Creator Credits for The Punisher: One Last Kill (2026)

Huh; I'm not a big Punisher fan, but this might be the best adaptation of the character yet. Credits for the creators of the characters and concepts in The Punisher: One Last Kill TV special are listed below; please inform me of any omissions; my ful list of Marvel Cinematic Universe creator credits is right here.

Ross Andru (artist): co-creator of the Punisher, a war veteran who becomes a vigilante, wearing a black costume with white skull design on his chest and wielding vast arsenal of firearms and explosives in a one-man war on crime (Amazing Spider-Man #129, 1974)

Mike Baron (writer): co-creator of the Punisher wearing a trenchcoat overtop his costume; of Curtis Hoyle, a one-time member of Frank Castle's unit who died (Punisher #1, 1987)

Gerry Conway (writer): co-creator of the Punisher, a war veteran who becomes a vigilante, wearing a black costume with white skull design on his chest and wielding vast arsenal of firearms and explosives in a one-man war on crime (Amazing Spider-Man #129, 1974); of Frank Castle becoming the Punisher after happening upon criminals in a park who set off a gunfight which killed his wife Maria, daughter Lisa and son Frank Jr. (Marvel Preview #2, 1975)

Tony DeZuniga (artist): co-creator of Frank Castle becoming the Punisher after happening upon criminals in a park who set off a gunfight which killed his wife Maria, daughter Lisa and son Frank Jr. (Marvel Preview #2, 1975)

Steve Dillon (artist): co-creator of of the Gnuccis, a mobster family whom the Punisher wages war against; of Bobbie Gnucci, Eddie Gnucci and Carlo Gnucci, all killed by the Punisher (Punisher #1, 2000); of Ma Gnucci, leader of the Gnucci crime family who seeks revenge against the Punisher after he killed her family, putting out a bounty on him (Punisher #4, 2000); of Ma Gnucci being crippled (Punisher #5, 2000)

Garth Ennis (writer): co-creator of of the Gnuccis, a mobster family whom the Punisher wages war against; of Bobbie Gnucci, Eddie Gnucci and Carlo Gnucci, all killed by the Punisher (Punisher #1, 2000); of Ma Gnucci, leader of the Gnucci crime family who seeks revenge against the Punisher after he killed her family, putting out a bounty on him (Punisher #4, 2000); of Ma Gnucci being crippled (Punisher #5, 2000)

Bill Everett (artist): co-creator of Karen Page, a blonde legal secretary (Daredevil #1, 1964)

Klaus Janson (artist): co-creator of the Punisher wearing a trenchcoat overtop his costume; of Curtis Hoyle, a one-time member of Frank Castle's unit who died (Punisher #1, 1987)

Stan Lee (writer): co-creator of Karen Page, a blonde legal secretary (Daredevil #1, 1964)

Tom Lye (artist): co-creator of Frank Castle growing a beard while living anonymously (Punisher #17, 1997)

Bill Mantlo (writer): co-creator of Frank Castle suffering from mental problems (Spectacular Spider-Man #81, 1983)

Al Milgrom (artist): co-creator of Frank Castle suffering from mental problems (Spectacular Spider-Man #81, 1983)

John Ostrander (writer): co-creator of Frank Castle growing a beard while living anonymously (Punisher #17, 1997)

John Romita (artist): co-creator of the Punisher, a war veteran who becomes a vigilante, wearing a black costume with white skull design on his chest and wielding vast arsenal of firearms and explosives in a one-man war on crime (Amazing Spider-Man #129, 1974)

Radio Recap: The Life of Riley

The Life of Riley was a long-running sitcom, among the most influential of all sitcoms in the history of the genre; it aired over the Blue Network from 1944-1945, then NBC from 1945-1951. William Bendix starred as the lead character, Chester A. Riley, an aircraft mechanic from Brooklyn who had transported his family to work in a wartime aircraft plant in Los Angeles. Paula Winslowe played his wife, Peg. Barbara Eiler was usually his daughter Babs, while Tommy Cook, Bobby Ellis and Scotty Beckett each played his son, Junior. Ken Carpenter and Harry Von Zell were the show's announcers. The series was created by Irving Brecher and had a remarkably consistent tone and backstory for the characters (Alan Lipscott and Reuben Ship were productive writers for the series).

