LE SUPER-VILAIN CENSURÉ EN FRANCE ! | WAMPUS (The Super Villain Censored in France)

Hexagon Comics -Kabur #2: Kabur / Zembla

Jean-Marc Lofficier & Thierry Mornet; art & cover by Mike Ratera; colors by Studio Cirque & Anthony Dugenest.

7x10 squarebound comic, 

84  pages 

color
ISBN-13: 978-1-64932-028-5. 

US$24.95  UK £19.99

https://www.hexagoncomics.com/shop-kabur-2-kabur-zembla.html

Across the gulf of time, the dreaded Demon Queen Mauve has pitted Kabur, exiled Prince of Thule, against Zembla, the Lord of Lions. Torn from their native worlds, the two heroes become the pawns in an inter-dimensional game of carnage and conquest… No matter who wins, Earth will lose!
 
Drawn by top Spanish artist Mike Ratera, this 66-page saga was the first major crossover event of the relaunched Hexagon Universe twenty years ago. It is accompanied here by new maps and documents showing Pangea, the World of Kabur.

Firstly, I liked the story and how it ran so I have no problem there. It is setting up and establishing a world for this and future stories. The problem is that I am not fond of the "super steroid muscles" as in evidence in the cover illo. Now I have written this in the past and people have told me how they like it but in certain books. Those books were the sword and sorcery genre. Now I am a John Buscema Conan/Tarzan art fan. I will even go for Barry Windsor-Smith Conan art and, as we ought to know by now, in comics it is certainly a case of "different strokes for different folks"!

Bearing that in mind, I sat down to read this. You'll be happy to know I never gouged my eyes out in disgust! In fact, and I cannot understand why, the super muscles never  put me off and those seemed confined to Zembla and Kabur and at one point I wondered how Ben Dilworth would draw this.  There is, with the female characters, a certain Lady Death vibe going. The colour work is really very nice and looking at the book as a whole I realised the art and colour reminded me somewhat of the 1980s Rock N Roll Comix.

By the time I reached the end of the story I found the maps and background info on the world involved in this story. I long ago gave up trying to work out why I -or anyone else- likes something but I liked this so I'm not going to think any deeper on this! 😃

Hexagon Comics has been a breath of fresh air when it comes to comics and I wou;ld recommend this and point out that the colour comics tend to be slightly more mature than the rest. the big problem comesin the book price and this is, sadly, a fact of life when it comes to publishing; a full colour book is going to cost you a lot more to produce than a black and white book. I hope it does not put anyone off buying a copy because it is fun and well put together -a treat for someone interested in Barbarians and sorcerors in comics perhaps?

Old British Comic Characters. I Hunt Them. I Am Hooper The Hunter (or something like that)

 There is something about an obscure or little known character that when you find him -or her- you get a "buzz" from.  Not because you have just found a character that no one else appears to have mentioned online or in print but because it is a 'new' character. It might be 40, 50 or, in my case 90-100 years old, but it is bevcause it is new to you.  

You start asking questions about the creator ofthe strip -was it the artist or one of the anonymous army of writers from the period?  Why did they think "Let uis have this fellow in a black outfit and wearing a cowl or domino mask!" Or even why they decided that a character needed "special abilities" (in some cases this was British for "super powers" a term not used in the olden days)?

In some cases we see a character such as Krakos orRobert Lovett quite literally swiped by creators in the 1960s at Fleetway/IPC -in the case of Lovett and Back From The Dead there was a "rival" at Thomson's -the full story along with art in Comic Bits no. 2.  When it came to a character such as Mr Might or Streamline and Tiger Man I was far more than willing to take them on from Denis Gifford. However, at the time I thought he would be around for many more years and so I never asked him about his thought process in the creation of these characters. Gerald Swan had no real interest in the comic creations just his pulp books.

