Power of Fishnets 20: Paging Doctor Moreau

Ryan reviews the Black Canary and Green Arrow backup stories from World's Finest Comics #247, which concludes the were-creature saga with a crazy homage to the Island of Dr. Moreau. Also, listener feedback from last episode.

Let us know what you think! Leave a comment or send an email to: RDalyPodcast@gmail.com.

This podcast is a proud member of the FIRE AND WATER PODCAST NETWORK

Subscribe via iTunes as part of the FIRE AND WATER PODCAST: http://itunes.apple.com/podcast/the-fire-and-water-podcast/id463855630

Music: “Beast of Burden" by The Rolling Stones.

Thanks for listening! Evah a ecin yad!

21 responses to “Power of Fishnets 20: Paging Doctor Moreau

  1. A couple of comments about this story.

    I find Sal Amendola’s art a little uneven in this story. At times, it looks like he is a disciple of Toth, especially that opening splash of her character. At times it looks Joe Staton’s more cartoony style (pg 4 in particular). And at times it looks scratchy like Tony DeZuniga (the scream panel is a good example). While it is overall good, I was lamenting the lack of Nasser.

    As you say, heading to the Island of Dr. Moreau is a one-trick pony. You can’t go to that Wells to often. Seriously, it seems a bit too on the nose. And, of course, the ‘dangle the heroes over the acid’ as opposed to just killing them seems a bit quaint these days. How Dr. Evil of him!

    Lastly, that must be industrial strength velcro or serious duct tape on that towel Dinah is fighting in. How did it not fall off given the crazy kicks and flips? Insanity.

    1. Spot on Anj, having a bit of Toth and Staton style on the same page is weird – I wonder if Sal Amendola had that Adventure Comics Black Canary story drawn by Toth on hand for reference.

      And Chris, you may have seen boobies, but they look scarily deformed, utterly fake.

      Anyway, a fun couple of stories. I justify Ollie going to Canada because of the clever linkage gimmick the strips had going on; in the end, he needed rescuing every bit as much as Dinah.

  2. Dinah takes another shower! It makes me think what Batman comics would read like if they were primarily written by women; I guess Bruce would be cleaning up after every little skirmish. (On a related note, we see Green Arrow get a shower in JLA #201, so I guess there was something about the duo that made their writers include scenes of them freshening up)

    I really like Sal Amendola’s art, it has a nice combo of grit and cartooniness that I find appealing. I’ve read interviews with him and he admits that it was his own self-consciousness and nervous temperament that really kept him from being a bigger name in comics. Too bad, because his work here is quite good and full of energy.

    Great episode, love the needle drop, Can’t go wrong with 70s-era Stones.

    Oh, and you know, f*ck the whole lot of them, really.

  3. I had to bypass this weeks Fire and Water and Treasury Cast to listen to this episode first (sorry Rob and Shag), because as I said before, this comic made QUITE the impression on me. At 2 1/2 years old, I saw boobies. I’m still not sure HOW that panel of Dinah just disrobing in front of a werewolf she just met made it into a Code-approved comic, but I’m forever grateful. Thanks Gerry and Sal.

    Speaking of Sal, I like this art as well. It’s a bit uneven compared to Nasser, but it’s very evocative, and not just for the obvious reasons. Very lively. I dig it.

    The Dr. Moreau thing was probably a bit TOO on the nose. Even though Conway admits it in the story, sometimes, that device doesn’t really work. Having Ollie save Dinah was a bit of a copout as well. I never thought of how trusting Dinah is to let a werewolf ride behind her on her bike, but then, she did just show him the goods, so she must figure he’s pretty chill.

    Great coverage on this one, and as Rob said, nice needle drop, but then you are the Fire & Water Network’s Master Blaster of DJs.

    Chris

  4. The Trans Canadian Super Highway ?

    Where is that? And do you see fish-netted ladies giving rides on motorcycles to werewolves?
    I’m off to the TCSH to Queen’s Ridge. Have made motel reservations, and requesting extra towels, just in case I get into a scrap.

  5. This episode reminded me of “Tyger, Tyger” from B:TAS, where Batman must travel to the island of Dr. Dorian to rescue Catwoman from his animal-human hybrid henchmen.

    While Canary does require rescuing, I suppose some credit can be given for her having Arrow on standby should things go awry. Though I’m not sure how often Superman or Batman would have their female counterparts in mind should they fail their missions.

