[Yoc]

It seems like an amazing co-incidence that today - the day MB posted an AMAZING flood of Nedor scans from BHComics and himself that Rik Offenberger would debut his NEW Nedor site!
I've been a long time fan of Rik's works and was happy to contribute a never before shared scan to help out the cause.  Rik is a true fan of the GA and his love shows through on all his sites.  Below is his announcement which some should note mentions yet Another NEW Nedor scan to enjoy!
Rik runs several sites all very well done.  His Mighty Crusaders site is awe inspiring!  Go check them out!

-Yoc

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The Black Terror is long been a Fan Favorite. He is the only hero published by 5 different publishers. He has seen print in DC Comics, Image as well as an inspiration for the costume of Marvel's Punisher. The character has a rich history starting with Ned Pines "Exciting Comics #9" in May 1941. Go to the Nedor Network for a look at his exciting origin and free downloads of 14 issues of America's Best Comics. Featuring an all new scan of America's Best Comics #19, from Yocitrus exclusively for the launch of the site. Join the Black Terror Collectors Club and see a gallery of covers from all of the Black Terror's adventures. There is also up to date news with all the latest on Black Terror from AC Comics, Age of Adventure, Dynamite Entertainment, Image Comics and Wildcat Books.

Stop by the Nedor Network today at[/color]
www.Nedor.net

[darkmark]

Thanks for the heads-up, Yoc.  I was able to get a couple of AMERICA'S BEST that I didn't have before.  I've got a lot of Nedors, but limited time.

[boox909]

I've already stopped by and this is a great site! Fans of Nedor/Better/Standard have a new resource that fits nicely with GA-UK and Nedor-A-Day.

This is truly a positive because fans of the Golden Age heroes are realizing that the material from that era is timeless in many ways. We deserve access to these characters in a way that respects our support of these efforts, and access that does not fleece us for the sake of a beancounter's job.

When today's trendy enlightened creators offer 'trademark homesteading' of super-power'd characters they've never even read before, and horrid 'modern day' justice & society adventures that fail to kingdom come in telling a unified story over the course of 17 individual issues (much less twelve dull b-listers that are still putting readers to sleep)...well, if you can point me to a modern day rebooting of a Golden Age character(s) that isn't motivated by 'avenge'n & invade'n' for GA fanboy dollars, writer egos, global warming, greed, or deforestation, feel free. I will not hold my breath because I know that brave & bold plans fall through often.

Maybe Larsen's Next Issue Project will be the ticket? Hopefully.

Regardless, kibbiz'n, bitterness, and angst, aside, welcome Nedor Network!

Long Live GA-UK/GAC!

B. 

[narfstar]

I applauded your wit Box and I applaud the Nedor network

[Yoc]

Will there ever be a next issue of 'The Next Issue Project'

[bchat]

Will there ever be a next issue of 'The Next Issue Project'?

Last I heard, not that long ago (I just ran across an article about this last month), the Next Issue is "Crack Comics 63", with a cover by Mike Allred who is apparently going to or has done a "Clock" story.  After that, it looks as if "Speed Comics 45" would be next, with a cover by Larsen showing Shock Gibson and Captain Freedom duking it out.

Do the huge delays mean the books may never see the light of day?  Maybe, maybe not.  Larsen's been busy getting the Savage Dragon back-up to speed, plus I would imagine dealing with so many different creators has to throw any type of schedule for these books extremely out-of-whack.

[John C]

Incidentally, somebody might find this an interesting quick reference:

http://goldenageheroes.blogspot.com/2009/01/2008-golden-age-revival_04.html

And no, don't bother reading the Stardust story.  I realize this may come as a shock, but it's a reimagining/update where he's lost his way in a dreamworld, misses the violence of his earlier life, and there's suggestion of sexual dysfunction.  I know.  Weird, right?  With Golden Agers, no less.

Sigh...

[bchat]

I ran across that Stardust story a while back and wasn't impressed at all with either the artwork or the pacing of the tale.  Maybe it's just me, but the creators for this "new version" of Stardust really seemed to miss the point of the character, which leaves me with the impression that the story they started (but apparently have given-up on) really could have starred any character, and they only used "Fletcher Hanks' Stardust" so that their story would pop-up in search engines.  I mean, five pages in and all Stardust did was cut the grass and go to bed.  That's about as exciting as my own life.  What's next?  Will Stardust make coffee, wash the dishes and drive his car?  Sorry, but I prefer the comic stories I read to be more interesting than real life.

I'm not against someone taking a Golden Age character and changing the costume or updating the character to fit today's storytelling techniques, but dropping every element that made the original hero interesting?  Why bother at all?  Why not just create an all-new character with new name?

[John C]

Yeah.  While I don't want to bash anybody for at least trying something out (even a terrible story can be instructive or contain entertaining elements), this was just dismal.  The art was very 1990s, and a domestic Stardust with a robot wife?  Somehow, that just doesn't resonate with me as "fun," especially when the story thusfar is about, as you say, chores.

