Scenes from the Life of an Amateur Comic Book Collector (12)--

I stopped by Time Machine recently just before it was closing and brought up an old Jimmy Olsen (103) with the top half of the cover slashed off. Roger said it was worth about $4, but he'd let me have it for free. Here's an interesting letter from Jimmy Olsen's Pen Pals in that issue:

Dear Editor:
We all know that Jimmy's favorite girl friend is Lucy Lane. But who is his favorite boy friend, his best boy pal?
Gloria Samuels, Leonia, NJ
(Robin the Boy Wonder. They frequently work together on cases with Batman and Superman.--Ed.)

So, I wonder if Gloria Samuels is still around and if she realizes the homoerotic can of worms she opened?

They were other gay goodies to be found in my most recent batch of Silver Age purchases. In Superboy 147, an 80-page giant starring the Legion of Super Heroes, the story about the initiation of Ultra Boy is most interesting. In the first panel, a new kid and an older man alight from a train in Smallville, Superboy's home town. "We will go directly to the home I've rented," the older man says, "Be on guard! No one must suspect we are...different!" (Cue the creepy music) In the next panel, both figures are in their new home and taking their shirts off! They reveal bright red action costumes with a green bird insigna. Now if that's not gay, I don't know what is.

It turns out the kid is Ultra Boy and he's in Smallville to pass his initiation into the Legion of Superheroes in the 30th century. He must discover Superboy's secret identity. The older guy is later revealed to be some old coot named Marla, the Legion's senior advisor. But Marla never showed up again in any of the Legion stories when they got their own feature in Adventure Comics. What happened to him?

In The Story of Superman, Jr., reprinted in Superman Annual no. 7, Superman adopts a young boy who had gained superpowers when his father shot him into space thinking the earth would explode. But he didn't know Superboy would save earth. Years later, the now super youngster returns to earth and the grown up Superman adopts him. The boy's dad has since passed away. Superman just drops his Clark Kent identity and pretends to be the boy's dad. Weird, huh? It gets weirder. In one panel they are actually sleeping in the same bed. Later Superman Jr. loses his superpowers and Superman Sr. just leaves him on the street. Presumably Superman found a home for his former adopted son, but why just abandon him?

Scenes from the Life of an Amateur Comic Book Collector (11)--Comic Smuggling in Times Square

Though I had resolved to cut down on my comic book habit, I came across an incredible deal on Ebay and just couldn't resist. A seller based in NYC was putting up for auction 31 Silver Age DC comics and the bid was only $45. That's less than $2 a book. Maybe the price was so low because they were readers--copies in such poor shape they are only good for reading the comics not for collecting. So I made my top bid $50. What the hell, the guy was in NYC, I wouldn't have to pay postage and handling. I won for $47.50! After a week while the seller had a bad cold, I finally met him in Times Square in front of the Toys R Us on 44th St. and we made the transaction. I felt like a drug smuggler picking up an illegal cache of halucinogentics. Although I shouldn't feel so bad, I did go during lunch and I didn't take more than an hour total, eating my lunch on the subway. He was selling them because he was now collecting science fiction book covers.

Interesting side note: while in Times Square, I spotted the Naked Cowboy for the first time in a while. This is a hunky entertainer who dresses only in a pair of briefs, a cowboy hat and guitar to pose with tourists. It was about 30 degrees and he was getting a lot of attention. Unless I am mistaken this was a different Naked Cowboy that the last one I saw a few years ago. The old one was beginning to put on weight. This one looked a lot younger and buffer. I could be wrong. It could have been the same guy.

Anyway, in addition to the haul of 31 from the Ebay seller, I also recently bought seven Silver Age comics from Time Machine for only $25 and a really beat-up Jimmy Olsen from another shop for $5 (more than it was worth. I should have waited til there was a sale.) Here's the rundown--
Action Comics #344 (beautiful Curt Swan cover, dull Wayne Boring art on the inside)
Adventure #277, 302, 357, 359, 370
The Adventures of Bob Hope #107 (were they really that many Bob Hope comics? Or did he take over another title?)
Challengers of the Unknown #39
The Flash # 130, 141, 183
Fox and Crow #5, 75 (a funny animal title, a genre of which I have very few. #5 is from 1952 which makes it the oldest comic in my entire collection)
Jimmy Olsen # 81, 82, 91, 98, 100, 104 (80 page giant),107, 108, 113 (80 page giant), 115, 129
Lois Lane #81, 88, 90
Sea Devils #13
Strange Adventures #205 (first appearance of Deadman, fantastic Carmine Infantino cover)
Superboy #117, 125, 127, 134, 135, 143, 145, 147 (80 page giant featuring the Legion of Super-Heroes)
Superman Annual #7
Wonder Woman # 131

I haven't read them yet of course so I haven't had a chance to form any commentary. However, I did find something interesting in the Jimmy Olsen #98 (pictured) which I bought at Time Machine a week or so previously. On an episode of The Big Bang Theory from last season, Sheldon, Leonard, Wallowitz, and Raj are arguing about how Superman cleans his super costume since it is just as super as he is. Sheldon had a very funny line about the Man of Steel flying into the sun whose rays burn away any dirt and leave his suit downy fresh--or words to that effect. I thought this was just some funny dialogue the writers came up with that the comics-obsessed Sheldon would say.

