"Spider-Man, Spider-Man"

Who's going to see the Spider-Man movie today? Who has already seen it?

I'm going today...First time back in a theater...

Superman launched comic book superheroes, but Spider-Man made them human. This nerdy teenager from Queens was full of complexities and angst, just like the rest of us. But, he still abided by Stan Lee’s immortal line: “With great power, there also must also come -- great responsibility.”

The film is taking the world by storm during a dark time — two years of a global pandemic, economic uncertainty, political chaos. Will Spider-Man save the day?

50 Years Ago -- The Rawhide Kid!

In December 1971, a lesser-know Marvel hero tackled racism in Rawhide Kid #94.

Written and drawn by Larry Lieber (yes, Stan Lee’s kid brother and a fine comic book creator in his own right), the Rawhide Kid is little known outside comic book historian circles, but the series was popular for Marvel for many decades. The Rawhide Kid sprung to life in the mid-1950s when Marvel was called Atlas and a young editor named Stan Lee needed to find exciting (yet wholesome) heroes in the wake of the national hysteria regarding comic book indecency, including nationally-televised Senate hearings on the subject.

The singing cowboy actors, like Roy Rogers and Gene Autry, were perfect for comic books. They presented a generally wholesome image, but could mix it up with fistfights and gunfights, thus providing some action. And, people never seemed to get tired of celebrating America’s (complicated) history of the West.

The Rawhide Kid #94

Larry Lieber talked to Roy Thomas about his motivation for writing Rawhide Kid, explaining, “I wanted people to cry as if they were watching High Noon.” A famous 1952 film starring Gary Cooper, High Noon won a handful of Academy Awards and was selected by the Library of Congress for inclusion in the National Film Registry.

Like so many of Marvel’s famous superheroes, Marshal Will Kane (Cooper) has to choose between upholding his honor and fulfilling his duty to others or putting his personal happiness first. Fitting that such a conflicted character was Lieber’s inspiration and that his mental map was of a film, considering how cinematic Lee and others viewed Marvel comic books.

In Rawhide Kid #94, the cover is misleading, because the Kid actually helps Rafe Larsen the Black gunfighter shown shooting at him. After solving the mystery of a frame job against Larsen, the Rawhide Kid helps him to freedom, but Larsen knows that he will continue to confront racism, no matter the small town and “the next passle of haters!” Although Lieber and Marvel should be lauded for putting a Black character on its cover (rare in those days), race is treated simplistically with tried-and-true tropes, like the Kid stating: “Every man, white or black, is entitled to his day in court!” All the Whites in the story (except the hero) are trying to kill Larsen, but he is still berated for not trusting any of them.

We can’t go back in time to fully understand the historical context of why Lieber would pull his punches on race and racism, but from contemporary eyes, it seems he could have been more provocative.

On a separate note…I wonder if a Rawhide Kid MCU film will someday make its way to the screen…

50 Years Ago -- The Avengers!

Avengers #94, December 1971

-- I used to love the way the colors popped on the covers, like a breath of fresh air. That feeling of walking into a comic book shop (though for me, it was initially hand-me-downs and two interesting places to buy comic books…a pharmacy/magazine shop and a hyper-local hardware store!!).

It seemed in the 1970s that teen collectors were willing to swap and trade regularly. I got early 1970s comic books from these older kids.

And, check out Vision standing watch as part of the logo!

Writer: Roy Thomas

Penciller: John Buscema, Neal Adams

Cover Artist: Neal Adams

Avengers #94

Conversations with Jerome Charyn, edited by Sophie Vallas

Conversations with Jerome Charyn provides a fascinating and insightful look inside Charyn's work through his own words -- arguably the most interesting writer alive today. There is no one quite like Charyn -- the depth of the work across several genres is unparalleled.

Yet, while he is a bestseller in France, he is not widely known among American readers, which is pitiful. This is an American artist that should be heralded and studied -- his work transformed historical fiction, detective fiction, and the memoir.

Editor Sophie Vallas should be recognized for pulling the Conversations book together and her diligence in studying Charyn. Her interviews with the author contained in the book demonstrate a deep commitment to understanding this important writer. I appreciate the University of Mississippi publishing this series. I look forward to this book coming out in paperback, which will make it more affordable and widely available.

Sergeant Salinger by Jerome Charyn

If you love great literature, do yourself a favor and pick up a book by Charyn. I recommend Sergeant Salinger, his latest.

John Updike: Pennsylvania Roots on the Updike Podcast

John Updike was born in Pennsylvania in 1932. Much of his early work, including the famed Rabbit novels and many critically acclaimed short stories were set in the state. Examining Updike's PA roots is important in understanding his development as a writer and how that output shaped his "writerly" life. 

