Rest in Power, Ramona Fradon

Ramona Fradon (October 2, 1926 – February 24, 2024), a comics artist for more than 70 years, has died at 97. She retired just last month. Fradon’s death was shared by Catskill Comics, a comic book art dealer, on Facebook.

She began her career in 1950, beginning to work for DC Comics early on. She’s best known as an artist on “Aquaman” and co-creator of the superhero Metamorpho, set to be played by “Barry” actor Anthony Carrigan in James Gunn’s forthcoming “Superman: Legacy” next year.

Catskill Comics posted, “It comes with great sadness to announced that Ramona Fradon has passed away a few moments ago. Ramona was 97 and had a long career in the comic book industry and was still drawing just a few days ago.”

“She was a remarkable person in so many ways. I will miss all the great conversations and laughs we had. I am blessed that I was able to work with her on a professional level, but also able to call her my friend. If anyone who wishes to send a card to the family, Please feel free to send them to Catskill Comics and I’ll be happy to pass them along.”

Fradon announced her retirement on Jan. 9 via Catskill Comics. A post on the art dealer’s site read, “After an extremely long run in the comic industry, at 97, Ramona has decided it’s time for her to retire. She will no longer be doing commissions. She apologizes to all the fans who have been waiting patiently on her wait list to get one. She did say though from time to time she’ll do a drawing or two to put up for sale on the website.”

“Ramona Fradon started her career in 1950. She has worked for DC Comics, drawing ‘Aquaman,’ for which she co-created the character Metamorpho. She has also worked other DC titles such as ‘Superman,’ ‘Batman’ and ‘Plastic Man’ along with comic strip Brenda Starr.”

Fradon was born on Oct. 2, 1926, in Chicago, Illinois, and grew up in New York City. She graduated from Parsons School of Design in 1950 and was hired by DC Comics in 1951. Fradon began working on “Aquaman” comics that year, and she also cocreated the characters Aqualad and Metamorpho. She paused her career in 1965 to raise her daughter, but returned to DC in 1972.

She took over as the lead artist on “Brenda Starr, Reporter” in 1980 and continued to work on the series until 1995. From there, Fradon began working on art commissioned through Catskill Comics.

Sean Taylor Destroys the Teen Titans -- Booster's Titans!

Occasionally on my Facebook page I post these sarcastic little #seantaylordestroys posts outlining what I'd do to a few core pulp and comics universes and how smart the DC and Marvel are not to give me the keys to their toys. Here's one I was really proud of. 

=================================

Art by Iantoy

In the ongoing saga to prove how unfit I am for writing for the "Big Two," I present The New Titans Multiversal Jaunt I call "Booster's Titans!" 

On a dark little planet in the dirtiest depths of the DC multiverse, a college brainiac named Michaela Cortez traverses the multiverse on a fantastic joyride -- until the day she returns to find it under the iron fist of her world's version of the grown-up Teen Titans. Thanks to a "Tower of Babel" style contingency plan, the Titans are undefeatable by any of that world's known heroes. 

So Michaela adopts the name Booster Gold and ventures back out into the multiversal timeline to track down heroes who are familiar with the strengths and weaknesses of her world's core Titans (Dick, Kori, Garth, Roy, Donna, Vic, Wally, Rachel, Kon'el, and Gar) but whom his world's Titans know nothing about (since they didn't exist on her world). 

Michaela finally tracks down eight young heroes with ties to the Titans she is convinced are the heroes she needs. But she must not only convince them of the truth of her mission but also earn their trust and prove herself an ally as she gathers her own "Magnificent Eight" to save his world. 

Booster's Titans include:

• Argent from post-Zero Hour core earth
• Skitter and Power Girl (teen) from N52
• Doomsday Jr. (alternate earth version of Doomed)
• Flamebird by alternate Steampunk earth
• Darkwing (alternative Redwing) from apocalyptic version of earth where all beings are part beast
• Half-Life from an earth where the Ravers were the core version of the Titans
• Warlock's Daughter from an Inquisition-styled earth where magic users are hunted down and imprisoned or killed

But don’t forget about Michaela’s roommate Teddy Cordova, who becomes a brand new hero called the Blue Beetle, after she picks up from Michaela’s tinkering with some weird alien tech she picked up on her joyride through the multiverse before getting serious.

