The League of Regrettable Sidekicks: Heroic Helpers from Comic Book History!

The League of Regrettable ...

by Jon Morris

Nominated for the 2019 Will Eisner Comic Industry Award for Best Comics-Related Book

More than one hundred of the strangest sidekicks in  comics history,  complete with backstories, vintage art, and colorful commentary.

This collection affectionately spotlights forgotten helpers like Thunderfoot (explosive-soled assistant to the Human Bomb), super-pets like Frosting (polar bear pal of space hero Norge Benson), fan favorites like  Rick Jones  (sidekick to half of the Marvel Universe), and obscure partners of iconic heroes ( Superman Junior's career barely got off the ground). Included are pernicious profiles of henchmen and minions, the sidekicks of the supervillain world. Casual comics readers and diehard enthusiasts alike will relish the hilarious commentary and vintage art from obscure old comics.

Genres: Nonfiction, Comics, History, Superheroes, Graphic Novels, Humor, Graphic Novels Comics

258 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 23, 2018

Reviews

[Vivian · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quirky collection of odd bits lurking in comic book history.

Zeitgeist abounds with Super-Hip from The Adventures of Bob Hope whose weakness is Lawrence Welk music. Not sure how poor Frobisher from Doctor Who got in here; doesn't seem right. The Doctor's companion can be anything. The oddity of penguin form selection and unexplained yet hinted at sad backstory seems more tragic than regrettable. Just straight up winner for WTF goes to Elf with a Gun from The Defenders, a randomly appearing psycho who kills people and disappears, with no connection to the ongoing plot line of that issue.

There's the unexpectedly hilarious Agatha Detective Agency who partners up with Captain Future. Somehow, Captain Future's secret identity Dr. Andy Bryant gets hooked into helping his girlfriend's aunt by following a case into a Turkish Bath. The things you do for love.



Nameless in Metal Men epitomizes a big problem with women in comic books, or females. Nameless was built by Tin, a member of Metal Men who falls in love with her. Relationship develops, trauma ensues, and in the end she sacrifices herself to save them.

Then there's instances of the not quite thought through to the end before introducing the sidekick, like Comet the Super-Horse who's reincarnated from an ancient Greek centaur and can turn into a human when a comet passes through the solar system. Not a bad idea, right? Until masquerading as bronco rider Bill Starr he dates Supergirl. Hmm...yeah, Supergirl's relationship with Bill becomes problematic when he turns back into Comet. You can love your horse, but you can't love your horse.



This is one of those fun books to leaf through. I plan on giving it as a present because 1) snort-worthy, 2) interesting compilation of just odd lots.

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Seriously, with a title like that I can't say no. Plus, it sounds like a league I could join. Finally, I am severely disappointed that none of the super cool kids I follow and/or are friends with on GR have reviewed this.

(\_/)
(O.O)

What's up with that?

[Shainlock · Rating 3 out of 5]

RTC

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like Jon Morris's snark is running thin with this book about comic book sidekicks. A sidekick is also different than a henchman. I think Morris gets them confused.

Much like his other two books, this book examines comic book characters from the Golden, Silver, and Modern ages, and makes fun of them.

Pretty decent, but thin gruel compared to the first two books.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fun book, but I did not enjoy it as much as the previous two, which covered superheroes and super villains. I thought some of the comments verged a little too much on the mean-spirited side, and that the author tried to cover too wide a range of characters, including as he did several characters from outside the superhero comic worlds. Dungeons & Dragons ads, Little Dot, Archie... too much. Some of the inclusions are quite entertaining (and, yes, regrettable), and comics fans and historians will be delighted with some of the minutiae and trivia. Supergirl's superhorse Comet is particularly creepy, for example, and I didn't remember Doctor Who companioning with a penguin named Frobisher. Also, don't overlook the Elf with a Gun. My prediction is that when the Marvel Universe ends and there is nothing and no one left in any dimension, it won't be Logan or Galactus or Kang or Henry Pym or anyone or anything else left as the last thing standing.... it'll be the Elf with a Gun.

