The 40 Years of Comics Project - Day 1353: Twisted Tales #2, April 1983

I have waxed lyrical about Bruce Jones' ability to tell a great short story while I was reading the sister title to today's comic, Alien Worlds. The stories in today's comic are a little darker, and much more brutal, and really, really remind me of the EC horror stuff I've been reading over the last little while. I get the suspicion that the similarities aren't coincidental. Mr. Jones and his collaborators are definitely of the age that they would have know much more about the pre-Code horror titles than someone of my generation. I didn't recognize the influence when I was reading the science fiction comic, but now that I'm a little more elucidated, the influence is clear.

I can't even decide on a favourite story in today's issue. The lead tale, illustrated by Mike Ploog, has an excellent ending that I didn't see coming. The final tale, drawn by the fabulous Rand Holmes presages Crash (the one about sex in cars) by quite some time. I think, really, only the Ken Steacy-illustrated "Nightwatch" fell a bit flat for me. A neat little tale, but I feel like I've seen it all before.

More of this tomorrow, perhaps. I always balk at reading horror comics so early in the morning. I worry that it's going to inflect my day.

More to come...

The 40 Years of Comics Project - Day 726: Police Action #1, February 1975

I'm not a huge fan of crime comics. There's particular subject matters that I have a hard time trying to be entertained by. It's for this reason that I've never watched The Godfather, or any of the numerous and critically-acclaimed war films that have been made over the years. I can't wrap my head around being entertained by crime or war. I can do it through the more stylized lenses of science fiction, fantasy, or horror, but when it comes to more realistic portrayals, I just don't get the allure.

Crime is brutal and violent, as is war. And though I know it's a, sadly, fundamental part of our current societal make-up, it's certainly not something I want to dwell on any more than I already do (which is quite a lot, unfortunately). So how do I reconcile entertainment/recreation time spent considering, even fictionally, the brutality of human beings?

Generally, I don't. Today's comic was interesting, and I'm sure I'll get to more crime comics as the project continues. I'm a fan of Mike Ploog's art, so the second story featuring Luke Malone was a nice treat. I kind of love that there's this four-colour noir thing going on in this book. I even found the mysteries in the stories intriguing, which is always a nice change. Many comics I've read over the last little while have turned out to be too predictable. Perhaps that's a generic thing? The simpler, more stylized realities of superheroes and fantasy warriors is far more predictable than the grimmer reality of the private detective. Though likely the truth is that they're predictable in their own ways, but those ways are distinct from one another. Food for thought.

To be continued.

The 40 Years of Comics Project - Day 340: Marvel Premiere #38, October 1977

Yet more elves today, though in a far better story and a far better art style. After having become enamoured with the Secret Wars version of Weirdworld, I did a bit of searching to see where the title had come from, and lo and behold, there's a bunch of Doug Moench-penned stories spanning the late 70s and early 80s. I actually have a couple of the Marvel Super Special issues that feature Tyndall and Velanna (though at this very moment I have no idea where they are, as they aren't filed with the rest of my magazines. I hold out hope that they're somewhere in my parents' basement).

This is, of course, a very different Weirdworld to that in which Arkon searches for his lost home. Though given the nature of the realm, it's entirely likely that it's exactly the same world, just, you know, weird.

Ploog's art is lovely, and Velanna is, for a tiny person with pointed ears, quite innocently erotic. That's not so surprising, given the propensity for 60s and 70s science fiction and fantasy to always feature a beautiful, desirable woman, be it upon the cover or between them. This initial story of the two doesn't give Velanna much to do, so her character is very much wrapped up (pun intended) in her flowing locks and spider-web clothes. Hopefully she'll see a bit more action in the later stores (which I'll read and blog once I've figured out where the heck they are).

Alright. I think it might be time to leap back into the collection proper, rather than continuing to pour through my quarter bin finds. Onward!