Is he a good man?

It's been over a week since Peter Capaldi first full series of Doctor Who finished. Giving everyone time to catch up on the full series and us to talk about it without fear of spoilers. The Doctor asks Clara "Is he a good man?" But that was just one question of many series 8 asks. Before it aired on BBC1 fandom was a buzz with questions, which continued and multiplied right through the series. "Was Capaldi going to be a good Doctor?" "Was he too old?" "Was he too frightening for children?"  "What's Danny Pinks story?" "Who is Missy?" 

Well after twelve action packed episodes all those questions have been answered, so let's ask one more question, "Was series 8 any good?" I don't think anyone really doubted that Capaldi would be anything but great. His first full episode "Deep Breath" showcased his talent, as a Doctor in the making for over fifty years. With a little bit of Hartnell, a splash of Troughton, buckets full of Pertwee and a TARDIS full of Baker. In the "Caretaker" he channeled Pertwee from the "Green Death", in "Kill the Moon" it felt like he cherry picked bits from "Frontier in Space" and "Planet of the Spiders", while "Robot of Sherwood" was his homage to "The Time Warrior". Capaldi did his best Baker in "Mummy on the Orient Express" but with each performance it became less of an impression and more just the same old Doctor we all love. The same but always different. 

Through the early epsiodes I wished we could see the Doctor interact with some kids, to reassure young viewers that this was their same fun loving hero, the sword fight with a spoon helped, but my wish came true quite late on with "Kill the Moon" and "In the Forest of the Night" with their young cast members. But in "Listen" we got the best sign that this Doctor was great with kids, as kids of all ages learned that fear is our super power. 

"Was he too old and grumpy?" No not for a two thousand year old alien, Capaldi was as youthful as Matt Smith with his wit, mannerisms, falling out of planes, he even runs like a camp giraffe. The grumpy old man routine was brilliant, kids love it when adults are cheeky to other adults. Anyway Clara is his career, so he doesn't have to care.

I thought "Listen" was the scariest, "Kill the Moon", "Mummy on the Orient Express" and "Flatline" where also scary too, but I would imagine that the terror didn't put many kids off. Even "Dark Water" and "Death in Heaven" with themes about death, the afterlife, losing our humanity, dark tales representing mans deepest fears, even Clara's imagined betrayal of the Doctor can be seen as horror element. But with the Moff's writing the action breaks in to reassure the watcher. 

Danny Pinks story never really got going to tell you the truth, but it all made sense when you watched the last episode. I imagine that with second viewing of this series it will feel more fulfilling. It's not Samuel Anderson fault, he filled the roll with impeccable skill. The shortness of his appearances where crafted to create the impression that there was more to come from Danny. So when his sudden death came it was seen as a major shock as intended.

As for the Missy question, that got me in a good way. I didn't go looking for the answer on the internet. Better to find out as I watched, but I loved the clues and the red herrings. When the Doctor goes into the Nethersphere you see the tanks on top of tanks I thought that looks like "The Tomb of the Cybermen". I thought the skeletons in those tanks where Cybermen before their armoured shell was grafted on, Dark Water is a more sci fi cooler answer. I missed the Random Access Neural Interface Rani joke. Missy wasn't going to be the Rani anyway. St. Paul's - bigger on the inside- of course Missy was going to be a Time Lord and when she said the Doctor left her I quickly imagined she was Romana, Susan or Jenny. Even some new villianess from Gallifrey. Missy short for Mistress just like K9 would call Romana, it's got to be her gone bad. No wait a minute, she can't call herself Master anymore? Oh! She's the Master! Totally brilliant! She's the same old Master but totally different. People are creating havoc about it, but that's just over reacting to sex change Time Lords. Michelle Gomez is proper crazy in every way, making the Doctor look in every way the hero we know and love.

