Thursday 11 May 2017

CRIVENS' CRACKING COMIC COVERS: POLICE COMICS #70...


Image copyright DC COMICS

A nice little visual gag on the cover of POLICE COMICS
#70 from 1947 that I just had to share with you.  The art is by
JACK COLE, the laughing is by you and me.  Great, eh?

4 comments:

TC said...

Of course, the Golden Age Plastic Man was before my time, although I've read a few reprints in DC comics.

DC tried starring PM in his own comic in the 1960's and again in the 1970's. Each run lasted ten issues. He also had a strip that ran as a back-up in Adventure Comics ca. 1980, and occasionally guest starred with Batman in Brave & Bold.

My impression is that more recent revivals have tried to make him grim-and-gritty. DC just doesn't seem to grasp that some characters (Batman, Deadman, Spectre) are well suited to a grimdark style, while others (Plastic Man, the original Captain Marvel) work better when done tongue-in-cheek.

I may be the only person who liked the Silver Age version. It came out in 1966-67, during the Batman TV show/camp comedy fad, and was played strictly for laughs. Oddly, though, the 1970's run was, if anything, even sillier and campier.

Kid said...

That's the stories I read too, TC (reprints), but I first saw Plastic Man in an ad for #1 of his first issue in the '60s. Had the '70s runs ('though I'm unsure if I bought every ish) and still have a few lying around somewhere. I've also got a four issue series from the late '80s or early to mid-'90s.

Phil S said...

I first read Plas in the 100 page giants as reprints. I thought he was great and loved his offbeat humor. You're right, writers don't seem to understand Plas is a parody hero. He doesn't work in "reality". Here's a great read of CC Beck and Captain Marvel. http://cartoonician.com/an-interview-with-c-c-beck/2/

Kid said...

Read the interview, PS. He sure knew his own mind, eh? Personally, I didn't see much difference between the quality of the DC stories and the Fawcett ones, but I'd have to re-read examples of each in order to compare them better.



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