POBB July 4, 2025

Pick of the Brown Bag

July 4, 2025

by

Ray Tate

It's a trio of retreads for this week's shorter than usual Pick of the Brown Bag.  The length is due simply because, well, there's little new to see here.  So this is more of a POBB alert to save your money.

The most disappointing of the lot comes from writer Jinx and artist Shaky Kane.  Magic Lantern, cool name, basically takes the movie The Fly and mixes it up with thin political and religious satire.

Elon Gates.  See, how thin it is?  Elon Gates marries a pop singer Pearl and with her produces a sickly daughter.  To restore her to health, Elon begins working with the obscure energy force Orgone.  

Orgone--no, Siri, not a misspelling--is essentially the energy of the orgasm manifested as some kind of invisible field or plasma, depending on what nut-bar you talk to. 

Orgone was "discovered" in the nineteen-thirties by Freud cult member and all around fruitcake Dr. William Reich.  He used to toss naked women into Faraday Cages and claimed to collect Orgone, somehow, to hopefully cure cancer.  Laudable goal.  Horribly misguided approach.

In Magic Lantern the Orgone investigation leads Elon to create a transmogrifying device which he uses to turn water into wine.  Okay.  

This inspires Elon to scrape DNA samples from the Shroud of Turin.  He intends to fuse Jesus with himself to become a being that cures cancer.  Alas, there's a fly in the ointment.

Magic Lantern's best element.  The art.  Shaky Kane is a cross between Jack Kirby and Robert Crumb.  Damn fine, unique artwork.

The story however doesn't really even rate as a parody.  It's a direct rip-off.  The plot is the same right down to the strange fly with a "white head."  

If you haven't seen the 1958 Fly, it's worth a watch.  Because of its Twentieth-Century Fox history, the movie likely lies in a rights gray area and available from a number of sources.  If you wait long enough, you may be able to watch it on Svengoolie, Elvira or Joe Bob Briggs.  Don't pay for it.  It's not that good.

Next on the list, the reliable Chip Zdarsky and artists Valerio Schitti and Frank Martin rearrange Captain America's history to make it agree with the sliding scale of Marvel time and Marvel continuity.  Essentially, Captain America is Spider-Man Chapter One.

In that series, Marvel hired John Byrne to write and illustrate Spider-Man, as adjusted for then modern times.  So you would get things like Flash Thompson with an earring or Mary Jane carrying a big portable phone.  That series would have been completely without merit if not for John Byrne rendering Spider-Man.

This Captain America reorganization doesn't have that kind of backing.  It's not bad.  It's just not necessary and overpriced.  However, it's also not without merit.  If you don't mind the walk down memory lane, you will get a good short story.

It's great to see Captain America just be Captain America.  He's not dark.  I had to sort through multiple covers just to find the Frank Miller one.  All the rest were sad Captain America.

Look at that! Proper Captain America shield action!  He aims the shield in one panel.  It flies multiple times in another.  

The slow artistic representation of the shield has been a huge pain for me when trying Captain America books.  Too many artists want to storyboard the shield, frame by frame.  Not this one.  So double points for that.

The short story has a beginning, middle and end all which depend on the Captain's characterization.  

And that's where the novelty ends.  After this lovely vignette, you get Captain America interacting with Iron Man, the Fantastic Four.  Establishing he hasn't joined the Avengers yet.  He returns to the Army...Um...Yeah.  There's also a juxtaposition with Captain America's story and a kid named David Colton, who I'm sure is important for somebody.  Just not me.

Last but not least is the debut of Krypto The Last Dog of Krypton.  I love Krypto.  I wasn't all that excited about the new  Superman movie until they presented Krypto in the trailer.  

The premiere issue of Krypto is more of the same.  It's Krypto's origin, just longer.  Though not excruciating.

Krypto's origin isn't frequently covered all that much, and younger readers just may not know it.  So, this is the only book out of the three that actually has some reason to exist.

Writer Ryan North reminds readers that Krypto wasn't Superman's dog.  He was Jor-El's and Lara's dog.

Kal-El is the newest addition of the family.  Krypto adopts baby Kal-El as his family.

