"The outcome is always unavoidable..." Minor Threats review

Minor Threats was a 2022 mini-series written by Patton Oswalt and Jordan Blum with art by Scott Hepburn, colours by Ian Herring and letters by Nate Piekos of Blambot. The creative team reunited for Minor Threats: The Fastest Way Down in 2024. Both were published by Dark Horse Comics.

Minor Threats is told from the perspective of career criminals who live in a world bursting at the seams with super heroes. The five protagonists of the first series are considered low-rung figures who enjoy little prestige among their fellow criminals. However, when a psychopath called Stickman murders the kid sidekick of the super hero Insomniac (basically a Batman expy), it results in a violent crackdown on super-criminals. The five protagonists decide to pool their resources and kill the Stickman in the hopes of stopping the crackdown.

I was skeptical about these comics, to be honest. It caught my attention because of Oswalt's name, but I also doubted whether it would be any good because when Hollywood personalities descend from their lofty heights to go slumming in the world of comics, it's usually because they want to fabricate a pitch for their next movie or TV series. The sort of comics they churn out tend to be very dull, very by-the-numbers, written down to a level where a film or TV executive can understand it.

But Minor Threats? This is a comic book! I mean, it does not look like a bunch of storyboards - there is action, speed lines, sound effects -- all those things movie people disdain.

I've seen Minor Threats compared to Astro City and I think the comparison holds. Because Oswalt's background is comedy I assumed this would be a fairly satirical comic, but it isn't. Instead, like Astro City, it visits familiar tropes from super hero comics but through a different lens - in this case, from the skewed perspective of life-long criminals.

This was a very pleasant surprise - about as violent and profanity-laden as a Robert Kirkman comic but still, a very good super hero comic with a well-realized world, well-written characters and a great plot. That's all I ask for.

Radio Recap: Living Fiction

Living Fiction was apparently a short-lived series produced by NBC from January-May, 1954. The series was created at Northwestern University, the latest of several programs (such as NBC University Theater) in which NBC made use of talented university staff and students to produce radio dramas. I've no doubt it was cheaper than hiring radio professionals, but it also meant they were creating programs with different talents than what was heard elsewhere in radio. This wasn't Hollywood radio or New York radio. Consequently, none of my usual complains about 1950s NBC dramas holds here, as the people at Northwestern had their own library of music, rather than the repeated musical stings used in almost every other NBC show.

The series featured some very familiar fiction heard elsewhere in old-time radio like Robert Louis Stevenson's "the Suicide Club" and Oscar Wilde's "the Canterville Ghost" but also some tales less-frequently adapted like Sir Walter Scott's "the Heart of Midlothian," Stephen Vincent Benet's "the Devil and Daniel Webster" and Stephen Crane's "the Red Badge of Courage."

Living Fiction isn't as polished as other radio dramatic programs but the high-quality literature they chose helps elevate the series. It's an interesting, forgotten nugget.

The Old Time Radio Researchers have 16 episodes of Living Fiction at this link on their website.

Radio Recap: The Adventures of Sam Spade

Although Dashiell Hammett didn't write the character of Sam Spade in much outside of the novel the Maltese Falcon that novel became the basis of the phenomenal 1941 motion picture starring Humphrey Bogart. Although it had been adapted twice before, the 1941 version hewed more closely to the original text than the other versions (notably, unlike the other versions, the audience only knows as much as Spade does). The Maltese Falcon was a hit and influenced a lot of popular culture's interpretations of private detectives from then up to present day. You really can't undersell its influence upon the genre.

That part of what makes the radio series The Adventures of Sam Spade so fascinating; this wasn't a Sam Spade imitator, this was the officially-licensed continuation of the character's adventures (with Dashiell Hammett's name proudly introduced at the top of the program). And yet, The Adventures of Sam Spade didn't take itself too seriously; to be sure, Sam was a bit of a wiseguy in Hammett's novel, but the radio series only occasionally played out as a straight radio detective drama; most of the time, it was a tongue-in-cheek send-up of the entire genre!

