Superman/Shazam First Thunder
DC Comics, 2006, 128 pp., $12.99

Perhaps one of the strongest things about some modern comics is their ability to take established legends and remold them into a compelling story that stays close to the roots of those legends. Judd Winick did a fine job retelling the first meeting between Superman and Captain Marvel. I admit I don’t actually remember the first meeting between those two ionic heroes--perhaps in the JLA/JSA/Shazam crossover in the early 1970s (?). Winick is able to hone in on what the defining difference is between the Man of Steel and the World’s Mightiest Mortal. No, its not that Superman has telescopic vision, x-ray vision, heat vision and Captain Marvel doesn’t. No, its not that Captain Marvel’s powers are magic based and Superman’s abilities can be explained by pseudo-science. The major difference is that Superman is a mature adult who has grown into his super powers though many years of experience. Captain Marvel, on the other hand, is an eleven year old boy stuffed into a body that is invulnerable, super strong and can fly. He may at times call on the wisdom of Solomon-but still he has the emotional resources of a boy. The emphasis here besides his hero worship of Superman is Captain Marvel’s inability to control his emotions. This comes out in his raging blind anger over the violent death of his young friend Scott in a gang assassination attempt.

There is a nice symmetry in this story when Superman and Captain Marvel meet and they become friends and allies. The obligatory battle between the two heroes (we’ve already seen that back in the 1970s) is forsaken. This battle comradeship deepens into a truly friendship as they reveal their true identities to each other. [On the flipside Captain Marvel’s archfoe, Dr. Sivana and Superman’s prime nemesis Lex Luthor meet and mutually hate each other. Why not—they are so much alike.] Winnick does a commendable job in developing the classic confrontation between the old wizard Shazam and Superman. The Man of Tomorrow questions the wisdom of delegating of tremendous powers to a young boy. Can Billy Batson bear it? It is “fate” is Shazam’s response.

As stated before the plot revolves around the meeting of the two superhero icons and the machinations of Dr. Sivana, Lex Luthor, Eclipso and Sabbac.

Josh Middleton handles the entire art chores on this four-issue compilation. He does an excellent job making each hero keep their distinctives and yet they are essentially equals in raw power and strenght if not in experience. Middleton is a graphic story teller who is able to deal masterfully with normal quiet conversation scenes as well as gritty brawls.

Judd Winnick and Josh Middleton hit a home run with this story. This is the best of these three series.

Teen Titans: Child’s Play
DC Comics, 2010, 208 pp., $14.99

Back in the mid-1960s I came across a tryout book (The Brave and the Bold) with the adventures of a group called the Teen Titans. It was sort of a junior Justice League which took the proteges of the major DC super heroes and combined them into their own team. They were Robin, Speedy, Kid Flash and Wonder Girl. Sometime later they received their own title which lasted into the early 1970s and was revived in late 1976 and ended in 1978.

The New Teen Titans began in late 1980 under the creative tutelage of Len Wein (editor), Marv Wolfman (writer) and George Perez (penciler).  This was one of the books that revived my interest in super hero comics. Wolfman and Perez were able to create characters that were likeable, that you cared about and had interesting problems and back stories. For several years it rivaled Marvel’s decades-long fan favorite the X-Men. Anyone interested in  super hero group comics knew the New Teen Titans were a must read. However, George Perez left the art chores and while Wolfman had some superb replacement pencilers the book was never the same. Over the years there have been several reboots but none of them have equaled what Wolfman and Perez did on the book.

“Child’s Play” is largely a similar effort to grab the New Teen Titans aura, but for all its flamboyant and frenetic art, it doesn’t make it. This book compiles seven issues of the most recent Teen Titans run (#71-78), The first story is a setup tale which centers on he conflict (verbal and physical) between the group’s bad girls, Ravager (daughter of Deathstroke) and Bombshell (a sort of female Captain Atom) with Wonder Girl (Cassie Sandmark) trying to bring peace between the combatants. The next three issues presents an extended slugfest (“Child’s Play) with the current Teen Titans (Wonder Girl,  Ravager, Bombshell, Miss  Martian, Aquagirl,  Blue Beetle, Static Shock) and a group of super villain convicts (Mammoth, Shimmer, Jinx, Rumble, etc) who break out of Alcatez.

The next two issue storyline “Wild Thing” involves Gar Logan (Changeling, one of the original New Teen Titans) returning to take over leadership of the group from Wonder Girl. This story involves a battle against a giant, five animal-headed demonic monster. Raven (another former New Teen Titan) also appears and provides opportunities for flash backs to the glory days of the group.

