Showing posts with label Monday Mecha Madness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Monday Mecha Madness. Show all posts

Monday, July 27, 2026

Monday Mecha Madness SHOGUN WARRIORS "Hand of Fate" Conclusion

We Have Already Seen...

...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!

Monday, July 20, 2026

Monday Mecha Madness SHOGUN WARRIORS "Hand of Fate" Part 1

Let's Have a Hand for the Little Lady in the Big Robot...

....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!

Monday, July 13, 2026

Monday Mecha Madness WEIRD THRILLERS "Menace of R Day"

In the 1950s, it was believed that war could be ended by 1999...
...and that other menaces would threaten the Earth, instead!
This somewhat-hokey, but entertaining, sci-fi tale from Ziff-Davis' Weird Thrillers #1 (1951) was both penciled and inked by Ross Andru.
Andru would later partner with Mike Esposito with Ross as the penciler and Mike doing the inking.
Whether this was because Esposito was faster at inking than Ross, or Andru enjoyed doing only pencils is unknown.
Considering Andru seemed pretty damn good at inking, it's a pity he eventually gave it up.
BTW, the writer of this never-reprinted tale of mechanical mayhem is unknown.
Next Week: the Return of

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Monday, July 6, 2026

Monday Mecha Madness UNUSUAL TALES "Where Does It Go?"

Have you ever seen a bus pass by that you're unfamilar with, and wonder...
..."Where Does It Go?"
This never-reprinted tale behind this never-reprinted Rocke Mastroserio cover offers one possibility!
While the concept is rather kool, I have to ask, why is the robot such an insulting s.o.b.?
Writer Joe Gill, penciler Bill Moino, and inker Vince Alascia probably could have provided the answer when they created this story for Charlton's Unusual Tales #29 (1961), none of them are around now to answer the question...
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Mysteries in Space

Monday, June 29, 2026

Monday Mecha Madness UNKNOWN WORLDS OF SCIENCE FICTION "War Toy"

It's the July 4th Week of the 250th Anniversary of the Founding of America!

Art by Mike Kaluta
So let's tell a tale of military AI!

Written by Tony Isabella, penciled by George Perez, and inked by Rico Rival, this tale of a sympathetic, benevolent, yet deadly robot from Marvel's anthology b/w magazine Unknown Worlds of Science Fiction #2 (1975) was the only time a story that wasn't an adaptation of a classic sci-fi prose story was featured on the cover of the magazine!
Speaking of the cover, you'll note the published version (as compared to the original by Mike Kaluta seen above) had two planets added to it at editor Roy Thomas' request...even though the action takes place on Earth!
Trivia: When "War Toy" was reprinted in another Marvel anthology b/w magazine Marvel Preview #20 (1980)...
...artist Howard Chaykin included the character in a new cover painting which featured his character Dominick Fortune along with the retro-style spaceship from the EC tribute story "Good Lord!"
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