E-Dispatches from the Great White North

Volume 5, Number 4

2015-06-24T18:12:00.001-04:00

E-DISPATCHES

from the

GREAT WHITE NORTH!

Jonathan A. Gilbert

Email: JonAllanGilbert@yahoo.ca

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I must be doing something wrong writing this column as up to this point no one has threatened to sue me.

At first glance that comes across as weird I am sure but in the newspaper business it makes sense.

Over the next few installments of this column I am going to be talking about just that; the newspaper business. Or more specifically about my days as a newspaper reporter and columnist. While my first love a a writer is and always has been comics working as a reporter has also had its interesting and fun moments.

My stretch in the newspaper industry was five years from 2002 to 2007. While I had previously written articles for newspapers it was during those years in the early 2000s that i devoted all my writing energy to that medium. I worked for three different papers over that period and each job was different. I won't be naming those papers for reasons I am sure will become obvious but anyone who was around Port Stanley back then will know who I am talking about.

When I started working as a reporter in August 2002 I thought that outside of writing more and shorter articles it was pretty much the same as what I was doing before for newspapers. I could never have been more wrong. Within two weeks of working for the first paper I was covering a story about property lines on the beach that had the potential of dividing the village into two factions. And that wan't the only story I was working on. The paper I was working for was a weekly that covered news from Dutton Ontario to the west of Port Stanley to a village named Orwell near Aylmer Ontario which is east of where I lived. I covered Central Elgin (which Port Stanley was a part of) municipal and Elgin county politics for the area as well as the crime beat. It was pretty much an impossible task to cover all the news within that area for me and the other two reporters so I had to pick and chose what I felt my readers would be interested in. While there was occasionally someone who was disappointed that I didn't cover his or her event for the most part everyone was happy including my publisher who saw a steady growth in circulation after i came aboard.That's why I was taken aback one day when my publisher called me and cheerfully told me I was being sued.

Now if you have never been threatened with legal action-as I hadn't before I got that phone call-you might understand why I went into automatic panic mode. As I tried to express my concerns over the matter to the publisher he replied that my being sued was in fact great news and that it meant that I was doing my job.He then went on to explain that most of the time nothing ever comes from such threats and that I was obviously starting to uncover something that the person who was suing me didn't want me to.

"Don't worry", he said. "Keep up the great work", and then he hung up.

While the phrase "nothing usually comes out of such threats" rattled around in my brain and the the word "usually" being in bold type I decided reluctantly take to my publisher at his word. Nothing ever did come out of the threat of legal action or of the other six threats I received during my time as a reporter and in each case what was being done was the person threatening me was trying to scare me off a story.

It was at first unsettling though to say the least. To say that the newspaper business does not have its exciting moments would be false. it would also be false to say that reporters are sometimes asked to do the impossible like the time i was instructed to cover two stories at the same time that were happening on opposite sides of Port Stanley. We'll cover that next time out.

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Jonathan A. Gilbert is a writer, editor, publisher and comics creator who lives in London Ontario Canada. He can be reached by email at JonAllanGilbert@yahoo.ca .

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Volume 5, Number 3

2015-05-22T16:50:00.002-04:00

Vol. 5 No.3

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E-DISPATCHES

from the

GREAT WHITE NORTH!

Jonathan A. Gilbert

Email: JonAllannGilbert@yahoo.ca

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When discussing the problems with print comics being sold exclusively online last time out I mentioned that digital comics had their own set of problems.

The first and most obvious problem is that digital comics don't fit in with conventional comics collecting. While you can store them and pass them back and forth between friends just by their very nature of being digital they don't work a a possible collector's item. With print comics there is a finite number of copies and over time given the right conditions a $3, $4 or $5 comic can increase (or decrease) in value. With digital comics you pay say 99-cents for one today and they will be worth the same (or less) five or ten years down the road. Also, you can also make multiple copies of a digital comic which means in theory there are an infinite number on the market. Not much collectors value there.

The next problem with digital comics is their readability or rather lack thereof. There are a number of people-myself among them-who find it difficult to stare at a screen for an extended period of time. Some of the symptoms that result include headaches, blurring vision and a growing difficulty to concentrate. For people like me reading a digital comic simply isn't an option. In many cases there are print versions available but there are lots that aren't resulting in me and others like me missing out on a lot of potential reading pleasure.

Then there are the problems from the creator's standpoint. On the plus side it is extremely easy to get your comics out into the digital world. So easy in fact that there are thousands of digital comics available with the majority of the creators hoping upon hope that they will be discovered and become superstars.

It ain't gonna happen, folks. Not only are the majority of these digital comics mundane but many are also extremely derivative. And there is so much stuff out there that it is almost impossible to catch anyone's attention; no matter how much publicity you engage in.

Then there is the fact that most of these digital comics are free. For comics creators such as myself who actually try to make a living at this that makes it extremely difficult to earn an income. Even at 99-cents a copy for a comic by the time you divide that between the writer, penciler, inker, letterer and colourist even if you sell 1,000 copies you don't exactly earn something resembling a living wage.

Now to be fair digital comics do have their uses. As promotional material if done correctly they can be invaluable. But the minuses far outweigh the pluses. Maybe one day digital comics will be the way to go in the comics industry for professionals. Just not today.

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Jonathan A. Gilbert is a freelance writer, editor and occasional publisher who lives in London Ontario Canada. He can be reached by email at JonAllanGilbert@yahoo.ca.

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Volume 5, Number 2

2015-04-22T19:20:00.001-04:00

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E-DISPATCHES

from the

GREAT WHITE NORTH!

Jonathan A. Gilbert

EMAIL; JonAllanGilbert@yahoo.caa

______________________________________________________________________

Since I returned to the comics ;industry in 2011 I have been working exclusively with small press publishers. While I have had a fair amount of work appear in print the sales have been poor. Basically the reason for this is that the comics have only been available online.

The publishers' justification for only releasing the comics this way has been cost. According to them the price of shipping comics is too high for their limited budgets.Even when I have made the suggestion that they at least try to put the comics in comic shops in my hometown of London Ontario, adding that I'd be willing to get the stores to carry the books and do all the promotional work the response has been the same. Such an endevour would be too expensive.

To say that I disagree would be an understatement. If the publishers even just sent a batch of the comics to me at bulk shipping prices it would enable me to increase their sales. And the length of time it would take for the comics to get to me shipping them this way wouldn't matter as these publishers don't publish on anything that resembles a normal schedule anyway. In the end they would have more sales; more than they have online.