Cosplay by Marlene Does.

But will they be enough to take on a legacy team that defeated their entire world? I guess we'll never know. Hehehe. Ain't I a stinker!

Jim Beard: Why Can’t It Just Happen by Osmosis or Something?

Jim Beard pounds out adventure fiction with classic pulp style and flair. A native Toledoan, he was introduced to comic books at an early age by his father, who passed on to him a love for the medium and the pulp characters who preceded it. After decades of reading, collecting and dissecting comics, Jim became a published writer when he sold a story to DC Comics in 2002. Since that time he's written official Spider-Man, X-Files, and Planet of the Apes prose fiction, Star Wars and Ghostbusters comic stories, and contributed articles and essays to several volumes of comic book history. Jim is also the co-publisher at Flinch Books, a small-press pulp house.

Tell us a bit about your latest work.

My friend John Bruening and I just published our tenth book through our Flinch House imprint. It’s called OCCUPIED PULP and features six tales set in post-war Europe and Japan during the Allied occupation. We’re so proud of it it’s not funny.

What happened in your life that prompted you to become a writer?

I wanted to be an artist, even went to school for it, but I found out I didn’t have the drive to make it work. I’d always loved creative writing since I was a small kid, and when I realized there was this community of people reviving and refreshing the classic style of pulp fiction, I jumped in, found I could do it, and have never looked back. So, failure at one thing can sometimes open up doors somewhere else.

What inspires you to write?

Very little! But seriously, just about everything. I get ideas from everywhere, from just about anything I can be doing. I’ve been blessed with never running dry of ideas—I got a million of ‘em!—but the hard part for me is the actual writing. True story. It’s like pulling teeth. I’d almost rather be the idea guy and hand concepts off to others to do all the dirty work.

What are the themes and subjects you tend to revisit in your work?

An odd one is hubris. It showed up in a lot of my earlier writing and stories. I don’t know why. I’m also very fond of the idea of a team of characters and the dynamics between each member. That harkens back to my love of comic books and groups like the Fantastic Four, the Justice League, and the Avengers. I’ve found I’m always coming up with teams. Even when it’s a supposed solo character, I tend to want to surround them with partners or similar.

What would be your dream project?

Very easy: An original prose novel based on the 1966 BATMAN TV series. Sadly, no one will let me do it.

What writers have influenced your style and technique?

Lester Dent, of course, and in some ways Norvell Page. One of my most favorite writers is Ray Bradbury, but I’m kind of the anti-Ray Bradbury in my own writing, just about the complete opposite of him. He was a poet. I’m a hack-and-slasher.

If you have any former project to do over to make it better, which one would it be, and what would you do?

My Spider-Man novel, definitely. The highest-profile thing I’ve ever done, and the one I’m almost too embarrassed to even acknowledge. It was ****ed up even as it was being written, and so edited in committee that I can only look back on it in frustration. For one thing, what was published was an uncorrected proof, so there are a boatload of typos. Beyond that, there are whole sections that were excised and I would like to restore.

Where would you rank writing on the "Is it an art or it is a science continuum?" Why?

Hate to come down in the middle, but it’s both. Or it can be both. There’s a kind of science involved with the rules of the language and all, but there’s also an art to how you can take those building blocks and string them together and create worlds. Kind of cool.

What is the most difficult part of your artistic process?

Writing! I mean it—just sitting down and banging out words and paragraphs and pages each and every day makes me want to run for the hills. Like I said before; I got the ideas, it’s making something out of them in book-form that nearly kills me each and every time. Why can’t it just happen by osmosis or something?

How do your writer friends help you become a better writer? Or do they not?

No, those ****ers are my demons! I hate them! They make me so jealous because they’re so cool and, well, I’m me! Otherwise, they often inspire me…when they’re not kicking my ass with the fifty-million books they put out every year.

What does literary success look like to you?

