Christopher Lee 1922-2015

Yeah, he was Dracula, Count Dooko, Saruman, Fu Manchu, Scaramanga, and a host of other villains...

But there were things about this amazing man you probably didn't know!
Bet you didn't remember he hosted Saturday Night Live (March 25, 1978)?
"Dr Jeckyl and MisterRogers" is a must-see!

Or that the British version of This is Your Life paid him homage with a slew of big name guests (including Charltton Heston, Oliver Reed, and Patrick MacNee) in April 1974?

Or that the guys behind Rocky Horror Picture Show tailored a pair of songs for him in the superhero parody Return of Captain Invincible!

Or that one of his two favorite roles was Lord Summerisle in The Wicker Man?

An astounding, talented man, he'll be missed.

Reading Room: AMAZING MYSTERY FUNNIES "2038 AD: An Excursion to Mars"

In just a few years, we'll be spending our vacations on Mars, but getting there will seem awfully familiar...

...at least they thought so in 1938, when this feature appeared in Centaur's Amazing Mystery Funnies V1N2!

Writer/illustrator A S Van Eerde also did covers and interiors for magazines like American Legion, as well as fine art, but his comic book work was limited to this short-lived strip that ran only four installments.

Reading Room: BROTHERS 3 "Battle of Ahmid Bey"

Why should we send thousands of troops to Iraq (again)...

...when all we needed in 1937-38 was three guys (one of whom wasn't an American) to hold off an entire Arab army?

According to Fatts Dugan, it wasnt even a "real fight"!

Y'know, come to think of it, where's the French Foreign Legion these days?

They used to be the world's premier desert fighters!

One of comics legend Will Eisner's earliest solo efforts, this one-shot was probably intended as an ongoing strip, but reader response was probably minimal as it wasn't colorful or exciting enough compared to the interplanetary adventures and fantasy tales in the same issue, so it wasn't continued.

BTW, though it was a one-shot, the story was published three times!

1) Comics Magazine Company's Funny Picture Stories V1N04 (1937)

2) Centaur's Amazing Mystery Funnies V1N02 (1938)

3) Able Manufacturing's Super-Dooper Comics #4 (1946)

Reading Room KIDNAPPED BY A SPACE SHIP "Part 1 - Off to the Stars!"

In pop culture, lots of kids besides comics' Buzzy Bean went into space...

...as early as 1970, according to this tale from Treasure Chest V14N11 (1959)

Oops!

We'll find out how this liftoff happened when the story continues next Monday!

Writer Frances Crandall followed the accepted concepts of space travel postulated by scientist Wener Von Braun and, illustrated by Chesley Bonestell in various books and magazines like Conquest of Space, and popularized in numerous 1950s movies like Destination Moon and Angry Red Planet!

Artist Fran Matera was also the art director/art editor for Treasure Chest, but is best known for his long run on the Steve Roper and Mike Nomad newspaper strip.

Design of the Week: Love on the Beach!

Each week, we post a limited-edition design, to be sold for exactly 7 days, then replaced with another.

This week, it's romance on the sands and under the Moon in this vintage 1970s romance comic book cover by Nick Cardy.
Available on all sorts of kool kollectibles from t-shirts and pajamas to mugs and beach blankets HERE.