Rip Jagger's Dojo

The Essential Conan!

2012-02-02T03:40:00.010-05:00

This drawing of Conan by John Buscema is one of my favorites and possibly the last he drew officially for Marvel Comics. This piece of elegant artwork was used on the cover of maybe the last Conan product from Marvel, the Essential Conan Volume 1.

The monster is a bit peculiar though, looking a tad too "Space Ghosty" for a Conan universe illustration for me. Maybe this is an engrated Hyborian groundhog that the Cimmerian is dispatching before it can make a mockery of Aquilonian weather prediction models. Or perhaps not.

This volume is a great way to get the first twenty-five issues of the classic run cheaply reproduced, if you can find it. For a time there this was a very collectable book, and it does make for a handy reference. And it's pretty handsome to look at. Marvel has changed its Essential design several times and not always for the best, but the earliest volumes were uneven. This one for Conan looks quite sharp I think.

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Two Savage Tales!

2012-02-01T02:24:00.013-05:00

The lush painting above is by Big John Buscema for the second issue of Marvel's black and white genre magazine Savage Tales.

This issue is dated October 1973 and came out nearly two years after the debut issue. I've always been struck by the way Conan is treated on this cover, very differently than on most.

On this cover, the Cimmerian is a victim. Chained to a wall, he's helpless to protect the lovely naked woman (her bum hidden by the caressing fumes) who is being attacked by the leering axe-wielding executioner. This cover reminds me of many pulp covers where in fact the hero is helpless and has to watch a beautiful woman suffer various tortures. This woman-in-peril approach was a common pulp cover convention, both for the classic pulps of the 30's and 40's, and the men's sweat magazines of the 60's.

Here's the same image minus the colors from a promo spot in FOOM magazine #2.

When contrasted with 1971's debut issue of Savage Tales also by John Buscema, there's a big difference in the way Conan is portrayed. On the debut he's a brawny barbarian howling in triumph, striking pose of defiance and swinging a severed head as a girl nestles next to his leg.

This is the Conan I'm more accustomed to seeing on covers from the paperback period, and in fact this image seems reminiscent of Frank Frazetta's classic pose for Conan the Adventurer. The girl in particular seems very similar.

Actually to my eye this seems almost to have a John Romita Sr. flair to the main figure. The cover is credited fully to Buscema, but I wouldn't be surprised to discover that Romita might've had something to do with this one.

Two very different ways to treat a classic pulp character indeed. I'd have to say the cover for the second issue is the better painting, but the cover for the first is the more exciting image.

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Hang Loose Heroes!

2012-01-31T02:40:00.010-05:00

This is one of the great images created by Big John Buscema featuring the Assemblers. His bold approach here is impressive and the dynamics of these characters as they blast into view is intoxicating. Heroic figures swinging at the viewer, all beautifully interlaced.

The drawing appeared as a two-page spread in Avengers Annual #2.

But as this scan reveals, there is a slight change to the original. If you look in the corner, you'll see another hero has been added to this awesome assembly. Hercules, the Prince of Power makes the scene, but he seems oddly out of joint here.

Buscema did a magnificent job of fusing these heroes together, but sadly the last minute interpolation of the Hercules figure has him jumping furiously but in the wrong direction.

Still and all, it's a mighty impressive picture.

There's a suggestion that Bill Everett inked this image. If so, I think it's most evident when you look closely at Quicksilver's feet. I see Everett's influence there for sure.

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Cockrum's Conan!

2012-01-30T02:26:00.004-05:00

This lively rendition of Robert E. Howard's classic barbarian hero is from a 1971 fanzine. Cockrum seems to my eye to be deriving his inspration from Frazetta who defined the hero before Barry Windsor-Smith's deft hands refocused everyone.

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Kryptonite Nevermore!

2012-01-29T03:28:00.010-05:00

When this volume debuted a several years ago, I was both excited and annoyed. I've long wanted to have this series of Superman stories in a volume, but never really thought it would happen.

When Jack Kirby left Marvel and arrived at DC, the startling news caused my Marvelite eye to turn to those parts of the spinner rack I'd ignored for a few years, and I discovered that much of the DC Universe was a bit different than when I last looked in.

Green Lantern and Green Arrow stomped across an exceedingly relevant geography. Wonder Woman was all in white with a feminist edge. Batman was actually a bit scary. And Superman was rather exciting, with his world having undergone a change both thematically and tonally, along with some more vibrant artwork by the Swanderson team. I picked up a few issues here and there of this saga, but never found them all, especially the finale. So this story of the end of Kryptonite and the mysterious Sand Creature are all unfinished business for this comic book reader.

So you'd have thought I'd have snatched up this volume in a heartbeat. I would've too, but there was a sticking point. DC wanted to damn much money for it. They wanted to charge forty bucks for nine comic book issues, none all that old really and with suspect printing techniques. I just couldn't bring myself to pay for it, and so I waited for the eventually trade paperback, but it's never come and I despair it ever will. I waited to catch it discounted, but it's never happened, even on Amazon, they don't cut it that much. So yesterday with some store credit burning in my wallet I expended it on this volume of magical tales by Denny O'Neil, Curt Swan, and Murphy Anderson. It cost me "nothing" in that way technically, so I can soothe my consumer anxiety, but still it rankles me a bit.

So I'll be laying up with these fantastic stories a bit later today and finally finishing what I started over forty years ago. That feels good though.

And now that I've gone and bought it, I'm sure a cheaper trade will be announced in a few weeks. Lordy!

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But They Should Watch Where They're Going!

2012-01-28T04:55:00.019-05:00

These crack me up. They are magnificent riffs on a theme, variations which always deliver. Rocky and Bullwinkle might well have the best timing of any cartoon pairing ever.

Here's a television example of this classic campaign.

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Reptilicus Redux!

2012-01-26T05:39:00.031-05:00

Once upon a time in the late 50's and early 60's, giant monsters were all the rage. Denmark feeling that it too wanted to contribute its unique flavor to the monster surge of the time initiated by Japan's Godzilla, unleashed the prehistoric might of Reptilicus on the the city of Copenhagen and film-going public has never been the same since.

Great Poster! Who did it? Anyone know?
I've certainly never been, since I lensed the movie as part of an all-night Halloween film fest when I was youngster. The first few scenes scared me pretty well, though even as a kid I found the big monster's romp somewhat regrettable. Here's the trailer.

Sidney Pink produced this flick and thought the way to go for special effects was puppets. Puppetry was a classic approach, and one only has to look back to the very first giant monsters created by the master special effects kahunah Willis "Obie" O'Brien, to see the stop-motion mastery of that form. That's not the way they went with Reptilcus.

They went with a marionettes and hand puppets. Take a look.

Reptilicus does have one advantage over Godzilla and Kong, he can fly. But for some reason those scenes get cut from the American version and so his little wings seem attached to the big lizard for no good reason. Here's a look at him on the fly.

And here's a scene with him flying from the Danish version.

Needless to say Sidney Pink was interested in maximizing his profits from this creation, so he licensed the creature to comics, in particular Charlton Comics. They had a history with these kinds of things, having done Konga and Gorgo.

They created two issues of Reptilicus in 1961 and both sport outstanding covers.

Rocke Mastroserio
Dick Giordano
But Charlton also was associated with the paperback imprint Monarch and they too adapted Reptilicus using the writer David Owens. Pink took issue with some of the scenes created for the novel version which are reputed to have a somewhat lascivious quality. I've never read it, so I cannot speak first hand about it. But apparently it upset Pink who pulled the license from Charlton.

But Charlton must've seen some good numbers from their monster book, so they just kept on publishing it under the new name "Reptisaurus". It ran for six more issues through 1962, and a 1963 summer special edition to boot.

Sal Gentile & Vince Alascia
Joe Sinnott & Vince Colletta
Joe Sinnott & Vince Colletta
Charles Nicholas & Vince Alascia
Bill Montes & Ernie Bache
Bill Montes & Ernie Bache
Bill Montes & Ernie Bache
A few years ago a independent science fiction movie was made using the "Reptisaurus" name. I've not been able to see most of this movie, but I have seen the trailer and for this kind of Indy stuff it looks typical. I'd love to see it full length.

Here's the trailer.

So we are faced with the odyssey of this monster character who begins life in the cinema and then tumbles into comics only to return under his new name to the screen again. There is an irony here somewhere.

For more details on this offbeat tale of monsters and comics, see this link at Stephen Bissette's rather scholarly blog.

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Monsters In Love!

2012-01-26T04:17:00.013-05:00

Our story begins with bewildering news reports from across the ever-spinning globe.

The monster Reptisaurus is seen cavorting in the air over the simmering heat of the Equatorial desert while a similar monster is sighted in the snowy wastes of the frosty Arctic.

The monsters meet at last in Miami and mingle in ways which befuddle the minds of simple children who behold this natural wonder. Parents rush to protect their curious charges from knowing more about this cataclysmic conjunction, suspecting the shattering truth all along.

The monsters are merely mating, performing that which Mother Nature demands to extend and expand the species in all living creatures.

It's a monster miracle Morton!

This tale from the wide world of woo was brought to you in the pages of Reptisaurus #4 from the Derby company Charlton Comics. Reptisaurus is the comic title which continued the adventures of the movie-monster "Reptilicus".

I daresay this tale illustrated by Joe Sinnott and Vince Colletta might've been better suited to another comic from that company which was on the stands at the same time. "First Kiss" indeed!

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Almuric!

2012-01-25T02:50:00.011-05:00

Jack Gaughan
With all the attention the John Carter movie is about to give to the Edgar Rice Burroughs Barsoom novels, it might be a good time to dig out a copy of Robert E. Howard's contribution to this genre. It's an odd novel (a rare form for Howard) titled Almuric. It was serialized in Weird Tales and first published in the 60's.

I first read it when Roy Thomas and Tim Conrad adapted a version for Epic Comics, and later I read the real deal. It's been a while and it might time to give the other-worldly adventure of Esau Cairn another go.

Here's a link to an online version of the story.

Here's a small cover gallery.

Jeff Jones
Richard Clifton-Dey
Ken Kelly
Andrew Hou
Here is some artwork from Conrad's adaptation.

Tim Conrad

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The Squadron Sinister!

2012-01-24T04:10:00.006-05:00

The Squadron Sinister debuted on the last page of The Avengers #69 and were cover featured and the focus of The Avengers #70 as part of the Kang-Grandmaster trilogy which also revived the Golden Age "Invaders" an issue later. There is a ton of creativity in the three issues which comprise this story, a story which made the Black Knight an Avenger.

The Squadron created by Roy Thomas and likely designed by Sal Buscema, were of course evil counterparts to the Justice League of America with Hyperion being Superman, Nighthawk being Batman, Doctor Spectrum being Green Lantern, and Whizzer being the Flash. It was not too hard for even my youthful mind to make that connection, even back then.

This quartet of villains proved quite popular, especially Nighthawk who went on to become a reformed villain and perpetually tragic figure in The Defenders. The Squadron Sinister of course soon inspired the other-dimensional Squadron Supreme a few years later, and that team has become one of Marvel's more interesting conceits, especially in the hands of the late Mark Gruenwald.

Here's a look at the original artwork for this iconic clash cover. The artwork is by the dynamic duo of Sal Buscema and Sam Grainger. This was only Sal's third Avengers story and his fourth Avengers cover. He came to the game well developed and hit them out of the park from the get-go.

This can be seen readily when you grok Sal's first run as the Avengers artist. His first stint was much shorter than memory might suggest, only five issues and six covers total. All the covers are inked by Sam Grainger.

Cover art only.

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Golden Guardian!

2012-01-23T03:06:00.010-05:00

When Jack Kirby revived the Golden Age Newsboy Legion in the pages of Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen, their mentor could not be far behind. Jim Harper, the cop who adopts the wayward youths who comprise the Legion was the adult hand of justice who added muscle to the Legion's brains. He was a legit superhero, a blue and gold juggernaut of justice, another Kirby hero who wielded a shield. But unlike the Legion, he had actually died and it remained for the DNA Project to revive him.

They did in a manner of speaking, creating a clone of Jim Harper who went on to fight alongside the "new" Newsboy Legion and later other heroes as well. The Golden Guardian was featured in several issues of Jimmy Olsen during the reign of the "King" Kirby, but was seen very little afterwards.

The Guardian only rated one cover during his time in Jimmy Olsen, but it was a stunner alongside the Scion of Krypton and the less impressive Scion of Late Night television.

Here did rate a page in Who's Who sure enough.

And he's been glimpsed a few times, rendered by Kirby on and in the pages of The Jack Kirby Collector.

After Kirby left DC to return to Marvel, the Guardian identity became open game for other creators to use, and strangely it was borrowed by the creators of the Teen Titans to give Mal Duncan yet another identity. Mal was the common man among superheroes and he was constantly casting about for some edge to allow him to hang credibly with his peers. In the role of the Guardian he found it for a short time.

Since then, I've lost track of just who and what the Guardian has become, but he's been many men at different times as DC has rebooted, revised, and redacted their fictional universe over and over again. There seems to be something fundamentally attractive about the look of the character, a tribute to Kirby's exquisite sense of design.

The Golden Guardian may always be with us in some form.

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Swords Against Sorcery!

2012-01-22T03:41:00.042-05:00

Fritz Leiber was a writer of great style and accomplishment, but I'd have to say his most memorable contribution to fantasy was his creation of the dynamic duo of Fafhrd and The Gray Mouser. I looked at some of their paperback appearances here with a focus on artist Jeff Jones.

Mike Kaluta READ THE ISSUE HERE.
Here I'd like to look at their rather meager comic book appearances, first at DC, then Marvel and finally at Dark Horse.

Howard Chaykin READ THE ISSUE HERE.
The duo were broken out and polished up when Marvel scored a hit with Robert E. Howard's Conan. I'm sure there was much casting about for more heroes in the same mold which could be used to monopolize on what was almost certainly considered a fad at the time and not the lasting trend it became.

Howard Chaykin READ THE ISSUE HERE.
DC found the best likely candidates in Fritz Leiber's dual heroes. But there are problems. Like Marvel, DC put the new characters in the hands of relative newcomer talents to comics. But where Marvel was willing (thanks to Roy's influence) to wait for the work to develop and catch on, DC was less forgiving.

Howard Chaykin READ THE ISSUE HERE.
After only five issues the book was cancelled. It sadly was not given time to find its audience the way Conan was eventually able to do, or DC's history might well have been quite different.

