December 21, 2004
Forgive me, Frank, Wherever You Are! Pt.II

   Rapid-fire recap: Last week I began answering reader mail. The first question was so good, in fact, that I couldn't contain my response in one installment. So without further ado...

   Q: Whose work within the comic medium have you grown to appreciate and respect most, after some initial disinterest or dislike?
   A: The late Frank Robbins.

   When Robbins, (unknown to me then) of Johnny Hazard and Man-Bat fame, started penciling for Marvel, I hated his art immediately because it wasn't the 'Marvel Mag' style. It was cartoonish, and young male comics fans like me had always taken their comics art way too seriously.

   Even if I didn't care for the art, Robbins' flair for storytelling must've held my interest, as I would reread his stories over and over again. I just wasn't used to a zombied Falcon and maniacal Red Skull actually looking like crazed, frothing madmen. At first glance, Robbins' art may look over-the-top, but it was his way of selling the absurdity that we overlook when reading about grown men dressing up in costumes, fighting for good or evil.

   Even though I 'suffered' through his Cap & Falcon run, I took a shining to a new title he drew called The Invaders, the brainchild of Golden Age fan-turned Writer/Editor Roy Thomas. Art Director John Romita and inker Vince Colletta weaned me on liking Robbins' art but the Invaders still wasn't quite the home run I'd hoped it would be. But I hung in there for a few more issues, mostly because of the WWII backdrop.

   As children growing up in the mid-1970's, my friends and I had a fascination with WWII, as it was still recent history, having ended only 30 years prior. Now it's ANOTHER 30 years passed, but thanks to the History Channel, we're learning more of what we didn't know then about how the war was fought and won.

   So The Invaders had two of the 'coolest' ingredients in one package: WWII and Superheroes. It was exciting to read Captain America and Bucky tearing into a platoon of nazis, while the Sub-Mariner torpedoed u-boats and the Human Torch and Toro melted tanks and tossed fireballs to scatter the enemy. I know it's a juvenile approach to world events, but hey, I was a juvenile and found The Invaders not only entertaining, but sneakily educational, as Roy used his teaching background to shoehorn real characters (Winston Churchill) and situations (dealing with American Bund nazi sympathizers)
   Starting with # 8, Frank Springer's bold inks complimented Robbins' moody lighting. Blacks were spotted in a manner that added an Old World weightiness to the backgrounds. The Invaders now had a dusty, craggy and distinctive look that served a somewhat European look. This was in the middle of The Baron Blood storyline, which also introduced Union Jack, who has one of the top five coolest costumes EVER! Although Roy Thomas designed Union Jack, Robbins was born to draw him! U.J., a secret operative of His Majesty's Government from the first World War, even appeared to move in a more distinctive manner, with confidence borne of years of experience.

   What I really started to enjoy was the authenticity that Robbins gave to the WWII era. His renditions of aircraft, tanks, solders, weaponry, hospitals and castles made me eventually see the wisdom Marvel had in matching Robbins with this material.
   The Invaders were based in England, and when the two Franks rendered it, you'd swear you could hear the clop! on the cobblestones as rickety cars drove by. During one of many blitz bombings of London(which The Invaders couldn't even stop, another dose of storytelling reality), Roy and Frank wouldn't shy away from showing the horrors of war as well as the everyday heroics of medics, firefighters, etc. When Captain America believes his ally The Destroyer blown to bits by a grenade, his hand scrunches his face while agonizing: "Death! Destruction! Where will it all end? When this war's over--will there be ANY of us left without innocent blood on his hands?"(Invaders #19).

   When Subby spun a Panzer Tank around by it's turret, it was always impressive. Despite my fanboy appreciation of superheroes and supervillains, I was a bit turned off when they'd introduce newer villains, like Warrior Woman and Scarlet Scarab, because it was taking away from the uniqueness of super-powered characters fighting directly in the war, turning it into another super-powered slugfest that you could just as easily read in The Avengers. There could have been more frontline combat, where even The Invaders could get overwhelmed if the enemy troop numbers were too great. But, I suppose the readers would have gotten bored with Sgt. Fury-style plots over time. Roy probably did the right thing.
   Check out this spooky panel of Agent Axis (great name, that!) from #26, the Bucky solo issue! Look at the drama evoked in the snap of his cloak!

   Finally, my prayers were answered and Robbins left The Invaders with #28, to make way for perennial fill-in artist, Alan Kupperberg, to continue the series until it's end (the double-sized #41). There were some interesting stories in Kupperberg's run, such as #32 & #33 where Hitler cleverly deceives his Teutonic brethren, Thor, to fight the Invaders. But right after that, I dropped the book. Kupperberg did his best to keep things moving along, but...something was missing.

   Of course, it took me years to realize how much Robbins had contributed to the appeal of the book. As they say, you never know what you've got until it's gone.
   Robbins also did some issues of Luke Cage, Power Man, which won't be seen again until (hopefully) Marvel releases a second Power Man Essentials volume, the first coming out early next year. I can't imagine there won't be an Essential treatment of The Invaders. Personally, I'd prefer an oversized hardcover, recolored or even in black & white!

   I believe some of Robbins' last comics work was Daredevil #155 and The Human Fly #8 & #9 (I'm such a dork for knowing this off the top of my head). Afterwards, he retired in Mexico to paint. He'd passed away in the 1990's. I sincerely hope he enjoyed every minute of his retirement, because he brought a lot of joy to a lot of comic strip and comic book fans.

   Merry Christmas, Frank Robbins! Hopefully, you're singing "Thanks for the memories" with Bing Crosby and Bob Hope!

   Happy Holidays to everybody, and thanks for visiting my goofy little website and providing many commissions for me to display! Special thanks to Webmaster Chris for making it all happen, and Congrats to his wife, Sky, for getting a 100 score on her test last week! It's been a great year, and I hope to make 2005 even better.
 
>>>>[Thanks for the props and the gratz Drew. Happy Holidays and yadda™ to everyone who stops by and stays awhile. Hmmmm.....let's see if I have a cute lit'l pic for the holidays. Ah yes, here we go....and now for your moment of Zen.]<<<< ~ Webmaster Chris <18:49:08/12-21-04>
To be continued...
 
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