Tuesday, October 12, 2021

Reading Room STRANGE WORLDS "Invasion from the Abyss!"

Since 1938, Halloween and alien invasions go hand-in-hand...
...even when the "aliens" are from inside the Earth, rather than outer space!
This story from Avon's Strange Worlds #3 (1951) was a "Fleagle Gang" production.
The "Fleagles" were a group of artists including Frank Frazetta, Al Williamson, Roy Krenkel, Wally Wood, Angelo Torres, and George Woodbridge who would help each other out on tight deadlines by doing a "jam" with individuals penciling and inking different pages and even different panels on a single page, producing some absolutely-amazing visuals!
Trivia: the group was named by EC Comics editor/writer/artist Harvey Kurtzman.

The idea of advanced beings living inside the Earth and invading/reconquering the surface was very popular in the early 1950s.
Richard Shaver and pulp magazine editor Ray A Palmer caused a media firestorm with series of stories presenting a theory that combined the "civilization inside the Earth" concept with another pop culture phenomenon...flying saucers!
Numerous readers wrote in, claiming that they had actually seen creatures and vehicles exactly as described in the stories!
The "Shaver Hoax" (as it came to be known) influenced 1950s sci-fi/fantasy ranging from the pilot episode of the TV's Adventures of Superman to movies like Brain Eaters.
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Science Fiction Comics

Monday, October 11, 2021

Monday Mars Madness WAR OF THE WORLDS "Part III: the Rout of Civilization"

When Last We Left our Protagonist...

...as this amazingly-kool Gil Kane/Dave Cockrum cover for the British edition shows, the Martians are here, and they're kicking Mankind's collective ass!
That's really all you need to know!
...we're safe for the moment...only...as we shall see>>>
NEXT MONDAY!
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(Including Leonard Nimoy, Brent Spiner, Gates McFadden, John DeLancie and other Star Trek castmembers!)

Sunday, October 10, 2021

It's HALLOWEEN...and You NEED a MASK!!!

 Whether you're answering the door to trick-or-treaters...

...or traveling about (for whatever reason)...
...you can look kreeply-kool in one of our exclusive PPE masks!
Each double-layer mask is reusable, washable, and built for comfort.
And, the one-size-fits-all mask features a pocket for optional filter use. 
PLUS: Each mask includes a free 2-pack of carbon filter inserts!
Whatta Deal!
Just Go HERE and see 15 exclusive designs!

Saturday, October 9, 2021

Space Force Saturdays SPACE BUSTERS "Death Rite of the Dwarfs"

In space no one can hear you die...
...as we present the third chapter of the Mars Campaign from Ziff-Davis' SpaceBusters #1 (1952)
This Bernie Krigstein-rendered story concludes the Space Busters tales from issue #1!
But we're not proceeding to #2 when we return to SpaceBusters after another two=part InterPlanetary Police tale!
There was a major artistic shift between issues, resulting in much of the already-completed work for #2 by Krigstein being "written-off" and later published by other companies who acquired the comic division's assets after Ziff-Davis dropped the line (except for G.I. Joe) in 1953!
The second issue contains an artistically-rebooted series with a new "look" created by illustrator, Murphy Anderson, fresh off a run on the Buck Rogers newspaper strip!
That's what you'll see in three weeks as we present those missing tales in the correct order (Space Busters #1.5, as it were!)
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Friday, October 8, 2021

Friday Fun CASPER THE FRIENDLY GHOST "Premiere"

Here's the first appearance of a comics legend (over 100 series with his name in the title)...
...who, at the time this came out, was already an animation mainstay!
Utilizing story elements from Casper's first cartoon (1945's Paramount NovelToon "The Friendly Ghost", written by Seymour Reit and Joe Oriolo) this opener written by Isadore Klien and likely illustrated by one of the cartoon series' animators appeared in St John's Casper the Friendly Ghost #1 (1949)
Interestingly, though Harvey Comics acquired the character rights from Paramount Pictures and continued the series after St John went out of business, they never reprinted the covers or stories of the five issues by St John!   
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Casper the Friendly Ghost