goes without saying, as you get "more for your money" ! But, individual characters within the Avengers, and how that changed with different writers (making them better or worse?) Well, that's an entire post in itself!
Phillip
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