Next up is “A Family Affair” (and “Tortured Soul”) which details the very dyfunctional family relationships between Slade Wilson (Deathstroke) and his two children Joseph (Jericho) and Rose (Ravager). This segment is particularly gruesome which much hacking and slashing of zombie versions of Slade’s other family members (his former wife, and other children). [What is it with zombies!? Why does a segment of the younger generation(s) obsess with the “living” dead?] Some of the art in these stories can go toe-to-toe with the goriest that EC put out in their heyday.
My overall impression. The art (even discounting the gross zombie stuff) by Joe Bennett and Yildray Cinar and their inkers in very dynamic, very energized. They are excellent with their anatomy and provide superb, diverse page layouts. These guys are at the top of their game. It’s too bad the story is not nearly up to the level of the art.
The writing exhibits very fleeting glimpses of interesting characterization. There are “normal” characters like Miss Martian and Wonder Girl that provide some balance between the extremely embittered and violent Ravager and Bombshell. The token male characters Blue Beetle, Static Shock, are largely ineffectual. The quiet scenes are overwhelmed by the over the top battle scenes that seem to fill most of the pages.

This is not your grandfather’s Teen Titans!

Superman: New Krypton Vol. 1 DC Comics, 2009, 176 pp., $17.99

This volumn compiles several slightly connected storylines. The opening stories deals with Jimmy Olsen returning to investigate concepts Jack Kirby injected into his comic book series (Fourth World) in the early 1970s including a clone of the Guardian.

This book has an uneven quality in terms of story line. When I picked it up I was expecting stories about New Krypton/Kandor and yet we also have the aforementioned return to Kirby’s 1970s Jimmy Olsen DNA project with sequences of Brainac and Lex Luthor before we get into the New Krypton section. The most affecting scenes are the funeral of Jonathan Kent and Clark’s family priority conflict with his Earth mother Martha Kent. Where does his loyalty lay--with his blood relatives in Kandor or his Earth family.? The premise in the last part of this book is the secret Kryptonian city (Kandor) and its super powered inhabitants being revealed to the world. Also arresting scenes are Superman’s (Kal-el) and Supergirl’s reunion with her parents, Zor and Alura. Martha Kent’s welcoming of Krypto, the Super Dog is also heart warming. Besides these quiet, happy events we have several battles including a Kryptonian pile-on of a resuscitated Doomsday. Remember him? The Hulk-wannabe who killed Superman back in the 1990s.
The artwork on this story ranges from competent to very good. The visuals are by and large much “quieter” than the Teen Titans book( review coming later). There are pages of well paced conversations and well as the usual fight scenes. My favorites of the seven pencilers are Jesus Merino, Gary Frank and Pete Woods.

New Krypton even with its convoluted storyline makes for a much more pleasant comic book reading experience than the Teen Titans book.

Here are several more reviews of comics recently published by Kingstone Media

2048

This is written by Marvin Olasky, the editor in chief of World Magazine. This is a true graphic novel that starts out slowly--setting the stage. It is a future drama where Olasky extrapolates current trends-showing us what the world might be like 40 years in the future. Olasky is clearly enjoying himself here--he is coming from a reformed view of the future (not a premillenial dispensational one). There are plenty of future gadgets (children display them at their classroom’s show and tell time). Society is even more sexualized than currently. An open and lascivious female pornographer is running for the U.S. Senate.
The main plot is the public response to the Bumans who are genetic hybrids of humans and binomos (a modified chimpanzee.) Olasky takes chances with his characters one of whom is a US Senator, a Christian, who is being set up in supposedly compromising situations by political opponents.  His son is stirring up strife by assaulting a Buman girl.
Brian Williamson does a more than competent job with the numerous conversational dialog scenes. This book has lots of talking heads--but the sparse action scenes are more effective because of their infrequency. Many secular super hero comics often have story length fight scenes. This book is different. It has content, characterization and plot development. Olasky is growing his characters by putting them into difficult situations. I look forward to the concluding chapters of this true graphic novel.

The Last Convert of John Harper
 
This is the story of a Scottish-born minister living in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He made the ill fated voyage aboard the Titanic and was one of those who perished in the frigid North Atlantic where the passenger ship sank. This story tells of his birth, entrance into the ministry, marriage and how he came to be on the Titanic. His dying witness to a fellow castaway who survived proved important in the man’s conversion to Christian faith. Gabrielle Andrade overall does a good job depicting the fashions of the Victorian/Edwardian times presented in this story. The artwork is quite, modest, reverent, safe yet the panel/page layouts are varied and fit well with the respectful tenor of the story.  The artwork moves the story along well even if the narrative is basically a quite one--except for the actual sinking of the huge passenger ship, Titanic. This is a book that perhaps would have done very well when the major motion picture came out in the late 1990s. Whether it will attract much attention at this point we’ll have to wait and see.

Hope and Horror

Hope and Horror, a graphic novella,  is technically not a Kingstone Media comic but it can be ordered from their web site (Kingstonemedia.com). It is produced for the Voice of the Martyrs ministry in Oklahoma. The story is about a young Christian Indonesian couple, Methu and Adel, whose village is attacked by well-armed Islamic Jihad warriors. In the ensuing conflict Methu is separated from his wife. She is captured by the extremists and is lead into captivity where she is forced to marry a Muslim with whom she has a baby. Menthu and Adel are later re-united and he accepts her and the child and affirms his love for them. The story from true events is written by Ben Avery with art by Rob Woodrum.

Babylon

In this reviewer’s opinion the least effective series put out by Kingstone Comics is the Babylon series  First the positives. Aryis faithfully adapts the Biblical accounts primarily from the book of Daniel that details the life of Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar and how his reign affected the lives of the Jews who were forced to immigrate to Babylon after the 586 BC fall of Jerusalem. Daniel, Shadrech, Meshach and Abed-nego are a part of this story.  The most disappointing aspect of this series is that it is basically a talking heads comic. While Mario Ruiz is a very competent artist his reliance on using facial shots of characters pontificating made for a rather boring comic. While the characters are well drawn they are stiff and the layouts are monotonous. There needed to be more variety and imagination in the page/panel layout. There is a fourth issue to come out in the future.

In summary Kingstone Comics is a very well-packaged, well-illustrated and well-written line aimed at the Christian Book store market. My hope is Kingstone is a God-ordained roaring success. .

Recently I came across a line of Christian Comics by a Florida Company called Kingstone Media. The prime mover behind Kingstone Media is Art Ayris. Ayris is the executive pastor at First Baptist Leesburg (Florida). What follows is a first look at this ambitious effort to enter the Christian Comics arena.

Incarnation and The Christ Vol. 1
Kingstone Media has two versions of the of the birth and infancy of Christ. The first is the Incarnation written by Art Ayris with art (pencils and inks) by Claude St. Aubin. Superb inks by Randy Emberlin and bright lively colors by Ronda Pattison combine to make this book a beautiful visual package. This is, perhaps, the book I like most of the Kingstone line. St. Aubin does  excellent spacious layouts that elegantly tells the story of the Nativity. The pace is right on and the amount of dialog doesn’t overwhelm the visuals with excessive wordiness. In this book are short historical paragraphs about the main characters. The text of the Christmas story from Luke and Matthew and brief creator bios round out this issue. While a second issue is suggested (“The God-Man”) according to Ayris this series was discontinued.
The Christ Vol 1 goes over largely the same material presented in the Incarnation. Ben Avery provides the script and Sergio Cariello pencils and inks with Zach Mathesy covering the lettering and coloring for this book. While the Incarnation is very elegant (even monumental) in its visual appeal Cariello’s art is more earthy (perhaps more personable) and Avery’s script emphasizes the humanness of the events. At the conclusion of the main story is a 8-page “The Magi’s Story” that delves into the background of the Wise Men who journeyed from the East and visited Jesus as a small child.
I’m hard pressed to find out which version I like best. Both the Incarnation and The Christ are terrific and are worth collecting and reading and passing along.