Walt Simonson READ THE ISSUE HERE.
The title didn't just launch out of the blue though. Where Marvel played around with the concept of Conan in tryouts such as Starr the Slayer and Arkon the Magnificent, DC decided to try out the heroes right from the start in the one of the most offbeat places -- their longtime superhero comic Wonder Woman.

Dick Giordano
It was a strange move, and doubtless had as much to do with the fact that the editor of the WW book Denny O'Neil (Samuel Delaney wrote the script) was also the writer of the proposed Fafhrd and Gray Mouser title. And it's not exactly like Wonder Woman was DC's best selling book to begin with.

Nonetheless after that strange beginning the title was launched to mostly snores. By the time I found it with issue five (featuring a wonderful Walt Simonson drawn story and another by Jim Starlin) the title was already cancelled.

Howard Chaykin was the artist selected to helm the new heroes in the first four issues, and he was a good choice, but Chaykin was a young artist. Very much like Barry Smith, you could see Chaykin improve with each job he did, and as the title unfolded he improved mightily. But it was too little it seems and too late.

So the comic, sensibly named Sword of Sorcery (though the working title was apparently "Swords Against Sorcery") was regrettably cancelled.

Years later Marvel took the characters and put them back into the hands of Chaykin, this time as writer. Alongside a much more polished artist Mike Mignola, the Fafhrd and Gray Mouser are again brought to the racks, this time under the Epic label.

It's a good comic and I believe intended from the get-go to be a limited. This work was allowed to lapse from print and years later yet again Dark Horse got hold of it and on the strength of Mignola's new fame as the creator of Hellboy, put the material out again in a handsome trade.

To my knowledge though the material produced for DC has not been reprinted aside from the Wonder Woman story which introduced the duo. It's a shame; it deserves the audience it was never able to find before.

Barry "Not-Yet-Windsor" Smith
On a side note, it should be mentioned that Roy Thomas also adapted the two heroes from Nehwon in the sixth issue of Conan, but they were disguised as two characters dubbed "Blackrat" and "Fafnir". They were intended as one-off homages to the great Leiber heroes, but despite his apparent demise (just a flesh wound I guess) Fafnir returned several issues later. Ironically in September of 1972, two versions of Fahrd were on the stands at the same time.

Barry Windsor-Smith
Thomas had cause to kill him off again, but despite that second death he returned yet again and became somewhat of a staple in the Conan book from time to time, and was called "Fafnir Hellhand/Demonhand".

John Buscema
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Marvel Firsts The 1970s Volume 1

2012-01-21T03:28:00.014-05:00

This first volume of three Marvel Firsts 1970s hit the stands this past week and I was downright eager to add this great chronological volume to my collection. I own all of the individual issues already, but the years covered in this first one (1970-1973) are a real sweet spot for me.

It's fantastic to look through the volume and see these vintage stories, some great, some good, some just okay, but all indicative of this time for Mighty Marvel when the company was reaching out in various genres to expand.

None of the many licensed items are here (Conan, Kull, Doc Savage, Gullivar of Mars, etc.) but lots of core Marvel goodness is included, and you do get great cover galleries for the books not here in their appropriate slots chronologically.

There are some very sweet Neal Adams covers, as well as prime examples of the Gil Kane and Bill Everett duo as well as some dynamite stuff by Kane alone. 1972 might just well be dubbed at Marvel the "Year of Ploog" as Mike Ploog's influence on the company was immense.

Amazing Adventures - Inhumans & Black Widow - August 1970

Savage Tales - Man-Thing - May 1971
Marvel Spotlight - Red Wolf - November 1971
Marvel Feature - Defenders - December 1971
Marvel Spotlight - Werewolf by Night - February 1972
Amazing Adventures - The Beast - March 1972
Marvel Premiere - Warlock - April 1972
Tomb of Dracula - April 1972
Combat Kelly & The Deadly Dozen - June 1972
Hero for Hire - June 1972
Outlaw Kid - June 1972
Marvel Spotlight - Ghost Rider - August 1972
Gunhawks - October 1972
The Cat - November 1972
Shanna the She-Devil - December 1972
The Monster of Frankenstein - January 1973
Amazing Adventures - Killraven - May 1973
You can really get a nice sense of the framed cover design Marvel used through 1972. It was ultimately rejected, but it gives the covers of this time a really distinctive character.

I'm really looking forward to the next two volumes. The second should be arriving anytime and the third seems scheduled for this summer.

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King Of The Apes!

2012-01-20T02:36:00.010-05:00

I think this just might be the single greatest comic book page of all time. Published by Charlton Comics in the back of Reptisaurus #4, this page likely drawn by Charlton stalwart Bill Molno, features the coolest ape to ever grave a comics page, and nothing is cooler than an ape who knows what he wants in life.

Let's take a closer look.

Nothing is finer than waking up refreshed, invigorated, and...let's face it... cool.

Grabbing a bite with a significant other is the best way for any cool ape to start the day.

This translates roughly to "That is the coolest ape I've ever seen my friend."

Finding a little private time is important to staying keen throughout the day, and keeping that cool edge.

Cool apes don't have to pay for their pleasures. A cool ape takes what he wants.

Especially when he can enjoy the finest smokes in all the world. Now that's cool.

We salute the world's coolest ape, the King of the Apes indeed.

So true!

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Eighth Wonder Of The World!

2012-01-19T03:58:00.004-05:00

I recently bought King Kong again. This great flick is utterly fantastic and I seem to buy a version of it every few years whether I need to or not. This time I picked up the collector's tin from 2005, and while I had the movie stuff already, there were a few items I was missing like reproductions of some of the great Kong posters. Here's a gallery.

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Coming Back!

2012-01-19T03:07:00.005-05:00

This Casper cover at first seems innocence enough, but after glomming it for a few moments I realized the terrible price some of the heroes of hygiene are suffering. The tooth has lost his home, ever to be apart from those most like, doomed to live a hollow life.

The tube of toothpaste is though the most tragic as he attacks with Casper the Demons, his very life essence oozes out and he gives that which is the most precious to him in this fight against the rigors of decay.

Like I said...sad.

And what are they running across exactly, the landscape looks like cheese. Hmm.

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Going Black!

2012-01-18T02:50:00.006-05:00

I offer up this cover from Valiant's Solar, Man from the Atom #10 in solidarity with those who wish to protest the current moves in the U.S. Congress to restrict the internet.

Here's more if you're interested.

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King Of The Wild!

2012-01-17T02:32:00.014-05:00

I picked up King of the Wild from Mascot Pictures several weeks ago because it advertised Boris Karloff in one of his pre-Frankenstein roles, and because I just like old serials. This offers up a lot on both counts.

Karloff plays Mustapha, a devious Arab who darts in and out of the story, especially at the beginning and end of the serial. He is instrumental to keeping this complicated clanker of a plot tumbling along, and he offers up a decent portrayal. I suspect some of his lines outdoors were dubbed, as none of the characters seem to sound like themselves. Perhaps this is repair or something Nat Levine's production crew did at the time.

The story deals with an American named Bob Grant who discovers that he looks just like a Rajah, who then wants to keep Grant around. The Rajah is killed in an accident and implores Grant to take his place to keep his evil cousin Dakah from seizing power. The Rajah writes a note to explain all of this. (This is the Maguffin in this movie.) But a "friend" of Grant's, a white hunter named Harris betrays him and Grant is put into prison for a year before escaping and seeking Harris and the note. He then finds a woman named Muriel and her brother Tom who have a diamond mine, and this is where Mustapha comes in, as he wants it. He and Harris plot to get hold of the mine and kidnapping and skullduggery of all types ensues. There is also a little old lady who seems to be a Secret Service agent, a Swedish guy and animal trainer who ain't all he seems, and a guy with dark glasses who keeps shooing people. And then there's Bimi.

Bimi is my favorite character in this magilla of a flick. Bimi is an Ape-man/Monster played to the hilt by the very buff Arthur McLaglen (Victor's Brother), and Bimi steals many a scene from his more loquacious comrades. No explanation is made about Bimi, save that he is loyal to Harris who apparently captured him at some time. But the weird relationship between Harris and Bimi slowly becomes the one you're most interested in.

This is an action-filled story, that truth told does drag a bit towards the end when some of the story lines seem to run past their due dates, and unnecessary complications seem thrown in for no good reason. The ending is a tad talky, but the final scene is worth the wait.

I highly recommend this one, and it can be had for cheap. And ignore the lousy look of the first chapter as the production improves in the later installments.

One source says this movie was intended for Trader Horn star Harry Carey and his co-star Edwina Booth, but production woes on that movie forced the leads to be given to Walter Miller and Nora Lane. Miller was as well known for playing bad guys as good. Dorothy Christie who is in the serial briefly later shows up in Gene Autry's epic serial The Phantom Empire as the haughty Queen Tika. Tom Santschi a long-time silent hero and heavy, who played the villain Harris died the same year this movie was made, which I have to admit adds a bit of poignancy to the final scene.

An especially curious note is that the guy who plays the local top cop Wainwright in the movie was Albert De Winton Jones, a real life explorer who disappeared in Brazil trying in vain to solve the Fawcett mystery soon after this movie wrapped.

The movie apparently did generate some intriguing posters, many of which are on view below. Bimi looks a little too docile in these, compared to his wildman visage on screen, but you do get a sense of the sweep of the serial. I'd love to know who the artist is on these if anyone can say.

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Black & White Knights!

2012-01-16T02:53:00.007-05:00

Here is a bit of outstanding artwork by Howard Purcell featuring Dane Whitman, the Black Knight.

The context of this art is unknown to me, but maybe it's a tryout design for the Marvelmania poster Purcell did with the Knight.

Clearly though it's related in content to the one story Purcell drew for Marvel Super-Heroes #17.

Here's a Groovy Link to get a gander at that complete story.

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Embellishing The King - The Kirby Poll Results!

2012-01-15T03:50:00.024-05:00

Sinnott
Not surprisingly, Joltin' Joe Sinnott won this little impromptu competition. He's clearly the main man when it comes to classic Kirby inkers, his brush giving a heft and depth to Kirby which had hitherto not been seen. The team of Kirby and Sinnott on the Fab 4 has yet to be topped after over forty years. He's a worthy winner indeed with 15 votes and 36% of the total.

Royer
Second was Mike Royer, the main man for Kirby after he left Marvel and struck out on his own at DC. Royer was brought in by Kirby after many objected to the work of Vince Colletta, the inker DC put on the King's work. Royer then became Kirby's go-to inker for the balance of his career, others stepping in only when Royer was unavailable. I'm not surprised at Royer's 11 votes and 26% of the total.

Wood
The third place winner is Wally Wood, an artist renowned for his own pencil work, but who brought a real shine and polish to Kirby's work in the relatively few times he inked the King on some issues of Challengers of the Unknown, Sky Masters, and a few Marvel covers. He brings home 6 votes and 14% of the total.

Heck
Fourth place is shared by two great artists. First is Dashing Don Heck, who inked Kirby very little, but always with great effect. Heck was Kirby's own choice to ink his work when he was shopping around the New Gods to publishers. Heck's career was a bumpy ride, especially at the end, and one only wonders what might have been had he and Kirby been able to work together more with his crisp edges. Heck had 2 votes for 4% of the total.

Everett
The other guy in fourth place is Wild Bill Everett, the Golden Age dynamo who created among others, the Sub-Mariner. Stan Lee was loyal to Everett in his later years and made a place for him in the Bullpen, often as an inker. When Everett inked Kirby it was all good as he brought a real brightness and energy to the King that only Royer would match in later years. Everett also had 2 votes also for 4%.

A gaggle of artists gleaned 1 vote apiece and 2% of the total vote.

Simon
Joe Simon got a single vote, and Kirby's original partner probably deserved more. But his influence on Kirby is often difficult to detect, but there's no doubt that the sum of the total of Simon & Kirby was more Simon that we suspect.

Ayers
Darling Dick Ayers is the surprise on this poll to me. I thought this masterful artist and early Kirby inker of record in Marvel's early days would get a few more. His strong brushwork really gave weight and heft to Kirby's monsters and to his early FF work. Ayers was broken out as a pencil man in his own right after a few years, but early Marvel is defined by this tandem.

Stone
After Ayers, Chic Stone became the go-to inker for many Kirby epics at Marvel, giving an ethereal glow to much of the King's lofty work on Thor, the FF, and Avengers and more. Stone elevated the King's pencils in a way no other inker ever did, and brightened them immensely.

Colletta
Vince Colletta is the guy who is hated by more Kirby fans than any single other fellow. Despite giving Kirby's pencils on Thor a rarified and other-worldly feeling suitable to the mythic context, he was derided for daring to erase some of the sacred Kirby's pencils. But this argument suggests an inker is just a glorified tracer and that's not the case. I argue (and I'm the guy who voted for him) that Colletta's choices often improve the clarity of Kirby's storytelling. Was he taking shortcuts, perhaps, but it's final product you have to judge, and the Kirby-Colletta team created some elegant artwork to my eye.

Berry
Bruce D. Berry is the inker who stepped in to take over when Mike Royer was called away from Kirby's DC work. Berry is a dandy inker, but I always found that while his finishes are well polished there's a lack of depth which sometimes minimizes the impact of many of the sequences. Berry though did a lot of great work for the King.

And alas some inkers got 0 votes and sadly 0% of the vote.

Giacoia
Frank Giacoia is probably the greatest Kirby inker to get no votes. Giacoia was apparently a strong personality, a guy with more talent than discipline if stories are to be believed, but his edgy lines gave a real clarity to Kirby's pencils, a power that few other inkers could match. Giacoia is one inker who seemed as strong at his game as Kirby was at his.

Klein
George Klein inked Kirby some, but little in the heyday of Marvel. His work on the King on Thor is mostly what I remember and it was warm and inviting stuff. He gave Kirby a real soft quality few other inkers could match. Klein died way too soon or perhaps he'd have done more great work with the King. Perhaps then he'd have gotten a vote.

Roussos
George Roussos sometimes known by the name "George Bell" inked a bunch of Kirby's early work at Marvel and while I like his tough style, it's not surprising he's not a fan favorite, and frankly I'm not surprised he didn't get a vote.

Shores
But Syd Shores is another matter. Shores was a true pro who gave Kirby's work on Captain America a real shimmer no one else ever did. He was a strong stylist and there's not denying work that he did, not unlike Sinnott, Shores was not afraid of Kirby's pencils and really gave them a power. I was expecting a few votes for Shores to be honest.

Thibodeaux
Michael Thibodeaux was a later inker of the King, on some of his 80's projects and has taken some of the Kirby concepts and revised them for the modern reader. Thibodeaux does give the King a real lively look, but like many later inkers he seems intimidated by the work and doesn't quite know what to do in all instances. I'm not surprised he got no votes.