Was the series any good? Well some of the stories weren't spectacular by any imagination, but all were very watchable and had their moments. "In the Forest of the Night" was possibly the weakest, but still clever. "Flatline" felt like a remake of "Fear Her" with the Doctor missing from most of the action, the companion taking the lead, but with better effects and an improved sci fi central script.  The "Caretaker" seemed like a CBBC Sarah Jane Adventures idea with a cheep monster, but it became an enjoyable romp full of brilliant character interaction. "Into the Dalek" may have been a classic concept (Fantastic Voyage/ The Invisible Enermy) but it felt very fresh, Capaldi was having so much fun. I've already mentioned "Robots of Sherwood" being like "The Time Warrior", it could have been a disaster of an idea, but for a fantastic cast playing with a witty and creative script. Strong scripts and fantastic acting from the regulars and guests have been a constant. Supporting actors like Dan Starkey, Neve McIntosh, Cartin Stewart, Jemma Redgrave, Ingrid Oliver where brilliant as ever, guest stars Chris Addison, Joivan Wade, Frank Skinner, David Bamber, Hermione Norris, Tom Riley, Ben Miller and of course "Missy" Gomaz played their parts beautifully. Samuel Anderson, Jenna Coleman and Peter all give amazing performances. My favourite episodes have to be "Listen" and "Mummy on the Orient Express" they're just incredible. So it's been a Doctor debut series to remember, better than Matt Smiths first, maybe better than David Tenants first. A fitting salute to the Brigadier. It's been great! 

I can't wait for Christmas now! Could Nick Frost really be Father Christmas? Probably not, maybe an alien, or a leader of a base under siege who just happens to be dressing up for Christmas, or something else, but I can't wait to find out, so don't tell me any spoilers till after I've watched it on Christmas Day. 

The answer to the Doctors question, of course he's a good man, I never had any doubts. He's Peter Capaldi, he's the Doctor and he's a good man.

Doctor? Doctor Who?

Of Monsters and Apes.

 

           

Forty years ago on the 26th of October 1974 MarvelUK launched two very different comics, just in time for Halloween. Different that is from its super-hero output, 1972 saw the release of The Mighty World of Marvel, followed by Spider-man Comics Weekly in early 1973 and The Avengers later that same year. All those title heavily relied on American Super-Hero reprints from the 1960's. These two new titles mainly took their material from new horror and sci fi work freshly published in the US. Britain may have seen creepy and the futuristic comics before, but not with this mature style. If the truth be told in 1974 I was way too young to really appreciate their suffocated story telling. Spider-man was more my thing, but every now and then I would peak into my older brothers wardrobe to feel the thrill and terror from his stack of comics, Apes and Dracula Lives among them. 

Both comics feed off movie magic to fill their pages. Vampire and horror films were massive at the time on both sides of the Atlantic. Hammer horror films made house hold names out of Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing. Even though the Planet of the Apes film was made in 1968 its four sequels and TV serial also made it popular, especially in the UK. Of their time, these two mags where made to succeed. 

Dracula Lives lead with the Evil Count, his stories were taken from the US Tomb of Dracula, mainly by Marv Wolfman as the writer and Gene Colan supplying the artwork aided by Tom Palmer. With back up strips from Werewolf by Night and The Monster of Frankenstein, DL covered all classic horror bases, as well as later additions like Brother Voodoo, the Living Mummy, Man-Thing, Ghost Rider and the Son of Satan. Some cracking story telling and artwork from many a talented creator, far too many to list. 

Planet of the Apes started with the comic strip of the film from the US publication of the same name, which had only just been released in August 1974, under three month old. This would become a problem later as the weekly version used the material quicker, more on that later. The movie strip was written by Doug Moench and drawn by George Tuska. Moench would write all the comic versions of the sequels from the original scripts rather than watching the film as video wasn't around in 1974 for popular use. Alfredo Alcala drew "Beneath the Planet of the Apes" and Rico Rival supplied the artwork for the remaining sequels which suited them and pleased this reader no end. To lengthen the Apes run other versions of tales from the primate planet were printed, again taken from its US magazine. The most popular and longest running was "Terror on the Planet of the Apes", a fresh take on the cinema version written by Moench and Gerry Conway with artwork by Mike Ploog. Other ape tales came and went, but the constant need for strip lead to a problem with the weekly demand. This was solved by reprinting the original film version again, a small stock gap at best, but not before a very creative idea from MarvelUK was applied. The sci fi strip "killraven" was printed with the heads of some of the aliens re-drawn as apes, the dialogue was re-written and the strip re-titled "Apeslayer". Strangely enough it was quite readable and enjoyable too! An incredible variety of back up strips followed Ka Zar, Captain Marvel, Black Panther (the classic Jungle Action stories that are sometimes called "The Panther Rage"), as well as adaptations of "Day of the Triffids", "Killdoser" and other sci fi shorts. 

