EDITORIAL: Ka-Zar’s Death? Sorry, No Apology Is Due

Archive for the ‘Editorial’ Category

August 27th, 2020

By Wally Monk, Editorial, Reviews, Slider

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EDITORIAL: Ka-Zar’s Death? Sorry, No Apology Is Due

“This editorial is full of spoilers for all three issues of Empyre: Avengers. If you haven’t read them or had your fill of modern comic book plots that have been beaten to death, go read the comics and come back when you’re done. Or, if you’re indifferent like I am at this point, read on. The resolution of this story fundamentally changes a major character and points out more problems in today’s comic industry than you might imagine.”

By WALLY MONK – PM Library Editor

Ka-Zar the Savage is dead. Long live Ka-Zar the Savage!

Wait a moment, monk. What are you talking about? Kevin Plunder is alive and well, now plugged full of the magical power of the Savage Land! How can he be dead?

I suppose you’re correct. Kevin Plunder is indeed alive, but he’s not the savage that Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created – the one who jumped off the pages of X-Men #10 with a roar of “Ka-Zar Kill!” I’d venture to say he’s not even the savage that Brent Anderson and Bruce Jones worked hard to mold, one that was a genuine “evolution” of Lee and Kirby’s creation.

Now, thanks to Marvel editorial and one tremendously talented but misguided writer, Ka-Zar is just like all the other guys. In the pages of Empyre: Avengers, we first saw him “killed” (sigh) and then brought back to life courtesy of a magical blade and the life-saving waters of the Savage Land. Not only is he back, but now he’s a scion – one with the land itself – sort of, I would imagine an Earth Mother (father) version of Doctor Strange. And don’t fret, my activist friends and readers, Shanna has the same powers too, so that’s another thing the jungle duo has in common.

Now before anyone gets their drawers in a twist, I understand that our favorite heroes evolve. They learn. They change. I’ll never object to the genuine personal growth of a character. But at the heart of a person or hero is their origin; the thing that makes them tick at the basest level survives.

Let me explain by example. I have always been Wally. From the time I was young, I loved the church and comic books. I was the youngest kid in Sunday School to read; I was buying comics off the rack when I was 6 and actually “reading” most of them. I loved dinosaurs, Ka-Zar, Conan and eventually the X-Men and the Avengers. In my teenage years, I discovered girls and groups of friends and comic books took a back seat, but the love of the medium was there. As an adult, I’ve embraced my love of the Church through active ministry AND held fast to my love of comics and collecting in my spare time. You can see the Wally of “yesterday” in the Wally of today.

So, too, can we look at Ka-Zar. He was a boy saved by a sabretooth, learning to live off the land and survive in a hostile environment. Eventually, he would grow up, meet many different women (Bobbi Morse and Shanna, most notably) and start a family. At his core, he was a normal man, battling both his longing for civilization and love of the Savage Land where he grew up. The key word is normal – he was never super-powered, and therein lay the appeal of the character. Up until this story line, you could see the Ka-Zar of the 1960s through the eyes of his modern incarnation.

But the House of Ideas has scrapped that. Now, he’s imbued with the powers of the land itself. He’s not a normal man. With the typing of some keys and editors nodding in approval, Ka-Zar has become yet another hero with weird powers, suitable for a few story lines and unsuitable for others. Ka-Zar, as we know the character, is still dead. Perhaps he’ll be a better fit for the Agents of Wakanda now that he’s another member with superhuman abilities?

We see the same problems with Marvel’s latest iteration of Conan. While the company churns out reprints of Conan classics in Epic Collection form, they struggle to tell new (or good) Conan stories in his Hyborian environment. What’s the solution? To have him fight along with the Savage Avengers, and introduce him to the regular Marvel Universe.

It’s not difficult to tell a good story. And while I don’t have the big writing gig at Marvel that Jim Zub does, many of these creatives have the skills and the tools to write competently while respecting the history of the characters that have built Marvel’s legacy.

Or the company can keep letting sales slide while assuming that readers are too dumb to know the difference between gimmicks and storytelling. Did I mention that the upcoming Eternals #1 is rumored to have over twenty different “variant” covers? I’m sure The Mouse is hoping readers “buy them all” as the cash register drawers open over and over again.

At the risk of speaking for other vintage comic fans, I have always believed telling real stories with real characters that have stood the test of time is the only solution to a sales or marketing slump. It’s easy to keep the readers engaged looking for a top-notch run of issues like Frank Miller’s time on Daredevil or Walt Simonson’s Thor epic.

Maybe it’s just easier to rehash the same worthless summer story lines or create holofoil-chromium-vibranium-enforced variant editions. I refuse to believe that the next Neil Gaiman, Alan Moore or Chris Claremont aren’t out there somewhere. Hopefully, they will show their face one day in the form of something new and exciting that doesn’t mean destroying what’s already been done.

