Book Review of PREQUEL by Rachel Maddow

PREQUEL: AN AMERICAN FIGHT AGAINST RACISM by Rachel Maddow (Crown, October 2023) Hardcover, 416 pages. ISBN #

9780593444511 (ISBN10: 0593444515)     

Synopsis on the Goodreads website . . . . .

Rachel Maddow traces the fight to preserve American democracy back to World War II, when a handful of committed public servants and brave private citizens thwarted far-right plotters trying to steer our nation toward an alliance with the Nazis.

 

Inspired by her research for the hit podcast Ultra, Rachel Maddow charts the rise of a wild American strain of authoritarianism that has been alive on the far-right edge of our politics for the better part of a century. Before and even after our troops had begun fighting abroad in World War II, a clandestine network flooded the country with disinformation aimed at sapping the strength of the U.S. war effort and persuading Americans that our natural alliance was with the Axis, not against it. It was a sophisticated and shockingly well-funded campaign to undermine democratic institutions, promote antisemitism, and destroy citizens’ confidence in their elected leaders, with the ultimate goal of overthrowing the U.S. government and installing authoritarian rule.

 

That effort worked—tongue and groove—alongside an ultra-right paramilitary movement that stockpiled bombs and weapons and trained for mass murder and violent insurrection.

 

At the same time, a handful of extraordinary activists and journalists were tracking the scheme, exposing it even as it was unfolding. In 1941 the U.S. Department of Justice finally made a frontal attack, identifying the key plotters, finding their backers, and prosecuting dozens in federal court.

 

None of it went as planned.

 

While the scheme has been remembered in history—if at all—as the work of fringe players, in reality, it involved a large number of some of the country’s most influential elected officials. Their interference in law enforcement efforts against the plot is a dark story of the rule of law bending and then breaking under the weight of political intimidation.

 

That failure of the legal system had consequences. The tentacles of that unslain beast have reached forward into our history for decades. But the heroic efforts of the activists, journalists, prosecutors, and regular citizens who sought to expose the insurrectionists also make for a deeply resonant, deeply relevant tale in our own disquieting times.

My Four-Star Review on the Goodreads website . . . . .

This is an incredibly thorough job of research and documentation presented in a format and writing style that is easy to read. Hats off to Rachel Maddow.

I was not aware of this particular part of history and found this very informative, engaging and disturbing. The undercover plot to keep the United States out of World War II had some prominent recruits, including members of Congress. The fact that the major court case ended in a mistrial and prosecutors were thwarted through various means (often nefarious) is alarming - - especially when current events would indicate that history could repeat itself. 

Page 310: "If we're willing to take the harder look at our American history with fascism, the truth is that our own story in this wild, uncertain twenty-first century has not an echo in the past but a prequel. For our turn in history -- and for the next time this comes around, too -- we have the advantage of knowing that which preceded us.

The story of what it took, inside and outside the government, to stop the violent American ultra-right in the run up to World War II -- that's a gift from the smart, brave, determined, resourceful, self-sacrificing Americans who went before us. If we learn it, and we choose it, we can inherit their work."

MY WEEK IN COMICS #8- - February 25, 2023

For the last three years I have embarked on a Comics Odyssey, reading and writing reviews of comics towards an ambitious goal which I only attained on one of three attempts.  This year, I still want to read more comics and write reviews, but I’m not setting a specific goal.  I’ll just document them and number them. We’ll see how far I can go . . . . . . . 

#110 - #115  GEIGER graphic novel by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank (Image Comics, November 2021)

Despite the fiction landscape being littered with numerous iterations of the post-apocalyptic dystopian survival tales, I seldom grow tired of them as long as I put some time between readings. I never expected to like GEIGER as much as I did. It's a fine example of the format with some incredible visualization.

     The art of Gary Frank is simply amazing, from landscapes to action scenes to closeups of facial expressions and various emotions. Aided by the brilliant color work of Brad Anderson, this book is a joy to view. The inclusion of many of the variant covers is a nice bonus. 

     Geoff Johns crafts a tight tale of one survivor of a nuclear war in 2030, Tariq Geiger, who was trapped outside while getting his family to safety in a homemade fallout shelter. A skilled doctor was able to keep him alive by inserting boron rods (which he often uses as weapons) into his back. Those keep him from internally exploding, and when the rods are removed he becomes a radioactive menace with incredible strength known as "The Glowing Man", a futuristic boogey-man to frighten children in story circles.