Brecher was a friend of Groucho Marx and had written for him on two lesser Marx Brothers movies (At the Circus and Go West). He'd wanted to create a radio sitcom for Groucho but his sponsor couldn't envision Groucho as the head of a happy family (neither can I, to be fair). Outside of the Life of Riley, Brecher's greatest claim to fame was writing the film Meet Me in St. Louis (1947).

Chester A. Riley was basically a good-natured dope; usually the problems on the show were of his own making as he'd try to find a way to sneak off work or get into a poker game; Riley's attempts at covering up his minor infractions would then escalate until he'd eventually try to make good. Of course, arriving at the time this series did, sometimes Riley's problems simply stemmed from struggling out of the Great Depression; Riley's family were always struggling to make ends meet, didn't own a car and were often in danger of being evicted for falling behind on their rent. Trying to improve his family's standing was another way in which Riley would inevitably court disaster. His main catchphrase was, "Wotta revoltin' development this is!" His favoured malapropism was "my head's made up!"

John Brown had two major roles (and occasionally a variety of other small parts) as Digby O'Dell, "the friendly undertaker" and Riley's fellow factory worker Jim Gillis. Riley's boss, Mr. Stevenson, was usually played by Alan Reed (Reed also occasionally played Peg's father). Early on, Riley often interacted with his milquetoast neighbour Waldo Binney (Francis Trout). Lou Merrill was Peg's ex-boyfriend Sidney Monahan, whom Riley remained jealous of; Shirley Mitchell was Louella Lownesbury, the southern belle who made Peg jealous (Louella was virtually identical to Mitchell's Great Gildersleeve character Leila). And there were a host of other recurring minor characters like Junior's girlfriend Marilyn Morris (whose father was Riley's landlord) and Babs' boyfriend Simon, who even had his own catchphrase ("I love ya madly!").

The secondary characters were mostly there to exacerbate Riley's problems; Mr. Stevenson was a greedy, miserly boss, always looking for an honest way to cheat his hard-working employees. Gillis frequently would get Riley into trouble by bragging about how he'd cheated his way out of work or boasting about his son Egbert's achievements; trying to emulate Gillis' behaviour or forcing Junior to beat Egbert in a competition always led to trouble.

By contrast, Waldo and Digger provided a conscience to Riley; although Waldo would frequently express admiration when Riley would boast to him about his supposed triumphs, when Riley did something wrong, Waldo would meekly correct him. As the show went on, that became Digger's role and the show's formula became one of escalating problems until Riley would chance to meet Digger ("You're looking fine-- very natural!") and relate his woes to him; Digger would supply Riley with some sage advice which he'd attempt to use in the climax (but would usually garble Digger's advice).

In the show's first year, Riley was bedeviled by Peg's Uncle Baxter (Hans Conreid), a freeloader who was always abusing Riley's good nature. The very episode where Riley finally got rid of Uncle Baxter, his brother Uncle Buckley (Charlie Cantor) took his place. In either case, neither were a good fit for the series. The Life of Riley tended to feature sitcom misunderstandings and mistakes on Riley's part, but Baxter (and to a lesser extent, Buckley) was actively malevolent and would deliberately make trouble for Riley. They were right to eliminate the characters from the series.

There were many flashback episodes to times earlier in the Rileys' lives when they lived in Brooklyn; these had very similar framing devices where Riley would boast to someone (usually one or both of his kids or one of his co-workers) about how he succeeded at something earlier in he and Peg's relationship; once he left the room, Peg would tell Riley's audience the true story, setting up the flashback. These included stories set when Chester and Peg were in high school (Paula Winslowe would raise her falsetto for these) and the days when Peg dated Sidney; they wound up covering Chester and Peg's engagement, wedding, early married life and the birth of Babs. For a comedy program, there was a lot of lore!

The series was originally sponsored by the American Meat Institute; those ads will never not be funny to me as I try to imagine who on Earth thought Americans needed to be convinced to eat meat? Later they were sponsored by Teel dentifrice, then Dreft cleaner, Prell Shampoo (P-R-E-L-L, Prell Shampoo!) and finally Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer. The latter was undoubtedly the most thematically-appropriate sponsor - a blue collar drink for a blue collar family.

