Reading Room SILVER SURFER: THE ULTIMATE COSMIC EXPERIENCE Part 6

We Have Already Seen...

...actually, we haven't seen this, since it's an unused pencil page by Jack (King) Kirby from the sequence you're about to read.

Galactus' creation, Ardina, attempts to sway the Silver Surfer from defending Earth (and humanity) against the Planet Devourer.

But, if anything, she strengthens his resolve and he attempts to break through the barrier Galactus has placed around Earth to once more do battle with the towering alien!

However, the force field is too strong, and the Skyrider of the Spaceways plummets, drained, back to the planet's surface...

Who has saved the Surfer...and why?

Find out next Monday as we present the thrilling conclusion!

Valentine's Day Comic Book Cover Greeting Cards

For our final Valentine's Day-themed post for 2016, here's a link to a one-stop storefront for all your retro comic book cover greeting card needs!
The interiors are blank for you to add your own thoughts, inspired by the covers.

Yes, this art's by Marvel legend John Buscema!

Show the lady you love that she's your HEROINE on Valentine's Day!

If you'd like to show your woman that you appreciate her strength as well as her beauty, why not give her a Valentine's Day gift that symbolizes exactly that?

We offer dozens of designs showing powerful women doing what they do best!

Whether it's '70s psychedelic or '40s retro, we have a heroine to suit your needs!

There's a kool variety of products ranging from his-and-her garb to mugs and mousepads to messenger and tote bags to blank sketchbooks!

Check out Heroines™!

Your lady (and you) will be glad you did!

RAUMPATROUILLE "Die Raumfalle" (Space Trap)

Welcome to the penultimate episode of 1960s' Germany's counterpoint to Star Trek...

...as the crew of the Orion is assigned to attempt to prove the theory that life on Earth originated in outer space.

Sounds sedate, eh?

Mix in a passenger who happens to be a science-fiction writer seeking inspiration for his next novel, a stopover at a penal colony, plus a mad scientist who tries to hijack the ship, and you get a space opera episode jam-packed with thrills!

Note: We've tried to embed the English subtitles, but if they don't come up automatically, go to the "gear" icon on the lower right of the video screen, and set them manually.)

Reading Room CALVIN "Root Beer"

Luke Cage was the first Black character to get his own series at Marvel.

Who was the second?

I bet you'll say Black Panther (in Jungle Action)!

But, you'd be wrong.

It was...

Several months before Prince T'Challa took over a reprint book and began a memorable series that's still being talked-about today, this kid took over a reprint book and began a series that nobody remembers!

Written and penciled by Kevin Banks and inked by "NT", this never-reprinted tale from Marvel's Li'l Kids #10 (1972) began a brief, 3-issue run of one-page gags and 3-5 page stories that seemed recycled from vaudeville routines and 1940s-50s comic strips.
What makes the strip somewhat more fascinating is the identity of the little-known writer-artist behind it.
"Kevin Banks" was not a pseudonym, but a staffer at Marvel in the early 1970s!
Even the ever-amazing comics researcher Nick Caputo could find little about the mysterious Mr Banks, as seen HERE.
What Banks did after working at Marvel is unknown.
Did he work in advertising?
Become an art instructor?
Switch careers and become an accountant or fireman?