Oral history of Captain Marvel

Zack Smith sez, "I've done an 'oral history' of Captain Marvel to coincide with Chip Kidd's new book SHAZAM!: THE GOLDEN AGE OF THE WORLD'S MIGTIEST MORTAL. It has all new interviews with Kidd, Mark Waid, Alex Ross, Roy Thomas, Jeff Smith, Mike Kunkel, Jerry Ordway, Elliot Maggin and Jackson Bostwick, TV's Captain Marvel. The extended series features all-new artwork from such creators as RETURN OF THE DAPPER MEN's Janet Lee and CONCRETE's Paul Chadwick, and doesn't shy away from such issues as the racist stereotypes in some of the early stories and DC's problems finding an audience for the property. Shazam!"

In February 1940, the book officially hit newsstands under the title Whiz Comics #2 , and its cover character officially renamed Captain Marvel. The cover, perhaps not coincidentally, mirrored Superman's first appearance on the cover of Action Comics #1 . Even less of a coincidence were the echoes of Captain Billy's book, both in the title and the name of its main character.

That initial story set up the legend comic fans know - orphan newsboy Billy Batson is summoned down a mysterious subway tunnel, past statues of the Seven Deadly Enemies of Man (Greed, Hate, Laziness, etc.) to meet the evil-battling wizard Shazam, who is about to die (he sticks around as a ghost). Asked to be the wizard's new champion, Billy accepts the challenge.

By uttering the wizard's name, Billy is able to summon the lightning that brings wisdom of Solomon, the strength of Hercules, the stamina of Atlas, the power of Zeus, the courage of Achilles and the speed of Mercury - The World's Mightiest Mortal, Captain Marvel!

An Oral History of CAPTAIN MARVEL: The Fawcett Years, pt. 1

 

• Trailer for Chip Kidd's new Shazam! book - Boing Boing
• William Goldman's Captain Marvel screenplay - Boing Boing

Oral history of Captain Marvel

Backlink: http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/zTxKUKRjAy0/oral-history-of-capt.html

Neo-Nazis go nuts over black Thor in Marvel movie

Various neo-Nazi nutjobs in the USA are up in arms at the news that Marvel Comics is doing a Thor movie in which some of the Norse gods are played by black actors. Apparently, the ethnic identity of fictional beings of imaginary sky-beings from antiquity is of real political moment for the sort of person who believes that humans can be subdivided into distinct "races."

Marvel is headed by radical left-wingers who insert their ideologies and agendas into their comic books and movies.

In February 2010, the TEA Party movement was viciously attacked in an issue of Captain America. Marvel editor-in-chief Joe Qesada publicly defended the issue.

Marvel creator and front man Stan "Lee" Lieber is a notorious left-winger and financier of left-wing political candidates.

"What is needed is a school campaign to get White kids to boycott everything that comes out of Marvel Studios," wrote a human being called Annis Isbell. Another fan of the boycott, James Hick wrote, "Need to try and get black sepratists in on this to. Let them know that marvel is trying to negate and down play their racial culture & heritage and saying by default blacks are cultureless unless they imbrace the white mans culture. That would sit a black back lash," which we suppose is an almost utopian sentiment for someone whose Facebook profile pic is the Confederate flag.

Racists Totally Freak Out Over Idris Elba Playing Norse God in 'Thor' (Thanks, John!)

Neo-Nazis go nuts over black Thor in Marvel movie

Backlink: http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/IqCBzfOCDMQ/neo-nazis-go-nuts-ov.html

Hand-powered table-saw is a high tech marvel

Gmoke sez, "Bridge City Tools makes a remarkable hand-powered, non-electric table saw. It is extremely versatile and precise. The video is real carpentry porn. Beautiful tool doing beautiful work."

Hand-powered table-saw is a high tech marvel

Backlink: http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/W1yGJF2Flq4/hand-powered-table-s.html