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Secret Origin of a Super Hero

29 Aug

August 31, 2011

Do you think Batman just woke up one day and decided to be Batman? No, it took years of training in various martial arts, years of acquiring the mental and deductive skills of master detectives, years of gaining the technology and physical prowess to perform at the peak of human ability. And also the horrible murder of his parents.

However, Bruce Wayne wasn’t the only one to wear the cape and cowl. At various times he was replaced by Jean-Paul Valley, by Dick Grayson (twice), and even Alfred.

Chief O'Hara is skeptical that this arthritic old man could defeat the Bookworm.

And then there is Mark Wayne Williams (no relation to Bruce Wayne, I suspect.)

This paunchy potential protector of the public was found hanging- yes, hanging- off the wall of a Detroit business. He had apparently hooked his Batrope on the roof and was, well, details are sketchy on what he was doing there. Perhaps he was on patrol. And although there is no indication, I like to think that he was hanging upside-down like a bat.

I feel very sorry for the police who had to hoist him back up to the roof because he was really weighed down, and I’m not just talking about his gut. According to other reports, he was carrying a virtual arsenal in his utility belt, which had better have been reinforced.


Something tells me that “Batman” is in for a long stay at Arkham Asylum.

Mark Wayne Williams seems to really live the superhero lifestyle. Unfortunately, his not-so-secret identity is known to the police. Here he is posing at the police station for, he probably believes, his public commendation from Commissioner Gordon.


Given that Mark Wayne Williams is no Bruce Wayne, and that Detroit is certainly no Gotham City, I have to figure that every city gets the crime fighter it deserves. However, I have to wonder about his dedication to the Bat.


The Crow? Sheesh, just let me know when he starts dressing like Wonder Woman and runs down the street with his arms spread wide pretending to be in his invisible jet.

SECRET ORIGIN OF A SUPER-VILLAIN UPDATE!

Remember Johnathan T. Pinney, AKA Doctor Mayhem, the convict who wanted his own island, access to the world’s technology, and a secret volcanic lair? It seems that he is now looking for love. He wants that special woman with whom to share dominion over the planet. Or any other planet.

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The Saturday Comics: Grandma

20 Aug

August 20, 2011

I came across this strip while I was searching for Agatha Crumm.

Created by Bill Hoest (The Lockhorns), Agatha Crumm began in 1977 and ran until 1996. She was the owner of the Crumm Cookie Company and broke the cliché of the sweet little old lady.

I like Agatha Crumm but it was Grandma that caught my eye. 

It was the creation of Charles Kuhn and ran from 1947 until 1969, eight years before the more progressive Agatha Crumm debuted.

From Toonopedia via wiki:

The strip depicted humorous events in the life of a friendly, fun-loving woman known to her friends and neighbors only as Grandma.

In Toonopedia, comics historian Don Markstein described the character:

Grandma was known by no other name, to children and grownups alike, despite the fact that she gave no evidence of having actual progeny of her own. Like the much earlier Lady Bountiful, she palled around day in and day out with the neighborhood kids; but unlike her, Grandma wasn’t interested in improving them. She was just having fun. Otherwise, she kept busy around the house, but of course, the household chores included a lot of baking. Kuhn derived much of her character from his own mother, who, in her dotage by most standards, was always ready to dress up, sing, and even dance a jig to help out a small theatrical production put on by her friends, the children of the neighborhood.

As Kuhn recalled:

My mother was always full of pep and vigor. One time at 75 years of age, she dressed up in my old Navy uniform, danced a jig and played a piece on her French harp just to help the neighborhood kids put on a backyard show. My comic Grandma, in spirit at least, is my own beloved mother.

It is important to note that the Sunday strips reprinted below were published in color. Look for the panel in or near the middle labeled “Color this one, kids!” One panel was always left uncolored in black and white for the kids to color in themselves. I think it was wonderful that Kuhn remembered that these strips were for kids.

The tone of the strip is unabashedly sweet and charming, and the feelings and emotions it depicts would be considered old-fashioned today, and even in the strip’s own lifetime too as is entered the late 1960’s. For me, the nostalgia and obvious love that glows from it is the appeal to me. 

 

 

 

 

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