As the issues went on it became harder to for the stars of both these comics to maintain their presents as lead stories, as the weekly need for Ape and Vampire action eat away at the possible back catalogue, ever it was destiny that they would have to merge, if only to cut down the number of pages per week. So after 88 weeks two became one. The best of both joined a packed line up. Later the Prince of darkness would take leave from his own strip to narrate older tales from classic horror and suspense stories from Marvel 1960s back catalogue. Even these creative use of material couldn't stop the next merger. After 123 weeks of monkey and monster mayhem Planet of the Apes and Dracula Lives joined The Mighty World of Marvel, number 231 on the 2rd March 1977, but only Planet of the Apes appeared in the comic and on the front cover with the Hulk in the title. Dracula had to wait 16 weeks later to star with the Green Goliath, in issue 247 on the 22rd June. Sadly the blood sucker only lasted 11 week. He did make a return to the comic during Dez Skinn's Marvel Revolution of MWOM that became Marvel Comic, but that's a tale for another day.

My younger self may not have fully appreciated the muture, imaginative worlds of horror or sci fi classic but I do now. On dark winter nights there's always a place in my heart where a spine chilling tale or a story of a thought provoking world where the apes rule supreme is longed to be read.

Make Mine Marvel.

 

Taking a deep breath.

         

I've waited all summer for something brilliant to happen, something to look forward to week in week out. I've lived the excitement, followed by the slight disappointment. My football team, Liverpool FC came so close, only to miss winning the Premiership by two points, England fell out of the World Cup and on TV Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. ended spectacularly for a summer break leaving the summer of 2014 long and hot. Some things made it worth while, Marvel's X-Men:Days of Future Past and Guardians of the Galaxy, pre-season football matchs and a holiday in the sun helped move the time along. So soon the football season started again and the internet buzzed with tales of a Time Lord we've yet to see, as he toured around the globe. But finally this weekend as the world waited with baited breathe the twelfth Doctor arrived. His timing was great as my Liverpool where to play their biggest rivals City, on Monday, I could give the Doctor my full, undivided attention. 

It's been eight months since we last saw any tales from the TARDIS. But tales from the press were there aplenty, with leaks on the internet spoiling the suspense. He's dark, too dark. Scary, far to scary! I stuck my head in the sand rather than an internet ice water bucket. Let's wait and see. He did come and boy did we see. Deep Breath everyone. 

Before we all get to clever and analyse every second of the feature length feast to death, lets just stop and think with our seven year old self. I want the Doctor to be dangerous, exciting and a little bit silly. Let me go off subject ever so slightly here, as a kid I used to skate board. I wasn't good at it, but I had my moments. One day I rode down the path across from my house where stretch across it lay a plank of wood on to a skip, with two builders rolling a wheel barrow filled with rubble aiming for the skip. How stick with this I'll get quickly to the point. Instead of stopping or crossing over to the other path like all my friends I decided to lay down flat on the skate board and coast under the plank. It was amazing and dangerous at the same time. My young friends cheered, my Mum give me the telling off of a life time. But that's what kids want, danger, excitement, to be seen as cool, even if it's very silly. So was Peter Capaldi's Doctor dangerous, exciting, cool and silly? Let's see.

Doctor Who started with a giant Tyrannosaurus Rex, my seven year old self jumped for joy, the Patanoster Gang appeared on the scene, my seven year old selfs favourite characters. The T. Rex coughs out the TARDIS where we find inside there's a mad man in a box. All is well in my seven year old selfs world. Let's for the minute stop there, it's Doctor Who, my seven year self is going to love it anyway, cause there's silly jokes, action and clockwork monsters. My forty-four year old self was worried about the darkness of the Doctor. Yes I would have liked to see Calpaldi's Doctor with some kids, like Matt Smith did in with Amelila, to show he's alright, a Doctor you can trust. But do we need to be that coy? 

