[gregjh]

(Quick explanation, Robb kindly offered to let me fill in for this one. I took a while to reply and Robb and I both posted at the same time! Robb informed me he will save his reads for next time)

Thanks to Robb for allowing me to choose this one. I apologise for being slightly late, I stayed up all night to suffer the heartbreak of England's defeat in the European Championship final.

I wanted to choose something slightly different to my previous suggestions and reviews so my first choice for this reading corner is... Robin Hood.
https://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=27878

There are many Robin Hood comics in the CBP library, I chose this one as I liked the coloring.  Also Robin of Sherwood was one of my favourite TV shows as a kid, so this comic is nostalgic for me and I'm all about the nostalgia when it comes to comics.

My second choice was more random, I chanced across a brand called Sparkler Comics and a hero called "Spark Man" with a presumed nemesis called "Firefly". Will Firefly be related to his/her DC counterpart? Let's find out!  The cover also features Tarzan (I like jungle stories), a western character (a  good western is a personal favourite of mine) and Ella Cinders, whom I think we saw in the reading group last year.
https://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=61485

Let's hope we find some good tales!

[Robb_K]

Ha! Ha!  It is extremely ironic that one of the 2 books I had as my choices was El Bombo #1 (whole book is that character).  And El Bombo is one of the features in this Sparkler book!!!  What are the odds of that happening randomly, with thousands of books and characters on CB+??? 

[The Australian Panther]

Ha! Ha!  It is extremely ironic that one of the 2 books I had as my choices was El Bombo #1 (whole book is that character).  And El Bombo is one of the features in this Sparkler book!!!  What are the odds of that happening randomly, with thousands of books and characters on CB+???

That's called Serendipity Robb!

And more common than you'd think.

Cheers!

gregjh:- just reiterating, Robb and I alternate fortnights with the Reading Group and both of us have the choice to give a guest a chance. Has worked very well to date.
My slot is the next one and I already have something in mind.

Remember, if you have suggestions post them in the top thread on the Reading Group page.

And I like your choices for #249.

Cheers!     

[FraBig]

Spark-Man! I know him, but I've never read a comic featuring him. Here's a nice Alex Ross drawing of him.

It will be cool to finally read one of his adventures.

[SuperScrounge]

Robin Hood #2

The Warrior Maid - Okay. A bit simplistic. Were there still barbarian Picts in the approximate time period?

Sir Robin Hood - Okay. The ending wasn't hard to guess, though.

In The Days Of Knights - Oh, the temptation to make a joke out of that title. Interesting factoids of Medieval life.

In The Dungeons Of Sir Blamas - Okay. Keeps up the standard of writing in this book.

Sword From The Sky! - Okay, although the supernatural leanings made it the weakest story in the book for me. Not that it was bad, just not as good as the others.

The art was good and the writing was good as well, just not a genre I usually choose to read.

Sparkler Comics v2 #4

The Spark Man - Every now and then some writer tries the idea of trying to play a mystery game with the readers about a hero's identity and I can't say I've ever seen a successful attempt. Of course they show three possibles, but only two actually appear in the story. Genius level plotting there. *rolls eyes* Why would the Spark Man burn his costume? Most heroes have ways to hide their costume on their person so they don't have to destroy them.

El Bombo - Not one of my favorite styles of comedy. I didn't hate it and the cartoonist is good, but a little naive innocence goes a long way with me and I was quickly tired of Bombo's antics by the end of the first page.

Captain and the Kids - Interesting, although the kids are certainly toned down from their original incarnations. Did they have lobotomies somewhere along the way? The original Katzenjammer Kids would have beaten up both Dennis the Menaces and stolen their lunch money.

Danny Dingle - Uhhhhhh... it was there, it was a thing I read, it did not make much of an impression on me.

Dynamite Dunn - The story was overly simplistic, but there was an "energy" that kept the story moving, so while I didn't think the characters were that smart I did get caught up in where the story was going. Funny dat.

Broncho Bill - Okay, but nothing special.

Ella Cinders - Eh, okay but nothing special comic strips.

