Gene Barry Books

One of the funniest books I've read, even for a bit of a hypochondriac like myself. FULL of the most fear-inducing information that one shouldn't take on board- like the chapter on ordinary body quirks that could meant the most catastrophic of illnesses. Particularly amusing (for me) was the chapter where the author interviews a Proctologist. Hilarious, with insane little footnotes, and illustrations. Be prepared for a rather sobering finale. Great book.

Despite the macabre subject matter, this is a hilarious book. I laughed out loud many, many times. And while it may, indeed, feed a true hypochondriac's neurosis, it can also show just how obnoxiously far you can take it. I will admit that even I (not so much a hypochondriac) took a few of the `tests' presented in the book. I evidently have about a half-dozen serious medical conditions...

If you like Dave Barry, you'll like this book.

Warning... this is not for the paranoid, for those that read every bad bio-terrorisim book out there then wonder if they've contracted Ebola, or for those who call emergency when they've stubbed their toe thinking it's fleah eating cancer....
Great book full of witty looks at all the medical disasters that can kill ya...
It is well written, funny, well organised and lends itself to reading to friends and relatives who enjoy combining a lack of medical background with pure paranoia. Keep a copy around for flu season...

Several laugh out loud moments. Weingarten's newspaper column is funnier than this book. I love the column. The book isn't bad.

If you truly want to sample Weingarten at his best read his column.

Gene Weingarten used to be Dave Barry's editor at The Miami Herald. Enough said.

Colan soap opera slugfest.


The attraction in picking this up is of course Gene Colan's work, which, while shadowy, is certainly a lot more realistic of figure than that produced today.

The storyline for a lot of this is quite long, which your shadowy master villain or villains, sending a stream of low-rent villains DD's way.

Lots of fighting for him.

Plenty of on panel angst about which woman he really loves, and vice versa, from Karen Page to the Black Widow - who features in many of these issues.

No contest, if you ask me - the Widow saves him more than once in this book alone.


3.5 out of 5

This book covers intricate details on how to hunt whitetails from treestand in the most effective manner. Subjects include scouting for the best tree, hunting the wind, setting up over trails, etc. My only small complaint is there could be better illustrations. Otherwise a fantastic book.

A collection of several issues of the Wolverine comic from its earlier days. The first one of which includes artwork by the fabulous Gene Colan as Wolverine tries to save a kid from the Snow Queen, an assassin with disorientation powers.

While the others don't live up to that, as his Patch disguise in Madripoor is the story we are takalking about here, there are guest appearances from both Shan Coy Manh and Jessica Drew, sans the red spandex.

So, not too bad.


3.5 out of 5

I've purchased several TV shows via my Tivo and Unbox. Never had any problems. Every episode was promptly downloaded to my Tivo.

I naturally assumed that the episodes of TOS would be the remastered ones. I was very disappointed that Amazon was NOT offering them. I only found that out AFTER buying the episode and starting to watch it. Guess I should have come here first.

I'm very disappointed in you Amazon.

Ok, TOS will always seem techonoligically unsophisticated by today's standards. This remastered version will not fix that. Just as TNG will eventually seem less sophisticated as time goes on. But, we should remember that TOS never had the budget and technology that TNG did and this remastered version brings the Original Series up to speed in that matter. The Enterprise looks awesome and the attention to detail is amazing. No, I don't think these "remastered" versions will do much to improve silliness of episodes like "Spocks Brain." However, Star Trek TOS had so many interesting and intellectual episodes especially in this first season. The only thing, in my opinion that sometimes took away fromt these great episodes had to do with poor special effects. The Enterprise flying sideways, or bouncing around the screen like it was attatched to a wire (because it probably was!). This remastered version brings the brilliant special effects that were so acclaimed in TNG and gives that benefit to TOS. In this way, the special effects add to the story, instead of taking away from it. And NOTHING is lost. They haven't messed with, or taken away from these original episodes. They have only enhanced them. Hats off to the team who worked on this remastered version! If you loved Star Trek, you'll love Star Trek Remastered!