Yeah.  That's freaking adorable.  Mike Norton and Ian Herring are behind the Krypto artwork.  Perfect choice.  Krypto in the comics is always a normal looking dog amongst normal looking people.  He's not a cartoon dog sticking out amidst the cast of Superman.

As in the original, Jor-El and Lara use Krypto to test baby Kal-El's rocket because they are running out of time.  Krypto's origin plays out against the backdrop of Krypton's doom.

Something catastrophic happens. 

You know what?  They do.  They really do love Krypto.  They never meant for this to happen.  How could they prepare for the incalculable?

If anything, Krypto redeems Jor-El, who in the original tale solely sent Krypto, still the family dog, out into space as a test subject.  Having Lara as his fellow scientist adds knowledge to the experiment.  It should not have happened.  Their joint love for Krypton cannot be questioned. 

Krypto of course crash lands on earth, fifty miles shy of Metropolis, and there he meets a new friend.  Though not a certain bespectacled, mild-mannered reporter.  Thus the mini-series finally bestows something new to Krypto's origin.

  

 

POBB June 26, 2025

Pick of the Brown Bag

June 26, 2025

by

Ray Tate

Welcome.  You found us, either by choice or by accident.  The Pick of the Brown Bag is a comic book review blog created, written and organized by yours truly, Ray Tate.  This week, I look at the newest issue of Amazing Spider-Man.

Spider-Man exposure used to be prevalent in my youth.  He had a syndicated cartoon based on the comic book.

He stopped by the Electric Company every once and awhile.  He tried out a new live-action television series.

As I grew, Spider-Man branched out.  He found Amazing Friends; narrated by Stan the Man himself.  "Excelsior!"  Spidey later had his own solo syndicated cartoon show right before Silverhawks or Thundercats. 

And that's where my youthful comprehension of Spider-Man ended.  Within that span, I bought issues of the Amazing Spider-Man, Spider-Man vs Superman and my favorite Marvel Team-Up.

In the eighties I subscribed to Peter Parker the Spectacular Spider-Man through Marvel via post office delivery.  So, yeah.  I like Spider-Man as a character.

After Marvel stopped taking subscriptions by mail, I lost interest in the Spider-Man books and fell out of synch with Spider-Man's continuity.  

It wasn't until Spider-Man and Mary Jane Watson finally became a solid couple that I became interested again.  I also read the superb comic-strip and I rooted for their marriage.

Alas...Well, I still had the comic strip...Oh.  Okay.

Because of the consequences of "One More Day," and the varying degree of talent associated with Spider-Man's titles, I really cannot count myself as a Spider-Man reader.  

I still like Spider-Man.  Just not necessarily his books.  Let's see.  The last time I picked up a Spider-Man book was...oof...three years ago.

I bought that series of books precisely why I bought this issue.  The guest-star.  I'm way more interested in the Black Cat than Spider-Man.

Is it because she's a sexy cat burglar, and sexy cat burglars are kind of my thing? That's certainly part of it, but it's really due to Jed MacKay's rehabilitation of the character that renewed my interest in the Black Cat.  

Jed MacKay wrote/writes the Black Cat how I always wanted/want her to be written.  

Marvel's Black Cat, the original version, was a sorrowful, pitiable, psychiatrically damaged character.   I mean co-created by Marv Wolfman.  "Nuff said."  

Black Cat for example saw Spider-Man and Peter Parker as separate people, even after he revealed his secret identity.  Not so the modern Felicia Hardy.

When it looks like the Cat's getting better and turning hero, she kills herself.  Minutes before Captain Jean DeWolff pulls a favor for Spidey and gets the governor to pardon Black Cat for her past crimes.  

I haven't a clue how or when the Black Cat returned.  I just knew that the Black Cat was a good concept done poorly.  Then Kevin Smith compounded the Black Cat's traumatic past with a retroactive rape on her high school menu.  This is why we here at the POBB refer to Kevin Smith as The Master of Poop.  Good-bye.

Jed MacKay brought the Black Cat back in style.  And there's plenty more issues of Jed MacKay's version of Black Cat to precede and follow the bang-up annual.  In fact, if you're a Black Cat fan, and the book with Black Cat states written by Jed MacKay.  Just buy it.  You won't be disappointed.  You'll instead be delighted.