The series ran from July 1946-April 1951. It started as an ABC summer series replacing the Woody Herman Show, then moved to CBS (1946-1949) and finally NBC (1949-1951). It was produced by William Spier of Suspense, who had featured a few hardboiled stories by Hammett and the likes of Cornell Woolrich on that series but evidently wanted this show to be a change of pace. Bob Tallman and Gil Doud (both veterans of Suspense) were the chief writers of the program, although John Michael Hayes, E. Jack Neuman, Elliot Lewis were other noted contributors.

Starring as Sam Spade was Howard Duff. I wonder sometimes how much of the show's sardonic humour came from the writers themselves and how much was the writers playing to what Duff wanted to portray. Duff is best remembered as a dramatic actor but he was pretty funny as Sam Spade. Each episode featured Spade narrating his most recent adventure to secretary Effie Perine, along the way dropping all sorts of jokes, asides and sardonic observations.

Effie Perine came from Hammett's Maltese Falcon but there she was a pretty tough and reliable secretary. On The Adventures of Sam Spade, Lurene Tuttle portrayed her as a ditz, an air-head who was captivated by Sam, hung on his every word and reacted literally to his unusual turns of phrase. Tuttle was also heard in virtually every episode as at least one of the characters Spade encountered in the show, usually as a gruff-voiced landlady who sounded nothing like Effie (in one episode she was a witch!). I think I've heard her playing three different roles in a single episode!

There was something about that Duff-Tuttle pairing; for some reason, Duff loved to break character and try to crack up Tuttle at the microphone. In virtually every episode, you can hear him ad-lib (the ad-libs are usually spoken very quickly in-between scripted dialogue, often in a lower register) and Tuttle does her best to keep up with him without breaking character. It adds to the sense that The Adventures of Sam Spade is not a show you need to take too seriously; the actors are having a good time and they want you to settle back and do likewise. Not only would Sam call out characters in his adventures for being "Peter Lorre types" or "Sydney Greenstreet types" (two direct references to the Maltese Falcon) he would also lean on the fourth wall, as at the climax of "The Prodigal Daughter Caper" where Sam and Effie examined their radio counterparts (Duff and Tuttle) in Look magazine.

Apparently the now-lost pilot for the series was called "the Walls of Jericho Caper." It was an adaptation of Jo Eisinger's novel "The Walls Came Tumbling Down," which had also been adapted to Suspense. Eisinger also wrote a two-part story called "the Kandi Tooth Caper" (November 24 and December 1, 1946) which is now lost but was recreated as a one-hour episode of Suspense on January 10, 1948. It featured Sam going up against Joel Cairo and Casper Gutman of the Maltese Falcon but while that should be a big deal it's really just a retread of the Maltese Falcon. Jo Eisinger seemed really hung up on that novel and homaged it again and again throughout his work; I wrote about the Walls Came Tumbling Down on my blog and I also noted in my radio recap for the Cases of Mr. Ace how Eisinger revisited the plot a few times.

My favourite episode of the series is "The Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cottontail Caper" (December 4, 1949). The episode features a dynamic new character, Fritz Crockett, who introduces himself as Sam's new partner (and Effie plays along, much to Sam's chagrin). Crockett likes to go on and on about what abilities are needed to succeed as a private detective and primarily, it seems, he thinks a great private detective is talented at creating different voices and performing impressions. In other words, Crockett thinks private detectives should all be radio actors!

Way at the other end is the episode "the Dick Foley Caper" (September 26, 1948) with Frank Lovejoy as a private detective friend of Sam's who also lost a partner. This episode is much more hardboiled than usual and in some ways is a deconstruction of Sam, because his friend turns out to have faced the same moral test Sam did in the Maltese Falcon, but he failed it.

I also need to make mention of Howard Duff's cameo appearance as Sam in one of the greatest episodes of Suspense, "the House in Cypress Canyon" (December 5, 1946), yet another link to that William Spier production.