I heard a lot of people saying that no one could replace David Tennant, but Matt Smith did! I heard people say that Matt was un-replaceable. No one likes an old grumpy, angry Doctor. I did have flashes of no one can replace Tom Baker, but Peter Davison did. Flashes of an un-replaceable Davidson being replaced by a grumpy dark Colin Baker. But all the Doctors had a darker side, Hartnell, Troughton, Pertwee, Baker, Davison, Baker, McCoy, McGann, Ecclestion, Tennant and Smith all had their dark sides. One of the best Doctors of modern times, Captain Grumpy himself the War Doctor, John Hurt was dark, but he also made me laugh loudly. Did Capaldi's Doctor make me laugh? Yes of course he did, he's the Doctor! Did he steal (or borrow) the old tramps coat? Did the Doctor leave Clara in danger to save himself?  Did he push the Clockwork man out of the escape pod? Questions we all asked as if we doubted our hero. He needed the coat which he over payed for with a priceless watch, he could have gotten a new coat for that, which wouldn't have smelled either. He had a plan knowing he could get himself and Clara out while finding out more about the Clockwork people, trusting that the Patanoster Gang wouldn't be far behind. Was the Clockwork man pushed or did he fall, or did the Doctor send him on his way to his heaven, his paradise. Did the Doctor leave Clara in Victorian London? Or sort his TARDIS, wardrobe and frame of mind out. 

Is this Doctor a good man? Clara knew even before she left London. Before the eleventh Doctor called her up. She knew while she was held captive by the villain, the Doctor would be right behind her to hold her hand. The question is do we think he is? The title is Doctor Who, it's a question, "Doctor? Doctor who?" Let's find out just how good he is together. 

Is Peter Calpaldi a good Doctor? No, he's more than good, he was brilliant and I can't wait for next week! 

Doctor? Doctor who?

Teenage kicks.

This month 30 years ago Spider-man #582 was published by MarvelUK, on the 2rd of May 1984 to be exact. There's nothing overly important about this issue really, Spider-man reveals his secret identity to the Black Cat, the Hulk takes on a mind controlled (by the Leader,) US Army, both very readable stories. A news filled Bullpen Bulletin and the weekly letter page, simply titled "Spider-mail." While re-reading this issue I took great interest in the "Star Letter", the writer of the "Star Letter" would win a Marvel Annual, a yearly produced hard back book normally released in Autumn ready for the Christmas market, quite a good prize. Some winners letters were basicly childlike drivel, along the lines of "I love Spider-man can he send me a costume like his?", "who's stronger, Spider-man or the Hulk?", "bring back the Hulk, he'll beat Spidey every day." You get the idea we've all asked those questions at different times in different ways. But Marvel is a broad-church, so there's also letters from older fans, who wanted to give a mature point of view. This weeks crop of letters were all quite mature, this weeks Star Letter winner was from Gavin Palmer, QNS, from Weymonth in Dorset. I don't know who he is or even if he still reads comics these days, but his points still are valid 30 years on. 

 He made a good point about how attitudes have changes at MarvelUK, with those comics being directed a young readers and how the right combination was being reached, this was true however a year later the Spider-man title would be rebranded "The Spider-man comic" to attract an even younger readership and by August 1984 it would be dumb down even more as it became "Spidey comic", this  would kill the comic, but I tell you all this with hindsight. 

He also commented on how the rest of society took comics to lightly, how the public view of comics were set by the TV versions they saw, the Bat-man TV series, Super-man films, Cartoons of the time, like Spider-woman, Spider-man and his Amazing Friends, the Bat-man Cartoon and the Incredible Hulk, which in his view were all directed at a young audience. I'm not to sure if my fourteen year old self fell into that category, but I would watch all of those with different appeal, the live action Spider-man and Hulk TV series relied on the human side of the charactor, as super powers were hard to recreate on the small screen. Spider-woman and Spider-man Cartoons were simple but watchable, with SM&HAF guest starring a whole host of super heroes, which made it fit into the Marvel Universe well. The Incredible Hulk cartoon mated the best of super human with Banners hard luck human side. The DC fair seemed to have created the problem of credibility to the general public. I've always believed that, then and now. Gavin Palmer wrote how he believed that "People tend to take these as typical of the whole comics field. The supposition is also contributing to the lack of extension in the comics industry." I've got to believe that too, I think comic in the mid 80's in general were failing the older readership. Yes there was always some great comic at that time, Des Skinn's Warriors, MarvelUK monthly output, that cherry picked the best from Marvel, 2000AD showcased the best in British, but I think in America there was a dip in really great graphic prose. So much so that DC's Vertigo line would plunder the UK talent pool later that decade.

