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Review: ‘Willie & Joe: The War Years’ by Bill Mauldin

  • Uncategorized
  • May 6, 2008

In the new massive two-volume set Willie & Joe: The War Years, Bill Mauldin’s World War II cartoons are given a deluxe treatment, from the Army-green canvas covers to the oversized printing of Mauldin’s voluminous output.

The only thing publisher Fantagraphics couldn’t overcome in producing the book was the rough condition of much of Mauldin’s cartoons depicting the life of soldiers. As much as that might seem a drawback, editor Todd DePastino turns it into one more thing to appreciate about Mauldin: His cartoons often suffered because the young soldier/illustrator created them on the front lines.

It’s a truly beautiful collection, and one befitting the legacy of Mauldin, who died in 2003 (I reviewed DePastino’s biography of Mauldin right here). The first volume picks up with Mauldin’s first cartoons in a school paper (DePastino faced the tough challenge of tracking down all of Mauldin’s published work), then transitions to his time in the Army, first in Oklahoma and then overseas.

Through the cartoons (and DePastino’s well researched notes), we can see Mauldin grow as an artist, a person and a soldier. His first cartoons offered harsh stereotypes of Native Americans, but after Mauldin served with a largely Cherokee unit, his lasting desire for equality began to come to the fore.

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Happy Birthday: David Michelinie

Born in 1948, David Michelinie loved comic books from early on and knew he wanted to write them. So he took a chance, and in the early 1970s he moved to New York to work for DC Comics.

He started out writing backup stories on House of Mystery and House of Secrets, then wrote seven issues of Swamp Thing. In 1978, he switched over to Marvel and immediately began writing The Avengers. From there he moved to Iron Man, Amazing Spider-Man, and Star Wars.

Michelinie was responsible for introducing both Jim Rhodes and Tony Stark’s alcoholism during his run on Iron Man, but he is perhaps best known for the supervillain he created and introduced in Amazing Spider-Man: Venom.

Since then, he has worked on Action Comics, Rai, H.A.R.D. Corps, Captain Fear, The Bozz Chronicles, and many others.

More Will Eisner Films on the Way

Will Eisner’s seminal comic book series The Spirit is on the way to theaters, adapted by Frank Miller. And it looks like more of the legend’s creations could be following.

Wired has the news that Creative Artists Agency picked up the rights to Eisner’s estate and will push for more movies based on those books, including A Contract With God.

CAA, a heavyweight talent handler that represents Steven Spielberg, Tobey Maguire, Cameron Diaz and scores of other A-listers, will be pushing for movie adaptations of Eisner titles as a result of the deal, which was announced last week. Eisner comics that could make it to the silver screen include A Contract With God and Other Tenement Stories, John Law, Lady Luck, Mr. Mystic, Uncle Sam, Blackhawk and Sheena.

Eisner died in 2005. Widely credited with helping establish the graphic novel as a respectable art form, he was honored in 1988 when Comic-Con created the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards to recognize cutting-edge comic book talent.

ComicMix Radio: The Heat Continues

Coming off a weekend where Iron Man breaks movie records and 2 million free comics are handed out, the momentum for this week doesn’t slow down. Like good ol’ Ringo Starr, walk into your comic store and you will see:

— DC fills in some background for Final Crisis and finally finishes off the Donner story

— Secret Invasion #2 hits the stores

— Plus: 100 Hulks go on display

Before you Press the Button we should tell you that seconds after this photo was taken, Pete Best snatched this comic from Ringo and ran out the door as fast as he could, shouting, “Finally, revenge!”

 

 

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ComicMix Six: The Worst Movies Adapted From Comic Books

It should come as no surprise that Hollywood studios often turn to the pages of comic books and graphic novels for source material — especially for action-packed summer releases like Iron Man.

Some of these films, such as Iron Man, Batman Begins, Spider-Man 2 or X-Men 2, achieve a great deal of commerical and critical success. In addition, they’re also embraced by comic book fans as great examples of what comic book movies should be.

Unfortunately, there are also those other comics-to-film adaptations that disappoint critics, mainstream audiences and comic book fans alike. These films, whether due to bad writing, inept direction, gross miscasting, or a combination of factors, are often not only bad comic book adaptations, but bad movies in general.

