Thursday, September 16, 2010

Single Issue Hall of Fame: The F.B.I.

What? You've never heard of this one? Well, I hadn't either until not too long ago, but that shouldn't keep it out of the Hall of Fame. It falls into that rather odd 'real fact' category of comics books, as it tells the story of how the FBI came to be and some of the Bureau's highlights up until that point. If you've ever read an issue of True Comics, Real Fact Comics or Heroic Comics, you know that purely historical or biographical comics can be a bit dry. I am happy to report, however, that this one is well paced and full of action. Mixed in with the various bit of legislative history are some of the biggest busts of the 20th century. It certainly helps that all of this is drawn by Joe Sinnott. If you're like me, you are much more familiar with Joe's inks than you are his pencils. Well, they are a sight to behold - he adds great depth to the human face and really know how to lay out an action sequence. I also like the fact that if you squint your eyes a bit, the G-Men on the cover looks like Henry Silva. That seals the deal for me.

3 comments:

benday-dot/craig said...

Scott, have you seen Four Color #1069, which similarly mines the territory of the FBI story? It's all Toth, and I think he does some of his best Dell work ever on the issue. It covers ground from the 20's gangster era to the KKK and the Cold War... great stuff done my a master at this sort of urban drama. Thanks for writing about the Sinnott book Scott. Hopefully, one day one will cross my path. Craig.

Four-Color Kid said...

Weird. Seeing the cover, I am not reminded of Henry Silva.

I see Robert Vaughn's Napoleon Solo from the Man from U.N.C.L.E. TV series.

Anonymous said...

Having nothing to do with the topic at hand, I can find no email address for you, so I'm contacting you here.

I found your "TOM SUTTON'S TOP 13 HORROR COVERS," and personally couldn't agree more.

I've been a big fan of Tom Sutton since the 60s, and eventually got to know him when I interviewed him and published a portfolio by him. I also came to own some of his art. I'm down to my last 5 pieces, and I'm selling two of them, one of which is GHOSTLY HAUNTS #41, which you said is your favorite.

I just posted it today, under my ebay name "mburbey." It ends next Sunday.

Just thought you might be interested.

http://tinyurl.com/2gytzws

Love your blog BTW, especially the highlighting of under appreciate artists and such.