The series had a spectacular fall from grace, all originating when Duff made a brief joke about politician J. Parnell Thomas of the House of Un-American Activities Commission. Thomas, being a man of no grace, placed the staff of the Adventures of Sam Spade under government investigation, just like the Founding Fathers intended! It definitely didn't help that Dashiell Hammett and Howard Duff's names appeared in the notorious 1950s publication Red Channels. What was Duff's offense? According to Red Channels he'd publicly supported the so-called "Hollywood Ten" (the 10 Hollywood screenwriters who refused to answer questions for HUAC). Free spech was a bit of a nebulous concept at the time.

Hammett and Duff were put on the blacklist and Hammett suffered the indignity of serving a contempt of court sentence after paying bail for leaders of the Communist Party. All of this was enough to make Wildroot Cream Oil skittish; they cancelled their sponsorship in the fall of 1950. Wildroot decided they could make their own successful detective series and put their money on Charlie Wild, Private Detective; that series became infamous as one of the worst-reviewed detective shows in all of OTR (probably because everyone who loved the Adventures of Sam Spade resented it).

NBC ultimately bowed to public pressure and brought the series back - "the New Adventures of Sam Spade" - just two months after Wildroot pulled out. However, Howard Duff had been blacklisted and was replaced with Steve Dunne, who carried on for the remainder of the show's final season. Also missing was Dashiell Hammett's name, which had gone from a feature to a liability; from them on the series boasted William Spier's name in the intro but omitted Hammett's. Bob Tallman and Gil Doud were also gone and most of the writing duties fell to E. Jack Neuman, Harold Swanton and John Michael Hayes. The only good news about all these changes is that Lurene Tuttle continued playing Effie (and various gruff-voiced women).

Dunne was acceptable and the writing tried to keep to the same standard but Duff really did carry the series. Although the show remained popular, it failed to regain a sponsor due to the controversy. NBC, not being charitable with unsponsored programs, let the show die, despite Radio-Television Mirror magazine calling Steve Dunne their favourite detective. The series ended with "the Hall and Farewell Caper" (April 27, 1951) with Effie tearfully saying goodbye. "Goodnight, sweetheart," Sam stated one final time.

Dunne's best episode from where I sit was "the Soap Opera Caper" (February 16, 1951) in which Sam encountered a soap opera star; the script contains many references to popular soap operas of the days, deliberately melodramatic dialogue and music from an organ punctuating every other line.

The Old Time Radio Researchers have a YouTube playlist of 53 Adventures of Sam Spade episodes (they haven't finished adding all of the Steve Dunne episodes as of this time):

Angola: Illustrated Journal available in print!

It took some work to format it properly for print, but the Angola: Illustrated Journal book I wrote with my wife Bethany and filled with many images drawn by her is finally available. At the moment you can find it on Amazon, including this link here!

Dark Knight, Dark Kitty: My New Essay on Priest's Black Panther

I finally have a new essay about Christopher Priest's Black Panther available at Sequart! It's titled "Dark Knight, Dark Kitty" and it's my thoughts on how Priest would break the fourth wall for comedic effect in his Black Panther comics.

Creator Credits for Ironheart (Season One)

In short: a misstep that doesn't seem to understand the appeal of its protagonist or antagonist.

Jason Aaron (writer): co-creator of Zelma Stanton, a toque-wearing young woman who was affected by brain maggots (Doctor Strange #1, 2015); of Zelma Stanton learning how to practice magic (Doctor Strange #20, 2017)

Chris Bachalo (artist): co-creator of Zelma Stanton, a toque-wearing young woman who was affected by brain maggots (Doctor Strange #1, 2015); of Zelma Stanton learning how to practice magic (Doctor Strange #20, 2017)

