Tag Archives: Review

Mask of the Crime Czar – Update

by VJ Miller, Sr.

Some Backstory:

Back in the 1980’s I came up with what I thought was a good Idea for a novel. A man with extraordinary powers that would fight crime in the city of Philadelphia. I chose Philly because I lived a half-hour away over the Ben Franklyn Bridge in New Jersey.

I had vivid memories of the city and what it was like at the time. So, it was quite easy to use it as a backdrop. There were no superheroes working out of Philly, thus I thought it would be unique in some way.

I typed it by hand on an old Remington typewriter for the first draft, then for some reason which escapes me now, I laid it aside to languish.  Continue reading Mask of the Crime Czar – Update

The Jack Kirby Omnibus Sampler #1

review by VJ Miller, Sr.

A Little Personal History

I know this comic book of Jack Kirby illustrations is a publication of DC but I want to take you back to 1959 when I first saw a comic book with Jack Kirby art. It was a collaboration of Joe Simon writing and Jack’s renderings. The First issue of The Fly by Red Circle Comics got to my 11 year old curiosity.

I had been reading Superman and Batman comics since I was five, penciled by Wayne Boring and Dick Sprang, respectively. Jack Kirby’s rendering had something much different with the bold lines and the action scenes with larger than life characters. there was a darkness to the style that impressed my young mind. One should realize that credits were not given to who worked on any issue; I never found that out until years later. But I soon learned that I could recognize my fav artists in whatever book they were rendering even when the inkers were not always the same person.

To my disadvantage, I had never heard of Captain America that was also drawn by Jack. My only excuse was that after WW2 CA disappeared for several years. Comics back then were only a dime but I hadn’t enough dimes to keep up with all the other issues that caught my eye. Continue reading The Jack Kirby Omnibus Sampler #1