Ka-Zar the Savage is dead. Long live Ka-Zar the Savage!

As always, I am – Wally (AKA Paint Monk)

**CLICK HERE to read Library scribe Bob Freeman’s take on this topic in comics.**

August 27th, 2020

Editorial, Slider

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EDITORIAL: Please Don’t Break The Toys in the Sandbox

“As children, we all grew up and played together. Sometimes we even shared our toys, our bicycles, and our skateboards. But the cardinal rule was to take care of the toys or bicycle that you borrowed. Woe unto the kid in the neighborhood who returned that toy broken or the bicycle with a flat tire. You didn’t want to be the one who couldn’t borrow any more.”

By BOB FREEMAN – Paint Monk’s Library Writer

I have long referred to a comic creator’s role on an established property as that of a child being invited to play in someone else’s sandbox. While there, their imagination can flourish. They get to have fun — real fun, but while playing with someone else’s toys. And when playtime is over? Well, a good child leaves the toys where he found them. Unbroken. Largely unchanged, save for a little more wear and tear.

More and more, creators are losing that perspective. Why? Because editors are letting them. Change, not just for change’s sake, but splashy, over-the-top changes to long established characters, hoping for a bit of press to spike a sale here or there. Deaths. Power creep. Gender/Race swapping. Good guys go bad. Bad guys turn good. Or worse, everything’s morally ambiguous or filtered through flavor-of-the-month social awareness.

I don’t want to sound like an old curmudgeon, but let’s face it, the comic industry that many of us have been fans of for decades, is faltering. The slow rot has reached the roots, and I’m afraid what little life remains cannot be revived…

Here’s where I show my age…

When I was a kid, growing up in rural Indiana, I used to pick up pop bottles as I walked toward the nearest town and cash them in at Cain’s Sundries, an old school soda shop that had a magazine rack filled with comic books.

The comics were 15¢ then. I usually could snatch up anywhere from 6-10 comics every week (along with a fountain drink and a pack of bubble gum cards). The thing that was interesting, and that I really didn’t wrap my head around until later, is that many of those comics were reprint issues. Stuff like Marvel’s Greatest Comics, or Marvel Tales, or any of the anthology books DC was spitting out. All reprints. And yet, they all seemed right in line with the current books.

Why? Because Batman was Batman. He looked and acted liked the Caped Crusader. Always. Same for Spider-Man, the FF, and all the rest. Even when artists changed, the new guys were expected to stay on model.

All that eventually changed. And the characters began to change stylistically, they also began to change internally. Everything started to turn dark. Everything got grim and gritty. The heroes weren’t as heroic as they had been before. Sales fell off. Kids found other interests…

The hobby was now made up of adults who had been reading comics since they were kids. An industry that used to rely on fresh blood coming in every year was suddenly saddled with people like me who continued to read comics into college and beyond.

Well, those comic fans became writers and artists and editors, and the shift began. The stories became more adult. All those bad ideas that editors used to curb were now filtering into the books. Heroes began to age. Become bitter.

Creators began to break the toys in the sandbox.

New readers became fewer and fewer. Speculation gave way to gimmick after gimmick until we’re where we’re at now: an industry in crisis.

How do we correct this? Fix the toys. Give them a fresh coat of paint. Clean up the sandbox. Make comics that are timeless. Make comics about heroes again. And when it’s time to move on, creators, please, leave the sandbox like you found it.

**CLICK HERE for Wally’s editorial about Ka-Zar being the latest “broken toy” in the sandbox.**

August 22nd, 2020

Editorial

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EDITORIAL: How I Learned to Hate Jim Zub and Marvel

“He’s a nice guy. He even provided a wonderful and in-depth interview for this site. He’s a talented writer, one of the more promising new talents to come out of Marvel along with Jason Aaron and Donny Cates. But alas, it’s true. Both Mr. Zub and the House of Ideas can kiss my grits, as Flo would say at the old diner. Now that I have your attention, let me explain.”

By WALLY MONK – PM Library Editor

OK, so hate – as in the headline – is a really powerful word. How about we use ‘strongly dislike’ instead?

One need not be a Harvard graduate to know that 2020 has been a roller coaster of a year and it’s not likely to end soon.

Divisive politics. COVID-19. Isolation. Lockdowns. Inexcusable police brutality. Riots. Occupied zones in American cities. Joe Biden (or Donald Trump, depending on your political leanings) running for President in a major election.

And now this. It may not be a life or death issue as some of the things I just mentioned, but it’s the horseradish icing on a year that’s been a big sewage-flavored birthday cake up until this point.