     The main part of the story takes place 20 years later in 2050 as Geiger is still alive and keeping watch over the bunker, hoping for the day when his family can safely come back to the surface. Mutated insects. Cannabalistic survivors in the Nevada desert. A Las Vegas divided into areas controlled by various warlords. Nuclear Knights serving a crazed prince from the Camelot area, looking to gain revenge on Gieger for his damaged face. A government hoping to access codes to the remaining missile silos in the state. Geiger just wants to be left alone, but has a soft spot for children in distress. I was entertained. FOUR STARS.

#116 - #120 CHEW, VOLUME FOUR: FLAMBE by John Layman and Rob Guillory (Image Comics, September 2011)

      I'm enjoying both the comedic situations and quirky art so much that I keep reading the CHEW series, even though one or two volumes should be sufficient. I"m getting addicted to the wackiness and randomness of this title, where secondary characters keep plopping up in new scenarios. Volume 4 is the most episodic of the collections so far, and most of the individual components serve well as stand-alone stories. 

     What's in store this volume? . . . . .Less importance assigned to the global avian flu and the chicken prohibition, although the laws are still in effect but law enforcement efforts are being pooled elsewhere - - - now that there is some flaming calligraphy in the sky that no one can decipher. A message from aliens? Isn't Mother Cluckers a great name for a fast-food chicken franchise? . . now on the wane because of prohibition.

      Before, chief inspector Applebee was assigning Tony Chu to cases where he would have to use his special abilities and consume the worst foodstuffs imaginable. Now, he's just trying to assign Chu and partner Colby to missions that might kill them. FOUR STARS.

#121 - #122  PUNISHER #1 by David Pepose and Dave Wachter (Marvel Worldwide Inc, January 2024) “The Bullet That Follows”. There’s just enough difference here from the Frank Castle Punisher origin story to keep fans from protesting “cheap imitation!” Still, I’m sure you can find some backlash on internet comics sites.

   I was a bit wary of this title, and decided to just give Issue #1 a tryout before plunging in head first. I actually liked this more than I expected to. Pepose scripts a tight, compelling story and Wachter’s art is fluid and action-packed. They deserve a chance to win over readers, at least through the first story arc.

      So, what’s similar? Main character Joe Garrison (appropriate last name) loses his family when his home blows up and decides to get revenge vigilante-fashion. He’s adept at weaponry from his time as a former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and has access to abandoned S.H.I.E.L.D. bunkers and left-behind armories. He even has a tech-savvy assistant to equip and monitor his actions. His outfit isn’t a duplicate of the Punisher uniform but looks close enough for the media to ask if Frank Castle has returned to the role.

     So, what’s new or different?  Garrison says he only wants to find out who was behind his family’s murder and isn’t interested in returning as a S,H.I.E.L.D. agent or the new Punisher. We’ll see about that.  His suit is more fortified than the Castle outfit, and has ballistic chest plates that look like the familiar skull face of the original Punisher. His huge assault weapon doubles as a rail gun, is more high-tech and even uses tracker bullets, which help him to later locate the escaped assassin suspected in the home explosion. He gets around on a motorcycle.

    This felt like a Punisher story, with plenty of action and firearms. If you still crave new Punisher stories, this is your only option until Frank Castle returns (I’d take that bet!) While I enjoyed the story, I don’t feel like I have to have this in my monthly pulls or even wait for the trade paperback collections. THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.

#123 - #126  NICK FURY VS. S.H.I.E.L.D. #1, #2 of 6. Written by Bob Harras. Pencils by Paul Neary. Inks by Kim DeMulder. Cover #1 by Jim Steranko. Cover #2 by Bill Sienkiewicz (Marvel Comics, June-July 1988)  Bob Harras scripts a complex story with incredible depth and mystery. There’s a lot of content here, even after acknowledging the extra page count of each issue (48 pages), something you don’t see in modern comics. If published today, Marvel editors would instruct the creators to stretch this out across 16-24 issues and probably ask them to dumb it down a bit and add more fight scenes. Neary has to make his art fit within multiple-paneled pages and includes an incredible amount of detail in every scene. (A magnifying glass can attest to this).

