Friday, February 24, 2017

Reading Room WORLDS UNKNOWN "Doorstep"

We've shown aliens who land on Earth who's the boss for centuries...
...but this is one time that may not have been the best approach!
Adapted from a short story by Keith Laumer, this tale from Marvel's Worlds Unknown #2 (1973) has a kool "Twilight Zone" twist ending, but couldn't have been adapted for the show due to the crudeness of tv special effects work at the time.
OTOH, writer Gerry Conway, penciler Gil Kane, and inker Tom Sutton had no such constraints, and they do EC Comics' writers and artists proud with a tale that would have fit right in with Weird Science, Weird Fantasy, or the merged Weird Science-Fantasy books!
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(featuring "Doorstep")

Thursday, February 23, 2017

Reading Room CALVIN "Deadman's Hill"

Winter's already becoming a fading memory....
...so let's have a winter-themed tale to remind us of what we missed this year!
Written and penciled by Kevin Banks and inked by "NT", this backup story from Marvel's Li'l Kids #12 (1973) ended a brief, 3-issue run of stories that seemed recycled from vaudeville routines and 1940s-50s animated cartoons.
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 the name of 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?
We may never know the answer...
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Wednesday, February 22, 2017

Trump Reading Room REAGAN'S RAIDERS "...Back to Zero!" Conclusion

...he and his cabinet were about to deliver a can of whup-ass to a group of terrorists!
You'll note a cameo by a certain eyepatch-wearing, cigar-smoking soldier usually seen in ripped shirts.
The never-reprinted Solson's Reagan's Raiders #1 (1986) was written by Monroe Arnold, and illustrated by Dick Ayers, Rich Buckler, and Jason Rodgers.
Monroe Arnold was a character actor with numerous tv/movie appearances in the 60s-80s.
His best-known genre role was in the unsold pilot for Dick Tracy (1967), produced by Batman's William Dozier.
BTW, the film Monroe was listed above as writing/directing, Diary of a Terrorist, was never completed.
He suffered a heart attack after shooting a proof-of-concept reel and was unable to continue the project.
Solson Publishing was run by Gary Brodsky, son of Marvel's first Production Manager and occasional inker Sol Brodsky.
One of the many companies created during the b/w comics craze of the 1980s, it was legendary for producing parody/swipes of more successful b/w books and somewhat tasteless books about how to draw women.
Reagan's Raiders was one of the few original titles in the lineup, and it lasted only three issues.
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Tuesday, February 21, 2017

Trump Reading Room REAGAN'S RAIDERS "...Back to Zero!" Part 1

Let's look in on a 31 year-old comic that, substituting today's senile old Republican for the 1980s model...
...could be published today!
Be here tomorrow as the mayhem from the never-reprinted Solson's Reagan's Raiders #1 (1986) ensues and we present background info on writer/co-creator Monroe Arnold and his unusual connection to comics, as well as this little-known comic company with an amazing pedigree!
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Monday, February 20, 2017

SPECIAL PRESIDENT'S DAY PRESENTATION "Shadow on the Land"

In 1968, the creator of I Dream of Jeannie predicted what may yet occur in 2017...
...with a tv-movie that aired on network only once, yet had an enormous impact on those who saw it!
In 2016, as in 1968...
We were engaged in an unpopular military action that spawned an ongoing protest movement!
Race relations were cratering!
The economy was doing well, but individuals thought, because they weren't personally doing well, the whole economy was collapsing!
The current President (a Democrat) was not on the ballot for the Presidental election!
With an less than popular Democratic candidate, a Republican who promised "law and order" and to "protect America from potential invaders" won the White House!
Check out the rest of the prophetic tale...HERE!