[Jill H. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a companion book to one I just read a couple of weeks ago called The League of Regrettable Superheroes: Half-Baked Heroes from Comic Book History. The subject of the book is the idiotic sidekicks that hang around with even more idiotic superheroes. These are from the comic books that never quite made it, some only lasting two issues. Such hangers-on as Elf With A Gun; Gaggy, Frosting, Comet the Super-Horse; and Cheeks, the Toy Wonder, they range from the ridiculous to the even more ridiculous.

This is not quite as funny as the first book but I may have read them too close together. But it is still humorous and makes one think that the creators were getting just a bit desperate for material. Worth the read for the fan of comic books.

[Emma Sea]

not in any of the libraries I can access *sad face*

[Little Timmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great heroes need great sidekicks to banter with, save from the villains and explain their greatness to occasionally. Unfortunately not all sidekicks are created equal and this book is a nice overview of some of the less A-list sidekicks. entertaining read. Recommended

[Philip · Rating 3 out of 5]

A generally amusing conclusion to Morris' trilogy of Regrettable Heroes, Supervillians and now Sidekicks. I thought the book would at least highlight - if not outright focus on - the large number of inappropriate relationships between grown men and unrelated young (and generally more trouble than they're worth) boys who they constantly drag into dangerous situations, but this barely got noticed. Instead, we're introduced to a surprising number of animals, aliens, robots, elves, dwarves, manservants, cab drivers, uncles, girlfriends, and overall schlubs who fill the role of comic relief, villain bait, narrator or cheerleader to an equally wide range of superheroes and heroines.

Over time, these pairings become increasingly complex, from the likes of Jeep and Peep in the 1940s to such mouthfuls as The High Evolutionary and his Knights of Wundergore several decades later. Other noteworthy combos include:

Flying Fist and Bingo
Futura and Blargo the Lawless
Airmale and Stampy
Worldbeater and Unngh
Yankee Doodle Jones and Dandy
Star-Spangled Kid and Stripesy
Joker (yes, that Joker) and Gaggy the Dwarf
Flying Fist and Bingo
Bob Hope (?) and Super-Hip (???)

Probably best enjoyed as an extended skim rather than of a solid read - but still a fun time when taken a few pages at a time.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good enough to pass the time.

[Matthew Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was enjoyable. I definitely enjoyed the Superheroes book more, but I’m looking forward to the villains the most!

[Lois · Rating 2 out of 5]

stuffy, dry and expository. Delivers much less than the title promises.

[Brian Poole · Rating 4 out of 5]

The League of Regrettable Sidekicks continues author Jon Morris’s entertaining survey of some of the odder corners of several decades of comic book history.

Morris previously covered the good guys (The League of Regrettable Superheroes) and bad guys (The Legion of Regrettable Supervillains), combing through years of publications to find entertainingly odd, offbeat, misconceived or utterly confounding characters. With Sidekicks he turns his attention to the second bananas of the comic book world, scaring up some of the daffier junior partners, manservants, mascots, henchmen, background characters and other supporting players who are goofy, bizarre or just balls out crazy. He tours through any number of kids in costumes, talking animals, long-suffering domestics and the occasional senior citizen or two who have wandered in and out of comics over the years. Some are quite obscure (good luck if you’ve ever heard of Stampy or Kid Tyrant), while others will prove quite familiar, including the likes of the Lieutenant Marvels, Stripesy, Rick Jones, Woozy Winks, the Knights of Wundagore, D-Man and Moon Boy. And no collection of this sort could possibly overlook the absolutely lunatic Elf With A Gun from the drug-fueled ‘70s run of The Defenders. Special sections explore the multitude of sidekicks for prominent characters Captain Marvel/Shazam, Superman, Captain America and Richie Rich, all of whom had a knack for picking up a coterie of assistants.

As with the prior volumes, Morris isn’t out to shame anyone. Rather, he pokes fun at some of the absurdities of the medium and celebrates some of the agreeably weird characters that could only be found in the pages of comics. It’s all done with a wink and a healthy sense of humor, a joke that the readers and creators can all be in on. It’s breezy and diverting and of especial appeal for anyone with an interest in comic book history.