Frankie Doodle - It's hard to get into these short segments of a much longer adventure story. Okay for a snippet, but hard to judge the overall story.

Abbie an' Slats - Okay for a soap opera, but not my cup of tea.

Unbelievable, but True - Interesting factoids.

[Robb_K]

I see that you have chosen to have us review the I.W. reprint, rather than the Magazine Enterprises original, Robin Hood #4 because you like the colouring. That would be the only reason I would do so, as well, because the original uses extremely bright, and less natural-looking colours, while the reprint actually has better colouring to my taste, as the hues are more subdued and less shiny, and thus, easier on the eyes, and closer to those that we would have seen in real life. This is unusual, as I.W. reprints usually had worse colouring than the originals, and also usually did not print several pages of the original book, because the reprint occurred several to many years after the original, and so, would often be a 36-pager, rather than a 52-pager, and also, I.W. had more advertisement pages per book page than original publishers. But, in this case, all the comic content pages are reproduced. It is interesting that this reprint occurred only 2 years after the original, whereas, most I.W./Super Comics reprints ranged from at least 5 to 15 years later.

While I think this book is an interesting and good choice, I wonder why you paired it with this Sparkler book, which seems to have no connection that I can imagine, and is even a completely different format, having short stories from many different characters from different subject genres. Personally, I'd rather have this Sparkler book paired with a book with a Firefly story.

Choosers don't usually choose 2 books just to have double the comic book pages to review, but rather, because they have some sort of connection to compare and/or contrast, and to see how well the different writers and artists did in choosing what stories to tell, and how they chose to do that, and to compare the artwork of the different artists.

[Robb_K]

Robin Hood #2

Were there still barbarian Picts in the approximate time period?

Good point!  No, there were NOT.  And what was Robin Hood doing up near Hadrian's wall?  I am sure that the few men, after whom the legend was formed, NEVER got anywhere near that far north. And, in any case, The Picts were known to have made their houses of wood, not stone. And why do they wear clothing from the 400s, and carry weapons from no later than the 700s, when the English robbers have that era's latest military weapons?  It is too ridiculous.

As I remember it, King John was crowned in 1199.  So, the period of this story must be around 1194-97, or so. The last time The Picts were mentioned in writing as a distinct people was in 899. In 780, the bulk of modern-day Scotland (other than the southeastern lowlands adjacent to The English border), was a united Scots/Picts confederation under The Scots King, Constantin. By the very early 900s, the two peoples had been basically blended together to form The Scottish People (with some Angles blended in as well).

[Robb_K]

I'll have to review these 2 books a little at a time. My initial impressions are that they are VERY different, and have no connection to each other. The Sparkler comic book is from the beginning of The 1940s (and World War II), and The Robin Hood is from the mid 1950s. Robin Hood contains all stories of that character, while Sparkler is a showplace-style book for the main United Features characters, and so, other than its lead feature story starring Spark Man, has many very short stories with characters from many different genres. Upon flipping through the Robin Hood book, I noticed that the author didn't seem to research his period piece very well, which can be a problem if he had a learned audience.  Sparkler has a very diverse set of lead characters and genres.  So, it should be interesting.

Robin Hood 2(I.W.)

The Warrior Maid
Lots of problems with this story. As we mentioned above, no one was talking about Picts anymore for the past 300 years before this story's time. Sherwood Forest, located in the southern half of England, is hundreds of miles away from Hadrian's wall.  Robin and his men start marching the next morning, after meeting The Maid of Northumberland. We see no break in the action, with a narrative it is telling us that many days of marching have passed. The very next page just shows Robin and his men at the wall. The Picts, when they DID exist, were located in The Scottish Highlands and northern coastal areas at least a few hundred miles north of the wall. They continue following The so-called Picts over the moors of the southern lowlands of Scotland, until they meet the Barbarians (wearing animal skins). Robin and his men win the battle, but the Maid is captured. After Edwin challenges Robin for The Maid's hand, we find that Robin and The Maid had deliberately made Edwin jealous. So, this story was really about her travelling down to Sherwood to retrieve her beloved. A bit entertaining, but the historical errors were quite extreme, and offputting.