But oh no! In Jimmy Olsen #98 in the story "The Four Clocks of Doom" (not the cover story, I might add), our favorite cub reporter is appearing on a TV trivia show answering questions about his best super-buddy. "How does Superman clean his indestrucible uniform?" asks an audience member. "By flying into the sun and letting the flames of old Sol burn away the dust and dirt." So the Big Bang writers were referencing an actual comic. You can imagine Sheldon actually finding the comic and pointing to it, saying "How could you doubt me? If you spent more time on comics and less pining for unavailable women, we wouldn't be having these pointless conversations."

The Kryptonian Time Line Project--Part I

As per my New Year's resolution, I'm going to do something really constructive and figure out that Krpytonian time line I wrote about in earlier blogs.

Lois Lane's attempt to break up Jor-El and Lara. (Lois Lane's Romance with Jor-El, Lois Lane, #59) In one of the most twisted moves of her neurotic life, Lois Lane goes into the past in a misguided attempt to save Krpyton from exploding and romance Jor-El. I guess she was thinking "If I can't have the son, I'll take the father." While on Krypton long before the Els' marriage, Lois tries to prevent the inevitable but is foiled at every turn. The scheming Lois even goes so far as to sabotage Lara at the hairdressers', only to have the scheme backfire and Lois winds with green hair.

KBI Agents While Jor and Lara are still dating, they are working as undercover agents for the Krpton Bureau of Investigation (KBI), Superman #123 "Superman's Return to Krypton." They meet Superman who is there through a magic wish of Jimmy Olsen's but forget all about it when he comes back in Superman #141.

Jor-El and Lara are married (Superman's Return to Krypton, Superman #141) just as Superman winds up on his home world after chasing some space beast so fast he accidentally breaks the time barrier. After numerous attempts to trick fate, Kal-El is determined to out on a brave front and face doom with his parents and new love Lyla Lerrol, Krypton's leading emotion-movie actress. But while filming a movie, Kal is trapped in a prop rocket with a flame-beast whose super-fires shooting from its mouth give the rocket temporary real flight powers. Superman is rocketed into a yellow sun's orbit and regains his powers. He callously concludes he can't change history and returns to the present. In one of many inconsistancies, the city of Kandor is shrunken and stolen by Brianian during this visit. But it was also abducted during Lois Lane's earlier sojourn which takes place years before the Els' marriage.

Superman and Batman drop in. Some years after the marriage,but before the birth of baby Kal-El, Superman and Batman arrive to investigate the first couple of Krypton's brief appearance on modern-day earth (World's Finest #191, "Execution on Krypton"). The Els and Superman have apparently forgotten all about his two earlier visits. (see earlier blog for details of this WF adventure).

To Stop a Predator. At this point, Lois Lane re-enters the picture in her time bubble (still Lois Lane #59, "Lois Lane's Romance with Jor-El.") She can't help herself and before returning to present-day Earth, this twisted woman emerges to give the infant Kal-El a big kiss. How sick can you get? Jor-El aims his newly invented phantom zone ray at her accidentally and she is hurled into the ghost-like dimension (which makes no sense because then she would have disappeared from her earth life and never met Superman.)

Jor-El, Super-Genius. In addition to inventing the Phantom Zone ray, Jor also invents an all-terrain vehicle which can fly, and travel underwater and underground ("The Super-Outlaw from Krypton," Superman #134), and is called the Jor-El.

Even More Earth People Visit. According to "The Man Who Saved Kal-El's Life" (Action #281), an Earth scientist named Prof. Dunn also appeared on Krpyton by means of a matter transmitter Jor-El instructed him to build. The plan was to mass produce the transmitter to save the Kyrpton population. While in the El home, Prof. Dunn helps save baby Kal-El's life when the kiddy is bitten by a snake. There are references to Jor-El monitoring Earth and seeing Al Capone and Babe Ruth, placing this in the 1920s. Dunn returns to earth, but the scheme fails when Krypton blows up ahead of schedule and Dunn's matter transmitter malfunctions so that not even the Els can be saved.

