Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Reading Room JET POWERS "Rain of Terror"

(No, True Believers, you didn't miss a post!
The previous part of the tale appeared in April.
Click HERE to read it.)
See, real Amerians can solve even the End of the World in only 8 pages!
This tale from Magazine Enterprises' Jet Powers #4 (1951) was one of two sequels to seperate cliffhangers featuring the hero in the previous issue.
It's unusual that a series would have two, unrelated, cliffhangers for one character in the same issue, but that's what writer Gardner Fox and artist Bob Powell did!
Considering the previous issues had inter-related stories in the same book, I wonder if this was a case of the first parts of a pair of two-part stories being completed, but the second parts weren't ready when the deadline crept up on them.
(In those days, comics had to come out on schedule since they were dependent on their status as periodicals to qualify for lower postage/shipping rates.)
Be here tomorrow when we present the other cliffhanger resolution!

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Best of Reading Room SPACEHAWK "Martian Election Mayhem"

If you think elections on Earth are hotly-contested...
...wait'll you see how things are handled on the red planet, Mars (which is now, strangely, colored green!)
This action-packed tale of electoral mayhem from Novelty's Target Comics #9 (1940) was written, illustrated, and lettered by the one-and-only Basil Wolverton.
The sheer unfettered imagination of the man was astounding, creating vistas and aliens far beyond anything the technology of moviemaking at the time (except for animation) could match.
With the current fascination for high adventure and fantasy, SpaceHawk would be an ideal project for either theatrical or direct-to-home video, and I'm surprised no one is doing it!

Monday, November 3, 2014

It's Almost Thanksgiving! Bring on the Turkeys!

This November, some of the RetroBlogs are presenting what could charitably be called...turkeys.
(Actually, this story may well qualify for one of the entries, but right now it's a kool graphic...)
We're talking the worst of the worst.
Stories and/or art that are so awful, so inane, they're not even shown on the 'Net, just talked-about in whispers!
In fact they're so bad they've never been reprinted, and probably never will be!
Confirmed so far are...
 The comic adaptation of the awful movie Conan the Destroyer in Secret Sanctum of Captain Video!
(We were gonna run the comic book adaptation of Howard the Duck, but even we have our limits!)
In Hero Histories you'll see the three-part tale that introduced the Blackhawks as super-heroes working for a spy organization!
BTW, they're from the same era as the Dracula and Frankenstein superhero incarnations we just ran!
And, Marvel's disco-themed follow-up to the success of Dazzler written by Stan (the Man) Lee himself...Night Cat, in Heroines!
Bring the sweet potatoes and biscuits 'cause, beginning this week, we have the turkeys!

Sunday, November 2, 2014

Flash Gordon: the Greatest Adventure of All...HQ!

For years, the only version of this available anywhere has been a poor dub from VHS...

Not anymore.
Here it is dubbed from a foreign laserdisc (remember those?), and in stereo!
Enjoy!

Saturday, November 1, 2014

Retro Christmas Kool is HERE!

With Halloween over and Thanksgiving right around the corner, it's time to reveal the coolest Christmas goodies ever, exclusively for your shopping pleasure!
(Don't ya just love soft-sell?)
Ornaments, clothing, mugs, shopping bags, magnets, and many other items with stylish retro graphics that will make great under-the-tree gifts or stocking stuffers!

Santa Claus--the Man Himself!
12 different 1960s Santa Claus designs (for the 12 days of Christmas!) that will bring back nostalgic memories of your Baby Boomer childhood!

Santa Claus Conquers the Martians!
He's the jolly ol' elf in a red suit.
They are big green men from Mars with an even bigger robot!
Who will win?
YOU, that's who, with these kool collectibles based on the weirdest Yuletide movie ever!
 
The Hardly-Abominable SnowMan!
 
Along with St. Nick, our frosty friend is one of the most recognizable symbols of Winter and the Christmas Season!
5 different Frosty designs!

PLUS: The saga of Scrooge!
"A Christmas Carol" brought alive with a dozen different images from, among others, the very FIRST edition EVER, the classic 1951 movie, and the famous Arthur Rackham edition!
Bah, Humbug!

Happy Holiday Shopping from Atomic Kommie Comics