There are two main problems with selling comic exclusively online (I am referring to print comics here; digital comics have a whole different set of problems). First, comics were and remain a collectors' medium and while you can get almost anything you want online it still doesn't compare to lookig

through the books in comic shops and talking with fellow fans and staff.Second, with so much available online a publisher's product gets lost amongst the other material. True, that's where promotion comes inn but when everyone else is promoting their stuff a small publisher usually gets lost or more often ignored.

Now I am not saying that publishers shouldn't sell online. Ir is a good additional market. But it shouldn't be the only market. The small publishers need to get their work in comic shops as well otherwise they are always going to be just that; small publishers. And that doesn't benefit anyone.

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Jonathan A. Gilbert is a freelance writer and lives in London Ontario Canada. He can be reached by email at JonAllanGilbert@yahoo.ca

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Volume Five, Number One

2015-03-14T05:55:00.000-04:00

VOLUME FIVE NUMBER ONE
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E-DISPATCHES
from the
GREAT WHITE NORTH!
by
Jonathan A. Gilbert
Copyright-Jonathan A. Gilbert: 2015
All Rights Reserved.

EMAIL; edispatches@hotmail.com
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After finally have gotten myself into some kind of routine since I moved back to London Ontario (Canada) on April 30th 2013 I decided at the beginning of this year to revive this column. I've always enjoyed writing E-Dispatches as, except for "Did you know about...?" which I wrote for the Middlesex Banner newspaper back in 2004-2006 I never had a publisher dictating to me what I should or should not write about. I've always found that to be a drag as a writer and often cramping my creative process.
This time out (meaning volume 5) I plan to take a broader approach to the subjects I will be writing about. As well as discussing comics and pubulp history plus reviewing comics sent my way as I have in the past I also plan to discuss my decades as a published writer (since 1974) and occasional editor and publisher; not only in the comics industry but also in newspaper and magazines. Not only will I be mentioning all the weird and wonderful stuff that has happened to me during my career but I will some of the difficulties I have gone though. Oh yeah; and expressing my opinion on lotsa stuff.
My hope is that this will end up being an enjoyable ride for everyone. I've never really taken the time to side down and reflect on my life as a writer and as I will be 59 this coming April I guess it is long overdue. Sure beats writing an autobiography. Those take forever to work on and I am too busy having fun doing other stuff.
So stick around folks. For the time being this column will only be a monthly but as time permits I will start increasing its frequency. Talk with ya next time.
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Jonathan A. Gilbert is a freelance writer and lives in London Ontario Canada. He can be contacted by email at edispatches@hotmail.com

PRESS RELEASE: She Is...Silkie

2012-05-29T17:36:00.004-04:00

SeajayVentures is pleased to announce the release of its first graphic novel, SHE IS...SILKIE. Co-written by Jonathan A. Gilbert and Laurie Wright with cover and interior art by Seppo Makinen SHE IS...SILKIE is a post World War Two tale of mystery and intrigue on an island off the southwest coast of Great Britain where the lines between myth and reality are blurred.

Currently only available in digital format (with a print version slated for a July 2012 release) SHE IS...SILKIE is exclusively available at http://graphicly.com/publishers for $5 under the listing of our packager, CE Publishing.

E-Dispatches Summer Surprise!

2011-08-18T06:09:00.000-04:00

Despite my long absence from this space I have not given up on writing "E-Dispatches from the Great White North!". Basically, these past few months I have been busy as heck with work. As well as trying to get Red Lion Publications up and running-a daunting task by any one's standards I'd like to believe-I have been developing and negotiating new endeavours for Red Lion's parent company SeajayVentures and working on some freelance writing assignments.

One assignment I have been working on is for my buddy Ryan Crouse's company, Starverse Comics. Titled "Techstorm: New Friends, Old Foes it is a two-issue story set in the Techstorm Universe that teams up my and Lloyd Smith's Destiny character from our Blue Moon Comics Group days and Techstorm plus introduces a character i developed some years back for Starverse named SwiftStar. The pencils are by David Johnson Jr. with the inks and letters by Ryan Crouse. We haven't get a release date set as yet but we done have some t-shirts and other accessories available online. They can be purchased either at www.zaggle.com or through the Starverse website at www.starverse.ca or through Ryan at star_verse@hotmail.com .

Another freelance assignment I have been working on is "Kendra: Dracula's Daughter" for Red Leaf Comics and is currently being sold at www.redleafcomics.com . Created and written by me with art and letters by Seppo Makinen the comic is set in 1967 during the "Summer of Love" and deals with the exploits of a young woman who was adopted by Dracula as a child and in later years turned against the Lord of the Undead. The online version of the comic sells for 99 cents and the print version for $1.99.

So as you can see I have been quite busy. My hope is that once things slow down a bit I will be able to return here on a more regular basis. 'Til then though I will try to periodically drop by and bring everyone up to date. Until next time, take care.

Jonathan "A" Gilbert.

Volume Four, Number Sixteen

2010-11-20T09:26:00.000-05:00

Over the past couple of decades that I have been a comic book writer and editor I have worked with some very talented people including Susan Dorne, Lloyd Smith, Steve Skeates, Nathan Massengill, Seppo Makinen, Dick Ayers, Scott Chantler and Dan Parsons just to name a few. One artist though who especially stands out in my mind that I have had the pleasure of doing comics with is Dave Owens of London Ontario Canada.

Dave and I go back to around 1996 when I was making my first attempt at starting up a comics publishing company.(a story for another day) While that endevour didn't quite work out the way I wanted it to Dave and I kept contact and over the years worked on a wide range of projects together including Team-Omega (for the disaster riddled Silver Griffin Comics), Mister Chameleon, Solomon Wyrd, Tales of This Magic Earth and a little thing called Id the Gorilla Ghost with Honcho the Head-Cheese Dog.

Dave also worked as my art director when I was editor at Silver Griffin Comics and Blue Moon Comics Group as well as my go to character designer and all around "bounce ideas off of guy". All in all Dave was and is a great talent. He and I also developed a real good friendship over the years and while we don't work together on comics projects these days-something I miss very much-we still keep in touch via snailmail, email and other methods of communication.

Dave also has done some great stuff outside of comics including some fantastic Christmas cards, pet portraits and all sorts of other neat stuff. His most recent project is a self published book called "The Art of Dave Owens" in which Dave showcases his work including a couple of characters he and I developed together.

This definately is a book worth picking up to give someone as a Christmas gift and for six bucks it can be yours either via email or snailmail orders. You can contact Dave directly by email at Nebstudio@netscape.net or write him at...

Dave Owens/Nebula Studio/1349 Glenora Drive/London, Ontario/N5X 1T6/Canada.