Sir Robin Hood
Prince John be-knights Robin Hood, as Sir Robin Hood???  Wouldn't that be an insult?  Shouldn't that have been: Sir Robert of Locksley? Or Sir Robert Fitzooth?  The plot is interesting but not very believable, that Prince John, as trustee of The English Throne for his brother, would both pardon Robin Hood for his past crimes, and be-knight him, just to send him out of the country, so he can attack his Merry Men. Then, the trick Robin uses to keep his word, touching souvenir soil from The Holy Land, without having to go there, is a bit contrived. In any case, surely John would have had his new law for recently be-knighted knights would include requiring them to sail to Akko, and report to the commanding crusader general of that time. 

In The Days Of Knights (Text Story)
Good information on The Medieval state of medical knowledge, and good description of the work of the members of the different classes of workers in a knight's castle community.

Sir Galant Of The Round Table
First of all, there was no Sir Galant among King Arthur's Knights of The Round Table.  I've never heard of any Sir Blamas (odd name for a Northumbrian.  Interesting that Blamas says that robbers are stealing King Arthur's gold!  Not a chance that a petty warlord from England's southwest, near The Welsh border (which is the most likely location of so-called (legendary) "King Arthur's" realm, IF he existed.  His legend was likely formed as a composite of a few, or several different Brythonic local leaders, who won some battles against incursions of the invading (or infiltrating) Saxons.  There is no chance that a local chieftain, west of Wessex, and south of the current Midlands, could have had any power, whatsoever, in England's North, let alone reach to Northumbria, to have them tributary to him as suzerain. I'd also wager there was never any Malmsey Castle. It is really ironic that King Arthur's real period in history (IF there ever was a petty king of that name, who defeated The Saxons in battle) would have been during the early 6th Century, which would have been a perfect time for The Picts to have raided across the northern border of Northumbria. But, this story is set in the 12th century, based on the clothing and weapons, and castle shown in the illustrations (matching the misplacing of King Arthur's legends into that later period). Interesting that the "magic" help Merlin offered Galant, a simple magnet, is what allowed him to defeat the evil usurper, Blamas, and end the story. "King" Arthur", the local chieftain of western Wessex, will soon arrive all the way to the northern end of Northumbria, to drive The Picts back across the border into "Pictland".  Where was The petty King or Duke of Northumbria, and his army???  The writer should have done more research than he or she did (if any).


Sword From The Sky
Interesting story based on a legend (presumably made up by the comic book story's author?). I've never heard of an especially powerful sword forged from the metal in a meteorite - that is stronger than the strongest steel that can be made in our time. It is a great idea for a story set in medieval times. In this story, the Robin Hood has his proper name from the most popular legend, Robert of Huntingdon, who would later be dubbed "Robert, Earl of Huntingdon", by King Richard, rather than "Sir Robin Hood", by Prince John, in the earlier Robin Hood story in this book. The artwork in this story seemed to be the best of the book, and the story seemed to be less "silly" than the others, despite having an element of "magic" involved. But, it isn't certain that it was magic that caused the "bad luck" for the sword's former owners. So, I could enjoy the story. Interesting that it also touches on the origin of Robin Hood robbing the rich usurpers, to help the people, and Robin's using Sherwood Forest as his base of operations to fight the usurper, the king's brother, John's henchmen (including The Sheriff of Nottingham). I liked this story best by far.


Sparkler Comics Vol. 2 No. 4

Sparkman and The Case of The Firefly
The Sparkman seems to be a traditional Superhero. Interesting that he had to burn his costume in a building fire, to make sure no one would find out his real identity. Lots of non-stop action. The pace was very quick, and straight to the point. It was entertaining.  I don't like superhero comics at all.  But this was less hard to take than most I've read.

EL Bombo
I am a big fan of El Bombo, as I am the other newspaper strips of its type, Argentina's Patoruzu, and USA's Big Chief Wahoo. I think Big Chief Wahoo and El Bombo were both inspired by Patoruzu, which started several months before Big Chief Wahoo. As I stated above, I will initiate a comparison and contrasting of these strips, which all involve a young, partly naive, chieftain from a primitive native tribe, coming to a major World-famous city (like Buenos Aires or New York City) and having to deal with the unfamiliar ways of the inhabitants of those more complicated places.

