Monday Madness MYSTIC "Help Wanted"

A Christmas tale that begins, weirdly enough, just before Easter...

...proves it didn't pay to be a Scrooge in the 1950s...or today!

Mort Lawrence illustrated this tale of Xmas justice from Atlas' Mystic #19 (1953) including a rather...unusual-looking...demon.

This proved a tad problematic when editor Roy Thomas made the tale the cover feature for an issue of Marvel's 1970s horror reprint anthology Vault of Evil!

Penciller Gil Kane and inker John Romita Sr followed the demon's design perfectly...but someone forgot to tell the cover copywriter what the story was about!

There's no story in #6 (1973) even vaguely-related to insects!

And detail-obsessed Roy Thomas is the last person you'd expect to allow such a mistake!

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Krampus

Football + SuperHeroes = SuperPro!

30 years ago, Marvel and the NFL teamed up to produce...

...a football-themed superhero!

...who, despite meeting a couple of Marvel's best-known heroes...

...lasted only 13 issues, then disappeared into obscurity!

Due to licensing restrictions, NFL SuperPro will never be reprinted or offered as an e-book!

However, when you can find copies, they're usually pretty cheap, like the one below...

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NFL SuperPro

Super Bowl Special

The Dead Walk at Christmas...

There have been numerous comic adaptations of Charles Dickens' Christmas ghost story...

...but this never-reprinted one from (believe it or not) Marvel Comics, has the distinction of being illustrated by more artists than any other version!

Credited to "Diverse Hands", the art styles I recognize include Bob Hall, Frank Giacoia, Frank Springer, Dave Cockrum, Marie Severin, Carmine Infantino, Steve Leialoha, John Romita Sr, Al Milgrom, Mike Esposito, and probably anybody who wandered into the Bullpen while this book was in production!

Trivia: 

This was the final title in the Marvel Classics Comics line which had started out as color reprints of the early '70s b/w Pendulum Press "comic adaptations of classic stories" series. After a dozen issues, Marvel began doing their own adaptations, continuing for another two dozen issues.

Scripter Doug Moench was no newcomer to adapting prose to comics having worked on comics versions of literary properties including Doc Savage, The Shadow, James Bond, and Fu Manchu!

Colorist Francoise Mouly later became the art editor of The New Yorker, co-creator of the legendary comic anthology Raw, and is currently the publisher/editorial director of Toon Books, an imprint of Candlewick Press. She is the creative partner (and spouse) of Art Spiegelman.

What are you waiting for?

Click here for Stave One!

Support Small Business this Christmas!

Visit the

A Christmas Carol / Scrooge

Collectibles Store!

Reading Room WORLDS UNKNOWN "A Gun for Dinosaur" Conclusion

After you gaze at this eye-catching cover by an unknown penciler and penciler/inker John Romita Sr...

...we'll recap What Has Gone Before!

Time-traveling safari guide/hunter Reginald Rivers offers a cautionary tale to an overly-enthusiastic prospective client.

His story concerns two other clients who disregarded the experienced Rivers' warnings...

To enhance your appreciation of this tale, here's a couple of unique treats...

The dramatic radio adaptation of "A Gun for Dinosaur" fro the classic series X Minus One, starring Mason Adams.

Plus, the illustrations by Emsh (Ed Emshwiller) from the original prose tale in Galaxy Magazine!

Be here tomorrow for more Friday Fun with Big Apple Comix!

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Rivers of Time

by

L Sprague deCamp

featuring the complete time travel adventures of Reginald Rivers!

Reading Room 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY "Mister Machine" Conclusion

We Have Already Seen...

...sentient robot X-51/Aaron Stack/Mister Machine has been reluctantly released by the government...

Olivia's skeptcism and Jerry's fanboy-level knowledge of Doctor Doom, the Avengers, and others, all point to creator/writer/penciler Jack Kirby's determination to keep his new creations (The Eternals, Devil Dinosaur, and Mister Machine) outside the Marvel Universe by suggesting that, within his own books, the older Marvel characters are fictional!

Ironically, all of Kirby's 1970s creations are now woven tightly into the fabric of the shared Marvel Universe...or what's left of it these days...

Note: though Mike Royer inked the story, Frank Giacoia inked the cover (with minor re-penciling by John Romita Sr.

Be here next Tuesday as we present the final, never-reprinted issue of 2001: a Space Odyssey, and the final appearance of Mister Machine!

What does that mean?

The only way to find out is to check us out on Tuesday, faithful one!

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Machine Man: the Complete Collection

Today!

Happy 4th of July with the Living Legend of World War II!

Art by John Romita Sr from the 1976 Marvel Bicentennial Calendar!

A classic image featuring Captain America in front of the Declaration of Independence!
(Courtesy Rip Jagger's Dojo)

Art by Jack Kirby and Frank Giacoia from Captain America's Bicentennial Battles

 Captain America and Uncle Sam!

Holiday Reading Room: A CHRISTMAS CAROL "Stave Five"

When Last We Left Our Miser...

Ebenezer Scrooge despised and loathed Christmas.

Not just the holiday, mind you, but also any and all who celebrated it!

But, thanks to what we today would call an "intervention" by the ghost of his business partner, Scrooge awakens on Christmas morning, profoundly changed...

Adapted by Doug Moench, based on the novella by Charles Dickens.

Credited to "Diverse Hands", the art styles I recognize include Bob Hall, Frank Giacoia, Frank Springer, Dave Cockrum, Marie Severin, Carmine Infantino, Steve Leialoha, John Romita Sr, Al Milgrom, Mike Esposito, Tom Palmer, Ron Wilson, and probably anybody who wandered into the Bullpen while this book was in production!

Support Small Business this Christmas!

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A Christmas Carol / Scrooge

Collectibles Store!

Holiday Reading Room: A CHRISTMAS CAROL "Stave Four"

We Have Already Seen...

Thanks to the powers of the Ghost of Christmas Present, Ebenezer Scrooge witnesses how, despite unfortunate circumstances or lack of money, most people (including the family of his clerk Bob Cratchit) joyously celebrate the holiday.

Then, the specter disappears, leaving Scrooge on a fog-bound London street.

But the misanthropic miser is not alone...

Tomorrow:

"The Cataclysmic Climax!"

(C'mon, it's a Marvel book!)

Adapted by Doug Moench, based on the novella by Charles Dickens.

Credited to "Diverse Hands", the art styles I recognize include Bob Hall, Frank Giacoia, Frank Springer, Dave Cockrum, Marie Severin, Carmine Infantino, Steve Leialoha, John Romita Sr, Al Milgrom, Mike Esposito, Tom Palmer, Ron Wilson, and probably anybody who wandered into the Bullpen while this book was in production!

Support Small Business this Christmas!

Visit our

A Christmas Carol / Scrooge

Collectibles Store!