Jon Morris (1)

I wanted The League of Regrettable Superheroes as soon as I saw the cover. I recognized Fantomah (see lower right corner) from her entry in misterkitty.org's stupid comics. The only other cover character I'd seen before was Doll Man, seen punching the 'S' in 'Superheroes'. The book turned out to be as much fun as I'd hoped. Some of the characters sound interesting, but many fall into the 'WHAT were they thinking??' category.

The superheroes and heroines are listed alphabetically within the show more three parts: the golden age of comics (1938-1949), the silver age (1950-1969), and the modern age.(1970-present). We usually get one image (mostly from a comic cover) and a page of information. I bought some of those silver and modern age regrettable comics in my youth, have a reprint of some Doll Man adventures, Turn Loose Our Death Rays and Kill Them All (which reprints all of the Fantomah adventures, as well as those of other Fletcher Hanks' characters), and the Whitman Invisible Scarlet O'Neil book from the 1940s. I have no trouble believing in the rest of the entries.

Here's a list, arranged as it is in the table of contents:

GOLDEN AGE: 711, The Black Dwarf, The Bouncer, Doctor Hormone, Doctor Vampire, Doll Man, Dynamite Thor, The Eye (also known as 'Detective Eye'), Fantomah, The Ghost Patrol, Invisible Scarlet O'Neil, Just 'N' Right, Lady Satan, Madam Fatal, Moon Girl, Mother Hubbard, Nelvana of the Northern Lights, Nightmare and Sleepy, Pat Parker, War Nurse; Rainbow Boy, Speed Centaur, Spider Queen, and Zippo.

SILVER AGE: Bee-Man, Brain Boy, Brother Power the Geek, Captain Marvel (M. F. Enterprises), Dracula (Dell), The Fab Four (El, Hy, Crispy, and Polymer Polly), Fatman the Human Flying Saucer, Gunmaster and Bullet Boy, Jigsaw, Miracle Man (Super Hombre included in entry), Mr. Muscles, Nature Boy, Nemesis, The Peacemaker, The Sentinels (Helio, Mentalia, and Brute), and Spyman.

MODERN AGE: Adam-X - the X-treme, Holo-Man, Morlock 2001, The Outsiders (Doc Scary, Amazing Ronnie, Lizard Johnny, Mighty Mary, Hairy Larry the Wheeler Dealer, and Billy), Phoenix the Protector, Prez, Rom, Spaceknight; Skateman, Superman Jr.and Batman Jr., Thunderbunny, and U.S. 1.

The Regrettable Superheroes and heroines on the front cover, starting at top left: (some jungle girl type not in the book, possibly because this is an abridged edition), Fatman, The Eye, Dollman (by the title), Dr. Hormone, Brute and Mentalia of the Sentinels, and Fantomah.

Back cover: The Bouncer, Moon Girl, Doctor Vampire, Nightmare and Sleepy, Pat Parker, War Nurse; and Nemesis.

Note: If you do read this book, which I recommend you do, the entry for Dracula contains a regrettable pun. Dracula's alias is Aloysius Ulysses Card, or 'Al U. Card' for short. 'Card' is an old-fashioned word for someone who is funny or eccentric/weird, making that 'Al, you card. Feel free to groan. (At least that way, people were likely to conclude that he had a warped sense of humor instead of noticing that he'd spelled 'Dracula' backwards.) show less

