Is a "sea monster" a mindless animal...or something more?
That's what this story from Atlas' World of Suspense #7, 1957 asks...
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Tuesday, January 9, 2024
Reading Room WORLD OF SUSPENSE "When the Creature Escapes"
Monday, January 8, 2024
Monday Madness TOPS "Anthony Comstock: Fanatical Reformer"
Is it any wonder Republicans are using the work of a puritanical, conservative con-man from the 19th Century...
...to promote and serve their anti-abortion agenda in the 21st Century?
Both Federal and local Republican politicians are currently attempting to use the ancient Comstock Act's19th Century definitions of "obscene material" (which includes birth control printed information and drugs) to prevent them from being provided to pregnant women in 2024!
Written by George Hansen and illustrated by Lee Ames, this feature from Lev Gleason's TOPS #2 (1949) presents itself as a "review" of a biography of Comstock, Anthony Comstock: Roundsman of the Lord (1927)..which praised the man!
However, where the book put Comstock on a pedestal, the comic strip savaged him, taking the material from the tome and presenting it in a historical context.
BTW, you'll note the art here is larger than we usually present.
That's because the periodical it was presented in was tabloid-sized, like Marvel and DC Treasury Editions of the 1970s and 80s and the lettering would be unreadable in our usual 525-pixel wide format.
Editor Charles Biro conceived and produced the mag as an attempt to do an "adult oriented" magazine using the comic book format.
Sadly, it only lasted two issues and either issue is incredibly hard to find!
Happily, Fantagraphics worked with noted writer/artist/historian Michael T Gilbert to produce a superb book reprinting those two issues with an astounding amount of historical material about the periodical...
BTW, you'll note the art here is larger than we usually present.
That's because the periodical it was presented in was tabloid-sized, like Marvel and DC Treasury Editions of the 1970s and 80s and the lettering would be unreadable in our usual 525-pixel wide format.
Editor Charles Biro conceived and produced the mag as an attempt to do an "adult oriented" magazine using the comic book format.
Sadly, it only lasted two issues and either issue is incredibly hard to find!
Happily, Fantagraphics worked with noted writer/artist/historian Michael T Gilbert to produce a superb book reprinting those two issues with an astounding amount of historical material about the periodical...
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Sunday, January 7, 2024
Design of the Week MOD LOVE
Each week, we post a limited-edition design, to be sold for exactly 7 days, then replaced with another!
This week, kool, retro Swinging Sixties-style pop-art comic art on a line of collectible goodies (including this mug) which would be perfect as small Valentine's Day presents for your pop-culture-obsessed Significant Other!
BTW, our "sister" RetroBlog, True Love Comics Tales, has run almost all the stories from this incredibly HTF book, as shown HERE!
BTW, our "sister" RetroBlog, True Love Comics Tales, has run almost all the stories from this incredibly HTF book, as shown HERE!
Order now, because the Day for Lovers is only a month away!
And you don't want to be caught empty-handed!
Saturday, January 6, 2024
Space Hero Saturdays CAPTAIN MIDNIGHT "Asteroid Battle!"
You thought we'd heard the last of evil Jagga the Space Raider?
Really?
Not only is he back, but displaying his chameleon-like ability to change color between the cover and the first page of his new battle with Our Hero...the "Monarch of the Airways" himself...Captain Midnight!
BTW, Jagga doesn't have chameleon-like abilities, though they'd probably come in handy.
The comic's editor didn't coordinate between the cover and interior colorists!
Not surprising, since the cover (by Charley Tomsey) and interior (by Leonard Frank) were likely prepped a couple of months apart.
And note that when the story and cover were reprinted in Australia...
...the Aussie editor had Jabba's coloring (somewhat) corrected!
Now, on with today's adventure...
Artist Leonard Frank and a presently-unknown writer continue the battle with Jagga in this tale from Fawcett's Captain Midnight #54 (1947).
And, yes, he'll be back...though what color he'll be, you'll have to wait and see!
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Friday, January 5, 2024
Friday Fun HOMER THE HAPPY GHOST "Meet the Neighbors!"
What if Stan (the Man) Lee had written Casper the Friendly Ghost?
Well, he did!
Sort of...
Due to the success of Casper in both animation and comic books in the early 1950s, numerous companies jumped on the friendly phantom bandwagon with clones barely different enough to avoid copyright and trademark infringement lawsuits!
Writer/editor Stan Lee and artist Dan de Carlo presented Atlas Comics' take with this never-reprinted 1955 premiere tale which combines Lee's snarky Catskill vaudeville humor with de Carlo's polished animation-style artwork!
Homer the Happy Ghost ran until 1958 (22 issues, plus a 2-issue spinoff, Adventures of Homer Ghost)!
In 1968, Atlas' successor Marvel (you might have heard of them) signed a new distribution deal freeing them from the sixteen-title per month limit they had during most of the Silver Age under the previous contract.
Lee brought back Homer in reprint form, hoping to run new material if the book sold well.
Whether it was due to poor sales or Harvey Comics (which was at its' peak with over two-dozen Casper titles) finally laying the copyright/trademark law down, this incarnation only lasted four issues without ever getting to run new stories!
Homer hasn't been seen since!
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Casper the Friendly Ghost
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