Wednesday, August 9, 2017

Reading Room FLASH GORDON "and the Space Pirates" Part 2

...wow, the opening caption covered the plotline perfectly!
You'll note Flash is wearing a more ornate outfit while Patch's clothes are the same, but mis-colored (as is her hair, which was silver/white in the previous chapter)!
Illustrated by Gil Kane, replacing Wally Wood.
The writer is unknown.
Though Flash had his own comic at this time, this three-parter appeared in the back of The Phantom's title from the same publisher, King Comics.
(All the King Comics books did this, presumably to expose their target audience to other titles they might not otherwise read.)
The particular tale appeared in the back of The Phantom #19 (1966).

Tuesday, August 8, 2017

Reading Room FLASH GORDON "and the Space Pirates" Part 1

Ya want space opera?
Now here's SPACE OPERA!
...starring the one-and-only Flash Gordon as rendered by EC Comics legend Wally Wood!
Illustrated by Wally Wood and his studio.
Wood (and writer Harvey Kurtzman) had previously-done the hysterical MAD parody "Flesh Garden" (which you can read HERE), but this is his only "official" Flash Gordon work.
The writer is unknown.
Though Flash had his own comic at this time, this three-parter appeared in the back of The Phantom's title from the same publisher, King Comics.
The particular tale appeared in the back of The Phantom #18 (1966), which was actually the first issue of the series from King Comics.
(They just continued the numbering from the previous publisher, Gold Key!)

Monday, August 7, 2017

Reading Room STRANGE TALES OF THE UNUSUAL "Gift"

Do we really appreciate things given to us freely?
Or do we always think there's an ulterior motive behind them?
Illustrated by Bob Powell, this never-reprinted tale from Atlas' Strange Tales of the Unusual #1 (1955) suggests Mankind should be a bit more trusting and less paranoid.
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Sunday, August 6, 2017

Saturday, August 5, 2017

Man of Animated Celluloid Steel!

In 1941, Max and Dave Fleischer, the animators who had previously brought Popeye and Betty Boop to the silver screen, presented Superman's first movie appearance in full-color cartoon shorts.
Meticulously-following co-creator Joe Shuster's character designs, the cartoons also contributed several elements to the Superman mythos including; changing clothes in a phone booth, Superman actually flying (Up to this point, he had leaped from point to point) and the catch phrase "Faster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound!"
Voices were provided by the dramatic radio Superman / Clark Kent (Bud Collier) and Lois Lane (Joan Alexander) who would also reprise the roles in the first tv Superman cartoons in 1966!
Trivia: Though nominated for several Oscars, the Superman shorts lost each time!
We're proud to present one of the koolest of the original 1940s advertising posters for the cartoon series, digitally-restored and remastered, both as a limited-edition print and as a collectible t-shirt!
The bold graphic, though deceptively-simple, leaps off the page at you with it's power!
It's also the only Fleischer Superman poster we've seen that commissioned new art, rather than use existing comic book or animation art!
And best of all, it's in Swedish!
Perfect as a gift for an animation aficionado or Superman fan (or someone who's both)!