Saturday, February 8, 2025

Space Force Saturdays OUTER SPACE "Incredible Giants"

Though pioneering Black artist Matt Baker was best known for good-girl/cheesecake art...
...he could work in any genre, including action-packed space opera!
Inker Vince Colletta employed a number of excellent, detail-oriented pencilers like Matt Baker and Joe Sinnott to work for his studio, which "packaged" stories, series, and even book-length tales for publishers.
Unfortunately, when dealing with smaller publishers like Charlton (who didn't pay as much as DCMarvelHarvey, etc) in order to save maximize profit, Vince inked most of the work himself, usually rushing to meet deadlines!
Compare with another story, inked by long-time Baker collaborator Ray Osrin, and you see the difference inkers can make!
The same level of page layout and storytelling is obvious in both tales...but the rendering...hoo boy!
BTW, Joe Gill wrote this story from Charlton's Outer Space #23 (1959).
One important plot point was that the giant children thought the scout ship was a seed pod due to it's design...


...an element cover artists Charles Nicholas and Rocke Mastroserio didn't follow though on with their re-do of the story's splash panel for the cover!
Were they not informed, or did the editor deliberately insist on a more traditional ship design?
We'll never know the answer!

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Friday, February 7, 2025

Friday Fun YAK YAK "Romance vs Realism"

...now here's the second, and sadly, final part of the series!
Dell gave MAD mainstay Jack Davis his own title, to do with as he pleased.
The series, Yak Yak (subtitled "A Pathology of Humor") only ran two issues, but they were pure Davis, who wrote, penciled, inked, and colored the whole project as well as providing painted covers for both issues!

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Thursday, February 6, 2025

Baker Reading Room "Behind the Scenes of 'Half Man-Half What' "

...but from the original Matt Baker/Al Williamson art!
Take particular note of the areas "whited out", probably at the request of the Comics Code Authority!
BTW, note that in the story, Dr Talbot's right side is altered, but on the cover, his left side is affected!
Let's look closely at that final panel...
Dr Talbot's right side has been totally-whited out.
Was it still metallic?
And his face originally wasn't happy!
Did the original ending show him at the beginning of the process, wondering if it would succeed, and leaving the door open for a sequel if it didn't?
Was the Comics Code Authority responsible for the odd changes?
We'll never know...
Penciler Matt Baker was one of the few Black comic book artists of the Golden and Silver Ages, and was easily the most prolific of them!
Though known for his "good girl" art, including the famous (and infamous) Phantom Girl stories, he handled every genre with ease, including horror, war, sci-fi, and romance!
Sadly, though, few of his stories featured Black characters...who were rare in comics until the mid-1960s!
You can read a short, but complete bio HERE!
He'll be our featured artist this month in the Baker Reading Room at Atomic Kommie Comics, spotlighting his amazing cross-genre versatility!
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Wednesday, February 5, 2025

Wednesday Worlds of Wonder AIRSHIP ENTERPRISE "Infernal Machine" Part 3a

...Responding to a distress call from a research vessel, the Enterprise encounters a belt of living, sentient, and aggressive matter that forces two scoutships down to the surface of largest of the rock-like beings, where a number of the crew (but not all) are now mind-controlled by a humanoid entity calling itself Aido Querdo...which claims to serve an unseen "SkyFather Dambalah"...
As the valiant crew prepare for battle, we take our leave until
Next Wednesday!
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Tuesday, February 4, 2025

Baker Reading Room ALARMING TALES "Half Man-Half What"

"Scientists Tampering with Things Man Should Not Meddle In!" is an old cliche...
Art by John Severin
...given a new look by a most unusual assortment of artists...at least four, along with the writer...
Art by the Bob Powell Studio
OK.
Let's identify the talents involved in this never-reprinted tale from Harvey's Alarming Tales #5 (1958)...
Cover art by John Severin
Script by Dick Wood.
Opening page (which was actually the lower part of the contents page) by the Bob Powell Studio.
Story pencils by Matt Baker (who's the reason this is included in Black History Month).
Story inks by Al Williamson.
Thursday:
the entire story (and cover) in original art form, with some revealing alterations and footnotes!
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Monday, February 3, 2025

Monday Madness CALVIN: Marvel's FORGOTTEN Black Headliner!

The Black Panther was not the first Black Marvel character to get a cover-featured series!
He wasn't even the second!
He was the third!
First was Luke Cage, who received his own title...
...and was the star of his own Netflix series!
Note: Though the series ended, three of the stars have gone on to headline other shows...
Simone Missick (Misty Knight) on All Rise, Mike Colter (Luke Cage) on Evil and Rosario Dawson (Clare Temple/Night Nurse) on Ahsoka!
(BTW, Luke Cage is now available on Disney+!)
The second character was...
WHO???
Several months before Prince T'Challa took over a reprint book, Jungle Action, and began a memorable series that served as part of the plot of the billion-dollar blockbuster movie...
...this character took over another reprint book and began a series that nobody remembers!
But you can read every never-reprinted tale featuring Calvin and his buddies by clicking HERE!
What makes the strip even more fascinating, beyond the vaudeville-level humor, is the identity of the writer-artist behind it!
"Kevin Banks" was not a pseudonym for an already-established creative, but an editorial staffer at Marvel in the early 1970s who received his "big break" with this strip!
Trivia: Kevin was the first (and so far, onlyMarvel creator to have a head shot illustration on an on-going series!

Even ever-amazing comics researcher Nick Caputo could find little about the mysterious Mr Banks, as seen HERE.
What did Banks did after working at Marvel?
Did he work in advertising?
Become an art instructor?
Switch careers and become an accountant or fireman?
To date, we don't know!
Do YOU???

Sunday, February 2, 2025

These are the Voyages of the Steampunk Airship Enterprise...

Several Years Ago, Wednesday Worlds of Wonder presented...
...the first half of this steampunk "re-imagining" of the concepts behind Star Trek!
Here are links to those four chapters...
Starting this Wednesday and running through February, we return to this retro-kool World of Wonder to complete the saga!
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