John: "Lady Satan" isn't the only story that seems never to have been edited. All the stories in this book are written in a breathless, almost hysterical style. All action, no logic.
"Lady Satan" is a real head-scratcher. In Germany no one knows who she is. To Fritz she's a mysterious nightclub belle wearing a mask. He's surprised to learn she's a spy. (During wartime wouldn't even thick-headed Fritz have some misgivings about a masked woman calling herself "Lady Satan" and asking to see a secret base?) Anyway, when she escapes Germany (hanging from a low-flying bomber???) everyone knows who she is. And why is a monk handing out roses in a Parisian bar? And why....aw, forget it. Now and then one sees hints of George Tuska's future greatness, but most of the art is crude with plenty of cop-outs (the hotel district is represented by one lamppost).
"Dynamic Man": Lou Fine certainly had a huge influence on Chesler artists. Here's Al Plastino, famous for his ultra-conservative 60s Superman, stretching, leaping, striking weird poses, and popping out of the panels. Tuska also shows a Fine influence. I don't understand why the gypsies wipe their captives' brains if they expect to trade them for big ransoms.
Plastino's dynamic (ha ha) layouts almost mask the fact that he cheats every big scene. Any time we need to see something he draws something else. There seems to be a Chesler Story Template: set-up introduces a Supposedly Good Guy, lots of fights follow, and to no one's surprise the S.G.G. is revealed to be the "mystery" villain.
"Dynamic Boy": This story could use some Lou Fine influence. The art is wretched. Here they don't even bother making the new mayor appear to be a Supposedly Good Guy.
"K-9": I expected the adult detective to be K-9's sidekick, but halfway through the story they introduce a kid. He's colored so light that at first I thought he was supposed to be invisible, too. No mystery villain here, just a lot of murders. And the doggie kills the bad guy! A few panels are almost well-drawn, but not quite.
"Lucky Coyne": My brain was beginning to hurt. I skimmed this one. Terry is certainly obsessed with golf. Wonder if he plays on Trump courses. Another nyahh story, muddled by the silly shtick of Lucky flipping his coin. "Go after the killers or go golfing? Ah...I'll go golfing." It strikes me as strange that Lucky speaks of "Tails" and "Head." Where I come from both words were always in the plural.
"Sgt. Bell": I'm sorry, I couldn't take any more. I scanned a page or two and gave up. I did notice that the names on the chalkboard "Ken Battle" and "---Field" look suspiciously like Ken Battefield. What say, JVJ?
Covers: When I saw the "King Kola" ad I wondered if this were another fake brand like Kooba Kola. But, no! I quickly found a "King Kola Bottling Co." in Durham, NC, circa the 1940s, and someone on a collector site posted a photo of a metal sign with this logo. Everyone's commented on the creepy clown on the back cover, but how about that barker? It looks like he moonlights molesting little girls. What an unsavory illustration!
By the way, I'm not entirely convinced that the Lady Satan movie site isn't some kind of gag. The "trailer" is a video of an old TV test pattern, and the "poster" is simply pathetic. I didn't have the stomach to download the script sample.
Final judgement: some WTF appeal in this book, but overall, blecch.
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Topic: Week 175 - Dynamic Comics #2 (Read 5543 times)