Thanks to everyone who took a moment to cast a vote in this utterly meaningless, but nonetheless fun poll. This has been far and away the most successful poll I've run here. These things don't prove anything really most of the time, but hopefully they give us something to talk about and if perchance an eye has been opened it's all been well worth it.

Thanks again.

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The Perils Of Pauline!

2012-01-15T02:34:00.006-05:00

The Perils of Pauline is a 1933 serial which purports to be a remake of the silent classic. It's a pretty decent serial from Universal pictures, filled with action, a lovely girl, and lots and lots of scene changes.

The action begins in and around Borneo somewhere in a city which is undergoing a revolution. With bomb blasts resounding everywhere we meet our cast, Pauline Hargrave and her dad Professor Hargrave who are trying to find a sacred disk which has inscribed upon it a secret formula for a lethal gas which according to legend wiped out many an ancient culture. They are opposed by Dr.Bashan and his henchmen, especially one tough buzzard named Fang. The Hargraves are helped by engineer and all-around nice guy Robert Ward, and comedy is supplied by Hargrave's valet Willie Dodge.

This basic ensemble head into the jungle and tangle with natives for several chapters, then find one half of the disk in a temple which is as much fitted out with Egyptian designs as anything else. Then after many hectic installments where Pauline does indeed face assorted perils alongside her new protector Ward, the scene shifts to India for a chapter and then ultimately to New York to wrap things up.

Evalyn Knapp who plays the titular lead is a pretty girl and looks quite fetching in a few scenes here and there as she tumbles through the plot, always being perky and ignoring pleas for her to remain where it's safe. Craig Reynolds is a dandy hero, who does become something of a plant as the story rolls around him. It's not his fault really as he's only ever asked to dive in and save the girl or her dad or both time after time.

Bashan & Fang
The show is almost stolen in the first several chapters by Fang, played by Frank Lacksteen, and this is a henchman for the ages. He suffers more than Pauline does by a longshot, but he keeps going, trying to do Dr.Bashan's will at all times. He's a tough looking fellow and perhaps the most interesting face in the film. Bashan played by John Davidson is a worthy villain, but seems a bit too passive at key times to really appear to be a true threat to our heroes. The demise of these two is a great bit of movie making, that I will assert.

All in all this is a passably entertaining movie, neatly long but not too long. The NYC stuff gets a bit tiresome before it closes, but that's because the producers seemed intent on using every random scrap of film they got their hands on to compose threats. Lots of stock footage in this one, but that's typical for a serial.

For a few bucks this is one to look out for.

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Avengers Vs. X-Men!

2012-01-14T05:22:00.007-05:00

Apparently Marvel is revving up to have their two superteams clash this year. Since I gave up reading the Mighty Mutants regularly nearly two decades ago, and I gave up reading the Awesome Assemblers nearly four years ago now, I doubt I'll be checking out this super war save online in samples and whatnot.

For me the ultimate clash between these two teams came in the Spring of 1968 when they met up in a single issue of The Avengers, specially issue #53, to duke it out after being lured together by the machinations of the then-still-a-villain Magneto.

The storyline had been unfolding in both the X-Men and the Avengers when former Assemblers Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver had left the team. They became involved again with their former boss (not yet revealed to be their daddy) Magneto and the mix-ups started popping in batches as the two teams battled it out.

Bing! Bang! Boom! It was done in a single issue (with a few clever crossovers) and then the teams could repair to their lairs to recuperate and await the next big baddies. This year's clash I'm sure will lumber along through countless comics and cost the dedicated fanboy a fortune to gather up a battle not half as exciting as the one that still tickles my memory.

Some years later in the late late summer of 1970 I got hold of X-Men Annual #1 which offered up the tasty reprint of the original battle between these two teams, both still in their mostly original line-ups. It was a hoot, and again a single awesome issue told the tale totally and for true.

Imagine a mere twelve cents giving up such ideal pleasure. It's not what comic books are about anymore. Delivering quality entertainment for a fine price has long ago been abandoned as the model. Perhaps it was necessary and the modern comic is a relic, but it's still a shame.

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The Son Of Vulcan Reports - DC Part 2

2012-01-14T02:49:00.012-05:00

Let me be clear. I'm not against reboots at all. In fact I'm rather a fan of them, when they work.

So it doesn't bother me that DC decided to lift the name of "Son of Vulcan" and attach it to a new hero in 2005. It has been done before, specifically the birth of the Silver Age of comics with the birth of new heroes like Flash, Green Lantern, and Atom. All three of these heroes look different and have different costumes from their original Golden Age sources, and only later were connected to them in any real way other than similarity of powers, and in the case of Atom not even that.

DC has a long history of this sort of thing. So the question becomes, how good is the reboot. In the case of Miquel Devante, the new Son of Vulcan, not bad really.

Lots of spoilers follow so tread carefully.

The story begins with the Floronic Man committing a murder and then deciding that salad bars are slaughterhouses. At the resturant in the town of Charlton's Point he decides to attack is sitting Miguel Devante and his friend Sienna. The Floronic Man is stopped by the sudden appearance of a superhero named "Vulcan", with the help of Miguel who slices off Floronic Man's arm. This creates a bond between the hero and the boy. Their heroism becomes the subject of news media, in particular a reporter named Josey Masulli. Miguel returns to the Derby Youth Home where he it is revealed he is an orphan. Vulcan returns to his secret base in Still Space and in conversation with his companion Pandora speaks highly of Miguel. Miguel is being punished by the headmaster of the orphanage. He is sent to his room after a beating. Meanwhile a mysterious villain with a mad on for Vulcan attacks the captured Floronic Man. Vulcan returns to tell Miguel that he wants him to become his superhero sidekick and together they face the threat they believe to be Floronic Man but is not and as the story closes Vulcan suffers a fatal wound to his torso.

The fatally wounded Vulcan transfers his powers to Miguel by branding his face with the imprint of his hand and Miguel, the "Son of Vulcan" erupts with fire destroying a large building and sending the assailant away. Without training and with the corpse of Vulcan having vanished, Miguel is left to explain things to the authorities, who arrest him. Pandora appears and frees him from custody and transports him to the Forge where he is supposed to be trained for his new role. Meanwhile the villain's mate moans about her absence. Praetor reveals himself aboard the Forge as Miguel's mentor and asks for the "First Law" which Miguel does not know. Praetor gives Miguel a tour of the Forge and introduces him to the heritage of heroes he has become part of, while Pandora goes to collect the remains of Vulcan. After the tour, and having asked Miguel to name the Law two more times, Praetor following programming tries to eject Miguel from the Forge and into space.

Pandora grieves for Vulcan while Miguel holds onto the door of the Forge for dear life. While the JLA talks of having a funeral for the hero Vulcan, Pandora arrives back at the Forge in time to save Miguel from space by removing her arm and sending it to retrieve him. It is revealed she is an artificial being and she and Miguel then try to leave the Forge which is destroying itself per its programming having assumed the line of Vulcans is broken, since Miguel could not recite the Laws. They are just about to escape in Vulcan's "Justi-Flyer" with the Encyclopeiae Vulcanus when Praetor corrupts Pandora's programming and Miguel is just able to fly away with her as the Forge destroys itself. Meanwhile the villain who killed Vulcan returns to her mate and it is revealed that they are Pale Martians and the surviving male seeks renewed revenge on the Son of Vulcan.

Miguel tries to hock his Vulcan sword to get enough money to return home and goes to an establishment run by Funky Flashman. He has to stop a robbery and is able to get some money to boot. Meanwhile at the Twilight Assisted Living complex a man hears news reports of Vulcan and is reminded of a time when he was called into service as part of the Vulcan tradition. Funky Flashman is fascinated by the sword his employee took in and contacts the Pale Martian who arrives immediately with deadly results for the help. At the funeral for Vulcan trouble is brewing when assorted villains show up in particular a gang dubbed the "Coalition of Crime". Miguel who showed up at Vulcan's grave is attacked and battles the offbeat collection of baddies until the old man shows up and teleports them away to relative safety.

Barney Blaine, the man who rescued Miguel tells him some of his history. Meanwhile the Coalition of Crime made up of a sorceress named Witchhazel, a little and smart dinosaur named Dino-Mite, a cowboy-themed centaur dubbed Charliehorse, a man-monkey-robot combo named Monkey-In-The-Middle, who are joined later by Scramjet and Fishmonger wonder what happened to Son of Vulcan and his rescuer. They seek them out and attack until Miguel is able to activate his fire powers and and repels them until he and Barney once again teleport away leaving the Coalition to deal with some heat-seeking missles fired by Scramjet. Barney and Miguel try to get Miguel's sword back from Funky Flashman but fail. Then Barney tells Miguel at long last about his heritage. In a story titled "The Martian Chronicles" we learn that the Pale Martians had been invading Earth for millions of years. Eventually they activate mankind's Meta-gene capacity. Men discover fire and drive the Pale Martians away. To remind themselves of the threat they create messages and through history man then fights and repels this enemy who pretend at times to be gods. Until finally during the time of the Romans, a hero is uses the technology of the "gods" from Mars creates the weapons of Vulcan and begins the tradition which has at last come down to Miguel. This saga is related by Barney to a disguised Martian who then telepathically gives him a heart attack.

The Pale Martian has captured Miguel, the Son of Vulcan and using DNA gotten from Funky Flashman derived from the Secret Society of Super-Villains injects his unborn children. When Miguel revives and attempts to escape he is confronted by the shape-shfiter but fights back and is successful as the brutal battle rages. Miguel seeking escape is confronted by the Children who look like ersatz versions of the Secret Society, but Miguel able to repel them. Furious the Pale Martian attacks a final time before Miguel finally burns him down. As the Laws of Vulcan are recited, Miguel visits his friend Sienna in Charlton Point, his friend Barney at the hospital, retrieves the Justi-Flyer and Pandora, and approaches Titans Tower where he confronts his destiny as a hero.

Later it is shown that Son of Vulcan did indeed join the Titans, becoming a member of Titan's East.

This is a tasty update. I actually like the premise and the eventually blending of sci-fi and mythic elements. Scott Beatty, the writer name checks the original creators of Son of Vulcan (reporter Masulli and two cops named Fracchio and Tallarico) and the whole story begins in Charlton Point and at the Derby Home. That kind of nominal respect for what has come before buys a lot of tolerance from me as a reader. I rather liked the story.

But the artwork is a whole other deal. Keron Grant creates lovely artwork, but dang if his storytelling doesn't downright confuse me at times. And it's not so much his panel arrangement which is reasonably standard, but the lack of real shadows and depth in the images making many things incomprehensible to my eye. I literally just cannot make out what is going on even as I look at it. This is a classic instance of style overwhelming functionality.

There is one section in the fifth issue, the "Chronicles" section which is drawn by Al Milgrom and things get less stylized and much clearer. In this section too, the original Vulcan looks remarkably like the classic Johnny Mann character. So while it is common for most to say there is no connection between this series and the original, I'd imagine that over time a connection was going to be made.

As a reboot this is as solid as any I've seen and we have a good hero at the end able to take on the world, with a little more training. While I wish that DC had given the original a spin in a storyline all his own, I have to confess this 2005 limited ain't all that bad a substitute.

And I'm very surprised at myself for saying that.

That wraps up my look at Son of Vulcan. I've learned a lot about this misfit hero, especially his brief turns at DC. I hope you have too.

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Popeye The Poem!

2012-01-13T06:19:00.021-05:00

Here is a poem by John Ashbery, the artist who created a number collages and was the subject of a post a week or so ago. This poem is about the first superhero, the great Popeye the Sailor Man created by Elzi Segar. I've taken the liberty of decorating the poem with some vintage Charlton Popeye covers mostly by the great George Wildman. I'm sure Ashbery won't mind this juxtaposition at all.

(Not by Wildman)
Farm Implements and Rutabagas in a Landscape
by John Ashbery

The first of the undecoded messages read: "Popeye sits in thunder,
Unthought of. From that shoebox of an apartment,
From livid curtain's hue, a tangram emerges: a country."
Meanwhile the Sea Hag was relaxing on a green couch: "How pleasant
To spend one's vacation en la casa de Popeye," she scratched
Her cleft chin's solitary hair. She remembered spinach

And was going to ask Wimpy if he had bought any spinach.
"M'love," he intercepted, "the plains are decked out in thunder
Today, and it shall be as you wish." He scratched
The part of his head under his hat. The apartment
Seemed to grow smaller. "But what if no pleasant
Inspiration plunge us now to the stars? For this is my country."

Suddenly they remembered how it was cheaper in the country.
Wimpy was thoughtfully cutting open a number 2 can of spinach
When the door opened and Swee'pea crept in. "How pleasant!"
But Swee'pea looked morose. A note was pinned to his bib.
"Thunder And tears are unavailing," it read. "Henceforth shall Popeye's apartment
Be but remembered space, toxic or salubrious, whole or scratched."

Olive came hurtling through the window; its geraniums scratched
Her long thigh. "I have news!" she gasped.
"Popeye, forced as you know to flee the country
One musty gusty evening, by the schemes of his wizened, duplicate father, jealous of the apartment
And all that it contains, myself and spinach
In particular, heaves bolts of loving thunder
At his own astonished becoming, rupturing the pleasant

Arpeggio of our years. No more shall pleasant
Rays of the sun refresh your sense of growing old, nor the scratched
Tree-trunks and mossy foliage, only immaculate darkness and thunder."
She grabbed Swee'pea. "I'm taking the brat to the country."
"But you can't do that--he hasn't even finished his spinach,"
Urged the Sea Hag, looking fearfully around at the apartment.

But Olive was already out of earshot. Now the apartment
Succumbed to a strange new hush. "Actually it's quite pleasant
Here," thought the Sea Hag. "If this is all we need fear from spinach
Then I don't mind so much. Perhaps we could invite
Alice the Goon over"--she scratched
One dug pensively--"but Wimpy is such a country
Bumpkin, always burping like that." Minute at first, the thunder

Soon filled the apartment. It was domestic thunder,
The color of spinach. Popeye chuckled and scratched
His balls: it sure was pleasant to spend a day in the country.

Wasn't that fun. Now someone explains it to me.

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The Son Of Vulcan Reports - Extra!

2012-01-13T03:19:00.005-05:00

While the second part of the DC report is being prepared, here is a bit of unpublished original artwork. I found this wonderful piece of artwork by Bill Fraccio and Tony Tallarico (presumably)here, but there is no mention of its context. I assume this is part of an unpublished Son of Vulcan story. It's a rather exciting page.