Like I said, this would make a great Christmas gift and also a great addition to your personal collection. So order today.And be sure to tell Dave I sent ya.

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Next time out; well, not sure yet what I will be writing about next time out. Guess you will have to come back and find out. See ya.

Volume Four, Number Fifteen

2010-11-14T19:00:00.007-05:00

While I have settled into my new town pretty nicely, I've yet to get an internet connection at home. So while I won't be able to post on a daily basis until that happens, I will from time to time start putting up a few short pieces.

This time out I'm going to review a comic that I have had since I was living in Formosa, Ontario, many a moon ago. Enjoy...or maybe not. lol

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GRAVE TALES #6 (VOLUME 3, ISSUE 2) 2009. Published by Cemetery Dance Publications. 40 pag. b&w horror anthology with full colour cover. Cover Price $3.95 U.S.

I really had high hopes for this comic. After all, Cemetery Dance Publications is one of the best horror publishers in the business so why WOULDN'T I expect their horror comics to be top notch.

But they aint' or at lest this issue sure as heck wasn't.

From cover to cover the contest are at best unreadable and at worst a total piece of garbage. Poor art, poor layout, blotchy use of shading, wordy, plodding dialogue and stories that were dull, dull, dull.

In short, it is a total piece of junk, folks, so don't buy it. The only horror here is the fact that they would actually charge money for this pathetic excuse for a comic; horror or otherwise. Cemetery Dance should know better. For shame.

As for the other stuff they publish that gets two thumbs up and you can check their website out at www.cemeterydance.com . But don't, and I really mean it, DON'T BUY THIS COMIC. It is so bad it will make you go blind.

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That's it for this short piece. I will be posting periodically-whatever the heck that really means-until I get hooked up at home and then I will be back online here at E-Dispatches daily like before. Take care; jag

E-Dispatches Special Announcement!

2010-08-25T06:43:00.002-04:00

I'm on the move again!!!

How many times is this now since last November? To be honest with you I've lost count. I can though tell you that this will be the last big move for some time to come as I am relocating in my old stomping grounds; southwestern Ontario.

I will spare you all the gory details as to the reasons for this move-but they will one day be revealed in my long talked about memoirs-but the move is for the best both with regards to my ongoing health issues and personal state of mind.

It is going to take me a few weeks to settle in to my new digs so for the next little while E-Dispatches from the Great White North is going to be on a bit of a hiatus. Meanwhile though you can get lots of comics-related reading pleasure by visiting the blog of my buddy The Groovy Agent at www.diversionsofthegroovykind.blogspot.com . Tell him The Jazzy One sent ya.

See you in a few weeks everyone. Take care and be safe.

Volume Four, Number Fourteen

2010-07-31T16:44:00.008-04:00

As well as being a fan of comics and pulps of the 30s to the 50s I am also a fan of the old movie serials.

For those of you who are familiar with movie serials (also known as chapter plays), what they are basically is low budget movies divided into 12 or more chapters or episodes with each chapter ending with a cliffhanger (called this because quite often the hero, his or her aid, or some damsel in distress is hanging from a cliff).

Movie serials have been around since the early 20th Century with the first appearing in Europe. They were quite popular there and the American film industry quickly began producing them with the first being "What Happened To Mary" which appeared in 1912.

During the silent film era there were dozens and dozens of serials including The Perils of Pauline, The Son of Tarzan, Tarzan the Tiger and an endless number of westerns. All were made on the cheap and were one of the main attractions that drew people to the theatres week after week.

When the sound era came in many of the companies that produced the silent serials were not able to make the transition to producing chapter plays that worked with sound. Eventually there were only three main studios that produced serials; Columbia, Republic and Universal. There were minor studios that also dabbled in serials but these three produced the bulk of them.

Westerns continued to be big as did police yarns and jungle tales. As time went on though comics became a major subject of the serials. Comics series that were featured over the years include The Vigilante (DC), Congo Bill (DC), Captain Marvel (Fawcett), Captain America (Timely/Marvel), Superman (DC), Batman (DC), Spy Smasher (Fawcett), Blackhawk (Quality at the time of its release) and Hop Harrigan (DC). Comic strips and radio programs were also the subject of chapter plays including Flash Gordon (comic strip), Brick Bradford (comic strip), The Lone Ranger (radio), Green Hornet (radio), Dick Tracy (comic strip) and Buck Rogers (comic strip). And last but not least there were the pulps including The Shadow and The Spider.

Some of the serials were well done while others, well, had problems. The biggest problems were the very low budgets that were allocated to each serial. In some cases the studios would use footage from previous serials to cut corners and in the case of Superman whenever the Man of Tomorrow went into flight the shot cut to one of the Fletcher Superman cartoon scenes of Superman flying.

Depending on who you talk the general belief is that movie serials began to lose audiences when television came on the scene in the late 40s, early fifties. At one point to draw audiences in producers would even use characters from TV shows in their serials; the most notable being Captain Video.

But it didn't help and the last movie serial came out in 1956 from Columbia and was a western titled "Blazing the Overland". Don't think though that was the end of the serials. While the studios were no longer producing them fans of this film genre began making their own. Writer, movie and comic fan Don Glut fpr example used to make his own "backyard films" in the 1960s including The Aventures of the Spirit (featuring Will Eisner's Spirit), Captain America Battles The Red Skull and he even revived the serial superhero Rocketman in a serial entitled Rocket Man Flies Again.

Of all the amateur movie serials that have been produced most agree that the best one is a superhero chapter play titled Wildcat that was released in 2006 by Lamb4 Productions. And while only fans of the format have been releasing serials since 1956 chapter plays have still had an influence on other mediums; particular television. The chapter format has been used in cartoons since their earliest days on TV with the best known user of it being Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle. On the original Mickey Mouse Club (1955-1958) original serials used to appear and on Walt Disney Presents movies were divided into episodes and were aired over a series of weeks.

The best known serialized TV series are probably Dr. Who and the 1960s Batman and in 1979 NBC aired a series called Cliffhanger which aired new serials. While Doctor Who is still popular today Cliffhanger was a flop lasting only half a season.

The movie serials had other influences too such as the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises who made use of the fast paced action and cliffhanger formulas in their stories.

My first encounter with movie serials was in 1967; April 8th to be exact as it was on my birthday. Back then some theatres were still airing movie serials from the past and some friends of mine and I went to a theatre in London Ontario called The Hyland Theatre which continued that practice. I don't remember what the main feature or the cartoon or the movie short was but I do recall the serial; it was Nyoka and I immediately fell in love with the format due to its fast paced action and adventure.

