Wednesday, December 28, 2022

EXCELSIOR!!! Happy 100th Birthday, Stan Lee!

Long before the "real" world accepted and respected nerds...

...Stan (the Man) Lee showed being a nerd was KOOL!
The co-creator (along with amazing illustrator/storytellers like Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, Don Heck, Gene Colan, John Buscema, John Romita Sr, Marie Severin, and many others) of the pop culture monolith we know as Marvel, the guy originally-named Stanley Martin Leiber re-defined the four-color comic industry during the 1960s not only as a scripter for most of the books, but as as the company's editor/art director, inserting his style/vision/viewpoint into every aspect of the comics!
Note: it was that sheer workload that forced him to switch from the usual format of "full script" provided to artists to the "Marvel Method" of a plotting session with the illustrators, who had enormous latitude in interpreting the flow of the tale...as long as it finished after 20 pages at the plot point the team discussed!
While most of you know him as the crotchety old guy who pops up briefly in movies and TV shows, I remember the vibrant, snarky, (but always fun) adult with the "big kid" persona of the Silver Age, as shown above from the inside cover to Marvel's Fantasy Masterpieces #1 (1967).
You can peruse our numerous entries featuring his work by clicking HERE.
There's a lot of them, but they're worth the effort!
BTW, Wednesday Worlds of Wonder will return next week with the finale of the current Atari Force story.
But we couldn't let this day pass without some celebration!
EXCELSIOR!!!

Tuesday, December 27, 2022

Robot Reading Room WORLD OF FANTASY "Iron Hulk!"

...who was so emotionally-attached to her, it sacrificed itself to save her!
But, that wasn't the first time that plot was used...
This never-reprinted tale from Atlas' World of Fantasy #19 (1959), scripted by either Stan Lee or Larry Lieber, is extremely similar to the previously-presented 1963 story, minus the "Christmas present" element and making the robot look like a life size toy soldier.
Note the lovely art by Joe Sinnott.
While most of you know Sinnott as one of the best inkers in the business, he was also a competent penciler as well.
Ironically, Joe didn't ink most of his own pencil work, since it was subcontracted by Vince Colletta's prolific studio for use by CharltonGold Key, and Dell and inked by Colletta himself!
You'll see another story with the same theme on Thursday.
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Monday, December 26, 2022

Sunday, December 25, 2022

CURIOUS CASE OF SANTA CLAUS

My all-time favorite Doctor Who is #3, played by Jon Pertwee...
Jon as The Doctor with Eizabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith, his final companion

...so when this documentary about Kris Kringle, packaged as a tale featuring Pertwee as a psychiatrist with a patient (James Coco) who thinks he's Santa Claus, ran on A&E in the late 1980s, I taped it and showed it every Christmas...until the tape jammed!
Now I (and you) can enjoy it once more... 
Merry Christmas!!!

Saturday, December 24, 2022

Space Celebration Saturday COMICO CHRISTMAS SPECIAL "Traditions Everlasting"

Beneath this never-reprinted Dave Stevens cover...
...lies the polar opposite of the cynical Christmas tale we told yesterday!
See?
There is hope for Christmas (if not humanity) after all!
Written by Doug Wheeler, illustrated by Steve Rude and Bret Blevins, this cover-featured tale from Comico Christmas Special #1 (1988) is this perfect closer to our little blogathon of Christmas-themed stories!
Now get out there, finish your last-minute shopping, and spend the evening with the family!
Space Hero/Heroine Saturdays will return after the New Year!