Monday, May 27, 2013

Death Be Not Proud!


"Death, be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;
For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow,
Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,
Much pleasure; then from thee much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee do go,
Rest of their bones, and soul's delivery.
Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell;
And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well
And better than thy stroke; why swell'st thou then?
One short sleep past, we wake eternally,
And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die."
 
by John Donne


For more on this awesome comic book written by Roy Thomas and drawn to perfection by John Buscema and George Klein, check out this link.

Have a pleasant Memorial Day.

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9 comments:

  1. Excellent post! Bucky should have stayed dead, the Winter Soldier story should have been a "What If?"

    I also have to agree about Roy Thomas, a master of the comic book medium, who I feel is harshly treated nowadays as being too concerned with retcons.

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    1. You clearly saw the post before I altered it to be all Donne. But the point is still valid. Bucky alive is less interesting to the core of Cap than Bucky dead. It might make a pretty good movie though.

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  2. Ah yes, Roy Thomas including poetry in his already wordy comics... one of his hallmarks. Rave on, John Donne.

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    1. Yep. An early course in Brit Lit for me when I was an early Roy fan.

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  3. One of my first "old" Avengers comics, and still one of the best. I always felt it was a shame that the "conclusion" to this story, in Avengers King-Size Special #2, was drawn by the rapidly-declining Don Heck. Quite a contrast after this JB masterpiece!

    Doug

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  4. Poor Don Heck. Was that slam necessary?

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    1. Well, Matt, since it wasn't a "slam", I'm not sure I should even dignify this with a response. It was more of an "observation" based on my personal opinion of Don Heck's output over several years. Heck's best years, in my opinion, were behind him by the time the late 1960's rolled around. I have gone on record numerous times stating that I find his early Avengers work, mostly from the Kooky Quartet era, to be among the finest art in the long history of Earth's Mightiest Heroes. But moving forward from there, I find his work stiff and his facial expressions lacking the warmth they once had.

      In contrast, John Buscema was at the height of his powers in the late 1960's, and as I said -- following this "introduction" with the Heck-drawn conclusion was a bit of a downer. I'd add that the outstanding Buscema cover of Avengers Annual #2 only heightened the disappointment.

      So in answer to your query, if indeed it was a slam (which it was not), it was necessary to show a) my opinion, and b) the contrast that I feel exists at this point in time between John Buscema and Don Heck.

      I hope that helps you.

      Doug

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    2. You're so condescending, Doug. What you wrote was a gratuitous insult to Don Heck no matter how you want to defend it after the fact. There was no context as to why Don Heck needed to be called "rapidly declining."

      "I wish JB had finished it as I prefer his artwork to DH's" is stating your opinion without putting down DH. Or what you wrote above in your attempt to back-pedal on your tossed-off insult.

      When someone writes something like that on your blog you call it a drive-by an'd complain that it's unsupported and that as an educator you hate when your students do that in their writing.

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    3. Matt, it wouldn't be fair to Rip to carry this any further on his blog. We can agree to disagree on many things. I am glad you've found a new home, and appreciate your past contributions to the conversations at the Bronze Age Babies. Best to you.

      Doug

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