Like many people, Chicagoan Alan Weiss came to New York City to seek fame and fortune...
...and the Midwestern man who became an established comics illustrator shared a (supposedly only-slightly exaggerated version of his first days in NYC in the late 1960s...
Note:may by NSFW due to a couple of common-to-the-era racial stereotypes in this never reprinted tale.
A link to a website selling Alan's originals HERE!
...and we deal appropriately with those who put it down, as exemplified by this short scripted and illustrated by Marvel writer/editorial assistant Linda Fite, who, no doubt, based it on real-life visits from irritating out-of-towners!
...Genji Odashu, aboard giant mecha Combatra, battles a giant mechanical hand, whose five "fingers"separate into independent flying weapons, which she matches by separating her mecha into five semi-independent units with AIs under her command opeerating them!
To Be Continued Next Month, When We Discover Who is Behind All These Menaces!
Today's entry in the never-reprinted Marvel adventures of the Shogun Warriors from #11 (1980) was scripted by Doug Moench, penciled by Herb Trimpe and inked by guest artist Jack Abel, with another guest artist, Terry Austin inking Trimpe on the cover.
Note: because Moench & Trimpe only had the Mattel versions of the robots and didn't have access to the manga or anime detailing the Japanese versions' characters, back stories, and capabilities of the mecha, they basically made things up as they went!
In Combatra's case, the Japanese version featured five human pilots, each controlling one of the segments, which functioned best when combined, as shown in the video below!
The Marvel Comics version has only one human pilot, located in in the head, with the other four sections controlled by semi-independent Artificial Intelligences!
I believe it was the legendary Will Eisner who said...
"If you can tell a tale without word balloons or captions, you've succeeded as a graphic storyteller!"
Appropriately enough, this almost totally-silent story from Big Apple Comix #1 (1975) is by Mike Ploog, who broke into comics assisting Eisner on the military publication P.S. Magazine! before becoming Marvel's primary "monster" artist doing Man-Thing, Monster of Frankenstein, Werewolf by Night, and Ghost Rider during the Bronze Age.
....is exactly what pilot Genji Odashu, pilot of the Shogun Warrior mecha known as Combatra, wouldn't want to hear at this point in time!
So we ain't gonna tell her!
Besides, she's pretty busy at the moment, between the mechanical hand and the Japanese military who've just shown up...and don't realize she's one of the good guys!
Writer Doug Moench, penciler Herb Trimpe and inker Jack Abel have put Genji in one heckuva dire situation in Marvel's never-reprinted Shogun Warriors #11 (1979)...which you'll see resolved right here, next Monday!
...this is, in fact, an extremely accurate look (except for the last four panels in the story)...
...at what visiting 42nd Street west of Times Square in the 1970s and 80s was like!
My high school was nearby (West 54th between 5th and 6th Avenues), and I discovered that, when you wore a sports jacket or leisure suit (which I had to wear daily because it was a prep school), you could pass as over 18, even if you were only 15!
...since this is the continuation of a story from the previous issue, I'll let the narrator clue you in as t what's going on...
Had ya goin' there for a minute, eh?
Written by Leo Dorman and illustrated by Pete Costanza, this never-reprinted tale from DC's Jimmy Olsen #127 (1970) was one of the last Silver Age-style stories of "Superman's Pal" as a radical change came only a half-year later as Jack (King) Kirby, coming over from Marvel, asumed writer-penciler duties with #133...
...the Bronze Age got fully under way, and elements of Kirby's Fourth World became part of the DC mythos!
Which of the Man of Steel's Besties Got into More Trouble? Lois Lane or Jimmy Olsen?
Don't answer until you've read this never-reprinted Silver Age story...
To Be Concluded...Next Sunday!
Written by Leo Dorfman and illustrated by Pete Costanza, this tale from DC's Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #126 (1970) wasn't considered odd or unique enough to warrant being the cover story...
