COMICS HISTORY | 13th Dimension, Comics, Creators, Culture

Jul26

13 COVERS: A Brief History of ITALY’s RED BATMAN

Posted by Dan Greenfield on Jul 26, 2024

13 COVERS: A Brief History of ITALY’s RED BATMAN

Soon to be an action figure from McFarlane Toys! Coolest thing I’ve seen coming out of San Diego Comic-Con so far? McFarlane Toys’ upcoming red 1966 Batman action figure, which will lead a wave that includes a Joker with a Total Dehydrator; a Batgirl variant with a color palette from Batman: The Animated Series; and a Wonder Woman loosely based on Lynda Carter’s TV version (the costume is spot on, but it’s a generic WW face evidently due to rights issues). But why is Batman red? Is this repaintmania run amok? No. It’s because Italian posters for the 1966 Batman movie featured the Caped Crusader in bright red, with a black cowl and cape, just like the action figure shows. But, again, why red to begin with? Well, there’s historical precedent: In the Italian comics of the 1950s and early 1960s, red was Batman’s primary color instead of gray. The reasons for this differ: One school of thought has it that it started as a mistake and just stuck. Another is that publisher Mondadori felt that a gray Batman would frighten children but a red one wouldn’t. (The art itself was generally lifted or tweaked from American covers with art by folks like Dick Sprang, Curt Swan, Sheldon Moldoff and Carmine Infantino.) Whatever the actual truth — or whether it’s a combination of those ideas or perhaps because they simply thought red would look better — a generation of Italian kids was weaned on Red Batman. His exploits were originally published in Mondadori’s Albi del Falco, which was headlined by Nembo Kid — aka that guy we call Superman. Batman would pop up in his classic colors on occasion but it was only when he got his own title in December 1966 — about two months after the movie came out in Italy — that he was shown steadily in gray. (The film premiered in the U.S. at the end of July.) So how about 13 COVERS starring Red Batman? Yes, let’s do that: — MORE — BATMAN and SUPERMAN’s Greatest Italian Comics Mysteries! Click here. — ARGOMAN and the 1960s ITALIAN SUPERHERO FRENZY. Click...

Jul26

The Powerful, Clashing Visions of KUBRICK’s and KIRBY’s ‘2001’

Posted by Dan Greenfield on Jul 26, 2024

The Powerful, Clashing Visions of KUBRICK’s and KIRBY’s ‘2001’

REEL RETRO CINEMA: A birthday tribute to Stanley Kubrick… — UPDATED 7/26/24: The late Stanley Kubrick was born 96 years ago. Perfect time to re-present this piece from Jack Kirby’s centennial celebration in 2017. Dig it. — Dan — Rob Kelly’s REEL RETRO CINEMA offers new looks at old flicks — and their comic-book adaptations. Here, he takes on 2001: A Space Odyssey as part of our 13 DAYS OF KIRBY 100 celebration of the King’s centennial. For other REEL RETRO CINEMA columns, click here. or the complete 13 DAYS OF KIRBY 100 Index of stories and features, including essays by the likes of Alex Ross, John Byrne, Marie Severin, Kelley Jones and many others, click here. By ROB KELLY In 1968, Stanley Kubrick decided to slow things down. As a new wave of directors and writers descended on Hollywood in the late 1960s, movies got faster and faster. Just a year earlier, Arthur Penn’s Bonnie and Clyde ushered in a new level of hyped-up screen violence, and the film became a massive, groundbreaking hit. But Stanley Kubrick was never one for rushing. It had been a full four years since his last film, Dr. Strangelove, and when he returned to movie theaters it was with a film of breathtaking visuals and challenging ideas. Loosely based on a short story of Arthur C. Clarke’s called The Sentinel, 2001: A Space Odyssey would open in our prehistoric past, focusing on a small tribe of hominids as they struggle to survive. Featuring no music and no dialogue, Kubrick was testing audiences’ patience and forcing them to accept the rhythms from the distant past he was trying to replicate. Eventually, however, something strange happens: A solid black monolith appears, which seems to guide the hominids into learning how to use bones as a weapon. One of them, in an orgiastic display of enlightenment, tosses a bone into the sky. We then make a flash cut to a space station orbiting Earth, a time jump of several hundred million years. In its slow, methodical way, 2001 reveals its story. Another monolith, similar to the one that appeared in our prehistoric past, has been discovered on the moon. When a team of astronauts investigates, it emits a powerful high-pitched signal. We then jump another 18 months ahead, and two astronauts, Drs. David Bowman (Keir...

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