The fact that my own character (dating back to 1972) The Avenger was based on a real life incident/person has never been gone into. The character Maddie Bell from Crime Bustersdates back to around the same time and is based on a girl renowned for the loudest and highest pitched scream (screaming competitions were a thing back then in school!!). The Third Level (recently promoted to Free) sorcerors Kotar and Sabuta were inspired by the Hanna Barbera Arabian Knights cartoon.

Was Varney the Vampire an anti-hero or villain? Have you read both of the voluminous books? I'd say he was anti-hero. There are so many of these characters from Penny Dreadfuls, Boys' Papers and early illustrated papers that you realise the United States came in fairly late (please NO jokes) to the genre.  Even Germany had its pulp characters such as Sun-Koh and Captain Mors.  If you were at a 1920s elegant dinner put on by the young fellow who had just "inherited" the estate and a titlefrom his late father...you ought not to have been surprised if a horned fellow dressed all in black jumped into the room and onto the dining table (very un-British).

We had tough female characters such as Acro Maid, Cat Girl and so on who were created by Dennis M. Reader who was inspired by American comics and along with Gifford created the first new wave of UK Super heroes -as what we would today term "super heroes" existed before that time it cannot be said, as some claim, that the two men created British superheroes. It is odd that these tough young women who dealt out justice seemed to reflect the war time period when, as in WW 1, women were seen to be getting more liberated because of social changes and when the war was over...women returned to being the support character in mainstream comics. Oddly, in strips such as Halcon Lord of the Crater World. women often had an almost equal role -in one strip Halcon was doomed until his partner Karen saved him (Black Tower Super Heroes no. 8 reprints this strip). 

Hey, in the 1940s a young British lad could rescue an alien visitor and receive super powers as a "thank you" (T.N.T. Tom -a name later "purloined" by a British shoe company). There were characters able to breathe underwater for long periods and even communicate with the denizens of the deep -one even exploring and making first contact with underwater cities (Under The Sea and The Boy Fish). 

I would still love to see a copy of the Moon Man and Mars Man comics -I've only seen odd pages over the decades. And I would certainly love to see a copy of William A Ward's The Bat. But what else? Well, for one thing I'd like to track down and get information on some of the old creators. We know so ;little about some and others...nothing. I have never been able to track down photos of John or William McCail or Wi;lliam A. Ward and the same applies to Harry Banger and others. They should never be allowed to salip into obscurity.

And so I keep on looking. I keep finding. It's very self fulfilling at times...even if it makes me even poorer!

Reviews. Where Did They Go??

 Now, as most people who give a damn know I am a mammalogist -a "noted naturalist" with my name on technical papers, etc. I specialise in Canids and Felids. I have had a fox study running since 1977.

"Wait -what's that got to do with reviews?!" you may ask. May I answer?

I have been mapping the progress of a nasty thing called mange amongst Bristol foxes (go to the Wolves, Wildcats and Wolverines blog for more detail). From 1100 hrs until 2330 hrs yesterday I was answering queries and dealing with organisations regarding the treatment of mange. Over 12 hours. Unpaid. Still answering some queries today.

Now, with CBO I get no support. No Patreon. In fact the only people who even bother commenting are two people I know. THOUSANDS of  you -yes, you- just pop by every day take what you can get and move on. No "thank yous" or "That was intersting". Basically, you do not give a shit. Therefore, on each and every occasion that arises I will most certainly dump posting reviews to CBO in favour of helping save an animals life. The reward there is know that the animal has a good chance of living as opposed to dying nastily.

Reviews will be resuming shortly but priorities are priorities for a reason. 

You want to support CBO there is a PayPalMe box to the right. Contribute and support or stop whining.

Hexagon Comics: The Time Brigade: The Grail Wars

Jean-Marc & Randy Lofficier & Timothy J. Green II; colors by James Mason; cover by Timothy J. Green II

7x10 squarebound comic, 

48 pages 

color
ISBN-13: 978-1-61227-637-3. 

