Comic Book Creator # 12 Spring 2016 (magazine review).
Comic Book Creator # 12 can really be broken into two sections. One is an overview of Jack Kirby’s career at Marvel, then DC Comics, then back to Marvel before supplying storyboards in animation in California. Much of this should be familiar to any of you with an interest in comicbooks.
There is also some focus on why Kirby left Marvel because of a newspaper interview with Stan Lee and him where he was left, by the reporter, on the side-lines. I do have to wonder at the mentality back in the late 60s, even from news reporters, who considered comicbook artists two-a-penny and easily changeable than seeing the contribution they make to the story. More so that in the newspaper comic strips, one person could do both jobs. The output of a comicbook writer would be more than the comicbook artist so the amount of pay would differ but at the end of the day, it was the comicbook company that tended to own the characters not their creators as cruel as it sounds. An odd thing these days is that the reverse is true and many comicbook artists are revered, so if anything, the aftermath of what happened to Kirby and many of the Golden Age comicbook artists came out of this.
The other large section of this issue is devoted to gay cartoonist Howard Cruse. I knew of his work when young but other than a brief sampling when he was at Starlog and ComicScene, I hadn’t paid attention to his career. If anything, his interview gives strong insight into how gays were treated in America and appear to be on a lower end of the totem to even women and coloured folk. Even from a hetro background like my own, I can view Cruse’s life from that how a minority group is treated. You not only see that, but his work in the underground comix and a graphic novel at DC Comics.
Oh, I have a feeling that editor Jon B. Cooke was dropping a big hint that he doesn’t get any letters of comments about each issue. So if you are buying ‘Comic Book Creator’ but not writing, send him some encouragement.
GF Willmetts
June 2016
(pub: TwoMorrows Publishing. 82 page illustrated magazine. Price: $ 8.95 (US). ISSN: 2330-2437. Direct from them, you can get it for $ 7.61 (US))
check out websites: http://www.twomorrows.com/ and http://twomorrows.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=98_132&products_id=1229