I share snippets of a 1983 Updike speech in which he discusses many of these Pennsylvania connections and why he chose to dedicate his artistic life to "middles."

On another note...

I am incredibly honored to feature the fantastic piano piece, called "Swing Of The Hip," written and performed by Evan Palazzo. Evan is the band leader and pianist of The Hot Sardines, the group he and front woman, singer extraordinaire Elizabeth Bougerol created to play the great jazz classics of a century ago, as well as their own original recordings. If you love jazz, you should be listening to The Hot Sardines. Or, once live music kicks off again, see them at one of their many global tour stops. I guarantee seeing THS live is a concert experience you will never forget! For my money, The Hot Sardines are simply the best jazz band playing today!

For more information about The Hot Sardines, visit them online at www.hotsardines.com or at Facebook or Instagram where many thousands of followers gather to get the latest news, music, and information about the band.

New Podcast -- John Updike: American Writer, American Life

Over the course of his six-decade career stretching from the 1950s to 2000s, great American writer and novelist John Updike received praise from countless critics, including Christopher Hitchens, who called his scope “rather breathtaking,” and from Michiko Kakutani of the New York Times, who said that Updike “established himself as a major and enduring critical voice; indeed, as the preeminent critic of his generation.”

This Anchor podcast tackles many of the most urgent questions facing literature and pop culture in contemporary America and where culture goes from here. Some episodes will feature interviews with readers, critics, scholars, academics, and other interested in the life and times of John Updike.

Sometimes the show will be funny, other times, sad, but across the board, it will be informative as we interrogate, examine, and analyze the great American author John Updike.

Click on the URL to listen to “John Updike: American Writer, American Life”

"Tristate True Crime" on "Cincy Lifestyle" and WCPO

“Tristate True Crime” on WCPO’s Cincy Lifestyle

Join cultural historian Bob Batchelor as he presents “Tristate True Crime” bi-monthly on WCPO’s Cincy Lifestyle, airing weekdays at 10 a.m. The segment by the award-winning author airs on Tuesdays.

Batchelor’s first segment — The Rookwood Mad Man — debuted on February 23, 2021. The episode featured a 1888 true crime mystery at Cincinnati’s famous Rookwood Pottery, the art studio that birthed art pottery in the United States.

Please share with other true crime, mystery, history fans! And, look for future episodes on WCPO 9's Cincy Lifestyle!

Signed And Personalized Copy -- The Bourbon King: The Life And Crimes Of George Remus, Prohibition's Evil Genius

The Bourbon King: The Life and Crimes of George Remus, Prohibition’s Evil Genius is the epic tale of 1920s “Bootleg King” George Remus, one of the greatest criminal masterminds in American history.

You can order a signed and personalized copy of The Bourbon King via www.bobbatchelor.com/store.

Overview

Prohibition didn’t stop George Remus from cornering the boozy, illegal liquor marketplace and amassing a fortune that is rumored to have eclipsed $200 million (the equivalent of $5 billion today.) As eminent documentarian Ken Burns proclaimed, “Remus was to bootlegging what Rockefeller was to oil.”

Author Bob Batchelor has unearthed a treasure trove of untapped historical archives to cover the life, times, and crimes of the man who ran the largest bootlegging operation in America—larger and more powerful than that of Al Capone—and a man who was considered the best criminal defense lawyer of his era.

Remus bought an empire of distilleries on what is now The Bourbon Trail and used his other profession, as a pharmacist, to profit from loopholes in the law. He spent millions bribing government officials in the Harding Administration, directly tied to Attorney General Harry Daugherty and Harding’s “Ohio Gang.” And he created a roaring, opulent lifestyle that epitomized the Jazz Age over which he ruled. So extravagant was this Bourbon King’s lifestyle that his lush parties served as an inspiration for The Great Gatsby.

But Remus came crashing down in one of the most sensational murder cases in American history. After serving a brief prison sentence, he was driven mad by his cheating wife Imogene and Franklin Dodge, the G-man who not only put him in jail, but also seduced her before stealing all his riches. Remus murdered his wife in cold-blood, setting loose the most media-saturated trial of the Jazz Age. Claiming a condition that he invented – temporary maniacal insanity – Remus took on Charles Taft, son of former President and current Chief Justice William Howard Taft, in a trial that grabbed national headlines. Remus won over the star-struck jury with lurid allegations about his lost millions at the hands of his two-timing wife and the federal agent who stole her away.

Love, murder, mountains of cash, bribery, political intrigue, rivers of bourbon, and a grand spectacle like few before it, the tale of George Remus transcends the era and provides readers with a lens into the dark heart of Prohibition’s Bourbon Trail, the thirst of the American people, and their fascination with crime.