The episode in this book has Bombo in the relatively early part of his eye-opening, educational visit to a super-large US city (presumably New York). This was not a very funny episode. It was the same 2 gags over and over.  I could see how that could get old quickly. There were many better episodes with better, and sometimes clever and more subtle jokes. This one was used to help define El Bombo as a big, tougher-than- he-looks (or thinks he is), naive, simple, honest, and to-the-point young man, who is unused to the big city ways.

The Captain and The Kids
As stated above by Superscrounge, this pair of mischief makers are a shadow of their former terror and mayhem-creating selves as The Katzenjammer Kids.  Quite a bit too much of the same thing - that revolt against the Pygmy dictator.  Lots of nice artwork, but not much in the way of humour.

Danny Dingle
Slow moving episode, like the people of the tropical island of Concarnio.  Not a lot happened in this one. except the father has put himself on a rich man's hit list, and his partner in a gold mine may have run off with half his money. I guess we'd have to have been reading several episodes before this to know if this is a good strip, or not.  This episode is not a good advert for it.  The artwork was decent.

Dynamite Dunn
An interesting episode that might have made me want to read that entire "story" portion of the newspaper strip. The artwork was passable, but not my style.

Broncho Bill
Pleasantly surprising. Good story. Moves well. Lots of good action. The art is very good. The story held my interest all through to a satisfying mini-climax, and the story continues with a rousing of the native tribe on a nearby Reservation.

Ella Cinders
Two good, funny gags featuring Ella's Sunday "Topper" associated Conselman strip, Chris Crusty.

Frankie Doodle
Interesting and suspenseful story about Frankie being an assistant to some sort of Chinese detective seemingly on a case at an old mansion.  It is lousy to come in at the middle of a story, but I'd be curious to read the other episodes of this story from the beginning.  It has a lot of suspense related to a shadowy/ghostly figure removing something from a buried chest. The artwork is excellent.  I'll make it a point to read the other Sparkler issues around this one.

Abbie and Slats
Great art and lots of atmosphere with the old mansion, and lightning storm. Good pace to the story segment.  The romantic triangle provides great suspense. Nice cliffhanger with the poor boyfriend checking up on his girl with the rich boy in his mansion, and the car still in the garage, and he decides to go home, meanwhile, the couple is trapped inside, while it seems there is a prowler about.

Unbelievable, but True
Not so Interesting facts? Because they are all true, instead of being completely made up or urban legends?

Overall assessment

There is no similar thread to compare and contrast these 2 books, because they are not only from different genres, but have very different formats. I can only compare their entertainment value. The artwork ranged from very good to not good in both books, both averaging about average for their times. I like historical novelette adventure better than Superhero.  But I like comedy very much too.  I'd give Robin Hood a slight edge, because ALL of its stories held my interest; whereas, the well-below par, if not downright silly, Spark Man story, and weak Captain and The Kids story pulled down the Sparkler book.

[Captain Audio]

Actually the term "Pict" became a catch all for any group of people that were unfamiliar.

I remember reading a mid 20th century article on families of "Picts" living in cliff dwellings along a coastline. Too long ago to remember details. Only thing unusual about their appearance was their uncommonly swarthy skin, though I suspect that was a side effect of low quality B&W photography and lighting.

In The Days Of Knights (Text Story)
Good information on The Medieval state of medical knowledge,

In part but the opening line is incorrect. It stated that they had no pain killers back then, when in fact there were several very effective herbal concoctions some even suitable for performing surgery.
I had not realized this either till just yesterday I watched a video on the subject where the plants and processes for extracting the active chemicals was demonstrated. The major drug in use for surgery put the patient into a deep sleep for up to twelve hours.
A number of famous figures survived horrific battle wounds due to the skill of contemporary physicians . Their surgical techniques were originally developed by the Roman surgeon Galen who honed his skills treating wounded Gladiators.

Look up the Nun St Hildegard of Bingen. Her works are being reviewed by modern medical researchers who found she had discovered anti cancer drugs in her studies. She compiled a encyclopedia of all herbal medications know at the time and performed "miraculous" cures.

