Snap, crackle, pop...sluice.

Yesterday was Walt Simonson's birthday, and of course I missed it, as unable to find the time to sit down and focus and write as I seem to be these days. Even still, I thought last night that I would attempt to pay a little tribute of some sort, and I wanted to spotlight a somewhat unheralded and kinda-forgotten art job he did before he went on to Marvel, and Thor, and the FF, and so on: his brief stint on the Metal Men comic back in '76-'77. By this time, he had really begun to perfect the dynamic, playful style he had gotten everyone's attention with in the excellent Manhunter, and this, as well as the last few issues of Hercules Unbound (which he did at about the same time) just blew me away back then. I searched high and low for scans of his MM ( for some reason, I no longer own my originals) run so I could post a few pages for your edification, and finally, one night later, I found some. They were mostly corrupt and wouldn't display properly, but I did manage to find a few great pages from one issue in particular, #49, which was the conclusion of a two-part story involving Eclipso (I've been reading the Showcase Presents that came out a week or so ago, and I'll probably try a longish review soon. relatively speaking.) and his quest to resurrect some sort of ancient god, the likes of which were most popular back in the mid-70's. Apologies for the awful look of these; I don't have a computer at home with Photoshop anymore so I can't touch 'em up. Still, the resolution's OK and they're quite readable.

Anyway, many things jump out at me- the breathless pace of the action, full of speed lines and Simonson's patented lighthearted onomatopoeia; although you can't tell it much from these pages, Simonson made a definite effort to pay homage to Alex Toth's version of not only 'Clipsy but alter ego Bruce Gordon and girlfriend Mona Bennett as well. Marty Pasko's script (I've always felt that his work on this title was his best) was breezy and fun, not written with overwrought imitation Roy Thomas dialogue like so many writers' scripts from that time period were, and Simonson's art brought a lot of that out- look at the last panel of the last page, in which Mercury exclaims "There he goes- sluicing back into the sea!"...and sure enough, he does so accompanied by a big "SLUICE" in wobbly letters, courtesy of the artist. There's also an amusing sequence (in the page at right, click to see biggerer) in which the Big Bad, name of Umbra, fires death-beams out of his fingertips, which seek out their intended targets- humans Doc Magnus, Mona, Gordon, two others- and Walt gives us a panel with helpful little boxes with arrows pointing to each, telling us which target each beam is intended for. Well, I thought it was amusing, anyway.

Anyway, Simonson and Pasko's short-lived Metal Men was good comics. Take my word for it. If I ever run across a set, I'll buy them back someday.

Oh, if you want further testimony to the man's excellence, if any was needed, here's my last year's tribute, with lotsa covers.


Oh, and lest I forget, Tuesday the 1st was the birthday of the great Gene Colan. I wished him a happy one on his Facebook page, 'cause we're all best buds and such. Anyway, here's last year's covers tribute.

Bacardi Show Birthday Greetings to both!

"I'm going to wear them."

From Detective Comics #450, here's a spoilerific scene from one of my favorite old Batman stories, "The Cape and Cowl Deathtrap". For a synopsis, go here. It's an early Walt Simonson job, from an issue cover dated August of 1975. His art was one reason I liked it so much (even though that is a nifty, if improbable, twist at the end- how long does it take to remove a fatsuit, dress jacket and slacks, and slip on the cowl and cape, even assuming Brucie was wearing his costume under all that), especially that super-nifty bat-like rendition of the Dark Knight swooping in for the takedown. I remember copying it on my own, on a poster board. I don't have it anymore to see how I did. Anyway, wanted to share.

Another day, another BSBdG to send out- this time to WALT SIMONSON, who is 62 years young today!

Just like with Kaluta, Kirby, and Colan, Simonson's groundbreaking art was galvanizing to me as a young man- his playful use of onomatopoeia, his dynamic figures and layouts, all were some of the most exciting things I had ever seen, comics-wise, in the mid-to-late 70's. I'm pretty sure the first place I saw it was on the excellent Manhunter backup feature he did with Archie Goodwin in Detective Comics, issue 438 to be exact. Yes, that was chapter 2. Yes, I was always late for the party, even at age 13. After that, I made it a point to pick up anything I saw Simonson's byline in, even though he often was inked by some pretty dodgy inkers. His exciting take on Dr. Fate in First Issue Special #9, his excellent take on Captain Fear in Adventure Comics, brilliant stints on Hercules Unbound (especially when self-inked, towards the end- they had Wally Wood inking him early on- Wood was one of the greats, but his inking style didn't mesh with Walt's pencils) and Metal Men, as well as two of my all-time favorite Batman stories- one, which appeared in Detective #450, titled "The Cape and Cowl Deathtrap", which featured a GREAT one-panel shot of Batman leaping, in a pose that I'd never seen anyone attempt with Bats before...he also took the radical step of drawing Batman with SHORT EARS, for the first time since at least the late 60's. Also, the above-represented Batman #312, which made me a lifelong fan of the poorly-regarded Calendar Man character.

When he went to Marvel as the 80's began, I wasn't quite as thrilled...but after I saw his take on Thor, which many fans revere to this day, I wasn't quite as disappointed. He did sone good work after that, especially on Fantastic Four, and it was interesting to read his Star Slammers graphic novel, which was visually sharp but light in the story department...but he seemed to get mired in the X-book/Shooter regime quagmire that claimed many fine writer/artists back then...and despite some good covers for both companies, it wasn't until his smart and energetic 90's take on Jack Kirby's Orion that I started paying attention again. However, that didn't last long- I didn't care for his Elric take at all, and I haven't seen anything of consequence since.

However, Simonson is a creator who always demands one's attention, no matter what he does...and for all the thrills of my teen years, I will always revere the man's work. Hope he's having a great day.