In 1949, the Life of Riley became a pretty-good motion picture, written by Brecher with Bendix reprising the part of Riley and John Brown reprising Digby O'Dell. Rosemary DeCamp played Peg and noted radio announcer Bill Goodwin played Sidney Monahan. Episodes of the radio show around that time made a lot of jokes about the film; it was also adapted to radio as an episode of Lux Radio Theater.

The show became an early TV sitcom that year, with Jackie Gleason as Riley (John Brown again reprised Digby and Rosemary DeCamp again played Peg); it aired just one year, but was Gleason's big break on television and has been viewed in retrospect as a testing ground for the more successful the Honeymooners. Most of the plots were reused from the radio series (which had itself repeated scripts now and then). When Bendix was ill, Gleason played Riley on the radio for the November 11, 1949 episode.

After the radio series ended, Bendix reprised Riley yet again on television, a more successful series that lasted 1953-1955. Irving Brecher wasn't involved, however.

The Life of Riley didn't just pave the way for the Honeymooners but virtually every example of the family sitcom - a sub-genre that's mostly gone now, but which comprised much of the most popular programming from the 1950s to 1990s - can be found on this program; the bumbling, egotistical father; the sensible wife; the boy-crazy daughter; the wise yet ignored son; the wacky neighbours; the Life of Riley was a significant program in the history of the sitcom; more than that, I find it's still pretty funny. The Rileys blue collar troubles still resonate, especially as so many of the sitcoms that followed chose to place their casts in a comfortable middle to upper-middle class.

The quality of the series is, to my ears, pretty uniform throughout, although I find the last year has a few too many repeated scripts (and the latter-day actor playing Junior isn't as effective). My favourite episodes include Riley's visit to a haunted house, with a surprising touching conclusion (October 29, 1944); Riley teaching a lesson to his boss' obnoxious son Roswell on Christmas (December 24, 1944); Riley thinking Sidney's plotting a "Double Indemnity" hit against him (March 16, 1946); Riley tries to collect health benefits over a sprained ankle (May 31, 1947); Riley enrolls at a phony engineering school (September 6, 1947); the flashback story of Riley in the school play (November 15, 1947); the Rileys quarrel over whether to buy a piano or a TV set (December 27, 1947); Riley tries to control the family telephone (January 17, 1948); Riley running a neighbourhood curfew (April 3, 1948); Riley tries to study an encyclopedia (October 29, 1948); Riley turns against Junior's comic books (!) (November 5, 1948); Riley's sister gets engaged to a gambler (December 10, 1948); Riley tries to get his fellow employees their Christmas bonus (December 24, 1948); Riley's offended when he's compared to the character in the movie, "The Life of Riley!" (May 6, 1949); Peg gets a job (February 17, 1950) and Riley and Junior running competing hamburger stands (April 28, 1950).

You can hear the Old Time Radio Researchers' collection of 255 The Life of Riley episodes through this link to their website.

Daredevil: Born Again Season Two Creator Credits

Below is my list of comic book creators whose work I saw represented in the 2nd season of Daredevil: Born Again. If you see anything that I missed, please let me know in the comments. My full directory of Marvel Cinematic Universe Creator Credits is found here.

David Aja (artist): co-creator of Vanessa Fisk arranging Foggy Nelson's death to get at Matt Murdock (Daredevil #88, 2006)

Ross Andru (artist): co-creator of the Punisher, a war veteran who becomes a vigilante, wearing a black costume with white skull design on his chest and wielding vast arsenal of firearms and explosives in a one-man war on crime (Amazing Spider-Man #129, 1974)

Brian Michael Bendis (writer): co-creator of Jessica Jones, a cynical, alcoholic, superhumanly strong private detective who runs Alias Investigations; of Jessica's relationship with Luke Cage (Alias #1, 2001); of Matt Murdock and Jessica Jones as allies (Alias #3, 2002); of Soledad Ayala, Hector Ayala's wife; of the White Tiger being wrongly arrested for murder; of Matt Murdock becoming Hector's defense lawyer (Daredevil #38, 2002); of the White Tiger being shot dead by the police after his trial (Daredevil #40, 2003); of Angela Del Toro, a young woman who is an ally of Daredevil (Daredevil #58, 2004); of Angela Del Toro revealed to be Hector Ayala's niece (Daredevil #69, 2005); of Angela Del Toro as the White Tiger; variant White Tiger costume with black stripes (Daredevil #70, 2005); of Matt Murdock's identity as Daredevil becoming public (Daredevil #76, 2005); of Matt Murdock arrested and sent to Ryker's Island (Daredevil #81, 2006); of Danielle Cage, daughter of Jessica Jones and Luke Cage (The Pulse #13, 2006)

