Terminal: John Paul Leon Batman two-part story

I stopped collecting monthly comics some years ago but I still keep up with the "big two" publishers via Marvel Unlimited and DC Universe Infinite Ultra. On the latter, I've been on a Batman kick lately. I came across this little gem from 2014: Detective Comics 35-36, a two part story by Benjamin Percy and John Paul Leon called Terminal.

The cover is unusual. Usually, editors prefer the hero to be prominent on the cover. Here, Batman is in the background, although the vanishing point draws you to his image. The story concept is somewhat reminiscent of the Fox TV series Fringe. In the 2008 pilot episode of Fringe, a plane mysterious lands at Boston airport: all the passengers are dead, due to a biological agent released. The plane landed on autopilot (which doesn't seem right). In Percy's story, all passengers are dead, but it is due to a virus that ages them super fast over a 24 hour period. However, the plane does NOT land on autopilot...

...it actually crashes into the airplane terminal, which John Paul Leon illustrates in terrific detail. I think this makes the story both more exciting and believable at the same time. I can't help but think of Tom King's 2016 Batman #1 rebirth/relaunch, where he had Batman get on top of a jumbo jet and try to divert it from crashing into Gotham City. Here, there's nothing Batman can do to avoid the disaster. His role is to play Detective, which matches the name of the comic.

How does Batman get involved with all of this? The story starts off establishing a mood right away, where Bruce Wayne is being driven to the airport by Alfred. Alfred wants Bruce to take a vacation. But Bruce will not be getting a trip to paradise.

Bruce, a billionaire, naturally has his own luxury private jet. While he's waiting inside, drinking tea and reading the paper, Alfred tells him they can't take off because of the emergency. I love this page, the way it is illustrated and the relationship between Bruce and Alfred. There is some Mazzucchelli influence here. (Bruce/Batman needs Alfred in his life; DC made a huge mistake getting rid of him.) Note the headline on the newspaper, that's not a throwaway gag.

Batman is the first one into the crashed airplane, naturally, investigating the crime scene before the airport police get in. The head of the airport cops is stunned to see what's inside, and to learn from Batman, that the airport must be sealed immediately - no one should come in or leave. The decaying virus is spreading and both Batman and the police chief are infected. They've only got 24 hours or less to live.

The terrorist who released this virus on the plane is revealed as an eco-terrorist, Mangus Magnuson, who wants the United States to withdraw from the Middle East, in return for the antidote. And what's remarkable is that this story is concluded in the next issue: something we don't see much anymore, a two part story. Usually the editors want to drag stuff out for six issues to put into a collection. Perhaps it was conceived as a fill in to give the regular artist a break.

It's not a perfect story. As I mentioned, the plane with the people dead seems way too similar to the Fringe pilot. The antidote is eventually discovered - but after Batman and the police chief have aged up. So the antidote not only cures the virus but reverses the aging process? Isolate the latter please and mass market it, no one needs to be old anymore.

But I do like this moody, suspenseful type of Batman story where he's working in darkness and using his detective skills to solve a problem. I probably wouldn't like it if John Paul Leon hadn't done such a good job of illustrating it. We lost him in 2021, way too soon.

Marvel Comics advertisement for retailers in 1973

 This 1973 Marvel advertisement was designed to appeal to retailers across the country. Not the direct market - that did not exist yet. This was for newsstands, grocery stores, drug stores or convenience stores such as 7-Eleven or Quik Mart. Marvel Comics at that time sold for twenty cents per comic. The retailer would make 6 cents profit per comic. So, if they managed to sell 100 comics, the retailer would make $6 of profit? Doesn't seem worth it, even with all prices being lower back then. I love the box on the side showing the titles of the Marvel black and white magazines.

Star Wars try-out strips by Al Williamson from 1977

Star Wars became a big hit in 1977, both as a film and a Marvel comic book series. Star Wars also had a daily newspaper strip that ran from 1979 to 1984. When the feature first debuted, the artist was Russ Manning, known for Magnus, Robot Fighter, Tarzan, and other Gold Key comics. Al Williamson, who I think most people would say is one of the best Star Wars artists, took over the strip from 1981 to 1984 - and also did Marvel's Empire Strikes Back adaptation.