Jed MacKay is not writing this issue of Amazing Spider-Man.  That being said.  Most writers tend to respect another writer's status quo.  So, how well does Joe Kelly do with the Black Cat.  Actually.  Not bad.  

She's not as smart or funny as Jed MacKay makes her out to be, but Kelly doesn't embarrass himself.  She seems mostly in character, particularly when trying to talk Spidey into letting her steal something.

The only real downside is that we don't get her point of view.  That however is understandable given that Amazing Spider-Man isn't her book.  

As a Spider-Man book Amazing Spider-Man is...schizophrenic.  I actually feel like the old Black Cat here.  The Spider-Man stuff is entertaining.

Kelly opens the book with Spidey smacking around a wannabe kidnapper.

The next we see Spider-Man, he's performing a stakeout, where the Black Cat happens by.  

All the best moments occur with the Black Cat in them.  Coincidence?  

In a flashback, Spidey visits Norman Osborn, who's sane for some reason.

I think Norman Osborn predates Winter Soldier as a character who is really, really, really dead that returns whole and hearty.  Okay.  Winter Soldier wasn't exactly whole.  Nevertheless.  You get my point.

Given what we learned about Norman Osborn over the years.  His being a hideous, abusive father to his son Harry Osborn.  A psychological torture that drove Harry to first become addicted to drugs then facilitated his transformation into the second Green Goblin.  It's really difficult for me to give a rat's ass about this criminal psychopath's mental health.  I won't mention his insidious breeding with Gwen Stacy.  Ooops.  Too late, nor his tossing Gwen off the Brooklyn Bridge.  Given the chumminess, I guess Spidey forgot about all that.

I'm having a coffee chat with the guy who fathered my ex's babies and threw that ex off the George Washington Bridge.  Or was it the Brooklyn Bridge? Who Cares! It's water under the bridge.  Life is good!

Kelly ends the book on a pretty out there cliffhanger for Spidey and the Black Cat, but that note did get me interested for what happens next.

I dunno.  Garth, Heimdal's evil twin brother?

As to the life of Peter Parker, it's about what I expected.  Part of "One New Day's" purpose was to, believe it or not, make Peter Parker a swinger again.  Or strike out king if you prefer.  Nah.  He can't be a strike out king if his dates, to be chaste, included Gwen Stacy R.I.P, Mary Jane Watson and the Black Cat.  No.  Seriously.  Spidey is supposed to be relatable, and he can't be relatable when married to Mary Jane Watson, or the Black Cat for that matter.  Dating super-models and sexy cat burglars? Okay.  Married.  No.  I can so relate.

This week, he's dating a nurse.  Gosh.  Call me enthralled.  Well, hey now, Peter's got a new job at Rand Enterprises.

Thrilling.  Positively thrilling.  You know what.  I find it more interesting that Kelly remembers that Danny Rand, the once and future Iron Fist, is filthy rich but also keen to make the world a better place.  So, yeah.  He would have a Rand Enterprises in a mirror to Wayne Enterprises to make tech.

Well, hey.  Peter's made a new friend.

Um...He does nothing for me.

What about Aunt May?

What is she now eighty-ninety or seventy-eighty?  I did like it when she stuck up for her nephew/ward.

Peter's life is boring.  Why do we readers need to endure it?  Yeah.  I know.  We're supposed find it relatable.  You know what.  I think I've discovered what separates a DC fan from a Make Mine Marvel crowd.  A DC reader is invested in comic books for the uniforms and the derring do.  We're escapists.  We want to read about Supergirl stopping a comet from slamming into the earth.  Sure.  Our heroes can have faults and drama, but that's supplemental.  Marvel fans like this soap opera crap fused with their threads.  They actually care about the nurse, Peter making new friends and Peter's job growth.

The one thing I cannot fault is John Romita Jr.'s artwork.  Every page looks like a Spider-Man book everlasting.

I mean.  Romita is one of the Spider-Man artists, and what he does for the Black Cat is scrumptious.

In summary.  If you like John Romita, Jr's art, the Black Cat or Spidey action, you'll want to add this to your personal, brown bag.  Even with the tedium of Peter Parker's so-called life.

POBB June 17, 2025

Pick of the Brown Bag

June 17, 2025

by

Ray Tate

Welcome to the Pick of the Brown Bag.  It's been awhile so let's rehash the criteria.  In this blog, I, Ray Tate, review the best and worst of comic books.  This week, I look at the New Avengers.