Jenny Blake (writer): co-creator of Matt Murdock's Catholicism (Daredevil #119, 1975)

Bob Brown (artist): co-creator of Matt Murdock's Catholicism (Daredevil #119, 1975); of Heather Glenn, Matt Murdock's girlfriend (Daredevil #126, 1975); of Bullseye, an expert assassin who can turn any object into a lethal weapon, battles Daredevil; of Bullseye with a target on his forehead (Daredevil #131, 1976)

Ed Brubaker (writer): co-creator of Foggy Nelson being killed (Daredevil #82, 2006); of Vanessa Fisk arranging Foggy Nelson's death to get at Matt Murdock (Daredevil #88, 2006); of Wilson Fisk stripped of his U.S. citizenship due to his illegal activities (Daredevil #93, 2007)

Marco Checchetto (artist): co-creator of Cole North, a principled New York policeman who opposes Daredevil (Daredevil #1, 2019); of Mayor Wilson Fisk mobilizing an anti-vigilante task force to use extreme methods against New York's vigilantes, ordering all vigilante activity illegal (Devil's Reign #1, 2022); of Wilson Fisk removed as mayor of New York (Devil's Reign #6, 2022)

D. G. Chichester (writer): co-creator of Daredevil wearing body armor (Daredevil #322, 1993)

Jeff Christiansen (writer): creator of Buck Cashman's name (Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z #12, 2010)

Gene Colan (artist): co-creator of Karen Page learning Matt Murdock is Daredevil (Daredevil #57, 1969); of Ben Urich, a reporter with a relentless dedication to the truth (Daredevil #153, 1978); of Heather Glenn learning Matt Murdock is Daredevil (Daredevil #154, 1978)

Gerry Conway (writer): co-creator of the Punisher, a war veteran who becomes a vigilante, wearing a black costume with white skull design on his chest and wielding vast arsenal of firearms and explosives in a one-man war on crime (Amazing Spider-Man #129, 1974); of the mystical golden tiger amulets that grant superhuman abilities to the athletes who wield them (Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #1, 1974); of the Punisher's alias Frank Castle (Marvel Preview #2, 1975)

Mike Deodato (artist): co-creator of Bullseye working as a secret U.S. government operative (Thunderbolts #110, 2007)

Tony DeZuniga (artist): co-creator of the Punisher's alias Frank Castle (Marvel Preview #2, 1975)

Terry Dodson (artist): co-creator of the White Tiger being shot dead by the police after his trial (Daredevil #40, 2003)

Warren Ellis (writer): co-creator of Bullseye working as a secret U.S. government operative (Thunderbolts #110, 2007)

Bill Everett (artist): co-creator of Matt Murdock, a blind lawyer who also fights crime as Daredevil by using his superhuman sensory powers; Daredevil costume with horns on head and red eye lenses; the billy club as Daredevil's primary weapon; Murdock partnered with his college friend Franklin "Foggy" Nelson at Nelson and Murdock law firm; Karen Page as Murdock and Nelson's secretary and object of affection to Matt; Daredevil as a "man without fear" (Daredevil #1, 1964)

Ron Garney (artist): co-creator of Ben Hochberg, a district attorney who clashes with Matt Murdock (Daredevil #2, 2016); of Muse, a silent serial killer dressed in white with streaked paint on his mask who kills and tortures people from a twisted sense of creating art, using their blood in his paintings (Daredevil #11, 2016); of Wilson Fisk running for mayor of New York as an independent candidate, campaigning to outlaw vigilante heroes in New York such as Daredevil and the Punisher (Daredevil #28, 2017); of Muse's activities being used by Mayor Wilson Fisk as a justification for targeting vigilantes (Daredevil #598, 2018)