During the 70s I used to watch a show on TVO-the province of Ontario's provincially run publicly owned television network-called Magic Shadows which every Friday night would run a chapter of a movie serial. Over the years I got to see more Nyoka, westerns-lots and lots of westerns-and Captain Marvel just to name a few. And when I couldn't watch an episode because I had to work my mother would watch it for me, take notes and then tell me all about it the next day.

One doesn't get to see many-if any-movie serials these days on television. There are dvds available featuring many of the old serials and I have a couple of video tapes with serials (Green Hornet and Batman). Movie serials probably won't catch on today but one never knows. In this fast paced age maybe they might just be what the viewing audience is looking for. Tons of action, sharp and snappy dialogue and a cliffhanger ending; all in fifteen minutes. What do you think?

Volume Four, Number Thirteen

2010-07-28T14:01:00.007-04:00

As this is the thirteenth installment of volume four, my original plan was to either talk about some of my favourite supernatural characters such as MLJ's Mister Justice, The Spectre and Phantom Stranger or discuss comics titles and series that had the number thirteen in them like Dr. 13 and John Stanley's teen humour comic, Thirteen.

Then my buddy Groovy Agent emailed me to say that this is also the fiftieth post to appear at this site. So to commemorate both events I've decided to present thirteen comics covers that had the cover date July 1960 (fifty years go) and wrap up with a video that stars a character from one of those comics. Enjoy.

Volume Four, Number Twelve

2010-07-24T09:54:00.012-04:00

If anyone one was wondering where I've been this past week it was some place I haven't been since 1992; on vacation.

Yes, that's right. The Jazzy One has not taken a vacation for eighteen years so this one was long overdue. I used to take vacations each summer with my parents back in the 1960s; most of them to Port Stanley Ontario Canada
( www.port-stanley.com ) where I eventually lived from 2000 to 2009.

Summer was always a fun time back in the 60s (these days all it usually means is more work preparing for fall and winter releases of my work). I spent a lot of time on the beach in Port Stanley and splashing in the waters of Lake Erie pretending to be either Aquaman or The Sub-Mariner; depending on my mood that day. I also spent a lot of time reading comics as summer time comics were full of really neat stuff.

From DC (the National Periodical Publications) summer meant the annual team-up of the Justice Society of America and the Justice League of America in the JLA's title. These team ups began in 1963 and each year not only re-introduced members of the Justice Society (my favourite JSA member back then by the way was Starman) but also expanded on the DC/National multiverse concept.

The team-ups also brought characters from comics publishers other than DC/National into the multiverse including the Quality characters (Dollman, The Ray, Uncle Sam, The Human Bomb and Phantom Lady) and the Fawcett heroes (most notably Captain Marvel).

Summer comics fun also meant Marvel annuals which featured 72 pages for a quarter (the DC/National giants were 80 pages for the same price in the 60s). I didn't buy every annual from Marvel in those days-I had other more important things to spend money on such as the Archie Adventure Series titles, T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, the Doom Patrol and The Challengers of the Unknown just to name a few-but those that I did definitely stick out in my mind even today.

One annual was The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #4 (1967) where Spidey and the Torch teamed up to battle Mysterio and The Wizard. Another annual I remember fondly was Avengers Annual #2 (1968) where Cap, Goliath, Wasp, Hawkeye and Black Panther get stuck in an alternate timeline in which the original Avengers were tricked by The Scarlet Centurion (another version of Kang) into getting rid of the super-heroes and super-villains (along with Nick Fury and a few others).

So did I read any exciting comics while on this vacation? Not per say but I did read a really neat book on the history of the Warner Bros. cartoons and a book on the history of Iron Man. Does that count?

I will still have a chance to read comics on vacation though as I am going away again for a week this coming August. Right now though I have a comic that came in the mail while I was away to read and hope to review at a later date here in E-Dispatches (along with another comic I got a month or so back).

So that's where I have been folks. But I am back now and getting to work once more. Take care and be safe.

Volume Four, Number Eleven

2010-07-10T19:42:00.008-04:00

Each time I am interviewed about my comics career the one question I can always count on being asked is "Who are my main influences as a comics writer?". While Roy Thomas has admittedly had a big influence when it comes to my interests in golden age comics as a writer specifically my reply without hesitation is Steve Skeates.

For those of you who don't know who Steve is he has worked in the comics industry since the mid-1960s and has written for DC, Marvel, Charlton, Gold Key, Warren and just about everyone else. His credits are legion and include Lightning (TOWER COMICS), Aquaman, The Teen Titans, Plastic Man, Hawk & Dove, Supergirl and Challengers of The Unknown (DC). And if you think he is just limited to super-heroes think again. He has also written westerns, mystery tales and funny animals including Underdog for Charlton where he added the Mutt of Wonder's Shack of Solitude to his series.

The reason Steve is such an influence on me creatively is because of his unique writing style. He is not what I would call a "pretty writer" but rather takes a subject and puts a unique twist on it that no one else had even considered. He can make the old look new again which is a rare talent in our business.

I actually know Steve on a personal level. We first met at Torcon 2, a comic book convention held at York University in Toronto in 1974. Also in attendance was Bill Gaines and Will Eisner; both of whom I also met. For a short while after the convention Steve and I kept in touch-maybe two letters-but as often happens life got in the way and we lost contact until the late 1990s when my buddy The Groovy Agent reconnected us at Blue Moon Comics Group. Since then we have kept contact on a regular basis and have even worked together on a project or two including a short story called "Tepeth-Tet" (with pencils by another comics legend, Dick Ayers) that is supposed to be published by CE Publishing Group later this year (http://cepublishing.wetpaint.com ).And if all goes according to plan I will be publishing Steve's Stateside Mouse at the end of this year under my Red Lion Publications imprint (www.redlionpublications.blogspot.com ).

If I were asked what of Steve's work I liked best I would be pretty hard-pressed to pick any one thing. His work on Aquaman in the late 60s and early 70s is still one of the best examples of quality comics writing going and his Supergirl stories in DC's Adventure Comics actually made The Maid of Steel an interesting character.

But if I had to chose one body of work I would have to say that it was his run on DC's Blackhawk series (#244-250) that appeared Jan-Feb. 1976 to Jan-Feb. 1977. Even though the revival of this legendary title was for one year Steve did his best to put new energy and excitement into a concept that had been suffering during the last days of its earlier run.

As I said though I would be pretty hard pressed to pick any one body of work. Steve Skeates is one of the few comics writers that I have read over the decades who have never let me down. He does good stuff.

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Jonathan "A" Gilbert is a comics writer, columnist, comics reviewer, comics editor, comics publisher and t-shirt designer. He can be contacted at JonAllanGilbert@yahoo.ca .

