Monday Moon Madness BLACK CAT COMICS "Legend of the Sun Eclipse"

Why are we calling this entry "Monday MOON Madness" when the story's title has "Sun Eclipse" in it?

What do you think causes the eclipse?

THE MOON!

Marv Levy wrote and illustrated this never-reprinted tale from Harvey's Black Cat Comics #9 (1948) which combines both Greek and Norse mythology!

Remember:

Don't Look Directly at the Eclipse Without Special Glasses!

Reading Room CONQUEST "Beowolf the Mighty"

How do you liven up those boring, tired old ancient myths?

...why, turn one of the characters into a Tyrannosaurus Rex, of course!

Usually, Grendel is a demonic or ape-like beast.
Certainly, he's never been portrayed as a dinosaur before (or since)!
This 1955 one-shot from Eastern Color featured tales of real-life adventurers...except for Beowolf (which is usually spelled "Beowulf").
We don't know who the writer is so there's no way to tell if it was his/her idea or artist Bill Ely's to make Grendel a dinosaur!
BTW, Ely had a lot of experience rendering dinosaurs in sci-fi tales for almost every comics company of the 1950s and 60s, including a stint as the artist for DC's Rip Hunter: Time Master, who now leads the team on the CW's Legends of Tomorrow TV series!

Reading Room STORIES BEHIND THE STARS "Hydra, the Immortal Monster"

Here's a popular mythological creature who's been "retconned" in movies and tv...

...but this never-reprinted one-pager from Harvey's Flash Gordon #4 (1950) gives you the original version of the story!

Illustrated (and possibly written) by Bob Powell.

Reading Room STORIES BEHIND THE STARS "Andromeda"

Ever wonder what the actual legend behind Clash of the Titans was?

This Bob Powell-illustrated, never-reprinted feature from Harvey's Flash Gordon #3 (1950) explains the myth!

You'll note the "monster" is not the movie's Kraken, which was a mythological Norse creature based on sightings of huge octopi.

Ray Harryhausen let his imagination run wild, producing a far more interesting creature than the usual fire-breathing lizard.

The writer of the feature is unknown, but could be Powell.

Reading Room STORIES BEHIND THE STARS "Orion"

An ongoing feature about the mythological origins of the constellations...

...which has never been reprinted since its' appearance in Harvey's Flash Gordon #2 (1950).

Illustrated by Bob Powell.

The writer is unknown, but could be Powell.

Reading Room: WEIRD COMICS "Origin of Thor: God of Thunder!"

He's muscular, super-strong, has long blonde hair, uses a hammer named Mjolnir, and can control lightning, but he's NOT Don Blake!
Nor is he the real Thor!
Confused, True Believer!
Well, read on and all will be made clear...probably...

So, while Grant transforms into a Thor, the real Thor (with the mythologically-correct red hair and beard) sits comfortably back in Valhalla and watches the fun.
This version of Thor would run in 1940-41 from Weird Comics #1 (this appearance) to #5, never once making the cover.
Interestingly, issue by issue, he lost elements of Thor's costume (including the helmet, cape, and long hair), until by his final appearance in #5, he just looked like Grant Farrel in a blue swimsuit!
After that, he disappeared until 2008, when he, and an assemblage of forgotten Golden Age heroes, popped up in Savage Dragon #141, in full "Thor" regalia.

We'll be posting the other four adventures of the first Thor over the next week since the new movie, Thor: the Dark World is opening this weekend.

Watch for them.

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