The Beginning--
The Revelation
In 2006 Mike Pearl of No Greater Joy ministries produced a graphic story volume called Good and Evil which selected numerous stories from the Old and New Testaments and Church History. This wasn’t a strict Bible adaptation comic but more of an extended gospel tract that presented God’s plan of redemption (See my review in AO #137). The Beginning, Moses, Exodus and Elijah are all excerpts from Pearl’s Good and Evil book. There are plus and minuses to this approach. One plus is that we see Danny Bulanadi’s excellent artwork in color. Clint Cearley does an excellent job with the coloring which enhances Bulanadi’s pencils and inks. This is especially noteworthy in the Moses and Exodus comics. In the Moses comic Cearley effectively uses a brown cast through the story to convey the oppressive nature of the Israelite enslavement in Egypt.
The Revelation comic is written by Art Ayris and since Danny Bulanadi also does the pencils and inks this book looks like an excerpt from Good and Evil —but isn’t. While Bulanadi does a masterful job on the artwork the book both in the written adaptation and visuals doesn’t live up to its potential. Trying to shoe horn the epoch changing cataclysmic events of the Apocalypse into a 32-page comic book with its awesome and spectacular visual images is an exercise in futility. Ayris should have given this book a much greater play visually and allowed Bulanadi to do his masterpiece of his career. Some years ago Canadian artist Leo Bok produced an extended comics adaptation of the same material which allowed for the visuals to capture the truly cosmic and universe changing happenings of the future when God sits up his eternal kingdom.

DC Showcase Presents: The Elongated Man, Volume One, DC Comics, Inc., 2006, 559 pp., $16.99,

Some respected comic book historians have mentioned three artists as primary innovators in the early Silver Age at DC Comics. These artists were Alex Toth, Joe Kubert and Carmine Infantino. These three were serious about improving their comic book storytelling skills and their work from this period shows just that.

Carmine Infantino became active in comics during the 1940s and his style strongly resembled one of the comic strip giants of the period, Milton Caniff. In the early and mid 1950s Infantino’s style began to change. He went back to school and studied under a highly influential art professor. This professor encouraged Infantino to study the French Impressionists like Edgar Degas and others and especially be concerned about the design principles they used. Above all else (even draftsmanship) Infantino became fascinated with design and composition. He used good design to propel his comic book story telling.

This book is a wonderful tour of arguably Infantino’s best period as a comic book artist. Starting out with an early Flash story from 1960 that introduced Elongated Man we observe Infantino’s work and sense of design and composition develop during the course of the 1960s. His last Elongated Man story published in this volume is Detective Comics #367 (September 1967). During this period we see Elongated Man graduate from an occasional guest star in The Flash to receiving his own back up strip in the of Detective Comics #327 (May 1964). On several different occasions Infantino was allowed to ink runs of his own stories. His delineations were scratchy when compared to the more polished Joe Giella or Murphy Anderson, but we see here what Infantino was truly trying to communicate through his art without the involved of other hands no matter how talented or skilled. When Sid Greene began working on Elongated Man he strove to keep his inking as close to Infantino’s original drawing as possible. Later on Greene injected much more of his own personality into the work and some stories appear to be partially penciled by both artists (Greene also did full pencils and inks on several later EM stories). Infantino used elegant vertical and horizontal panels to great effect especially in depicted the grotesque stretching abilities of Elongated Man. Infantno’s Elongated Man did not have the sheer comical inventiveness of Jack Cole’s Plastic Man but Infantino expertly used the vertical and horizontal to accentuate the pliable powers of the stretchable sleuth.

Along with his fascination with design he was a frustrated architect. He captured the look of buildings, houses, interior design and the fabulous big-finned autos of the period. Infantino was enamored with an architectural style termed Art Deco which emphasized things that were both ancient, streamlined and futuristic. Also one can see the Influence of such prominent architects as Frank Lloyd Wright in Infantino’s work. When he had the chance he also drew some marvelously evocative landscapes. Some of his most interesting art depicts city high rises, conventional low rent motels and diner interiors(p. 117), congested city scenes (p. 246), extreme vertical buildings (p. 181), leisure pool shots (p. 124) and well rendered rural scenes (pp. 108, 350-351). Because of his concentration on design and composition Infantino’s work was the height of “cool” in comic book art in the early and mid-1960s.

As a designer myself I can’t help but get enveloped into studying the compositions of Infantino’s work whether on Elongated Man, the Flash, Adam Strange or any of the wonderful science fiction tales he drew during the period. Perhaps this is just my problem, but I get so much into Infantino’s design that I tend to forget about the story. I figure that most of the young readers who read these stories when they first appeared (and I was one of them) didn’t have that problem. This book contains stories  penciled by other very capable comic book practitioners such as the afore mentioned Sid Greene, Gil Kane, Irv Novick, Murphy Anderson, Neal Adams and Mike Sekowsky and I don’t have the same problem with their work. And it is interesting to observe how each artist approached this strip and how they compare with Infantino’s work. This review has concentrated on Elongated Man’s artwork. The stories are finely crafted, light, humorously good-natured mysteries that editor Julius Schwartz and scripters Gardner Fox and John Broome were capable of producing during this time. However the star on the book is wonderfully innovative artwork. This volume is truly a showcase for one of the great comic book artists, Carmine Infantino. 

