OGT in Comic Characters

It could be considered Obviously Gay Traits

if your character has

A) a shaved head,

B) accompanied by a thick 'Daddy' mustache,

C) wears skin tight clothing,

D) has a leather wrist band,

E) is exceedingly pumped up,

and...

F) bursts into flame!

Just saying!

('Not that there's anything wrong with that!')

***

Batman Family by Phil Cho

Beautiful representation of the last incarnation

of the Bats Family

by the very talented Mr. Cho.

Good Stuff!

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TOP 100 Comics: THE AMERICAN

Originally started in 1987, THE AMERICAN was a new take on
old school straight-forward super-heroics and patriotism. This
was one of Dark Horse Comics' earliest efforts, and it was writer
Mark Verheiden's first comics effort.


The incredible art of Chris Warner, Grant Miehm, and Doug
Braithwaite punctuated the realism of the story lines and the
(then) revolutionary hard-hitting themes.

Though short lived, The American reworked a lot of staid
conventions, and helped launch the careers of several key
greats in the industry.

Available in TPB:
http://www.darkhorse.com/Books/10-988/The-American-TPB
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Comics Kink: Domination

"Birds of Prey" ;Batman, The Brave and The Bold

Too damned funny!

This show was supremely witty from start to finish, but it's easy to
see why this was banned from American release!

Not that kids would have gotten it, but....

Brilliant animation, catchy hilarious song, and some savvy
ladies who get too little attention on the big or small screen!

Enjoy!

**************************************************

Batman Family redesign by Dennis Culver

Simply beautiful, elegant stuff.

If you like Dennis' redesigns of Batman Inc.,

check out even more of these and

the rest of his amazing batch of work at

http://dennisculver.deviantart.com/gallery/


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One Fan's Favorites: ROYAL FLUSH GANG

The Royals get a lot of abuse as being cheesy or 'morts'

from folks who think their sensibilities are more refined.

Bearing in mind, of course, that we're talking about an

industry that revolves around colorful, fantastical, fictional stories.

I've always loved the RFG. Great concept, great

design, strong personal story.

Visually stunning, artsy, ever-changing, high-concept!

What's not to love?

Besides, I gave up my pretensions and concerns over

what others think some time back. It's popular to hate on the

simpler days, now. I'm over the trend.

Granted, the team has gotten a lot more fans since their

facelift/reinvent via the Batman/JLU cartoons of the

last decade or so. Maybe they work better in animated form?

Regardless, I love them in any form

(except probably stripped-down hodge-podge

'new 52 version', whatever that might be.)

The Royal Flush Gang; Everybody's gotta have a gimmick!

****************************

George Perez Does JLA Right

An early and fabulous Marvel Comics' 'ersatz' version

(but still enjoyable) of DC's premiere group.

Englehart expanded on Thomas' "Squadron Supreme," a

doppelganger group of the Justice League,

beautifully rendered by a still-young Perez!

(From AVENGERS)

When George started doing JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA,

he was still in a fannish/cartoony period that was gelling.

Don't misunderstand; I LOVED his work, and his late-1970s/

early 1980s books filled me with excitement every time I

saw them. I may even 'prefer' some of the more

stylized comic style to the hyper-realism that developed.

But here he still had some consistency issues.

(Still, a 'bad' day for Perez is still a banner day for fans!)

George has such a deceptively simple, clean line style and

a real eye for characterization. He isn't just looking at

costumes and background (which he delights in

depicting with excruciation detail and design,)

but he gives history and introduction to his

characters through stance, expressions, and stature.

He's really a master.

But it doesn't stop there.

He does design work that lays out an entire

mythology within a few scant pages, or in a single

panel. His covers are bursting with dynamic struggle

and pathos. His post card series summed up entire

legacies. The economy of precision and detail.

Though Perez had an all-too brief run on JLA,

it was quite memorable.

He penciled two of the annual JLA/JSA crossovers,

 the origin of Red Tornado, the budding Zee/Barry romance,

and much more.

That era of the League was already a fan fave...

the Satellite-era League. It was a perfect combination

of characters in a perfect time in comics.

There were some superb stories being told from

some of the best in the craft.

Fan faves had a home.

You could still tell good, in-depth stories that

knew the difference between gravitas and depressing

deconstruction of a pass-time.

Yeah. Simpler times. Good times.

The Perez look on JLA gave that sense of being

larger than life, and yet realistic, all at the same time.

There was an added level of excitement to his work.

(No slight against some of the other greats, and certainly

not to one of my fave artists of all time, Mr. Dick Dillin,

the JLA artist mainstay prior to.)

It takes a special someone to not only deliver quality work

but be able to do it regularly and consistently....

especially when dealing with such a monster cast!

Not long after this run, on New Teen Titans,

Perez began developing a more finely detailed and

darker style. Still filled with a sense of fun,

but his JLA era work reflects a very particular

blend of all his best assets, for me.

And even though I love the fishnets, I also

loved Perez's more modern take on Zee.

Issue # 200 marked rather the end of an era.

Perez continued doing some covers that were still

stellar, but no more interiors. But the book started to

change, too. And this was the period that began the slow

lumbering crawl towards Crisis, and the first deathblow

to old school comics and fun.

But in homes, back issue bins, and now computers

across the world, the greatness of times past can still

be gushed over at any time.

Thanks for the gorgeous memories and legacy, George.

These books were the family and friends I didn't have

for a lot of years.

**************************************

INFINITY, INC.

(All artwork featured is by Jerry Ordway & Mike Machlan.)



(The team from Who's Who in DC Comics)

I was always a fanatic about DC Comics and Earth 2 in particular.
The JSA were a real favorite of mine, perhaps for the nostalgia--the sense
of history, longevity, originality, familiarity to the team.
Growing up in the 1970s, reprints of the Golden Age greats were
plentiful, and it was as if I had read about them all along.
(The All Star Squad and Power Girl were some of my
favorite characters!)

So when DC had Roy Thomas join together all the offspring
of the original JSA (the first time such an idea was done, I
believe,) I was ecstatic. This was a prime time to be collecting.
Between having the JSA active again in the present,
the excitement of new characters (especially kids a teen
could relate to,) and the tremendous art team, it was a
definite highlight of my comic reading experience!

(teaser from DC Sampler)

There was a lot to digest with such a huge cast and so much

history to play with, and this was back in the day when comics

(in particular Roy Thomas ones) were chock-full of dialogue

and a multitude of panels and story. You got your money's worth.

It was magical; You started with Jerry Ordway, and then some

Don Newton 'fill-in" issues, to be followed by Todd McFarlane

who--at the time--had a new and fun look that fit the book well!

I loved those crazy panel and page designs! (Later, there would be

phenomenal Michael Bair issues.)

(Specialty shop promo poster)

Alas, like most good things, it wasn't meant to last.

With pending changes due to DC's ridiculous and unnecessary "Crisis"

(which erased the Multiverse and decades of history and uniqueness,)

Infinity was one of the hardest hit books.

Everything Earth 2 was affected by the mess of Crisis, and the book

had to upend stories and characters to fit all the revisions in.

To be fair, Roy & Dann did a phenomenal job of making lemonade out

of lemons, but in the end you were still left with a bitter taste.

Infinity, Inc. ended up being one of those teams whose characters

and memory got a continual shaft, with deaths and limbo and

bad handling following the inevitable cancellation.

But I will always have great memories of all the issues

that gave me happiness those years ago. DC can't take

my memories!

As long as the back issues exist, the revisions and

editorial dictates of a corporation mean nothing to me.

R.I.P. Syl, Karen, Dick, Helena, Lyta, Hank, Yolanda,

Todd, Rick, Beth, Albert, Norda, Hector, Jennie-Lynn, & Bones!
You'll always be Infinitors to me!

Thanks to Roy, Dann, Jerry, Mike, Todd, and all the rest for

a stellar run and a lot of good memories.

 

******************************