Space Hero Saturdays WHACK "Flush Jordan"

Yes, it's a Flash Gordon spoof...

..but it has a cultural reference readers under 50 won't recognize!

Ming the Merciless usually looks like this...

...so who's "Bing", the golf-playing guy in the Hawaiian shirt and porkpie hat?

He's Bing Crosby, singer, comedian, obsessive golfer, and (when this comic was published) a pop culture icon!

With that in mind, please read...

The guy at the end, whining about "Thanks for the Memory" is comedian Bob Hope...

...Bing's co-star/rival in the 1940s-50s "Road to..." movie series as well as a pop culture legend in his own right!

Note: Thanks for the Memory" was Hope's personal theme song, used primarily to close his radio show, live appearances, and TV specials!

This never-reprinted story from #2 of St John's MAD clone WHACK was illustrated by William Overgard for 3-D use, but the collapse of the 3-D comic market forced St John to publish it in regular color comic format!

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Sincerest Form of Parody
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CASPER THE FRIENDLY GHOST "Premiere"

Here's the first appearance of a comics legend (over 100 comic series with his name in the title)...

...who, at the time this came out, was already an animation mainstay!

Utilizing story elements from Casper's first cartoon (1945's Paramount NovelToon "The Friendly Ghost", written by Seymour Reit and Joe Oriolo) this opener written by Isadore Klien and likely illustrated by one of the cartoon series' animators appeared in St John's Casper the Friendly Ghost #1 (1949)

Interestingly, though Harvey Comics acquired the character rights from Paramount Pictures and continued the series after St John went out of business, they never reprinted the covers or stories of the five issues by St John!

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Casper the Friendly Ghost

60th Anniversary Special

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Friday Fun ABBOTT & COSTELLO "Money-Mad"

We've covered the Golden Age comic book adventures of the multi-media superstars HERE, HERE, and HERE...

...now we continue with Lou in a situation which all of us can sympathize with!

Though the scripter is unknown, the art for this tale from St John's Abbott & Costello Comics #8 (1949) is clearly by the team of Lily Renee and and her husband, Erik Peters.

It was reprinted once, in 1955, and hasn't been seen since!
We felt almost 75 years was too long a period to keep this from Lily Renee admirers, Abbott and Costello fans, comic book afficionados, and any combination of them!

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Abbott & Costello Story

Sixty Years of "Who's on First?"

Friday Fun ABBOTT & COSTELLO "Justin Tyme the World's Best Grocery Clerk in 'Gorilla My Dreams' "

In Japan, manga about people in everyday jobs are quite common...and popular!

Here in America, they're rarely successful, no matter how well-done!

Illustrated (and possibly written) by Charles W Winter (as "C W Winter"), this feature from St John's Abbott & Costello Comics #8 (1949) was Justin Tyme's second, and last, original appearance>
(The story was reprinted later in A&C's run.).
The idea of having to do something silly if you get an incorrect answer on a game show started in radio, and carried over to TV, where it continues to the present day!

Friday Fun ABBOTT & COSTELLO "Biscuit Eater"

They were one of the top comedy acts in every existing media of the 1940s/50s including comic books...

...with simple but effective storylines, almost always leading up to a satisfying, entertaining conclusion!

This tale from St John's Abbott and Costello Comics #8 (1949) certainly wouldn't have been out of place on their 1950s TV series...if they had the budget to pull off either animal costuming or trained animals (which the low-budget series rarely did).
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Abbott & Costello Story
Sixty Years of "Who's on First?"

Space...Hero?...Saturdays ABBOTT AND COSTELLO COMICS "About Space" Conclusion

When Last We Left Our...Heroes?...
(Don't worry, you didn't miss a post!
Part 1 appeared yesterday as part of our ongoing Friday Fun feature!)

The unemployed Abbott and Costello are hired by a mad scientist to crew his experimental rocket aimed at Mars...which is currently at war with Jupiter!
Astra, beautiful ruler of Mars, mistakes them for Jovians and shoots them down.
Crash-landing on Mars in the "Swamp of Death", our dim-witted duo encounter and make friends with a fire-breathing dinosaur/dragon.
Good thing, since the Jovians have landed (without crashing) in the swamp and are about to launch a sneak attack on Astra's palace!
When the Jovians shoot at the duo and their dinosaur/dragon, the trio head for the nearest city!
Within, Astra prepares a special formula that enhances one's courage.
But, unknown to her, aide Taro is a traitor working for the Jovians, and he switches her formula for plain water...which she drinks, believing it to be the courage-enhancer!
A&C arrive, the city's robot guards scare the dinosaur/dragon off and the pitiful pair are captured!

Then the poop hits the propeller...

(Hey, it's a PG-13 blog!)

Written by John Graham and illustrated by Lily "Lilly" Renee and Eric Peters, this tale from St John's Abbott and Costello Comics #3 (1949) shows what a decent special effects budget could've done for decent (but not great) A&C flicks like Universal's Abbott and Costello Go to Mars!

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Abbott &Costello

Complete Universal Pictures Collection

(including Abbott & Costello Go to Mars, which doesn't have a solo DVD/BluRay!)

Friday Fun ABBOTT AND COSTELLO COMICS "About Space" Part 1

Bud Abbott (the skinny straight man) and Lou Costello (the plump comedian)...

...were one of the most popular comedy teams in movies, radio, and TV for decades!

Yes, it's a cliffhanger!

And, no, you won't have to wait a week to see the conclusion!

Be here tomorrow, as we present the fantastic finale in our ongoing weekend feature,...

Space Hero/Space Heroine Saturdays!

Though some of their movies are (rightly) considered classics, it was always due to the duo, who were never given a decent-sized budget!

Even my all-time favorite, Universal's Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein, had only a b-movie budget and a lot of recycled sets, props, and costumes!
This original (not adapted from radio or movies) story from St. John's Abbott and Costello Comics #3 (1948), written by John Graham and illustrated by Lily "Lilly" Renee and Eric Peters, shows how comics creators visualized spectacular tales unrestrained by financial limitations!

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Lily Renee, Escape Artist

by

Trina Robbins