Bronze Shines More Than Gold
As part of the effort to cull the backlog, I’ve been bringing some of DC’s Archive hardcovers with me on the bus. I’ve read two volumes of Legion of Super-Heroes from the early 1970s, and an early volume of Batman from the early 40s. The interesting thing about the Legion Archives is that there are 12 volumes out, so you can watch the series evolve over decades, and as the series hit the 70s there’s a noticeable transition in the art. With Dave Cockrum and especially Mike Grell handling pencils, the renditions of the characters look like things you could find on stands today, although now Grell’s style would probably be considered a little bit ‘classic’ or ‘retro.’ But it’s interesting to watch the characters age and take on slightly trendier appearances.
The Batman comics, on the other hand . . . well, I’m not really crazy about Bob Kane’s (and whatever ghost artists he may have employed) pencil work. Frankly, it just looks a bit crude. I do find it amusing how many of the stories end with Batman delivering some kind of law and order moral to Robin. I kinda wonder how Frank Miller’s Dark Knight would have delivered a Respect Fair Play message to all of us impressionable readers . . .
Part of me feels like I shouldn’t write off the Golden Age just based on my exposure to Superman and Batman comics of the day, but on the other hand, there’s plenty of stuff from the ’70s through the ’90s that I still haven’t gotten through yet.
About Dave Thomer
Born and raised in Philadelphia. Studied philosophy at Fordham University in the Bronx, where I made many great friends and met my wonderful wife. We moved back to Philadelphia, where I studied philosophy some more and became a teacher. Online and off, I'm looking for ways that we can be better citizens and build stronger communities.
Friday, February 9th 2007 at 1:37 pm |
I haven’t read that much of the stuff from the 60s and 70s, but the Green Arrow / Green Lantern crossover stuff from that era (full of civil rights goodness) is one of my all time favorite stories.
Saturday, February 10th 2007 at 8:50 pm |
I gotta admit, I appreciate those stories more for their historical importance than for themselves. Denny O’Neil got a little ham-handed at times – but then again, the medium wasn’t exactly shooting for subtlety even at that point. Not a lotta room for subtext, and when you’re talking about serious issues with many shades of meaning, it can be a difficult collision.
Neal Adams, on the hand, that guy could certainly draw.