Yes, my friends and library cardholders, Jim Zub, a writer whom I both respected and admired, has seemingly KILLED OFF one of Marvel’s longest-running and notably vintage characters. “Ka-Zar” as a jungle lord has existed in the form of David Rand since the original Marvel Comics #1 (next to older versions of Human Torch and Namor). Kevin Plunder, the Ka-Zar we know today, still has a distinguished history, having been reinvented from the original in the pages of X-Men #10 back in the 1960s by the late legends Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.

As of the end of Empyre: Avengers #2 (SPOILER ALERT), Ka-Zar the Savage has a massive weapon protruding from his chest, having been stabbed from behind by an alien Cotati warrior.

Knowing Marvel and their penchant for gimmicks, this is most likely a “fake death” since (SPOILER ALERT) I’ve been told She-Hulk and Black Panther bit the dust in the same story line. But Ka-Zar is not the money-maker that Black Panther and She-Hulk are, so I’m wondering if the death of this classic hero might be a (poorly executed) chance for the House of Ideas to tie up some loose ends.

Ka-Zar and his female jungle-dwelling counterpart, Shanna, had a child named Matthew in the course of many guest appearances, and the lady of the Savage Land’s pregnancy was announced in Ka-Zar the Savage #34.

No writer has known what to do with any of the characters – most notably Matthew – since this union of Savage and She-Devil occurred. To illustrate this point, two different Marvel apps give their child two different names – Adam Kyle Matthew in one instance, and Matthew Kyle Andrew in another. Mark Waid created a nanny character who took care of Matthew while Ka-Zzar and Shanna went off adventuring.

Talk about a continuity and narrative nightmare!

These days, Matthew Plunder is rocking out in the Savage Land, and most of his dialogue in recent comics- and this latest installment – reminds me of Pauly Shore or some random California surfer from the 1990s.

A very telling moment comes in this same issue, where The Black Knight mistakes Ka-Zar’s son for the Savage himself. Is this a set-up for Matthew to take on the mantle of his father?

**“I’m not Ka-Zar, dude. It’s Okay, it happens all the time.”**

Boy, would that be a cop out and a seriously awkward piece of bad writing. One of the sayings that gets beaten like a dead horse around the library is the concept of “playing with the toys in the sandbox without breaking them”, but it’s a legitimate critique of contemporary comic narratives.

I can only think of three major deaths in comic history that meant much to the readership without being cliche – and those three were the original Captain Marvel, Jean-Grey in Uncanny X-Men, and Superman. Ironically, of those three, only one “stayed” dead. The deaths of supporting characters Gwen Stacy in the pages of Spider-Man might make the list, and perhaps the death of Conan’s paramour Belit as well.

At this point, you’re probably wondering, why does this knucklehead care so much about a comic book character? Or, with everything going on, is he seriously this upset about a second-string character from an old ‘funny book’?

Yes. And no.

For those of us who have loved comics since childhood, the characters who shaped our youth become part of our of fond memories. To lose a character that you care about moves you in some way, even if it’s only in the imagination. To give Zub credit, he did accomplish one of every writer’s goals – the goal of stirring emotion among your readers.

But no, I will not be losing any real sleep over the loss of a comic book character. I won’t be leading the “hashtag Cancel Marvel or Jim Zub” campaign. This issue might me shake my fist angrily at Jim and the Marvel bullpen, but in the end, he’s a good writer, even if he did a really dumb, dumb thing in the killing of my favorite savage. Unlike the fans who demanded the infamous “Hail Hydra!” story line be stopped immediately, I’ll anxiously wait this one out to see what happens.

In the event that Kevin Plunder somehow survives, I might even assemble an equally lengthy “apology” column to both Jim Zub and Marvel.

Time will tell.

As always, I am – Wally (AKA Paint Monk)

June 15th, 2020

Editorial, Into the Knight Podcast, Moon Knight

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EDITORIAL: A Genesis – How the Loony Infatuation Began

(EDITOR’S NOTE: Paint Monk’s Library, in collaboration with the enthusiastic staff over at the Into the Knight Podcast, is tackling the Moon Knight chronology! Each week we’ll take an in-depth look at the Fist Of Khonshu in a series of reviews, all in order of character appearance! These reviews will appear on Monday each week until we’ve covered them all, or until the enthusiastic Loonies get too exhausted to write. Whichever comes first! This week’s installment is a guest editorial by Reynaldo G., the proprietor of the Into the Knight! podcast.)

By REYNALDO G. – Guest Writer

Sometimes you have to stand up for the little guy. That lesser-known, slight of build, wallflower huddled in the corner of the room. Sometimes, they deserve to be noticed every now and again, and that is partly why I chose to dedicate a podcast to the Marvel character Moon Knight.

