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Popeye
The Sailor Man: Comics' First Superhero
by Jason Sacks
 Ask
a group of comics fans who the first super powered
hero in comics was and you won’t hear Superman.
You might hear Popeye the Sailor Man. While he lacked
an identity concealing costume, he did (by eating
spinach) undergo Captain Marvel-like or Hour Man-like
transformations to a far more powerful, indeed superpowerful,
version of himself.
Popeye
is one of the greatest comic strip characters of
all time. Since his creation in 1929, the character
has become a comic strip and cartoon icon. Who among
us doesn't know the "Popeye the sailor man"
song or recognize Popeye's distinctive laugh? Popeye’s
enduring popularity is especially amazing since
he was initially intended by Segar as a throwaway
character.
more...
Get
Ready...For 100 CCs of Crap!
by Derek Sprang
 I
wanted to like the script for Codename: Courage.
I wanted to love it.
Anything
based on Commander Courage starts off with no bigger
fan than I -- except for Don. But from the opening
scene I knew this was not a film I could stomach.
The
movie opens with our nameless and nearly faceless
(he wears the mask for the entire film) hero waking
up in the morning. The first thing our tough guy
does is pull a revolver out of his bedside table.
He holds it to his temple and clicks the trigger.
No bang. He says…ready for this "I'm not
gonna die today." Oh please. I haven't even
finished reading page one and I'm gagging on the
testosterone.
more...
Not-so-strange
Visitor: Superman For All Seasons
Reviewed by Jason Sacks
 “Strange
visitor from another planet” is one of the
phrases used in the 1950s Superman TV show to describe
Superman. Besides the fact that it’s inaccurate
– Superman isn’t a visitor to our planet,
he lives here! – the phrase doesn’t
get to the point of the character.
Much
more accurate is the phrase “tireless crusader
for truth, justice and the American way.”
That much is certainly true. How does a man
born on another planet come to represent the United
States? Simple – he grew up in Kansas. He’s
as American as apple pie, football and the family
farm. The story of how this alien boy grew up to
be a great American hero is brilliantly shown in
Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale’s “Superman for
All Seasons.”
more...
 The
Return of Courage in
a Frightening Time
by Donald Swan
When
the first issue of Codename: Courage appeared in
comic shops, nobody expected the success that it
would become. Peter David had yet to become embroiled
in other controversies, and Nathan Kane was just
a fan making a dream come true; now, of course,
he's a household name. At least in some households.
more..
 The
Popular Imagination: Jack Cole and Plastic Man
The
layouts of this chronicle on the life and work of
Jack Cole do more than mimic the subject's zeal
in artistic design, they also serve as a Greek Chorus
companion to Spiegelman's text. It
becomes apparent early on that the chosen pieces
of Cole's art reflect a deeper sensibility, the
opportunity to get a glimpse of their creator's
person, perhaps even his state of mind. The final
pages crescendo into a dizzying and powerful final
commentary on Cole's giddiness, anguish and suicide.
more...
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