In World's Finest #146 ("Batman, Son of Krypton"), we learn of yet another Earth scientist to wend his way to our favorite planet--actually he saw it by long-distnace telescope. This loser's name is Dr. Ellison, and by sheerest coincidence, he was a neighbor of Baby Bruce Wayne, the future Batman.This "lonely bachelor" would baby-sit little Bruce and dress him up in Kryptonian clothes and have the poor tyke pretend he was a native of the planet and had superpowers on Earth. This guy was even more twisted than Lois Lane.

Krypto and Beppo In test experiments for the rocket which will bring baby kal-El to earth, super dog Kyrpto and super monkey Beppo are launched into orbit. Jor-El is not sued by the Kryptonian equivalent of the ASCAP.

Let's Not Forget Mon-El. Yet another alien befriends Jor and Lara. A youth from the planet Daxam (Superboy #89, "Superboy's Big Brother") crash lands in their back yard. After several weeks, the ship is repaired, but the kid gets amnesia when he crash lands on earth--how unlucky can you get? In his mixed-up memory, he thinks he's from Krypton and is Superboy's older brother. Daxam is similar to Krypton in that its inhabitants would get superpowers on earth. Anyway, Superboy calls him Mon-El because he was found a Monday. After the truth is discovered and Mon recovers his memory, Superboy sends him to the Phantom Zone for 1,000 years (he's dying from lead poisoning and a cure isn't discovered until then by Brianiac 5). The weird part is, we never find out Mon's real name and no one seems to care.

Jimmy Olsen Sticks his Big Nose In. Trying and failing miserably to save Krypton seems to be the thing to do among Superman's buttinsky pals, so Jimmy Olsen takes a shot in "Olsen's Time Trip to Save Krypton" (Jimmy Olsen, #101). Things get really screwy because Jimmy arrives on Krpyton just as Kandor is stolen, but in this version, Jor-El and Lara are married and baby Kal-El is a few years old. Jimmy visits Jor-El and when the erstwhile cub reporter shows the great scientist a future picture of his son, Jor admits to recognizing him from the events of Superman #141. However, he dismisses Jimmy's wild tales about Earth and Superman and tosses him out as a nutbag. Jimmy falls in love with a Krytonian girl named Miri, attempts to warn the population about the impending doom, and but fails. He whisks himself back to the present as the planet meets its end.

Argo City cuts loose. A lot was going on at the big-bang moment. As baby Kal-el's rocket is launched, an entire chuck of Krypton containing Argo City breaks off which is conventiently covered with a plastic bubble and has enough food to survive for many years. Never mind that this is physically impossible. On this impossible chunk of life lives Zor-El, Jor's brother, and his wife. While floating aimslessly in space, they give birth to a girl who, after Argo city is destroyed, is a saved in a manner similar to that of her cousin by crashing landing on earth. She later becomes Supergirl.

Mass. Culture High and Low

We spent the weekend in Massachusettes, experiencing the heights of culture in music and art as well as the lowest of entertainment--and you know what that means--comics. Friday we drove from Stockport, NY to Tanglewood in Lenox, Mass. and experienced a beautiful Beethoven concerto with soloist Emanuel Ax and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. (Before leaving we had a visit from the animal guy who set the live traps from the woodchucks. We did not have to resort to used kitty litter--see previous post. He had caught the two young ones, but the mother was still at liberty. I asked where the father was. He replied "Oh, he's a runaround" meaning the males gets the females pregnant and leave them to raise the young under people's houses.)

I can still recall a concert with Ax playing a Chopin piece at Avery Fisher many years ago. The delicacy of his playing was beautiful.

The next day was spent in Boston at the Museum of Fine Arts viewing their special show on the rivalry between Titian, Tintorento, and Veronese. Separate admission tickets and everything. I liked the Tintorentos best, particularly the Temptation of St. Anthony.

We had time to look around Boston and Cambridge which I like very much. Boston is so orderly they even name the Alleys. Street signs read Public Alley No. 253, etc. The area around the museum--the Back Bay--is charming in a way that no part of New York is any more. Perhaps the Village was at one point, but I fail to see it. Maybe I'm jaded. Here everyone seems rushed and self-involved. They appeared more at ease in Beantown. But it's probably just my own feelings being projected onto others.

I visited Comicopia on Commonwealth Ave. where they have many indie titles and bought False Witness: The Michele Bachmann Story, a wicked satire of the Minnesota congresswoman who's been making such an ass of herself on cable TV news--she's been spouting conspiracy theories about Obama taking over the economy and making us all into socialist zombies. Cambridge's comic book store is called The Million Year Picnic, which is the title of a Ray Bradbury story. The name is cooler than the store. Not many grabby back issues, but I did find a Jimmy Olsen with Curt Swan art from 1968 and a Marvel reprint special with the Fantastic Four teaming up with Sub Mariner, with whom they are normally at odds.