It is incredible that this second pilot, "Where No Man Has Gone Before", was the "dumbed down" version of the original Star Trek concept demanded by the network. Although not quite as deep and layered as "The Cage", this tele-novella far exceeds even the high standards of the best of the series' subsequent product. Stellar performances from Sally Kellerman, Gary Lockwood and William Shatner, with Leonard Nimoy very good but still feeling out his role; almost equivalent to the magnificent cameos of Agnes Moorhead, Carol Burnett and Joan Crawford in the Twilight Zone, Outer Limits and Night Gallery, respectively. Also pristine production values with the original pilot sets, livery and saturated colors before network money was poured in for the original series renovation. Very worthwhile for anyone interested in the series itself, classic early color television production, and American popular science fiction in its post-war/early civil rights prime.

One doesn't usually get to see Kirk and Spock in this kind of spy scenario. I definately recommend this episode for download.

I tried downloading this when the service started by using
the free tokens. It never downloaded, and with several
emails with tech reps who could not resolve the issue
I was "blown off" because I did not spend "real money" on
the download. ("Oh it didn't really cost you anything. . .")

I will never try this service again! (and it has been since then
to show my resolve)

If you've read any of my other reviews of Marvel Essential books on this site, you may come to the conclusion that I dislike Daredevil, and I want to say that that isn't entirely true. I think that Stan Lee's decision to give a superhero the secret identity of a blind man was a masterstroke, as was making him a lawyer. After all, law enforcement is already a hobby for most comic book characters, so why not make it a profession? However, Daredevil is still among my least preferred Essential books because he is clearly the least powerful of Marvel's Dramatis Personae. I'm not saying that it's the superpowers alone that make the superhero. I'm saying that the central conflicts of a comic tale invariably reflect the capability of the main character to overcome them, and during the Silver Age, when everyone was mostly fighting thieves who had brightly-colored costumes and bizarre gimmicks, DD didn't fit in so well. Daredevil's personal Rogues Gallery were just so wimpy that Spider-Man would more likely laugh at them than fight them (Heck, anybody who has a grappling hook and 50 feet of rope could defend all of NYC from the menace of the Stilt-Man). Today's comic fans are likely to say that Frank Miller is their favorite DD writer and I feel that's because he gave him a gritty, grimy Hell's Kitchen setting and put him against exaggerated but believable underworld figures like the Kingpin, Bullseye, and Typhoid Mary. Miller presented Daredevil as a "nicer" counterpoint to the Punisher, and in my opinion that is where he works best.

Anyway, I'm here today to review the Essential Daredevil 3 (which collects DD's appearances in the early 70's). I thought that it had its moments but it's still exemplary of the personal grievances that I have against the character in the time period.

I was in a very good mood shortly after cracking open this book because the first story is simply excellent. Our hero, who was earlier considering abandoning his Daredevil identity, has reluctantly taken up pursuit of the murderous Samuel "Starr" Saxon (the most effeminate mad scientist since Dr. Smith from Lost and Space). After a tense four-issue chase, not only does Saxon learn that Matt Murdock is Daredevil, he also informs DD that there is no evidence that links Saxon to any misdeeds and gets off scot-free. This development caught me totally off guard as I was so used to the supervillain being handed over cleanly to the police just on the superhero's word in previous tales; I had to check back over the earlier issues to make sure he was right. Realizing that blackmail would be imminent, the morose Matt Murdock is forced to fake his own death and pull triple-shifts as Daredevil (Ironic, isn't it?) in order to flush out the culprit. That tale is a fabulous entry into the sweeping epic storylines of Marvel's "Grandiose" period and ranks as my favorite pre-Miller Daredevil story arc.

