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B’Wana Beast Ad

by beau Smith

Who’s your favorite comic book character? When asked, you’ll probably get the typical suspects, Batman, Superman, Captain America and Spider-Man. It’s been like that for decades. Every now and then you’ll get a “flavor of the decade” like Spawn or Ghost Rider, but for the most part it’ll be the standard line up.

Being the weirdo that I am, I’ve always favored what others label as B-List comic book characters. It began as a child when I found that in trading comic books with my buddies, I could trade them one amazing Spider-Man comic for three issues of M.A.R.S. Patrol. I always figured when collecting comics, volume was power! I’m still a little like that. I’m a sucker for the “4 For a Dollar” boxes and clearance racks in comic stores.

I think it breaks down to a low risk factor. I go in with low expectations and if I end up really pleased with an issue or a character, then I’ve gotten a great deal. If it turns out to be a stinker, then I haven’t lost much of anything. nothing worse than purchasing a brand new $4.00 comic and not liking it, but if I can get 16 comics for $4.00 and half of them are entertaining, then that’s a slam dunk in my world.

Getting back to my twisted thinking childhood, I tried to make it a point to seek out the obscure and B-List characters and comics. DC Comics gave me a great outlet for my quest in the 1960’s with showcase Comics. It was within those newsprint pages that I found animal Man, Cave Carson and B’Wana Beast, whom I would one day write (DC holiday special 2009). That alone was a dream come true, one that I hope to relive soon.

Mighty Samson

Charlton Comics was a goldmine of little known characters for me, Peter Cannon – Thunderbolt, The Peacemaker, Captain Atom and Judo Master just to name a few. Gold essential gave me Mighty Samson, (which I loved) doctor Solar,(which I never understood, but thought looked really cool) and the above discussed M.A.R.S. Patrol – total war (one of my all-time favorite comics). even Harvey Comics supplied me with some fantastic strange comics and characters such as Bee-Man, (insanely great) Jack Q. Frost, Pirana and Spy Man. In my neighborhood, I was known as the kid you could dump all your goofy comics on. I loved it. It was a great scam to get really fun comics. some of the characters I knew were unusual and not really well written, but like viewing a bad movie, you could delight in it to make fun of it or just revel in the craziness. I suspect that one day, if not already, people will be seeking out comics created by Rob Liefeld the same way.

Bee-Man

I find myself continuing to adopt second and third string characters today. In fact, during my two year run on man Gardner Warrior, I set out to rescue as numerous of DC’s then second string characters as I could by making them a part of Guy’s supporting cast. I snatched up Tiger-Man, Wildcat, lady Blackhawk, Lead from The metal men and just before the book was axed, I had planned on bringing B’Wana Beast, the original Vigilante, space Ranger and Dial H For Hero into the Warrior’s fold. Yeah, I guess you could say I always root for the underdog. I think somebody needs to. Every hero or bad man in comics ought to have a voice, a champion that is prepared to give that character a little spotlight and CPR. Heck, I even brought back forgotten bad men like Firefist, Earthworm and Goldface.

Inferior Five

So please do this for me, try and throw some support to some lesser known characters and comics. let others know that you’re backing the B Team. Be happy of the fact. search the discount and back issues bins for some oddities of the past. Eyeball the new comic shelves for the next inferior five or Red Wolf. Do them the favor – and yourself as well.

Your amigo,

Beau Smith
The flying Fist Ranch
www.flyingfistranch.com