Has people's view of the comic industry changed today? Is it cool to be a comic geek? I think today the general views from the outside has changed. Stan Lee view of the human being the centre of the super-human story from the early Marvel era is as strong today as it ever was. Maybe even stronger. Just look at Marvel films, they're all charactor driven. My brother-in-law questioned why in the Avengers Assemble movie all the main charactors would lose their masks towards the end of the film, was it so all the Hollywood stars would get their fair share of face time? But for me I wouldn't expect anything less of a modern Marvel film. Hawkeye is still Hawkeye, the Black Widow is still the Black Widow, but it feels more realistic when they are called Barton and Romanoff. A CGI version of Iron Man feels more real if we see the desperation of Robert Downey Jr's Tony Stark, behind the mask. The Amazing Spider-man films, X-men films, Marvel Studio movies and the fantastic Marvels Agents of SHIELD TV series all give credibility to the comic book universe. The way the charactors cross over resonates a true to life feel but mated with incredible action. The prime example is "Captain America, the Winter Soldier", absolutely sensational! I imagine Gavin Palmer would be loving the current outcrop of comic book inspired movies/TV. 

The last major point that Gavin made in his letter was he wouldn't be surprised that 75% of 11 year old  or younger readers would stop reading comic by the time they were 16, by either parent or peer pressure. He wrote how this experience was starting to affect him. I too had experience of this, even today I get that kind of pressure. This reminds me of an article in a magazine, I can't remember which, it may have been Comic Collector or maybe Deadline, but it illustrated a comic readers path though the graphic medium. A child would start with the Beano or the Dandy type of comic, before moving on to the MarvelUK range, while as the reader became a teenager 2000AD became the suggested pleasure and later on, into adulthood Deadline, Heavy Metal or DC's Vertigo line became the norm. I can really see that being the case for many comic fans, but once you get passed a certain age, let's say mid life/40's you start to look back to a younger nostalgic time. I miss the Beano/Dandy period out completely, oh yes I did read them while waiting for haircuts, picking up anything from the barbers coffee table to pass the time away, together with Battle, Hotspur, Wizard and the like. But they never really made me want to buy them. My brothers collection of Dracula Lives, Plant of the Apes and his two single copies of The Mighty World of Marvel #200 and Super Spider-man #203 fuelled my love of MarvelUK for many years.

I recall going to a local newsagent with my best friend in February 1981, Simon was always the brainiest  in my class, his parents were very well educated and he was amazingly bright. He choose an issue of the Beano while I picked up the more stylish Captain Amercia #5 from MarvelUK with its heroic lead, sophisticated Iron Man, a very modern Dazzler, a charactor who wanted to be a super star not a super hero and the dynamic Defenders. I didn't scorn him for it, I just expected him to pick some more highbrow. But that's part of my point, we all like different things for different reasons. 

I hid my love of comic all the way though my teenage life and adult life from many people, it's just easier that way, but it never stopped my continued reading of comics. Like when I would every month take a walk to the nearest newsagents during my school dinner break to pick up a copy of Captain Britain  Monthly, secreting it in my school bag and making an excuse for my absence. That the buzz of collecting, the long walks to the newsagents just to see what he's got in store, the train journeys to Manchester to visit comic stores or second-hand book shops to raid the pulp filled shelves. Happy days indeed. 

I was one of Gavin Palmers 25% who continued to read comics well passed their 16th birthday. Even when the content of those comics changed towards a younger readership, I clung to them, changing ship from MarvelUK to Marvel US monthlies, to all that Fleetway could produce and the finer side of DC Vertigo. Eventually returning to MarvelUK in the form of Panini comic and their Marvel Collection editions, until life and kids caught up with me. Now I enjoy my old collection and the power of eBay to reach new, but old classic comics from the past.

Gavin's letter made me think of so many things, it's one of the reason why I loved those MarvelUK reprints as much as the American originals. I wonder what he would think about of it today if he read it with maturer eyes. I kind of hope he still reads or collects comics and cherish those golden days too. 

Make Mine Marvel.

Barbarians, super-heroes and sorcery!