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Kirby's Golden Checklist!

2012-01-12T03:51:00.005-05:00

I picked up a copy of the dJack Kirby Checklist - Gold Edition yesterday. It was a light day at the store, nothing new that I wanted to get, so it was an ideal time to get this resource. It's a trim volume with tiny print (oh my eyes) but it does offer small samples of vintage Kirby goodness throughout.

Smartly done. I'll have fun plumbing this one.

And let me remind you, it's only a few more days until the current poll on Kirby's best inkers closes. If you've not voted, or are considering changing your vote, time is of the essence.

Forget Iowa and New Hampshire, this is the vote that counts. Make your voice heard.

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The Son Of Vulcan Reports - DC Part 1

2012-01-12T02:17:00.017-05:00

After the collapse of Charlton Comics, their properties were divided up among lots of folks. Somehow Son of Vulcan was included in the "Action Heroes" purchased by DC Comics as a gift of sorts for then editor Dick Giordano. Son of Vulcan had more in common with the Fightin' 5 who were left behind in this deal than he did with any of the other Charlton heroes. Sarge Steel made sense because he was Giordano's baby, but Giordano only worked on one issue of Son of Vulcan, the debut issue for which he supplied a cover.

Whatever the case, Son of Vulcan became part of the DC Universe and apparently shows up in Crisis on Infinite Earths, though I have to confess I don't remember him and I can't find him among the multitudes drawn by George Perez. He does get a nice page in The History of the DC Universe by Wolfman and Perez.

Unlike Blue Beetle and Captain Atom, Son of Vulcan did not get his own series, and unlike Thunderbolt and Peacemaker he did not get his own limited series, and unlike Nightshade and Sarge Steel he did not get worked into a series as part of the cast.

He did get an appearance in the all-hands-on-deck comic DC Challenge where he was cover featured and got all of one page to show his mettle before disappearing back into the mists.

It's notable in this comic that he is again written by Roy Thomas, the scribe who wrote his last adventure at Charlton.

Son of Vulcan did rate his own entry in Who's Who in the DC Universe, specifically issue twenty-one.

Then he falls into obscurity once again. Alas Son of Vulcan doesn't even rate a doppleganger in Alan Moore's Watchmen series, but is left once again to sit on the sidelines waiting for his next big break if it is to come.

It does come(sort of)in a four-part limited event titled War of the Gods, a massively complicated storyline in which Son of Vulcan does indeed appear and even makes a few covers before actually coming to his end.

That's right, they kill him off.

And that's the end of Johnny Mann, the anti-war reporter and veteran who challenged the gods and found his own destiny.

Johnny deserved better.

It's clear that DC could've done more with Son of Vulcan than they did. They just didn't appear to want to do much. Maybe it was merciful that he was killed off. Maybe they save him from some future indignity.

Maybe.

"Son of Vulcan" is a great name and many years later that name was used again by DC Comics. That will the be the focus of the Part Two.

More to come.

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The Son Of Vulcan Reports #5

2012-01-11T02:36:00.017-05:00

Son of Vulcan Volume 2, Number 50 is dated January, 1966. The editor in chief and creator of Son of Vulcan is Pat Masulli. The artwork is supplied once again by Bill Fraccio and Tony Tallarico. They also supplied the artwork on the cover. The big news this time is that Roy Thomas, a neophyte writer from the fan community offers up the script, Roy "Not-Yet-The-Boy" Thomas begins his comics career here with this story in the final issue of Son of Vulcan. Here's a link to see what else was on the stands when this issue arrived.

"The Second Trojan War" begins with Johnny Mann of World-Wide Correspondents interviewing movie director A.J. Colosso who is making a movie about the Trojan War. Colosso regales Johnny with some background info, essentially laying out some of the more famous details from Homer's epic saga. But then a scream from Lisa Collins, the starlet of the picture sends Colosso running. Johnny takes that chance to transform into Son of Vulcan.

He finds the actress threatened by runaway horses pulling a chariot, and using his strength from the gods, the "Mightiest of Mortals" pulls horses, chariot and all into the sky and out of harm's way. Lisa is ecstatic and gives her hero a big kiss but then is frustrated when Colosso fails to get this moment on camera denying her the publicity. Then the actor playing Achilles quits the movie. Son of Vulcan agrees to play the part and help Colosso out.

The scene shifts to the secret lair of Dr.Kong, the arch-nemesis of Son of Vulcan who is using his defective robot assistant "Adam Klink" to undermine the movie production for reasons that go unstated.

Son of Vulcan starts his movie career but has it interrupted when Lisa is again threatened by a falling wall, but she is saved when Son of Vulcan puts himself between her and the falling debris. But she is unhappy he didn't just sweep her up in his arms out of harm's way. The section closes with Lisa unhappy with Colosso and her hero Son of Vulcan and SoV convinced there's more to her than meets the eye. Dr.Kong threatens to do more mischief.

"Green Goo" is a one-page text story about the sudden and dangerous appearance of a murky green ooze which rises from the ocean's waters and begins to creep across the ground. After much hubbub and speculation about its origins, and some significant damage a military officer suggests that great ditches be cut to allow the goo to follow the path of least resistance back to its origins in the sea. It works for now.

Part 2 "Prisoners of Doctor Kong" begins with Son of Vulcan using a great gladiator's net to throw the stone debris into space. He and Colosso then discover the metal footprint of Adam Klink and suspect sabotage. That night Adam Klink appears and kidnaps Lisa and Son of Vulcan sees and follows. But when Klink drops down a narrow hole in the ground, SoV is forced to change back to Johnny Mann to follow him down. This allows him to be captured by Dr.Kong and he manacled to the wall and gagged.

Kong then introduces his weapon, the Anima-Ray which he plans to use to animate great statues like the Statue of Liberty and the Sphinx and thus conquer the world. Kong leaves to start more trouble for the movie company and leaves Johnny being guarded by the clumsy Klink. But Johnny is at last able to remove his gag and transforms into Son of Vulcan and with one blow demolishes Adam Klink. He then follows Kong and is stunned at what he sees.

Part 3 "The Trojan Horse Walks!" starts as Son of Vulcan is confronted by the enormous Trojan Horse, built for the movie, and the behemoth is walking and promptly attacks Son of Vulcan. The battle rages, as SoV calls down a mace.

Ultimately he uses bow and a flaming arrow to begin a fire in the mouth of the giant false horse but it makes the Horse even more wild and out of control. Son of Vulcan saves the director Colosso from being crushed under the hooves, but then he realizes that Lisa Collins is captive inside the Trojan Horse.

Rushing into the monster, he frees Lisa and the Horse at last burns to the ground. Dr.Kong then animates a local stream of water and sends it against Son of Vulcan but with the water pursuing him wherever he went, SoV is able to turn it against Kong by flying right past him. Overwhelmed by the water, Kong's Anima-Ray is destroyed and the threat is at last over.

The scene shifts several months later to the Hollywood premiere of the movie "Warrior Against Troy" starring Lisa Collins and Son of Vulcan and Lisa Collins is interviewed by Johnny Mann. She is upset and throws a camera at his head when he suggests the star of the movie is Son of Vulcan and not Lisa herself, somehow Johnny interprets to mean Lisa might be interested romantically in the Son of Vulcan.

Dr.Kong plots further trouble from his jail cell in final panel.

"The Strangers" follows several aliens as they arrive one by one across the globe and are confronted by various creatures in various climates. They are startled by a snake, upset by a skunk, bothered by a hornet's nest, assaulted by a snapping turtle, attacked by a bull, and swatted by a housewife before deciding to leave the planet and head home with the words "Go!Man...Go!!". The artwork is by Ernie Bache.

This is the final issue of Charlton's Son of Vulcan series. With a costume redesigned by fan Dave Cockrum last issue and a complete script by fan Roy Thomas this issue, it's clear that Charlton is attempting to tap that base of dedicated comic book readers who have been kindled by the success of DC and Marvel especially. This script by Roy is a bit of a Hail Mary, a last-ditch attempt to generate some interest in Son of Vulcan, a hero who clearly seems not to have found an audience.
The stage is set for a change of editorial regimes as Pat Masulli will give way to Dick Giordano and the era of "Action Heroes" looms.

This particular story is very different from previous issues in that the gods are not present at all. Only Vulcan is referenced at all but he is not seen. Of course there's much mythology present in the shape of the movie about the Trojan War, but the whole feel of this story is different. Ironically in this story about the most famous war in history, the anti-war theme which has been a part of most previous issues is ignored.

One thing though that does alas come through is a change in personality for Son of Vulcan. He sounds more like the perpetual adolescents that populate early comics, the kind who are awkward around girls for no particular reason. That's clearly an attempt to characterize Son of Vulcan, but it's a bit of a cliche and doesn't fit him I fear.

"Adam Klink" is a clear reference to "Adam Link" the creation of Eando (Earl and Otto) Binder who appeared in science fiction stories and in comics tales. It's a clever spin, and the idea of a malfunctioning henchman robot is a neat one.

All in all this is a sturdy enough comic, but it turns away from what made Son of Vulcan distinctive, perhaps with good reason. It's regrettable the series ends with this story, but I imagine Dr.Kong is still in prison to this day. What a wretched little man.

With the next issue, the numbering will continue, but the title will change to Thunderbolt, the action hero created by Pete Morisi. Looking at the house ad above, it seems this was a last minute decision as the ad suggests that Thunderbolt will continue and so will Son of Vulcan. But apparently Thunderbolt's series gets cancelled after a single issue and he takes over for Vulcan's favorite Son.

Charlton apparently was able to get quick results from the sales of its books and the company wasted no time in making moves to maximize sales and the precious shelf space they battled for each and every day.

There is some evidence that Roy Thomas and fan artists Biljo White and Sam Grainger proposed a revised Son of Vulcan to Charlton Comics, but nothing came of it. A single page of this proposal can be found in Bill Schelly's Fandom's Finest Comics. It showcases a sleeker Son of Vulcan, minus the large helmet and the full armor.

Later Son of Vulcan will get sold to DC Comics along with the other "Action Heroes" (how he got grouped with them is anyone's guess)and next time we take a look at his brief time at DC Comics.

More to come.

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Scooby-Duplicate!

2012-01-11T02:28:00.004-05:00

Here is a fun bogus cover I found here. This blend of Ghost World by Dan Clowes with Scooby Doo, specifically the the Charlton version is a hoot.

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The Son Of Vulcan Reports #4

2012-01-10T02:17:00.018-05:00

Son of Vulcan Volume Two, Number 49 is dated November 1965. This comic continues the numbering of Mysteries of Unexplored Worlds. The editor in chief and creator of Son of Vulcan is Pat Masulli. The script is by Joe Gill. The interior artwork is by the reliable team of Bill Fraccio and Tony Tallarico. The cover art is by Bill Fraccio and the inks are by Rocke Mastroserio. (The Grand Comic Book Database attributes these inks to Tallarico, but I disagree.) Here's a link to see what else was on the newsstands when this Son of Vulcan comic first appeared.

"The Diamond Dancers" begins in the big city where Dr.Kong, arch-enemy of Son of Vulcan is inspecting some diamonds at the Diamond Exchange. He then heads over to the theater where under the name of "Changchin" he is appearing in a play titled "A Chinese Folly". There he removes his large ring which is actually a camera and orders a young lady to develop the film.

Meanwhile Johnny Mann is interviewing the head of the Exchange and asks him if he thinks the two billion dollars worth of jewels are in threat of robbery and is assured such a thing is impossible.

Dr.Kong gets into his costume and heads to the stage while Johnny decides to take in a show. He recognizes his old enemy despite the costume and make-up and changes into Son of Vulcan, this time sporting a somewhat more elaborate costume. (More on that later.)

The Story then shifts back in time to the end of last issue when Mars was under attack by sea creatures. He escapes that threat and then finds large stores of diamonds in the Arctic. He decides to use this wealth to assume the identity of Warren Masters, and heads to the city and the diamond exchange. He finds himself outside the performance of "A Chinese Folly" at the same time that Son of Vulcan is demanding to see Dr.Kong.

Son of Vulcan confronts Dr.Kong and the two battle, Kong using his enormous electric sword and SoV using an axe. Son of Vulcan is struck down by Kong as Mars/Masters appears. The two villains talks and decide to work together to defeat their common foe. To that end they find a great pile driver at a local building site and using a steel beam drive the invulnerable Son of Vulcan deep into the Earth, creating a prison for him.

"The Magic Wand" is a one-page text piece telling the story of a television show and its special effects guru Burt Carsons. Carsons was contracted to create effects for a new show called "The Magic Wand", particularly a way to seemingly explode boulders and he does so by creating a "magic wand" powered by electricity which is immensely powerful and which is then used by its creator to take over the world.

Part II "The Living Tomb" begins as Son of Vulcan calls out to his adopted father Vulcan for help but it turns out that Vulcan and Venus have been forbidden by Jupiter to help SoV since his activities had forced Jupiter to banish Mars. Nonetheless Vulcan sends a fireball to help and it ignites a seam of coal in the ground around SoV and this allows him to explosively escape the trap.

Son of Vulcan then seeks out Dr.Kong and changes to Johnny Mann to do so. Meanwhile the two villains are working together to break into the Diamond Exchange, which shares a wall with the theater and while Kong uses fireworks to create a distraction on stage, Mars/Masters uses a bazooka to break through. Johnny Mann confronts Kong but must change to Son of Vulcan to escape his sword which then breaks on SoV's mighty shield.

Mars/Masters then appears and uses gas to subdue Son of Vulcan. Then he and Dr.Kong gather the diamonds and repair the wall, being careful to put Son of Vulcan within so he will get the blame. But the villains fall out as Mars wants Kong to pay for his crimes, but Kong is too clever and captures the god in a booby-trapped chair.

In Olympus Vulcan sends the real King Midas to assist Son of Vulcan by changing the Diamond Exchange wall to softer gold which SoV can break through easily.

He confronts Mars/Masters and learns that Dr.Kong is seeking to escape by boat. Flying to the docks, he finds the ship and learns that Kong is not yet aboard. He then goes underwater, finds Kong's one-man submarine and disables it. As Kong sinks to the bottom, Son of Vulcan returns the stolen diamonds and when he returns to the theater finds Mars gone but threatening to return.

"Enemies of the Deep" is a three-page comic story featuring dangerous sea creatures such as the hammerhead shark, the sea leopard, the killer whale, and the moray eel. The story features art by Frank McLaughlin.