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Volume Four, Number Ten

2010-07-09T21:24:00.009-04:00

My first true love is comics but I also have a love for the pulps. I have been aware of them for as long as I can remember; "Doc Savage", "The Shadow", "The Avenger", "Conan", these were the kinds of things my father read as a kid-along with the long gone British publication CHUMS-and when I was a kid he used to tell me all about his childhood love for them.

I didn't really, really start to fall in love with the pulps though until the 1970s when some of the old stories started to appear in paperback and Ron Goulart's excellent "Cheap Thrills: An Informal History of Pulp Magazines" came out.

That was also around the same time that I started to learn about the origins of comics and what a big influence pulps played on the creation of some of the heroes and how even some of the publishing companies-Fiction House, Timely, National Periodicals and Nedor just to name a few-were originally publishers of pulp magazines.

This was around the time when I began to use the pulps and pulp-influenced comics characters as my inspiration. My "Snow-Man" character for example was strongly influence by the original Sandman and "Mister Chameleon" (www.misterchameleon.blogspot.com ) was influenced by "Cosmo The Phantom of Disguise", one of the early characters of Detective Comics.

Cosmo also got me interested in another type of pulp genre;the yellow peril tales. Now if you aren't familiar with that term you can check it out at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/yellow_peril . The best known of the yellow peril characters was and still is of course Dr. Fu Manchu but there were others including Doctor Yen Sin, Wu Fang, Doctor Zeng Tse-Lin are just a few of them. And just about every pulp hero around battled a yellow peril inspired villain back in the 30s from The Shadow to The Spider to The Phantom Detective. The list goes on and on.

Now the tales were clearly racist and jingoistic but they did reflect the events of the day. And the fears of the yellow peril in fact continued into the fifties and sixties with The Yellow Claw (from Atlas) and The Mandarin, Iron Man's enemy.

An excellent subject on the yellow peril genre in the pulps is IT'S RAINING MORE CORPSES IN CHINA TOWN' that is edited by Don Hutchison. As well as packaging some great tales from that period he wrote an excellent, brief history on the genre. Mr. Hutchison also wrote an excellent book on the history of pulp heroes called THE GREAT PULP HEROES. Both are still available and might even be in your local library. Check them out.

Now I still love comics first and foremost. Never doubt that. But the pulps definitely are worth reading, too. Check some out when you get the chance.

===================================================================

Jonathan "A" Gilbert is a writer, editor, small press publisher and t-shirt designer. He can be contacted at JonAllanGilbert@yahoo.ca .

==================================================================

Volume Four, Number Nine

2010-07-06T12:23:00.014-04:00

There have been a heck of a lot of short-run comics series since the 1930s. Some of them really stand out in the minds of comics fans-"Brother Power, The Geek", the original run of "The New Gods", "It, The Colossus" and, believe it or not, "Night Nurse" just to name a few-while others quickly faded from the minds of everyone...and for darn good reasons, too. DELL's 1960s "Dracula", "Frankenstein" and "Werewolf" immediately come to mind.

For me there is one comic series that came out in the 1970s that I loved at the time and love to this day. It is/was "Rima The Jungle Girl".

Published by DC Comics it was written by Robert Kanigher with art by the very talented Filipino Nestor Redondo and ran for seven issues from May 1974 to May 1975 (cover dates).

Now I am embarrassed to admit this today but at the time "Rima The Jungle Girl" came out I was first attracted to it as the title character had the same colour hair as Sharon Thompson, my first serious public school crush from many years earlier.

There was of course much more the comic than that and I realized it very quickly as I began reading the first issue. "Rima The Jungle Girl" was actually a comic book adaptation of the 1904 novel by W.H. Hudson called "Green Mansions: Romance of The Tropical Forest". Hudson was an Argentine-British writer and ecologist who not only wrote a whole bunch of really great books doing his career but did a lot of important ecological work in South America. CBC Radio-1 did an excellent overview of his exploits a couple of years back on its IDEAS program.

Hudson based Rima on a South American legend about a lost tribe of white people who lived in the mountains. The novel itself is an accurate portrayal for the most part of South America and it also has some excellent ecological messages in a time when such things were not in vogue.

The DC comic was not the first adaptation of Hudson's novel. CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED did one in 1951-which was reprinted numerous times before the company went out of business-and Rima herself has appeared in AMERICA'S BEST COMICS' "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" Vol. 2 No. 3.

Rima has also appeared in three episodes of THE ALL NEW ADVENTURES OF THE SUPER FRIENDS (the 1977-1978 season) plus in 1959 MGM made a movie very loosely based on Hudson's novel called THE GREEN MANSIONS (starring Audrey Hepburn as Rima).

"Rima The Jungle Girl" still stands out in my mind to this very day as one of the better short-lived comics titles. I'd recommend if you see it in the comics bargain bin to pick up all seven issues. But read the book first. You won't regret it.

Take care and be safe.

Volume Four, Number Eight

2010-07-05T18:59:00.008-04:00

Yesterday I talked about my "guilty pleasure" as a child; Mike Shayne. Well, I had another one, one that I have to this day. Archie comics.

I'm not talking about the super-heroes-Hangman, Mr. Justice, The Shield, The Fly, et al-or the horror comics of the 1970s. I loved those too of course and still do. No; I am talking about the actual Archie comics; Betty, Veronica, Jughead, Reggie, Archie Andrews and the rest of the gang.

As long as I can remember I have enjoyed those comics' both the comics themselves and the newspaper strip. The London Free Press-the daily newspaper in my home town of London Ontario Canada-used to run the Archie dailies and weekly coloured comics and I would read those faithfully.

My favourite Archie series was Little Archie. It was one of the most innovative comics around looking back at it. Weird aliens, sci fi stuff, the works. It rivalled the 60s Superboy for fun tales.

I also love the LIFE WITH ARCHIE comic in the 60s. Of all the Archie titles back then it had the most interesting stories I thought. JUGHEAD was a fave, too. It actually introduced me, my mom and dad to hamburgers. I had never heard of them until I read a JUGHEAD comic. Neither had my mom and dad. But I bugged and bugged and bugged my mother to make me a hamburger until she eventually relented. We all fell in love with them immediately. I still love them to this day and I owe it all to Jughead. Thanks, buddy.

Now the one thing about the Archie comics that used to bug me was that I always felt that Archie was a bit of a dope. He was chasing after Veronica when Betty was by far the better lady. Veronica was spoiled, insecure and needy. Betty was cool, independent and far sexier. How Archie couldn't see that was always beyond my comprehension. And I thought for years that I was the only Archie reader who felt that way until I brought it up to my buddy The Groovy Agent who told me nope; other guys felt that way, too.