US$12.95

UK £9.99

https://www.hexagoncomics.com/shop-the-time-brigade-the-grail-wars.html

Upon returning from a mission in time, the TIME BRIGADE is captured by the Fairy Queen VIVIEN and find themselves prisoners on an Earth where Camelot never fell and continued to exist. They learn that Vivien seized the Holy Grail, and its mysterious powers enabled her to protect Camelot. She sees the Brigade as a threat to the existence of her world, and seeks to kill them. 

Our heroes are delivered by PARSIFAL, king of the Nuclear Knights, descendants of Arthur and the Round Table. But they soon discover that this Camelot is a rigid techno-medieval nightmare, from which all progress is banned. Parsifal realizes that the Brigade is a threat to him too, and also wants to destroy them...

My initial honest impression when I gave this a quick look through when the books arrived:"Yeuch!" However, I tend to glance through books first then look through them again later on before sitting down and reading through them. I love this. 

The story is well paced and very enjoyable and the characters play through this well. What I loved was the European feel of Green's art which Mason's colours worked beautifully on. I'm sorry but my scans are not even showing how good the actual pages look (hey, I make do with my rapidly dying PC!) and what surprised me was the art style when it came to the characyters is not one I would normally go for but it worked.  No idea why and these days I try not to overdo the  deep thinking on why I like something.

Not sure if thereis moreTime Brigade on its way but if so I hope Green and Mason are both involved. The art style may not work on a super hero comic but with sci fi it does.

What concerns me is the cover price. This is one of Hexagon's colour books and for that reason there is no way of getting around it; it costs more to print. Yes, Cinebook keep their 48pp comic albums low priced but there is far more money behind them and they know their books will sell. Hexagon is no major company and there are no guarantees -this is the world of publishing for the uninitiated.  Would I recommend The Time Brigade? Bloody right I would. Good read. Good art and that is what counts.

If You Like British Comic, Penny Dreadful or Boys Papers History....

 If any of tonights quick posts has you interested in the men and women who influenced later comic book artists then you might find Comic Bits 1 and 2 of  interest...

Each issue has 80 pages looking at British comics, creators as well as Boys Papers and Penny Dreadfuls and they are both crammed full of some very rare art and much more information than any online post!

A4
B&W
80pp
Text, comic strips and some rare photographs!
£6.00
https://www.lulu.com/en/en/shop/terry-hooper/comic-bits-vol-2-number-1/paperback/product-1e4jjqkk.html

The return of THE British Golden Age of Comics magazine! 

Interviews with 

Mike Western, 

John Cooper 

 Jon Haward 

plus a look at Ally Sloper on film, Defining the Ages of British Comics, William McCail plus a lot of art and stripwork. At this price -cheap!

Ed T Hooper-Scharf
A4
B&W
80 pp
£6.00
https://www.lulu.com/en/en/shop/terry-hooper/comic-bits-volume-2-no-2-may-2020/paperback/product-166j76qn.html

The second issue of the magazine celebrating creators, titles and characters of the British Platinum, Golden and Silver Ages of comics. 

In this issue William A. Ward finally gets some long deserved recognition for his contribution to comics John McCail gets "bigged up" something rotten!

 We look at comedian and actor Bob Monkhouse's comic creation career 

Steve Dowling -Father of the Garth newspaper strip speaks to Denis Gifford (the ONLY interview he ever gave) 

There is a look at Dennis M. Reader and his comics work that spawned some of the UKs first super heroes. 

also a look at William Fletcher Thomas, Ernest Wilkinson, Jos Walker, Mary Byfield and William H A Chasemore... oh, and LOTS of lovely art and stripwork!

M ary Byfield Penny Dreadful artist

Active during the first half of the 19th century. Engraver (wood). Mary Byfield was the sister of John Byfield and, like him, an engraver. She designed illustrations for works published by the Chiswick Press.