This is hugely fun, if hugely goofy issue. The way the two villains with their immense abilities work so mightily to steal some paltry diamonds is mildly hilarious. Son of Vulcan seems to completely stumble across the plot, and this story to a greater degree than earlier one seems utterly dependent upon coincidence to work.

The new look of Son of Vulcan is the handiwork of a young Dave Cockrum, who would be very famous later for revising the look of DC's Legion of Superheroes and later Marvel's X-Men. This new armor is more detailed, but I'm not sure myself if it's a stronger design. The added details seem I think to detract from the basic shape, and make the whole thing a bit muddy. But if because of the perceived dreary costume or whatever, clearly the series was lagging in sales, and this was an attempt to salvage it. Cockrum gets no mention inside the issue, but they did give him billing of his work on the cover itself, possibly since covers typically go to press last.

This penultimate issue of Son of Vulcan is a hoot, but with only a single Charlton episode remaining things look grim for our hero.

This story was reprinted by Alan Class in Uncanny Tales #87.

A little more to come.

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Weather Bird Comics!

2012-01-10T01:54:00.004-05:00

I don't know anything about this 1958 giveaway comic, save that it was published by Harvey Comics. But I find the black and white cover artwork delightfully whimsical, and it's especially set off by the logo of many colors. I'd be curious to see if cowboys and superheroes are actually in this comic.

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The Son Of Vulcan Reports #3

2012-01-09T03:13:00.007-05:00

Mysteries of Unexplored Worlds Volume 1, Number 48 is dated September, 1965. The editor-in-chief and creator of Son of Vulcan is Pat Masulli. The cover is by regular artists Bill Fraccio and Tony Tallarico, who also provide the artwork on the main story inside. The writer is again Joe Gill. Here is what else was on the newsstands when this issue arrived.

"Fury of the War God" begins with a symbolic splash page showing a chained Son of Vulcan threatened by a disguised Mars, God of War and despairing of getting aid from Olympus.

The story proper begins in the jungles of Vietnam where Mars is checking out the ongoing struggle between the forces of North and South Vietnam. A furious lightning bolt erupts and he is summoned to the throne of Jupiter who voices his displeasure with his son and his warlike ways, and wishes he could be more like the Son of Vulcan.

The scene shifts to the offices of the news syndicate which employs Johnny Mann and who is getting his latest assignment. It is to go to the waters of the Arctic and explore the disappearance of three meteorologists. The waters are the domain of a whaler named Captain Tusk. Johnny thinks a better story is to be found in the Near East where mobs have been attacking embassies, but he is overruled.

The scene shifts again to the Near East where it is revealed that Mars is manipulating the crowds to create the attacks on the embassies, to foment aggression against the Americans. Jupiter though has had enough and punishes Mars for his meddling by casting him down to Earth, and stripped of much of his godly might and power. Ironically he is cast down right into the area of the Arctic into which Johnny Man is headed.

There Mars finds Captain Tusk and his lovely daughter Sally at dinner. Mars then captures the pair of them and makes himself the twin of Captain Tusk, thus taking control of his whaling fleet. He puts his captives in an ice cave where the missing scientists also happen to be.

"Imbalance" is a one-page text piece about a city that suddenly finds that half of it is sinking and other half is rising. It turns out that one side has too many tall skyscrapers and it has created an imbalance. A professor puts forth a dramatic plan to demolish enough buildings on one side to balance the city again. Desperate this plan is used and hence forth any large building on one side will be matched with another on the other.

Part 2 "The New Captain Tusk" begins as Mars disguised as Tusk is leading his whaling fleet on a rampage through the Northern waters attacking vessels and planes alike to establish his claim. News of this violent behavior reaches Johnny Mann who becomes Son of Vulcan and flies to investigate. Following an odd electronic signal he finds the Tusks and the scientists within the ice cave and calls upon Vulcan for aid to help them. Vulcan sends a ball of fire which melts the ice posthaste.

Mars witnesses the release via a remote camera and races to the scene in a rocket-powered snow sled. He finds and attacks Son of Vulcan who soon enough discovers that his enemy is an imposter and has enormous strength. He knocks SoV out and escapes. Son of Vulcan divines that it must be Mars he is battling with and flies after his nemesis, confronting him aboard his ship where once again Son of Vulcan is struck down, this time by a thunder strike. Chained, Son of Vulcan is the fake Tusk's prisoner.

Part 3 "The Villain" has the ship controlled by Mars/Tusk rampaging through the Northern waters with Son of Vulcan chained and held prisoner in the bow. This is seen from Olympus and Jupiter incorrectly surmises that SoV is the culprit behind this latest wave of violence. Vulcan protests, but to no avail. Mars/Tusk continues his attacks until he is confronted by a U.S.Naval vessel armed with nuclear shells.

These shells are fired and the conflagration is ferocious but only succeeds in freeing Son of Vulcan who once again takes after the fleeing Mars/Tusk who tries to use a harpoon gun against our hero. Sally Tusk intercedes and causes him to fire into the ship itself which blows up. Son of Vulcan saves Sally from attacking Killer Whales, but it is left to Mars to save the real Captain Tusk, which he in fact does, proving he is not all bad.

Mars disappears and is presumed dead, but Johnny Mann now safe aboard a naval ship along with both Captain and Sally Tusk is not so sure, and feels he will need to be guarded against the eventual return of the war god.

"Volcano" is a three-page comic story about various real world volcanos throughout the world and history. Mentioned are volcanoes Vesuvius, Krakatoa, Pelee, and Mauna Loa among others. The art is supplied by Rocke Mastroserio.

This is the last issue of Mysteries of Unexplored Worlds by that title. And it was the one issue of the adventures of Son of Vulcan I most wanted since seeing the cover as a boy in early Charlton comics house ads. I mistakenly thought Jim Aparo did the cover for years until I was able to see a copy of the comic firsthand at long last. It's easily the best Son of Vulcan cover aside from the debut issue.

The adventure establishes firmly Mars as the primary opponent of SoV, a similar situation to what Charlton's Hercules will find a few years later under the capable hands of Joe Gill and Sam Glanzman when Ares, the Greek equivalent proves to be his primary menace. We also get a peek at the feud between Jupiter and Vulcan as their sons are compared.

The anti-war theme reappears in this issue, with the conflict in Vietnam described by Mars as not even a proper conflict given its low-tech manner.

It's hard really to understand the nature of Captain Tusk's situation in the Arctic as he seems to claim vast stretches of ocean as his domain. Under what legal right he claims this territory is uncertain and unstated.

Another solid entertainment by rock-solid professionals. With the next issue the amateur fan creators will be making their presence felt on the Son of Vulcan.

The story was reprinted by Alan Class in Secrets of the Unknown #169.

More to come.

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The Brave And The Bubbly!

2012-01-09T02:44:00.002-05:00

This Neal Adams cover is a knockout. Seemingly, Carmine Infantino designed many of these covers and Adams rendered them, but whatever the process, these covers for The Brave and the Bold during this period are simply outstanding examples of what comic book covers ought to be. The image is eye-catching and visually clear, and evokes a sense of curiosity about how such an outlandish scene came to be. This is a comic I want to read. Now most of the time the story didn't live up to the advertising, but that's not the cover's fault. It did its job.

Here's the original.

And here's the original repurposed to become an ad with Siren-like characteristics.

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The Son Of Vulcan Reports #2

2012-01-08T05:55:00.015-05:00

Mysteries of Unexplored Worlds Volume 1, Number 47 starring Son of Vulcan is dated July, 1965. The editor in chief is Pat Masulli, who is credited with creating Son of Vulcan. The cover is by Bill Fraccio and Tony Tallarico who are also the artists of record for most of the interiors of the comic. The writer for this issue is Joe Gill, the iron man of Charlton scribes. Here is what was on the newsstands when this issue hit.

"The Golden Curse" begins with a discourse on marriage, wealth, and greed, and introduces our main players. We first meet Leonard Lambie, a professor of mythology at a small university. He lives a life of relative poverty and is put upon by his unhappy wife. He reads of the exploits of Son of Vulcan and wishes that he too could access the powers of the gods. He especially dreams of having the power of King Midas as he does the evening dishes with his disapproving wife glaring at him.

The scene shifts to the apartment of Johnny Mann, reporter and mortal identity of the Son of Vulcan. He is awakened by a heavenly announcement that Mars, the God of War will soon arrive to bring him to Olympus to face judgement. Mars, who is not happy that Son of Vulcan has been successful with his godly gifts, brings him to Olympus where he is reunited with his adopted father Vulcan and the beautiful Venus. Jupiter sits upon his throne and pronounces that in the case of Cyprete (from the debut issue) Son of Vulcan has performed well. This does not go over well with Mars who plots to undermine SoV's success.

To that end he visits the disgruntled Leonard Lambie and gifts him with the gauntlets of King Midas, which can turn objects to gold. But Mars fails intentionally to tell Lambie that the effect wears off after forty-eight hours.

"Planet Urth" is a one-page text piece which is actually a letter from the Martian leader Mishi Ucha, and puts forth his strong opinions about how the Maritians should best pursue their military goals. He urges war with the Venusians, to show the upstarts their proper place in the galaxy and he then suggests war with the Saturnians should be next. He is dismissive of the idea of "Project Urth" put forth by Professor Slumpshi because Ucha finds the idea that intelligent life could be on the humble planet too remote a possibility to consider.

The story of Leonard Lambie continues as he demonstrates his new godly gifts to his wife by changing the trash can to gold. She remains unimpressed so he changes her to gold too in a fit of anger. He enjoys the new quiet it brings.

Meanwhile Johnny Mann is given a new assignment to investigate Zoloto, the world's biggest gold dealer and a man who has been suspiciously hoarding gold and hiding it. Johnny goes to Zoloto's offices, replete with golden themes, and is violently ejected at gunpoint. He passes Leonard Lambie who meets with Zoloto to turn his new gold into hard cash. Zoloto, after seeing the gauntlets work, strikes a bargain with Lambie and sends him on his way, but then sends his henchmen to follow him.

At his home Lambie adopts a costume befitting his Midas role as Mars looks down upon him satisfied that Son of Vulcan will falter in the face of this new threat. Johnny Mann though has followed Zoloto's thugs to Lambie's house and seeing their violent intentions transforms into the mighty Son of Vulcan and faces off against them. But Lambie turns SoV into a gold statue too and the whole lot then are taken to Zoloto's grotto where the statues of SoV and Lambie's wife are about to be melted down to make ingots.

Lambie though wants them to be saved and Zoloto relents momentarily only to show Lambie how little authority he has. Son of Vulcan is still able to think, if not move, and he uses telepathy to tell Lambie that Zoloto only wants to remove him and his gauntlets as they will only make his gold cheaper by increasing the relative supply. Then SoV and Lambie's wife are put back on the conveyor belt to be melted down.

Son of Vulcan though does not melt, his godly powers making him invulnerable and he turns back to his true nature. He calls upon Vulcan to send him a mace which he does and SoV then demolishes the furnace. Zoloto attempts to escape and use poison gas to kill everyone in the grotto but Lambie turns him to gold before can act. Mars is unhappy that SoV has succeeded.

The police arrive and Son of Vulcan explains things and Lambie submits himself to the authorities for his two "murders". But then the forty-eight hours pass and Lambie's wife reverts to normal. Since the effect is not permanent, the police are sure Lambie's punishment will be less severe.

Son of Vulcan returns the gauntlets of Midas back to Olympus were Mars is forced to confess he was behind the scheme the whole time. As Jupiter lavishes praise on Son of Vulcan Mars plots revenge as does Zoloto in a prison cell far away. With these looming threats and the mention of Dr.Kong also, Son of Vulcan's future looks far from bright.

"Strange Galaxy" is a three-page comic story about a space ship and its lone occupant Major Rauss that heads to the Moon too fast, misses it entirely and instead heads into deep space and a galaxy far away only to land on a distant planet where the pilot is met with relatively hospitality. The art is by Charles Nicholas on pencils and Rocke Mastroserio on inks.

This is a solid issue of Charlton entertainment. The characters so well explained last issue are vivid and the story falls into place quickly. Joe Gill's script is lean and there's a real momentum to the storytelling in this one. The artwork by Fraccio and Tallarico is a wonderful example of what they can do.

The cover is a busy and hectic one indeed, and sadly not very dynamic. The bearded King Midas with his long white beard is not the Leonard Lambie we have inside. The costume and crown are similar but he's a smaller fellow with no whiskers at all.

This issue was something of a grail book for me for many years. Before the convenience of the internet, rounding up back issues was a slow process indeed. I looked for this particular issue for at least five years before finding a moth-eaten copy. It was a great to have it and be able to at long last read the entire Son of Vulcan Charlton saga. It's that kind of satisfaction that makes this hobby so much fun.

This story was reprinted by Alan Class in Uncanny Tales #180.

More to come.

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Embellishing The King - The Jack Kirby Poll?

2012-01-08T05:08:00.006-05:00

Who was the best inker for the awesome pencils of the late great Jack "King" Kirby?

This question is asked every hour by Kirby fans and I'm asking it this week in an "official" poll. The results will utterly transform our understanding of the basic nature of the natural world, or perhaps supply slight diversion during our busy and hectic week. One of the two for sure!

I've offered up fifteen choices, but I'm sure I've forgotten someone. Add any worthy names you feel like in the comments thread on this post.

I hope you take time to check the poll out, and give your answer to this burning question.

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S.H.A.D.O. Versus The UFOes!

2012-01-08T02:05:00.016-05:00

Just finished watching the one and only season of UFO, the Gerry and Sylvia Anderson live-action sci-fi television show from 1970. It was very absorbing watching the forces of S.H.A.D.O. (Supreme Headquarters Alien Defense Organization) led by Commander Ed Straker fend off vile green-hued aliens (the green is a side effect of a liquid they use to breathe) who are bent of scavenging human beings for organs and other such stuff as can be found on our fertile Earth.

The show takes itself seriously from the get-go, making it easier to swallow the mildly outrageous premise that Earth is in a secret war with Aliens from outer space in the then future of 1980. Once you get that chunk down, the rest of it goes smoothly, and actually quite logically. Faced with this threat, the governments of the world organized S.H.A.D.O. to specifically design capability to face this threat and over the intervening ten years that organization has grown and is doing the work. To that end the satellite detector named S.I.D. is put in place and a base on the Moon is established and maintained to station forward attack ships. These along with a sub fleet armed with its own flying capabilities and an array of ground Mobiles allow the forces of S.H.A.D.O. to respond to a myriad of alien threats as the occur.