I also used to love the Archie cartoons of the 60s. They were kind of dumb but fun.

As for today I have about a hundred or so Archie digests in my collection. Whenever I feel the need for some good fun I pull one out and read it. They are still lotsa fun. Good comics. Nope. Great comics. And I know I will probably never get a chance to do so but one day I would love to write and have published an Archie comics story; preferably a Little Archie tale. It's on my wish list. Hmm. That list is getting pretty darn long these days.

Take care and enjoy the surprises my webmaster has put up. Be safe, folks.

Volume Four, Number Seven

2010-07-04T15:21:00.005-04:00

I have a childhood guilty pleasure that I need to confess to today. Back in the 60s and 70s I not only used to read "Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine" but I loved it as much as I did comics.

Now if you aren't familiar with Mike Shayne you can find out more by visiting www.thrillingdetective.com/shaynemike.html. My father introduced me to Mike Shayne. He wasn't a fan of the hard boiled detectives mind you-his buddy Jim Query was-but my father wanted me to try something else other than comics. (He didn't feel that my reading books on Norse and Greek mythology was that much more different than reading comics). Now he tried to introduce me to novels set in W.W. II with little success and while he did get me to read a Hammon Innes book I wasn't impressed.

So one day when we were in a place called The News Depot in downtown London Ontario Canada he came over to me and said "Why not buy this?.".

And what he had in his had was an issue of Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine. Well I took it home, read it and immediately fell in love with the character.

To be honest with you I don't know why. Maybe it was just something different. I have never been a bit fan of that kind of thing and am still not to this day. But Mike Shayne touched me somehow. To the point where when I was legal drinking age I was ordering Mike's favourite drink...a Sidecar which consists of cognac, an orange liqueur (preferably triple sec) and lemon juice. I loved those drinks way back in the 70s. Got lots of weird looks among my beer drinking buddies but I didn't care. I wanted to be like my hero Mike Shayne.

Now Mike's adventures were pretty basic, pretty girls, gangsters, lotsa fist fights-Mike would get knocked out at least once a tale-but surprisingly real little gun play. He was kind of a calmer version of Mike Hammer.

I would love at some point in my career to do a Mike Shayne comic. I think DELL did one once. There was also a Mike Shayne radio show in the forties, 11 Mike Shayne movies and a TV show that ran for one season (1960/61)..

Never saw any of them nor did I ever hear the radio show. Maybe my webmaster might be able to find them and put them up. I am keeping my fingers crossed.

And I still like Mike Shayne. I have a bunch of Mike Shayne paperbacks and I still occasionally read the old issues of Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine that I have. I don't drink Sidecars anymore.

Well, maybe I will try one again one day. For Mike. For old time's sake.

Volume Four, Number Six

2010-07-02T22:17:00.005-04:00

The picture on this blog of me is me, folks. That's me. But the birds aren't.

They belong to my best friend Tigs. We have been friends like forever. And her birds are like so super-cool.

They are African Gray Parrots. Their names are Princess and Krak'r.

Krak'r can fly and fly like Rocket "Rocky" J. Squirrel. He is incredible to watch.

Now Princess, she is still having problems with flight but she will get there.

And they are the neatest birds to be around. They are by the way as intelligent as

dolphins and whales. I actually can hold conversations with them.

Princess is in love with me by the way. She wants to have my eggs. I haven't a clue why but she has latched on to me big time. She also too always wants to fix my hair.

And as some of you know I also have an 11-year old cat. Her name is "Baby" and she is the "cat from Hades". But Baby and the birds get along fine, great actually. If Krak'r hasn't seen Baby in a while he calls for her, Baby comes out and then she and the birds have a conversation.

I know it sounds weird but if you ever spent an afternoon with me, Tigs' birds and my cat you would see it.

So why am I talking about the birds this time out? Well I figure it would be a good reason to put up a "Birdman" cartoon. That was such a cool cartoon. It was done by Hanna Barbara which were not exactly known for the best animation but still; I loved it.

So now you folks know who the birds are. One of these days I might talk about my demon cat. That would give me a good excuse to put up a "Top Cat" cartoon. I loved that one, too.

Have a great day, folks.

Jonathan "A" Gilbert

Volume Four, Number Five

2010-07-02T12:26:00.008-04:00

Well Friday is the day after Canada Day and it is also banking day. And when I think of banking I think of....who else but RICHIE RICH.

Now I was never a fan of Richie. I always thought he was pretty lame. His dog was cooler than he was.

But I had a major crush on his girlfriend way back in 61/62. She had the prettiest red hair and ever since then I have loved red heads.

Red Heads according to some are going to be extinct by the end of the century. I sure hope not. Some of the best female characters in comics have red hair. We have Spidey's wife Mary Jane for starters, then we have Marvel Girl (or whatever she calls herself these days; hey; I'm a 60s guy folks!!) from the X-Men. And who can forget Ka-zar's blushing bride Shanna.

All great characters. All strong women. I don't believe of course for a moment it is because of their red hair but it sure suited their personalities.

Now what all that has to do with banking I don't have a clue but it gave me a chance to talk about red heads for a minute. Another strong female in real life who has red hair is the lead singer of Paramore. Hopefully I will be able to get up the video by them titled "Ignorance Is Your New Best Friend".

I like strong females both in comics and in real life. Strong, independent women are needed in this world. And in comics, well, if I was a super villain I would rather go up against Superman than Batgirl any day.

But I digress to borrow a phrase from Peter David. Back to Rickie Rich. I have sitting beside me as I type this RICHIE RICH DIGEST STORIES MAGAZINE #8 which I got sent to me by my buddy Richard Vasseur.

To be honest it is kind of a drag. I like the LITTLE DOT and LITTLE LOTTA fillers better than the RICHIE RICH stories.

No one I grew up with read RICHIE RICH. Like no one. Not even the girls. (Most of them read Millie The Model; so did the guys by the way but they would never admit it in public). So I always wondered how the heck did he end up with so many different titles. Who was buying them? Certainly not the people I hung out with as a kid. Heck we would by some obscure CHARLTON title before we would buy a RICHIE RICH.

RICHIE RICH just never did it for any of us and I have yet to meet anyone who bought the titles. So if anyone knows of anyone who was a faithful follower of RICKIE RICH please let me know. That has been haunting me for years.

Now before I go I do need to make a correction. In VOLUME FOUR NUMBER THREE there is a link that reads Susan McCabe. Now my webmaster, the ever-wonderful Groovy Agent, has it going to the correct site but the proper name for the link is www.shannonmccabe.com .

