Tuesday, April 30, 2024

Reading Room WEIRD ADVENTURES "Dome of Death"

Reading this blog,  you might think that "sci-fi" just means "space opera" or "futuristic"...
...but it can be set on present-day (meaning when the story was created) Earth, as well!
This never-reprinted tale from the Ziff-Davis one-shot Weird Adventures #10 (1951) reads like a script for an anthology tv show or a b-movie.
It's mostly character interaction and a crime/thriller plot with some easily-done (even for the 1950s) sfx!
Illustrated by John Giunta, whose long career spans both the Golden and Silver Ages with work for literally every company in every genre!
However, Giunta may be best-known to today's audiences as the artist who gave the legendary Frank Frazetta his first job, when he hired the talented teen as a studio assistant!
The writer of this unusual tale is unknown, but could be Giunta himself!

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(which contains only a couple of stories from this previously-listed volume)

Monday, April 29, 2024

Monday Maternity Madness CHOICES "Silent Scream II: the Prequel"

In Choices: a Pro-Choice Benefit Anthology for the National Organization of Women (1990)...

The sequence was Trudeau's response to the then-recently-released anti-abortion film Silent Scream.
In the strips, Trudeau utilized the same cinema verite/documentary-style techniques the movie used to make his point.
The movie is still distributed by religious and anti-choice groups, but has been disproven as hyperbolic and scientifically-inaccurate.

Sunday, April 28, 2024

On May 4th...What Will YOU Do?

Holy Dire Dilemma!!!
Do you go to...
...or...do you go to...
...since you can't do both!!!
The 24+ hour Star Wars Marathon begins on Friday night, and if you leave the theatre, you'll lose your seat!
But, if you don't go to Free Comic Book Day, you miss out on all the limited-edition goodies...including a couple of Star Wars-related comics!
What Will YOU Do???

Saturday, April 27, 2024

Space Hero Saturdays STAR HUNTERS "Part 1: The Farrell Alternative" Conclusion

...swashbucking Donovan Flint, after single-handedly rescuing a vital Earth-bound shipment of fresh food from space pirates, is invited to a meeting with Director Farrell of The Corporation.
But when he arrives, the smiling rogue discovers getting out will be much harder than getting in...
We want to apologize for this post being a week late.
This was supposed to appear last week, and Jumpin' Jupiter was supposed to appear this week.
But the birth of my first grand-niece took priority and my assistant couldn't follow my terrible handwriting on a post-it about which post went when and things went "futzy"!
Note about this story...though this never-reprinted tale appeared in the double-sized DC Super-Stars V2 #18 (1977), it's actually the first of two regular-sized issues of the proposed series which were cobbled together.
You'll see the other one in the near-future...and this time on the correct order!
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Friday, April 26, 2024

Friday Fun: Before X-MEN '97! Before X-MEN the Animated Series! There was X-MEN "Pryde of the X-Men"!!!

When you watch X-Men '97 on Disney+...

...ask yourself what do you know about what led to it...even before the now-legendary animated TV series aired in the mid-1990s...

Did you know about the then-heavily-promoted pilot by Marvel AnimationNew World Studios, and Toei Entertainment that aired in syndication during September 1989?
Marvel Comics devoted much of their monthly "prozine" Marvel Age's 63rd issue to the project (including a new cover by the pilot's primary character designer Russ Heath which was also used for the first VHS release of the cartoon)!
Here's the main article...
(Note the panels running along the bottom of the pages are actually from a storyboard used during production)
In addition, there was an animators' size-comparison chart...
...and the issues's back cover was an illustration showing the characters'...backsides!
Two special treats for you...
First, the centerfold from this issue of Marvel Age by ever-amazing fan-turned-pro writer/artist Fred Hembeck about the fan anticipation for the pilot...

...and here's the pilot itself!
Note, it's from an EP (6-hour speed) VHS release.

(The slower the speed, the poorer the quality!
But a studio could fit more shows and/or movies on a single video cassette at a bargain price!)
Note: There is an SP (2 Hour Speed) VHS from New World Video...
...released to comics stores and Tower Video (remember them)?
All the others are EP (6 Hour Speed)!
Try to find this version in used video bins!
Don't Miss X-Men '97!
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(A trade paperback "photonovel" graphic novel taken from screengrabs of the "Pryde of the X-Men" pilot!)
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