The forces of S.H.A.D.O. are very much creatures of the 70's though the show is set in the future, at least in terms of dress and fashion. The secret base, hidden beneath a film studio, is loaded with beautiful dames in tight-fitting outfits who get coffee and wander around looking sexy and carrying papers to and fro. There are rugged heroes like Major Paul Foster, who is a test pilot who finds out about UFOs and then gets recruited. He's a dashing ladies man capable of taking the fight to the aliens, especially when they threaten beautiful girls. Colonel Alec Freeman is Straker's right hand man, and the voice of the people when Straker's implacable reason seems cruel. Colonel Virginia Lake is a gorgeous blonde who replaces Freeman later in the series and stands around a lot but can shoot a mean automatic rifle when the time comes. There is an array of mostly handsome folks who battle the aliens and look cool doing it.

Since this is an Anderson show the special effects are darn good, with models doing much of the heavy lifting for the science fiction aspects. The same techniques which served on Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet serve here, though they are melded with live action sequences. Lots of equipment is needed to battle the aliens.

One thing I noticed is the calm tone the show has, no one getting overly upset about anything really. The atmosphere is one of restraint and calm and that gives the show a neat tension. The aliens are hardly seen and their motives are only vaguely hinted at, but there is much speculation. We really never learn what they want, and that makes them oddly effective as villains.

People die in this war, good people and bad people alike, and that makes the affair have more gravity.

One of the odder aspects of the show is the way fashion dominates the proceedings. Major Foster for instance becomes increasingly androgynous during the run of the show, becoming more and more effeminate, less the rugged leading man and more the somewhat overripe hipster. The girls who work on Moonbase wear silver uniforms (which peel into mini-skirts) and the strangest magenta wigs ever seen on screen. The show does a good job of trying to make everyone look mostly alike. Whether this is part of the subtext of the theme, or merely a side effect of Sylvia Anderson's interest in fashion is hard to tell.

There's a significant James Bond vibe to this show, intentional I'm sure. The later episodes were filmed at Pinewood, and Michael Billington who played Foster was considered by many to be a natural heir to the Bond role at some point, though that never developed. Lois Maxwell (Miss Moneypenny) even shows up for a few shows to fill in for Straker's regular reliable gal Friday secretary Miss Ealand. The show also gets a more bizarre feel in later episodes, almost akin to what was done in The Prisoner.

This turns out to be a dandy little show, very entertaining, and as I found out like great popcorn hard to stop partaking of after you start.

For much more on UFO see this link and this one too.

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The Son Of Vulcan Reports #1

2012-01-07T06:25:00.029-05:00

Son of Vulcan debuted in Mysteries of Unexplored Worlds Volume 1, Number 46 dated May, 1965. The dynamic cover is by Dick Giordano. The editor and writer of the debut issue and also the credited creator of Son of Vulcan was Pat Masulli. Bill Fraccio the penciller and Tony Tallarico the inker supplied the interior artwork for much of the comic. Here is what was on the stands when the Son of Vulcan series debuted.

"A Mighty Champion is Born!" begins with a dynamic splash page showing a fully-armored Son of Vulcan between the Roman god Mars and the Roman god Vulcan and announces that SoV will be a hero on Earth.

The story is told in first person by John ("Johnny") Mann, a reporter who was wounded in Korea and has an artificial leg. On the island of Cyprete, after leaving a tenure as a reporter in Vietnam, Johnny is musing about the folly of war and while walking through some Roman ruins asks why the gods, if gods there be, allow such foolishness. There is burst of lightning and Johnny is struck down, seemingly by the very hand of a god itself.

He awakens surrounded by the full pantheon of the Romans and is immediately threatened by Mars, the god of war who offers to dispose of the fragile human by dropping him out of his chariot. Jupiter then confronts Johnny from his throne and asks why such a weak human would criticize the gods. Johnny stands up for himself and says that as a reporter it is his job to tell the truth. Mars again threatens Johnny, but Vulcan steps in and suggests there might be more to this human that they think. Impressed by his bold honesty, Vulcan is allowed to question Johnny since, as Jupiter points out, it was Vulcan himself who is an creator of mankind. Johnny repeats his criticism of the gods lack of action while wars are waged on Earth and even Jupiter threatens the brazen young man. But Venus steps in and asks a favor that Johnny be spared. Then Vulcan takes Johnny under his wing, pleads his case be considered.

The debate continues, but ultimately because Vulcan sees virtue in Johnny is allowed to help him when Jupiter puts the challenge before Johnny to step up and fight to solve the problems he has identified. To that end, Johnny is granted some aspects of the power of Vulcan himself, over the objections of Mars. First Vulcan fashions armor for Johnny, and then Venus gives him the added strength and vitality needed to wear it and wield the mighty weapons at his disposal. He is not to be limited to one weapon, but may summon any weapon he needs such as a spear, a sword, or a sling. Fully prepared, the newly christened "Son of Vulcan" is dispatched back to Earth to find and battle the threats to world peace.

"The Snake People" is a one-page text piece which tells of a man who dreams of a deadly green snake with red eyes. When he draws the snake and shows it to experts, he is summoned and confronted by the police who are investigating mysterious deaths perhaps caused by just such a snake, as reported by one man who survived long enough to report. He is told of a cult who worship snakes and even believe they can become them. The man is given police protection and sure enough he dreams of the snake again and then finds he is about to be bitten when a shot rings out and the snake is slain. A man's body is found where the snake had been and the whole affair is reported as the attack of a mere intruder.

"Watchdogs of the Deep" is a one-page comics tale about how sharks make effective guardians for deep sea activities in the Cold War, making things difficult for Communist spies, but also being quite dangerous to the forces of the free world. The artwork is by Bill Molno.

"He Stands Alone" is the second Son of Vulcan story in this issue. It is written by Pat Masulli, and the art is again by the team of Bill Fraccio and Tony Tallarico. The time is 1965 and the Son of Vulcan returns to the island of Cyprete where live to distinct populations, the Preterons and the Cyclates, both who believe in the myth of the Giant Gladiator, who will one day appear and lead one of those groups to domination of the other and the whole island.

Son of Vulcan transforms back to Johnny Mann and drops out of the sky onto the island, where he heads immediately to speak to General Ator of the Cyclates, hoping to bring reason to the situation. He finds though that Ator is a firm believer in the myth of the Gladiator. Johnny then tracks down a rumor that the Giant Gladiator has already appeared and indeed finds the giant in a local village of the Preteons, urging them on to war. Transforming into Son of Vulcan, he follows the giant as he heads to a giant colosseum known as the "Tomb of the Gladiators". Behind a great stone door, he hears a voice not belonging to the Gladiator and finds the Asian villain Dr.Kong reveal he is behind this charade and that he is plotting to take over the island himself. But SoV is careless and Kong drops him through a trapdoor into a well where he must fight a deadly octopus. The epic struggle with the octopus lasts all night, but in the morning Son of Vulcan is at last able to overcome the beast and escape the trap.

He then finds the Cyclates led by Ator and the Preteons on a battlefield ready to wage war as the Giant Gladiator pledges control to the victorious army. Son of Vulcan intervenes and agrees to battle the Gladiator. A furious battle ensues during which SoV uses many weapons including a fiery sling and his enormous shield. Ultimately he deciphers the secret of the Gladiator and calls for the sword of Ulysses and with a single stroke stabs the Gladiator through his helmet, whereupon the giant falls to the ground. It is revealed that the Gladiator is actually a giant robot and the both the deceived groups, the Cyclates and the Preteons seek the mastermind Dr.Kong who is seemingly crushed beneath the falling ruins of the colosseum. As Johnny Mann drives out of Cyprete though, we see the evil Dr.Kong in disguise already scheming for his revenge.

"The Minatures" is a one-page science fiction story about Earth men who must meet a race of ten-foot tall giants as they descend in their rockets. The aliens discover that the Earth men are much larger than they and immediately decide to leave. It is revealed that the Earth men have used robotic duplicates to deceive the aliens. The artwork is by Rocke Mastroserio.

"The Roman Gods on Mount Olympus" is a three-page overview of the Roman pantheon and associated myths. Jupiter, Neptuen, Juno, Pluto, Minerva, Vulcan, Mars, Apollo, Venus, Cupid, Mercury, Saturn, Janus, Pan, Midas, and Atlas all get a single panel of description. The artwork is by Charles Nicholas.

There's little denying the similarity of the premise of Son of Vulcan to Marvel's Thor who had debuted three years earlier. A lame human who is given the power of the gods does seem all too familiar. But that is also the premise of Captain Marvel Jr., and Freddy Freeman and not Dr.Don Blake nor Johnny Mann is the one who gets the powers. So this is a long-standing premise with a great deal of history. It is a bit of an irony that Thor debuted in a long-running mystery tale comic with no previous history of superheroes and so did Son of Vulcan, but there it is.

The anti-war sentiment in this story really is remarkable, given that we are talking about a 1965 comic book. Vietnam is name-checked, though Johnny's experience is mostly with Korea. The futility of war seems almost to be the underlying theme of the whole comic. Of course the dilemma is what to do with an armored hero who hates war, but is all too willing to fight. The pacifism is muddled, as it would be later when Charlton's other Peacemaker would debut a few years later. I imagine "Cyprete" is a reference to Cyprus, which suffered from similar ethnic divisions.

The strongest aspect of this comic is the characterization which is surprisingly rich for a Charlton comic of this era. The gods are distinctive and Johnny himself has a specific voice, a consistent tone especially in the very talky origin story.

Most folks will criticize the artwork, but personally I've always been a fan of the Fraccio-Tallarico team. I find their work while it might lack the polish of some has an incredible kinetic energy that really moves the reader along. The action can be uninspiring in places, but awesome in others. There's a lot of story to be told in this first pair of tales and so I cut them some slack if panels seem a bit static as information is delivered.

Son of Vulcan is a fun comic from a company which was only known at the time for two superheroes -- Captain Atom and Blue Beetle. Only the Beetle was being published new at the same time as Son of Vulcan debuted while reprints of Captain Atom are just being rolled out.

There will be more to come.

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Arkon The Magnificent!

2012-01-07T03:27:00.015-05:00

John Buscema & Tom Palmer
Arkon the Magnificent first showed up in Avengers #75, but his cover debut was the King Kong swipe cover for Avengers #76 above.

John Buscema & Tom Palmer
Arkon was the ruler of the planet Poelemachus which was suffering an energy crisis. It was figured out that by setting off atomic explosions on the dimensionally identically located Earth that the energy of Polemachus could be recharged.

To this end Arkon, a barbarian in the Marvel Universe proper travels to Earth by means of a spell cast by Wanda Maximoff, the Scarlet Witch and kidnaps some scientists to get them to build a bomb to do the deed. Quicksilver gets the Avengers involved to save Wanda and the battle is on.

John Buscema & Sal Buscema
After that threat is averted, the Avengers end up on Polemachus in Avengers #84 to rescue the Black Knight when he is taken captive by Arkon and his ally the Enchantress. After that Arkon and Polemachus fade out of Marvel mythology for a while.

Frank Miller & Terry Austin
Arkon shows up years later in an X-Men Annual but I've always mostly been fascinated by his early Avengers appearances.

Arkon seems to me to be another Roy Thomas precursor to Conan. Despite his sci-fi origins, as rendered masterfully by John Buscema and Tom Palmer, he looks every bit the part of a savage barbarian, very like a certain Hyborian not yet a part of the Marvel pagentry. Plus Arkon had some cool sci-fi elements, the other-dimensional stuff and his quiver of lightning bolts, which do different things.

If anything, Arkon's notorious bad temper and epic arrogance make him a great villain, though he's always shown with a edge of concern for his people's welfare, if not also his own. Maybe because we saw relatively little of Arkon, and because he's so fundamentally unlikable as a person, he has ever been a fascinating figure in the greater Marvel Universe.

Here is a gallery of original artwork from the pertinent Avengers issues featuring Arkon.
Avengers #75

Avengers #76

Avengers #84

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Gatewood Galbraith RIP

2012-01-06T02:11:00.007-05:00

Gatewood Galbraith has died. As a lifelong Kentuckian, Gatewood (everyone refers to him as Gatewood) has been part of the political landscape as long as I have been paying attention. His most famous message was his outspoken attempts to legalize pot and make hemp a cash crop in Kentucky, to replace the losses of the tobacco farmers.

He was a true iconoclast, and intellectually honest true believer who was also charming, self-deprecating, and candid. He was fun to watch and to listen to. He demonstrated by his very existence, that you could think your own thoughts and speak your own mind. It wasn't a choice between two parties, it was your choice.

I might even have voted for him once in his many attempts to be governor of the state. Lord knows I've voted for far worse. In recent days some pundit said that folks vote for the person, not the ideas, and that was true for me and Gatewood. I didn't really give two hoots about legalization (fine if it happens, but whatever), but he was such an engaging and refreshing voice, that I wanted to vote for him. I still do. He is already missed.

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The Ashbery Dupes!

2012-01-05T01:43:00.015-05:00

Here is a promo for an show by John Ashbery, an artist and poet with some academic reputation. Here's a link to see more of his images, and here is another. He apparently blends found material, specifically random art and postcards to create his effects.

Any comics fan would instantly recognize the two figures as Fighting American and The Guardian, both created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. But there's something different about these borrowed images. They're not by Simon and Kirby.

Both are by Jim Steranko.

This piece is titled "Diffusion of Knowledge" and sits our two heroes in front of the Smithsonian Museum. There's a point here so some kind.

This piece too will kindle a memory as it's clearly Stuntman, also created by Simon and Kirby, and also this particular time drawn by Steranko. The piece is titled "Gotcha".

All of these images come from Steranko's History of Comics Volume I, specifically a small area on the back cover. Here's a close look.

And here's the whole cover. Ashbery sure doesn't like to waste material, that's all I'll say. And I find it remarkable that he has seemingly merely by chance borrowed three heroes, all created by the same two classic comics masters. The fact he's used such a narrow patch explains it, as likely Steranko bunched several of the similar S&K creations together.

But there's a lackadaisical quality to Ashbery's work here that undermines its effectiveness I think. Or maybe not. Most folks won't recognize the source material, but they might suspect something about the similar art styles on the two pieces.

Jack Kirby Collage - Fantastic Four #51
Jim Steranko Collage - Strange Tales #168
Given Kirby's and Steranko's own histories with collage, I doubt they'd be miffed by this appropriation of their work, but my fanboy nature yearns that the artist who lifted the stuff might demonstrate some small awareness of its true original context. But then, changing that context is the whole point I guess.

For your viewing pleasure, here are a trio of covers by Simon & Kirby featuring the heroes of the day.

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The Awesome Stilt-Man!

