Showing posts with label Ralph Mayo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ralph Mayo. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 9, 2024

Reading Room WORLD OF SUSPENSE "When the Creature Escapes"

Is a "sea monster" a mindless animal...or something more?
That's what this story from Atlas' World of Suspense #7, 1957 asks...
Penciled by Al Williamson, inked by Ralph Mayo, and written by a currently-unknown scripter, this tale leaves the matter open-ended, practically begging for a sequel!

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Thursday, October 6, 2022

Haunted House Reading Room WORLD OF MYSTERY "Secret of the Haunted House"

With Halloween right around the corner, we're doing a series of themed stories until All Hallows Eve...
...based on haunted houses!
This Al Williamson-penciled and Ralph Mayo-inked tale from Atlas' World of Mystery #6 (1957) has only been reprinted once since (in b/w not color), and that was in 2008!
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Monday, August 30, 2021

Monday Mars Madness STRANGE STORIES OF SUSPENSE "Beware...a Martian"

Here's a tale of racism and innuendo involving an "illegal alien"...
...that all Reich-wingers should take note of!
Written by Carl Wessler, penciled by Al Williamson, and inked by Ralph Mayo, this never-reprinted tale from Atlas' Strange Stories of Suspense #14 (1957) uses science fiction to tell a civil rights parable, substituting a Martian (and the paranoia about his race) for a African-American, Hispanic, Japanese, or other minority group about whom equally-inane fantasies have been concocted!

Note: it's interesting that Nardo the Martian has the same appearance as DC's J'Onn J'Onzz: the Martian Manhunter (except for skin color), as well as MM's specific ability to shape-shift, not a talent usually attributed to inhabitants of the Red Planet!
Note: J'Onn had debuted almost two years earlier!
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Visit Amazon and Order...

Thursday, June 19, 2014

Reading Room DAN HASTINGS "Enemy That Wouldn't Die!"

...which, it turns out, was a reworked tale from the 1940s!
This original version of the twice-told tale featured ongoing hero Dan Hastings and appeared in Dynamic's Dynamic Comics #20 (1946), illustrated by Ralph Mayo.
Such reuse of already-paid material was not uncommon for some of the smaller comic publishers and packagers.
Sometimes art was reused several times, with totally-rewritten dialogue and different characters, as was done in this case!
BTW, I covered Dan Hastings' history along with another story HERE.

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Reading Room ZIP-JET COMICS "Space Doom"

Here's a one-shot tale in the Flash Gordon / Buck Rogers vein...
...that's not quite what it seems to be.
Did I say "in the Flash Gordon / Buck Rogers vein"?
Numerous panels are swiped almost verbatim by artist Ralph Mayo from those strips!
Quinto, the villain, looks like Ming the Merciless with five o'clock shadow!
When I came across this tale from St John's Zip-Jet Comics #2 (1953), I had the feeling it was an older story that was reworked.
(In fact, the entire Zip-Jet run consisted of modified reprints, with a couple of new covers and splash pages tossed in!)
Be here Thursday to see the original version of this tale!
Why not tomorrow?
It's a sacred day on our calendar!
Stop by and find out...