Gamaliel's New Writeups

X-Men #23 (thing)

2004-01-11T22:52:00Z

X-Men #23 (last issue | next issue)

âTo Save a Cityâ

Writer: Roy Thomas
Artist: Werner Roth
Inker: Dick Ayers
Letterer: Artie Simek
Editor: Stan Lee

Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover date: August 1966
Cover price: 12 cents

Our heroes are in a tight spot. Count Nefaria will hold Washington DC hostage and will force his captives the X-Men to collect the ransom for him. Nefaria gets the money and resumes his place as a Maggia kingpin, while the mutants get all the blame. While the X-Men watch, helpless, Nefaria seals off DC in an unbreakable transparent dome (Acme Dome Company product #247, only $19.95). Axes, drills, even bombs cannot penetrate it.

Then the X-Men walk into the Capitol Building and demand a ransom of 100 million dollars from Congress or else in three hours the citizens of DC will…

X-Men #22 (thing)

2004-01-10T22:15:46Z

X-Men #22 (last issue | next issue)

"Divided - - We Fall!"

Writer: Roy Thomas
Artist: Jay Gavin (A pseudonym for artist Werner Roth taken from the first names of his sons. He would be credited under his real name starting with X-Men #23)
Inker: Dick Ayers
Letterer: Artie Simek
Editor: Stan Lee
Colosso: Irving Forbrush Robotics, Inc.

Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover date: July 1966
Cover price: 12 cents

The issue opens with yet another Danger Room session, and this time Professor X has a new test for his team. Since theyâve been inundated with robots recently (the Sentinels and Master Mold, and Luciferâs Dominus), the test is Colosso, a giant, bulky machine of steel and ass-kicking, and the Prof has given them only five minutes to defeat it. Individually, Colosso shrugs off or neutralizes their…

October 13, 2003 (place)

2003-10-13T07:04:45Z

An unproductive day. Went to the library for genealogical work but accomplished little, other than making myself literally nauseous with scrolling microfilm. I even got cockblocked by the library computerâs porn filter while trying to get to a site which had New Jersey cemetery inscriptions. Believe me, this irate library patron will be firing off letters within the week.

And then I went to three different stores trying to buy The Magnificent Seven on DVD. I finally rented it at Blockbuster but asked them to void the rental when I changed my mind at the last second. $4.05 to rent a movie Iâm going to buy anyway? Thatâs going to be anywhere between 25 to 50 percent of the purchase price. Forget it.

I believe in stores, really. I believe in instant gratification and browsing and the sheer thrill of seeing mountains of entertainment offerings at my fingertips. I have obscure tastes, yes, but this isnât some obscure French art film,…

Star Wars (thing)

2003-10-08T05:27:28Z

For nine years (1977-1986), Marvel Comics published a monthly comic about the continuing adventures of the characters from the successful series of science fiction films. This project was the brainchild of Roy Thomas, former Marvel editor-in-chief, who pushed a reluctant Marvel into publishing it and cut a favorable deal with George Lucas, who was eager to promote his film. The comic book was a phenomenal success for Marvel and by some accounts saved the company from going out of business, though this seems farfetched.

Aside from the Kenner action figures and the rare television misstep, at the time this was the only outlet for fans of the series. Eventually it petered out a couple years after Return of the Jedi and was cancelled, long before an endless series of novels and video games provoked a resurgence in the popularity of Star Wars prior to The Phantom Menace. If Marvel had only held on for a couple more years, they might still be enjoying…

September 20, 2003 (place)

2003-09-20T06:30:15Z

My great grandfather, George Larsen, was born in 1899 and died when my mother was three. My great grandmother never remarried and lived until I was 18 and she was a fairly constant presence in my life. In a small way, so was George Larsen, with those pictures of him in that smart looking Navy hat or the box of letters to my great grandmother that my mother has now, or the dolls and trinkets from China. He spent much of his life at sea, serving in the Navy in WWI and as an officer in WWII, and after the war worked for a cruise and shipping line. The idea of him was I suspect far more noble than the actual man, who Iâm told drank quite a bit and possibly caused my grandmother to marry a man who turned out to be a jackass just to get out of the house.

My great grandparents married in 1925 in St. Patrickâs Cathedral. I easily found them in the 1930 census, and found her living with her parents in the 1920 and 1910 census. But I couldnât find any trace of him in the…

Ironjaw #1 (thing)

2003-08-22T01:30:58Z

Ironjaw #1

âThe Saga of Ironjawâ

Writer: Michael Fleisher
Artist: Mike Sekowsky
Inker: Jack Abel
Letterer: Alan Kupferberg
Editor: Jeff Rovin
Cover artist: Neal Adams

Publisher: Atlas Comics
Cover date: January 1975
Cover price: 25 cents

Atlas Comics was formed in 1974 by Marvel Comics founder Martin Goodman. Goodman sold Marvel in 1968 and stayed on a few years afterwards. He started Atlas, resurrecting the name Marvel used during part of the 1950s, after the new owners fired his son Chip, though perhaps the motive was not revenge but the challenge of conquering the newsstand again. Though they lured many of the best creators in the business by throwing piles of money at them, Atlas died in less than a year because of poor distribution and because they werenât offering anything that readers couldnât get at other companies.
…