It reminds me of a comic script I saw that someone posted with a Creative Commons license.  I gave up after two pages, because it was panel after panel described of...a guy getting dressed.  Yes, it was explicitly loaded with symbolism.  Yes, it was probably going somewhere.  But if the writer needs to spend that much time on something that mundane, it doesn't suggest that things are spontaneously going to become exciting.

[bchat]

Yeah.  While I don't want to bash anybody for at least trying something out (even a terrible story can be instructive or contain entertaining elements), this was just dismal.  The art was very 1990s, and a domestic Stardust with a robot wife?  Somehow, that just doesn't resonate with me as "fun," especially when the story thusfar is about, as you say, chores.

It reminds me of a comic script I saw that someone posted with a Creative Commons license.  I gave up after two pages, because it was panel after panel described of...a guy getting dressed.  Yes, it was explicitly loaded with symbolism.  Yes, it was probably going somewhere.  But if the writer needs to spend that much time on something that mundane, it doesn't suggest that things are spontaneously going to become exciting.

It's probably just me, but everything we're saying is a big reason I don't get into "online comics".  It seems that a lot of what I've seen on various sites is designed to be printed at some point in the future in tpb-form, which is fine, but it doesn't translate well for me personally because I may never go back to read "the next page" ... whenever it might get done.  Online non-professional artists seem to have the worst work habits in the world.

I simply don't understand how someone "publishes" a comic story on the net as if they automatically have loyal readers, starting-off their stories without anything to grab the casual reader's interest for a story that might not end for another 20, 40 or 50 pages.  If "whoever" was going to use "Fletcher Hanks' Stardust" with intent that using that particular character would get them additional attention for their artwork & story, why not jump right into some sort of senseless action, letting fans of the character know that this is the Stardust they know and love, and then slowly introduce the elements of their own story, working their way towards Stardust cutting the grass and hanging with his robot wife and humanoid dog-thing in the bedroom?

[JVJ]

What strikes me the most is not that it failed to live up to Fletcher Hanks' strangeness. No, it's that it doesn't seem to have even tried. It's one thing to make an effort and fail, but it's another to not even have an inkling of what the original meant! I'm NOT a big Fletcher Hanks fan and wouldn't even have the book except Greg Sadowski sent me a copy. I did read it and thought that the best thing about it was the epilogue where FH is "discovered". It was so revelatory about the strange mind of the artist that you'd think anyone trying to use the "Stardust" name would use those facts as a springboard.

I agree with jc and bchat, there's no reason for this to labeled "Stardust" beyond the reflected search engine glories bestowed by the name. "Dismal" is a good description.

Peace, Jim (|:{>

[paw broon]

Oh, my goodness. Bring me a bucket, I'm salivating so much.  Having just found Nedor-a-Day and thinking, "too good to be true", I log on to GAC and discover this new Nedor site. Like so many of you, I've been a Black Terror fan since first finding out about him heaven knows how many years ago now.  Long before all these web sites I was stretching my resources to buy Black Terror titles at marts and conventions, when they turned up, which wasn't often.
I interrupted this to try and find a B&w indie from the 1980's titled The Terror - (it's on my shelves somewhere and will turn up eventually) - is this by one of the 5 publishers mentioned?
And I get fed up reading stuff about comics by "experts" who tell me The Black Terror was 2nd rate etc. What a load of cobblers--- a great name, one of the best costumes, great art later on and, to my mind, very entertaining stories.  I write this as a huge Phantom fan and on The Chronicle Chamber there is a small discussion about whether The Phantom is "quaint".  Same thing - great name, great costume, great stories.
I don't really want relevance and soul searching in my comics reading; rather diversion, entertainment and escapism.

[narfstar]

Well said Paw. How can you want reality and someone flying around in tights at the same time? I want to enjoy what I read not end up depressed. I think the Phantom is one of the best characters ever. When I read some of the collections of early strips I am amazed at how good they were. Another character that really surprised me with good writing was Alley Oop. He may have been a caveman but he had well written interesting stories. I had thought it would have been a humor strip like BC but they were adventures.

[DOC]

I'm a great fan too.
Also what did you think of what Alan Moore did it a few years back with Tom Strong and Terror Obscura (which I guees is why DC is listed as publisher) or when Eclipse published a Black Terror comic in the 80's. I think there was an indie version too called the Terror published by Leadslinger with art by Tom Artis in 1991

[John C]

How can you want reality and someone flying around in tights at the same time? I want to enjoy what I read not end up depressed.

I take mild objection to that argument, because reality (at least, not my reality) isn't populated with rotten, depressing people.  I don't find modern comics, with their histrionic soap operas and selfish motivations, to be any more realistic than the Silver Age stepfordism, and it has nothing to do with how people dress or whether they can catch a falling rocket between their teeth.  A socially-realistic world (which need not be supported by a physically-realistic world) doesn't have to be stuck with either course.  They're just the easiest (cough-laziest-cough) courses to write.

Hopefully, this won't turn into me ranting, but it's worth pointing out that superheroes are artifacts of our country's earliest history, when every individual was responsible for upholding the law and the idea of government law enforcement agents was absurd.  Somewhere along the way, it was decided that people who do this would actually be fascists or lunatics and not responsible citizens.  Thus, it wasn't "realistic" for a superhero to fight crime just because crime is bad.  Ugh.

