![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Second Day of Classic Comics Christmas 2009
#2 in my list of 12 Favorite Creative Teams/Arcs:
(Look here to see what the other CBR posters chose as their favorites.)
E. Nelson Bridwell and Ramona Fradon
Super Friends #7-9
File this one under "Far better than it had any right to be". Given the assignment to create a tie-in to the (let's face it) pretty terrible "Super Friends" cartoon, E. Nelson Bridwell and Ramona Fradon rose to the challenge and came up with what I consider to be the last great "Silver Age" comic: Plot-heavy stories full of clever gimmicks and clear-cut right and wrong. In the best tradition of writers like Bill Finger and Gardner Fox, Bridwell sprinkled his stories with references to everything from science to literature to religion (and, of course, comics trivia). Perhaps his greatest tour de force was the "International Heroes" storyline in Super Friends #7-9. The space villain Grax has planted doomsday bombs in locations around the globe, and the Justice League joins forces with various foreign heroes to disable them before it's too late. Bridwell and Fradon clearly had a blast designing these new heroes, and several of them are downright inspired. My favorites include The Seraph (an Israeli hero who gets his powers from the Staff of Moses, the Mantle of Elijah, and the Ring of Solomon), and the 3-eyed Tuatara (a New Zealand hero who can see through time). Each of the bombs is guarded or booby-trapped in some way, and the heroes have to use their ingenuity as well as their powers to defuse them. And the international locales give Bridwell plenty of opportunity to show off his knowledge of history, language, and culture. Even the much-maligned "Junior Super Friends", Wendy, Marvin, and Wonder Dog, get a moment in the spotlight, ultimately taking down the big bad guy.
A story this jam-packed with characters, gimmicks, and locations would give any artist pause. But Ramona Fradon handles it all with grace and style. The panels never seem rushed or crowded, and her designs for the international heroes are varied and stylish. All in all, it's a textbook example of a solid, fun superhero yarn.
(Look here to see what the other CBR posters chose as their favorites.)
E. Nelson Bridwell and Ramona Fradon
Super Friends #7-9
File this one under "Far better than it had any right to be". Given the assignment to create a tie-in to the (let's face it) pretty terrible "Super Friends" cartoon, E. Nelson Bridwell and Ramona Fradon rose to the challenge and came up with what I consider to be the last great "Silver Age" comic: Plot-heavy stories full of clever gimmicks and clear-cut right and wrong. In the best tradition of writers like Bill Finger and Gardner Fox, Bridwell sprinkled his stories with references to everything from science to literature to religion (and, of course, comics trivia). Perhaps his greatest tour de force was the "International Heroes" storyline in Super Friends #7-9. The space villain Grax has planted doomsday bombs in locations around the globe, and the Justice League joins forces with various foreign heroes to disable them before it's too late. Bridwell and Fradon clearly had a blast designing these new heroes, and several of them are downright inspired. My favorites include The Seraph (an Israeli hero who gets his powers from the Staff of Moses, the Mantle of Elijah, and the Ring of Solomon), and the 3-eyed Tuatara (a New Zealand hero who can see through time). Each of the bombs is guarded or booby-trapped in some way, and the heroes have to use their ingenuity as well as their powers to defuse them. And the international locales give Bridwell plenty of opportunity to show off his knowledge of history, language, and culture. Even the much-maligned "Junior Super Friends", Wendy, Marvin, and Wonder Dog, get a moment in the spotlight, ultimately taking down the big bad guy.
A story this jam-packed with characters, gimmicks, and locations would give any artist pause. But Ramona Fradon handles it all with grace and style. The panels never seem rushed or crowded, and her designs for the international heroes are varied and stylish. All in all, it's a textbook example of a solid, fun superhero yarn.