Yet, even with Iron Man‘s phenomenal success, it’s important to remember these bad films. These particular movies occupy a special place in the hierarchy of bad filmmaking and deserve to be highlighted — especially so you can avoid seeing them if you haven’t already.

Here then, in no particular order, is the ComicMix Six list of the Worst Movies Adapted From Comic Books.

 

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Video: The ‘Iron Man’ Nick Fury Ending

Did you happen to, like me, not stay through the credits of Iron Man to see that top-secret meeting between Tony Stark and Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D.? Well, now you can catch it on YouTube, or by clicking the video player below.

It’s some bootleg, Blair Witch-style footage, so we’ll see how long it stays up.

 


 

Wrath, by Dennis O’Neil

Don’t stop me if you’ve heard this one…

Harry is homeless. Once, he was a successful venture capitalist with three lavish homes, a beautiful wife and a charming daughter, but then he lost his money in a bad real estate deal, his wife ran away with a televangelist, and his daughter started living with a crack dealer and not answering her phone. While panhandling near his old office, Harry met an friend who knew of a deal that would restore Harry’s fortune – hundred percent, guaranteed – and with his bank account restored, Harry was sure he could reclaim his family and his lifestyle. The problem was, Harry needed a thousand dollars to get in on the deal and he had no way to get it; his credit was maxed out and no one he knew would lend him another cent. He’s now passing a church, his head bowed in misery, when he sees a thousand dollar bill laying in the gutter. He can’t believe it! He is saved! He bends over to pick up the bill and…he’s hit by a truck. Laying there alone in the filth, Harry knows he’s breathing his last. He looks up at the sky and cries, “Why?” And a voice booms from beyond the clouds, “Because you piss me off.”

One of my favorite jokes and one I’ve been thinking of this weekend because, somehow, I’ve run afoul, again, of my old foe Crankus, the spiteful god of technology. Ol’ Mr. Macintosh in front of me has been acting up and the gentleman, polite but not terribly helpful, at the Mac store wasn’t exactly sure why. Larry and his friend Perri graciously offered to reinstall the Microsoft Word program, because I don’t trust myself with even elementary technological tasks, and so far, so good.

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R.I.P.: Ted Key

Cartoonist Ted Key, creator of the popular newspaper comic panel Hazel and the classic cartoon characters Mr. Peabody and Sherman, died today at 95.

Born Theodore Keyser in 1912, Key created Hazel for the Saturday Evening Post in 1943. The panel shifted over to King Features Syndicate in 1969 after its creator acquired the rights when the Post ceased publication. In the interim, Hazel evolved into a hit television show that ran between 1961 and 1966, and in syndication thereafter.

In 1959 Key developed the surreal "Peabody’s Improbable History" cartoon series for producer Jay Ward and his program Rocky And His Friends.

Key retired from Hazel in 1993 but the panel has continued in newspapers in reprints ever since.

Review: ‘Sex and Sensibility’ edited by Liza Donelly

sex1-3981535What do women want? Sigmund Freud thought he knew, but we all know about him. After a few decades of feminism, it’s become clearer that the best way to find out what women want is… to ask them.

Sex and Sensibility
Edited By Liza Donelly
Hachette/Twelve, April 2008, $22.99

Donelly is a noted single-panel cartoonist and the author of Funny Ladies, a history of female cartoonists for The New Yorker. (She also teaches at my alma mater, Vassar College, which instantly inclines me to consider her a world-class expert on whatever she wants to be – we Vassarites have to stick together.)

Donelly collected nine of her colleagues – mostly single-panel magazine cartoonists, with a couple of editorial cartoonists for spice – and asked them to contribute cartoons on women, men, sex, relationships – that whole area. Two hundred cartoons later, [[[Sex and Sensibility]]] emerged. It’s divided into several thematic sections — Sex, Sensibility, Women, Lunacy, and Modern Love — and each cartoonist provided an essay about herself and her work, which are sprinkled throughout.

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Demons of Sherwood: One Arrow

Robin has to make a big decision in today’s brand-new episode of Demons of Sherwood, by Bo Hampton and Robert Tinnell. Will he take the keg? Or will he go faster? And what’s with the arrow?

Credits: Bo Hampton (Artist), Bo Hampton (Colorist), Bo Hampton (Letterer), Bo Hampton (Writer), Mike Gold (Editor), Robert Tinnell (Writer)

More: Demons of Sherwood

 

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