You know what this story reminds me of? Those dopey movies they make for the SyFy Network. Not that dopey stories can’t be entertaining in their own way, but they are hard on the suspension of disbelief during a movie...even comic books. So it is with Airboy and the rats.
They introduce and kill off a “Dr. Eisner,” a “big scientist,” on page 3. Is this an inside joke, referring to Will Eisner? My guess is yes.
The script writer really went into “Aw, come on, man!” territory, and from me a big loud raspberry for the decision to blow up a major dam to get rid of the rats. Despite there being nothing even remotely believable in this epic, they should have seriously thought about bombing a dam as a solution.
From Airboy Comics Vol. 5 Number 12 (whole number 59, 1949). Cover by Dan Zolnerowich (“Zolne”, and the interior artwork by Ernest Schroeder.
Finally! Around 1975, as a 13 year old, Steranko's History of Comics exploded on the scene! Volume 2 focused on the non-Timely / DC characters like Cpt Marvel, Plastic Man, and Airboy!
ReplyDeleteIN his Chapter on Airboy he spoke about these Airboy vs. the Rats issues. I've been curious ever since (obviously it left an impact if I remember 45 years later)!
Now is my chance to read those stories! Maybe they are not very plausible, but Steranko thought enough about them to talk about them so I'm going to enjoy this!!! Finally!!! Thanks Pappy
Uh, what happened to his mouse friend, cheese???
ReplyDeleteSo, the rats, supposedly clever, set themselves up in a gorge down river of a dam? Really? And why wouldn't regular bombs have worked? Sure, there were billions -- in an enclosed space! The bombs would have worked!
Also, the biggest problem with this story is there was no hot evil woman who fell instantly for Airboy. Comic writers are letting us down, again!
Charlie, I have the Steranko History, but unlike your memory, my memory of it is full of holes, so I don't remember him specifically heaping praise on this story. What I remember is having a friend show the two issues to me in 1969 or so, and my initial impression was affirmed when I re-read them.
ReplyDeleteSteranko, born in 1938, would have been about 10-years-old when these were published, and as a kid they apparently impressed him a great deal.
Brian, someone should have done a story where all the evil women who loved Airboy over the years ganged up on him en masse.
ReplyDelete