No.  Not that trio.  This group.

Writer Sam Humphries combines heroes that operate in a world where Dr. Doom is master.

I haven't been following Dr. Doom's takeover of the Marvel Universe, but that's all right.  Humphries makes this major  continuity bomb academic.  

Reduced, New Avengers is simply about dangerous superheroes trying to do good in a world dictatorship.  

That dictator just happens to be Doom.  As a result, we have all sorts of science fiction bad ideas.

The very thought that I would be rooting for "Bucky" would have been preposterous years ago.  I never accepted that he survived Baron Zemo's flying bomb in World War II.  I certainly never accepted him as Captain America's replacement.  What changed? Sebastian Stan.

Really.  Sebastian Stan changed the way I felt about Bucky/Winter Soldier.  Seeing his slightly altered history in film.  Watching his relationship with Captain America develop.  Recognizing that Bucky was victimized by brainwashing.  All of that and the way the comic book Bucky started to morph into his cinematic counterpart made me reassess Bucky's worth.  Does he deserve to sleep with the Black Widow?

Probably not.  Lucky bastard, but hey, it's her choice.  Natasha always was one of the more mature characters in the Marvel Universe.  Her attitude toward sex always very liberal.

Black Widow's presence on the team first attracted my attention.  If only...  

Excellent.  She ditched the stupid symbiote suit.  The only thing that made me skip all her current adventures.  I mean.  I own Black Widow books by writers I don't particularly like.  Can still enjoy the scrumptious artwork, yeah, but symbiote suit? Hell.  No.  That's where I draw the line.

So, we got Black Widow on the team.  Bucky, who surprisingly provides quite a bit of humor.  Who else might sweeten the deal?

Damn.  Laura Kinney alias Wolverine.  I really hated her portrayal in the latest iteration of NYX.  Sam Humphries and artists Ton Lima and Rain Beredo give back her mojo.

That's how I like to see Laura.  Vicious and righteous.  When the creative team flashback to Bucky's recruitment, we also get to see Laura in her quieter moments.

Black Widow, Wolverine, Bucky.  Gotta say.  I'm pretty sold.  Humphries adds Submariner to the roster, and this is a Namor that jibes with my memories.

Exactly.  Why would Namor fight Bucky? They're old war-buddies.  Suffice to say.  Namor's Atlantean muscle is needed for what the New Avengers face.  

This is one helluva debut.  Carnage, depicted on the cover, is the only thing that gives me pause.  I loathe symbiotes.  The fact is.  The overwhelming good roster outweighs my natural animosity toward alien, parasitic leggings.  Reading a story I can understand?  Terrific artwork.  Bonus.

POBB March 2, 2025

Pick of the Brown Bag

March 2, 2025

by

Ray Tate

The Pick of the Brown Bag takes a break from the comic books this week to right a long time wrong in cinema.

A much maligned film, Sheena turns out to be an unjustifiably buried treasure.  After viewing the uncut DVD version, which runs 117 minutes, my first thought was "Holy crap.  That was a good movie."

Either Will Eisner and/or Jerry Iger created the original Sheena.  Artist Mort Meskin definitely debuted her American presentation in 1938's premiere issue of Jumbo Comics.  

Her premiere is also credited in the 1937 British magazine Wags #46, but nobody seems to have a copy of it.

Often Sheena is considered a rip-off of Tarzan.  Like some view Supergirl to Superman.  Sheena however wasn't even a heroine in her first serialized story.  

The Shaman of the tribe makes Sheena the tribe's queen after he poisons her father.  Her father was either an anthropologist or archaeologist.  The Shaman couldn't let him leave with the knowledge he now possessed.

The Shaman could have simultaneously killed the toddler Sheena, but he conceived an exploitation.  He makes Sheena queen of the tribe.  The Shaman states he did this specifically to "retain my power over my people."  In other words, Sheena was a Shaman's con. 

Over the years, Sheena's origin softens.  The Shaman now named Koba brewed the poison unwittingly.  He intended to create a hypnotic substance that would keep Sheena's father now named Caldwell, or Rivington, amongst the tribe.  