         A S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier goes down, and Nick Fury risks his life to descend into the partially submerged wreck and retrieve the nuclear power core (and its secrets). He is thwarted by a combination of A.I.M. and Hydra forces. Fury investigates further and uncovers both a corrupt S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and the added involvement of the Roxxon Corporation.

    

  He gets called to a special meeting with S.H.I.E.L.D. administration, who only communicate via video and cloak their features in shadows. The turncoat agent has framed him, and Fury is smart enough to flee before he is imprisoned.

     He retreats to the numerous abandoned tunnels underneath the New York subway system, and barely survives a fight with a

new S.H.I.E.L.D. agent with incredible stamina. Meanwhile S.H.I.EL.D. puts all his long-time associates under scrutiny, and calls them in one by one for interviews to ask the hard question: would they bring in Nick Fury, and kill him if necessary? Jasper Sitwell is the only one who backs up S.H.I.E.L.D.’s intentions, so they make him the new director and he immediately starts forming teams to get Fury.  FOUR STARS.

#127 - #128  NICK FURY VS. S.H.I.E.L.D. #3 of 6 Written by Bob Harras. Pencils by Paul Neary. Inks by Kim DeMulder. Cover 3 by M. D. Bright.(Marvel Comics, August 1988)  Countess Valentine de Allegro agrees to a waterfront meeting with Nick Fury and unknowingly leads him into an ambush. However, S.H.I.E.L.D. divers are unable to locate and recover his body.

   Meanwhile, back at S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ an ESPERS program initiated by Fury is coming apart and elder retired agents recruited to subconsciously scan S.H.I.E.L.D. for any evidence of psychic attacks or massive brainwashing is breaking apart and the recruits are mysteriously passing away. Back in NY, Nick recruits a retired agent, Alexander Goodwin Pierce, to assist with smash-and-grab break ins at remote S.H.I.E.L.D. posts to steal armaments.  Agent Jimmy Woo is prematurely aging for unspecified reasons. A Fury LMD fails to convince Tony Stark that something is up, and results in Stark trying to locate the real Fury.

Madame Hydra has a meeting with some S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to discuss “The Plan” and Fury interrogates a captured Jimmy Woo (the older version) who spontaneously combusts. Is S.H.I.E.L.D. admin being mind-controlled? Things just keep getting deeper.  FOUR STARS.

#129 - #130 NICK FURY VS. S.H.I.E.L.D. #4 of 6. Written by Bob Harras. Pencils by Paul Neary. Inks by Kim DeMulder. Cover 4 by Joe Jusko. (Marvel Comics, September 1988)

“Aww, yer gettin’ paranoid, Fury . . . there ain’t nothing to worry about — ‘cept gettin’ killed.”

    All across the globe, multi-national corporations are being approached by Roxxon Corporation to invest in their joint venture, a project called DELTA (coincidentally also the name of a secretive endeavor at S.H.I.E.L.D.) Back at S.H.I.E.L.D. director Jasper Sitwell and aide Jack Rollins talk about the project, but writer Harras keeps things deliberately vague, only name dropping “genetic proteins”, “regeneration” (Jimmy Woo is revived, for the fifth time),and a required “infinity formula” that Nick Fury is crucial to obtaining. 

    Now a band of four, Fury and his helpers are enroute to Hong Kong on a false trail that leads them into a clash with Madame Hydra (#6 in the ranks, but bucking to become Madame Hydra #1). The plan was to lure Fury onto a missile about to launch. That doesn’t happen, but the missile kills those nearby in the underground bunker as well as those on the surface. Plots and counter-plots. Harras keeps it interesting and mysterious. THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.

From Dusk Till Dawn (Official Trailer)

From Dusk Till Dawn trailer

FROM DUSK TILL DAWN (1996) on HBO:  A great grindhouse movie from director Richard Rodriguez. Brutal, violent, foul-mouthed, sexy - - this has it all for B-movie fans.  George Clooney gets to play a villain, and he is bad-ass in the role. Lots of familiar guest stars.                                              THREE AND THREE-QUARTER STARS.

BALTIMORE COMIC CON Guest List Continues To Grow

from the official BALTIMORE COMIC CON press release . . . . .

