REVIEW: Silver Age Superfreaks

[Martin Phipps]

On Apr 8, 10:47 pm, "Tom Russell" <milos_par... at yahoo.com> wrote:
> On Apr 8, 5:58 am, "Martin Phipps" <martinphip... at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> > > I was not only disappointed to see that the promise of
> > > the premise was not delivered on, but that the promise
> > > of the title was squandered as well: there wasn't
> > > really much that was Silver Agey about Silver Age
> > > Superfreaks.
>
> > The Justice League and the Avengers both date back to the Silver
> > Age, however.  I'm not sure why you wouldn't have described Silver Age
> > Superfreaks as "Silver Agey".  I realize that it wasn't the sixties
> > but rather (in my mind) the early nineties but you almost must be
> > aware of the fact that the current Marvel and DC heroes who date back
> > to the silver or golden age can't actually be in their sixties or
> > eighties now and that those golden and silver age stories have all
> > been retconned into having taken place back in the eighties and
> > nineties anyway.  (Modern flashbacks to Spiderman's early career would
> > not have sixties references, for example.)
>
> Let's see-- to answer this properly, one must define the Silver Age of
> Comics: giant typewriters, talking apes, clearly-defined good and evil
> with no in-between, themed crimes (cf. The Joker's Biggest Boners),
> strange situations that make sense in the end (cf. Superman wearing
> different hats after exposure to red Kryptonite, not because it makes
> him wear hats, but because he is using hats to hide the fact that a
> third eye has grown in the back of his head).  Superhero teams-- and
> their formation-- are not inherently Silver Agey.
>
> The Silver Age is not so much those elements or even their sum (as
> you'll find few of those in, for example, the Marvel Comics of the
> period) but rather a feeling, a vibe, that I can't quite put into
> words.  Something special and magical and a little crazy.  If you have
> to ask, you'll never understand.

I understand now.  But I did have the Kidder's goons wearing T-shirts
with their code names on them.  Apes that actually can talk is not my
style, however.

Martin