Out of guilt, the Shaman makes the orphaned child queen of the tribe.  In later retellings Sheena is simply orphaned; the tribe finds the child, and being civilized, they adopt her.  The Shaman becomes her trusted ally and mentor.

Key in any of Sheena's origin stories is that she does not suffer the white savior trope that plagues Tarzan.  Sheena is raised by black people and taught the ways of the jungle by black people.  She becomes the tribe's guardian because of the tribe's parenting.  Arguably, she's the best of the tribe now because she learned everything from the best of the tribe then.

This brings me back to the subject at hand.  Sheena begins at the beginning and creates an easy to follow linear narrative. That narrative moves at a rapid pace and doesn't waste a second of its 117 minutes.  

The writers of the film subtly update Sheena's origin.  Her parents, emphasis on the plural, are scientists.  They discover a miraculous secret amongst the Zambouli tribe.  As what occurs in Jumbo Comics, the want to share this secret with the world leads to Sheena's parents' doom.  

Sheena then differs.  Neither the tribe, nor the Shaman murder Sheena's parents.  In the film, Shaman foresees this destiny.  As well as Sheena's rise.  

The scene is played unlike what you expect.  It's very clear that a choice of fate belonged to Sheena's parents.  There's an underlying resignation by tribe members.  Two innocent people, who some in the tribe knew, died to give them their fated guardian.  The tribe and Shaman do not seem to forget that.

Shaman adopts Sheena as the prophecy foretold.  It helps the credibility of the story that we see no illusion of the augur.  We only have Shaman's word and the actions of the tribe as the lodestone.  You either believe the story, or you don't.  Sheena is destined to become the guardian of the tribe.  Queen of the Jungle is merely a description of Sheena's power.

Before the credits roll, we see the toddler Sheena grow into a girl who learns the ways of the Zambouli and Shaman.  

Shaman by the by is a woman portrayed by an actual African princess of the period: Princess Elizabeth of Tooro.  

Sheena is in fact a feminist film made by women and men.  The power of womanhood is symbolized by the goddess Shaman and the tribe worship.

The girl grows up to be Tanya Roberts whose physicality and talent are ideal for the part of Sheena.  Indeed Tanya Roberts pursued the role.  Perhaps that's why she's so sincere as Sheena. 

Sadly now deceased, Tanya Roberts was in fact an unfairly maligned actress.  Many asses dismissed her as a brainless tease from Charlie's Angels and more often remember her derisively as a Playboy model and Bond girl.   Tanya Roberts was taught the craft by Uta Hagen and acted in off-broadway plays before she disrobed.  Incidentally, I am not one of those asses.  I respect Bond girls and nude models.

Sheena's plot moves rapidly but at a natural pace.  The modern day story begins with a motive for crime.  Money.  Satellite imagery and metallurgy identify titanium on Zambouli land.  Somebody did their homework.  The discovery fits in with an American educated Prince's plans to assassinate his brother the King of Tigora where lies that precious land.  He will take not only snatch his brother's crown but also his intended queen.  She though is a participant of this coup.

Like any skillful murderer, Prince Otwani, played superbly by Trevor Thomas, attempts to secure an alibi through an old friend.  Sports journalist Vic Casey played by Ted Wass, mainly known for his comic acting.  Here he gives an amazing straight performance as Sheena's soon-to-be mate.

I'm not giving anything away.  The reveals come so quickly and depend on the cast's ability to convey the nuances of emotion.  The would be queen Zobda displays her wickedness quite early after her introduction.  When Vic meets Sheena for the second time, it's pretty clear where their chemistry is going.  

You accept it.  Vic is a nice, resourceful everyman who is an expert in his field.  Sheena deserves him.  Does he deserve Sheena? He would be the first to say no.  Wass conveys heartsick love with utter ease.  His role could have been a throwaway part, but his performance must be given top marks.

The murder plot is an impressive set-up.  It may have given Columbo pause.  The thing of it is.  The murder doesn't follow the formula you expect.  Instead, director John Guillerman, who directed the very best Tarzan movie ever, points out that Sheena is not a detective.  She's the guardian of the tribe and acts that way.  She doesn't care who the murderer is.  She just knows that Otwani imprisoned her friend as the patsy and she commanding the animals busts that person out of jail.  Oh, and the prisoner isn't Vic.  I'm not divulging the identity.