With Into the Knight – The Moon Knight Podcast I’ve been fortunate enough to have cultivated a modest, yet ever-growing and passionate community of like-minded fans (affectionately dubbed ‘Loonies’). Finding someone to talk about one of your favorite characters with who just so happens to be not all that well known is a difficult task, so when it came to forming the podcast, part of the intent also was to bring together these Loonies and share the love.

**Moon Knight fans share the love @** **https://intotheknightpodcast.wordpress.com/**

Not only that, but the podcast has taken me on a wild and ever exciting ride – I’ve had the absolute honor of talking with industry legends and amazing creators such as Doug Moench (creator of Moon Knight), JM DeMatteis and Greg Smallwood. The podcast has also sprouted an audio serial adventure of its very own. Into the Knight has more recently had the privilege of collaborating with the comic book review site, Paint Monk’s Library (which is where you are reading this humble article!); but, at the heart of it all, Into the Knight has allowed me to share my love for comics in general as well as provide the opportunity to read a vast range of titles (some of which I would never have picked up) in order to get under the cowl and discover more about one of the most interesting characters in the Marvel universe.

**The Into the Knight! Podcast has featured many Moon Knight writers and artists, including (left to right) Doug Moench, Greg Smallwood and J.M. DeMatteis.**

In essence, Into the Knight (or ITK for short) is based around the core objective of reviewing and discussing Moon Knight in all forms of media. The phases of the moon actually determine the topic for the episode that week – for instance, a Full Moon determines that the episode be based on Moon Knight on film (MOON & STARS); A Waning Gibbous decrees that the episode take on an interview-style format, inviting a Loony to talk about their top 4 desert island books (ISLA RA SESSIONS); a Waning Crescent looks at ‘classic’ Moon Knight appearances covering 1975-1989 (LUNAR-PICK Classic); while a Waxing Crescent looks at Moon Knight in comics from approximately 1990 onwards (LUNAR-PICK Modern).

There are also other phases of the moon that stipulate topics on action figures (KHONSHU’S IDOLS), video games (AVATARS OF VENGEANCE), and spotlights on various aspects of Moon Knight lore (creatively named, SPOTLIGHT). If you had thought previously that Moon Knight’s footprint in media was limited, then ITK proves without a doubt that material to sustain a podcast is BOUNTIFUL, to say the least.

ITK has been releasing weekly episodes for nearly three years now and it has only still just touched the surface. As I write this, chronologically, ITK has covered Moon Knight’s very first appearance all the way up to issue #15 of volume 1, with the classic creative team of Doug Moench and Bill Sienkiewicz. Added to that, ITK has also leaped between different volumes for their modern run reviews – these include the entire run by Jeff Lemire and Greg Smallwood; followed by the entire Max Bemis and Jane Burrows (most recent) run; then heading back to the first arc of the Charlie Huston and David Finch run, a handful of Marc Spector: Moon Knight issues, and we’re currently immersed in the 2011 Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev series.

By approaching the classic series in a more chronological manner while at the same time undertaking a more spontaneous format for the more modern series, it allows the podcast to appease both listener and host. Some may enjoy listening to a structured journey throughout the canon (others may not), but at the same time, it keeps things fresh for the hosts who may not necessarily want to wait for years before they get to review the Huston run.

**Into the Knight! loonies will have their hands full when the new Disney “Moon Knight” series airs next year.**

As some of us wait with bated breath for the Moon Knight TV show, ITK has managed to expand the scope of film review to fan-made films. Surprisingly, there are a fair few online if you search hard enough and so ITK has had the pleasure of inviting onto the show some amateur filmmakers to chat all about their imaginative creations. On the animated front, it has also been fun seeing Moon Knight as a guest on animated shows such as the Ultimate Spider-Man and Avengers Assemble – both providing very different, yet enjoyable, versions of our Avatar of Vengeance. These iterations of Moon Knight – in comics and on film – feed off each other like a pack of hungry sharks, and the Great White of them has to be the upcoming TV series from Disney Plus. Although it is still a way off, the toy industry has wasted no time riding the wave of the hype. Funko Pops, Hasbro Legends figures, Mezco statues and Mini-Mates have all been barometers for characters that are on the rise, and ITK has been fortunate enough to have added this merchandise to the podcast arsenal of reviews.

**The Into the Knight! Podcast also covers Moon Knight merchandise – from t-shirts and figures to Diamond Select statues.**

In addition to the reviews which make up most of the podcast, two other innovations have become a staple for the show. The first is a ‘desert island books’ and one-on-one session named, the ISLA RA SESSIONS (after the island that Moon Knight finds himself in, during the Max Bemis series), and the second being a monthly audio serial adventure playfully named THE HUNT FOR KHONSHU’S GOLDEN SCEPTRE. Both rely heavily on contributions from the ITK community (cultivated mainly in the Facebook Group and Page), and both add another dimension to the podcast.