It's a shame that the best story had to be this collection's opening number, but there was still some enjoyment to be had. Daredevil defeats the unscrupulous glory-hound Nighthawk, forcing him to get his act together and join the Defenders later. I found the team-up with Black Panther where they saved a young boy from the perils of gangland to be very down-to-earth and poignant. The McCarthy-esque, pinko-hunting Tribune made for a top-notch stage villain (He claimed that, in a pure democracy, the people would never question the decisions of their government. Did he miss a Freshman Civics class or something?). Also, in a truly cathartic moment, Matt Murdock reveals his alter ego to his love Karen Page who leaves him because she doesn't want a man who needlessly puts himself in danger. It makes me appreciate the final scene in the second Spider-Man movie even more.

Unfortunately, a good half of the issues just fell completely flat, and the Essential Daredevil 3 is a pretty big book. The mob boss Crime-Wave was unmasked and he was somebody that Nelson and Murdock knew, although there were no actual clues leading up to his capture and no real reason to get involved in the mystery (yawn). There were some so-so rematches with DD's old so-so foes, like Cobra, Mr. Hyde, Jester, Mr. Fear, and the Gladiator (who was allegedly amnesiac so Foggy Nelson decided to give him his weapons and armor back to jog his memory. Guess what happened next). Many plots were needlessly convoluted (Why was Mr. Kragg's group Phoenix constantly called an extreme left-wing political faction when all they did was fix boxing matches and beat up the District Attorney? Why did Daredevil and his sometime-friend/sometime-would-be-assassin the Stunt-Master swap outfits to catch those thieves when the plan would have worked fine in their own regular clothes?) and some just made no sense whatsoever (like the Iron Man crossover vs. Zodiac, and, to a lesser extent, the one about the leopard people who can walk through mirrors). Also, I am really getting tired of the foes that use optic nerve-paralysis beams or corneal irritant gas or blindness potions against DD and are shocked into surrender when they somehow don't work. If only those guys had debuted in Captain America's or the Fantastic Four's magazines first, then they might be ruling the world right now (unless of course it was an issue that was guest starring Daredevil, like in the Essential Spectacular Spider-Man). Last and most certainly least, issue #67 features the lamest Stilt-Man fight that I have ever seen (although I will probably say that about every subsequent Stilt-Man fight that I see. Check back later).

In short, I liked some stories in this Essential volume, but I couldn't get excited about it as a whole. The foundation has always been good as Murdock's character is unique, introspective, and interesting, and I've always felt that the stark realism and deep shadows of Gene Colan's artwork were ideal for the magazine (If only the plots could match the pictures). Although, from the research and discussions that I've made in the local comic book scene, the 70's put the Man without Fear through a long and taxing slump (except perhaps for some of the Black Widow team-ups) and so I wonder if the fourth Essential is due to arrive any time soon. I'm going to say that this Essential is a good choice for fans, although the casual reader would have a better time with the Marvel Visionaries: Frank Miller books or the most recent series started by Brian Michael Bendis because this book is a real mixed bag.

Oh, and I wanted to apologize for comparing Daredevil to Jimmy Olsen in my review of Essential Thor 2. Ol' Hornhead deserves better than that.

"Essential Daredevil, Volume 3" collects together episodes #49-74 of "Daredevil: The Man Without Fear!" along with "Iron Man" #35-36, which was a crossover story about the Zodiac gang. This represents a transitional period as Roy Thomas replaced Stan Lee as the writer for the book, although by the end of this collection it is Gerry Gonway who has taken over as scripter. Except for three issues drawn by Barry Windsor-Smith, it is Gene Colan who is DD's artist. In fact, at this point in the history of the comic book Daredevil just did not look right unless Colan was drawing him. We are not yet up to the point when Colan's pencils started being inked by Tom Palmer, so I have a slight preference for Syd Shores as inker over George Klein and Johnny Craig. As for Windsor-Smith, who was still just plain Barry Smith at that point, his art on "Daredevil" was certainly a big improvement over his first work for Marvel, the infamous "X-Men" #53 that he literally drew on park benches in Central Park, but there was still nothing to indicate what he would be doing within a couple of years on "Conan the Barbarian" (although he is already into drawing more panels per page than other comic book artists).