William Harry Archibald Chasemore

 

William Harry Archibald Chasemore, (1844-1905) who signed his work with a simple A.C., was a self-taught cartoonist born in Fulham, London in 1844. He was the pre-eminent cartoonist on Judy through its long run and his distinctive work appeared in boys’ story papers and comic papers until just past the turn of the century. Much of his earliest work consisted of cartoons for puzzle pages done in partnership with Charles Henry Ross.

WWilliam Harry Archibald Chasemore, (1844-1905) who signed his work with a simple A.C., was a self-taught cartoonist born in Fulham, London in 1844. He was the pre-eminent cartoonist on Judy through its long run and his distinctive work appeared in boys’ story papers and comic papers until just past the turn of the century. Much of his earliest work consisted of cartoons for puzzle pages done in partnership with Charles Henry Ross.illiam Harry Archibald Chasemore, (1844-1905) who signed his work with a simple A.C., was a self-taught cartoonist born in Fulham, London in 1844. He was the pre-eminent cartoonist on Judy through its long run and his distinctive work appeared in boys’ story papers and comic papers until just past the turn of the century. Much of his earliest work consisted of cartoons for puzzle pages done in partnership with Charles Henry Ross.

Tivvy Thee friendly face of the childrens TV Times

 1967

Gilray and Hogarth -the original bad boys

 

William Hogarth 10 November 1697 – 26 October 1764) was an English painter, printmaker, pictorial satirist, social critic, and editorial cartoonist. His work ranges from realistic portraiture to comic strip-like series of pictures called "modern moral subjects", He is perhaps best known for his series A Harlot's Progress, A Rake's Progress and Marriage A-la-Mode. Knowledge of his work is so pervasive that satirical political illustrations in this style are often referred to as "Hogarthian".

James Gillray (13 August 1756 – 1 June 1815) was a British caricaturist and print maker famous for his etched political and social satires, mainly published between 1792 and 1810. Many of his works are held at the National Portrait Gallery in London.

Gillray has been called "the father of the political cartoon", with his works satirizing George III, prime ministers and generals. Regarded as being one of the two most influential cartoonists, the other being William Hogarth, Gillray's wit and humour, knowledge of life, fertility of resource, keen sense of the ludicrous, and beauty of execution, at once gave him the first place among caricaturists.

And what do you think of MY comic work, Sirrah?

Below: Dr. John Burges, on tiptoe outside a building in Warwic

V0010922 Dr. John Burges, on tiptoe outside a building in Warwick Lan
Credit: Wellcome Library, London. Wellcome Images
images@wellcome.ac.uk
http://wellcomeimages.org
Dr. John Burges, on tiptoe outside a building in Warwick Lane. Coloured etching by J. Gillray, 1795.
1795 By: James GillrayPublished: 3 July 1795

Copyrighted work available under Creative Commons Attribution only licence CC BY 4.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ 

Just to finish things off....

Ghost - Square Hammer (@Violet Orlandi ft @Jonathan Young COVER)

JUJUTSU KAISEN'S Real-life Supernatural Inspirations

No 'bubble' just sales restarting."

 Am I wrong or am I right bout the "comics bubble" with sales allegedly picking up?

I posted this comment to three YT channels promoting the 'bubble' and two blogs.

Comment removed from each.

"Stores were in lockdown for a year or open with restrictions so sales were poor. They are now opening up more and events are popping up so this 'bubble' is just people out buying comics again and not a jump on it now to start collecting and make money. Others have blogged this. No 'bubble' just sales restarting."

Sark The Sleeper? This is all I know

 To answer a query about Sark The Sleeper -it was a sci fi story and despite the look of the two characters on the cover was not a super hero strip. I believe that it was based on an A. E. Van Vogt story. The artist was, obviously, José Munoz.

Germany's Premiere Super Hero Team......for how long?

 They faced Zeit-Geist

They participated in the Neo Olympus Event

They battled through The Green Skies

Now The Days of Darkness are here.

No 53rd Birthday