Golly. Sales? Hate to sound so capitalistic—well, no I don’t, but you dig it, I’m sure. Sales are nice, but when all is said and done, I could get by with the knowledge that someone, somewhere has read my stuff. They don’t even have to necessarily enjoy it, but it’d be nice to know I’m not writing and publishing in a vacuum. Success would mean one or two people recognizing my name. Isn’t that sort of pathetic?

Any other upcoming projects you would like to plug?

Yeah, I have my very first epic fantasy novel coming out this summer, and I’m working on the second of my D.C. Jones books, which are pastiches of the 1970s GI Joe Adventure Team toys. Pretty excited about both of those.

For more information, visit:

• www.facebook.com/thebeardjimbeard
• www.amazon.com/author/jimbeard 
• @writerjimbeard on Twitter

[Link] The “Superhero” Trademark: how the name of a genre came to be owned by DC and Marvel, and how they enforce it

by DG Stewart

Our publication has a category devoted to “superheroes”. It is a genre to which we have paid disproportionate attention, primarily because it is in English (the language of most of our contributors) and because of the sheer volume of superhero-genre material generated primarily by American publishers.

But what does the word “superhero” actually denote? The words “super hero” was first used in 1917, when it was used to describe a “public figure of great accomplishments”

In so far as use of the word “superhero” in the course of commerce is concerned, however, there is a severe limitation. The word “superhero” is jointly owned in many parts of the world by two US publishers, DC Comics and Marvel Characters Inc, an affiliate of Marvel Comics. The road to joint ownership of the word “SUPERHERO” in the United States is well-explained in this link.

But perhaps a more concise explanation comes from both DC Comics and Marvel themselves. The following paragraphs come from a United States trade mark notice of opposition filed by DC Comics and Marvel in May 2015:

Read the full article: http://www.worldcomicbookreview.com/index.php/2017/06/01/superhero-trademark-name-genre-came-owned-dc-marvel-enforce/

The Best Graphic Novels Ever #1 -- Camelot 3000

1. Camelot 3000
by Mike Barr and Brian Bolland
Published by DC Comics

Here we are, folks. My pick for the #1 graphic novel story of all time. After months of crawling through this list we have finally arrived, and this one is a doozy.

Camelot 3000 is not only the first maxi-series published by DC (and one of the first Direct projects), but it's also the story that re-taught comic book writers how to tell a complete, long-form, limited series with a beginning, middle, and and end. It gives readers all the joys of an ongoing comic with cliffhanger ending between issues and yet a solid, cohesive tale that wraps up the plots AND subplots.

It also renewed interest among comic book readers in the Arthurian legends, but that's neither here nor there.

This book pushed the limits for the time it was published in its content with gender issues, homosexual relationships, real-life drama, and a smattering of hotbed political issues from election to monarchy to using violence to achieve political ends.

If Camelot 3000 isn't a perfect comic book, then I don't of any book that's closer to it.

And that's it, folks. See you soon for our next countdown list here on the blog. Feel free to email me with any suggestions.

The Best Graphic Novels Ever #6 -- Watchmen

6. Watchmen
by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
Published by DC Comics

You knew this one was coming. And here it is. But NOT in the top five, and you may or may not find that surprising.

This is the one that deconstructed the new mythology and melted the feet of clay wearing the tights. This is the one that's taught in colleges across the country, and used by geeks the world over as Exhibit A in the case entitled "Comics Books Can Be Meaningful."

You're probably wondering (a) if I should turn in my geek ID card for placing Watchmen here on the list and/or (b) what could possibly be better than such a penultimate volume.

My only beef with Watchmen is the same one I level against Dark Knight Returns -- it's easy to deconstruct something by reshaping it and doing it from a position outside. It's much, much more difficult to tell a strong story within the confines of the genre and/or medium while addressing both those inside it and outside it. And I reserve my top five spots for stories I believe did just that. Stay tuned.

On a side note, I think I'm one of the few (the proud) who feel the ending of the movie was superior to the ending of the book. But that's a flame war for another day.