[Robb_K]

Actually the term "Pict" became a catch all for any group of people that were unfamiliar.

I remember reading a mid 20th century article on families of "Picts" living in cliff dwellings along a coastline. Too long ago to remember details. Only thing unusual about their appearance was their uncommonly swarthy skin, though I suspect that was a side effect of low quality B&W photography and lighting.

In The Days Of Knights (Text Story)
Good information on The Medieval state of medical knowledge,

In part but the opening line is incorrect. It stated that they had no pain killers back then, when in fact there were several very effective herbal concoctions some even suitable for performing surgery.
I had not realized this either till just yesterday I watched a video on the subject where the plants and processes for extracting the active chemicals was demonstrated. The major drug in use for surgery put the patient into a deep sleep for up to twelve hours.
A number of famous figures survived horrific battle wounds due to the skill of contemporary physicians . Their surgical techniques were originally developed by the Roman surgeon Galen who honed his skills treating wounded Gladiators.

Look up the Nun St Hildegard of Bingen. Her works are being reviewed by modern medical researchers who found she had discovered anti cancer drugs in her studies. She compiled a encyclopedia of all herbal medications know at the time and performed "miraculous" cures.

Yes, I'd forgotten about the plants that Amazonian and Papuan tribes used to anesthetise people having serious wounds.  And, certainly, even when herbs were not readily available, I assume they could have used mass quantities of alchoholic beverages to make the patient less aware, the way they used whiskey during the early 19th Century.

[Captain Audio]

Yes, I'd forgotten about the plants that Amazonian and Papuan tribes used to anesthetise people having serious wounds.  And, certainly, even when herbs were not readily available, I assume they could have used mass quantities of alchoholic beverages to make the patient less aware, the way they used whiskey during the early 19th Century.

Well I was speaking of Medieval Europe.
There is an herbal pain medication occasionally used today that was commonly used by the Knights Hospitaller. Its called Saint John's Wort. It also has anti depressant properties and acts as a sleep aid. Modern preparations are no where near as strong as that used during the Crusades to treat wounded men.

There were, and still are, Poppy Flowers in England. Not the Opium Poppy of the Middle East but related. Rather than harvesting the sap as opium they boiled the flowers to make a tea. Apparently this is a very strong knock out drug suited to surgery.

[The Australian Panther]

So-called 'primitive' medicine was much more sophisticated then we have been led to believe.
I once read a book by a South African Witchdoctor. [Published by Penguin - in the 70's.] Two things in particular I remember. He said that to sew up a serious wound, they would apply large ants. They would hold the wound together and then put the ant against the wound. the ant would instinctively dig its claws in and then they would twist the head off - so sewing up the wound.
Different subject. All the movies talk about the drums, the drums, the drums. All true. He said they used the drums to modify community emotions. When they wanted people to be happy, a happy drum beat.
For a funeral a sad drum beat, if they wanted to work up the village for war, an appropriate drumbeat. And so on.
St Johns' Wort must work. I think it has been banned in at least one Australian state.
Big Phama always finds ways to ban things that are natural and cheap if they work and thus interfere with profits.
Poppies?
If you have ever been hospitalized for anything involving pain, you have probably been given Morphine.

One species of poppy, Papaver somniferum, is the source of the narcotic drug opium which contains powerful medicinal alkaloids such as morphine and has been used since ancient times as an analgesic and narcotic medicinal and recreational drug. It also produces edible seeds. Following the trench warfare in the poppy fields of Flanders, Belgium during World War I, poppies have become a symbol of remembrance of soldiers who have died during wartime. 

   
Under normal circumstances, ' the raw plant' the Opium/Morphine is in balance with many other 'medicinal alkaloids and other substances, so the tea would not be addictive.
Eucalyptus oil is also pretty useful.