The ISLA RA SESSIONS are conducted in Grant Mansion (complete with roaring fire sound effects, and the butler Samuels) with guests invited to chat about their introduction to comics, Moon Knight and other hobbies. The intent is to learn more about fellow Loonies, and ITK attempts to welcome and include anyone who wants to have a go behind the mic. After learning more about where, how and why comics became part of their lives, guests also then reveal their top four single-issue comic books (sometimes with a Moon Knight issue included, but it’s not essential) and an informal chat on each book and why it holds significance rounds out the episode.

**Isla Ra Sessions at the ITK Podcast allow fans to get behind the mic and discuss their favorite character.**

THE HUNT FOR KHONSHU’S GOLDEN SCEPTRE is largely made by Loonies, for Loonies. Vignettes of anywhere between 4-10 minus long are dropped within the podcast at the end of each month, portraying a world adjacent to that of Moon Knight (Moon Knight rarely, if ever, features in the audio adventure…though he may get a mention here and there). Each Loony involved is given their fictitious equivalent and adventures range from the depths of space to the hostile jungles of Bosqueverde (a fictitious South American country featured in Moon Knight comics). Loonies are in search of Khonshu’s Golden Sceptre and amongst other relics, they fight to prevent the coming of Set and his agents. The serial relies heavily on creative license with Egyptian mythology, and further plans to expand this ITK Universe, allows for a playground of sorts, for all Loonies willing to partake.

Both aspects of the podcast promote engagement from the growing ITK community. It’s an informal and indirect way of networking, as it allows Loonies to be introduced to others with the same passion. Whether it’s being part of the production or just listening to the discussions and adventures from fellow Moon Knight fans, Loonies are encouraged to be part of the podcast and be a party to a podcast which hopefully breaks down that wall between presenter and listener.

**To check out recent installments of the Moon Knight Chronology from Into the Knight, click here.**

In keeping with the desire to be involved with anything Moon Knight related, ITK has recently joined forces with Paint Monk’s Library to undertake a colossal project of writing reviews and documenting every single Moon Knight chronological appearance in the comics.

In addition to the already vast net cast by the show, it seemed only natural to complement the audio reviews with written ones. I can say on behalf of the podcast, that I feel absolutely privileged to be part of this collaboration with Paint Monk’s Library. Our common goal to share Moon Knight and our love for the character to the world is only strengthened by the combined output.

If you’ve not heard of Marc Spector or the Fist of Khonshu and want to learn more, then I highly recommend perusing the reviews on this brilliant website. We’ve still got a long way to go, but the concise format of synopses and capsule review framed by Paint Monk’s Library can only serve to whet one’s appetite for learning more about the Moon’s Knight of Vengeance.

I’d go even further and to suggest that if you love comics in general, then to explore all of the other wonderful reviews on offer. The Classic Conan Countdown, The Savage Land Curator, or the upcoming Warlord chronology – all slightly obscure, but these reviews may well open the door to a new reading adventure for you!

https://www.paintmonkslibrary.com/reviews-features/classic-conan-countdown/

If your ears are amenable to the challenge, and whether or not you are a seasoned podcast listener or new to the medium, please consider listening to Into the Knight – The Moon Knight Podcast. The medium as a whole is hitting its stride as the growth of new shows available is expanding at an exponential rate. The variety of podcasts continues to slowly grow from a niche pond into a mainstream ocean but you can be assured that Into the Knight – The Moon Knight Podcast will provide all you’ll ever need to know about our White Knight. It also strives to be a happy haven for fans who want to interact and share their fandom within an encouraging and welcoming community.

**To listen to the latest Into the Knight Podcast, click here.**

May 25th, 2020

Editorial, News

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Happy Memorial Day 2020

“And if words cannot repay the debt we owe these men, surely with our actions we must strive to keep faith with them and with the vision that led them to battle and to final sacrifice.”
– President Ronald Reagan

May 25th, 2020

Editorial, News, Reviews

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EDITORIAL: Smith-Thomas Run Revisited, COVID-19 & More

(EDITOR’S NOTE: Welcome to Musings from the Monk, a semi-regular column written by the chief archivist and comic nut who organizes Paint Monk’s Library. Expect bloviations on many topics here, from comic books, pop culture and current events to reviews, random thoughts, and sometimes, things that are even relevant.)

By WALLY MONK – Paint Monk’s Library Editor

Welcome to Musings from the Monk! If you’ve made it this far, then I’m off to a rousing start. This is the space where I’ll keep everyone informed with news, snippets and what’s going here at the monastery library. Sometimes it will be a short little update, other times I plan to ramble like I will today.

Your thoughts, opinions, and insights are always welcome. You can comment on any article here at Paint Monk’s Library using your Facebook or Google accounts. I look forward to hearing from you, and maybe even building a little community here in a dusty nook near the bookshelves.