The Red Circle: The Hangman  #1 (October 2009) (DC, Normally $2.99, 22 story pages)
This is one of the four part introductory series for the Red Circle/Archie heroes into the DC Universe.  Hangman was originally a hero that was part of the MLJ (pre-Archie) line in the early 1940s. He took on the Hangman role after his brother the Comet (another early MLJ hero) was killed in action. The 21st century Hangman began as a Civil War doctor who just before he is to be hanged by the enemy had a startling vision. In the vision he makes a pact with a supernatural entity—that for his life—his mission henceforth is to bring swift justice to the guilty. Fast forward to the present finds the Hangman dispensing justice to dangerous criminal lowlifes. The pencils by Tom Derenick are very Neal Adams influenced. Derenick could very well have worked for Adams’ Continuity Comics back in the  1980s and 1990s. Bill Sienkiewicz goes back to his roots in providing rough inks and heavy blacks. J. Michael Straczynski provides a literate script but the premise he works with we have seen before especially with the Spectre. Does DC need another Spectre-like character?

The Red Circle: The Web  #1 (October 2009) (DC, Normally $2.99, 22 story pages)
The Web is another of the four part introductory series for Red Circle heroes in the DC Universe. The original  Web was a costumed crime fighter published in Zip Comics (1942-1943) and revived in the early 1960s as a member of the Mighty Crusaders. The brand new Web is billionaire John Raymond (the 1940s version was also John Raymond) who heads up a high tech corporation. Raymond uses some of his money to become the new  Web, a high tech super hero. In this story his do-gooder brother David is killed in the line of duty which causes John to become grimly serious about the crime fighting gig. Once again J. Michael Straczynski turns in a more than competent script but again the concept seems redundant. The Web is sort of a combination of Iron man and Spider-Man. The art by Roger Robinson and Hilary Barta is good story telling but there is a perfunctory quality about it that doesn’t make it memorable.

Project Superpowers: Chapter 2 Volume 1, #2 (2009) (Dynamite Entertainment, Normally $2.99, 24 story pages)


Back in 1963 DC published The Flash #137 that reintroduced the original Justice Society of America. These weren’t revamped versions but the original Flash, Green Lantern, Dr. Midnite, Hawkman and the others. In 1964 the Avengers found a man frozen in an iceberg who they revived which turned out to be the original Captain America (Steve Rogers). Since that time many other Golden Age super heroes were revived. However there were a lot of smaller, marginal comic book companies that produced their own super heroes that gained small followings for a time. Dynamite has taken many of these obscure characters out of public domain and placed them together in a contemporary setting to battle world shaking menaces. Heroes such as Skyman and Mr. Face from Columbia Comics; Black Terror, Fighting Yank, Captain Future, Pyroman from Nedor, Samson and the Flame from Fox; Dynamic Man and Dynamic Boy from Dynamic; The Arrow from Centaur, The Owl from Dell, Target from Novelty; Green Lama from Prize and Spark and a number of others make up Dynamite’s Project Superpowers Universe. For a comics historian like myself I’ve enjoyed what Alex Ross, Jim Kruegar and the various artists they have worked with have done in resuscitating these characters. However with DC and Marvel having produced numerous cosmic sagas over the last several decades using many of their old obscure characters I wonder what really new can Dynamite bring to the table that hasn’t been done already many times before? Of course if you are a new reader to comics this stuff that is old becomes new. The art (by Edgar Salazar) on this comic is OK not great and the coloring (by Victor Ramanos) makes the art look a lot better that it really is. This is just one part of a larger on going tapestry of events and conflicts within the Project Superpowers Universe.

Captain America Theater of War (To Soldier On) No. 1. (Marvel, normally $3.99, 36 story pages)

This is a story of the Iraqi War with an  American GI losing his legs and one hand in a Humvee explosion. Before this happens Captain America becomes involved in the fighting and assists the soldiers on their mission. Cap also arrives after the explosion to help in the rescue of the survivors and before and after the soldier’s rehab. The boring but dangerous aspect of the insurgent war is shown as well as the rehab process. The story rings true to what many soldiers have gone through in the Iraq war and while the story ends on a positive note it lacks the bombastic “Nazi smashing” style of Captain America’s World War II stories. The artwork by Fernando  Blanco while somewhat understated is more than competent with some excellent cinematic sequences.

