Saturday, October 21, 2023

Spooky Space Force Saturdays KENTON OF THE STAR PATROL "Monster-Men of Space!"

It's time for more spooky interstellar adventure with Kenton of the Star Patrol...
...as another talented artist takes the reins from Wally Wood and Joe Orlando for Kenton's final tale!
This Kenton story from Avon's Strange Worlds #6 (1952) is penned by Gardner Fox and rendered by Everett Raymond Kinstler, who left comics for fine art (including numerous official portraits of US Presidents).
Previous Kenton artists Joe Orlando and Wally Wood did the cover for the issue...
...but, when the cover was reused for IW/Super's Eerie #1 (1958), which contained stories from Spook Comics, the art looked decidedly-different!
Was the Eerie cover the original version, which was modified to make the alien match the Kinsler-drawn aliens?
Ironically, when the Kenton story was reprinted, it had a totally-new cover by Ross Andru and Mike Esposito featuring aliens who looked nothing like the Monster-Men...

And there's yet another twist to the tale of this tale, which we'll tell...next week, when we go from Strange Worlds and Strange Planets to Strange Galaxies!
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Friday, October 20, 2023

Frightening Friday Fun CALLING ALL KIDS "Pug and Curly Find Someone to Scare"

In comics, even anthropomorphic squirrels celebrate Halloween...
...as shown in this never-reprinted feature from Parents Magazine Press' Calling All Kids #13 (1947)!
Pug and Curly were an ongoing feature in Calling All Kids, appearing in 23 of the title's 26 issues.
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Thursday, October 19, 2023

Reading Room EERIE "Dracula" Part 4

Dracula has made Lucy Seward a vampire!
Dr Van Helsing arrives, too late to save the poor girl, but not too late to send her tormented soul to the afterlife by staking her thru the heart.
Now, his attention turns to her master...Count Dracula!
Though there were a number of Frankenstein tales in the Golden Age, including Dick Briefer's horror series, there were only a couple of appearances by our favorite vampire (usually a cameo) before this story in 1953!
The trend continued until the late 1960s when Dracula became a supporting character in the b/w Vampirella magazine.
In 1972, when the Comics Code was revised to allow vampires and other "traditional" monsters, the Count reappeared not only in short stories, but a long-running series from Marvel highlighted by moody art by Gene Colan.
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Tuesday, October 17, 2023

Reading Room EERIE "Dracula" Part 3

Dracula traveled to England, where he made Lucy Seward, his newest victim.
Meanwhile, Lucy's best friend, Mina Murray received news that fiance Jonathan Harker had been hospitalized.
Rushing to Budapest, she discovers he is speedily recovering...and the two are married that day!
To be concluded on THURSDAY!
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Monday, October 16, 2023

Macabre Monday Madness THE SPECTRE & THE FLASH "Phantom Flash, Cosmic Traitor" Part 1

Before the book became a full-time "Batman &" team-up title...

...The Brave and the Bold featured some of the weirdest team-ups Silver Age DC ever saw!
Case in point...
Actually, you'll see it NEXT MONDAY!
Written by Bob Haney, penciled by Carmine Infantino, and inked by Chuck Cuderia, this tale in DC's The Brave and the Bold #72 (1967) served a a bridge between The Spectre's successful three-issue tryout run in Showcase, and the premiere of his own title a couple of months later!
Notes:
It's atypical for The Flash, who was a science-oriented character, to be involved in a supernatural-themed tale.
Also, why isn't he visiting his buddy, Jay Garrick (the Golden Age Flash), instead of The Spectre, who at this point in time, The Scarlet Speedster had only seen during the annual JLA/JSA "Crisis on..." summer team-up ("Crisis Between Earth-One and Earth-Two!"/"Bridge Between Earths!") and never even spoken with?
(They were in the middle of a pitched battle with the Anti-Matter Man!)

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Wrath of the Spectre
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(which reprints all The Spectre's Silver and Bronze Age Appearances...in color, which the black-and-white Showcase volume doesn't do!)