Welcome to the weekend reading portion of the blog. Lots of great stuff found on the internets this week, from Will Eisner and Clown Funerals to Nazi Moonbases, there’s enough stuff to make everyone happy, and that’s always the ultimate goal, isn’t it?

WILL EISNER’S WONDER MAN: This is an oldie, but still good. Eisner was hired by Victor Fox to create Wonder Man to be his company’s Superman. When Wonder Comics #1 debuted in 1939, Fox then proceeded to get the crap sued out of him by the owners of the real thing. Eisner was even called to the stand. You can read about that over at the Wikipedia. But over at Golden Age Heroes, you can read the complete first Wonder Man story.

WILL NO ONE THINK OF THE CHILDREN? Fredric Wertham did, and so did the U.S. Government. But did you know that England also had its share of hysteria over comics? It seems that Jolly Old E was very concerned about children who read comic books and then commit horrible badness, which must then be traced back to those horrible comic books. Britain’s National Archives has a great podcast about how the vulgar American comic books were insinuating themselves into Britain’s cakes-and-ale culture and corrupting the sweet-faced youth of our mother country. Fortunately, the host does bring up the fact that Britain had something of a comics industry long before we showed up. Oh, snap! The podcast is called “Kapow! Fifties Britain Vs. The Comics Menace,” and the link is courtesy of Elizabeth Foxwell over at The Bunburyist (and that’s a reference to Oscar Wilde, you lit-slackers).

WHO’S STRONGER?: All of the great battles in comics history are fought and debated for years. Whose stronger? Thor or Hulk. Superman or Muhammed Ali. Diamond or. Capital City. The direct market or the newsstand. Borders or Barnes and Noble or Amazon. Popeye or Bluto/Brutus. Ever since “A Bug’s Life” and “Antz” came out, there’s been a challenger eager to join the perennial fan slapfests: Pixar Vs. Dreamworks. Fortunately, someone has printed up a handy checklist to help us choose sides.

EVGENIIY: If you want me to buy more comic books, forget the crossovers, sudden deaths and flowchart continuity. If there were more comic books that looked like this, I would buy more comic books. The defense rests. (Link is very probably NSFW, but that’s not the only reason why I like it.)

BOPPO THE CLOWN: Way off-topic, I know, but seriously, is there anything funnier than a clown funeral? I didn’t think so. 

NAZIS ON THE MOON: In 1945, at the end of WWII, surviving Nazis escaped to the Moon (thanks Wernher von Braun!), built a base, made some weapons. Now, in the year 2018, they’re coming back to finish the job. That’s the basic plot of Iron Sky, the new movie from the creators of Star Wreck. It sounds like it was adapted from some old Stan Lee-Steve Ditko pre-code comic book, doesn’t it?

BOB CAMP: Camp is one of the great modern cartoonists, and one of the guiding forces behind Ren & Stimpy! Charles Brubaker has a fun, matter-of-fact interview with him at Baking The Baker.

DON HECK: You might know him as one of Marvel’s classic super-hero artists from the 1960s and 1970s, but did you also know he could chop off a guy’s head like many a good E.C. Comics artist? Tom Crippen over at The Hooded Utilitarian has the evidence.

WHEN WILL MAGAZINES DIE?: First they came for the magazines and I did nothing, because, really, what do I care about Redbook or McCall’s. I read comic books. Then they came for the comics…None of us really know when magazines will die out, but the newsstand cancer is spreading and there’s no known cure (Cut page count! Layoff staff! Increase prices! Reduce page size! Drop frequency!). Magazines are dropping so fast, you need a scorecard to keep track. Fortunately, one of my favorite websites, Magazine Death Pool, keeps an up-to-date list so you don’t have to. Added bonus: snarky commentary.

FREELANCING: If you’re wondering what the life of a freelance writer looks like, Bob Greenberger would like you to read about his schedule. It’s not all beer and skittles. One of the things that struck me reading about his projects is that each one is different – a novelization, a non-fiction book, promotional copy, reviews, etc. A working writer writes, and Bob writes very well. Here he is talking about Deadlines and Royalties and here’s the schedule of his upcoming releases (be sure to check out that Iron Man book when it comes out). I’ve known Bob a long time and his blog is worth bookmarking for future return visits.

That’s all for this week. Have a great weekend and don’t forget to read an actual book sometime.