Eucalyptus oil is readily steam distilled from the leaves and can be used for cleaning and as an industrial solvent, as an antiseptic, for deodorising, and in very small quantities in food supplements, especially sweets, cough drops, toothpaste and decongestants. It has insect-repellent properties,[55] and serves as an active ingredient in some commercial mosquito-repellents.[56] Aromatherapists have adopted eucalyptus oils for a wide range of purposes.[57] Eucalyptus globulus is the principal source of eucalyptus oil worldwide

 

Cheers!         

[gregjh]

So-called 'primitive' medicine was much more sophisticated then we have been led to believe.
I once read a book by a South African Witchdoctor. [Published by Penguin - in the 70's.]

If the name of the book returns to you, I'd be interested to know.

Choosers don't usually choose 2 books just to have double the comic book pages to review, but rather, because they have some sort of connection to compare and/or contrast, and to see how well the different writers and artists did in choosing what stories to tell, and how they chose to do that, and to compare the artwork of the different artists.

That's a good point, I'll keep that in mind for next time, thanks Robb.

I will crack on with my reading this weekend.

[paw broon]

Gregjh, don't worry about your choice. The word Robb used was "usually".  I have no problem with your 2different comics.  I have read them but there is so much going on right now, I haven't had the time to comment on them.
Keep up the good work.  By the way, a couple of pages are out of order in Spark, from memory, or am I hallucinating again?

[FraBig]

I've read the Spark Man story and I must say it was very interesting.
I found the mystery of the identity of the Spark Man very cool and original. I've read somebody complained there were just 2 of the 3 characters who are supposed to be the Spark Man. Well, that's not entirely correct.

In fact, in Sparkler Comics #10 (https://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=61489) we discover the Spark Man is not Quill Davis nor Val Hall, but Omar Kavak, the presumably missing character from this story.

So, after all, all of the 3 characters actually appeared in this issue, even if Omar didn't appear in his civillian clothes.

I think this perspective adds a lot to the story, considering the writer makes us think Val Hall is actually the Spark Man.

Overall, a pretty nice superhero comic, I wonder if there's a Spark Man Compilation here on CB+, and if not I might think to do it myself then upload it here.

[gregjh]

Robin Hood

Firstly, why was Marilyn Monroe missing from the list of superstars whose photos are available to buy? Perhaps she was copyrighted? The only names on the list I recognised were James Dean and Elvis.

Warrior Maid: Not the start I'd hoped for. I prefer tales of the outlaws outwitting the sheriff or other
foes but instead we start with a silly love triangle that concludes with an equally silly twist.

Sir Robin Hood: more to my liking, this type of tale - the sheriff thinking he has the upper hand only to be outfoxed - is to my liking and for once I couldn't predict the outcome. I do have to note that Little John isn't as tall and bulky as he is usually depicted in tales of the outlaws.

Sir Galant: Nice tale, nice artwork. I noticed the glaring sign of changing times when the woman is described as "unusually weak", when Sir Galant believes it to be a male.  Imagine the outcry if that was printed today.

Last story: well drawn, not my favourite.

Sparkler

Spark Man and Firefly. Good story. I like the idea of keeping readers guessing on the identity of the hero although it occurs to me that this mystery could become burdensome in the long run. Is Firefly the inspiration for the DC villain with the same name? It's not clear but I believe the characters are too similar to be coincidence: a villain who sets fire to buildings and has a cheesy, screech-like laugh. This version of Firefly has no facial burns however, though perhaps that was to appease the CCA.  I'd like to find an origins story for Spark Man.

El Bombo: Love this guy! So wonderfully politically incorrect for today's ideals and yet such a likeable, innocent and kinda charming character. I laughed when he didn't understand what a bouncer was.

Broncho Bill: Sadly the font was too difficult for me to read.

I couldn't see Tarzan in this one.

[SuperScrounge]

Is Firefly the inspiration for the DC villain with the same name? It's not clear but I believe the characters are too similar to be coincidence: a villain who sets fire to buildings and has a cheesy, screech-like laugh.

The original version of DC's Firefly used light effects. The pyromaniac version of Firefly was created by Chuck Dixon in the '90s because he thought a pyromaniac fit the name better. *shrug*  Guess nobody told Dixon there was already a pyro Batman villain named Firebug.

I couldn't see Tarzan in this one.

