Saturday, March 10, 2018

Reading Room WEIRD MYSTERIES "Spirits from Outer Space!"

An astronaut returns from space and doesn't act like himself...
...yeah, it's a bit of a cliche, but this tale from Key's Weird Mysteries #1 (1952), has a surprise gimmick to defeat the baddies!
Illustrated by Walter Palais (brother of better-known Golden Age artist Rudy Palais) and Mike Esposito, this "possession by aliens" tale manages to present a variation of the old story with the fact that literally ANY pain causes the parasite to flee.

Friday, March 9, 2018

Friday Fun JETTA OF THE 21st CENTURY "Act Your Age!"

The more things change, the more they stay the same...
...as this tale of 21st Century teen-agers from 1953 proves!
I'm positive writer/penciler Dan DeCarlo re-used this concept for an Archie story using Dilton Dooley as the creator of the aging/de-aging device!
I know I've seen a story with younger versions of Principal Weatherbee and Miss Grundy almost becoming a couple, before reverting to their present-day older selves.
Anybody know what my failing memory vaguely recalls?
It's a shame this was from the final issue of Standard's Jetta of the 21st Century (#7 in 1953).
(Despite that issue number, there were only three issues, #s 5 to 7!)
Guess the concept was too "far out" for early 1950s readers!

BTW, we'd like to extend our thanks to the amazing Kracalactaka, heroic and voluminous contributor to both the Digital Comic Museum and ComicBookPlus, for these Jetta scans and the previous ones in the series!
It's people like him who assure that comic book art will be appreciated for generations to come!
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Dan DeCarlo's Jetta

Thursday, March 8, 2018

Reading Room HOME RUN "Daffy Dodgers"

This year is the 60th Anniversary of baseball's Dodgers leaving my beloved Brooklyn...
...for Los Angeles, so let's look at a few of the most infamous moments of the "Da Bums" during their stay in the County of Kings!
Rendered by Bob Powell in his rarely-seen humorous style, this piece appeared in Magazine Enterprises' Home Run #3 (1953)...which was the only issue of that title!
Note: Almost everybody attempted one or more sports-themed titles during this period as the "comics cause juvenile delinquency" mania swept America to show comics were still wholesome, all-ages appropriate entertainment!
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and/or

Wednesday, March 7, 2018

Reading Room MYSTERY IN SPACE "Secret of the Double Agent"

It was 1965, and secret agents were everywhere...
...even DC's Mystery in Space, whose 100th issue, introed a cover-featured "space spy" series!
(With a cover by Dick Dillin and Sheldon Moldoff!)
Written by Dave Wood, illustrated by Gil Kane, and guest-starring a Sean Connery-lookalike, an ongoing Interplanetary Investigations series seemed like a sure bet, but it disappeared after only one more appearance two issues later!
(BTW, neither of them have been reprinted!)
Instead, a new character, Ultra: the Multi-Alien took over the book until cancellation with #110!
Pity, since the Interplanetary Investigations strip showed such promise.
Considering DC had the rights to James Bond (which is why there were no comic adaptations of any of the Bond flicks after Dr No), which didn't do well due to being released before the movie came out, could you imagine what Gil Kane could've done illustrating any of the other pre-Roger Moore Bond movies?
Sadly, we'll never know.
Two notes:
1) The comic rights to 007 eventually lapsed and Marvel did two movie adaptations in the 1980s, For Your Eyes only and Octopussy.
Neither were big sellers.
2) DC had released Doctor No as part of the Showcase tryout comic as shown HERE.)
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(which contains only a couple of stories from this previously-listed volume)

Tuesday, March 6, 2018

Trump Reading Room BEDLAM "Earth Invasion"

Trumpanzees should read this kick-butt piece...
...and then we'll witness if they feel like going out and shooting someone!
Well?
Ready to grab those AR-15s and slaughter the local populace?
Why not?
Wackadoodles have used the "pop culture" causes violence trope for over a half century, from the "comics cause teen crime" insanity of the 1950s to the "violent videos" of the 80s and 90s, to the video games of today.
If violent video games (supposedly) cause people to become insane killers, why do countries like Japan, with far more violent video game content, have far less crime (including shootings) than America?
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Monday, March 5, 2018

Reading Room NORGE BENSON "Pirates of the Lost Planet"

Frosting the bear suddenly shrinks to the size of a cub...
...a clear indication a new artist has taken over the strip!
This never-reprinted tale from Fiction House's Planet Comics #27 introduces Jim (Supergirl) Mooney to the wacky world of Pluto and its' weird residents.
Despite a commendable effort (except reducing Frosting to half his normal size), it's a one-off for an artist who became synonymous with Silver-Age superheroines as the series' last illustrator (no stranger to sci-fi or scantily-clad females) debuts on the strip next issue!
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Sunday, March 4, 2018

Reading Room PHASE 1 "Rocket Jets Thundering..."

It's a never-reprinted single-page...
...from an incredibly-HTF one-shot early 1970s fanzine!
But WHAT a page!
A solo piece by the legendary Murphy Anderson at his Silver/Bronze Age prime!
Is this illo from SQ's Phase 1 (1971) a beautiful example of pulp-style sci-fi or what?
BTW, note the elegant way Murphy solves the problem of the jet-pack NOT burning the wearer's butt...by using flanges/pylons to keep the engines attached to the back, but not on it!
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