ShieldMaster to the Rescue

While comicbooks themselves (one word, not two, we’ll explain later)[i] can be trace back to Geneva, Switzerland back in 1837 then then jumping to appear in the UK and the U.S. in the 1840s. Here in the U.S. the recognized dawn of comicbooks in the States began in 1897, with the publication of The Yellow Kid in McFadden’s Flats has long been considered to be the first U.S. comic book (still one word, more later), insomuch that it actually bore the phrase “comic book” on its back cover. Still, it wasn’t until 1938 and the debut of Superman in Action Comics #1 that the Golden Age of comics truly began. This Golden Age ran from ’38 ‘til ’51, with the resurgence of comics as viable pop culture medium occurring during the Silver Age which ran from 1956 through 1970[ii].

Throughout the intervening years, comics have morphed into various changes, altering size, price point, format, delivery methodology, and even ultimately jumping from the static page to TV, Film, and currently living on the internet. Still, for those of us who were first introduced to comics in their “All in color for a dime”, 32-page, episodic original incarnation; even those of us (your humble narrator included) who came of age during the second (third?) great age of comics; The Silver age which ran from 1956 through 1970[i].

Needless to say, there were some folks who were there during the Golden Age, who stuck around and/hoor were still influential in one form or another. One of those people was Joe Simon, who was the partner of Jack Kirby who has been credited with founding the look of the Marvel Universe. It is no secret that one of Joe and Jack’s greatest creation has been Captain America, who, in his first cover appearance was depicted as punching Adolf Hitler in the Jaw on the cover of Captain America #1 in 1941 a full nine months before the U.S. entered the war.

Now some 80+ years later, Jesse Simon, the Grandson of Joe, along with his father Jim (Jo’s son) have brought a new set of heroes into the fold, all reminiscent of his grandfather’s greatest hero. ShieldMaster is a comicbook about four teenagers from Montauk, NY just off the eastern end of Long Island. The teens wander onto a decommissioned military base and come across a set of extra-dimensional shields that imbue them with supra-normal powers and abilities, transforming them into the incarnations of powerful warriors that once protected another world in another dimension. The first two issues of ShieldMaster initially appeared as an Illustrated graphic album entitled ShieldMaster Comics Phoenix Project and was then continued as ShieldMaster Comics in an anthology comic, packaged with The Fly in a new story by Jim Simon as well as a Blue Bolt reprint by his grandfather, Joe.

Upon reading the series, the first thing readers will see is the similarity in art style between the that of Reed Man’s and the art of many of the popular comics from the Golden age. Another aspect of the series is the rather simplistic storytelling style. To be sure, this is not so much of a slam as it is an observation of a comics historian with 50 years of first-hand knowledge of the field, from multiple angles; from that as a fan, a journalist covering the field, as well as a professional working for both major and minor publishing houses, plus publishing my own comics.  

One of the aspects of ShieldMaster (as well as Golden Age) comics is the shear simplicity of the storytelling; heroes are good guys because they do the right things, while villains are bad because they do bad things. There was little if any subtility to the storytelling during that era, some of which spilled over into the early days of the Silver Age with the appearance of the original Brotherhood of Evil Mutants in X-Men #4 (March 1964), because truthfully, no real world organization would actually use the word “evil” as part of their name. As the medium evolved, subtilty and layers of storytelling were added to what was once believed to be solely a child’s medium. Needless to say, this simpler, straightforward style of storytelling is not entirely without its charm. Plus, for all of its layered subtility, a simpler, more to-the-point style of telling a story is probably more effective for a small publisher without a clear, regular publishing schedule.  

Having said all of that, as someone who spent the Lion’s share of his life reading, and working in and around comics, seeing the scion of a comicbook legend entering the field is a most amazing, and heartfelt sensation. (Back in 2010 Jason Goodman, (another third-generation offspring, the grandson of Martin Goodman (who founded Atlas, which became Marvel) and the son of Chip Goodman (who launched Atlas/Seaboard back in ’74) attempted to bring Atlas Comics back into the funnybook publishing industry with the characters from the ’74 re-launch.

In conclusion, we wish Jason and Jim all the best in their noble endeavor to keep Joe’s legacy alive in the field that he help found.

For more information about ShieldMaster, check them out on Facebook, or Twitter.

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[i] Stan Lee once stated that “comicbooks” should be written as one word because they are neither either “comical” or “books” but by combining them into a single word, they actually become an entirely new genre. Hence we have since referred to our medium of choice by the nomenclature that Stan laid on it.

[ii] The accepted eras for comics are as follows:

1 Platinum Age (1842-1938)

2 Golden Age (1938- c. 1951)

3 Silver Age (1956 -c. 1970)

4 Bronze Age (c. 1970 – c. 1985)

5 Iron/Modern Age (c. 1985 - present)