Wednesday Worlds of Wonder RAUMPATROUILLE "Die Raumfalle" (Space Trap)

 Welcome to the penultimate episode of 1960s' Germany's counterpoint to Star Trek...

...as the crew of the Orion is assigned to attempt to prove the theory that life on Earth originated in outer space.

Sounds sedate, eh?

Mix in a passenger who happens to be a science-fiction writer seeking inspiration for his next novel, a stopover at a penal colony, plus a mad scientist who tries to hijack the ship, and you get a space opera episode jam-packed with thrills, including a climactic fight scene involving the whole crew vs hijackers (with the women kicking ass)!

Note: We've tried to embed the English subtitles, but if they don't come up automatically, go to the "gear" icon on the lower right of the video screen, and set them manually.)

In February, TRUE LOVE COMICS TALES Goes MOD...

...with tales from a Never-Reprinted 1960s Comic Magazine...

...not  a Comic Book !

Western's Mod Love (1967) was a magazine-sized 50¢ multi-color publication with all material written by Michael Lutin and illustrated by already-noted graphic artist Michael Quarez who went total "pop art", with one important difference!
Unlike most "pop art" visualizers (including myself) who used exaggerated dot screens to mimic Roy Lichtenstein's pseudo-pop art work...

...Quarez used only solid colors in his work, creating incredibly-vivid visuals, such as this two-page spread about hot, hot hot fashion boutique Tiger Morse's!

We ran the stories over a decade ago with scans we found on the Internet, but since acquiring a copy of this very-hard-to-find publication, we've remastered them from scratch and will present them on three of the four Wednesdays in February!

But, on the second week of February, aka Valentine's Day Week, we're paying tribute to the creators of the romance comics genre, Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, with a special never-reprinted, cover-featured, Valentine's Day tale from Young Love!
(And yes, that's a very young Robert Redford, during his male model period, on the cover!)

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Wednesday Worlds of Wonder RAUMPATROUILLE "Kampf um die Sonne" (Battle for the Sun)

We've seen sci-fi tropes like evil aliens, psycho robots, and wandering planets...

...now we confront two topics once considerered sci-fi, but are now part of daily life in the 21st century: global warming (bad) and feminism/women's rights (good), but told from a 1960s perspective!
Plus, you get to see how "James T Kirk-ish" Commander MacLaine is with a hot alien woman!

Note: We've tried to embed the English subtitles, but if they don't come up automatically, go to the "gear" icon on the lower right, and set them manually.)
More 60s sci-fi next Wednesday!

Friday Fun JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY "Comic Strip!"

Did a Comic Strip Creative Ever Hold the Power of Life or Death...

...over everyone around him, or was this just a power-trip fantasy of writer Stan Lee and/or artist Steve Ditko?




Regrettably, we can't ask either of the creatives of this story from Marvel's Journey into Mystery #81 (1962), as they've both passsed beyond this mortal coil!
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Marvel Masters of Suspense: Stan Lee & Steve Ditko
Volume 2
which reprints this story
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Wednesday Worlds of Wonder RAUMPATROUILLE "Deserteure" (Deserters)

Buckle up, space cadets, as we rejoin the reckless crew of the SpaceShip Orion!

McLane is given a super-weapon called "OverKill" that he's to install on Earth outposts, but the Frogs can now mind-control humans...including the Orion's crew.

Will the space fleet have to destroy the Orion to keep OverKill out of the Frogs' possession?

Note: We've tried to embed the English subtitles, but if they don't come up automtaically, go to the "gear" icon on the lower right, and set them manually.)
Be here next Wednesday for another astounding adventure!

Because Tomorrow is Dr Martin Luther King Jr Day...MAD "Stokley and Bess"

Before we begin the re-presentation of this never-reprinted tale adapting...

...I sincerely suggest anybody under 45 check out the links to these people...

Stokely Carmichael

Dick Gregory

Adam Clayton Powell

and this musical...

Porgy & Bess

...before proceeding.

I'll take it as given that even the youngest among you know who Malcolm X, Dr Martin Luther King, Jr and Muhammad Ali/Cassius Clay are...

Is there a reason this particular tale by writer Larry Siegel and illustrator Mort Drucker from MAD #111 (1967) has never been reprinted?

Was it controversial?

Did it generate too much negative reader response?

One thing's for sure...it wouldn't be done in today's cultural climate!

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Porgy and Bess

(note: requires region-free DVD player since it's an import disc)

The movie's NEVER been released in the US on DVD or BluRay!
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Friday Femme Fun MODELING WITH MILLIE "Mille the Marvel"

If you think Marvel and DC are rebooting their characters more frequently than ever...

...you've never followed the many incarnations of Millie the Model from 1945 to the present!

This particular story is from the early Silver Age "romance comic" phase of her career.

