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Back Issue #158 December 2024 (magazine review).

Oddly, despite the cover of two heroic Marvel superheroes, the latest edition of ‘Back Issue,’ with new editor Roger Ash, is devoted to graphic novels.  The only thing the cover made me note is how few artists have figured out how to do the Thing’s scales between arms and torso.

Writer Alex Grand has a look at Marvel’s first, ‘The Death Of Captain Marvel,’ interviewing its creator Jim Starlin on the subject and a reminder that he (Mar-Vell, not Starlin) has stayed dead so far.

Writer Ed Lute looks at all the non-Marvel Universe Marvel graphic novels in its first run, some eighteen of them, some of which had their own title at either Epic or other publishers. I still have most of them on a bookshelf, so it’s fascinating getting some background information about them.

For the Marvel Universe graphic novels, one must look to writer James Heath Lantz. Again, I’ve still got my collection of them, but I didn’t think them too far from their standard comic book format other than the reveal that Dazzler was a bit of a slut in her singing career. Marvel’s strength was their ability to handle continuity issues.

Of the 75 graphic novels, Marvel devoted 7 of them to Conan, and writer Glenn Greenberg has a look at them all. Those I didn’t collect filled me in about them.

Artist/writer Karl Heitmuller queries why robots and armour have muscle definition, along with an odd Neal Adams cover for Batman #244, where Batman’s gloves and boots appear to be stuck to his zoot suit. I examined the original cover and found that the gloves and boots of Batman are indeed stuck to his zootsuit. Perhaps she incorporated Velcro or another method to prevent their removal. There’s a fair bet that there was an artistic license used.

Not to be left out, DC Comics also had a small run of graphic novels, as writer Brian Martin explores, pointing out that they also learnt that non-superhero ones don’t sell well. I have to confess I didn’t really see their presence in the UK. Even so, writer Matt Merante still made six SF adaptations as well.

Last but not least, First Comics published their own series of graphic novels, all of which were unnumbered and therefore likely the first ones. Writer Stephen Friedt has a look at all 27 of them. Probably the most famous was for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as they stepped away from the sewer for bigger, famous moments.

There are hints of more graphic novels that came much later, and this issue really needs a companion edition about them, even if it is stretching its mandate a little, as I doubt if they’ll be covered anywhere else. The graphic novels in this issue show the American comic book companies were willing to try new markets as well as non-superhero. Granted, this wasn’t always successful, but it did help shape the changes in the comic book market.

GF Willmetts

January 2025

(pub: TwoMorrows Publishing. 82 page illustrated magazine. Price: $10.95 (US). ISSN: 1932-6904. Direct from them, you can get it for $10.95 (US))

check out websites: www.TwoMorrows.com and https://twomorrows.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=98_54&products_id=1791

UncleGeoff

Geoff Willmetts has been editor at SFCrowsnest for some 21 plus years now, showing a versatility and knowledge in not only Science Fiction, but also the sciences and arts, all of which has been displayed here through editorials, reviews, articles and stories. With the latter, he has been running a short story series under the title of ‘Psi-Kicks’ If you want to contribute to SFCrowsnest, read the guidelines and show him what you can do. If it isn’t usable, he spends as much time telling you what the problems is as he would with material he accepts. This is largely how he got called an Uncle, as in Dutch Uncle. He’s not actually Dutch but hails from the west country in the UK.

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