Frog Talk 2
I recently put together a run of the Claremont issues of that book (1-34 including the fill-in issues and a one-shot) that is a piece of a larger Claremont reread that I have been building towards the past few years. The first time I read these comics, I was a child that liked the X-Men but got all their comics from Goodwill. At that time, most of the comics in there were Excalibur, Generation X, and various 90s excesses. In retrospect this does explain a lot about my taste. Regardless, I did not ‘get’ Excalibur at the time. I know that I’m missing big parts of the puzzle still not having read the original Alan Moore Captain Britain comics. But I can safely say that these comics are miraculous. Some of the best work put out by Marvel at the time that found both Claremont and co-creator/artist Alan Davis stretching their respective talents wide. Claremont for one seems to be writing in a Moore pastiche combined with his own predilections for verbosity and internecine character connections. The book was ostensibly a comedy, with numerous letter writers commenting on the humor of it, but let’s face it, Claremont is not as funny as Moore. That being said, the decision to cast Captain Britain as a dumb himbo—and actually sticking to it should be lauded.
Going into this I recalled “The Cross-Time Express” as being the centerpiece of the series. While that may be true in a broad sense, it’s much less of a grand narrative story than it is a collection of one and done stories anchored by a similar plot device. This is not a bad thing and in fact results in some of the high points of the series (Davis/Claremont parodying Judge Dredd; Nightcrawler, warlord of Mars; etc), but it doesn’t really go anywhere, marred no doubt by the proliferation of fill in issues that interrupted the flow of the story’s finale. Rather, I found the first twelve issues or so to be the most vibrant of the series, filled as they are with the creative team introducing some of the more esoteric elements of MarvelUK into the American market.
Another thing that stood out to me in this reread is the affection both authors have for the characters. Davis revels in drawing these people and populating the world(s) contained within. Claremont meanwhile invested so much of himself into the characters over however many decades that he still to this day identifies with them on a deeply personal level as evident in every interview. The tenor of the book then is much closer to the feeling I get from reading really well crafted fan fiction rather than corporate books made to move units.
As the series rounded the corner of year two, guest artists and writers became ubiquitous. First Davis, then Claremont left the book and it passed through multiple hands before Davis would return in the mid 40s of the series. My collection ends with issue 34— the last issue Claremont wrote. Within this chaotic period are of course a few diamonds. Terry Austin writes a one off story illustrated by Colleen Doran for example, but the real miracle is issue 27. This is a preposterous crossover with Nth Man (a Frogs favorite!) illustrated by the artistic team of Barry Windsor-Smith and Bill Sienkiewicz!!
How freaking cool is this? Luckily I have two copies, so in addition to its inclusion in the set, I have listed just this issue separately for any BWS curious/completists.
I have also listed a three issue run in the late 30s written by Scott Lobdell and illustrated by Mark Badger! Badger is a favorite artist, anytime he works on a book it is worth looking at. His series Mars for First Comics is a favorite 80s indie. His style here is like a more developed version of that. Really cool stuff and the whole story revolves around Dr. Doom trying to take over Limbo so there is plenty of opportunity for Badger’s particular brand of mutant Looney Tunes art style.
Parallel to this childhood reread, I have been looking through all the small(er) press books in my library and unearthing quite a few forgotten gems that are now posted to the shop. For example, I recently spent a lovely morning with The Complete Jack Survives by Jerry Moriarty. I can’t remember where or when exactly I got this volume, but suffice to say it has always been one of those books that I got and then seemed to sit eternally on the to be read pile. The scale of the book lends itself to this. Released in 2016 by the much missed Buenaventura Press, Jack Survives is a gorgeous presentation of the original boards. Moriarty’s strip would appear intermittently in RAW and would be a motif that seemingly followed him throughout his career. Here you get to see his work evolve in the passage of time, which makes the introduction of color in the final quarter of the book particularly effective. (unfortunately my copy sold just as this newsletter went out!)
I have highlighted various Simpsons/Bongo comics in the past. My feelings on the publisher can be put broadly as this: Bongo is unfairly overlooked for consistent formal inventiveness of its books that is combined with a deep knowledge of comics history by the writers and artists who worked on these books. Case in point, Grampa Simpson Comics #1, a choose your own adventure story that opens with a Wally Wood homage. That is the kind of sentence that entire careers were made upon not so long ago.
Here's the thing, this is probably the best thing Marshall Rogers ever did, he did all of it himself, and it's never gonna be back in print.
In addition to the three issues represented here, I have included a copy of Eclipse Monthly 1, which featured the first adventure of both characters together. Rogers also appeared in issues 2 and 3 of that series before launching in this solo book. If you get that set and want these too reach out to make a deal!
Issue 3 consists of reprints from the Eclipse Magazine, which featured only The Foozle, hence the name change.
With that business out of the way, look at those pages!!! masterful craft. Amazingly complex yet clear page composition. perfect tertiary color combinations. perfect screentone applications (any moiré you see is from my capture NOT the printed comic). They're a joy to look at and read, and I'm thankful for what IS out there.
And the rest of that Eclipse Monthly is pretty good too! Ditko's Static is wild. A pretty pure expression of his ideology, but the dude can't help from making a FUNKY looking comic!
These comics and MORE are available now on the bigcartel! combined shipping is encouraged! any extra costs will be refunded! See you all in a month!
to purchase these books and more, visit me online at https://mostlyfrogs.bigcartel.com/