Wednesday, November 22, 2023

Wednesday Worlds of Wonder AGAR-AGAR "Even Heroes Get Tired!"

...oh, c'mon!
You really think there's a coherent narrative link in this strip?
So that's why Clark and Lois never...you know...until recently!
This story from New England Library's Dracula #7 (1971) was written by Luis Gasca under the pen-name Sadko  and illustrated in a Peter Max-esque style by Alberto Solsona.
It's the first of four tales unseen by American audiences, since Warren Magazines reprinted only the first six issues of Dracula in their 1972 trade paperback.
But you'll see the other three on the next few Wednesdays!
It'll be a groovy trip, baby!

Tuesday, November 21, 2023

Reading Room UNLIKELY TALES "Time Machine"

When two Steves...a long-established pro and eager young up-and-comer...collaborate...
...you get this time-travel tale, set only 14 years from now, with a novel twist!
It's amazing what the comics creators of 1967 thought 70 years later would look like!
Considering that we Baby Boomers thought by 2000 we'd have bases on the Moon and flying cars, it's not unreasonable...
Written by up-and-comer Steve Skeates and illustrated by Spider-Man and Dr Strange co-creator Steve Ditko, this never-reprinted story from the Unlikely Tales anthology collection in Charlton Premiere #4 (1968) offers a surprise twist on the usual "time-traveler from the future may change history" concept.
Trivia:
Skeates wrote all the stories in this issue, a rarity for someone just starting out in the industry.
All the stories were both penciled and inked by their respective artists, also a rarity in a business where, in order to meet deadlines, creators usually either penciled or inked, but not both.
The artists in this issue included Ditko, as well as Pat Boyette, Jim Aparo, and Charlton mainstay Rocke Mastroserio.
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Monday, November 20, 2023

Monday Madness FLASH GORDON COMICS "The World You WILL Live In" #1

In 1950, what amazing advances did we think the 21st Century would bring?
As shown in this uncredited (and never-reprinted) feature from Harvey's Flash Gordon #1 (1950), all five predictions have, in fact, come to pass...albeit in modified form.
This was one of three different new one-page features that appeared in all four issues of the series which reprinted the Flash Gordon Sunday newspaper strip by Alex Raymond, reformatted for the comic book page, and new covers (not by Alex Raymond).
The others were "Stories Behind the Stars" (about the myths behind constellation names) and "know Your Planets" (about the other worlds in the solar system).

Sunday, November 19, 2023

Prepare for the RetroBlog Thanksgiving Turkey!

Due to time constraints...
...this year's Thanksgiving Turkey is going to be a little smaller, but no less tasty!
And this year, it'll be served at
Pop Art Martial Arts!
Behold!
The Coming of...

Proof positive that even the greatest comic creators can have an "off" day!

Saturday, November 18, 2023

Space Hero Saturdays AMAZING ADVENTURES OF BUSTER CRABBE "Thing From Out of Space"

This cover from Lev Gleason's Amazing Adventures of Buster Crabbe #4 (1954)...
...promises Flash Gordon-type adventure, complete with a Ming the Merciless surrogate!
But the interplanetary tale under the cover is quite different!

Each issue of Amazing Adventures of Buster Crabbe promoted tales in the three genres actor Buster Crabbe was best-known for...sci-fi, jungle adventure, and Westerns!
Usually, the cover art matched the characters and/or plot of one of the features!
But in this case, the cover had nothing to do with the interior story!
Was it meant for the next issue, and a story not yet created?
Did it replace a cover about this issue's Western or jungle adventures that missed the deadline, and since this was the last issue of the comic, did the editor say "why waste what I already paid for? It won't make any difference!"
The answers are lost to the mists of time...