The Best Graphic Novels Ever #7 -- Sandman: A Doll's House

7. Sandman: A Doll's House
by Neil Gaiman and various artists
Published by Vertigo Comics

Ah. I've been waiting to get to this one. This is the quintessential Neil Gaiman volume for me. Coming of age tale, a girl on the run, serial killers, misnomers, dry and dark wit, humorous violence, serious violence, all wrapped up in the mystery-enigma two-sided paper from the nice wrapping paper store, not the cheap stuff you'd find at the local dollar store.

This is Gaiman hitting on all the cylinders he really nails perfectly. It's the literary equivalent of a Gypsy Rose Lee dance number -- mesmerizing, embarrassing, titillating, vulgar, and undeniably compelling. 

A Doll's House is Gaiman at his best, at his most at ease with himself as a storyteller.

To say more would be to spoil it, so I'll add just this: So many of the favorite Sandman characters to come appear in this volume, so it should not be missed -- yet it stands by itself beautifully even if you've never read any other Sandman volume.

Not to be missed.

The Best Graphic Novels Ever #8 -- The Dark Knight Returns

8. The Dark Knight Returns
by Frank Miller
Published by DC Comics

I bet you really expected to see this one even closer to the coveted number one spot, didn't you? Well, I don't blame you. This book certainly changed the face of comics for the foreseeable future. Grim and gritty became the fashion. Anti-hero became the norm. Noble and heroic became willing to get your hands bloody and dirty to get the right thing done, no matter how wrong you have to be to make that happen.

And it put a certain Frank Miller so firmly on the map that not even his current (let's just call them) shortcoming of innate humanity can blemish that bit of the historical record in comics-dom.

I think for me this one would be higher up on this list if it just didn't feel so dated now. The dark and gritty Batman has been the norm for so long that Returns just doesn't pack the same punch anymore. Sadly, instead of becoming the timeless story it should have been, it became the generic model for Batman ever since its publication.

The Best Graphic Novels Ever #23 -- Batman: The Killing Joke

23. Batman: The Killing Joke
by Alan Moore and Brian Bolland
Published by DC Comics

Say what you want about Death in the Family, but I'm firmly convinced The Killing Joke is the quintessential Joker story. Little else in the litany of Joker tales does as much to capture the sheer mania and psychosis of this classic (and perhaps greatest) Batman villian.

Why is this book important to comic book history? Let's see...

Joker shooting and paralyzing Batgirl Barbara Gordon? Check. The redefining of the Joker origin? Check. One heck of a story by Moore and Bolland? Check.

The Best Graphic Novels Ever #26 -- Legion of Super-Heroes: The Great Darkness Saga

26. Legion of Super-Heroes: The Greak Darkness Saga
by Paul Levitz and Keith Giffen
Published by DC Comics

This is it -- the single greatest Legion of Super-Heroes story ever. And while it is part of an ongoing series, it was and remains a strong, stand-alone graphic novel.

Darkseid (before he was so overdone in the DC books), and the slightly older LSHers, this one was a different take on the idea of young heroes. Replacing the great hopefulness of the previous books with a "Great Darkness," this is one of the more underrated books that helped usher in the dark and gritty comics movement.

Only, rather than just being gritty for the sake of being gritty, The Great Darkness Saga never loses sight of the fantastic story at its core.

For the "rules" I'm using for graphic novel, check the original post.

[Link] DC Comics Keeps The Rights To Superman

Yes, this image of Superman is in the public
domain. From http://commons.wikimedia.org/

DC Comics will retain its rights to Superman after a judge ruled Wednesday that the heirs of one of the superhero’s co-creators signed away their ability to reclaim copyrights to the Man of Steel roughly 20 years ago.

The ruling means that DC Comics and its owner Warner Bros. will retain all rights to continue using the character in books, films, television and other mediums, including a the film reboot planned for next year.

DC Comics sued the heirs of artist Joe Shuster in 2010, seeking a ruling that they lost their ability to try to reclaim the superhero’s copyrights in 1992. U.S. District Court Judge Otis Wright II agreed, stating that Shuster’s sister and brother relinquished any chance to reclaim Superman copyrights in exchange for annual pension payments from DC Comics.

Continue reading: http://comics-x-aminer.com/2012/10/18/dc-comics-keeps-the-rights-to-superman/

Yes, this image of Superman is in the public
domain. From http://commons.wikimedia.org/

The Writer Will Take Your Questions Now (#215) -- DC Reboot

Last Friday you posted your reboot of the Marvel universe. What about 

the DC reboot? What would your version of that have looked like?

Personally, I would have loved to see the New 52 as a way of breaking from the silver age just as it broke from the golden age, and keep the names and replace the heroes completely (keeping some of the already third or fourth generation ones already established, such as Wally and Kyle and the new Blue Beetle).

In light of that, I was thinking that (and this would be radical indeed and either win me publisher of the year or get me run out of town on a rail) the New 52 should have included:

Superman - with Superman permanently off-planet and his costume and role being usurped by Shazam or Apollo

Batman - the son of Kirk Langston, more Manbat than Batman, but with all his intellect intact, under the watchcare and training of Nightwing, Dick Grayson, against the Ghul Organization run by Damion Wayne

Wonder Woman - Donna Troy, the cosmic defender of the universe, so gifted by the Titans of Greek Mythology

Green Lantern - Kyle and Bleez, leading a new Corp of all colors, and with the Guardians at his beck and call, kept in a jar like Candor
 

Flash - Wally, just doing his thing

The Metal Men - A group of androids from the Victorian era are resurrected by the souls of dead heroes of the silver age (Hal Jordon, Barry Allen, Kara, Ollie, and Tora)

Challengers of Doom - when an accident erases both the Challengers and the Doom Patrol from existence, their significant others and spouses and kids band together to track them down, come hell or high water

Primal Force - Jack O'Lantern, Mind Bender, Letifos, Damage, Wylde, and Katana explore the dark edges of the DC universe

Birds of Prey - Hawk, Dove, Hawkgirl, and Red Robin on the chase for the assassin known only as Hawkman
 
The Books of Magic - featuring Deadman (a suicidal teen who kills himself to temporarily become ghostlike), Kid Faust (the preteen granddaughter of Felix Faust), Ragman, Zatana, and The Enchantress (June Moon's daughter) on a quest to destroy all magic in the DCU in order to save the future of the world from Trigon and his army of demons

Red Robin and the Outsiders - Red Hood, Red Robin, Nightwing, Azrael, Batwing, The Spoiler, The Huntress (Cassie Cain) and the new Batman harness the power of the Wayne Foundation to fight super-powered terrorism on a global scale.

The Justice Society - featuring Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Flash, Wonder Woman, Blue Beetle and the Tangent Universe Joker

The Joker - featuring the Tangent Universe Joker and her best friend and confidante Ms. Martian

Swamp Thing and the Guardians of the Green - Featuring Swamp Thing, Aminal Man's daughter, Poison Ivy, Solomon Grundy, and (what?) Alec Holland

Infinity Inc. - Damage, and all new Doll Girl, Wyldeheart, Amazon (Cassie Sandsmark), Superboy, Impulse, the new Obsidian, Chameleon Boy, and Knockout take on the challenges the Justice Society is too busy to be bothered with

Green Arrow - Arrowette is all grown up and taking care of the streets of Star City with a vengeance.

Supergirls - Power Woman oversees the training of a team of four recently rescued teenaged alien females who each have one of the Kryptonian powers thanks to implanted fragments of the planet Krypton put into them while being experimented upon by their Dominator captors

Chameleon Boy - Trapped in the present from the future, a Durlan teenager tries to fit in among humans.

Plastic Man - Undying, this former joke is now an elder statesmen among the new batch of heroes.

Blackhawks - Genius pilots build space-age jets that look like bi-planes and use them to become heroes in a world where they're seen as interlopers by the real police.

Action Comics featuring Hourgirl and Wildcat - A young model finds a necklace that grants her 1 hour of superpowers and ends up in a love-hate relationship with a burglar named Wildcat, who is one hell of a scrapper with an actual nine lives. Can she reform her, or will she have to take her to prison?

A Man Called Hex - Old west tales featuring Johan Hex and other DC old west characters.

