My latest column, on Tomahawk's band of Rangers, has been posted at the CBG website:
Take a look and tell me what you think!
-- MSA
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My latest column, on Tomahawk's band of Rangers, has been posted at the CBG website:
Take a look and tell me what you think!
-- MSA
You need to be a member of Captain Comics to add comments!
Replies
Those Rangers have gotta be some of the Baddest Motherf*#!ers in Comics. I wonder if they got a page? Guess I'll never know.
I read your 2012 Mopee Awards column in the following issue yesterday and chuckled throughout, especially Aquaman's long-deserved award for controlling the animal that's aquatic in name only.
Hoy
Nice overview, Mr. Age. Although you categorize TOMAHAWK as a war comic -- and perhaps rightly so -- I've always categorized it in the subgenre of historical adventures, in the same vein as DC's other "they're not exactly westerns" frontier titles of the 1950s such as LEGENDS OF DANIEL BOONE and FRONTIER FIGHTERS.
I'm frankly amazed that TOMAHAWK, whatever you want to classify it as, lasted more than 20 years, though its last 10 issues devoted to Hawk were pretty solidly grounded in the western genre. I might also argue that the westernization of TOMAHAWK began even earlier than that. I don't remember the Revolutionary War extending further west than the Mississippi River, and yet a lot of those late 1960s TOMAHAWK's make it seem less like James Fenimore Cooper's New York-based Mohicans and a lot more like Hollywood's wild west.
I've occasionally thought about picking up some old TOMAHAWKs if I ever see them in a bargain bin, but two things always seem to happen:
1. I never see them in a bargain bin.
2. If I did, I'd probably leave them there for somebody who's actually looking for them.
Those Rangers have gotta be some of the Baddest Motherf*#!ers in Comics. I wonder if they got a page? Guess I'll never know.
LOL! I'll let you know if I find out. I'm guessing that only present-day Motherf*#!ers are represented, but if Rock or Fury gets a page, then Cannonball certainly deserves one. Not to mention Hitler. He'd be in my top five.
I read your 2012 Mopee Awards column in the following issue yesterday and chuckled throughout, especially Aquaman's long-deserved award for controlling the animal that's aquatic in name only.
I'm glad you liked it! I'd held off on it ever since I read the story in the SP book and it was well past due. I can't imagine what any kid getting to that punch line (so to speak) thought of that story.
Although you categorize TOMAHAWK as a war comic -- and perhaps rightly so -- I've always categorized it in the subgenre of historical adventures...such as LEGENDS OF DANIEL BOONE,
The difference there is that the bars weren't shooting back at Dan'l. When heroes can go around shooting and knifing and, um, tomahawking other people without any repercussions, I'm putting it down as a war comic. It was a lot about battles and ambushes, much like Rock and Fury just with less equipment.
I might also argue that the westernization of TOMAHAWK began even earlier than that.
A lot of Tomahawk stories throughout his run dealt with him trying to convince Indians they were fighting on the wrong side or dealing with their culture vs them just as British minions. They certainly could be negotiated with to reconsider their position. They no doubt did get a bit cowboy-and-Indian like at times, but that's to be expected in a culture that dresses up its Thanksgiving Indians with headdresses.
Mostly, the mid-1960s issues were taken up fighting monsters of all sorts, including Tomahawk conveniently turned into a monster of one kind or another. When that petered out, I guess they decided they'd better head west to keep up interest. Too bad they couldn't figure out a way to include Batman.
This column actually got a good e-mail response, which surprised me. Apparently, Tomahawk has more fans out in CBG-land than I would have expected. Certainly, they're only reading his adventures if they have the original issues.
-- MSA
I never read a Rangers story. Either it was a pre-Silver Age reprint or Hawk, Son of Tomahawk, which is a personal favorite of mine.
Anyone else now interested in a Showcase Presents Tomahawk?
I've wanted to read more Tomahawk stories for quite a while. I read Mr SA's article with interest.
I only recently learned that Fred Ray, who had a long association with the series (although he wasn't its first artist), was the same as the artist of the cover of Superman #14.