Sunday, July 2, 2023

The RetroBlog Summer Blogathon Begins with Tales of TWO Shadows!

When You Think of The Shadow...

...this is how you envision him, right?

Well, in the 1960s, Jerry (Superman) Siegel re-envisioned him for Archie Comics!
Oddly enough, this was a year before the campy Batman TV series debuted, so it wasn't done in response to the ensuing "Bat-Mania", as many today believe!
And, for heavens sake, who came up with the blue/purple and green color scheme?
Note: the first two issues of the comic...
...written by Robert Bernstein and illustrated by John Rosenberger, hewed much closer to the then-new Shadow paperback novels put out by Belmont Books which the guys who owned Archie Comics also owned (talk about "corporate synergy")...
...and put him squarely in the world of secret agents/spies popularized by James Bond books and movies!
But the book took an abrupt turnabout with the third issue, as Jerry Siegel and artist Paul Reinman took over the title for the remainder of the run!
Note: Siegel and Reinman also assumed creative duties on the entire Archie superhero line which included Adventures of the Fly/Fly-Man/Mighty Comics and Mighty Crusaders!
Join us tomorrow at...

...as we begin our weekly re-presentation of these never-reprinted comic (and comical) curiosities!
But wait!
There's more!
Each week, the day after the conclusion of the 1960s Shadow story, go to...
Crime and Punishment
...to see never-reprinted tales from The Shadow's 1970s DC run!
Compare and contrast, True Believer!

Saturday, July 1, 2023

Space Hero Saturdays CAPTAIN VIDEO "Dark Side of the Moon" Part 1

Captain Aero and Captain Midnight were not the only "captains" to journey into outer space!

Ed Norton's idol, TV's first Space Hero, takes on evil wherever it threatens Mankind, even the Moon!
From Fawcett's Captain Video #5 (1951)...

To Be Concluded...
NEXT SATURDAY!

Pencils by George Evans, inks by Martin Thall!
Sadly, the writer is unknown!
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Friday, June 30, 2023

Friday Fun YAK YAK "Hysterical Historical Quizzical Quiz"

Since it's the 4th of July weekend...
...we thought we'd go with a post with a historical theme and let writer/artist Jack Davis test your knowledge with this (astonishingly) never-reprinted feature from the first appearance of Yak Yak in Dell's Four Color Comics #1186 (1961)!
So, how did you do?

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Thursday, June 29, 2023

Reading Room TIME WARP "Survivors"

Even in the future, there's one inviolable rule about volunteering...
...never, ever, do it!
I love switch-endings.
Writer Mike W Barr and illustrator Tom Sutton do a bang-up job worthy of the classic EC comics Weird Science and Weird Fantasy!
The late Tom Sutton was both extremely versatile and extremely under-rated!
He did everything from humor (Not Brand Echh!) to media tie-in sci-fi (Star TrekPlanet of the Apes) to romance (Haunted Love), to horror (Werewolf by Night) and did them all well.
There's a wonderful interview with him HERE that gives real insight into him and why he, sadly, never became a superstar.
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Wednesday, June 28, 2023

Wednesday Worlds of Wonder SILVER SURFER: THE ULTIMATE COSMIC EXPERIENCE Part 5

(Yes, this is the Jack Kirby/Mike Royer original for the unused cover for the graphic novel.
It served as the basis for Earl Norem's painted version that appeared on both the hardcover and paperback editions from Simon & Schuster.)
While Galactus prepares to devour the Earth, the Silver Surfer attempts to prove to Ardina that the planet and its' people are worth defending from the Devourer of Planets...
What next?
Does the Surfer survive?
Where's Ardina?
And what of the ever-hungry Galactus?
Dare you miss the next, exciting chapter?
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