Michael Gaydos (artist): co-creator of Jessica Jones, a cynical, alcoholic, superhumanly strong private detective who runs Alias Investigations; of Jessica's relationship with Luke Cage (Alias #1, 2001); of Matt Murdock and Jessica Jones as allies (Alias #3, 2002); of Danielle Cage, daughter of Jessica Jones and Luke Cage (The Pulse #13, 2006)

Dick Giordano (artist): co-creator of the mystical golden tiger amulets that grant superhuman abilities to the athletes who wield them (Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #1, 1974)

Archie Goodwin (writer): co-creator of Luke Cage, superhumanly strong and durable hero for hire in Harlem (Hero for Hire #1, 1972)

Billy Graham (artist): co-creator of Luke Cage, superhumanly strong and durable hero for hire in Harlem (Hero for Hire #1, 1972)

Marc Guggenheim (writer): co-creator of Brett Mahoney, a police detective (Marvel Comics Presents #1, 2007)

Manuel Gutierrez (artist): co-creator of Soledad Ayala, Hector Ayala's wife; of the White Tiger being wrongly arrested for murder; of Matt Murdock becoming Hector's defense lawyer (Daredevil #38, 2002)

Don Heck (artist): co-creator of the Swordsman, a mustachioed swashbuckler who wields a sword (Avengers #19, 1965); of Jacques Duquesne, the Swordsman's real name (Avengers Spotlight #22, 1989)

Gil Kane (artist): co-creator of Hell's Kitchen as locale patroled by Daredevil (Daredevil #148, 1977)

Jack Kirby (artist): co-creator of the Swordsman, a mustachioed swashbuckler who wields a sword (Avengers #19, 1965)

Szymon Kudranski (artist): co-creator of police officers working for Wilson Fisk appropriating the Punisher's imagery in imitation of him (Punisher #13, 2019)

Stefano Landini (artist): co-creator of Wilson Fisk becoming mayor of New York; Daredevil vowing to bring down Fisk (Daredevil #595, 2018)

Michael Lark (artist): co-creator of Foggy Nelson being killed (Daredevil #82, 2006); of Wilson Fisk stripped of his U.S. citizenship due to his illegal activities (Daredevil #93, 2007)

Stan Lee (writer/editor): co-creator of the Kingpin of Crime, a mob boss dressed in white who organizes the disparate underworld elements under his leadership from the heart of Manhattan (Amazing Spider-Man #50, 1967); of the Kingpin's wife, Vanessa Fisk (Amazing Spider-Man #69, 1969); of the Swordsman, a mustachioed swashbuckler who wields a sword (Avengers #19, 1965); of Matt Murdock, a blind lawyer who also fights crime as Daredevil by using his superhuman sensory powers; Daredevil costume with horns on head and red eye lenses; the billy club as Daredevil's primary weapon; Murdock partnered with his college friend Franklin "Foggy" Nelson at Nelson and Murdock law firm; Karen Page as Murdock and Nelson's secretary and object of affection to Matt; Daredevil as a "man without fear"; Matt Murdock orphaned at a young age when his father was killed (Daredevil #1, 1964); of Daredevil's ability to detect lies (Daredevil #3, 1964); of Daredevil's red costume; of Daredevil's gimmick billy club (Daredevil #7, 1965)

Alex Maleev (artist): co-creator of Angela Del Toro, a young woman who is an ally of Daredevil (Daredevil #58, 2004); of Angela Del Toro revealed to be Hector Ayala's niece (Daredevil #69, 2005); of Angela Del Toro as the White Tiger; of variant White Tiger costume with black stripes (Daredevil #70, 2005); of Matt Murdock's identity as Daredevil becoming public (Daredevil #76, 2005); of Matt Murdock arrested and sent to Ryker's Island (Daredevil #81, 2006)

Bill Mantlo (writer): co-creator of the White Tiger, alias Hector Ayala, a Puerto Rican man who obtains the tiger amulet and dons a white costume to battle crime (Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #19, 1975)

David Mazzuchelli (artist): co-creator of Wilson Fisk learning Matt Murdock is Daredevil; of Wilson Fisk controlling the police and using the authorities to wreck Matt Murdock's life and target his allies; of James Wesley, one of the Kingpin's lieutenants (Daredevil #227, 1986); of Murdock wearing stubble in both of his identities (Daredevil #228, 1986)

