 If you love listening to radio adventures of The Shadow, The Green Hornet, The Avenger and other pulp heroes of the 40’s, you will love this graphic novel! I’d heard plenty of buzz (no pun intended) about this mini-series when it was published in single-issue form last year. And I was already a fan of the writer’s pulpy noir illustration style having enjoyed his work in “Batman: The Black Mirror” (2011) and in the current on-going monthly “Afterlife with Archie” (Side note: Great title; Archie meets zombies!). And as someone who loves radio dramas myself, I was eager to pick up the collected hardcover edition. I’m happy to report it lived up to all expectations. 
Taking place in 1940’s Colt City (Get it, Spirit fans?), the pacing is brisk, the cliffhangers cliffhanger-y, and the mystery story suitably murk, filled with murder, gangsters and a masked crime-fighter. And that crime-fighter, The Black Beetle? An original creation by Francavilla who synthesizes the cape, mask, and mystery elements of pulp radio heroes into a familiar yet new and freshly entertaining character. Of course, “No Way Out” does one-up the radio dramas a step by providing visuals to tell the story. All together, it’s a perfect package to relive “…those thrilling days of yesteryear!”
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 Today is Wednesday, and for me that means it’s the day of the week I get to swing by my local comic shop and pick up the week’s new releases. I’m a regular at The Comic Cult in Torrance, and they have a “pull list” from me. So every week that I come in, my books are already pulled and set aside for me. However, today there was a second store I needed to visit to complete my week's comic book run. That store was The Comic Bug in Manhattan Beach. Why? Because signing copies of “The Fifth Beatle” graphic novel there was the book’s artist Andrew C. Robinson. “The Fifth Beatle: The Brian Epstein Story” was released late last year. It’s a biography on Brian Epstein, the young Beatles manager responsible for guiding them from being a little-known local bar band from Liverpool to the international superstars he saw them as. I didn’t rush out to get it but it was always on my radar to pick up eventually. And holding off seems to have worked out fine because I picked it up today autographed by Mr. Robinson who also included an impressive quick little Beatle sketch to boot.  A picture of my autographed book “If anyone was the Fifth Beatle, it was Brian.” I didn’t intend to read and then finish this book today. But when I got home I started reading it and just got caught up in the unfolding story. From the book’s promotional press, Brian “…was homosexual when it was a felony to be so in the United Kingdom...”, and that part of his life is attacked, literally, at the very start of the book. Continuing from there we’re shown that Brian had an upbeat personality who, upon seeing The Beatles his first time performing at a club called the Cavern Club, completely visualized the success and international reach of the band’s potential and immediately made it his mission to personally lead them to that goal.  I have to admit, that part seemed a bit rushed and unbelievable. But it does get the story quickly on its way to some fun and interesting bits: Brian’s first meeting with John, George, Paul and Ringo as their manager; initiating their iconic look while “the boys” provide joking commentary; the failed meetings and feedback from all the record labels; until finally the meeting with Ed Sullivan to book them on his show. The full story is told in three parts, with the first focusing on the birth of the Beatles on to their successful introduction to America and the world. Once that’s done, the rest of the story begins to weave Brian’s personal highs and lows in the short few years of his life that follow. As is natural for a Beatles story, there’s a fair amount of surreal storytelling going on, both graphically and in prose, at just the right events, and Beatles lyrics are used occasionally to flavor other scenes further. The dialogue is terrific, grounded with British terms, phrasing and spelling, and especially when young John, Paul, George and Ringo enter, who are characterized as witty, spirited, light-hearted poets when commenting on all the rules and changes Brian orders them to make on their way to stardom.  I knew going in, having read some of the promotional press beforehand, that Brian’s was a tragic story, and it is, with emphasis on the loneliness he suffered as a British gay man during the 60’s. The band and others knew he was gay but it never appeared to be an issue. It was just an issue for him and a burden he carried while also succeeding to bring The Beatles through every subsequent big new event in their career until his death in the late 60's at the age of 32. I wasn’t familiar at all with Andrew Robinson’s artwork coming into this. It’s very stylized. If you’re familiar with Bob Peak’s work, it’s similarly loose and whimsically flavored while featuring spot on likenesses of recognizable figures like The Beatles, President Kennedy, Colonel Tom Parker and Ed Sullivan. That's a big plus!! A short section of the book was illustrated by Kyle Baker; his work I’m more familiar with. His style is much looser and in this case, very cartoony, stylishly relating Brian and the band’s surreal experience touring in the Philippines. In the afterward, the book’s author Vivek J. Twarty directly addresses any nitpickers of the facts in his story, saying the film version of his book (which he’s working on) might feature a disclaimer reading “…incidents, characters, and timelines have been changed for dramatic purposes.” He claims everything in the book “did happen” but he also makes clear he wanted to convey “…the essence of a man.” He, with Robinson and Baker’s help, succeeded. Not only that, there’s a lot of spirit, warmth, humanity, and, when the Beatles are around, whimsy in “The Fifth Beatle”. I found it a captivating and insightful read supported by beautiful, emotional artwork.  