Saturday, December 31, 2022

Space Hero Saturdays CAPTAIN MIDNIGHT "Trip to the Moon!"

...so let's join him as he returns to the dark depths for a never-reprinted adventure!
Though this tale from Fawcett's Captain Midnight #49 (1947) wasn't the cover feature, the sci-fi oriented stories would soon come to dominate the book's editorial orientation....as you'll see next year!
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(...which doesn't include the story we presented here!)

Friday, December 30, 2022

Friday Fun MARVIN MOUSE "Shoe-In"

The late Stan (the Man) Lee wrote numerous graphic story classics!

This ain't one of them, but it does show off his "Catskill comic" (aka vaudville) sense of humor!

A caption at the end of the book read "And remember, every issue Marvin Mouse magazine brings you the best in laughs, adventure, and fun ... don't miss a single issue!"
No problem!
The book ended up a one-shot and the already-completed material intended for #2 became filler in the backs of other humor titles.
(Editor Stan Lee was very frugal and didn't let anything go to waste!)
Most of the never-reprinted Atlas' Marvin Mouse #1 (1957) consisted of single-page or half-page Marvin Mouse features plus a Dippy Duck story.
There was another multi-page Marvin tale, which we presented HERE!
Note: Dippy Duck was another funny animal comic written by Stan Lee launched at the same time...which also lasted only one issue!
Hey, they can't all be hits!

Thursday, December 29, 2022

Robot Reading Room TALES OF SUSPENSE "Robot Hater!"

The third variation on the "robot saves human despite mistrust" theme...
...as shown HERE and HERE, shares both plotter and artist in common with one of the other tales!
Technically, the pilot is an android, not a robot.
Illustrator Paul Reinman, also rendered the Xmas-themed "It Walks Like a Man!" which was plotted, like this story from Atlas' Tales of Suspense #3 (1959), by Stan Lee!
There are several more Atlas/Marvel stories with this same concept.
Would you like to see them?
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Wednesday, December 28, 2022

EXCELSIOR!!! Happy 100th Birthday, Stan Lee!

Long before the "real" world accepted and respected nerds...

...Stan (the Man) Lee showed being a nerd was KOOL!
The co-creator (along with amazing illustrator/storytellers like Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, Don Heck, Gene Colan, John Buscema, John Romita Sr, Marie Severin, and many others) of the pop culture monolith we know as Marvel, the guy originally-named Stanley Martin Leiber re-defined the four-color comic industry during the 1960s not only as a scripter for most of the books, but as as the company's editor/art director, inserting his style/vision/viewpoint into every aspect of the comics!
Note: it was that sheer workload that forced him to switch from the usual format of "full script" provided to artists to the "Marvel Method" of a plotting session with the illustrators, who had enormous latitude in interpreting the flow of the tale...as long as it finished after 20 pages at the plot point the team discussed!
While most of you know him as the crotchety old guy who pops up briefly in movies and TV shows, I remember the vibrant, snarky, (but always fun) adult with the "big kid" persona of the Silver Age, as shown above from the inside cover to Marvel's Fantasy Masterpieces #1 (1967).
You can peruse our numerous entries featuring his work by clicking HERE.
There's a lot of them, but they're worth the effort!
BTW, Wednesday Worlds of Wonder will return next week with the finale of the current Atari Force story.
But we couldn't let this day pass without some celebration!
EXCELSIOR!!!

Tuesday, December 27, 2022

Robot Reading Room WORLD OF FANTASY "Iron Hulk!"

...who was so emotionally-attached to her, it sacrificed itself to save her!
But, that wasn't the first time that plot was used...
This never-reprinted tale from Atlas' World of Fantasy #19 (1959), scripted by either Stan Lee or Larry Lieber, is extremely similar to the previously-presented 1963 story, minus the "Christmas present" element and making the robot look like a life size toy soldier.
Note the lovely art by Joe Sinnott.
While most of you know Sinnott as one of the best inkers in the business, he was also a competent penciler as well.
Ironically, Joe didn't ink most of his own pencil work, since it was subcontracted by Vince Colletta's prolific studio for use by CharltonGold Key, and Dell and inked by Colletta himself!
You'll see another story with the same theme on Thursday.
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Monday, December 26, 2022

Sunday, December 25, 2022

CURIOUS CASE OF SANTA CLAUS

My all-time favorite Doctor Who is #3, played by Jon Pertwee...
Jon as The Doctor with Eizabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith, his final companion

...so when this documentary about Kris Kringle, packaged as a tale featuring Pertwee as a psychiatrist with a patient (James Coco) who thinks he's Santa Claus, ran on A&E in the late 1980s, I taped it and showed it every Christmas...until the tape jammed!
Now I (and you) can enjoy it once more... 
Merry Christmas!!!

Saturday, December 24, 2022

Space Celebration Saturday COMICO CHRISTMAS SPECIAL "Traditions Everlasting"

Beneath this never-reprinted Dave Stevens cover...
...lies the polar opposite of the cynical Christmas tale we told yesterday!
See?
There is hope for Christmas (if not humanity) after all!
Written by Doug Wheeler, illustrated by Steve Rude and Bret Blevins, this cover-featured tale from Comico Christmas Special #1 (1988) is this perfect closer to our little blogathon of Christmas-themed stories!
Now get out there, finish your last-minute shopping, and spend the evening with the family!
Space Hero/Heroine Saturdays will return after the New Year!

Friday, December 23, 2022

Friday Holiday...FUN? "Twas the Night Before Christmas"

Long before he was famous...

...a certain now-legendary writer-artist was just another aspiring young comics creator presenting work in fanzines to show people what he could do!
Before The Dark Knight Returns!
Before 300!
Before Sin City!
Here's Frank Miller murdering Santa Claus!
A never-reprinted tale from the incredibly-HTF fanzine APAFive #39 (1974)!
A sign of things to come?
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Marvel Universe by Frank Miller
Omnibus

Thursday, December 22, 2022

Holiday Reading Room TALES TO ASTONISH "It Walks Like a Man!"

Sometimes a child becomes too attached to a Christmas present...
...or is it vice versa...as seen in this story which has only been reprinted once since its' initial publication in Marvel's Tales to Astonish #45 (1963).
Plotted by Stan Lee, scripted by Robert Bernstein, and illustrated by Paul Reinman, this tale was one of several from Atlas/Marvel in the 1950s and 60s based on the theme of an automaton developing emotion and protecting the human object of its' affection.
You'll see two of them next week!
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Atlas Tales to Astonish
Volume 4
(with the only reprint of this story in almost 60 years!)

Wednesday, December 21, 2022

Wednesday Worlds of Wonder ATARI FORCE Part Three "Chapter Three: Star Raiders"

When Last We Left the Multiverse-Spanning Crew of Scanner One...

...after being thrown into an unknown dimension, the Atari team crash-lands on a planet with a beautiful, though long-abandoned, city!
While exploring it, the team is attacked by alien ships.
The humans' demise seems certain, until another type of ship rises from the uninhabited city and fires on the saucer-like ships...
What could be affecting the crew, increasing their aggressive tendencies?
The Action Concludes...
NEXT WEDNESDAY!
BTW, do those two types of alien ships look just a little...familiar?
Could it be...?
Be here to find out!
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