Pretty, Fizzy Paradise

I'm back! And reading! And maybe even blogging! No promises!

Friday, March 31, 2006

I love GA Sandman:

So I've managed to get myself some issues of Adventure Comics, so I can read old Sandman issues from the 40s. I was a little worried I wouldn't like them, as I hated Wesley's portrayal in Creature in the Velvet Cage, for example.

I much prefered the Wesley seen in JSA flashbacks, JSA Returns and SMT to that self-centered asshole.

But I'm really enjoying these old issues. They're great! Wesley's much more like the Modern Age take on him than I expected. In these issues, he's sane, competent, and actually does worry about exposing this poor kid to such a dangerous element.

And Sandy's adorably cute and much more sarcastic than I expected. Their partnership/working relationship is, I think, much better done than the Batman/Robin 40's stuff that I read.

And Sandy doesn't end up in the hostage/burden/inconvenience position nearly as often as I expected...considering most of his compatriots' records at least. He's portrayed as much more of an asset than anything else, often catching details that Wes misses. (From the handful of issues I have, Sandy's been proven quite a bit better than Wes at catching a lot of visual clues, like the change in getaway car colors, or a little kid with stubble and a cigar...of course, that could be because Wes is near sighted. :-P)

Pretty much if Wes does leave Sandy behind, it usually doesn't work out right for him and the kid has to come to the rescue anyway. It's a nice balance.

That said, when the kid does get taken out, it usually tends to be entertaining.

Because, it doesn't ever seem to be anything ordinary. It's like getting picked up and bodily thrown out of a 10th-story window or getting whacked in the head by a rampaging Norse God, or getting sucker punched by a little person and left on the train tracks.

Just in case you think I'm exagerrating:



Okay, so he dodged and tripped, but that's kinda even worse really. :-)

I love this series.

3 Comments:

  • At March 31, 2006 12:58 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Mmm... yeah; "midget" kinda is an offensive term, pretty much the same as calling a Romani "gypsy"

     
  • At March 31, 2006 2:40 PM, Blogger kalinara said…

    Yeah, you're probably right, thanks. I'll change it. :-) No need to make for a bad atmosphere unintentionally.

     
  • At March 31, 2006 4:03 PM, Blogger Marc Burkhardt said…

    Golden age Simon & Kirby is always worthwhile. There's a certain bizarre energy to their strips that transcends the years. Switching to Timely Comics for a minute, I always liked the issue where Cap and Bucky go "undercover" overseas by disguising themselves as spinsters. No irony or innuendo here, just pure Golden Age strangeness!

     

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