This never-reprinted story from Marvel's Modeling with Millie #54 (1967); written by Gary Friedrich, penciled by Odgen Whitney, and inked (uncredited) by Frank Giacoia; was Millie the Marvel's only appearance.

It was also the final issue of this particular title.

Over at her ongoing "sister" title, Millie the Model, the character returned to her previous Archie Comics-influenced format, once more becoming a teen-humor title without ongoing storylines.

Trivia: From 1945 to 1973, there was always at least one Millie title from Atlas/Marvel, for a total of five different series, plus annuals, a couple of one-shots, an ongoing series in Comedy Comics, and a spin-off series for her rival, Chili!
Her main title ran for 207 issues, and was, until Fantastic Four #207 came out in 1979, Marvel's longest-running character-named book!
(Books with longer runs like Mighty Thor, Incredible Hulk, and Captain America had different names [Journey into Mystery, Tales to Astonish, and Tales of Suspense, respectively] before becoming "character" titles.
Millie's flagship title was always Millie the Model!)
Millie was rebooted several times going from a romance/humor hybrid to Archie-style humor to romance/soap opera and finally back to Archie-style humor with changes to the characters' ages, professions, and relationships at each stage.
Millie Collins, despite being shown as outside the Marvel Multiverse in this tale, has appeared as part of the mainstream Marvel Universe in several titles, including the "Wedding of Reed and Sue" in Fantastic Four Annual #3 (along with Marvels #2), Dazzler #34, Sensational She-Hulk #60, and the Models, Inc mini-series.
In the 1980s, a middle-aged Millie appeared in the Star Comics mini-series Misty, about the teen-age daughter of Millie's brother!
(The best thing about this Trina Robbins-produced mini-series was the retro look and use of readers' designs for the characters' clothes.)
Millie was scheduled to be rebooted in 2003 as a teen-age tennis player in a manga-style mini-series called 15-Love.
When the project was finally published in 2011 (yeah, eight years later), the lead character was Millie's teen-age niece (though Millie herself did appear briefly)!
In 2009, Millie and her Silver Age supporting cast were the 20-something title characters in the mini-series Models, Inc.
The series also features Johnny (Human Torch) Storm, Spider-Man, Dr Strange, Patsy (HellCat) Walker, Tigra, Night Nurse, Mary Jane Watson, and real-life fashion expert Tim Gunn, re-establishing the Mille characters in the Marvel Multiverse...but nothing's been done with them since!

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15-Love
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Models, Inc
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Wednesday Worlds of Wonder RAUMPATROUILLE "Hüter des Gesetzes" (Guardians of the Law)

After twice defeating energy-based aliens known as "Frogs"...

...the crew of the Orion 7 encounter rebellious robots on an Earth colony!

(Note the story makes use of Isaac Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics!

 Kool!)

OK, let the comparisons to how Kirk and Spock would've handled it begin...

Wednesday Worlds of Wonder RAUMPATROUILLE "Planet ausser Kurs" (Planet Off Course)

We Have Already Seen...

After being demoted from front-line combat to local space patroling, Cliff McLane and his crew discover previously-unknown beings composed of pure energy have overrun a distant outpost.

(SPOILERS: the sharp-eyed among viewers may have noticed that certain members of the star fleet showed great reluctance to deal with the invaders.

Wonder why?)

Now, the aliens return with a plan to send a rogue planet hurtling on a collision course with Earth!

(Note: It's German with English subtitles.

I've tried to set them up before creating the link, but you may have to click on the "gear" icon to implement them manually.)

Be back next Wednesday for another retro-kool adventure!

Monday Mecha Madness (Continued) SPACE ADVENTURES "Imitation People" Conclusion

Though it doesn't look like a love story...
...that's what this cover-featured tale from Charlton's Space Adventures V2N4 (1968) most definitely is!
We Have Already Seen...

Scientist Warren Simms' human-looking robots populate Earth II, a planetoid on the edge of the Solar System that serves as a first line of defense against alien incursions.

Simms' robots are programmed to mimic human behavior and emotions...but some of them (his aide Clarissa, particularly) seem to be transcending their programming!

While meeting with Earth's Grand Council to acquire additional funding and resources, Clarissa makes a startling revelation...

Don't you just love a happy ending?

Since the Simms robot is, for all intents and purposes, Simms, we could say that love is eternal and transcends death.

But, what of his soul?

Writer Joe Gill and artist Jim Aparo don't address that matter in this never-reprinted tale.

But that doesn't mean we can't speculate about it, eh?

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Charlton Arrow #4
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Monday Mecha Madness SPACE ADVENTURES "Imitation People" Part 1

Do Robots/Androids Have Souls?

Can they feel "real" (not programmed) emotions?

What does this Don (the Con) Trump wannabe have in mind?

This Joe Gill-scripted, Jim Aparo-illustrated, never-reprinted story from Charlton's Space Adventures V2N4 (1968) will be concluded ...tomorrow!

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Charlton Arrow #4
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