2012-01-04T04:21:00.015-05:00

Wally Wood
I like Stilt-Man. I know he's considered the lamest of villains by some, even by Daredevil standards, but there's always been something about this goofy villain which I found curiously interesting.

Getting tall wouldn't be all that much of an advantage in the Marvel Universe, but Stilty always seemed to bring something else to the party, most notably his shrinking ray. Here is Stilt-Man's debut story.

One thing though, is that Stilt-Man always made for a striking cover, and that's what I think kept Wilbur Day's pernicious alter-ego in the game early on. Created I suspect by Wally Wood, he's a visual spectacle. Take a peek.

Gene Colan & Frank Giacoia
Gene Colan & George Klein
Marie Severin & Bill Everett
Rich Buckler & Frank Giacoia
When teaming with other baddies, Stilt-Man's unique perspective had to be smushed down.

Gene Colan & Frank Giacoia
Stilt-Man did get out of the DD-verse a time or two and battled Captain America, Spider-Man, and even the equally awesome Black Goliath.

Sal Buscema & Frank Giacoia
Jack Kirby & Frank Giacoia
Don Heck & Frank Giacoia
Ed Hannigan
But as much as I like Stilt-Man, I'd have to say this version which appeared in Spidey Super Stories looks incredibly lame, even by the usual Stilt-Man standards. This guy ain't no super-villain.

Al Milgrom
This guy is!

Gene Colan & Frank Giacoia
All hail the awesome Stilt-Man!

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Captain Kronos!

2012-01-04T03:08:00.007-05:00

Captain Kronos - Vampire Hunter is a 1974 Hammer Films entry, in which they try to change up the status quo by focusing on a "charismatic" hero as opposed to a "fascinating" villain. Captain Kronos, a 16th Century former military officer is the man of the hour. He travels the countryside, aided and assisted by the hunchbacked Professor Grost, looking for vampire outbreaks. He then uses his outlandish ways and Samurai sword to dispatch the blood suckers when he comes across them. At least that's the theory.

In this first installment (it was intended apparently to be a series) the duo is joined by a lovely Gypsy girl and they go to a village which is preyed upon by vampires who kill with a kiss and suck the life essence (as opposed to just blood) from their victims, mostly young girls. An old army buddy who is the local doctor has sent for Kronos and they set about solving these crimes using all manner of peculiar and quaint methods.

As Hammer movies go this is an oddball for sure. It's Spaghetti western meets horror flick, and the blend is not always smooth. The action sequences can be clunky, as the swordplay looks a bit uneven in some scenes. The acting, much of it overdubbed, is stiff, and despite some clever visuals from time to time, it's a movie that fails to deliver much of a scare.

The movie is meant to be seen through the eyes of the Gypsy girl, but I think it forgets that sometimes and we lose track of her for some stretches. Also for all her physical beauty, Caroline Munro is not the most subtle actress all the time, and perhaps is not up to what is requested here. I think that is true of the hero Captain Kronos too played by Horst Janson, who has all his lines dubbed by some Brit.

On the other side of that John Carson turns in a credible job as the local and tragic Doctor and John Cater as Professor Grost is quite good.

There are some interesting settings, but for some reason, probably cost, not a single shot that I can remember happens at night. The omnipresent sunshine might be good for the western style, but it damages the ultimate effect of any horror offering. The director, who is also the writer, Brian Clemons, ends up with a movie which is neither fish nor fowl, and lacks the pace or budget to overcome its weaknesses.

All in all, Captain Kronos is a passably entertaining movie with some neat touches, but minus a true emotional core, or at least the personnel capable of communicating that.

It was adapted (minus the approval of Clemons who indicates he owns the character) into comic form. Here's a link to the first part and here's a link to the second. Enjoy!

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Fab Four Flick!

2012-01-03T02:05:00.009-05:00

Here's an intriguing poster image for a Fantastic Four movie. I found it here.

But the odd thing is, it's not for these guys.

It's for these guys.

This is the Fantastic Four line-up in Roger Corman's misbegotten and never-released-in-my-neighborhood-at-least FF movie.

Here's the trailer.

It looks like parts of it might be fun, and it looks like the production has stayed pretty close to the material. But still, it looks rather sad.

Whatever qualms I might have about the new modern FF movies, all I have to do is take a gander at this version and I count my blessings.

On a somewhat different note, it appears to my eye that John Romita Sr. might've had something to do with the artwork on this poster. The Torch especially looks like a Romita figure to me. What do you all think?

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Cimmeria!

2012-01-02T02:48:00.017-05:00

Cimmeria
by Robert E. Howard

It was gloomy land that seemed to hold
All winds and clouds and dreams that shun the sun,
With bare boughs rattling in the lonesome winds,
And the dark woodlands brooding over all,
Not even lightened by the rare dim sun
Which made squat shadows out of men; they called it
Cimmeria, land of Darkness and deep Night.
It was so long ago and far away
I have forgotten the very name men called me.
The axe and flint-tipped spear are like a dream,
And hunts and wars are like shadows. I recall
Only the stillness of that sombre land;
The clouds that piled forever on the hills,
The dimness of the everlasting woods.
Cimmeria, land of Darkness and the Night.

The 1932 poem "Cimmeria" was discovered by Glenn Lord and first published in The Howard Collector #7 in 1965.

Later Barry Windsor-Smith got hold of it and developed an interesting version of his own. It first appeared in Savage Tales #2 in 1973.

That Smith original was apparently in a somewhat incomplete condition and later Roy Thomas and Tim Conrad developed another version using much of Smith's original material. Here are Conrad's version and a more complete and more lush Smith version compared page by page.

You can see that the endings in particular are different.

This piece has been reprinted in some form many times.

I offer this up in memory of the late Glenn Lord.

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Glenn Lord RIP

2012-01-02T02:37:00.008-05:00

Glenn Lord, the first and most important scholar of Robert E. Howard studies has passed away. Lord as agent for Howard's estate and owner of many of his papers is the man most responsible for the success of REH's creations in modern times.

He created The Howard Collector in the 60's.

He saw pure Robert E. Howard stories collected and published minus the additions of other talents in the 80's.

And most importantly to me, he was the man who green lighted the Marvel Comics Conan adaptations in the 70's, arguably the most important aspect of Conan's success after the Lancer paperbacks.

Rest in peace and thanks.

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Marvel Firsts The 1960s!

2012-01-01T04:06:00.018-05:00

Here is one recent reprint volume from Mighty Marvel which caught my attention. There are a ton of classic Marvel debuts included here and they are in chronological order. That's always a neat way to read these old tales, it gives a neat historical perspective to how the ideas unfolded back then. What really drew me to this volume, since I also own Fantastic Firsts from about a decade ago, is the inclusion of the Western stars among other less well known Marvel characters.

The cover was derived from this vintage Marvel ad, a neat bit of retro coolness all by itself.

Here are the covers of the comics included in this volume either in whole or part. Another neat thing is that between stories, other books of note are given a call out with a bevy of cover galleries.

Rawhide Kid August 1960
Amazing Adventures - Dr.Droom June 1961
Fantastic Four November 1961
Tales to Astonish - Ant-Man January 1962
The Hulk May 1962
Amazing Fantasy - Spider-Man August 1962
Journey Into Mystery - Thor August 1962
Strange Tales - The Human Torch October 1962
Two Gun Kid November 1962
Tales of Suspense - Iron Man March 1963
Sgt.Fury & His Howling Commandos May 1963
Strange Tales - Dr.Strange July 1963
The Avengers September 1963
X-Men September 1963
Tales to Astonish - The Wasp January 1964
Tales of Suspense - The Watcher January 1964
Daredevil April 1964
Tales of Suspense - Captain America November 1964
Tales to Astonish - Sub-Mariner August 1965
Strange Tales - Nick Fury Agent of SHIELD August 1965
Ghost Rider February 1967
Marvel Super-Heroes - Captain Marvel December 1967
Captain Savage & His Leatherneck Raiders January 1968
Silver Surfer August 1968
Marvel Super-Heroes - Ka-zar March 1969
Marvel Super-Heroes - Dr.Doom May 1969
A beautiful collection of grand stories in glorious color. With this collection you can really get a sense of the sweep of the Marvel Universe as it developed and matured. The inclusion of relatively unsuccessful series such as the Watcher and Captain Savage, really allows a broader view of what was going on at the time. When companies only reprint their hits, it makes it seem like no experimentation was going on. There was quite a bit going on at Marvel in the Silver Age, and this collection does a grand job of showcasing it. The cover galleries do a good job of filling the gaps for genre books like Millie the Model and such.

Marvel has two volumes upcoming this year focused on the 1970's, and at this point I need to plan to add them to the collection.

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Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T02:25:00.008-05:00

Happy New Year to everyone!

This is of course the latest year of the apocalypse, so it might be best to be cautious as the year unfolds. We'll see.

2011 has been in many respects a better year for me and mine. The jobs picture improved somewhat, at least financially for my girls and for myself.

My youngest was able to hang onto a teaching job she loved after some questions about that last spring. My eldest found a new teaching job which means better pay, but sadly has resulted in another stressful work environment. They are both facing up to the challenges with aplomb and hopefully things will continue to improve.

My wife's health issues have stabilized. She just finished a new regimen which, with luck, will decrease her chronic pain significantly. It'll will take some time to schedule things, but hopefully in a month or two at most she will be finding some substantial improvement.

After twenty years at the same school, I finally went looking for work and found it at a terrific place. Actually I looked last year and they called me this time when they needed someone. That was flattering. So far things have gone very well, and I can only hope they will continue. I traded some terrible bosses for some terrific ones, and that makes a big difference in how I approach my day.

So things have been improving. We had a smidge more disposable income this past Christmas after a few spare one, though there is no doubt that economy is still the order of the day. As 2012 unfolds, I want to focus on reading books I already own and watching movies and television shows I have waiting on my shelves. I have lots to read, and lots to watch. But I'm sure I'll find more alas.

This blog will continue with a focus on many things but often Charlton Comics as always. This past year I was able to at long last finish detailed reviews of E-Man and Yang from the George Wildman era. This coming year I hope to dip into the Pat Masulli years at Charlton and take a close look at Son of Vulcan, Blue Beetle and others.

So it will be full steam ahead. Stay tuned.

And keep your head down. Those wacky Mayans make me nervous.

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The Spider & The Sorcerer!

2011-12-31T12:09:00.004-05:00

What's up with Marvel Super-Heroes #14?

It's a Spider-Man story smack dab in the middle of that comic's "showcase" period. It features an oddball story by Stan "The Man" with artwork by then not-yet-even-a-Marvel-newbie Ross Andru (he was still ensconced with Mike Esposito on The Flash for DC) and inks by Wild Bill Everett. It's a fun and easy-breezy hoot of a story, but it doesn't fit into the mood or tone of the Spider-Man series much at all.

Here's a link with the story details.

At about this time, Marvel was trying to exploit the new success of Spider-Man, and they launched the magazine-sized Spectacular Spider-Man only a few months later. Was this story a try-out for that magazine?

Anyone know the story?

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The Shadow Laughs!

2011-12-31T09:39:00.009-05:00

This 1933 breezy crime mystery might be trying to fool folks into thinking it had something to do with Street & Smith's famous pulp feature The Shadow, but the truth it hasn't a thing to do with any of that.

The Shadow Laughs is a whodunnit with a smarmy reporter (Hal Skelly) dividing his time between making wisecracks, hitting on a small time criminal's sister, and solving a bank heist which is turning up dead bodies with thousand dollar bills in hand. The police are a bunch of bozos in this one and let the reporter lead the way messing up crime scenes and constantly interfering with their investigation.

It's passable entertainment, not as bad as some reviews make it out to be, but it's nothing more. And contrary to some reviews of this flick, there is a shadow to be seen and it does laugh at least once, so the title is fair enough I suppose.

On an acting note, this movie does feature Cesar Romero in his very first outing, and he's recognizable as a henchman for a gang boss. Rose Hobart plays the romantic lead and she had already played Muriel Carew in the 1931 Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde a picture of considerable reputation. She later shows up Tower of London with Karloff.

This ain't a movie to seek out, but it's not terrible to watch if you stumble across it.

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The End Of 1963!

2011-12-31T02:29:00.014-05:00

Image Comics during the 90's produced some pretty interesting comic books. They also produced quite a lot of really terrible comic books. Among the pretty good stuff was the offbeat retro series 1963 which harkened back to the heyday of the Marvel Bullpen and by means of old-fashioned but self-aware stories spoke to the reader through the code of fandom. There were not only great little stories, but also ads and text pieces which attempted to further the illusion of time-displaced comics. Here's a link to see some of the great bogus ads they dreamed up.

Now it seems after nearly twenty years that the frustrating 1963 project is finally and utterly at an end. Apparently Alan Moore disavowed the project after it fell on hard times before its completion. Through some missteps with production and internecine politics at Image, the project was stopped one 80-page giant before its final conclusion. It never got that ending and seeing that completion became one of the curiosities of the Image age.

The characters have only turned up one other time, in a crossover with Big Bang comics characters. Other than that effort by Jim Valentino, the Tomorrow Syndicate has been all but silent for nearly twenty years. Attempts to get the 1963 characters back in print were called off finally a few days ago at Stephen Bissette's blog. Here's what he says:

"For what it’s worth and not worth, 1963 will never be legally reprinted in any language in our lifetimes."

Bissette is pretty mum on the specifics, but it's clear that the idiosyncratic nature of Alan Moore is to blame. Moore has for many years now been just a cantankerous crank, and given what we've seen from the likes of Frank Miller and John Byrne in recent times, this turn of personality seems to be all too common in creators of the 80's. Maybe there was some chemical in Mando paper.

Because of the complicated nature of the ownership of the characters, no one creator seems able to work with all of them at a time. This makes any single creator able to trump any combination of the others. Creator control is a great thing in comics, but it does seem it has its ironies. The fate of the 1963 project is certainly one of them, an irony at least as rich as those within the series itself.

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Getting Ahead!

2011-12-30T02:25:00.012-05:00

This ad made me laugh when I stumbled across it the other day. What a crass and cruel joke and what a totally appropriate gag for roughhouse comic characters like Conan and Red Sonja.

The artwork here is signed "Javinal" and I assume that is Frederico Javinal, an artist from the Phillipines. I can find very little about Javinal aside from this brief biography and this slightly larger one.

I did find this lovely montage shot featuring Captain America and Kid Colt (?) among others. Off-model renderings of classic heroes really makes you look at them in fresh ways, like this illustration by Franc Reyes.