The Avengers comic from MarvelUK ran for 147 issues from 23rd September 1973 to the 14th July 1976, before sadly merging into The Mightly World of Marvel issue 199. It was the third weekly comic to come from Marvels British division, after MWOM and Spider-man Comic Weekly, but to my mind it was the classic weekly for a more mature readership. While MWOM offered the Hulk, Fantastic Four and DareDevil action and SMCW showcased Iron-Man, the mighty Thor and the webslinger himself, both comics may have been seen as juvenile, the Avengers offered the best in super-hero, mystic arts, martial arts, with sword and sorcery adventure, tales with a slightly more teenage/young adult feel. 

The Avengers started with the title heroes and Stan Lee/Steve Ditko's Master of the Mystic Arts- Doctor Strange. But they were soon joined by Shang Chi, Master of Kung Fu and later Iron Fist. The strongest line up came when The Savage Sword of Conan merged into the comic with issue 95 on the 5th July 1975. 

I've always had a soft spot for this comic and tried to collect every back issue of its run. The stories filled the gap left by the hard to get (or expensive to a young comic reader of the time,) American back issues. Not long ago I bought from eBay the last issue missing from my collection, "The Avenger and the Savage Sword of Conan no. 120." Boy! I wasn't disappointed. Published on the 3rd of January 1976, this issue fell right in between the Avengers/Conan golden age. 

The first tale was Conan the barbarian, by Roy Thomas with artwork from John Buscema and Ernie Chua, "Flame winds of Lost Khitai!" Adapted from the novel Flame winds by Norvell Page. The lack of colour in British comics of the time doesn't detract anything from the beauty of the artwork in anyway. Sometimes I think readers have got to see Buscema and Chua's work in black and white to really appreciate the greatness of it. Thomas' writing is at it's most amazingly fear fraught epic! Blood and guts stuff, but for a comic aimed at a young British readership someone at MarvelUK (maybe Neil Tennant or Tony Isabella) thought that Busema' depiction of females was too revealing for these weekly audience and shaded in many of the ladies bodies. If you look carefully you can see a bra and brief combo that has had extra lines and circles added to it. Keeping the youth of Britain safe from such immoral images. I don't think a six or seven year old at the time even noticed any of the female characters much anyway, but what the hay. 

Roy Thomas also wrote the second strip, The Mighty Avengers adventure "The Man-Ape always strikes twice!" This time drawn by Johns brother Sal Buscema with embellishment from Tom Palmer. Clear and crisp artwork that again suits the black and white look. Thomas knew how to take less well known characters and make them interesting, even with Captain America returning to the assembled ranks, the Black Panther and Man-Ape take centre stage. Lovely stuff!

The third and last strip comes in the form of Dr. Strange, Master of the Mystic Arts! Written by Steve Englehart and drawn by Frank Brunner who's wonderful Dali like title page shows the good Doctor adrift in some surreal void on a journey find the magician Cagliostro and battle the evil Baron Mordo. The title of this instalment is simply the engaging "Time Doom".

I still believe that those black and white weekly comic from over thirty seven years ago are just a wonderful today as they were all those years ago! This forty-four year old reader dearly treasures that run and the childhood memory's it brings. I just LOVE them! 

Make Mine Marvel.

 

The steep and thorny path, or the primrose way?

To create your own worlds or to improve someone else's version? That is the question! Whether 'tis nobler in the minds of the viewer to reshape another's creation?

I play with those questions when I compare characters, stories and comic strip creators. But those questions came back to my geek mind recently, after I got involved in a twitter conversation started by Erik Larsen (@ErikJLarsen), who posted this question, 

 "Who would you list as singular visionaries whose characters should never be touched by successive creators?"

Many tweeters replied with answers; Garth Ennis-Preacher; Alan Moore-Watchmen; Jack Kirby-New Gods; Steve Gerber-Howard the Duck and also Erik Larsen-Savage Dragon, but to that single question there wasn't many tweets for a creator who's creations fitted that bill. Yes many came close, but not completely. 

I throw in my suggestion of Stan Lee's Silver Surfer, only to be, quite rightly, pointed out by Mr. Larsen that the cosmic one was a creation of Jack Kirby while working with Stan. In truth it was the way the Silver Surfer was written that I felt should never be tampered with, as in the first Silver Surfer series. So I jokingly pushed my case forward with this tweet, 

 "@ErikJLarsen Very valid point. Can I change it to Lee & Kirby on Silver Surfer (with a little input from John Buscema) or is that cheating?" 

