Saturday, October 19, 2013

A NYCC 2013 Moment # 8. Unfinished Comic Business.


If you’re like most people (…and, if by “most people” you mean the small number of folks who read this Blog that have actually known me – and my tastes – for years), you’re probably wondering (…perhaps even pondering aloud for added emphasis) why Joe is expending so much of his “Blog-width” on the costuming aspects of New York Comic Con 2013.
 
…Admit it.  You "were-TOO" wondering, and pondering as well! 
Hmmm... I wonder...
It’s probably because there are very few affordable old comics – and virtually no bootleg DVDs  – that interest me enough to purchase.  And, though they often made negotiating the aisles of the Jacob Javitz Convention Center very difficult, the costumers put on a very clever, entertaining – and free – show which, in my less-intensive comics-buying years, has proven to be enjoyable. 
 
But, still… there are always those irritating holes in one’s collection that never seem to get filled.  Or, bits of “Old Business” that you always hope to get around to, collection-wise. 
 

On Day Three of New York Comic Con 2013, one of those bits of “Old Business” was finally resolved. 


Please read the Comments Section of THIS POST, where our friend “Anonymous” discusses the 1967 DC Comic INFERIOR FIVE # 1… and I, particularly as a lover of All-Things-Sixties, sheepishly admit to not ever owning that comic! 
 
Well, now I have one – and for a mere seven bucks, less than the price of two contemporary DC Comics.

And it has this great logo…


…For less than the cover price of TWO comics with this bad logo! 
Bad dog... er, LOGO!
 
And, the story therein is PURE SIXTIES POP-CULTURE GOLD! 


E. Nelson Bridwell, one of the first fans to graduate to professional ranks, (writer), Mike (JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA) Sekowsky on pencils and Mike Esposito on inks, present “Five Characters in Search of a Plot” (…parodying  a famous TWILIGHT ZONE episode title, discussed in THIS POST). 
 
Click to enlarge... or, maybe not!
The Inferior Five:  Merryman, Dumb Bunny, The Blimp, White Feather, and Awkwardman,  find themselves in service of (Not U.N.C.L.E.) but C.O.U.S.I.N. F.R.E.D.,  complete with parody characters of MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. stalwarts Napoleon Solo, Ilya Kuryakin, and Mr. Waverly.  Below: The real logo, followed by sublime parody...

 
Pictured:  Mr. Waverly (Leo G. Carroll) BEFORE he was Mr. Waverly, in the 1955 film “Tarantula”
 
If you think THIS tarantula is big, you should see its U.N.C.L.E.
I thank “Anon” retroactively for bringing this comic to my attention, as I enjoyed it very much… even if I was 46 years late in picking it up!  

Better late than never!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well, since I was the one who brought up that Inferior Five issue (in response to a query about 1960's spy movie parodies), I'm relieved that it did not disappoint. Most I-5 issues were parodies of then-current pop culture. In Showcase #62, they fought Brute Brainard, who had been transformed by a chemical accident into a green-skinned behemoth (fortunately for them, he still had a glass jaw). In Showcase #65, Prof. Egghead hired them as instructors at his private school (the Justice League, Doom Patrol, and Metal Men all turned down the job). The students included the Ape, Winter Wonderlad, Icarus, and Levitation Lass. In Inferior Five #2, a lab accident transformed a scientist and his assistants into Mr. Manplastic, Vanishing Queen, Matchstick Kid, and Whatchamacallit. I5 #3 was a Tarzan parody (Darwin the Ape Man helped them find the lost city of Oompah). In #4, they visited Asgard and met the Norse gods. And in both #7 and #10, they encountered Prince Nabob the Sub-Moron ("Tyrannosaurus Rex! Uh...Oedipus Rex? Rex Harrison?") and Cobweb Kid ("Cobweb Kid, Cobweb Kid, does whatever a spider did"). -TC

Joe Torcivia said...

You, absolutely did not disappoint, TC! If you love sixties pop culture as much as I do, this is a true delight.

And, as with OMAC in a previous post in the NYCC 2013 series, INFERIOR FIVE was another short-run series that was relatively easy and inexpensive to pick up. I’m missing only 3-4, and 8, and have the SHOWCASE issues as well. I even saw a number 8 for a buck that was in too rough a condition for my likes.

I look forward to continuing with those, as well as OMAC… and the other thing I’ll be posting about tomorrow.