Brian Michael Bendis (writer): co-creator of Riri Williams, a brilliant young engineer at MIT who studies Tony Stark's technology and develops her own suit of armor based on his, taking the armor out on test flights (Invincible Iron Man #7, 2016); of Riri entering MIT while still a young teenager (Invincible Iron Man #8, 2016); of Ronnie Williams, Riri's mother (Invincible Iron Man #12, 2016); of Natalie Washington, Riri Williams' best friend; of Riri's father and Natalie Washington dying when Riri was young when they were hit by stray bullets from a gunfight; of Riri deciding to honour Tony Stark's legacy by becoming a hero (Invincible Iron Man #1, 2017); of Riri completing her version of the Iron Man armor and going public as Ironheart (Invincible Iron Man #3, 2017); of Ronnie Williams learning Riri is an armored hero and choosing to support her (Invincible Iron Man #5, 2017); of Xavier, an old friend of Riri Williams and sometimes-romantic interest (Invincible Iron Man #595, 2017); of the Hood leading a personal army of superhuman criminals (New Avengers #33, 2007); of Rampage as a member of the Hood's gang (New Avengers #35, 2007); of the Hood's cloak being connected to Dormammu; of the Slug as a member of the Hood's army (New Avengers #46, 2008)

Robert Bernstein (writer): co-creator of Stark Industries, Tony Stark's company (Tales of Suspense #45, 1963)

Mark Bright (artist): co-creator of Obadiah Stane's death following a battle with Iron Man (Iron Man #200, 1985)

John Buscema (artist): co-creator of Mephisto, demon closely resembling Satan, seeks to corrupt and claim the souls of pure people (Silver Surfer #3, 1968)

Stefano Caselli (artist): co-creator of Natalie Washington, Riri Williams' best friend; of Riri's father and Natalie Washington dying when Riri was young when they were hit by stray bullets from a gunfight; of Riri deciding to honour Tony Stark's legacy by becoming a hero (Invincible Iron Man #1, 2017); of Riri completing her version of the Iron Man armor and going public as Ironheart (Invincible Iron Man #3, 2017); of Ronnie Williams learning Riri is an armored hero and choosing to support her (Invincible Iron Man #5, 2017); of Xavier, an old friend of Riri Williams and sometimes-romantic interest (Invincible Iron Man #595, 2017)

Joe Casey (writer): co-creator of the Clown as an assassin (Deathlok #3, 1999)

Chris Claremont (writer): co-creator of Madripoor, a nation with a great deal of organized crime (New Mutants #32, 1985)

Mike Deodato Jr. (artist): co-creator of Riri Williams, a brilliant young engineer at MIT who studies Tony Stark's technology and develops her own suit of armor based on his, taking the armor out on test flights (Invincible Iron Man #7, 2016); of Riri entering MIT while still a young teenager (Invincible Iron Man #8, 2016); of Ronnie Williams, Riri's mother (Invincible Iron Man #12, 2016)

Steve Ditko (artist): co-creator of Doctor Strange, a master of the mystic arts who champions Earth (Strange Tales #110, 1963); of Dormammu, a fiery demonic entity who opposes Dr. Strange (Strange Tales #115, 1963); of the Dark Dimension, a mystical realm (Strange Tales #126, 1964); of Kaecillius, a mystic foe of Dr. Strange (Strange Tales #130, 1965)

Bill Everett (artist): co-creator of Kamar-Taj, the temple where Doctor Strange studied sorcery (Strange Tales #148, 1966)

Eve L. Ewing (writer): co-creator of N.A.T.A.L.I.E., Neuro-Autonomous Technical Assistant & Laboratory Intelligence Entity, an artificial intelligence created by Riri Williams that was based on her deceased friend Natalie Washington and accidentally took form without Riri's direct supervision (Ironheart #1, 2019); of Ironheart visiting Wakanda and befriending Shuri (Ironheart #9, 2019)

Matt Fraction (writer): co-creator of Ezekiel Stane revealed to be Obadiah Stane's son (Invincible Iron Man #1, 2008); of Ezekiel Stane, criminal who has bionic technology throughout his body, enabling him electrical powers (The Order #8, 2008)

Mike Friedrich (writer): co-creator of Thanos, extraterrestrial despot (Iron Man #55, 1973)

Archie Goodwin (writer): co-creator of Howard Stark, deceased father of Tony Stark and previous owner of Stark Industries (Iron Man #28, 1970)

Mark Gruenwald (writer): co-creator of the Slug, a gangster (Captain America #324, 1986)