Scott McDaniel (artist): co-creator of Daredevil wearing body armor (Daredevil #322, 1993)

Roger McKenzie (writer): co-creator of Ben Urich, a reporter with a relentless dedication to the truth (Daredevil #153, 1978); of Heather Glenn learning Matt Murdock is Daredevil (Daredevil #154, 1978); of Josie's Bar, a dive bar in Hell's Kitchen tended by the titular Josie (Daredevil #160, 1979); of Hell's Kitchen as Matt Murdock's childhood borough (Daredevil #164, 1980)

Frank Miller (artist/writer): creator of Wilson Fisk's name; of Wilson Fisk as Daredevil's primary enemy (Daredevil #170, 1981); of Vanessa Fisk's death causing the Kingpin go become even more criminally insane (Daredevil #171, 1981); of the reporter Urich working against Fisk (Daredevil #177, 1981); of Bullseye using the name 'Benjamin Poindexter'; of Daredevil badly injuring Bullseye in retribution (Daredevil #181, 1982); of Heather Glenn growing mentally unstable (Daredevil #188, 1982); co-creator of Josie's Bar, a dive bar in Hell's Kitchen tended by the titular Josie (Daredevil #160, 1979); of Hell's Kitchen as Matt Murdock's childhood borough (Daredevil #164, 1980); of Wilson Fisk learning Matt Murdock is Daredevil; of Wilson Fisk controlling the police and using the authorities to wreck Matt Murdock's life and target his allies; of James Wesley, one of the Kingpin's lieutenants (Daredevil #227, 1986); of Murdock wearing stubble in both of his identities (Daredevil #228, 1986)

Lou Mougin (writer): co-creator of Jacques Duquesne, the Swordsman's real name; of Armand Duquesne, the father of the Swordsman (Avengers Spotlight #22, 1989)

Ann Nocenti (writer): co-creator of Buck Cashman, an employee of Wilson Fisk and an enemy of Daredevil (Daredevil #250, 1988)

Joe Orlando (artist): co-creator of Daredevil's ability to detect lies (Daredevil #3, 1964)

George Perez (artist): co-creator of the White Tiger, alias Hector Ayala, a Puerto Rican man who obtains the tiger amulet and dons a white costume to battle crime (Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #19, 1975); of Angela Del Toro as the White Tiger; of variant White Tiger costume with black stripes (Daredevil #70, 2005)

Yvette Perez (writer): co-creator of the White Tiger, alias Hector Ayala, a Puerto Rican man who obtains the tiger amulet and dons a white costume to battle crime (Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #19, 1975)

Joe Quesada (artist): co-creator of Matt Murdock wearing red-tinted sunglasses (Daredevil #1, 1998)

Paolo Rivera (artist): co-creator of Kirsten McDuffie, a New York assistant district attorney who crosses paths with Matt Murdock and Foggy Nelson (Daredevil #1, 2011)

John Romita (artist): co-creator of the Kingpin of Crime, a mob boss dressed in white who organizes the disparate underworld elements under his leadership from the heart of Manhattan (Amazing Spider-Man #50, 1967); of the Kingpin's wife, Vanessa Fisk (Amazing Spider-Man #69, 1969); of the Punisher, a war veteran who becomes a vigilante, wearing a black costume with white skull design on his chest and wielding vast arsenal of firearms and explosives in a one-man war on crime (Amazing Spider-Man #129, 1974)

John Romita Jr. (artist): co-creator of Buck Cashman, an employee of Wilson Fisk and an enemy of Daredevil (Daredevil #250, 1988)

Matthew Rosenberg (writer): co-creator of police officers working for Wilson Fisk appropriating the Punisher's imagery in imitation of him (Punisher #13, 2019)

Chris Samnee (artist): co-creator of Matt and Kirsten opening a law firm together (Daredevil #1, 2014)

Jim Shooter (writer): co-creator of Hell's Kitchen as locale patroled by Daredevil (Daredevil #148, 1977)

Kevin Smith (writer): co-creator of Matt Murdock wearing red-tinted sunglasses (Daredevil #1, 1998)

