Saturday, March 17, 2018

Holiday Reading Room VAMPIRELLA "Jackie and the Leprechaun King"

For St Patrick's Day, here's an offbeat tale about leprechauns...
...as rendered in an extremely non-traditional way by comics legend Estban Maroto!
Written by Bill DuBay, this somewhat more "heroic fantasy" approach to the legend of leprechauns appeared in Warren's Vampirella #53 (1976) when elves and related creatures were experiencing a revival in popularity due to the 20th Anniversary of JRR Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Now if you'll excuse me, I have to start prepping Shepherd's Pie (with lamb marinated in Guinness) for dinner...

Friday, March 16, 2018

Friday Fun JETTA OF THE 21st CENTURY "Zoomer: Time Out for Trouble"

Let's look in on other teens in the future Jetta universe...
...and see how they react to being transplanted to the (then) current time period of 1953!
While we're nowhere near the "future" as shown in this never-reprinted story from Standard's Jetta of the 21st Century #6 (1953) by penciler (and probable writer) Dan De Carlo with inks by Fred Eng, there are elements of truth in the tale, including many Millennials' inability to prepare a meal from scratch!
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Dan DeCarlo's Jetta

Thursday, March 15, 2018

Trump's Space Force Already Existed! SPACE BUSTERS

...perhaps inspired by these comics about "space marines" from his childhood?
(I doubt he actually read any books, so it's unlikely he was inspired by Heinlein's Starship Troopers!)
Published in 1952, the series ran only two issues, with a couple of unpublished stories appearing in other mags later on.
Conceived by Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel, illustrated by comics legends Bernie Krigstein and Murphy Anderson, with covers by Norman Saunders and Allen (no relation to Murphy) Anderson, the series took the concept of the US Marine Corps and transplanted it to outer space in the near-future.
Though not specificially-stated, the Space Busters were Americans and Western Europeans, with no Communist countries or non-white nations represented.
Starting next Wednesday, we're presenting a complete digitally-remastered re-presentation of this apparently-groundbreaking (and still never reprinted) series at our brother RetroBlog, War: Past, Present & Future!
Don't Miss It!
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Wednesday, March 14, 2018

RIP Stephen Hawking (1942-2018)

This is one of those posts I'd hoped I'd never have to write...
(yes, I know "hurry" is misspelled, but the point is valid!)
The greatest intellect of our era has departed this mortal coil.
But do not mourn him!
Celebrate his many achievements.
Enjoy the fact that not only was he a scientist, but a sci-fi fan, as well!
(Note: Hawking was the only person to play himself on any Star Trek TV show or movie!)
Consider how he redefined our universe and our place in it!

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Tuesday, March 13, 2018

Reading Room PHASE 1 "Impact"

Best-known for his work on Richie Rich and Casper the Friendly Ghost...
...writer/artist Ernie Colon started expanding his creative horizons with samples like this!
Shortly after this, Ernie started getting more non-humor work from Warren, the short-lived Atlas/Seaboard, and Marvel, eventually ending up as a writer/artist/editor for DC in the early 1980s, where he co-created Arak: Son of Thunder and Amythyst: Princess of Gemworld!
This never-reprinted piece was just one of many pin-ups and short stories that appeared in the extremely HTF 80-page fanzine Phase 1 (1971) featuring work from gifted up-and-comers like Bernie Wrightson and Frank Brunner and long-established pros including Neal Adams, Murphy Anderson, Gray Morrow, and Ken Barr.
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Monday, March 12, 2018

Reading Room NORGE BENSON "Ape-Men of Eo"

For a tiny planet, Pluto has a lot of hidden races...
...as this never-before-seen bunch of extremely-abominable snowmen demonstrate!
Coming in cold (pun intended) on this never-reprinted story from Fiction House's Planet Comics #28, Iger Studios stalwart Lily Renee proved herself more than capable to handle the weirdness inherent in the strip!
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Sunday, March 11, 2018

Reading Room OUTER SPACE "Far Away Voices"

Here's one of those kool "slice of everyday life...except it isn't" tales...
...that Steve Ditko's ability to render average, everyday people made believable!
Oh, !@#$%&*!
This rarely-seen tale from Charlton's Outer Space #20 (1958) is a wonderful example of the variety of types of people Ditko could do, each distinctive and memorable in his own right!
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