Javinal appears to have been an exceedingly competent comics artist, perhaps deserving of more attention.

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Calling All Bargain Hunters!

2011-12-29T02:24:00.013-05:00

I had some time to dither away yesterday while my wife was busy with her hobby of pottery painting. It takes a few hours, so I spent my time at the local shop checking out the Wednesday delivery.

I found a trade paper titled Golden Age Marvel Comics, part of Marvel's Masterworks collection which put into print the first issue of Marvel Comics and the subsequent three issues of Marvel Mystery Comics. While I've bought reprints of Marvel Comics a few times over (1990 and 2009)I've never had the others and it was a treat for which I was eager to pay full price.

Then I scuttled over to my new favorite story Half-Price Books and found a bunch of gems.

First I found the Dick Tracy Show, the cartoon from the 60's. This is a collection I've wanted and let slide a few times, but at the meager price of six bucks I couldn't resist. A wacky bunch of socially suspect cartoons, this huge collection has them all and threw in a tiny little reprint of the earliest Dick Tracy comic strips to boot.

I also found a copy of King of the Wild, the 1931 serial from Mascot which features Boris Karloff in one of his pre-Frankenstein roles. This vintage stuff can be a pain to watch, but fun too.

I was already quite pleased.

Then I found the real treasures.

The first is titled Art In Time and is a collection of obscure comics properties from across several decades. The clincher for me was the inclusion of Charlton Premiere #2 by Sergius O'Shaughnessy (Denny O'Neil) and Pat Boyette. That along with some choice artwork by Tony Tallarico, Pete Morisi, Sam Glanzman, Bill Everett, and more sold me on this discounted trove. I'll have more on this volume later.

The other gem was The Toon Treasury of Classic Children's Comics, a masterpiece of vintage material (mostly Golden Age) from a wide swathe of sources. There's offbeat stuff from Pogo to Scrooge McDuck, from Gerald McBoing Boing to Captain Marvel, from Dennis the Menace to Scribbly, and much much more.

I need more comics laden volumes in my house like the flu but I cannot resist these handsome packages, so full of classic goodness. As it turned out the store was having a twenty percent off sale to boot and I got all of this stuff for the full price of one of the comics volumes, a real true bargain. So if you're a bargain hunter, you might want to check out the local Half-Price Books, if you're lucky enough to have one.

So when I picked up my beloved spouse a few hours later, she was happy and she could tell by my smile that I was a happy camper too. A dandy winter day indeed!

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The End Of Captain Scarlet!

2011-12-28T03:13:00.017-05:00

Ron Embleton
One of the most beautiful parts of the Captain Scarlet and The Mysterons television show were the lush paintings which set off the end titles. These were done by Ron Embleton, who was at the time also supplying the artwork for the Stingray comic strip. Embleton went on to also do some Captain Scarlet comics.

Embleton apparently preferred to work on expansive historical pieces like Wulf the Briton. Here's a link to an outstanding gallery of his work.

Eventually Embleton became the artist for Penthouse magazine on the exceedingly well crafted but exceedingly raunchy Oh,Wicked Wanda!. That's where I first discovered his name, and knew nothing of his connection to my boyhood favorite show Captain Scarlet.

Here are those lovely and exciting pieces of artwork which graced the end of every Captain Scarlet episode. All are by Embleton.

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British Invasions!

2011-12-27T08:05:00.008-05:00

Captain Scarlet and The Mysterons is one of those boyhood favorites I've always wanted to get hold of on VHS or DVD or something. When I've looked for it in the past it always was unavailable or prohibitively expensive. But when I checked just a few months ago, I discovered that it was now out and at a nice price. So when my daughters asked what I wanted for the Christmas holiday, I told them Captain Scarlet (and sent a link to the Amazon location for good measure).

I'm doing some research now on Captain Scarlet and I find there's much more to this vintage entertainment than I knew or could know as a kid. The Mysterons are more complex than I recollect, and Scarlet's reincarnation is very intriguing. More on this later.

Just to be greedy, I also threw out the name of UFO (pronounced "U-foe" by some on the show), another Gerry Anderson project which I've been seeing available for years and always was curious about. I saw a few episodes here and there about the mysterious UFOs and their quiet inhabitants, and always wanted to see the rest. My affection for Space:1999 and the solid production values there, sold me on UFO unseen for the most part. I've been sampling episodes and they are very entertaining. (I've since learned that UFO might well be seen as a live action rendition of Scarlet, so it's neat to have both for comparison.)

So it's been a great holiday for me, as I'm loaded to the hilt with vintage British television to watch. My wife says she's happy to be free of me for many hours to come. So we're all winners!

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Echoes Of Valor!

2011-12-27T03:08:00.009-05:00

Ken Kelly
Here's a late 80's and early 90's series which I only recently learned about. While we have an avalanche of Robert E. Howard material today, once it was much harder to get, especially raw Howard untouched by his later editors and modifiers.

Karl Edward Wagner was an editor dedicated to getting that material out. He did it first in the trio of volumes for Berkley books back in the later 70's and here he attempted it again by offering up in this debut volume the first publication of "The Black Stranger", at least as originally written by REH.

The full contents can be found here.

Sam Rakeland
Later volumes in the series focus on other great fantasy authors, especially C.L.Moore and Wade Manly Wellman.

Sam Rakeland
Doubtless if I did see these, I passed them by because of the cover art which seems a bit "punkish" for classic fantasy. There might've been a miscue here for the target audience.

The contents for volume two can be found and here and for volume three here.

Solid volumes, ones I might need to search for.

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The Secret Origin Of Iron Jaw!

2011-12-26T05:21:00.013-05:00

Michael Fleisher wrote a truckload of comics for DC and Marvel in the 70's and 80's. He also was a key writer in the brief burst of activity which erupted under the name of "Atlas-Seaboard Comics" in the middle of the 70's. How he came to be a mainstay of that momentary company is a curious tale.

I found some of the story here in an interview from The Amazing World of DC Comics with Joe Orlando. Orlando confirms what I already knew, that Iron Jaw began as a pitch to then editor Orlando from Fleisher.

What I didn't quite realize, was that Fleisher got the chance to pitch the idea of a sword and sorcery Jonah Hex/Conan the Barbarian to DC because of his tenure on Sandman. This version of Sandman was the final pairing of the team of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. After the first issue, Simon and Kirby went their separate ways, but sales reports suggested there might be life in the Sandman concept.

But the classic team was no longer available and so Michael Fleisher and Ernie Chan were pressed into duty. I took a close look at this series here. And a fuller story of these events can be found here.

Anyway, after the relative success of this effort, Fleisher was given a chance to pitch, but was told first to check out the Ironwolf comic in Weird Worlds. What that contributed to the final product aside possibly part of the name is speculative at best.

But for whatever reasons, Orlando rejected the Iron Jaw concept and gave Fleisher the freedom to shop it around. He did, sold it to Atlas-Seaboard where it became a bit of a flagship book for that company.

Meanwhile at DC, Orlando green lighted another sword and sorcery project, Claw the Unconquered by David Michelinie and the aforementioned Ernie Chan. By the time though that book hit the stands, the Iron Jaw run was nearly over at Atlas-Seaboard. What took so long I wonder?

So in the elaborate tapestry of history, we find that Joe Simon and Jack Kirby indirectly gave rise to a project at the heart of yet another publishing effort (however brief) by former Timely and Marvel comics publisher Martin Goodman. How utterly strange.

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All-American Holiday!

2011-12-26T02:03:00.006-05:00

I got many a dandy present this year. One of them was a copy of Captain America - The First Avenger on DVD. I'm eager to screen this outstanding superhero flick later today.

It's the best superhero movie I've seen in ages, and I'm very happy that thanks to my daughters, I'm able to add it to my library.

Hope Santa was good to each and every one of you all.

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Have A Marvelous Christmas!

2011-12-25T03:00:00.006-05:00

Marie Severin
Here's hoping everyone has a great Christmas and a happy holiday season!

Marie Severin
It's that time to reflect and take stock of the blessings we have.

Marie Severin
And share that bounty with others, especially those we love.

John Romita
So let me offer up this found gem of a Spidey story from the long ago Bronze Age, a done-in-one Christmas tale by Stan "The Man" and "Jazzy" Johnny.

Merry Christmas everyone!

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Scarry Holiday Traffic!

2011-12-24T03:54:00.012-05:00

Richard Scarry
These vintage Ford Rotunda comics are adorable. The covers are filled with old-fashioned holiday charm with a modern twist, especially those by Richard Scarry, a children's book artist of significant note. His work has a real lightness and ease that makes it at once attractive and deceptively simple.

So be safe in the hectic holiday traffic today as you make those finishing Christmas Eve trips. Stay off those cellphones amigos! That is unless you spot a giraffe driving an Edsel, then I guess it might be acceptable to place a call to the proper authorities.

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The Coming Of The Defenders!

2011-12-23T03:12:00.007-05:00

I adore big overstuffed comic books like this one. This package out this week, offers up all three Defender stories from Marvel Feature. We have the debut tale where Doc Strange, Sub-Mariner, and the Hulk team up to master the threat of Yandroth and his doomsday machine. That's followed by a Halloween clash with Dormammu, and finally a meeting between the Hulk and the team with Xemnu the Titan (once called "Hulk" himself). Also up is one of my favorite Doc Strange stories, "The Return" which was part of the debut.

All the stories were written by Roy "The Boy" Thomas and drawn by Ross Andru, with the exception of "The Return" which features scrumptious Don Heck and Frank Giacoia artwork. The inking is remarkable in these with Bill Everett doing an especially offbeat job on the debut story, Sal Buscema gilding the Dormammu tale, and Everett returning for a more traditional job on the Xemnu story.

These are some great stories, and big old reprint packages like this I find irresistible. There are even some old ads for the series included as a mini-bonus.

Highly recommended.

Neal Adams
John Buscema & Frank Giacoia
Gil Kane & Ralph Reese
And for good measure here's the new Neal Adams cover which swipes his classic Defenders debut original. It's not nearly as good, but interesting nonetheless. I can't say I'm crazy about this new logo either, seems a bit wimpy for this team.

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The Fashionable Melnibonean!

2011-12-22T02:17:00.010-05:00

Jack Gaughan
When Michael Moorcock's sorcerous albino hero Elric of Melnibone first appeared in American print, the covers to the paperbacks were illustrated by the late great Jack Gaughan. Gaughan has a style which is compelling, sleek, modern and beautiful. But it can be weird too.

These two paperback covers by Gaughan apparently were the only reference for the character that Barry (Not-Yet-Windsor) Smith could get hold of when it came time to render the Melnibonean for his guest-starring role in Conan the Barbarian. So it's understandable that Smith topped Elric with a rather tall peaked cap.

And while the cap looks okay in the Gaughan images, rendered by Smith, the hat looks somewhat silly to be honest. Moorcock apparently is not pleased with this look, neither in the Gaughan originals nor the Smith variations.

But for many years this became my image of Elric, because it was the only image I saw. Dave Sim reinforced this notion with the creation of Elrod in Cerebus, a spoof of Elric, or at least the Elric seen in the Conan comics.

It would be several years before I saw another interpretation of the hero. This time by Michael Whelan, who painted some outstanding covers for the DAW paperback series.

And it would be many years still before I got to see James Cawthorn's original interpretation of the Melnibonean, the classic look. It's certainly more flattering, but perhaps less memorable.

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Next Issue Finally Arrives!

2011-12-21T02:05:00.016-05:00

October 2011
It's been nearly two years, but the next issue of Next Issue arrived a few months ago. I discussed the "Next Issue" program from Image here. This time it was the "next issue" of Crack Comics, specifically issue #63 after a lapse of seven decades. This is added to Fantastic Comics #24 (2008) and Silver Streak Comics #24 (2009).

The real charm in this package is a brand new war story by the great Herb Trimpe. It's work the price of the comic all by itself. In addition there is some lush work from Alan Lee Weiss. Throwback comics like this, I will buy from time to time.

September 1949
January 2008
October 1941
December 2009
November 1946
Who knows when we'll finally the next issue of Next Issue, perhaps next year maybe longer. But I hope it does arrive.

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February 1947
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Kim Jong Still Dead!

2011-12-20T05:40:00.005-05:00

After a week or two of reading about the passings of talents which make me sad, the demise of tinhorn dictator King Jon Il actually cheered me up. Whenever one of these blowhard jackasses croaks it is cause for celebration. What will become of North Korea seems to be anyone's guess, but the chances are it might improve and that's not something which was liable to happen with this little cretin in charge. Good riddance!

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Blade The Vampire Slayer!

2011-12-20T02:19:00.012-05:00

Perhaps Marvel's most satisfying film franchise is Blade. The hubbub about the current Avengers movies is a sight to behold, and something I only imagined I might get to see, but as much fun as they are, these movies fall short of the world realized by David Goyer in the three Blade movies.

When Blade first appeared in Tomb of Dracula #10 he was a heady blend of blaxploitation and horror, a rough and tumble hero who was not remotely afraid of the thing he pursued. Making him a vampire of sorts added a real panache to what could've been a throwaway character. Marv Wolfman and Gene Colan get high marks for this one.

One thing about Blade is that his ethnicity is only a minor part of what makes him tick. At a time when every black character in comics called attention to that fact by putting black in the name (Black Panther, Black Goliath, Black Lightning), Blade was a refreshing departure. Blade wedged his way onto the Dracula team and showed up with some regularity, even getting his own one-shots and eventually his own series.

The first Blade movie is a rock'em sock'em adventure giving the screen one of its best superheroes. That the movie doesn't call attention to that, but rather portrays itself as a vampire flick, part of that long horror tradition frees it from some of the audience expectation. It is able rise above its roots. Blade starring Wesley Snipes is a fun movie to watch and watch again. The fact that like most vampire movies, it makes little sense, is masked by the brisk pacing.

Blade II gives us the "Bloodpack". This might be my favorite Blade movie, with a great villain who is a match for Blade. There are some neat twists and turns and the Sgt. Rock and Easy Company feel of the middle section of the film really is an unexpected treat. Some really good actors make this work.

Blade Trinity is the weakest Blade outing, but still an entertaining flick. The failure is to create a compelling villain, though the movie tries mightily. It's realization of "Dracula" is less than convincing, and far from compelling. He has some moments, but they are too few and too far between. The finale is muddled, and despite some clever character pieces this one fall short of delivering like its predecessors.

One cool thing is that a vintage issue of Tomb of Dracula (issue #55 to be exact) does show up in the movie, and I always love it when that happens.

Blade is a great character, a fabulous hero trapped between two world and two natures.

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