Don Heck (artist): co-creator of Rampage, alias Stuart Clarke, a technology-wielding criminal (Champions #5, 1976); of Howard Stark, deceased father of Tony Stark and previous owner of Stark Industries (Iron Man #28, 1970); of Iron Man, alias Tony Stark, a genius inventor who built his own armor and used his inventions for good (Tales of Suspense #39, 1963); of Stark Industries, Tony Stark's company (Tales of Suspense #45, 1963)

Kyle Hotz (artist): co-creator of the Hood, alias Parker Robbins, a small-time criminal who obtained a mystical cloak that granted him supernatural powers; the Hood wielding twin pistols; of John King, Parker's cousin and cohort in crime; of Parker's father Arthur Robbins (the Hood #1, 2002)

Reginald Hudlin (writer): co-creator of Shuri, Wakandan hero (Black Panther #2, 2005)

Tony Isabella (writer): co-creator of Rampage, alias Stuart Clarke, a technology-wielding criminal (Champions #5, 1976)

Jack Kirby (artist, writer): co-creator of Wakanda, the secretive high-tech African nation (Fantastic Four #52, 1966); of Vibranium, the rare metal found in Wakanda which powers most of their technology (Fantastic Four #53, 1966); of the Kree, an extraterrestrial race (Fantastic Four #64, 1967); of the Clown, a criminal (Incredible Hulk #3, 1962); of Thor, the hammer-wielding godly hero (Journey into Mystery #83, 1962); of Iron Man, alias Tony Stark, a genius inventor who built his own armor and used his inventions for good (Tales of Suspense #39, 1963); of Hank Pym, a brilliant scientist who discovered Pym Particles (Tales to Astonish #27, 1962)

Barry Kitson (artist): co-creator of Ezekiel Stane, criminal who has bionic technology throughout his body, enabling him electrical powers (The Order #8, 2008)

Salvador Larroca (artist): co-creator of Ezekiel Stane revealed to be Obadiah Stane's son (Invincible Iron Man #1, 2008)

Stan Lee (writer): co-creator of Wakanda, the secretive high-tech African nation (Fantastic Four #52, 1966); of Vibranium, the rare metal found in Wakanda which powers most of their technology (Fantastic Four #53, 1966); of the Kree, an extraterrestrial race (Fantastic Four #64, 1967); of the Clown, a criminal (Incredible Hulk #3, 1962); of Thor, the hammer-wielding godly hero (Journey into Mystery #83, 1962); of Mephisto, demon closely resembling Satan, seeks to corrupt and claim the souls of pure people (Silver Surfer #3, 1968); of Doctor Strange, a master of the mystic arts who champions Earth (Strange Tales #110, 1963); of Dormammu, a fiery demonic entity who opposes Dr. Strange (Strange Tales #115, 1963); of the Dark Dimension, a mystical realm (Strange Tales #126, 1964); of Kaecillius, a mystic foe of Dr. Strange (Strange Tales #130, 1965); of Iron Man, alias Tony Stark, a genius inventor who built his own armor and used his inventions for good (Tales of Suspense #39, 1963); of Stark Industries, Tony Stark's company (Tales of Suspense #45, 1963); of Hank Pym, a brilliant scientist who discovered Pym Particles (Tales to Astonish #27, 1962)

Kevin Libranda (artist): co-creator of Ironheart's armor in red, black and gold colours (Champions #22, 2018); of N.A.T.A.L.I.E., Neuro-Autonomous Technical Assistant and Laboratory Intelligence Entity, an artificial intelligence created by Riri Williams that was based on her deceased friend Natalie Washington and accidentally took form without Riri's direct supervision (Ironheart #1, 2019)

Larry Lieber (writer): co-creator of Thor, the hammer-wielding godly hero (Journey into Mystery #83, 1962); of Iron Man, alias Tony Stark, a genius inventor who built his own armor and used his inventions for good (Tales of Suspense #39, 1963); of Hank Pym, a brilliant scientist who discovered Pym Particles (Tales to Astonish #27, 1962)

Leonardo Manco (artist): co-creator of the Clown as an assassin (Deathlok #3, 1999)