It is Shannon McCabe folks. Sorry for the confusion. At least I got a chance to mention my pal's website again.

Take care and be safe, everyone.

Jonathan "A" Gilbert

Volume Four, Number Four

2010-07-01T19:52:00.005-04:00

Well it is Canada Day here as I type this and as I wait for a couple of guests to drop by I thought I'd do another off the top of my head piece.

Originally I was going to do one on the 1960s "Mighty Hercules" cartoon and declare how I wanted someone, anyone to kill Neuton the centaur-he was such an annoying little SOB-and then I saw the number of this installment and thought, well heck; Captain America. He did after all return to the world of comics in the 60s with issue number four of The Avengers.

Then I thought; well, why not talk about both. So I will.

First off; Captain America. It actually makes sense in a weird Canuck kind of way to talk about Cap on Canada Day. We actually don't have our own national super-hero. Now before you start think; how many Canadians actually know who Johnny Canuck or Nelvana or Captain Canuck are. Don't get me wrong. I love all those characters. And I have met both Cy Bell (the publisher of Nelvana and Johnny Canuck) and Richard Comely (Captain Canuck's daddy) and they are (or in Cy's case were as he has long since passed on) great people. But in the day to day thinking of folks up here in the Great White North they don't exactly stir the imagination or bring out a lot of patriotism despite the valiant efforts of the folks behind them. But then, what does stir that amongst us Canucks. Not much really outside of hockey. And beer.

Anyway; when I was growing up in the 60s Captain America was 'THE MAN' bar none. He was OUR hero, too. All the kids loved him and some of us-well me actually-went as far as having their (well my) father make a wooden shield just like Cap's to toss around. Come to think of it my father must have been nuts to do that for me as I could have done some serious damage to things tossing that bleedin' piece of wood around. Or maybe he just knew I had a rotten aim.

But dad did that for me which was way super cool and I ran around the neighbourhood for two, maybe three years with that thing. He even painted it for me.

Now I had intended to retire it but then some bright genius at Marvel decided to license some of their characters to a Z grade production studio resulting in some of the worst cartoons ever made. One of the characters was Captain America.

I loved those cartoons. Now I watch them on video and I think I must have had a screw loose but at the time I loved them. They were way super great cartoons and I plunked myself down in front of the television whenever they were on. My dad of course would shake his head believing I should watch something less violent such as "12 O'Clock High' of "Combat" and my mother gave up long ago ("Jim; the kid is gonna be a comic book writer whether we like it or not so just leave him the heck alone!".) . But I loved those cartoons. And the Sub-Mariner ones, too. Thor I could live without but Subby and Cap I loved.

But they were bad. Real bad. Bad animation. Bad dialogue. Bad, well, everything.

Which brings me next to "The Mighty Hercules". I think it was around 1963 when I started to watch that cartoon. Now I was pretty young so I can't say for sure when it was but I do seem to recall seeing it on "Big Al's Ranch Party" that used to air on CKCO TV out of Kitchener Ontario Canada. Now that show made the Marvel Super-Heroes cartoons look like masterpieces. Again; bad animation, bad voices, bad dialogue..the works.

Now I was a kid of course so I didn't notice at the time but what I did notice is that darn annoying centaur Neuton. Everyone hated Neut. All the kids and I mean ALL. I don't know if the creators planned him to be annoying but they sure made him that way. We all wanted to see him dead. We all cheered when Deadalus trapped him and yelled "Kill him, kill him!", which I am sure you could imagine did not go over to well with our mothers at the time. But we hated him. Really, really hated him.

And you know what? I still hate him. As I was getting ready to write this I watched "Medusa's Sceptre" and my blood started to boil as soon as I saw that annoying little so-and-so on the screen. I am now 54 and he still bugs the daylights outta me.

Well company is starting to come around so I should wrap this up. Thanks all for putting up with my little wanderings these past couple of blogs. Actually I have found it kind of fun. What do you think? Let me know, okay. I can be emailed at JonAllanGilbert@yahoo.ca . Take care and Happy Canada Day fellow Canucks.

Jon

Volume Four, Number Three

2010-07-01T08:33:00.005-04:00

Well to be honest this is an "off the top of my head" column. The past few days I have have been working on a Dracula story for Red Leaf Comics ( www.redleafcomics.com ) and a few other projects that I will talk about later and when I need a break I have been turning to Utube or however the heck you spell it.

Specifically, I have been listening to some old tunes of mine from the 70s. Now I can't recall if I have ever mentioned this before here but I am an old school punk rocker. I hung out in a punk rock bar, did the door in at a punk rock bar, met punk rockers and even dated a couple of punk rock babes. This was from 1978 to 1980. Then I met the love of my life, left the scene and then two years later left the love of my life but that's another story.

But that time I spent in "The Scene" was as much fun for me as being involved with the comics scene. Sometimes more.

One thing I definitely learned from those times was how to have fun, enjoy life and giggle. I also learned how to work my butt off to get where I wanted to be in life. I learned that from some of the best; Frankie Venom of Teenage Head, Keith Whitteker of The Demics, Scott Bently of '63 Munroe and my bestest buddy from those days; Markie Burnaway.

Markie was and is an artist. He comes from a family of musicians all of whom are talented like you would not believe. Markie had taught me a lot about life. I thought I knew it all of course but I didn't. Markie taught me how to have fun, how to work hard and how to enjoy the world around me. And he was the best darn guitar player I have ever seen live.

He was/is-I-guess as he still is alive....a good man and a great friend and pal.

Now the problem is I don't know how to get in touch with the old boy. No idea. I have tired searches upon searches upon searches. I'd like to say hi to him and thank him for what he taught me and stuff so I am asking you, my friends, to help me out.

So if anyone out there can put me in touch with Markie Burnaway aka Mark Scott from '63 Munroe it would be much appreciated.

As for what I am doing now; well, the Dracula piece that I mentioned....Seppo Makinen will be doing the art and letters....and I am working on a two issue project with Star Verse Comics plus I am working on a secret project with Shannon McCabe ( www.shannonmccabe.com ).

Plus the whole Red Lion thing, too. And other stuff. Next time out I will go into more detail and then after that I will finish up MLJ-unless the comics I am supposed to review come in-but speaking of MLJ and the whole Red Circle stuff that is being done by DC. I think it sucks myself. But hey; I am old school.

Like I said; this is just off the top of my head.

So I will let you all go now. If someone can help and get Mark in touch with me it would be much appreciated. And if you would like to know what sort of music I used to pogo to in my punk rock days if my webmaster can pull it off you will now be able to click on "New York City" by the Demics. Enjoy.