Kid Colt One Shot #1 (September 2009)  (Marvel, Normally $3.99, 33 story pages)

Former Marvel editor in chief Tom DelFalco and veteran artist Rick Burchett revive one of the old Marvel western properties. Even as a kid western comics didn’t hold a great allure for me. I got my western fix from TV with Roy Rogers, The Cisco Kid, Wild Bill Hickok, Wyatt Earp, Gunsmoke, Have Gun Will Travel, Wagon Train, The Rifleman, Cheyenne, Sugarfoot, Bronco Lane, and many others. The basic plot in this issue is that Kid Colt is on the lamb having been falsely accused of murder.  A bounty hunter and his gang are after the Kid.  A Wyatt Earp-look-a-like US Marshall and another friendly gun fighter are also involved in the mix. This is part old-fashioned oater with a large dose of Clint Eastwood-style spagetti western thrown in. Rich Burchett does an excellent job with the pencils and inks. The story actually flows better visually than it reads. For a dollar this is a bargain but not for $4.

E.J. Pace Christian Cartoonist by Alec Stevens,

Ernest James Pace was born in Ohio in 1879. Pace was already drawing cartoons in high school. As a young man he moved to Chicago and started work at the Chicago Daily Journal newspaper. While in the Windy City he met a sincere Christian who led him to the Lord. The conversion was dramatic and consequently he lost his newspaper job, but he offered cartoons to the Christian newspaper, the Ram's Horn, an offer which   was accepted.

 Soon he met and married Cornelia Parker, and moved back to Columbus, Ohio, where he was licensed to preach and became the pastor at several Ohio churches. In 1902 he attended Otterbein College, where he did cartoons for the college monthly journal, and graduated with a Masters of Divinity. In 1905 Pace and his wife became missionaries to the Philippines for the United Brethren in Christ. He continued to do cartoons for religious publications such as the Watchword and The Religious Telescope.

 The Paces returned to the U.S. in 1915 where he published more cartoons for many years in the Sunday School Times. He later worked at Moody Bible Institute and accepted another short term pastorate before embarking on a traveling church and Bible conference speaking ministry. Pace continued his cartooning ministry (both in publications and as lecture aids) until the last years of his life. He died in June 1946 at age 67.

Pace's illustrations were in the style of a single panel newspaper editorial cartoon. He used an "engraving" like style, with pen and ink and later wash. His style is one that was popular in the 19th century, somewhat similar to the famed illustrator Charles Dana Gibson. Some of his work reminds this reviewer of the art of noted science fiction illustrator Virgil Finlay. Pace's cartoons were often sermons in art form, and left little to the imagination as to the meaning of the work. While to the contemporary eye his style is very dated, Pace was a fine draftsman and designer, and an important subject for the Alec Stevens' biographical treatment. With so much attention over the past several decades given to secular cartoonists and comic book artists it is only fitting that the work and lives of Christian cartoonist be remembered.

While this reviewer believes Stevens has done a good and valuable service in writing this biography the organization of the book could be improved. The book contains no table of contents, no index, no appendices and no footnotes or end notes. Stevens has a running narrative of Pace's life that threads itself through the volume with no chapters, and leap frogs over many pages of examples of Pace's cartoons or reprinted booklets that the cartoonist had written.  For example, the narrative of the artist's life (on page 55) is interrupted by a reprinting of Pace's  "The Law of the Octave" booklet which takes up 24 pages. There is no “continued on page 81”  which would have guided the reader to the continuation of the narrative. A better solution would have been to place "The Law of the Octave" in its own appendix in the back of the volume, The same thing happens with the reprinting of Christian Cartoons (pages 82-127), Cartoons That Talk (pages 145-172), and Life Begins At...? (pages 188-205). Also Pace's annual speaking engagements are inserted into the narrative text. While this does give one some insight into the busy schedule of the preacher/cartoonist, it would be better dealt with as endnotes or appendices.

Perhaps more important is that Stevens gives only scant attention to the world of the first half of the 20th century in which Pace did the bulk of his ministry. Historical context is important.  Pace under went a serious crisis of faith over Modernism (pp 18-20). Stevens should have delved deeper into the conflict between Modernism and Fundamentalism that was so important to evangelical Christians during the first few decades of the 1900s.

Having said this , I do believe that Alec Stevens has performed a valuable service to the church and Christian cartoonists by researching the life of E. J. Pace and making so much of his work available to the 21st Century reader.