Charles Soule (writer): co-creator of Ben Hochberg, a district attorney who clashes with Matt Murdock (Daredevil #2, 2016); of Muse, a silent serial killer dressed in white with streaked paint on his mask who kills and tortures people from a twisted sense of creating art, using their blood in his paintings (Daredevil #11, 2016); of Wilson Fisk running for mayor of New York as an independent candidate, campaigning to outlaw vigilante heroes in New York such as Daredevil and the Punisher (Daredevil #28, 2017); of Wilson Fisk becoming mayor of New York; Daredevil vowing to bring down Fisk (Daredevil #595, 2018); of Muse's activities being used by Mayor Wilson Fisk as a justification for targeting vigilantes (Daredevil #598, 2018)

Richard Starkings (letterer): creator of Daredevil logo (Daredevil #1, 1998)

Roy Thomas (writer): co-creator of Karen Page learning Matt Murdock is Daredevil (Daredevil #57, 1969)

Mark Waid (writer): co-creator of Kirsten McDuffie, a New York assistant district attorney who crosses paths with Matt Murdock and Foggy Nelson (Daredevil #1, 2011); of Matt and Kirsten opening a law firm together (Daredevil #1, 2014)

Dave Wilkins (artist): co-creator of Brett Mahoney, a police detective (Marvel Comics Presents #1, 2007)

Marv Wolfman (writer): co-creator of Heather Glenn, Matt Murdock's girlfriend (Daredevil #126, 1975); of Bullseye, an expert assassin who can turn any object into a lethal weapon, battles Daredevil; of Bullseye with a target on his forehead (Daredevil #131, 1976); of Karen Page living in San Francisco (Daredevil #138, 1976)

Wally Wood (artist): co-creator of Daredevil's red costume; of Daredevil's gimmick billy club (Daredevil #7, 1965)

Chip Zdarsky (writer): co-creator of Cole North, a principled New York policeman who opposes Daredevil (Daredevil #1, 2019); of Mayor Wilson Fisk mobilizing an anti-vigilante task force to use extreme methods against New York's vigilantes, ordering all vigilante activity illegal (Devil's Reign #1, 2022); of Wilson Fisk removed as mayor of New York (Devil's Reign #6, 2022)

Review: Three #1-5

Three was a 5-issue comic published by Image in 2013; it was written by Kieron Gillen and drawn by Ryan Kelly, with colours by Jordie Bellaire. I didn't hear about the series at the time it came out (probably because that was just after I'd quit my job at Marvel) but I became intrigued when I heard this series was written by Gillen as a response to Frank Miller's 300.

Now, I liked 300 when I first read it, though I have come to see some of the problems with that work. Gillen's particular bugaboo (as explained in the first issue's editorial) was that Miller's comic celebrated the Spartans as supposedly heroic defenders of liberty - yet they owned slaves, which makes all the declarations of liberty sound rather hollow. The Spartans' slaves - the Helots - are the protagonists of Three; three Helots, natch.

The series begins with a Helot rather unwisely reminding four Spartans of a time when a Helot murdered a Spartan general; the Spartans attempt to slaughter the Helots for their defiance but three of the Helots kill all but one of the Spartans. Knowing they're now marked for death, the three Helots flee across country while Sparta gathers an army to kill them.

Unlike most historical fiction, Gillen consulted with an actual historian about this series and the back matter in Three includes a series of back-and-forth between Gillen and Professor Stephen Hodgkinson. The single most fascinating thing I learned was that the Spartans didn't write down their own history; everything we know of them was written by other people. Considering that, it's especially odd that they've become so celebrated - history only wrote about them second-hand. Gillen calls this "the Spartan Mirage" in the back matter.

There's little glory to be found in Gillen, Kelly and Bellaire's story; the Helots obtain a sort of victory; the Spartans choose pragmatism over honour. Three depicts Spartan society as fascinatingly different, but horrific and unsustainable. I'd liked what I'd read of Gillen's work before, but this... this is the most riveting story of his that I've read.

Review: Muppets Noir #1

I like the Muppets; I don't consider myself a great fan of theirs - mostly I think of them as something I loved as a child - but I'm not too proud to buy a new Muppets book when it comes out.

Roger Langridge's Muppet Show comics that he created for Boom! Studios (2009-2010) were books I bought because they'd received rave reviews; those comics turned me into a fan of Roger Langridge and I was disappointed when Boom! and the Muppets fell out, bringing it to an end while Langridge still had stories to tell.

