Showing posts with label Man from UNCLE. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Man from UNCLE. Show all posts

Monday, September 5, 2011

Reading Room: JET DREAM "Super-Tiger of Targan"

It's Labor Day, but there's no rest for our favorite femme fatale...
..as she goes on the hunt in this short story from Man from U.N.C.L.E. #9 (1966)!
Ah, the Swinging Sixties, when a story like this actually seemed plausible...
Though the story by Dick Wood is silly, it's made quite palatable by the Mike Sekowsky/Mike Peppe artwork.

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Reading Room: JET DREAM "Spider and the Spy"

...in another short, but sweet comic adventure!
It's amazing how much story writer Dick Wood and artists Mike Sekowsky & Frank Giacoia can cram into only four pages!
Gold Key ran very few ads in their books, so they had to provide editorial content to fill out the 32 pages of material.
Issues 1-6 of Man from U.N.C.L.E. had 32-page stories (Yes, 32 pages of story, not 18-22 story pages with 10-14 pages of ads!)
From #7's into of Jet Dream to the end of the book's run, the lead U.N.C.L.E. story ran 27-28 pages with Jet Dream running 4 pages and, if needed, a one page spy-themed text or filler page.
And all these stories were self-contained.
No ongoing plotlines!
No cliffhangers!
You could jump in at any point and follow the stories perfectly!

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Reading Room: JET DREAM "Spy in the Sky"

The very first Jet Dream tale...
...from Man from U.N.C.L.E. #7 (1965).
Jump in and enjoy!
This opening tale by writer Dick Wood, penciler Mike Sekowsky and inker Frank Giacoia was not related to U.N.C.L.E. in any way, except being spy-themed!
You'll note it's only four pages. Every Jet Dream tale until the book-length one-shot was the same length.
As a result, characterization and back-story are at a minimum and the stories race along at a maniacal pace!
The team is, like the Blackhawks, international, with members from the US, Germany, England, France, and an unspecified Pacific island.
They're all expert aircraft pilots, all can handle weapons and know various marital arts, and each has unique talents.
Unlike the Blackhawks of the era, they are mercenaries, hiring out to the highest bidder (as long as they're not Commies or an evil organization like SPECTRE or THRUSH)!
There's no origin story, we're just introduced to them as an already-organized and fully-equipped team.
We're adding Jet Dream and Her StuntGirl CounterSpies into the rotation of ongoing strips in our Reading Room, so keep an eye on us for their next appearance!