Besides the standard hardcover, Nook and Kindle editions of "The Fifth Beatle" are two deluxe editions. This collector's edition of this groundbreaking graphic novel features a textured cover and a section of bonus materials including unique Beatles and Brian Epstein memorabilia, artist sketches, and alternate covers. This limited edition of this groundbreaking graphic novel features a signed tip-in sheet by creators Vivek J. Tiwary, Andrew C. Robinson, and Kyle Baker, along with a bonus section including unique Beatles and Brian Epstein memorabilia and behind-the-scenes sketches, a unique, textured cover, and a special slipcase. Limited to 1500 signed and numbered copies. I picked up the Collector's Edition. Robinson gets an additional twenty pages in the book to share his sketches, layouts, and poster comp art, providing commentary and background notes on every page. Loved it all! The final four pages offer photos of Brian Epstein mementos, a few personal effects shared by his friends or Beatles collectors with explanations of each from Tiwary. Of the pieces, my favorite is a water-stained poster advertising the pre-Ringo Beatles performing at the Cavern Club that features black and white portrait photos of each of the young band members who are yet to sport their classic hairdos.
Not mentioned in the description above is that the book also includes a red ribbon bookmark. It plus the textured cover are classy added touches.  Wow, what a thoughtful, well-written and well-conceived Superman story. I wasn’t as enamored with Volume One. But this follow-up is thoroughly more satisfying. DC Comics’ “Earth One” graphic novel series re-tells the origins of their superheroes as if they were conceived by writers today, as opposed to some 75 years ago, and if characters lived in today's world. Great liberties are allowed to be taken, with writers and artists picking and choosing what elements from what’s been written before to keep, what to be inspired by and what to completely revise. The hope is that the tone and material will be more accessible, relatable and appealing to new readers wanting something less fanciful or, essentially, less comic book-y, yet still present the same spirit of what made each hero so popular and lasting to begin with.  Three books have been published in the series so far, one for Batman (with a broad-shouldered, combat-hardened Alfred who walks with a cane as the reluctant assistant and mentor to Bruce) and now two for Superman, whose lead shares much more in spirit to the alien orphan played by Henry Cavill than the all-American charmer fighting for truth and justice presented by Christopher Reeve or George Reeves. Until now my favorite was Batman Earth One, but this second Superman book is also a surprise winner. A direct sequel to Volume One, Volume Two explores some very common sense ideas about a super-powered boy concealing his abilities his entire childhood and how it affects the way he thinks as he grows into a young man now burdening himself with the responsibility to help those in need while still maintaining an alternate identity among mankind.  Volume One It also includes the best quote ever to come from Pa Kent to his teenage son: “All I’m saying, son, is – man of steel – woman of tissue paper.” That tells you one topic that’s covered! There are a few PG-13 topics in this story, which chooses to skew the story more into a character study about Clark than an action-adventure tale about a caped hero. This story spends more time showing a Clark Kent awkwardly pursuing a hidden, normal life behind his horn-rimmed glasses than the destructive nature of his alter ego which is a big question mark to the world at large, particularly how concerned should they be about this person that governments cannot control. There’s also a really sweet flashback to Clark’s first pet, a cat named Fuzzball. Lois Lane is here, as are Perry and Jimmy. But she’s not the one in a relationship with Clark shown in decades of Superman stories. Instead, a sexy red-haired neighbor goes after our naïve lead character and what develops is both funny and meaningful. Instead, Lois can’t get over Kent scooping the entire world by getting The First Interview with Superman. So being a naturally competitive reporter, she’s out to find dirt on this new guy from Smallville. It’s a plausible, adversarial reaction for someone like a Lois. And the villain, the Parasite, is introduced in a well-developed, fairly grounded storyline whose addictive search for physical strength also feeds organically to the subplot about the world’s and its government’s fears about Superman and how they wish they could control him. 
So it’s less about titans fighting each other, skyscrapers demolished in their wake (which does happen here). Instead, it takes its time crafting real characters in plausible situations, especially Clark’s. And it slowly drew me in so by the end, I was genuinely surprised and satisfied by the conclusions reached in the handful of subplots told. I'm not a Superman fan either, I'm a Batman fan. But I really enjoyed this book. 
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A fan of Star Trek, Star Wars, Harry Potter, Batman, comic books, Blu-rays, Disney, soundtracks, taking pictures, theatre and...Barry Manilow! Archives
March 2019
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