Again, as with the prior volumes, some rather well known creators are behind many of these creations. Familiar names include Jerry Siegal, Otto Binder, C.C. Beck, Will Eisner, Wally Wood, Curt Swan, Gardner Fox, Don Heck, Jim Steranko, Steve Ditko, Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Ross Andru, Rick Veitch, Keith Giffen, Steve Gerber, Joe Staton, Archie Goodwin, Denny O’Neill, Mike Grell, Roy Thomas, Howard Chaykin, Steve Engelhart and Marshall Rogers, among many others.

For fans of the genre, or anyone who just enjoys the offbeat corners of pop culture, The League of Regrettable Sidekicks is an enjoyable diversion.

[TammyJo Eckhart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Almost what I expect now from John Morris' "Regrettable" series about comic books.

The book is divided into 3 parts -- Golden Age, Silver Age, and Modern Age -- which has meaning for the comic geeks out there. If you aren't familiar with these periods, there is a brief introduction to each before them. Golden Age has 42 entries and two-page focus article on Captain Marvel sidekicks. SIlver Age has 26 entries and a two-page focus article on Superman sidekicks. Modern Age has 28 entries and two two-page focus articles on Captain America sidekicks and Richie Rich sidekicks.

Most of the entries are two-pages, one with a a page from the comic or a few images from it and then a page of text; the layout alternates every other page. Some sidekicks have extra pages with more images and texts such as The Agatha Detective Agency and Tiny but these are only in the Golden Age part of the book. Why? I would think we've have more pages from comics closer to 2018 not the other way around.

My hubby and I enjoyed reading this book together and we hope there are more in the series. Brainstorming we came up with at last a half dozen more themes for "regrettable" comic book investigations.

[Michael P. · Rating 2 out of 5]

OK, this book is about regrettable sidekicks, so it is OK that Robin, Bucky, and Torro are not discussed in the same way as Woozy Winks, but let's begin with Winks. He is a wonderful sidekick and brings a lot of the sublime humor into the Plastic Man stories. There is nothing regrettable about that. Mr. Morris here, and in much of the book, fails to distinguish wonderful from regrettable.

Even worse, he repeatedly fails to distinguish sidekicks from henchmen when a villain is the lead (numerous times), sidekicks from mentors as with A-1 in Magnus Robot Fighter, sidekicks from casts of characters (numerous times), sidekicks from characters who arrear once then are never seen again (numerous times), sidekicks from members of the same team (numerous times), sidekicks from their pets (numerous times), and there are even more problems with this book. Morris stretches the meaning of "sidekick" until it breaks under the strain.

The only saving grace with this book is that Mr. Morris writes with immense wit and can be very funny. That helps, even as I roll my eyes.

[Antonio Nunez · Rating 4 out of 5]

This, the third book of the ‘Regrettable’ is very enjoyable but of a lesser stature than the first too. Sidekicks, after all, with some exceptions (hello Stripesy) are shorter than their bosses. The book skips the obvious and prefers to show sidekicks to unremembered superheroes, sidekicks to other sidekicks and henchpersons. From the unselfconscious tomfoolery of the golden age, to the by the numbers approach of the silver age, we get to the cynical and bitter sidekicks of the 1980s, and then to self-conscious hip sidekicks with a spiky edge, from the 1990s onwards. In this book I learned that the iconic Captain America origin was lifted from that of Yankee Doodle, another patriotic do-gooder from the 1940s. Except his, was much darker.

[Rex Hurst · Rating 5 out of 5]

This volume is the third in the "regrettable" series, and presumably the last. While obviously an amazing amount of research has gone into this book, and a lot of effort made not to keep things different - there were so many boy sidekicks in the Golden Age it was ridiculous - but when the author hit the modern age, he must've had some difficulty finding material to pad out the book, because many of the choices made were odd. A number of the side kicks were for Villains, and one of them was for a recurring character in an advertisement for Dungeons and Dragons. That's not to say this is a bad book. You get your money's worth and it's filled with quirky bits of comic book history you might never have known about.

[John Peel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sidekicks are always an interesting subject for comic lovers. Are they worth it? Do they contribute anything? Are they only good for being held hostage? And - who thought that some of these were a good idea? This book highlights a bunch of them - some are obviously A Bad Idea, others, well, not so much. For example, I always liked Cryll myself (but I loved Space Ranger, so that would explain it), and even Comet the Super Horse never struck me as a terrible idea. Odd, yes, but not terrible. And that is, of course, part of the fun of a book like this - do you agree or violently disagree that these characters are regrettable? Read it and decide for yourselves!