As for the tights...well, if people can walk with their pants around their knees or wear embarrassingly large costume jewelry, I somehow don't think that tights would be all that absurd.

[narfstar]

How can you want reality and someone flying around in tights at the same time? I want to enjoy what I read not end up depressed.

I take mild objection to that argument, because reality (at least, not my reality) isn't populated with rotten, depressing people.  I don't find modern comics, with their histrionic soap operas and selfish motivations, to be any more realistic than the Silver Age stepfordism, and it has nothing to do with how people dress or whether they can catch a falling rocket between their teeth.  A socially-realistic world (which need not be supported by a physically-realistic world) doesn't have to be stuck with either course.  They're just the easiest (cough-laziest-cough) courses to write.

Hopefully, this won't turn into me ranting, but it's worth pointing out that superheroes are artifacts of our country's earliest history, when every individual was responsible for upholding the law and the idea of government law enforcement agents was absurd.  Somewhere along the way, it was decided that people who do this would actually be fascists or lunatics and not responsible citizens.  Thus, it wasn't "realistic" for a superhero to fight crime just because crime is bad.  Ugh.

As for the tights...well, if people can walk with their pants around their knees or wear embarrassingly large costume jewelry, I somehow don't think that tights would be all that absurd.

Rant away I find you points extremely profound  and I am in agreement. That and I LMAO at the last statement.

[Yoc]

I got a good laugh from the last line as well.

[John C]

Rant away I find you points extremely profound  and I am in agreement.

I used up a lot of my ranting for the week with the new television my family decided I needed.  Why DOES it need a special light to tell me that it's turned off?

But on this topic, I've always thought it'd be interesting to track down when and how the idea that civilian crime-fighters were bad evolved.  I suspect that it might be the popularity of British books, since Europeans seem to be more accepting of and happier with centralized control of such things, but I could just as easily be wrong (even if "blame Alan Moore" is SO tempting) and it could be the ghost of Dr. Wertham.

I'm not a huge fan of westerns, but is there a comparable evolution in the movies?  That might provide some insight, since the frontier cowboy types draw from the same tradition.

That and I LMAO at the last statement.

And yet, I was only half-joking, but I realize that it seems like more of a jab because it's not a precise analogy.  There isn't a consistent "costume" among wannabe rappers or any similar group that you can identify a single "must-have" article of clothing that matches the circus acrobat's tights.  And I think that's where the disconnect comes, because it's pretty obvious that almost all superheroes are kinda-sorta acrobats by nature, and thus wear the tights to evoke that feeling.  (Tights probably also have the advantage of being easier to draw, since you don't have to care about how the fabric flows, but that's pure speculation on my part.)

Of course, nobody goes to the circus anymore, because they border on creepy and boring.  I'm rambling at this point, but maybe professional sports would be a more modern model.  Most (team) sports uniforms have the (no pun intended) goals of making the athlete easy to see and letting him show off his body.

[paw broon]

Thank you DOC. There was a Terror comic by Artis and published by Leadslinger and that is the one I still can't find on my shelves.  Stopped looking now as it's not very good.
Many of you British fans, and some others, will know that there were a number of superheroes, or costumed, masked heroes, in British story papers in the 1930's and before e.g.- The Black Whip andThe Flaming Avenger in Rover or Hotspur (don't have access to my card files at the moment), The Phantom Protector and Nighthawk in Nelson Lee, The Iron Man in a British "pulp" of the early 1900's and Flying Justice in The Boys Friend in the 1920's.  Lots more. Don't know what shaped these characters.  Anyone want to speculate?

[narfstar]

I am sure that many more characters than have been admitted owe their existence to the pulps. It is a pretty good bet that the writers of the GA most were avid pulp fans.

[Brainster]

I'm a great fan too.
Also what did you think of what Alan Moore did it a few years back with Tom Strong and Terror Obscura (which I guees is why DC is listed as publisher) or when Eclipse published a Black Terror comic in the 80's. I think there was an indie version too called the Terror published by Leadslinger with art by Tom Artis in 1991

I had not read any of the Terror before reading the Tom Strong story.  I remember that the line that made me curious enough to read a few when they were posted at ABPC was when one of the other characters referred to him as a "borderline psychopath".  Aside from one amazing story where the Black Terror killed a hundred or so Japanese soldiers, I never found anything to justify that characterization of him.

[John C]

I had not read any of the Terror before reading the Tom Strong story.  I remember that the line that made me curious enough to read a few when they were posted at ABPC was when one of the other characters referred to him as a "borderline psychopath".  Aside from one amazing story where the Black Terror killed a hundred or so Japanese soldiers, I never found anything to justify that characterization of him.

My experience has been that the personality analysis of Golden Age heroes usually has more basis in the reporter than the subject, even among many of the supposed experts.

Heck, I still see reports of how Batman "always" used a gun in his early stories (my survey said twice).  Reports of Fighting American as jingoistic satire also seem greatly exaggerated (it's campy, but not exactly chest-thumpingly patriotic.