Classic Conan Countdown Resumes May 27th

I’ve received several emails from readers the last week inquiring about the absence of recent installments of our Classic Conan Countdown. This feature will begin again this coming Wednesday with a review of Conan the Barbarian (Vol. 1) #119 by yours truly.

Conan the Barbarian Vol 1 119 — **A review of Conan the Barbarian #119 coming soon!**

I can’t lay blame here on any librarian but myself. In the course of my day-to-day work and other obligations, I’ve lost many of the advance reviews I had already written and have been re-writing many of them as I go – and Conan #119 is one such victim. Bob and Andy have both done an admirable job staying ahead of things, and I, sadly, have not.

A Familiar Face Returns to the Library

As the Library looks to resume regular posting and roll out some new features, I’m pleased to welcome back Dean Plakas to the fine group of scribes here. Dean was one of the first volunteers to begin writing with me here on the blog and was a regular contributor to the Classic Conan Countdown, with occasional feature stories and interviews also. He has also graciously contributed artwork to the blog, including the logo and banner for the Conan countdown.

It’s great to have him back, and I hope you all give him a warm welcome. In the meantime, keep an eye out for the launch of Into Skartaris! – the Warlord chronology in review. Dean has graciously volunteered to head up and organize that particular project.

A Tentative Schedule as Posting Resumes

Assuming that I can get ahead once more on editing, my hope is to have a weekly schedule as follows:

Mondays – Moon Knight Chronology Reviews
Wednesdays – Classic Conan Countdown
Fridays – Into Skartaris! Warlord Chronology Reviews

Tuesdays, Thursdays and the weekends will be left open for reviews of new comics (Conan the Barbarian, Red Sonja) as well as interviews, columns by our bloggers and this Musings column.

Check out the Reviews of Conan #1-24

As of this afternoon, the first 24 installments of the Classic Conan Countdown have been re-edited and re-formatted from our old eBlogger site and are now “fit to read” here on WordPress. You can now read complete reviews of the entire Roy Thomas – Barry Winsdor-Smith run on the site by clicking here, without worrying about misformatted pages and weird objects stuck in the middle of each page.

Friends, that’s all for now. As always, thanks for all of your support. Stay healthy, stay safe, and we’ll see you in the library soon.

As always, I am – Wally (AKA Paint Monk)

April 7th, 2020

Commentary, Editorial, Uncategorized

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COVID-19 & The Monk: Temporary Changes to the Library

Friends and readers, by now you all have been affected in some way by the ongoing COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic that is shutting down just about everything across the globe.

I hope and pray for everyone’s safety and health during this trying time.

As a religious worker, I have found that my time in ministry is even busier now than before; I had wrongfully assumed that I would have ample time during these shutdowns to focus on bringing the Library up to date with new articles, features and reviews.

Each of my days is spent tending to our seniors, taking the elderly to doctor’s appointments or grocery shopping, and trying to minimize other’s contact with the outside world. When I’m not doing that, I’m delivering meals to school children now at home who would otherwise go without their school-sponsored lunchtime. Unfortunately, since I am middle-aged myself with COPD and respiratory issues, this puts me in an uncomfortable but necessary position myself.

But never fear! The Library is not CLOSED; rather, there will be no normal schedule for the articles which have appeared here on specific days, and some weeks may pass with no new posts. I will edit and post things as I am able so that we can try to maintain some form of community and readership while many focus on much more challenging and life-threatening concerns. Posts that require minimal attention from me (editing, formatting) will continue without interruption.

For those of you who enjoyed our weekly features which are now on semi-hiatus, please accept my apologies. But I think you all would agree that the safety of our community takes precedence over our hobbies. As I have always said, even among my blogger team – family and “real-life” first, then comics!

Peace and health to you, stay safe, and remember that this too shall pass.

As always, I am – Wally (AKA Paint Monk)

January 18th, 2020

By Wally Monk, Commentary, Editorial, Slider

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EDITORIAL: Memories of Old Comic Collecting Days

“Inside the convenience store, mom and dad go to pick up groceries while you go to find the greatest treasure of all – the spinner rack. ‘Hey Kids! Comics!’ it proclaims. What are your favorite memories of childhood comic book collecting? And do you still own that ‘first’ comic book you bought from the stand?”

By WALLY MONK – Paint Monk’s Library Editor

It was a late summer day in 1978 when I first discovered the joy of the comic book spinner rack. Little did I know that same rotating shelf of entertainment would be a primary source of fun for the rest of my youthful – and adult – life.

