Wednesday, July 20, 2016

How a Spitfire Became a Phantom!

We've begun the summer mini-marathon at our "sister" RetroBlog, Heroines...
... with the explanation of how the tale above was altered/transformed/morphed into this story!
...in a tale of publishing, print production, and paste-ups!
It's a two-for-one deal you won't want to miss!
Click HERE to read it!

Tuesday, July 19, 2016

Trump Reading Room aka the OutHouse FARMER'S DAUGHTER "Calendar Girl"

With Don the Con's "model" wife Melania dominating the headlines...
..we thought we'd take a look at another blonde poser who would appeal to the RNC crowd!
This never-reprinted story from Stanhall's Farmer's Daughter #1 (1954) was typical of the sort of lowbrow humor the publisher specialized in.
With titles including Broadway-Hollywood Blackouts and G.I. Jane, Stanhall produced adult-oriented (but never more risque than PG-13) humor.
Animator Hal Seegar was the editor/writer/illustrator for the non "good girl" strips, while Bill Williams handled the art over Seegar's layouts for the more risque material (like this one).

Monday, July 18, 2016

Reading Room CAPTAIN JOHNER AND THE ALIENS "False Men"

When Last We Left the First Extraterrestrials on Earth...
After an initial misunderstanding, it seems human/alien relations are going smoothly...
So, it turns out Johner's friends may not be the first aliens on Earth!
These "false men" not the shapeshifters Zarz's people use as spies, but something that can posess other life-forms!
But whether they're a race of previously-unknown Earthlings or from another world is a question for the future...
This tale by creator/writer/artist Russ Manning, from Gold Key's Magnus, Robot Fighter #11 (1965), introduces a new plotline that will run through a number of issues.

Sunday, July 17, 2016

Summer Fun on RetroBlogs!

Every summer we run mini-marathons on the various RetroBlogs...
At Secret Sanctum of Captain Video, we'll present no less than three different, never-reprinted comic versions of this legendary Ray Harryhausen film, one of them featuring art by the late, great, John Buscema!
(but we're not going to tell you which one!)
In a cross-over between War: Past, Present, and Future and Hero Histories, there will be never-reprinted tales of two World War I aviator-heroes from the 1960s!
Hero Histories will also feature the final, never-reprinted tale of the campy Silver Age version of The Shadow...
...and the first (also never-reprinted) story of the Silver Age Plastic Man by Gil Kane!
War: Past, Present and Future will also present another never-reprinted story published in the 1960s, Sgt Fury and His Howling Commandos in...ready for it?...KOREA!
What's summer without a good "beach read"?
And there's nothing better than a never-reprinted Gothic Romance at True Love Comics Tales!
Justice doesn't take a holiday during the summer, as the 1950s hard-boiled saga of private eye Johnny Dynamite receives a re-telling at Crime & Punishment!
Don't think we've forgotten
We just haven't finalized the plans for them...yet!

Saturday, July 16, 2016

Reading Room DEATH RATTLE "Xenozoic!" Conclusion

...actually we haven't seen this...nor will we!
It's a "symbolic" cover, designed to hook you into reading the comic.
And, hoo boy, does it work!
On a post-apocalyptic Earth several centuries from now, a rescue team checks up on a scientific research outpost that went mysteriously silent.
They find one mutilated survivor, and the group splits up to search for others...
Wow!
Now THAT'S an introduction!
Up-and-comer Mark Schultz created, wrote, and illustrated this tribute to dinosaurs in general and EC Comics of the 1950s in particular.
Dennis Kitchen, editor-publisher of Kitchen Sink was so sure of the potential for this series, he didn't even wait to see how the sales were on Death Rattle #8, as shown by this ad in the back of the book...
The book ran for 14 issues, and sold well.
There was also a one-shot 3-D issue adapting earlier stories to the 3-D format.
Problem was that Mark Schultz, like Dave Stevens, Mike Kaluta, Neal Adams, and a number of other creatives, though incredibly-talented, was also exceedingly sloooooowww, so the book went from bi-monthly to quarterly to semi-annually.
Kitchen Sink tried using back-up tales (overseen by Schultz) by other writers and artists while Schultz did the lead stories, but the book always had trouble keeping a regular schedule.
Even with that, the series built up a devoted following and tie-in merchandise like t-shirts, action figures and other goodies were grabbed off comic store shelves as fast as they were stocked.
Marvel's Epic imprint reprinted the early tales in color under the name Cadillacs & Dinosaurs.
Interest from licensees in this version resulted in mainstream media tie-ins including a popular arcade game, home video console games, and an animated tv series...which resulted in its' own comic series from Topps that did new stories based on the tv show and sequels to Xenozoic Tales comic stories!
The stories continue to be reprinted (most recently in an IDW "Artists Edition"), and there are rumors of a feature film that could lead to an ongoing franchise!