This year, Langridge is revisiting the Muppets thanks to Dynamite Entertainment, who are publishing his series Muppets Noir. The scenario: Kermit is hit on the head with a brick while reading a private eye novel; Miss Piggy tries to revive him with a pie. In his dreams, Kermit sees himself as private detective Flip Minnow, on a case to find the missing pie heiress Meringue Crustworth (Piggy).

Because the plot is basically a farce for hanging jokes on, Langridge doesn't take the mystery of the missing Meringue at all seriously; she appears on the first page of Kermit's dream, then as the first person Minnow questions after leaving the Crustworth manor, then as a cab driver.

What I admire about Langridge's take on the Muppets is that he maintains fidelity to the original source material - that is, there are songs (even though you'll have to guess the tune and sing along in your head) and the jokes are kid-friendly, not adult material (Langridge's adult humour can be found in his non-Muppet works). Muppets Noir is not for jaded, cynical adults who want jaded, cynical Muppets; if you're going to read this as an adult, then you have to be in touch with a child-like sense of humour. If you can do that, you'll be rewarded.

Radio Recap: Tarzan

Tarzan of the Apes had a variety of different radio programs over the decades but at this stage, I want to talk about the 1930s Tarzan serials, each of which was adapted directly from Edgar Rice Burroughs' novels; they covered Tarzan of the Apes (1932-1934), Tarzan and the Diamond of Asher (1934, adapted from Tarzan and the Golden Lion) and Tarzan and the Fires of Tohr (1936, adapted from Tarzan and the City of Gold).

I wrote about what makes Tarzan problematic many years ago in a blog post about Tarzan's comic strips, and I published an essay about the inherent racism of Tarzan in my series of essays about the Black Panther (the one titled: "Exploring White Privilege in Christopher Priest's Black Panther: Part 2").

All of this is just to say you can't wander into Tarzan with your eyes shut. The amount of racism varies (since Black people in Tarzan stories are often barely visible) and they can be enjoyed as simple adventure tales. Caveat emptor.

According to John Dunning in On the Air: "The original Tarzan radio adaptation has come to be regarded as the first major syndicated serial." It was sponsored by Signal Oil, better-known to us as the sponsors of The Whistler.

Tarzan of the Apes had an interesting cast, with James Pierce as Tarzan; he'd played Tarzan on the big screen in Tarzan and the Golden Lion (1927) and his wife, Joan Burroughs (Edgar's daughter) portrayed Jane Porter. Other cast members included Gale Gordon, Frank Nelson, Hanley Stafford and Jeanette Nolan - all terrific radio professionals (you can hear them in a lot of 1930s syndicated fare).

The latter two serials recast Tarzan with Carlton KaDell; apparently Edgar Rice Burroughs had withdrawn his support by then, which was probably why his daughter and son-in-law left the series.

I actually find these Tarzan serials to be a step-up from the majority of juvenile adventure serials; when you look at the best-regarded of the genre, I Love a Mystery, you find each episode tends to open on the characters recapping what happened to them in the previous installment; then each of the cast members will have a quick scene to remind listeners who they are; then in the last 2 minutes, something dramatic happens. By contrast, the Tarzan serials have a relentless pace - they don't follow a formula like I Love a Mystery, they just adapt from the books and go on and on until they run out of time! Consequently, the climax of each episode can be surprising because there are no cues to indicate when it's about to finish.

You can hear the Old Time Radio Researchers' collection of Tarzan of the Apes episodes with the YouTube playlist below:

You can hear the Old Time Radio Researchers' collection of Tarzan and the Diamond of Asher episodes with the YouTube playlist below:

You can hear the Old Time Radio Researchers' collection of Tarzan and the Fires of Tohr episodes with the YouTube playlist below:

New Essay: Black and Powerful: How Priest’s Depiction of a Powerful Black Panther Upset and Upended Fandom’s Expectations

My new essay for Sequart is up, continuing my series of essays on Christopher Priest's Black Panther; this one is titled "Black and Powerful: How Priest’s Depiction of a Powerful Black Panther Upset and Upended Fandom’s Expectations" I think the title should explain it all and I hope you enjoy it!