Thursday, July 16, 2026

Reading Room STRANGE STORIES OF SUSPENSE "Beware...a Martian"

Here's a tale of racism and innuendo involving an "illegal alien"...
...that all Reich-wingers should take note of!
Written by Carl Wessler, penciled by Al Williamson, and inked by Ralph Mayo, this never-reprinted tale from Atlas' Strange Stories of Suspense #14 (1957) uses science fiction to tell a civil rights parable, substituting a Martian (and the paranoia about his race) for a African-American, Hispanic, Japanese, or other minority group about whom equally-inane fantasies have been concocted!
Note: it's interesting that Nardo the Martian has the same appearance as DC's J'Onn J'Onzz: the Martian Manhunter (except for skin color), as well as MM's specific ability to shape-shift, not a talent usually attributed to inhabitants of the Red Planet!
Note: J'Onn had debuted almost two years earlier!
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Wednesday, July 15, 2026

Wednesday Worlds of Wonder GRAPHIC SHOWCASE "Eyes of Mars" Part 2

We Have Already Seen...

...disturbed that, due to the development of warp drive, Earth's scientists are bypassing the planets of the Solar System as uninhabitable, Lt Cezer Leason, a pilot in the Space Patrol, steals his scout craft and heads to Mars!
His ship damaged by a meteor storm, Leason crashes on the surface of the Red Planet and discovers it is, in fact, inhabited!
Rescued by two rebel warriors, he and his new-found friends are captured and brought before the beautiful Queen of Mars...
To Be Continued...Next Wednesday
As we explained previously; the Edgar Rice Burroughs-inspired creator of this story from CCCS's Graphic Showcase #1 (1967) is none other than Mike (The Shadow) Kaluta!
The strip was probably intended as weekly installments in a high-school/college paper, but was repurposed for use in the fanzine.

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Tuesday, July 14, 2026

The RetroBlogs Summer Blogathon BEGINS...with the ONLY MULTI-PART/MULTI-SERIES SuperHeroine Crossover in Comics History!

Yep!
You Read That Right!
Two Comic Books!
(Police Comics & Feature Comics)
Six Issues...in Three Instalments!


Police Comics #20

Feature Comics #69
This Wednesday!

Police Comics #21
Feature Comics #70
on July 22nd
Feature Comics #71
Police Comics #22
on July 29th
at our "sister" RetroBlog
It's two heroines (plus a hapless hero, The Raven), in a multi-chapter story arc with criminals, crazy coincidences, and catfights!
It took three months to tell the complete story during the Golden Age, but you lucky ducks will get it in three weeks!

Monday, July 13, 2026

Monday Mecha Madness WEIRD THRILLERS "Menace of R Day"

In the 1950s, it was believed that war could be ended by 1999...
...and that other menaces would threaten the Earth, instead!
This somewhat-hokey, but entertaining, sci-fi tale from Ziff-Davis' Weird Thrillers #1 (1951) was both penciled and inked by Ross Andru.
Andru would later partner with Mike Esposito with Ross as the penciler and Mike doing the inking.
Whether this was because Esposito was faster at inking than Ross, or Andru enjoyed doing only pencils is unknown.
Considering Andru seemed pretty damn good at inking, it's a pity he eventually gave it up.
BTW, the writer of this never-reprinted tale of mechanical mayhem is unknown.
Next Week: the Return of

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Sunday, July 12, 2026

Patriotic Reading Room SUPERMAN'S PAL JIMMY OLSEN "When Olsen Changed History!"

We Have Already Seen...

...since this is the continuation of a story from the previous issue, I'll let the narrator clue you in as t what's going on...
Had ya goin' there for a minute, eh?
Written by Leo Dorman and illustrated by Pete Costanza, this never-reprinted tale from DC's Jimmy Olsen #127 (1970) was one of the last Silver Age-style stories of "Superman's Pal" as a radical change came only a half-year later as Jack (King) Kirby, coming over from Marvel, asumed writer-penciler duties with #133...
...the Bronze Age got fully under way, and elements of Kirby's Fourth World became part of the DC mythos!