His reply was, 

 "@The_BeeSting Cheating." 

Well that's me put in my place. He's right of course!

One of the tweets to his question was retweeted by Erik, from @Louiestowell it read,

 "@ErikJLarsen no such animal. Great characters have potential to live beyond their creator." 

He later posts another question from @gibsoncomics which read, 

 "@ErikJLarsen I'm almost a little more curious about people who have done better versions of certain characters than their original creators." 

To this Erik replied that he thought almost everybody's Batman was better than Bob Kane's. I don't think I'll find many to disagree with that statement. 

The question of "better versions that the original," is one with which I played with many times too. The original creators ideas can be truly brilliant, but let another master of the artform take it and run with it, this can become spectacular. Away from the comic world take the play Hamlet. Written by the wordsmith genius William Shakespeare somewhere between 1599 and 1602, so I'm lead to believe. Still played today, it's the bench mark for a quality actor. But why try if you can't really improve on it? Make Hamlet a lesbian freedom fighter in the year 2599 and it just becomes another pale copy. Sir Laurence Olivier is said to have performered the definitive version of the Prince of Denmark. When David Tennant took a break from Doctor Who to try his hand at the roll made immortal by the late knight, many scoffed, but he received rave reviews. Like in Doctor Who itself, the actor who becomes the Doctor has to be the same but different. This take skill to find the new in the old, Peter Capaldi has that skill in plenty. For an actor any iconic roll is the test of greatness. I would say it would be easier to start with a blank page and create something interesting, than be given something that been seen a million times and make it interesting. But where is the challenge in that? 

 

Back to comics, I love Stan and Jacks original X-Men, they where a truly original idea in 1963, but the closest they got to being the definitive version was the Sentinels/Bolivar Trask storyline in issues 14-16. But for many it wasn't until Chris Claremont/John Byrne worked together that the MasterMold for the X-Men was created. (Alright some may say Wein/Claremont/Cockrum, and yes Thomas/Adams where also brilliant.) Claremont/Byrne have an amazing talent for moving characters on a level, their versions of Iron-Fist, Ms. Marvel and Spider-man improve on the originals. But even characters that they create can be improved on. Claremont with Herb Trimpe created Captain Britain for Marvel UK in 1976, but for me Alans Moore and Davis got the character just right! Even when Claremont and Davis teamed up to give us Excalibur it wasn't going to rival the Moore/Davis version, even as great as it was.

Alan Moore can do both, create wonderful new characters and revitalise something from the past, Marvelman is just such an example of the old, (Yes it is Marvelman not Miracleman!) while with David Lloyd V for Vendetta is possibly the most perfect complete piece of graphic work ever! Even though DC had to finish the story off in their colour editions, it has to be read in its original form, the black and white strip in Warriors, to be really appreciated. No one else is going to improve on it, even though I do enjoy the film version, which was only given the blessing of Lloyd not Moore. 

 

Conan the Barbarian is great with Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor-Smith but even better with Thomas/ John Buscema, although Robert E. Howard was the visionary that cemented the character in an entire world of wonder and adventure. I can't see DareDevil without Frank Millers vision, nor Wolverine with out that Claremont/Miller mini series. Captain Marvel has to be Sterlin, Nick Fury for me with his agents of Steranko. But let's thank the visionaries that created the charactors; Stan Lee/Bill Everett; Len Wein/John Romita Sr/Herb Trimpe; Stan Lee/Gene Colan and Stan Lee/Jack Kirby. Heroes all! 

I'll finish off with a tweet I posted to @ErikJLarsen. 

 "True. But I like to think that Lee & Kirby created characters that where gifts to creators that followed as well as the world." 

Whether the "steep and thorny" or the "primrose path" I thank all creators for filling my free time with their wonderful gifts. 

“Do not, as some ungracious pastors do,
Show me the steep and thorny way to heaven;
Whilst, like a puff'd and reckless libertine,
Himself the primrose path of dalliance treads
And recks not his own read.” 

William Shakespeare "Hamlet" Act I Scene III

Make Mine Marvel.