Brigman, Conley, Moore, Nebres, Richardson, and Waid come to Baltimore Comic-Con

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - February 21, 2024 - Celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Baltimore Comic-Con with us at the Inner Harbor's Baltimore Convention Center on September 20-22, 2024. The Baltimore Comic-Con is happy to announce new and returning guests including June Brigman, Steve Conley, Terry Moore, Rudy Nebres, Roy Richardson, and Mark Waid as guests for our 25th Anniversary event! You can purchase tickets for the show now.

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June Brigman has enjoyed a long and varied career as a cartoonist, drawing such comic book titles as Alpha Flight, Supergirl, and Star Wars. She is the co-creator (with Louise Simonson) of the Power Pack series from Marvel Comics, which recently celebrated its 40th anniversary. To commemorate the event, Marvel is publishing a five-issue Power Pack mini-series by the original team, beginning in January 2024. Assisted by her husband, inker/colorist Roy Richardson, June illustrated the Brenda Starr comic strip for 15 years, and in 2015, the pair took over the artistic reins of the long-running Mary Worth comic strip. The two have also launched a new comic book series featuring intelligent cats in space, Captain Ginger, from AHOY Comics. She has drawn many educational comics, as well as doing freelance illustrations for Horse & Ridermagazine. In her spare time, June enjoys painting pet portraits in oils. Her online portfolio can be seen at www.ArtWanted.com/juneart.

Long-time friend of the show, Ringo, Harvey, and Eisner Award nominee, and guest since our inception in 2000 (!), artist and writer Steve Conley has contributed to numerous comic titles, both printed and on-line. His Astounding Space Thrills was self-published, published by Image Comics, and collected as a trade paperback by IDW. He has been featured in titles such as JLA-Z from DC Comics, Star Trek: Year Four from IDW, and Michael Chabon's Amazing Adventures of the Escapist from Dark Horse Comics. His self-published Bloop is available through his online store in print or soft copy editions, and you can find his Ringo and Eisner Award-nominated webcomic The Middle Age on his website, tapas.io, Line Webtoon, and GoComics, and hard copies and digital collections can be purchased from his online store.

Indy powerhouse Terry Moore began his career in comics with the critically-acclaimed epic series Strangers in Paradise, the compelling love story between three unlikely friends who find themselves bound together by their pasts. The long-running series garnered many awards, including the coveted Eisner Award for Best Serialized Story and the National Cartoonists Society Comic Book Division Reuben Award. Strangers in Paradise has been translated into twenty-one languages and is as popular today as when it was first published in 1993. Terry marked twenty-five years of Strangers in Paradise with new stories in a ten-issue limited series, Strangers in Paradise XXV. Moore has created many award-winning series, including Motor Girl, the story of a wounded warrior and her imaginary best friend, Rachel Rising, a horror comic with a ten-year-old serial killer named Zoe, ECHO, a science fiction thriller, and FIVE YEARS, the series that brings together characters from all of his series in one heart-stopping story. Terry has also published a How To Drawbook, as well as a yearly Sketchbook. His latest series, Parker Girls, brings some of the most intriguing SIP characters back together to fight crime in their unique style. On tap for 2024 is an updated release of Terry’s early comic strips and concept art, The Really Complete Paradise Too. Terry is also working on a new graphic novel to be offered in the fall of 2024. The recipient of numerous industry awards worldwide, Moore continues to create strong female characters in extraordinary stories that touch the hearts of readers around the world. In addition to publishing work under his own label, Abstract Studio, Moore has worked for Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, BOOM! Studios, and other major publishers throughout his thirty year career.

Rudy Nebres is known as a penciler, inker, and cover artist since 1970. Rudy is a Filipino comics artist who has worked mostly as an inker in the American comic book industry. His lush, detailed ink lines have made him a fan favorite, and he's best known for his work on titles such as Vampirella, Iron Fist, Conan, Dr. Strange, and the Hulk. Nebres' work has been praised by critics and fans alike, including John Buscema, who called him "one of the greatest inkers one would ever want to see." Nebres also worked with John Byrne on his first work for Marvel, and Byrne has said that Nebres' inks "took my pencils to a whole new level." Rudy will be appearing at the Baltimore Comic-Con on Saturday only.

