I read the first two issues. I think it's pretty good.
I read the first two issues. I think it's pretty good.
I like the second issue too. I have a better grasp of the characters and who some of their real life counterparts are. Though still not sure about a few of them.
I know for sure:
Ray Clarke-Gil Kane
Bob Rose-Stan Lee
Sid Mitchell-Jack Kirby
Jess Mayberg-maybe Mort Weisinger?
I think Tom Hollenbeck is suppose to be Rob Leifield.
The others, I'm not sure of.
There came a time when the Old Gods died! The Brave died with the Cunning! The Noble perished locked in battle with unleashed Evil! It was the last day for them! An ancient era was passing in fiery holocaust!
The guy getting grilled by the senator definitely is a stand in for Bill Gaines
Alfred Kessler I wanna guess is Harvey Kurtzman? But I could be way off.
The secretary that Ray has an affair with is probably Flo Steinberg who was Stan Lee's assistant during that time period
A guy I'm friends with on Youtube said that Ted Whitman is probably and black artist who was around actually during the golden age. I had to look it up, but he might Matt Baker.
Benita Heindel, I was guessing perhaps Marie Severin? But I could be off.
Anyway, I love Howard but in this case, I am just endulging him. The inside affairs of turmiol of the history of comics just doesn't make for a captivating read. It would, however, make for an every interesting autobiography, although it is not really autobiographical because most of this is about the generation which Chaykin aprenticed under.
At first I thought Harvey Kurtzman because there's mention of him trying to put more literally influences in his work and even though he knew most of the readers were kids, he was trying to raise the writing level of his comics.
However Dan DeCarlo died around 2001-ish and did marry a redhead. But I don't think Dan was jewish.
Issue three was another solid and depressing issue. But the truth about the comics industry is depressing. I am thinking that a few of these characters are straight roman a clef, Ray, Benita, Bob Rose, Sid, Jess...(Brian Callanan in this issue is the tragic Joe Maneely)
Ted Whitman seems like a conglomerate of Clarence Baker, Bill Everett and a few others.
I am not sure who Laszlo Fabian is suppose to be. When Ray says there are only two artist he learned from, I can only think Kirby (of course) and Eisner, but Fabian as the best artist around sounds more like Lou Fine (and it's the LF) but I think the hanging out the window thing doesn't fit Fine's character AFAIK. Fabian acts more macho like Frank Frazzetta.
Probably another pastiche.
Anyway for a comics history buff, Chaykin is doing a top job.
There came a time when the Old Gods died! The Brave died with the Cunning! The Noble perished locked in battle with unleashed Evil! It was the last day for them! An ancient era was passing in fiery holocaust!
Would this still have appeal to people who wouldn't be able to make all of the comic industry connections or recognize the characterizations from this era?
I've got some ideas of who's who. Certainly not to extent others have speculated here, but I find the story interesting mostly due to the fact that it's a subject (comic books) that I am interested in. In many ways it's really a story "based on true events" where you know not everything is strictly according to actual events, but close enough to pinpoint some names. As I posted earlier, the Powerhouse musical on Broadway did actually happen for Superman.
The story is full of Chaykin reliance on historic flaws and his usual cynical and irreverent tone. My guess is, if you're interested enough in comics to be here and Howard Chaykin doesn't turn you off, then this is a story you may find interesting.
Issue #4 continues the sober look at the comic business. Chaykin really skewers his Stan Lee and Bob Kane stand ins. I wonder if Lee really voted for Goldwater, hard to imagine? He also lets us see his mentor Gil Kane's light fingers with original art lying around the offices.
I thought the scenes with the younger editors telling the actual creators (we can guess Bill Everett, Bill Finger, Jerry Robinson among others) what their creations are really about.
This book is not getting the recognition it deserves.
There came a time when the Old Gods died! The Brave died with the Cunning! The Noble perished locked in battle with unleashed Evil! It was the last day for them! An ancient era was passing in fiery holocaust!
Do we know how many issues this will be or we have no idea?