Mom was ordering meat from the deli; dad was around the corner buying charcoal to fire up the grill in preparation for a weekend cookout with our neighbors. I was looking at the magazine rack, and like most adolescent boys, trying to catch a glimpse of the Playboy magazine which was safely tucked back at the top of the shelf, away from the prying eyes (and short arms) of other neighborhood kids like me.

Then I spied the newly installed rotating comic display.

To this day, I remember the issues I saw there. Marvel’s Godzilla #14 grabbed my attention first, proclaiming the “Siege of the Super-Beasts”! On the shelf below, Devil Dinosaur #6 featured a flame-red Tyrannosaurus Rex and two fuzzy cavemen. A quick spin of the shelf revealed other treasures, like Conan the Barbarian #90 and Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #22 (featuring Moon Knight!)

**Godzilla #14** **was the first comic I owned.**

I carried a handful of these comics over to mom. To the best of my recollection, I had a dozen or so picked out. She told me that I could only have two – she pointed out that the two comics (still only 35 cents!) cost as much as a gallon of gas and they were expensive. Being a big dinosaur aficionado, Devil Dinosaur and Godzilla were the winners.

Sitting tucked in the branches of a tree in our front yard, I read both issues until they were threadbare, and if I still had them today, they’d probably rate a .5 or lower on the highly-vaunted CBCS and CGC grading scales. Later, I would begin adding Conan the Barbarian to my collection, although my parents thoroughly resisted all of my attempts to buy Red Sonja. At the time, I thought it was because they didn’t want me to buy so many comics – I’d later learn, of course, that they felt Frank Thorne’s compelling artwork was a little risque.

As Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin approved the Camp David accords and the headlines touted the new and revolutionary “Space Invaders” video game, I was perfectly content in my little comic book world. Many of the other boys played baseball during the summer; I spent my days trading comics with fellow “nerds” and arguing over who was the best superhero.

To this day, we haven’t decided if Conan, Ka-Zar, Kull or Wulf the Barbarian was “the toughest”, but it’s a debate we gave up a long time ago.

Ah, the memories.

What are your earliest memories of comic book collecting? Please share your story by commenting below using your Facebook, Twitter or Gmail account!

January 1st, 2020

By Wally Monk, Editorial, Into the Knight Podcast, Moon Knight

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EDITORIAL: Moon Knight Chronology Launches Jan. 6

By WALLY MONK – Paint Monk’s Library Editor

As many of you know, Paint Monk’s Library launched in early 2017 on eBlogger as my personal blog. Receiving only a few hits a week, I’d talk about my collecting habits, dollar bin comic hunting and painting an occasional RPG miniature (badly).

Since that time (really since the launch of our Classic Conan Countdown), the Library has grown to include current comic reviews, editorials, weekly features, interviews and a loyal compadre of associate librarians. The site has grown from a dozen hits a day to nearly 5-7K hits a week with nearly 1,000 new visitors. We’ve moved from eBlogger to a nicer format on WordPress, with our own URL. Paint Monk’s Library isn’t quite a “huge” site yet, but we’re growing each day, and I’m truly blessed.

This year – next week, in fact – Paint Monk’s Library will be embarking on another HUGE project, this one even bigger than our Classic Conan Countdown (in scope, anyway!) Made possible ONLY by the work of the fine folks at the Into the Knight! Podcast, we plan to review the entire comic book chronology of Marvel’s Fist of Khonshu, the Moon Knight.

Every Monday, Paint Monk’s Library will feature a new Moon Knight review, beginning with Marc Spector’s first appearance in Werewolf By Night #32 on January 6. We’ll also feature a link to that week’s installment of the Into the Knight! Podcast at the end of each review.

While there is no intention of abandoning our constant coverage of Conan the Barbarian and other sword-and-sorcery related titles, I’ve been wanting to expand to slightly more obscure superheroes that are my personal favorites, and the guys at Into the Knight! have made this possible. Perhaps this will lead one day into exploring other characters I love personally, like Marvel’s Cloak & Dagger or Hillman’s Airboy and Air Fighters comics. Only time – and our growing readership – can make that determination.

https://intotheknightpodcast.wordpress.com/

So if you love the Fist of Khonshu as much as this monk does, be sure to check back on Jan 6th as we kick off the Moon Knight Chronology. And in the meantime, check out the Into the Knight! Podcast…you’ve got a lot of great Moon-talk to catch up on in the meantime.

Thanks for all of your support – and see you on Mondays!

As always, I am – Wally (AKA Paint Monk)

January 1st, 2020

By Wally Monk, Editorial

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EDITORIAL: Paint Monk’s Library 2019 in Review

By WALLY MONK – Paint Monk’s Library Editor

“Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And auld lang syne.”
Robert Burns, 1788

A happy and blessed New Year to all of our readers! As we make the plunge into a brand new year in a mere five hours (as I write this, it’s 7 p.m. EST), I’d like to take a moment to look at all the neat things Paint Monk’s Library has done this year and give a shout out to the people who made 2019 possible for this site.

