Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Comic artist history

I found out something that I thought was really fantastic today. There was a golden age comic artist that came out of the same home town that I do.

His name was Win Mortimer and he worked for both DC Comics and Marvel Comics, as well as working as a freelancer and for Continuity Studios. He passed away some time ago.

Mortimer's debut comic book work was in DC's Detective Comics featuring Batman. It was issue #105 where Batman goes broke. I've never read the story, but now I find myself really interested in obtaining a copy of it.

While he worked on a great number of titles from "Stanley and His Monster" to "Fat Albert," I think that there is one character he debuted that I really love the most.

Mortimer drew Batman #92 - the first appearance of "Ace" the Bat-Hound. I loved that character when I was little and I still do. It wasn't that long ago that I was watching "Batman, the Brave and the Bold" on the boob tube where there was an episode featuring Ace. I was all giddy and laughing like a four year old.

This is what I love about comics. Sure, you can create the moody, dark and creepy. You can imitate reality and/or take it to a brooding, self destructive, apocalyptic, nightmarish society. Or, it can just be the departure that it always was and will always be. Moody, dark and gritty are all good, but can that beat "Ace" the Bat-Hound? The dog who wears a mask to protect his identity (because of the distinctive white star shape on his forehead) and the matching Bat symbol dog tag hanging from his collar? No, it cannot. There is room for both in my world.

So now I think I will try and collect those old issues featuring Mr. Win Mortimer's work.

Is there room for a little bit of "Ace" in "Stargazing"? I cannot say at this moment, you'll have to wait.

And on a side note: Canada has advanced to the semifinal game after trouncing the Russian team. It's a very good development for our Olympic men's hockey team.

1 comment:

  1. I wasn't as big a fan of Batman or Superman, but my favorite comic book from the 60's was of a character called Clyde Crashcup. His misadventures inspired me to initially become a scientist. I also loved the old underground comics of the 70's, such as The fabulous Furry Freak Brothers and Zippy the Pinhead.
    Sadly, today's political correctness does not allow for these great old comics to be revived. Kinda like the old Cheech and Chong movies. You won't see their kind produced anymore.

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