Daily Scans

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Below are the 5 most recent journal entries recorded in the "Daily Scans" journal:

November 11th, 2009
08:37 pm [dr_hermes] [Link]	The unfortunate side of Plastic Man's powers Looking over some of the great Jack Cole's work on Plastic Man in the 1940s, something occurred to me.We see Plas eating and drinking occasionally. So when he pulls a stunt like this: Well, wouldn't the natural digestive gases found in the intestines be forced out through their logical exit? And wouldn't this be much like squeezing a whoopee cushion, with similar attention-drawing noises? ("Did youse mugs hear that? It means Plastic Man's here!" "No, boss-- that wuz me, I had chili for lunch.") Tags: char: plastic man/patrick o'brian, creator: jack cole, era: golden age (25 comments \| Leave a comment)
June 17th, 2009
09:39 pm [dr_hermes] [Link]	The horrified bystander Lately, I've been getting a different aspect of "the horrified bystander" from old comics, movies and TV. You know, it's a brief gag used thousands of times. Something goofy is going on. A character is dressed like a gorilla or a devil; a dog is driving a car; or someone is invisible and is carrying an object around. You know the scene, and an innocent bystander sees this and does a convulsive double take, eyes bugging out and dropping whatever they're carrying. Or in its classic form, the gag has a blotto old drunk see what's going on and throw their bottle of whiskey away after giving it a resentful glare. This page is from "Plastic Man Products," in PLASTIC MAN# 17 from May 1949. Of course it's the mad genius of Jack Cole. (As an aside, if Cole had ever gone for a straightforward, quasi-realistic style, I think he would have been just as great. Look at the way he uses shadows and background objects to show it's nighttime.. good work.) Anyway, this page's panel four has two good examples of the horrified bystander. There's the woman in bed (her feet sticking out from under the covers) who looks up to see an immensely long flesh-colored THING coming in one window and out the other. A giant pink serpent? The super-penis of her feverish dreams? Who knows? And I love the way the police officer spins himself almost into a tangle at seeing Plastic Man, although his word balloon seems rational enough. Back to the concept of the Uncanny Valley again. A lot of horror comes from seeing something that is like the human body, but altered or distorted in a way that just seems wrong. Seeing a solid object like an animal or a person (even one who is a super-hero) change shape while you watch would trigger all sorts of alarm bells in the mind. Remember John Carpenter's THE THING? Imagine a person right in front of you, melting and stretching and turning into different shapes in a blink. I think someone who actually witnessed Plastic Man in action would suffer nightmares for years and maybe experience a breakdown. It would seem wrong in a way that just witnessing someone float down from the sky or walk around carrying a car overhead would seem, because it would touch that Uncanny Valley response. Tags: char: plastic man/patrick o'brian, creator: jack cole, era: golden age, publisher: dc comics, title: plastic man (2 comments \| Leave a comment)
March 4th, 2009
01:43 am [kasumi_sora] [Link]	The Death Patrol #3 and #5 By Military Comics #3 "The Death Patrol" has fallen to the back pages, appearing as the last story in the issues. This is Jack Cole's last time on the title. ( Gotta love that Zazzy! ) In #4 Dave Berg has taken over Death Patrol. At the start of the issue he brings in Chief Chuck-a-Lug. In #5 he will bring in King Hotentot and a long time Patrol member doesn't make it back. See in under the cut! ( Noooo! Not-not-!!!! ) Stay Tuned! In our next episode Hitler sends out women to seduce the boys! We also meet Boris the Borsht Eater. (So not for dial-up) Tags: creator: jack cole, era: golden age, group: death patrol, status: public domain, theme: racism, title: military comics (8 comments \| Leave a comment)
March 3rd, 2009
02:36 pm [kasumi_sora] [Link]	The Death Patrol (by Jack Cole) The second story in their adventures! ( If only they weren't so darn vaulable...as cannon fodder ) Read Story #1 and some info Tags: creator: jack cole, era: golden age, status: public domain (5 comments \| Leave a comment)
March 2nd, 2009
12:41 am [kasumi_sora] [Link]	The Death Patrol (by Jack Cole) Nobody takes death in comic books very seriously. Honestly, nobody should. It is long comic book tradition to die--until a writer in need resurrects you. (Or the just restart the whole you storyline in a universe breaking way. No, I'm not bitter.). So long that even in the 1930s people weren't taking things seriously. One of the first features of Military Comics was The Death Patrol. It really takes confidences in your skill you put Death in your name. Meet Butch the safe cracker; Gramps the pickpocket; Hank the rustler; Slick the a con artist, and millionaire Del van Dyne. ( 7 pages and some info ) Tags: creator: jack cole, era: golden age, group: death patrol, status: public domain, title: military comics (11 comments \| Leave a comment)