Saturday, November 30, 2024

Best of Space Heroine Saturdays AURORA OF JUPITER "Man Who Wanted a World!"

The Dreaded Deadline Doom Caught Us on Black Friday and Small Business Saturday...
...so we decided to re-present our first Space Heroine's one and (sadly) only appearance in the back of the obscure PL Publishing one-shot Captain Rocket Comics #1 (1951)!
Ironically, future sci-fi/fantasy novelist Harry (Stainless Steel Rat) Harrison both scripted and rendered this tale, which might have inspired later characters such as Barbarella!
The art combines several different styles on different pages so it could've been a rush job with a group effort to meet the deadline, which matches Harrison's recollections that he had some assistance on a couple of stories.
PL Publishing was an American publisher who printed and distributed their books in Canada.
As a result, very few copies of any of their eight short-lived titles ever reached fans in the US!
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Friday, November 29, 2024

Friday Holiday Fun SANTA CLAUS CONQUERS THE MARTIANS Part 2

Actually, the robot doesn't speak in the movie!
In a desperate attempt to stimulate their lethargic and unmotivated children, the Martians decide to create a Christmas celebration on Mars.
But, the idea lacks one vital element...the real Santa Claus!
The Martian leader, Kimar, leads an expedition to Earth, where they find a pair of children who direct them to Santa's workshop at the North Pole.
The aliens and their robot invade the workshop, stun the elves and Mrs Claus, and depart, taking both Santa and the children with them...
Will Voldar realize his mistake?
And if so, will Droppo survive?
Will Santa get back to Earth in time for Christmas?
Be here next Friday for the answers to these and other questions in the thrilling conclusion!

Thursday, November 28, 2024

Holiday Reading Room EVERY DAY IS A HOLLY DAY "Thanksgiving Day" & HUMBUG "Like How to Carve Turkey"

A look at Thanksgiving...including before it was Thanksgiving!
Note there is a historically-inaccurate aspect below...
Interestingly, this page from Brevity Inc's one-shot giveaway Every Day is a Holly Day (1956) plays up the fallacy that turkeys were served at the first Thanksgiving, when the primary dish was eel!
In fact, Benjamin Franklin wanted the wild turkey to be America's official bird and you don't eat your official bird!
Why is this comic entitled "Every Day is a Holly Day" instead of "Every Day is a Holiday"?
Because it was given away to kids by grocers who sold Holly Sugar!
Illustrated by John Rosenberger, it's a unique pamphlet covering a number of American holidays, including both Lincoln and Washington's Birthdays (before they were combined into "Presidents' Day"), Mothers' Day (though not Fathers' Day), Flag Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and a couple of holidays we've largely abandoned...Pan-American Day and American Indian Day!
Now, let's switch from reverence to sarcasm, with a never-reprinted one-pager by Arnold Roth from Humbug Publications' Humbug #5 (1957) covering a major culinary conundrum...
Happy Thanksgiving!

Wednesday, November 27, 2024

Wednesday Worlds of Wonder WOLFRAM "Finale"

...though perhaps, not for long!
Now, does everything you've read for the last month make sense?
If not, well, that's why we call this weekly feature
Wednesday Worlds of Wonder!

Tuesday, November 26, 2024

Holiday Reading Room SANTA CLAUS PARADE "How the Reindeer Came to Fly"

Did You Ever Wonder About Santa's Flying Reindeer?
After all, reindeer don't usually do that sort of thing!
This never-reprinted tale has the answer...
Illustrated by George Peltz and scripted by a writer whose identity is lost to the mists of time, this story from Ziff-Davis' one-shot Santa Claus Parade (1951) provides an answer to a question that many kids perplexed their parents with!
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