I just recently saw these fantastic images: Al Williamson's try-out sample strips for Star Wars back in 1978. They adapt the move and they are exquisitely beautiful. Archie Goodwin wrote the script. George Lucas had wanted a strip like Flash Gordon, and Williamson had been the artist on that.

Williamson was going to charge Lucasfilm $1200 for six dailies and a sample strip. However, there was some kind of delay in delivering the payment, and Williamson decided not to pursue the job any further. Luckily, he did illustrate Star Wars a few years later.

I found these strips originally on Paul Duncan's X profile who also explained the history. Thank you, Paul!

Peanuts and Lil Abner / Al Capp

 From Lil Abner comic strip by Al Capp, in October 1968: three Sunday strips taking on Charles Schulz and Peanuts. In an early 1980 issue of the Comics Journal, there was "Al Capp: The Last Interview" by Rick Marschall - actually conducted in October 1977. Capp: "Peanuts is a great strip, but no one has ever said, publicly, that they don't like Peanuts." Later: "In America, you must like Peanuts, even if you really don't."

On Dan Brady's blog, you can read a Los Angeles Times article where they asked Charles Schulz his opinion about the parody. He didn't think it was very funny.

I think this parody's good in a Wally Wood kind of way! Although I really do love Peanuts more than ever.

The Joker by Brian Bolland from 1988

 This is an illustration by Brian Bolland from 1988 for USA Magazine. This would have been the same year that The Killing Joke was published.

Thanks to Colin Smith for sharing this image!

Humor Mascots (Alfred E Neuman, Forbush Man) in an Avengers Circle

 By the talented Kerry Callan...

Alice & Jack: Pointless and Stupid

Alice & Jack was a highly promoted series on PBS Masterpiece earlier this year. Six episodes, I recorded all the episodes and finally watched them months later. I was fascinated by the first episode; some reviews have said this show was a waste of time - I thought they must be wrong. By the time I finished the series, those reviews turned out to be correct. I have a feeling this show was pitched as "Normal People for Adults" but it has none of the nuance, nor any sensuality.

Alice and Jack meet on a Tinder-like date (in 2007, before it existed) and have a one night tryst. I can see why Alice likes Jack (Domhnall Gleeson) but I can't figure out why he's so crazy about her. Alice is rude and abrupt, though she softens up later on. There's a trauma from her childhood, touched upon briefly in one episode, to explain her behavior, but it all seems shallow. Everything seems like a plot device rather than an exploration of character. Andrea Riseborough portrays Alice as best she can, eyes welling up with tears at any given moment. At one point they haven't seen each other for two years, then Alice sends Jack an invitation to her wedding. Jack is pissed - but TWO YEARS have passed - Jack has a PhD and is a scientist, why wouldn't he assume she's moved on? Why didn't Jack move on? It's ridiculous. Whenever one of them appears to be in a good relationship with someone else, they come back together and it blows up everything. Again, it's unexplained, there's hardly any sex involved (not looking for graphic sexual content, but often people lose their heads over someone they are highly attracted to), and Jack does one dumb thing after another. 

Years and years pass, Jack is still single - a highly educated and successful person with no problems other than he thinks of Alice too much. He starts off dates by telling women he's hung up on Alice. Then towards the end, when Alice has stage 4 cancer, Jack has an aortic aneurysm - the doctor explains that he could die of an aortic dissection unless he reduces his stress level. I could predict that he would die very close to Alice's death - and that's what happened. It's supposed to be poetic but I see the writer's plot machinations and it just seems stupid. 

The other problem is this show is two episodes too long. The fifth episode is mostly about the two of them wandering around London discussing their history. The sixth episode has Alice pass away early, with flashbacks to scenes we've already watched in the previous five episodes, just padding it out to meet the running time. I don't know why I stuck with it other than I like Domhnall Gleeson, but he was wasted here.