There's some question of the copyright status on the Tarzan strips so they are removed.

There is an online fanzine called Erbzine that has scans of Tarzan comics (strips and books), but I'm not sure if they have permission to do that, so no link.

[Robb_K]

Robin Hood

Firstly, why was Marilyn Monroe missing from the list of superstars whose photos are available to buy? Perhaps she was copyrighted? The only names on the list I recognised were James Dean and Elvis.

Warrior Maid: Not the start I'd hoped for. I prefer tales of the outlaws outwitting the sheriff or other
foes but instead we start with a silly love triangle that concludes with an equally silly twist.

Sir Robin Hood: more to my liking, this type of tale - the sheriff thinking he has the upper hand only to be outfoxed - is to my liking and for once I couldn't predict the outcome. I do have to note that Little John isn't as tall and bulky as he is usually depicted in tales of the outlaws.

Sir Galant: Nice tale, nice artwork. I noticed the glaring sign of changing times when the woman is described as "unusually weak", when Sir Galant believes it to be a male.  Imagine the outcry if that was printed today.

Last story: well drawn, not my favourite.

Sparkler

Spark Man and Firefly. Good story. I like the idea of keeping readers guessing on the identity of the hero although it occurs to me that this mystery could become burdensome in the long run. Is Firefly the inspiration for the DC villain with the same name? It's not clear but I believe the characters are too similar to be coincidence: a villain who sets fire to buildings and has a cheesy, screech-like laugh. This version of Firefly has no facial burns however, though perhaps that was to appease the CCA.  I'd like to find an origins story for Spark Man.

El Bombo: Love this guy! So wonderfully politically incorrect for today's ideals and yet such a likeable, innocent and kinda charming character. I laughed when he didn't understand what a bouncer was.

Broncho Bill: Sadly the font was too difficult for me to read.

I couldn't see Tarzan in this one. 

Both Tarzan and Nancy were deliberately left out because they are still under copyright ownership.  Sometimes you might come across a 68-page comic book that only has 14 pages scanned for readers on CB+.  That would occur if the rest of the book's pages contain material still under copyright. 

[crashryan]

Robin Hood is a pretty good book, all things considered. Others have pointed out how the writer got his history muddled. Setting that aside the stories were well-written considering they were only six pages long. I fault the editor for including two armored-knight-proves-to-be-a-woman stories in the same issue. Though it wasn't until issue 6 that ME began running photos from the imported British TV series, it looks as if Bolle was already using Richard Greene as a model for Robin.

For me the quality of Frank Bolle's art was the book's most pleasant aspect. What a remarkable change his style underwent over the next thirty years. In ME features like Robin Hood and Red Mask he drew nice figures (even with a little cheesecake thrown in), used interesting camera angles, inked carefully without overdoing detail, and staged action scenes well. I first encountered Bolle in Gold Key supernatural stories. In those days he was the most boringly competent artist I'd ever seen. You couldn't fault his draughtsmanship or his professionalism, but he was b-o-r-i-n-g! Somewhere along the road he must have decided just to get by.

The main appeal of Sparkler Comics No. 4 is The Spark Man. I wasn't familiar with the character. I liked the gimmick of making SM's identity a mystery, as long as the mystery would be solved soon and not drag on forever. Apparently this is what happened. Though he fudged on too many backgrounds, Reg Greenwood was a solid artist with a knack for action scenes. I read about him on pulpartists.com. Greenwood had been a working artist since he left the Army after WWI. During the thirties he painted Enoch Bolles-style covers for sexy magazines like Stolen Sweets. He went through tough times during the Depression and turned to drawing comics in 1940. Sadly, two years after the cover date of this issue, Greenwood died of a heart condition. He was 44, the same age his father had been when he died, also of a heart condition. Greenwood had been drawing the Hap Hopper newspaper strip, which Jack Sparling had left to launch Claire Voyant.

[gregjh]

That's sad to hear the artist died at my age. At least his legacy is carried through his comics.

Regarding the jumbled history of Robin Hood, this seems to be a factor in all incarnations of the tale. It's probably because the Robin Hood tale itself is an amalgamation of various tales, myths and legends of the medieval period.