This book is a hoot! If you are even marginally a fan of comics and the history thereof, this book is a must-have for your library.
Jon Morris has don a marvelous job of gathering together the stories of the oddest Super Heroes of all times, from the Golden Age through to today's "What were they thinkin'?" clunkers; Learn the story behind The Eye (a floating, crime solving eye), Kangaroo Man, The Iron Skull, Captain Tootsie, Lady Satan, Doctor Vampire, Brain Boy, Squirrel Girl, Nightmare and show more Sleepy, Killjoy, the cross-dressing Madam Fatal (spoiler alert- it's a guy) and dozens of other zany, incredible and unbelievable Super-Hero wannabes.
Joyfully accompanied by covers and/or panels of the adventures of theses E-list would-be Supermen/Wonder Women, we learn about their back stories (often, though not always- some of these guys and gals apparently sprung up outta nowhere before heading back to Palookaville), their arch enemies (The Glow Worm! Doctor Nazi! Syntho the Patchwork Man! The Fighting Fetus! Nepto the Shark Man!), their allies and sidekicks (Tubby White, Tommy the Amazing Kid, Klitra, & etc.) and on and on.
Also of note are the little side comments- quite comical, I must say, and in keeping with the subject of the book itself, and almost every description of the book's characters has a little gem of a sidebar. For example: Amazing-Man, Great act of bravery:Wearing shorts and suspenders as a superhero costume. Invisible Scarlet O'Neil, No relation to: Imperceptable Crimson O'Leary, Undetectable Alizarin O'Shea. Pat Parker, war Nurse, Not to be confused with: Bob Barker, game show host; Ma Barker, gangster.
The book was a joy to read. A must for blerds, fanboys and girls of all ages. show less

I’m not a comics expert, but I have a great affinity for reading about comic books of years past. One of my favorite aspects of reading about these books is the often well-intentioned but ridiculous missteps that have occurred, such as an entry in the Superman universe that Glen Weldon gleefully (and affectionately) recounts on the NPR site where Jimmy Olsen travels back in time and starts a Beatles craze in ancient Judea. “The League of Regrettable Superheroes” by Jon Morris is show more dedicated to celebrating the wacky hijinks and preposterous storylines of yesteryear. However, rather than focusing on the missteps of well-known series, Morris’s book focuses on lesser-known and less-successful superheroes. Some have dubious origins (Captain Tootsie, a superhero/advertisement for Tootsie Rolls) while others seem to have been designed to take advantage of a trend popular at the time (Morris points out that Magicman, which debuted in 1965, was an attempt to cash in on shows like “Bewitched” and “I Dream of Jeannie”). In almost all cases, the superheroes are indeed regrettable, but Morris has palpable fondness for them even as he acknowledges how ridiculous and ill-conceived they are.

The entries are organized into three parts – The Golden Age (1938 – 1949), the Silver Age (1950 –1969, a time that Glen Weldon refers to as The Crazypants Years), and the Modern Age (1970 – present day). Most entries are two pages in length, with a page dedicated to humorously and wryly describing the superhero and the other page featuring lavish color pictures from the comics (a few entries have four-page spreads, with the extra pages consisting mostly of pictures). As a sidebar, Morris includes a few quick facts on each hero, such as the creator and the debut info, as well as some snarky commentary (for instance, The Conqueror’s sidebar includes “Last seen: Moving inexorably toward Berlin”). While the setup might frustrate those who want further information, the format works very well for readers who want a general overview of the comics without too much minutiae to bog down the proceedings. Additionally, the use of full-color pictures throughout the book (in fact, all of the pictures are printed in color – Quirk does not skimp on the printing or layout) provide further insight into the heroes, as Morris wisely uses his subjects’ inherent insanity and inanity to speak for themselves. These features also make “The League of Regrettable Superheroes” perfect as a quirky and fun coffee-table book.

In short, if you are looking for a serious and in-depth examination of failed comic book characters, then “The League of Regrettable Superheroes” might not be for you. However, it is perfect if you want an entertaining, approachable, and amusing look at unsuccessful or inept attempts at finding the next Superman or Batman. show less

A fun read, but one I found easier to swallow in small chunks over an extended period to help mitigate the unceasing onslaught of wackiness. It wasn’t necessary to be familiar with all the “regrettable” characters featured. (Those I was familiar with made me embarrassedly question the depths of my own enjoyment back when I was originally reading their comic adventures.) Eventually, the characters’ origins, eccentricities, and motivations all began to run together in my mind. show more Thankfully, the regular bits of snark doled out by author Jon Morris were finely balanced enough with the absurdity of the subject to keep me reading. show less