Saturday, November 9, 2013

Design of the Week Redux: Bah! Humbug!

Each week, we post a limited-edition design, to be sold for exactly 7 days, then replaced with another...except in cases like this where the response was so overwhelming that we've decided to extend the offer another week!
With Christmas approaching, let's celebrate with the most famous phrase of the man who personifies the XMas Spirit ... Ebenezer Scrooge is a kool retro Victorian-era font!
 Available in either white/silver on dark items or red/green on white or light-colored items.

Thursday, November 7, 2013

Reading Room: TALES OF THE UNEXPECTED "Magic Hammer"

One more pre-Marvel Thor-themed story by co-creator Jack Kirby!
Ironically, published in Tales of the Unexpected #16 (1957), a DC Comic!
AFAIK, Jack Kirby penciled and inked this particular story.
(Usually, he just penciled, since he was so freakin' FAST, doing 3-5 pages a day!)
The Thor in this tale is visually-similar to his villainous "Thor impostor" from The Sandman story in Adventure Comics #75
 The Mjolnir, however, is a dead ringer for the Marvel Comics' Thor's mallet...
BTW, there's a kool article in the Jack Kirby Collector about the various versions of Thor conceived by the King.
You can find it HERE!
If you want to see the original, non-Marvel Golden Age Thor, his complete adventures can be found in our brother blog, Hero & Heroine Histories™.
Thor: the Dark World opens tonite!
Don't miss it!

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

MIGHTY THOR by Jack Kirby & Friends

Inks by Chic Stone
To celebrate Thor: the Dark World starring Chris Hemsworth and (yum) Natalie Portman, opening Friday, here's a selection of pix by co-creator Jack (King) Kirby with various inkers...
Inks by Dick Ayers
Inks by George Roussos
Inks by Joe Sinnott
Inks by Joe Sinnott
Inks by Dick Ayers
Inks by Don Heck
Inks by Joe Sinnott
Inks by Joe Sinnott
Inks by Joe Sinnott

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

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.