[Robb_K]

That's sad to hear the artist died at my age. At least his legacy is carried through his comics.

Regarding the jumbled history of Robin Hood, this seems to be a factor in all incarnations of the tale. It's probably because the Robin Hood tale itself is an amalgamation of various tales, myths and legends of the medieval period. 

Dying at 44 years old is way-yyyy too young to go.  I've noticed that a LOT of comic book artists died young, seemingly in a much higher proportion than the general population.  I would have guessed that they loved their work, and it wasn't dull drudgery of unskilled, boring and hated work that so much of the population has to face for entire careers.  So, it must have been easier on the artists.  Carl Barks had been a farm worker, cowhand, logger and worked other sorts of heavy physical labour-intensive jobs, and absolutely HATED that sort of work.  He loved to sit at home and draw his cartoons and strips, and worked hard at that to avoid ever having ever again to do heavy labour.  He loved waking every day to draw and create new stories.  He loved his work, and lived to within a couple months of a century (almost till the end in good health). Floyd Gottfredson lived well into his 90s.  But, it seems, they were exceptions.  When I read the lists of animators' bios we compiled for our animation-to-comic book career-shift thread on this forum, I was shocked to see how very many died in their 40s and 50s.

Maybe many died young because of pressure to produce a lot for low pay, and spending so many hours on that, and not eating right, smoking heavily, and not getting enough exercise?  People in The Far East, who eat mainly a lot of vegetables, with small amounts of meat (mostly fish or fowl), and small portions of rice, and work their fields as farmers, and tend their gardens almost until the day they die, often live into their 90s and early 100s.

[The Australian Panther]

Robin Hood #02 IW reprint.
Oddly, for an IW reprint this includes what I think was the original cover. Unless it was the scanner who included that. One of the few IW reprints that has a dull cover compared to the original.  Although the original is included as the last page. Odd!
The first story is more of an anecdote than a full story. Leaves the narrative up in the air. When they don't betray Robin, what are the consequences for them and their families, and how will Robin help them escape those consequences? Only half the potential story is here.
Robbery on the Fen Road.
Same situation here. A very half-hearted story. Robin hasn't actually failed to clear himself. Robert M would go after him under those circumstances, so we don't have a completed narrative.
King of the Woodchoppers.
Well, they have got the 'Fighting fires with fire' correct. That's bush firefighting #101.
But the history lesson is strqnge. Here we have Vikings and King Arthur together.
Arthur is placed in the 100/200 years after the Roman's occupation ceased The Vikings were later than that.
The 'wise old man' says '600 years later, Norman the conqueror came.'
Well first, it was William the conqueror, who was a Norman.
But that was, as he says, 600 years later than this story.
Oh Well.
Not a bad yarn for all that.
The heart of a fool.
Best story in the book.
Frank Bolle's art is quite good throughout the book.
SPARKLER COMICS
'Case of the Firefly'
Plenty of Action here. The Art is better than average for the period.
The idea of having a mystery about the heroes secret identity was original and a good one.
Question, Did the Sparkman turn out to be any one of the three?
The elongated fingers when he makes sparks is a bit weird tho.
Bombo the bouncer - A typical slapstick strip for the character
Reflects the fascination Americans were beginning to have with South American Culture.
The Captain and the Kids. A story line for this one and not a series of gags. And the Kids are nowhere in sight. Oddly one of the characters here is named Bombo.
The Rest of the book consists of episodes of continued stories of Newspaper strips, I prefer to read these in chronological collections.
Frankie Doodle  and Abbie and Slats are the only ones which give me any interest in what happens next.

Thanks Gregjh!             
   
 

[FraBig]

Yes Panther, in Sparkler Comics #10 it was revealed the Spark Man was actually Omar Kavak, the violinist. A nice turn of events, considering in the story we read in this Reading Group the writer decieves us and makes us think Val Hall is actually the Spark Man.

[The Australian Panther]

Frabig! That]s a spoiler! Which is way I just asked the question and didn't provide the answer - which I knew.
Never mind. That's a spoiler for something that came out nearly 80 years ago!
Cheers!