[Amanda Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another compelling entry in the comic history series by Jon Morris, however there is one bonus that I like in this. It does address inequality with character portrayals and stereotypes, not that the other two books didn’t but this book is willing to call it out just as much if not more. There are some heroes and sidekicks that I really think should see modern print like Futura(Blargo is optional), Gentlemen of the Road, Midge, Rex the Seeing Eye Dog, Static, Super-Ann, Tiny(with more modern sensibilities), Pepper, and Honeysuckle from the Junior Foes. I also am interested in looking at the comic The Brat Pack from Rick Veitch.

[Steven]

I found this book more engaging than Morris' "Regrettable Super Villains." Perhaps its that the subject material is (surprisingly?) even more bat-shit crazy than super villains can be. There were all sorts of oddities in here, like side-kicks who didn't even realize they were sidekicks. And, many many sidekicks who are just rather half-assed and yet created by some of the noteworthy writers/artists of comic-history. I also appreciated that this book hit a lot of relatively modern comics, too, unlike his other. This was rather richly informative and certainly well-researched. I know a lot about comics myself, so it's always nice to find someone who knows a great deal more than I do.

[Jbussen · Rating 1 out of 5]

I thought this would be fun or interesting. For me? Neither. I thought I'd have some fun with absurd or silly sidekicks. For me this wasn't even like the Tick's universe of worthless superhero's with no actual powers or Mystery Men, hall of lame powers. This was just dumb. I couldn't get into the writers style. For me "regrettable" is right. I say borrow from the library if you can and see if it is for you. I wouldn't risk buying this for even a dollar. (Currently 3 on Amazon)

[TrumanCoyote · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite a step down from the other two volumes in the series...perhaps because sidekicks just aren't all that interesting.

Also I think it was a mistake to include non-superheroes in with the mix. The author's wienieness begins to intrude as well...as when he refers to Don Rickles' humor as "infamous," or castigating Will Eisner for not quite living up to The Creed (the sort of thing which tends to bespeak less, rather than greater, insight).

[Tony Zecco · Rating 5 out of 5]

To be completely transparent, I won this from a Goodreads giveaway. But I found the book well written and pretty damn amusing. Some of the sidekicks were so far out of left field, I'd never heard of a lot of them, and it was fun to explore comic lore I'd never encountered. Definitely recommend this, and I can't wait to pick up the other books in this series.

[Jdetrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was somewhat disappointed in this book. As an avid comic reader, I'm well aware of how many crazy characters have appeared in that artform. This book chooses some of them, but I feel like it's too restrained and the prose discussing them isn't quite funny enough. Its not a bad read, but it's certainly not a keeper.

[Eva B. · Rating 2 out of 5]

As other reviewers have no doubt said, the biggest weakness in this book is that the sidekicks are all from previously established series and therefore lack most of the sheer absurdity that the heroes and villains have. I live-updated REGRETTABLE VILLAINS and had two big things stick out to me from REGRETTABLE HEROES, but I really don't remember much about this book.

[Mhorg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fun book in the series

Filtering on the heels of the other books in this series, this look at sidekicks is tongue in cheek, but informative. Some of these crazy heroes assistants are just amazing - amazingly insipid! But it's a lot of fun.

[James Crabtree · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author has a great time dissecting these superhero sidekicks and has just the right level of snarkiness in dealing with them. In the superhero world I guess second bananas come with the territory, whether working for Superman, Richie Rich or even the King of the Hobos! Well-illustrated.

[Steven "Steve" · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are some hilarious characters and situations in this book. From Jaxon the space rabbit from Star Wars to Richie Rich’s poverty-struck friends that he did not help, there are a lot of laughs here. Unfortunately, there are also a lot of tiresome characters that were best forgotten.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lighthearted and quick read analyzing some silly comic book character sidekicks. Not essential but a good browse if you want something easy after a bigger and thicker book. Coffee-table-ish but a bit more in-depth.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another triumph for Jon Morris

[Chuck Ledger · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a fun read, but not good enough to make be want to get another book by Morris.