Roy Richardson was inspired to pursue a comics career by the work of Jack Kirby, the groundbreaking Fourth World series in particular. He has worked for all the major publishers, on such books as Captain America, Iron Man, The Flash, Star Wars, and his own co-creation, the Tomorrow Knights, which has been adapted into a roleplaying game from ZMan Games. He also worked for 15 years in collaboration with his wife, June Brigman, inking, lettering, and coloring the Brenda Starr comic strip. The pair took over the artistic reins of the long-running Mary Worth comic strip in 2015, and their new comic book series Captain Ginger has recently launched from AHOY Comics. The couple also have a Power Pack mini-series debuting from Marvel in January of 2024. Roy has had several short stories published in anthologies, and is hard at work on his first collection of shorts, entitled Hillbillies Prefer Blondes, tales of growing up in the South in the 1960s and 70s. His online portfolio can be seen at www.ArtWanted.com/royart.

The multiple Harvey and Eisner Award-winning Mark Waid has been the voice behind dozens of series that have resonated throughout comics fandom and the creative community alike. His more acclaimed runs include DC Comics' The Flash, Kingdom Come, JLA: Year One, JLA, Legion of Super-Heroes, and Superman: Birthright, Marvel Comics' Captain America, Fantastic Four, Amazing Spider-Man, The Indestructible Hulk, and Daredevil, BOOM! Studios' Incorruptible and Irredeemable, Archie Comics' Archie, and his creator-owned works Empire and Potter's Field. He previously served as Publisher (U.S.) at Humanoids.

Tickets currently available include: VIP* Weekend Pass Friday only Saturday only Sunday only As always, children 10 and under are free with a paid adult admission!

Click to Buy Tickets

This year's confirmed guests for the show include: Marty Baumann (Pixar artist), John Beatty (Marvel Super Heroes: Secret Wars), Brett Breeding (Superman), Mark Buckingham (Fables), Jim Calafiore (NED, Lord of the Pit), John Cassaday (X-Force), Keith Champagne (Stranger Things), Howard Chaykin (Time Squared), Frank Cho (Harley Quinn), Michael Cho (Star Wars: Hyperspace Stories–Qui-Gon Jinn), Amy Chu (KISS: The End), Steve Conley (The Middle Age), Katie Cook (Nothing Special), Todd Dezago (The Perhapanauts), Chris Eliopoulos (Ordinary People Change the World), Steve Epting (New Avengers), Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez (DC Nation), Ron Garney (BZRKR), Bob Hall (West Coast Avengers), Greg Hildebrandt (Star Wars), Jamal Igle (Superman), Barry Kitson (Amazing Spider-Man), Jim Lee (Superman), Sam Maggs (Marvel Action: Captain Marvel), Shawn Martinbrough (Red Hood: The Hill), Bob McLeod (New Mutants), Al Milgrom (Spectacular Spider-Man), Terry Moore (Strangers in Paradise), Dan Parent (Sabrina the Teenage Witch), Andrew Pepoy (Simone & Ajax), Andy Price (My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic), Tom Raney (Green Lantern), Afua Richardson (Omni), Craig Rousseau (The Perhapanauts), Alex Saviuk (Web of Spider-Man), Liam Sharp (X-O Manowar Unconquered), Don Simpson (Megaton Man), Louise Simonson (The Death of Superman 30th Anniversary Special), Walter Simonson (Thor), John K. Snyder III (Suicide Squad), Mark Sparacio (Omega Paradox), Joe Staton (Dick Tracy), Brian Stelfreeze (Black Panther), Babs Tarr (Batgirl of Burnside), Matt Wieringo (Stargate Atlantis: Gateways), and Marv Wolfman (What If...? Dark: Tomb of Dracula).

In the coming weeks, look for more announcements from the Baltimore Comic-Con. We are looking forward to highlighting our guests, the Ringo Awards, programming, and more. The latest developments can always be found on our website, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook pages, and follow us on YouTube, TikTok, BlueSky, and Snapchat.

About The Baltimore Comic-Con The Baltimore Comic-Con is celebrating its 25th year of bringing the comic book industry to the mid-Atlantic area. For more information, please visit www.baltimorecomiccon.com.