Tanya Roberts worked with real animals in Sheena.  She also apparently did the, heh, lion's share of the action sequences.  

Potentially lethal stunts no doubt handled by the professionals, but blended smoothly.  Sheena predates CGI.  The helicopter is real.  As are the explosions.  The breathtaking African scenery is also real.  Again, credit Guillerman's experience with the late sixties Tarzan films.

After Sheena breaks her friend out of jail, Sheena becomes a pursuit movie.  A chase implies rapid progress, but these aren't the streets of San Francisco.  The Prince and Countess Zobda lead a group of mercenaries into the jungle.  The jungle provides ample impediments to their speedy acquisition of Sheena, Vic and their protected charge.  Sheena's knowledge of the landscape adds to the mercenaries' headaches.  In one scene Sheena demonstrates her cunning and archery prowess to sharply deter her pursuers.

Although the Prince wants to capture Sheena, since he finds her "interesting," his consort seeks to end her life.  Regardless.  It's what they don't do that raises the film above the standard.  The Prince for example could have padded the movie by trying to throw Sheena in with his frame.  However, he's no average villain.  He knows that Sheena isn't a known quantity.  He also knows the fall guy and Vic may possess evidence of his duplicity.  Before he can even come up with an excuse for Sheena's execution, he needs to secure that evidence.  Furthermore, Sheena's journey isn't bloodless.  This isn't a movie where the good guys win and there's much rejoicing.  The  filmmakers recognize the superior technology of the villains.  You don't need to stretch your suspension of disbelief all that much.

Let me end on these notes.  There are some remarkable lines in Sheena.  I don't mean juicy lines or so bad they're good lines.  The dialogue is spare and without pretension.  It's well-written.  You believe all of it.  You believe the characters.  Everybody worked hard to give dignity to Sheena and her world.  Give Sheena a chance.  You will not be disappointed.

The Flipside

I have spoken highly of this film that Rotten Tomatoes lambastes with an unfair eleven percent.  There are a few elements that purist Sheena fans, whom I'll call nitpickers, may object to.  The biggest one is that Sheena is a friend to all animals and commands all animals.

The comic book Sheena only could persuade her animal friends to help her.  Though that version of Sheena does almost use a telepathy to convey her messages.  Her animal friends are still wild.  She hasn't taught them anything.  

Sheena represents these specific animal friends in the film, but at one point Sheena commands a pride of lions.  

The film nevertheless covers how Sheena can perform such feats.  Shaman taught Sheena the skill as well as other seemingly supernatural agencies.  The communication furthermore fails her in a pivotal moment.  Her "powers" have limits.

In the comic books, Sheena wears a leopard bikini.  She in fact started this jungle girl fashion trend.  Sheena also kills animals when necessary.  This version of Sheena does not. 

Okay.  So, what?  No animals are harmed in any production anyway.  Besides, Sheena kills the most dangerous animal on the planet.  Man.  In comics and in Sheena our guardian kills.

The zebra Sheena rides is painted horse.  Yup.  That's unfortunate.  The filmmakers vividly remember Sheena riding a zebra and wanted to carry on the legacy.

Blame it on ambition.  Zebras can't be tamed for horseback riding.  This is the one time CGI would have come in handy.  Oh, and wild horses in Africa are extremely rare.  So, having Sheena ride a horse wouldn't have made sense.  Jungle legend the Phantom rides a horse named Hero.  He is domesticated.

What about Bob? Sheena famously chose Bob the game hunter as her mate.  Who's this Vic guy? Really? You want to bring up Bob? Bob is outdated.  And it's not because he's a white, male game hunter.  Bob could have been transformed into Bobbi the black lesbian game hunter.  She would still be outdated.  No civilized person on earth believes a person should be allowed to enter a creature's habitat and ruthlessly murder it.  Hunting for food is one thing.  Hunting for fur, horns or heads is disgusting.

Bob is just a name and just as important as a character in the Sheena mythos.  Sheena really can fall in love with anybody and it would not matter.  Ted Wass however makes Vic Casey a whole human being.  He respects Sheena to show him the way to walk in the jungle without leaving a footprint.

Anything else? No? All right.  Shut up then, and go watch Sheena.