Showing posts with label Russ Heath. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Russ Heath. Show all posts

Thursday, January 14, 2016

Reading Room PLANET OF VAMPIRES "Blood Plague" Conclusion

This scene...sorta...appears in this issue
Astronauts Chris and Craig invade the vampires' stronghold only to discover Craig's wife (and fellow astronaut) Brenda drained dry, as shown on the cover above.
(Except for the fact that Craig has a moustache and both Craig and Brenda are African-American, as shown HERE.)
Leaving Craig to mourn, Chris blasts his way into the Proctor's office...
What was "the Secret Project"?
We never found out, since the book was cancelled!
But it was already going though the transition that almost all the Atlas books that lasted more than two issues went through.
Radical changes in creative staffs, plotlines, even characters themselves were the norm as mercurial publisher Martin Goodman began shaking things up.
It's a sordid tale best told by one who was there, so click HERE for the details!
As for Planet of Vampires, the word was to make it more like Planet of the Apes and/or Kamandi.
This two-page spread by Larry Lieber and Al Milgrom gives an idea of what was to come...
Perhaps it's just as well there was no #4...

Wednesday, January 13, 2016

Reading Room PLANET OF VAMPIRES "Blood Plague" Part 1

...keep reading and the characters will explain what's going on right after the big explosion.
"What big explosion?" you may ask...
The battle continues...tomorrow!
Written by John Albano and illustrated by Russ Heath, Atlas' Planet of Vampires #3 winds up some plotlines and, unfortunately, kills off several major characters in the process.
Be here tomorrow, when we'll show how far afield the book was about to go as it suffered the "Third Issue Curse" that befell most of the Atlas books.

Saturday, September 26, 2015

Reading Room (JOURNEY INTO) UNKNOWN WORLDS "Monster of Moog"

...with the lead (but not cover-featured) story!
(That one was featured HERE.)
If there was ever a single story that encapsulated almost all the classic cliches of bad sci-fi, this one is it!
On the other hand, if features some early Russ Heath art unseen since 1950!
So just put your brain on "pause" and enjoy...