Frankenstein in the Swinging Sixties: ZIK! THWOCK! ARRGH!

The story we showed you HERE was not the Frankenstein Monster's only 1960s comic appearance...

...though some would like to forget this version!

After publishing a very loose adaptation of Universal Pictures' 1931 movie (as seen HERE), Dell decided to ride the "Pop Art" wave and do superhero versions of the various Universal Monsters!

For whatever reason, Universal didn't approve of the concept, but Dell went ahead anyway, removing any visual or story reference to Universal's versions of the characters to avoid trademark and copyright conflicts, utilizing only elements from the original (public domain) novels.

The end results were...unique.

Read them for yourself...if you dare...

Issue #2

Issue #3

Issue #4

(Issue #1 was the movie adaptation!

The superhero version started with #2)

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Frankenstein Reading Room GHOST RIDER "vs Frankenstein!"

When Titans Clash!

And, it was the cover-featured story for Ghost Rider #10 (December 1952), though not illustrated by Frank Frazetta as were some of the earlier covers!

This particular one was by interior artist Dick Ayers, who illustrated almost all of stories in Ghost Rider.

BTW, as a matter of fact, this book was the Halloween issue!

(Comics were cover-dated 2-3 months ahead of their actual on-sale date, so this issue was on-sale in October, 1952!)

And now, on with the tale...

Aw, shucks, it wasn't really the Monster of Frankenstein!

This was, more often than not, the modus operandi used by baddies (and the hero) in Original Ghost Rider tales.

What seems to be supernatural, is just sleight-of-hand.

However, there were a couple of tales where things were, in fact, what they appeared to be, such as League of the Living Dead!

Enjoy!

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If Donald Trump Was a Superhero, Which Superhero Would He Be?

Did Donald Trump, born in 1946, read comics when he was a kid?

And, if so, which hero did he dream of being?

Superman?

No, despite being one of the single mightiest beings in the universe, Superman's stories required logical thinking to enjoy, and we've seen Donnie's not big on that, even now.

Captain America?

Certainly patriotic, but not powerful enough.

Donnie thinks BIG!

So there's only one character he might have read, and whose adventures are wish-fulfillment without having to think about how it works, much like Don the Con's pronoucements about how he'll run the country.

Follow the LINK, read the following, and compare the story (and captions) to Trump's descriptions of himself and how he'd be as President!

What's better than a SuperHero under the Christmas tree? A WHOLE GROUP OF SUPERHEROES!

"If ONE hero on a cover sells books, stick a BUNCH of 'em on the cover, and we'll sell even more copies!"

That was the philosophy behind anthology comics like America's Best Comics, Big 3 Comics, and 4 Favorites.

Originally, comic anthology covers would feature one hero in action, with other characters' heads in little inserts along the side or bottom of the cover. Each hero would rotate as the main cover character every few issues.
At some point, an editor, trying to keep track of which character went on which issue, probably said "Hell, this month put them ALL on it!" and the first multi-hero cover burst onto the newsstands of America!
Sales skyrocketed, and covers featuring hordes of heroes became the standard!

Even though these multi-hero covers featured the characters interacting, inside the comic, the heroes only worked together in text stories, if at all!
In fact, sometimes the covers were just symbolic designs (like the patriotic one above) to showcase which characters' strips were inside!
The comic stories inside the book were individual strips of those cover-featured heroes.
( It wasn't until All-Star Comics #3, featuring a framing sequence about a meeting of heroes linking the various characters' strips together, that the first true super-hero group, The Justice Society of America, was born.)

We at Atomic Kommie Comics™ have always been suckers for covers showing heroes (and heroines) working together to defeat a common foe, rescuing innocents, or just hanging out!
So, we've assembled some of the best multi-hero covers in our Lost Heroes of the Golden Age of Comics™ section!
America's Best Comics, Big 3 Comics, and 4 Favorites featured the top characters of their respective lines, much as World's Finest featured Superman and Batman & Robin, and All-Winners displayed Captain America, Sub-Mariner, and The Human Torch for DC and Marvel, respectively. (BTW, most of America's Best Comics, Big 3 Comics, and 4 Favorites have NEVER been reprinted! Talk about your buried treasures!)
We've digitally-restored and remastered them directly from the original books onto a plethora of potential pop culture presents including mousepads, blank sketchbooks, t-shirts, and other collectibles.

Think what your graphic-novel-reading loved one will say when he (or she) finds these kool retro-style tchochkies under the Christmas Tree or in their stocking!

Plus: think of the value! A half-dozen heroes for the price of one!
It was a bargain 70 years ago; and still is, today!

Reading Room SUPERSNIPE "Strong Medicine" Conclusion

When Last We Left the Kid With the Most Comic Books in America...

Attending a local carnival with his friend Roxy Adams: Girl Guerilla, SuperSnipe is tricked by look-alike Duper Dan into impersonating the midget performer on stage to give the criminal carny an unbreakable alibi while he commits a robbery.