Sadly, we’ve also lost some familiar faces along the way. Dean Plakas, one of our regular feature writers and a contributor to our Classic Conan Countdown, put the temporary brakes on library blogging as did Troy Chrisman and associate editor Joeseph Simon. To the three of you, your contributions were excellent and I’m grateful you came aboard. You are all missed, and are welcome to be guest writers at any time you want to put fingers to keyboard again.

Here are some of the highlights of 2019 at the Library:

The Classic Conan Countdown Resumed!

On Nov. 1st, 2018, I was in a precarious position time-wise and decided to conclude the Classic Conan Countdown. I even posted a “good-bye” message, which was met with a slew of personal emails asking that the Countdown continue, and in fact, run to completion.

There was no walking away for the Paint Monk, as readers sent emails encouraging me to continue the Classic Conan Countdown, which resumed in January 2019.

Thanks largely to Librarians Andy Maglothin and Bob Freeman, the Countdown resumed and continues today! You’ll see the latest installment – Conan the Barbarian #111 – tomorrow afternoon.

Interviews Aplenty in 2019

It’s amazing what can happen when your blog begins to attract readers. Paint Monk’s Library scribes had some great opportunities this year for industry interviews, talking with tremendous talents like Tim Truman, Rik Offenberger, Don Glut, Jim Zub and Scott Oden.

**A nice talk with Jim Zub was just one of many Paint Monk’s Library interviews in 2019.**

Even more interviews are being planned for 2020. If you missed any of these great articles, you can find a link to all of our interviews here.

A New Website – Goodbye eBlogger

To kick off 2019, Paint Monk’s Library ported over to WordPress from the eBlogger platform that was used since the Library opened its doors. A new and improved blog was hosted at www.paintmonkslibrary.com and it was a monumental project – don’t believe anyone when they say “porting over from one platform to another is easy!”

**The conversion from eBlogger to WordPress is complete, but updating the remaining 100+ articles imported from eBlogger is ongoing.**

I am still editing and re-formatting old articles from the previous blog, and this involves cutting, pasting, new images and in some cases re-writing entire articles in the new interface. This process will continue throughout 2020, and my hope is to have EVERYTHING updated to our new WordPress format by year’s end.

Library Followers & Page Likes Increase

I’m proud to say that in over two years of blogging, I’ve spent a whopping $30 on ads promoting the Paint Monk’s Library. This means that the bulk of our growth is organic and not manufactured.

2019 began with a mere 422 followers on our Facebook page, and as of today, we’re 8 individuals away from 700. While not monumental (yet!), it’s refreshing 1) to know that we’re gaining new readers and 2) that our growth is a result of genuine interest and not the result of click bait advertising.

We entered 2019 with an average of 100-250 clicks on new articles daily, and that has grown to 5-7K clicks each week from unique users and repeat visitors (yes, I do account for spam bots, otherwise the numbers would be even higher!)

Thanks To – All of You!

Paint Monk’s Library wouldn’t exist without you – our readers. I’m so grateful for each page click, comment, like or share each of you choose to give us. My hope is to keep you coming back in 2020 with even more exciting content (big news tomorrow!), more interviews, and more surprises that are in store.

Last but never least, a HUGE thank you to my right-hand Librarians, Bob Freeman and Andy Maglothin. This blog wouldn’t be here without your dedication, your writing skills, and the time you donate each week to share your thoughts with PM Library readers. Faithful readers and followers, please take the time to show Bob and Andy you appreciate their work too with an occasional comment on their reviews and interviews.

Please join me in giving our regular scribes a hearty New Year’s **HUZZAH!**

You’ve got no idea how much a kind word and some feedback can mean to a writer, especially one who is writing as a labor of love and for the benefit of fellow comic fans.

Now, let’s sing that verse of Auld Lang Syne and ring in the new year!

As always, I am – Wally (AKA Paint Monk)

Welcome to the Library!

Language

INTO THE KNIGHT PODCAST

Weirded Wonder

COMIC BOOK GRADING

Golden Age Podcast

Robert E. Howard News

WRITER JIM ZUB’S BLOG

ARTIST TIM TRUMAN’S SITE

Atlas Comics Archives

“Groovy” Comics Blog!

THE DEFENDERS FAN SITE

MARVEL UNLIMITED

COMIXOLOGY

Archive for the ‘Editorial’ Category

EDITORIAL: Ka-Zar’s Death? Sorry, No Apology Is Due

EDITORIAL: Please Don’t Break The Toys in the Sandbox

EDITORIAL: How I Learned to Hate Jim Zub and Marvel

EDITORIAL: A Genesis – How the Loony Infatuation Began

Happy Memorial Day 2020