Detective Comics - Renee Montoya (the Question) and Harvey Bulloch work with a varying cast of costumed heroes to teach them the ins and outs of detective work and make them more effective crimefighters.

DC Presents - for stories to introduce other characters

The Suicide Seven - A brand new Red Bee, Shining Knight, Vigilante, Captain Boomerang, H.E.R.O., Phantom Lady (Tinya Wazzo, transplanted from the future), and Countessa Vertigo are a team of Marines trusted with the missions that normal soldiers might never survive.

Legion of Super Heroes - Jump 1000 years into the future where the Time Trapper has been defeated along with most of the universe, and in an effort to reform searches the cosmos for any young people with great power he can form into an army to replace the hive mind that is ruling most of sentient space.

Amethyst - a full reboot on the princess of Gemworld, taking it back to the original idea

Shade and Jack - An elderly Jack Knight is rescued from a heart attack by Shade and given the opportunity to be a younger man again -- as long as he uses the staff (without it, he risks aging again and dying again).

Lanterns Inc. - a book of tales featuring various members of the The Lantern Corp.

The Thunder of Shazam! - Re-introducing Thunder into the modern timeline as the new heir to the power of Shazam while Billy is playing Superman.

Catwoman - The daughter of Catman is an assassin who specializes in capes.

Deathstroke and the Titans - Rose Wilson trains a new generation of teen heroes.

Resurrection Man - featuring Deadman (see The Books of Magic)

Adventure Comics featuring Beast Boy - An eight year old foster child can command the entire animal kingdom. Can he learn to be a hero to a world that doesn't want him?

Agents of C.Y.B.E.R. - featuring new versions of Voodoo, Spartan, Zealot, Void, and Grifter as secret agents infiltrating the world of the super-powered teams.

Aquaman - A cop discovers he has the power to manipulate water and make it do his bidding. He adopts a costume as Aquaman to clean up the streets in ways he never could during the day job.

Kobra - A young woman is sacrificed to an ancient snake goddess but is reborn as the living embodiment of the goddess with all her powers.

Blue Beetle - keep the same as now

There you have it. My plan for either killing or re-inventing the DCU.

The Writer Will Take Your Questions Now (#179) -- Watchmen Prequels

What are you thoughts on the Watchman prequels coming from DC and the whole Alan Moore thing?

Lots of work to do today, but I have to get something off my chest first regarding the Watchman prequels. To all the folks who must constantly jump into any post about it and become rude, please back off and stop making it a personal crusade against the talented creators who are choosing to work on the books. They are workers who have bills to pay and need to keep food on their tables the same way you do.

If you do still feel that way, then I equally ask that you be consistent and quit your day job for the company that screws over the little people on the front lines every day in order increase their own bottom line. I ask that you stop purchasing your phones and tablets from companies that take advantage of propriety technology they (in essence) stole from the true workers who created it.

If you still feel that way, I ask that you stop buying any books, even mine, from your LCS that chooses to stock the books. Be consistent. Even if it means you will no longer have an LCS to go to because it's the only one in your area. Stop buying books from Amazon, because you know they're going to carry them. Same goes for B&N and your local indie book store. And you'd better put back the mayo and paper plates at Wal-Mart, because they're no better.

If you truly want to support Alan Moore, hats off to you. That's great. That's noble. Don't buy the books, but stop being jackasses about it. Nobody likes the vegetarian who makes moo noises while people eat their veal either.

Will I read the books? Yes. I work as a retailer. It's my job. Will I recommend them? Yes, to readers I think will enjoy them. Will I still believe that Alan Moore got screwed over by a legal glitch in the contracts? Yes. Do I believe he's the only one or the last one to ever be in that predicament? Not a chance.

As a writer, would I have taken the gig to write one of them if it had been offered? Yes. Because I too need to keep food on my table, and it would be an opportunity to tell a fun story with characters I enjoy. That's my job.

The bottom line: Be active in fighting bad corporate behavior. But be consistent in the fight. And even while you're doing that, never, ever, ever be a jackass. Nobody like a jackass.