Showing posts with label b/w. Show all posts
Showing posts with label b/w. Show all posts

Thursday, November 25, 2021

Holiday Reading Room HUMBUG "Voyage of the Mayflower II"

Here's a look from Humbug #3  (1957) at how a trend begins...
...which writer/artist R. O. Blechman derived from the real-life adventure of the Mayflower II, which apparently made a boodle of cash and inspired construction (and exploitation) of replicas of other famous sailing vessels!
Utilizing reconstructed ship blueprints held by the American museum Plimoth Plantation, and hand-built by English shipbuilders using traditional methods, the sea-worthy vessel actually sailed the Atlantic from England to Plymouth Rock, Mass, where it's been a tourist attraction ever since.

Thursday, April 22, 2021

Earth Day Reading Room NIGHTMARE "Pollution Monsters!"

"The Devil made it do it!" is given new meaning...
...in this never-reprinted tale from 51 years ago (the year Earth Day was first celebrated) which reads like one of Atlas' (pre-Marvel Comics) late 1950s-early 1960s monster stories!
Before we continue, two points:
1) Penciler Don Heck was one of the primary artists of both Atlas era and Silver Age Marvel comics stories, including numerous giant monster tales.
(Inker Mike Esposito, though he entered the field at the same time as Heck, didn't do much work for Atlas or Marvel until the late 1960s.)
2) The story is broken into two parts, even though it's only 10 pages, much like those Atlas Comics stories.
Is it a deliberate homage?
Writer Mike Freidrich was one of the first generation of comic fanboys turned professional creatives, so he was very familiar with the inherent tropes...





One big difference between this story and those Atlas-era giant monster stories...we don't win!
We might, but there's no guarantee in this cover-featured tale from Skywald's Nightmare #1 (1970)!
It's over 50 years later...and it's still frightening!
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Monday, January 11, 2021

Monday Madness MAD "Mad's All-Inclusive Do-It-Yourself Impeachment Newspaper Story"

When the previous criminal Repug Prez was about to be impeached in 1974...
...it was (unlike now) for a non-violent crime and MAD Magazine was at a creative peak, as demonstrated by this classic (and pretty comprehensive) piece by writer Frank Jacobs published in EC's MAD #170 (1974)!
The process took several months, allowing for such satirical pieces to be produced.
Today, sadly, MAD is gone, and the increased speed political matters are now proceeding at prevents such material from being created.

Friday, January 8, 2021

Friday Fun SNAFU "Understanding the Atom: Diagram of an Atom Bomb"

Considering Don da Con almost managed to stage a coup and gain total control of the government on Wednesday...
..we thought we'd offer this never-reprinted, easy-to-understand diagram of the weapon he's only one temper tantrum away from launching from #2 (1956) of Atlas/Marvel's short-lived 1950s MAD b/w magazine clone, SNAFU, written by Stan Lee and rendered by Joe Maneely.
Most of you are aware Marvel had a fairly-successful MAD clone in the 1970s-80s called CRAZY, but they also gave it a try back in the 1950s, with a three issue run!
#1
#2
#3
As you can see from the contents page of #2... 
...the incredibly-versatile John Severin and Joe Maneely handled literally all the artwork for the series.
Also, Irving Forbush was their Alfred E Neuman / Sylvester P Smythe-type mascot, whose face was shown constantly.
Later versions of Irv in Not Brand EchhWhat Th--?, and other comics didn't show his face, and his "costume" as Forbush-Man included an all-concealing cooking pot with holes in it as a mask!
To date, none of the material from these very hard-to-find issues of Snafu has ever been reprinted, which is a pity, because it's pretty damn good! 
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Friday, August 7, 2020

Friday Fun SNAFU "Emilie Toast's Etiquette Page

For those who claim we've become a rude, crude society...
.......... a never-reprinted spoof of classic etiquette expert Emily Post's ever-eloquent diatribes about politeness from Atlas' SNAFU b/w mag, courtesy of an unknown writer (possibly editor Stan Lee) and artist John Severin, who could draw literally anything in any genre!
Note: though the issue is V2N1 (1956) it's actually only #2 because Volume 1 had only one issue!
In the old days, "Volumes" were date-related, so if you began publication at the end of the year, as this did, the next issue, which would be published in the following year, was a new Volume!
(Hey, don't blame me, colectors! I didn't make the rules!)

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Thursday, February 27, 2020

Reading Room EERIE "Alien Plague"

With the coronavirus making its' way around the world in record time...
...we thought this never-reprinted tale from Warren's Eerie #31 (1971) was both apropos and ironic!
Obviously, the coronavirus isn't being spread by aliens disguised as paper products...OR IS IT?
Written and illustrated by Billy Graham, who's best-known to mainstream comics fans as the primary artist on the "Panther's Rage" story arc of the 1970s Black Panther strip in Marvel's Jungle Action!
That storyline provided many of the plot elements for the billion-dollar blockbuster Black Panther film!
Graham was part of the Bronze Age (second) wave of comic fanboys-turned-pros which included Jim Starlin, Steve Gerber, Mike Kaluta, Berni Wrightson, Don Newton, Rich Buckler, and George Perez!
He was also one of the large number of Black creatives who entered the industry during the 1970s!
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Thursday, January 2, 2020

Reading Room ANDROMEDA "Where Do You Get Those Ideas?"

It's a question creatives are constantly-asked...
Alan Dean Foster, whose prodigious output includes the novelization of Star Wars (and the in-between-SW & ESB novel Splinter of the Minds Eye) and the Star Trek Logs (which adapted the scripts of the Star Trek animated series), along with the plot for Star Trek the Motion Picture (far different from the final film), as well as hundreds of his own novels, novelettes, novellas, and short stories gives us an idea of the process in this never-reprinted piece from Andromeda/Silver Snail Publications' Andromeda #6 (1979)...which was an all-Foster scripted issue!
Interestingly, it's a manual, not electric, typewriter, which was the standard by that point!
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Friday, November 15, 2019

Friday Fun MONSTERS UNLIMITED "Best of #7"

Welcome to the final issue of Stan Lee's 1960s humor magazine...
...where the creatures are classic and the one-liners are corny!

This issue also featured a letters page...
...which promised more audience participation in the next issue!
Sadly, #8 never appeared!
In 1972, Marvel expanded its' newsstand "footprint" with a line of new b/w magazines featuring monsters, barbarians, kung fu, and movies/tv shows (including Planet of the Apes and Doc Savage)!
They also re-introduced the "monster humor" concept with a new magazine; Monster Madness!
...but you'll have to wait until next Halloween to see them!
Next Friday, a new humor series!
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Monsters Unlimited #7

Friday, November 8, 2019

Friday Fun MONSTERS UNLIMITED "Best of #6"

The fun never stops when Stan Lee unleashes bad jokes...
...on classic movie and TV horror/sci-fi pix!
Would you call it "corny creepy"?
I do...
See you next Friday, boys and ghouls!
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