Luke McDonnell (artist): co-creator of Obadiah Stane, a businessman who secretly sought to seize control of Stark Industries, pitting himself against Iron Man (Iron Man #166, 1983)

Paul Neary (artist): co-creator of the Slug, a gangster (Captain America #324, 1986)

Dennis O'Neil (writer): co-creator of Obadiah Stane, a businessman who secretly sought to seize control of Stark Industries, pitting himself against Iron Man (Iron Man #166, 1983); of Obadiah Stane's death following a battle with Iron Man (Iron Man #200, 1985); of Kamar-Taj, the temple where Doctor Strange studied sorcery (Strange Tales #148, 1966)

John Romita Jr. (artist): co-creator of Shuri, Wakandan hero (Black Panther #2, 2005)

Bill Sienkiewicz (artist): co-creator of Madripoor, a nation with a great deal of organized crime (New Mutants #32, 1985)

Paul Smith (artist): co-creator of Kaecillius' name (Doctor Strange #56, 1982)

Jim Starlin (artist, writer): co-creator of Thanos, extraterrestrial despot (Iron Man #55, 1973)

Roger Stern (writer): co-creator of Kaecillius' name (Doctor Strange #56, 1982)

Billy Tan (artist): co-creator of the Hood's cloak being connected to Dormammu; of the Slug as a member of the Hood's army (New Avengers #46, 2008)

Brian K. Vaughan (writer): co-creator of the Hood, alias Parker Robbins, a small-time criminal who obtained a mystical cloak that granted him supernatural powers; the Hood wielding twin pistols; of John King, Parker's cousin and cohort in crime; of Parker's father Arthur Robbins (the Hood #1, 2002)

Luciano Vecchio (artist): co-creator of N.A.T.A.L.I.E., Neuro-Autonomous Technical Assistant and Laboratory Intelligence Entity, an artificial intelligence created by Riri Williams that was based on her deceased friend Natalie Washington and accidentally took form without Riri's direct supervision (Ironheart #1, 2019); of Ironheart visiting Wakanda and befriending Shuri (Ironheart #9, 2019)

Leinil Francis Yu (artist): co-creator of the Hood leading a personal army of superhuman criminals (New Avengers #33, 2007); of Rampage as a member of the Hood's gang (New Avengers #35, 2007)

Jim Zub (writer): co-creator of Ironheart's armor in red, black and gold colours (Champions #22, 2018)

Radio Recap: 21st Precinct

"21st Precinct-- just lines on a map of the city of New York. Most of 173,000 people wedged into the 9/10ths of a square mile between Fifth Avenue and the East River wouldn't know if you ask them that they lived or worked in the 21st. Whether they know it or not, the security of their persons, their homes and their property is my job-- my job and the job of the 160 patrolmen, 11 sergeants and 4 lieutenants of whom I'm the boss. My name is Kennelly, Frank Kennelly. I'm captain in command of the 21st."

21st Precinct was a latter-day police drama that aired July 7, 1953 to July 26, 1956 on CBS. The series was written and directed by Stanley Niss and produced by John Ives, who were simultaneously collborating on Gangbusters, also on CBS.

21st Precinct starred Everett Sloane as Captain Frank Kennelly, head of the precinct. Although 21st Precinct was surely inspired by the fame of Dragnet to fashion a series with a strong sense of realism it was unlike every other radio police series I've heard. There's very little on 21st Precinct that deals with violent crime; I don't think you can consider 21st Precinct a crime series at all, it's mostly a human interest drama concerned with the various personal matters that bring people to a police station. Sometimes there's a crime but usually the incidents are mundane-- like a man being bit by a dog or a homeless man being picked up on vagrancy-- and even when there are criminals to be caught, it seldoms involves gunplay.

Great episodes include "Case of the L.D. 80" in which Canelli deals with a night watchman whose assessment is due (December 4, 1953) and "the Giver," a bittersweet Christmas tale of a man giving away appliances (December 22, 1954).

21st Precinct is a bit off-beat compared to other police dramas; I can recommend it if you're looking for something different.