  6. Thanks for another informative episode! I just picked up the new collection of Paul Dini’s Zatanna stories and I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this in the future.

    I also just picked up “Scooby Doo Team-Ups” #19 that features Zee searching for her missing father. Even better: it is filled with cameos from Dr. Fate, Ibis, Sargon, Baron WInters, Traci Thirteen, Black Alice, Prince Ra-Man, and even El Carim who’s not been seen since the Golden Age (I had to look him up). I never thought I’d read a comic where Scooby Doo wears the helmet of Fate! I hope you discuss this one too someday. Keep up the good work.

    1. I pre-ordered that Zatanna by Paul Dini collection and got the shipping notification that it will arrive tomorrow. I definitely want to cover that material, but I’m going through Zatanna’s stories in chronological order, at least until she joins the Justice League officially. After that, I can break away and touch on more of these stories because she’s back in the fishnets.

      But it might be a good idea to do a quickie overview of the trade on a future episode.

      And yes, I’ve read that Scooby Doo Team-Up issue, too. Great stuff. Again, I definitely want to cover this at some point down the road.

  7. Another great show Ryan – I really enjoyed the story by Conway, but, like Anj, felt the art was a bit uneven at times. Having said that, it did not detract from my enjoyment of the story. Would really love a Black Canary story from this era that is not tied to the apron strings of Green Arrow though!

  8. First off, another great episode. I mean this is my new favorite podcast.

    However, the other day, I wrote what I hoped was an absolutely super cool post about how much I love this particular Black Canary appearance (And I do). Unfortunately, I didn’t post it like I should have when I got to a certain point (Wanted to finish it before posting. Big mistake). Ended up, my phone’s web browser reset itself and wiped out my post completely.

    So, I just wanna say (Hopefully before you record the new episode) that I love this issue. It’s one of my Top 10 favorite Black Canary stories. I mean Dinah in only a towel is fantastic. No doubt. But I can think of at least four Black Canary art moments in it that are absolutely gold. That absolutely flirty “Hi! I’m Black Canary! Check out my story!” shot on the very first page of the tale. Awesome! That lovely little “Oops! I had it all wrong.” moment when Wulf clues Dinah in on what’s been going on behind the scenes the whole time. Fabulous! And the last two pages of the tale. When we get Damsel-In-Distrees-Dinah (A quite common occurrence for Dinah back in the glorious days of the 70s & 80s) as a helpless, dangling captive of the the somewhat lecherous looking Dr. Moreau. Amazingly amazing! (I mean, is he kinda torturing her with his cane in the upper portion of the last page? I’ve always wondered.)

    Now I sincerely realize that it’s not exactly modern or progressive of me to find Dinah in peril to be a sexy thing. But, ya know, that is comic books of that day and age (The age of my youth). Written and drawn by guys of a different time that knew how to target their target audience. So, as such, I’m still a total chump for DiD type artwork (Bless you pulp material sensibilities). And so, I hope that doesn’t paint me in TOO bad of a light. But….Lord have mercy, those last two pages of the Canary story are something. As always, bless girls in fishnets pantyhose. Bless you all.

    So in closing, thanks again for an awesome podcast, Ryan. Do please keep up the good works. Oh, and I left an iTunes review. Because you absolutely deserve it. Hope it helps. As ever, looking forward to the next episode.

    ps Do please forgive any bad spelling here. I was I rush when I “wrote” all of this down. Be cool.

  9. I know you probably tried to scrub you brain of this, but I have to wonder if the man-animal precedent set by these stories was part of the inspiration for the “dillos” being so haphazardly introduced in the last issue of her 90s title.

  10. I started the only extended Martian Manhunter arc of the 1970s with Mike Nasser on art and ended it with Curt Swan, so I’d happily trade you for Sal Amendola (although each artist seems to be the best fit for their specific stories. Swan wasn’t exactly known for his cheesecake or feral horrors.)

    Has anyone else pointed out the obvious, that the animal-men were created for a story about a bow-hunter hero and were just shoehorned into the Black Canary “front-up” segments of a dual-strip ultimately starring Green Arrow? They make thematic sense in that context. I love it when super-heroes break the fourth wall to narrate their own stories. It’s comforting.

Leave a Reply to Bradley Null Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *