Donatello: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle #1

Donatello: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle #1, February 1986, Mirage Studios
by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird

Blogger's note: Entry for Friday, April 18, 2008.

Black Panther. Darkseid. The New Gods. Kamandi. These are just a few of the thousands of comic book characters attributed to the creativity of Jack Kirby. Further, for all of the characters that came from Kirby's pen directly, how many more were inspired by his style and originality? Well, I can definitely think of four: the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

This Donatello one-shot actually explains a lot of things for me. First of all, when I saw the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles episode "King" a few years ago, I was both intrigued and confused by its surreal context. In that episode, much like this issue that inspired it, Donatello meets an artist named Kirby, who has bound a magical stone to his pencil and is able to make his drawings come to life for a few seconds. When Don and Kirby stumble into a portal the artist had drawn, they discover a dimension full of Kirby's exotic creations, and they work together to defeat the monsters that have begun attacking the people. Unfortunately, in the end, the portal begins to shrink and only Donatello makes it in time, and though he mourns the loss of his new friend, we're left to assume that Kirby has found a comfortable new home as a god among his creation. Like his note to Don says, "Life at best is bittersweet."

At the time I saw the cartoon, I didn't know there was a twenty-year-old comic book that had inspired it, and my friend and I were just finishing a comic book project of our own, in which an old artist gets lost in a comic book world of his own creation. I thought bitterly that the Turtles had managed to beat us to it. Of course, now I know just how behind the times we were, considering the likes of The Brave and the Bold #124 and other issues like this. Still, while my friend and I sought to explore the logistics of a "real life" comic book universe, Eastman and Laird's foray into extradimensional comic book lands were intended as an homage to the man that inspired their initial collaboration . . . which eventually spawned the world's favorite heroes in a half shell. According to Laird's introduction t his issue, his bond with Kevin Eastman began over a piece of original Kirby art hanging in Laird's office. While I always imagined these two guys playfully sketching in a dark, cramped office, unwittingly building a multi-faceted franchise, I knew much thought about how they got there. It's nice to know that corner piece of the puzzle.

Interestingly, when this issue was published, Jack Kirby was still alive, and when it was adapted into a cartoon some years later, Kirby had passed, so what began as two young artists' love letter to their favorite industry giant inadvertently became two established artists' eulogy for a legend. Either way, the point is clear; a great artist's work can come to life before your very eyes and, more importantly, pull you into his world. It's a place you can both envy and appreciate the man for creating.

The Mighty Thor #138

The Mighty Thor #138, March 1967, Marvel Comics
writer: Stan Lee
penciller: Jack Kirby
inker: Vince Colletta
letterer: Artie Simek

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: when you review a different comic book every day, sometimes the stars align and offer an uncanny insight into the medium's undeniable synchronicities. Consider The Mighty Thor #138 and The Last of the Viking Heroes #5. I found both issues in the same dusty old box in an antique store in Pomona, California. Both issues feature the work of Jack Kirby in some way or another, and both star Norse warriors. Most specifically, both issues feature a villain using a damsel in distress to bait the ever-suffering hero, so much so that I'm now wondering if Michael Thibodeaux was inspired by this titanic tale by Stan "the Man" Lee. By Odin's beard, indeed!

Yes, in The Mighty Thor #138, the god of thunder must rescue the goddess Suf from Ulik, "deadliest and most powerful of all the trolls!" While Thor and Ulik rumble in the streets, the troll king Gierrordur summons the power of the demonic Orikal to strengthen his forces against Asgard, where Odin himself must take up arms for battle. This issue's cliffhanger is incredibly perilous, as all seems lost on the Asgardian front, and, what's worse, Thor has lost his hammer and will resume his human form any second! Fortunately, an adventurous back-up story lightens the mood, as Thor, Fandral, and Hogun battle Ogur, the one-eyed guardian of the cave of Wazir, the Prophet, whom our heroes seek to learn the location of the Mystic Mountain. This issue is a Marvel masterpiece, plain and simple, boasting Stan Lee's consonant-cornering creature creations, Jack Kirby and Vince Colletta's dynamic drawings, and Marvel Comic's frivolous faithfulness to its frantic fanbase. 'Nuff said.

(Why even bother running a spell check on this review, I wonder.)

Reading and reviewing this issue reminds me an anecdote I've been meaning to share for a few months now. Several weeks ago, I attended a comic book convention in Yorba Linda, California, a small affair with an emphasis on retailers selling Golden through Bronze Age back issues. I found a few tattered "reading copies" of World's Finest, Justice League, and some other strange titles, but more importantly I wore a Mighty Thor T-shirt I'd purchased from Steve & Barry's, an excellent source for such inexpensive geek wear. While I was flipping through a back issue bin, an older gentleman approached me and asked, "So, what do you think about Thor coming back?" Now, I know he was referring to Thor's recent resurrection and the new title written by J. Michael Straczynski, but that's it, so I sheepishly answered, "Oh, I don't read Thor, so I don't really know . . ."

"I see," the guy responded flatly. "You just wear the shirt." He promptly turned heel and walked away.

I wanted to call out, "Wait a minute, Sir! I've been reading comics for over fifteen years! I just haven't gotten around to Thor yet! Please! I read and review a different comic a day! I'm not a poser . . .!"

I thought wearing a Kirby-drawn Thor shirt was solidarity enough. I was wrong. Hopefully this weekend's immersion in Nordic mythology begins to make up for it. Maybe someday I'll finally become a real fan, based on that critical gentleman's judgment. He certainly dropped the gavel and rendered a hasty verdict, 'tis for sure. Zounds, hath the hammer of Thor no mercy for e'en the lowliest of mortals?!

The Last of the Viking Heroes #5

The Last of the Viking Heroes #5, June 1988, Genesis West Comics
by Michael Thibodeaux with Mike Royer, Trisha French, Linda Yamasaki, Joe Sinnot, and Palle Jensen

Blogger’s note: Entry for Saturday, April 5, 2008.

If you haven’t noticed, I’ve been playing catch-up this week. Last weekend, I became surprisingly and pleasantly distracted by the unexpected reunion of my favorite punk band Face to Face, and I attended their first show in four years last Thursday night. (Feel free to check out my comic strip leading up to the concert here.) I’d never been to Pomona, California’s Glass House before, and before the show I wandered its surrounding Antique District a bit, and since the shops were already closed for the night I was determined to return and search for fanboy treasure. Sure enough, I dragged my girlfriend back there this very weekend and found a few old comics worth buying and reviewing. The Last of the Viking Heroes #5 is foremost among them.

Honestly, I purchased The Last of the Viking Heroes #5 for its cover alone. Its interior could’ve stunk to high heaven (it didn’t, but we’ll get to that in a minute) and I still would’ve been completely satisfied sinking a measly dollar into this issue, namely because of its cover’s collaborative effort. Five words: Jack Kirby and Dave Stevens. ‘Nuff said, right? It looks like Stevens inks Kirby’s pencils for this issue’s dramatic cover, starring some Vikings (duh) mourning the death of their warrior prince, and, man, is it classic comic book goodness. The traditional Kirby characteristics are present and accounted for, from the square-jawed faces to the round, bubbly muscles to that squiggly-line fore-shading, but Stevens’ inks help it all pop more than usual, with a reverence for both the style and genre they represent. Greg Theakston’s colors bring the piece home with a royal brilliance, heavy on the blues and purples. The more I look at this thing, the more I’m glad it’s a part of my collection.

Fortunately, Michael Thibodeaux’s story lives up to its cover’s hype, which is probably why esteemed artists like Kirby and Stevens decided to contribute in the first place. (An ad later in this issue reveals that Arthur Adams crafts an alternate cover to #7. Great company!) Basically, this issue tragically continues the tale of Prince Sven’s attempt to save his beloved Embla from the demonic Marik, and despite his orders to the contrary his three loyal friends follow close behind to help. When Sven finds Marik, he’s tricked into gruesomely severing his left hand so that one of Marik’s men could mystically inhabit his body, and though Sven’s friends arrive and vanquish their foes, they’re sadly too late to save their prince. Thibodeaux’s storytelling style is truly merciless, yet he balances the violent subtexts of this issue’s events with humorously campy divergences, perhaps in an attempt to explore the duality of Vikings’ harshness and hubris.

In one particular sequence, Tomgar, the brute of the bunch, forbids Jon the Magician from using his “powers” to fight their enemies, despite the fact that Jon is really getting his butt kicked. “You’re going to learn to fight if it kills you!” he commands. Such dialogue reminded me of the candor in Iron Jaw, a delicious exercise in unadulterated old world masculinity. Here, when Tomgar finally secedes, the sage’s skills ironically amount to smashing a smoke bomb and hitting his attacker in the head from behind. This comedic scene precedes the horrible revelation of Sven’s death and adds a moment of well-deserved levity in the midst of battle. Thibodeaux widely builds the reader up only to let him down, making the tragedy of these warriors’ loss all the more palpable.

His art is a bit less consistent, though at its best is certainly a joy to behold. The inking might have something to do with it, as Thibodeaux shares credit with Mike Royer and Joe Sinnott, and who does what is really kind of vague here. Still, The Last of the Viking Heroes #5 is a well paced issue with fluid, brutal, action-packed adventure and suspense, and every panel seems to offer something by way of mood or character to contribute to the greatness of the whole. I was afraid this issue would suffer from some Prince Valiant-style blandness, but I was sorely and gratefully mistaken.

I don’t think The Last of the Viking Heroes #5 will be the last I see of this series. Kirby, Stevens, Ditko (according to his letter on the letters page!) and a slew of other artists seemed to dig it, so I guess I’ll have to dig for it, like the buried treasure it seems to be. Like a favorite band’s reunion, or the patient search for back issues, some things are worth the wait . . . and therefore really never end.