At the beginning of this collection things are not going well for our hero. Now that Foggy is New York City's District Attorney he law firm of Nelson and Murdock has broken up and Matt Murdock no longer wants to be Daredevil. However, Starr Saxon has created a robot to track down Daredevil, even if he is in his civilian identity. But when Saxon discovers that Matt Murdock is Daredevil, that changes everything, especially when radioactive particles in his blood threaten DD's life. In issue #53 Thomas and Colan retell Daredevil's origin, after which our hero decides that the problem in his life is not Daredevil but rather Matthew Murdock, so he proceeds to "kill" Matt off by faking a plane crash. Now Foggy and Karen think Matt is dead while Daredevil has to face Mr. Fear. In #56-57 a well known jeweled Aztec skull becomes the inspiration for Death's Head and at the end of two-part story Daredevil reveals to Karen that not only is Matt Murdoch still alive, he is really Daredevil. So much for keeping his identity secret and for killing off Matt. Now Matt starts working the D.A.'s office as a special assistant and vows that Daredevil's days are over (#58).

Most of these developments are interesting, but we are not even halfway through this collection and all of this has happened, which sort of undercuts any of these decisions (that and the fact that it takes only a couple of issues for our hero to change his mind). Telling the truth is not helping Matt and Karen in their troubled relationship, so there is no benefit there, and at least blind ex-cop Willie Lincoln is around to lend our hero a sympathetic ear. By issue #61 the Jester, one of my favorite DD villains, is back, this time with Mr. Hyde and the Cobra. The Daredevil has to fight Nighthawk (#62), the Gladiator (#63), the Stunt-Master (#64), Brother Brimstone (#65-66), Stilt-Man (#67), and Kragg (#68). The Black Panther returns in issue #69 and then Gary Friedrich comes up with the Tribune (#70-71) as a new villain with a judicial bent that works well with Murdock being a lawyer. Then DD encounters Tagak, the Leopard Lord (#72), before teaming up with Iron Man to take on the Zodiac, a group of super villains where each is based on one of the twelve signs of the Zodiac (duh).

Despite the fact that we start with some hectic times for Daredevil regarding being a superhero and keeping his identity secret, overall these issues represnt something of a lull in the character's history. There are a few storylines that you can say are trying to be classic issues, but none of them really get there. The retelling of DD's origin, the cover of which serves as the cover for this collection as well, is arguably the best issue included and it obviously represents nothing new. If Thomas let the changes he puts DD through last longer (a lot longer), then these issues would cover a more important period in the character's life. But the first half is racing through major changes and the second half is basically back to a different villain each month (and only one appearance by the Jester). Still, there is Colan's artwork and I never get tired of looking at that.

The tales in this volume (and it's two predecessors) prove one thing very quickly. In these stories, the character really IS a daredevil, a reckless, often devil-may-care adventurer who will risk his life just to make the fight (or his personal life) more interesting. Therein lies the uniqueness of these tales.

The stories are not brilliant, though they are certainly a lot of fun. The Gene Colan art is definitely worth seeing, but he does occasionally live up to his reputation for artistic laziness. All in all, these comics are above average, but not great. But still, they are unique because of their take on Matt Murdock. As you read these tales, you have to wonder if this Matt is insane because of the spontaneous, crazy things he does. Among other things, he spent many, many issues pretending to be his own twin brother (who was secretly Daredevil, he claimed), fooling all his friends with his triple-identity! That's just nuts, but fun to read.

Certainly, it's not the same character you'll find in modern Daredevil comics. These days, for better or worse, DD has become about one man taking monumental amounts of responsibility on his shoulders to aid his fellow man, literally sacrificing parts of his own life for their betterment. The character and his adventures are dark and grim, full of unrelenting tension and pressure for DD to put things right. That produces some amazing, emotional, even profound stories. Miller and a few of his 21st century successors have created the best Daredevil stories ever told.

But, even if their character might be sometimes described as insane for the risks he takes, he is never nuts like this! And he definitely never has this much fun. Neither is he this unique.


******

Recommended!