Most folks have never heard of the Dingbats of Danger Street, Jack Kirby's attempt to resurrect the "kid gang" concept he and former partner Joe Simon had pioneered and perfected during the Golden Age. Those who have heard of the Dingbats, whose first (and only) Groovy Age appearance was in First Issue Special #6 (June 1975) fall into one of two camps: they either love 'em or passionately despise 'em. There is no gray area. Why is that you ask? Many reasons. As I already noted, this was Kirby's attempt at bringing back the kid gang comics he'd done so well with back in the Golden Age (Boy Commandos, Newsboy Legion, Boys Ranch, etc.). He updated the idea with a group of kids who vaguely resembled Welcome Back, Kotter's Sweat Hogs but filled it with Golden Age style stereotypes. It's Kirby-humor unleashed, something we'd only really experienced during the Groovy Age in Not Brand Echh (unless you count a certain pair of Jimmy Olsen issues...). It's the twilight of Kirby's tenure at DC. And then there's, uhmmmmm... Let Ol' Groove lay it on ya straight, Groove-ophiles: there really is no way to explain the polarizing affect of the Dingbats. The Dingbats have to be experienced, sooo...
So, which camp do you belong to? Love 'em or hate 'em? Let Ol' Groove know!
Got to say I'm in the haters camp.
ReplyDeleteDingbats are fun! Reprint this along with the unpublished issues DC!
ReplyDeleteThere are definitely times that Kirby should have stuck to the drawing pen and left the typewriter to someone else.
ReplyDeleteStill...even a bad Kirby comic trumps a lot of people's best work if ya ask me!
Hey Groove! Even though a lot of the King's attempts at humour left me cold, I LOVED the Dingbats. A totally mad story with ridiculous characters and krazy, kinetic Kirby kombat! I'd have liked to see more of Danger Street ( is that near Yancy Street? ) but I guess it wasn't to be.
ReplyDeletehey, alot of good free comics here.
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enjoy and share.
I LOVE the Dingbats!! All of Kirby's 70's DC work is simply aces to me! And though many people dislike Kirby's writing, I really enjoy the zany cadence of it. It's a reminder of how comic books used to be, you know... fun!
ReplyDeleteI've always tried to tell people about the Dingbats and I just get blank looks!
This was fast-paced and entertaining. Good characters, too--funny villains. The old days of kids hanging out outside--pre- computers, video games, cell phones, ipods...you know, ancient history. :)
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of the Dingbats and the cover, but the execution... not so much. I would have liked to see where it went however!
ReplyDeleteThe Dingbats are GREAT! But they're MUCH more akin to Fat Albert's Cosby Kids than they are to Mr. Kotter's Sweat Hogs.
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