But Roxy smells a rat...

Note that SuperSnipe finally wears an actual costume rather than his grandfather's woolen long-johns and father's lodge cape.

But, ironically, because this was the final issue of his series, he never got to wear it again!

Written and illustrated by George Marcoux, this never-reprinted story from SuperSnipe Comics V5N1 (1949) marked the character's final appearance in his own strip, though he also popped up in his secret identity of Koppy McFad in the other stories starring his supporting cast.

Reading Room SUPERSNIPE "Strong Medicine" Part 1

With San Diego Comic Con well under way, let's look at the original fanboy...

..in his final adventure!

What will Roxy discover?

Be Here TOMORROW for the startling climax featuring Super vs Duper!

Written and illustrated by George Marcoux, this story from SuperSnipe Comics V5N1 (1949) marked the character's final appearance in his own strip, though he also appeared in his secret identity of Koppy McFad in the other stories in this issue starring his supporting cast.

DESIGN OF THE WEEK "Owl"

Each week, we post a limited-edition design, to be sold for exactly 7 days, then replaced with another.

This week, it's the return of a Lost Hero of both the Golden and Silver Ages of Comics...the Owl!
We presented his background and several adventures at our "brother" blog Hero Histories™...

Ominously Lurks...The Owl!

The Owl's Premiere Adventure!

His second appearance...and his first superhero costume!

The Owl's big comeback in the Silver Age!

Now, Dynamite Entertainment, who presented a revived Owl as a minor character in their Project: SuperPowers series, are giving him a new lease on life with his own title!

So, let's celebrate his return with t-shirts, mugs, and other kool collectibles featuring one of the coolest covers of his Golden Age run!

Happy 75th Birthday, Kal-El!

On this date in 1938, the Man of Steel debuted on the newsstands and drugstore racks of America.

A Dearth of Ditko!

The career of the co-creator of Spider-Man, Dr Strange, Captain Atom and The Question began here...

Click on art to enlarge and read

...with this sinister story, written by Bruce Hamilton, from Fantastic Fears #5 (1953) which was Steve Ditko's first assignment, but his second published work!

This week and next, RetroBlogs™ are featuring the early (pre-Marvel/DC) work of Steve Ditko!

Western Comics Adventures™ offers one of his Black Fury stories (He did several)

Secret Sanctum of Captain Video™ presents the first of his many Mysterious Traveler tales.

Tomorrow, True Love Comics Tales™ has his second assignment (but first story published), one of the few romance comic jobs he did!

On Friday, War, Past, Present & Future™ has a rarely-seen Civil War story!

Next Tuesday, Crime & Punishment™ will relate Ditko's contribution to Radio Patrol!

Next Thursday, a startling reworking of the Cinderella story will appear in Seduction of the Innocent™.

And, sometime next week, we'll present a superhero surprise at Hero & Heroine Histories™!

Don't miss a single Ditko!

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Green Lantern: the Movie!

Saw it.

Liked it.

Didn't love it.

(But it was much better than Green Hornet!)

YouTube Wednesday: CAPTAIN NICE

Continuing our weekly feature "YouTube Wednesday"...

Yes, this promo art was by Jack (King) Kirby!

In January 1966, Batman, starring Adam West and Burt Ward debuted on ABC.
This set off a wave of Bat-Mania, and all three TV networks scrambled to add superhero programming to schedules already crowded with science fiction and fantasy programming ranging from Man from U.N.C.L.E. to My Favorite Martian!
While one or two, like The Green Hornet, were done seriously, most of the new shows were not even campy tongue-in-cheek like Batman, but flat-out comedies!
The best of the new shows was the brainchild of Get Smart co-creator Buck Henry, who was asked to to to superheroes what he had done to spies, hopefully with similar ratings.

"My mom made my costume!"

Broadway actor William Daniels was cast as police chemist/mamma's-boy Carter Nash who gained short-term super-powers by drinking a formula he accidentally created.
Along with veteran performers Alice Ghostly (Carter's overbearing mother), Liam Dunn (annoyed Mayor Finney), Bill Zuckert (inept Police Chief Segal) and newcomer Ann Prentess (police Sgt/Carter's girlfriend Candy Kane), the show tried it's best to capture the style and flavor that made Get Smart a hit.
It didn't.

It was amusing, and Daniels tried his best, but a limited budget caused a lot of the super-stuntwork to misfire, ruining the jokes.

After only 15 episodes, Captain Nice was cancelled.
Maybe if they had done a crossover with Get Smart...

There was some merchandising including a one-shot comic book, a novel written by the same author who did the Get Smart books, and a limited-distribution batch of trading cards, all of which are HTF.
It's not out on DVD, and unless you videotaped it when it ran on Comedy Channel around 1993-94 (like I did), the only place you'll find it is on bootleg dvds or YouTube.
Here's the pilot/origin episode "The Man Who Flies Like a Pigeon".
Enjoy!