SeajayVentures and Star Verse Comics Team Up for Project

2010-06-23T08:15:00.004-04:00

Jonathan "A" Gilbert of SeajayVentures (the creative arm of Red Lion Publications) and Ryan Crouse of Star Verse Comics are pleased to announce that they will be teaming up to publish a two-issue limited series that will feature the pencils of up and coming talent David Johnson Jr.

Set in the universe of Mr. Crouse's TechStorm character the tale will take place between issues one and two of TechStorm: Rages of War.

"We don't want to give away too much info as yet but the storyline will involve Ryan's TechStorm characters, a hero called SwiftStar and my Destiny character" states Mr. Gilbert.

"And as an added bonus we will bringing Destiny back in his original uniform as designed by Lloyd Smith, publisher of the gone but still much loved Blue Moon Comics Group".

For more information on Star Verse Comics you can visit www.starverse.ca . Jonathan "A" Gilbert has worked in the comics industry since 1989 and is currently writing a blog at www.dispatchesfromthegreatwhitenorth.blogspot.com .

Ryan Crouse can be contacted at star_verse@hotmail.com and Jonathan "A" Gilbert can be reached at seajayventuresca@yahoo.ca .

Volume Four, Number Two

2010-06-23T07:52:00.006-04:00

Sorry for the delay, folks. Once more I have had computer troubles.

Next installment I want to wrap up the whole MLJ/Archie Adventure Series serial that has been dragging on like forever. This time out though I am gonna do a long over due review of a comic by my buddy Ryan Crouse at Star Verse Comics.

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TECHSTORM: RAGES OF WAR Vol. 1 No. 2. For ordering information visit www.starverse.ca .

I have known a lot of small press creators in my time and my buddy Ryan Crouse is right up there with Lloyd Smith as being both talented and an A+1 guy. Check out his website and you will see all the neat stuff that he does.

As for this particular comic; well, it is a fun read. The artwork may not be to every one's liking but for me I enjoyed it from beginning to end.

Basically it is a high tech sci fi tale that is full of action, fun dialogue, cool layout designs and other neat stuff. I am not gonna give the story away here; not by a long shot. But I will recommend it.

You can also order the comic through Ian Shire's Dimestore Productions
( www.dimestormproductions.com ) and there is a pdf version if ya wanna read it online.

So if ya want a fun comic to read definitely pick this up; or any other comic by Ryan. I love Donar myself but they are all fun reads.

-----------------------------------

Well I am sorry for the short review folks but I am busier than heck this week. I will at one point talk about what I am now doing. Maybe I will do that next time out and then wrap up the MLJ serial. We shall see.

Take care and have a good week.

E-Dispatches Special Notice!

2010-06-05T11:37:00.002-04:00

Sorry I have been absent folks. To be quite honest between the three moves in seven months plus my health issues it kind of kicked the poop outta me.

I am starting to feel better now and in the next week or two I hope to put up a long awaited review of a StarVerse comic my buddy Ryan sent me and then after that wrap up that whole MLJ thing.

Sorry about neglecting everyone but I have not been well at all at all as The Groovy Agent will attest to. Doing better now though and back on track with lots of stuff.

And speaking of Ol' Groove, thanx, buddy, for that great Heap piece. That's my fave comic folks; plain and simple. And Groove did it justice. You are the best.

Well gotta run. I do live folks despite the rumours otherwise. Just been a real sick puppy lately. Take care and see ya all in a couple of weeks.

Jonathan "A" Gilbert

E-Dispatches Exclusive #3: The Groovy Agent Raps About The Heap #1

2010-01-27T00:02:00.019-05:00

What's happening, comix fans? Yeah, it's none other than the Groovy Agent providing a gargantuan guest-post for my main man Jonathan "A" Gilbert's E-Dispatches from the Great White North! Jazzy Jon has asked Ol' Groove to rap with ya about one of his all-time favorite weird heroes, Skywald Publication's The Heap. Now, since Ol' Groove's mind works in such mysterious ways that even he doesn't understand himself, I thought it would be cool to make this post a cross-over between E-DftGWN and my own far-out (if I do have to say so) blog Diversions o f the Groovy Kind. What inspired such a brain-blasting plan? Well, the fact that Skywald actually introduced their version of The Heap in their black and white (pre-) horror-mood mag Psycho #2 helped. Jon wanted me to focus on The Heap's color comicbook debut, The Heap #1 (July 1971), so I thought I'd do the Psycho debut as today's Black and White Wednesday post. So you can double your Heap pleasure by clicking here after you finish blowing your mind with this particular post. Comprende? Whew! Enough explanation, let's get on to diggin' The Heap #1!

The Heap was originally created back during the Golden Age for Hillman's Airboy Comics. The character really seemed to grab a lot of fans, so the original Heap developed a cult following that kept him--er--it a veritable legend for those fans hip enough to dig into their comicbook history. What fanned the flame for slimy superheroes? Inquiring minds would like to know! All I know is that in late 1970, the fledgling Skywald Publications created their own version of The Heap, while almost simultaneously Marvel unleashed Man-Thing and DC allowed Swamp Thing to shamble into the spinner-racks. Whatever the reason, Skywald updated The Heap's origin and brought him--er--it kicking and screaming into the scintillating 70s. Somebody at Skywald thought fandom would dig a Heap color comic, so they gathered together the high-quality creative team of Bob Kanigher, Tom Sutton, and Jack Abel and turned 'em loose. Kanigher, Sutton, and Abel, in turn, tweaked The Heap's origin from Psycho #2 a bit, plus they gave him--er--it a makeover, no doubt so he'd pass the Comics Code--and have a better shot of passing for something heroic and sympathetic, 'cause, man, the b&w version (by Ross Andru and Mike Esposito) was uglyyyyyy...

Enough talk. Here is The Heap #1 and "Shadows of Satan!"

As you can see, Kanigher's story for The Heap #1 is an engaging mish-mash of lots of horror cliches: the good-man-turned-monster, a blind girl, the mad scientist (a descendant of Dr. Frankenstein, no less!), the ghostly/demonic villain; it's all there, but it's written in such a way that pathos verily drips from the pages, sucking you in and making you really feel our horrible hero's pain and anguish. Personally it hits the same kind of buttons for Ol' Groove that DC's Swamp Thing hit--and that's a good thing. The bad thing is that the color Heap comic only lasted for this one ish, so we never get to see what Kanigher, Sutton, and Abel had planned for the future. All I know is that the last page really, really grabbed me, and I'd have definitely scarfed up future issues of Skywald's Heap!