The Old Time Radio Researchers have a YouTube playlist of more than 100 episodes of 21st Precinct:

"And so it goes, around the clock, through the week, every day, every year. A police precinct in the city of New York is a flesh and blood merry-go-around. Anyone can catch the brass ring, or... the brass ring can catch anyone."

RIP: Jim Shooter

Jim Shooter passed away on June 30, aged 73.

Shooter became the editor-in-chief of Marvel the same year I was born; consequently, all of my early brushes with Marvel were based on the line the way it was when he held oversight of the company. His name was certainly one that I knew, as he would appear or be referenced in the Bullpen Bulletin pages and in letter pages. Frequently there were jokes about his 6'7" stature. And then, with zero ceremony, he was gone from that post in 1987.

I don't think I really began to grasp who Jim Shooter was when I started using the internet, and not just from the image Shooter himself cultivated in online interviews or on his personal website. I started to learn then that Shooter was an extremely controversial figure, having been responsible for driving a mulititude of great creators from Marvel during his tenure (Gerber, McGregor, Colan, Moench, Thomas, Wolfman). He also tarnished his image in fandom by taking the wrong side in prominent comics court cases in the 80s, notably taking sides against Harlan Ellison and the Comics Journal in the lawsuit Michael Fleisher took against them, and taking Marvel's side against Jack Kirby.

It's easy to paint him a villain; heck, he seemed to relish the role. In many of his online interactions he was not above taking quippy, petty potshots at former colleagues (tastelessly including Bill Mantlo, who can't exactly fight back). At the same time, he's held up by many fans as the ideal editor-in-chief (that is, fans who are roughly around my age). He's seen as the one who brought professionalism to Marvel at a time when the company needed it; if he was a jerk, well, those fans think someone had to step and be the jerk. He rebuilt the structure of Marvel editorial into a form it still more-or-less follows today. And while many famous names left the company, his tenure as editor-in-chief featured the likes of Walter Simonson's Thor, Frank Miller's Daredevil, Chris Claremont and John Byrne's X-Men, John Byrne's Fantastic Four, Doug Moench and Bill Sienkiewicz's Moon Knight, etc. He's basically a co-creator of the Transformers, who were just a bunch of toys until Shooter and others developed a backstory (and names).

It's easier to talk about Shooter the writer; he started writing at age 13, penning Legion of Super-Heroes stories for DC because, even at 13, he thought he could write better stories than the ones DC had been publishing. I'm not a big enough Legion fan to know-- I've never read his stories-- but Legion fandom agrees, Shooter was a huge breath of fresh air to that series. For me, I enjoyed him most when he was writing the Avengers, particulary his "Korvac Saga." Less so the Avengers stories with the domestic violence against the Wasp.

I've also been very vocal on the internet in my defense of the New Universe, a publishing initiative Shooter conceived of. Although my favourite of the titles was D.P.7 by Mark Gruenwald and Paul Ryan, I did enjoy how off-beat Shooter and John Romita Jr's Star Brand was. It featured a recurring idea in Shooter's fiction about men struggling to understand how best to wield the power they've received (as Sean Howe noted in his book Marvel Comics: the Untold Story, usually Shooter's powerful men were positioned as villains but were misunderstood, something Howe saw as autobiographical, given Shooter's status as an industry scapegoat).

Shooter's work at Valiant is seldom given it's due; his Magnus Robot Fighter comics - especially the opening "Steel Nation" arc - are some mighty good comics. I haven't sampled his later work in his companies Defiant or Broadway.

It's difficult to not form an opinion of Shooter, given how (ahem) large he loomed in the industry. I suppose deep down, I do feel like many of my fellow Gen Xers that Marvel's standard of quality was never better than during his term as editor-in-chief. Overall, I feel kindly towards him and his legacy.

Rest in peace, Mr. Shooter.

Happy Canada Day!

I'd didn't think within my lifetime we'd be facing a genuine threat to our nation's existence, much less from what had historically been our best ally. Consequently, declaring our independence has never been more important. We are independent; we are unique; we are not for sale.

Happy Canada Day!