Monday, May 7, 2012

Reading Room: SPEED CARTER: SPACEMAN "Robots' Revenge"

The 1950s, when heroic astronauts fought for Truth, Justice, and the American Way...
 ..even in their pajamas, as seen in the final story from Speed Carter: SpaceMan #1 (1953)!
The Saturnian wore the Martian ambassador's skin?
Now that's gonna screw up diplomatic relations!
Written by Hank Chapman, illustrated by Joe Maneely!
Speed Carter and the Space Sentinels will return in the (dare I say?) near future!

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Sunday, May 6, 2012

Design of the Week--Sheldon & Leonard's Hero...CAPTAIN FUTURE!

Each week, we post a limited-edition design, to be sold for exactly 7 days, then replaced with another!
This week...
Your eyes do not deceive you!
It's the 1940s magazine artwork the kool poster adorning Sheldon and Leonard's apartment (in the tv series Big Bang Theory) is based on!
It was the premiere issue of a cult-favorite pulp magazine called Captain Future that ran thru the 1940s, was reprinted in paperback in the 1960s, became a fan-fave anime series in the 1980s, and has recently been revived in hardcover!
It's already part of our Captain Future collection featuring the many faces of the Captain Future character(s) in pulps and comics, but we felt it was time to spotlight this particular piece due to it's historical significance and the fan interest we've seen on the Net.Plus, it's now on a number of items not part of our main collection, and after next Sunday, they'll no longer be available!
So act now to get the Man of Tomorrow, created in the past, before he disappears next week! (Wha?)

Saturday, May 5, 2012

Free Comic Book Day 2012

VISIT YOUR LOCAL COMIC SHOP!
LOTSA FREEBIES!
MANY SHOPS HAVE SPECIAL EVENTS (COMIX CREATOR AUTOGRAPH SIGNINGS, CHARACTER APPEARANCES, CONTESTS)!
DID WE MENTION LOTS OF FREEBIES?

Friday, May 4, 2012

The Avengers are HERE!

Variant Mondo poster by Tyler Stout
So why are you sitting around reading this blog?
Get out there and see it!
I've seen it, and it's KOOL!
NOTE: Stay for the whole end-credits sequence!
There's two tag-scenes, one at the very end of the credits!
Mondo poster by Tyler Stout
And don't forget Free Comic Book Day tomorrow...

Thursday, May 3, 2012

YouTube Wednesday Reux: IRON MAN "Enter Hawkeye" (& Black Widow)

While everyone's familiar with Thor, Hulk, Iron Man, and Captain America, most don't know...
Hawkeye and the Black Widow!
Hawkeye the Marksman first appeared as a misunderstood hero in Iron Man's series in Tales of Suspense #57, where he met the already-ongoing villainess (yes, villainess) Black Widow!
That story and it's follow-ups in Tales of Suspense #60 & 61...
...were the basis for the cartoon from the Marvel SuperHeroes Show (1966) below!

The previous episode in the Iron Man series had introduced the Black Widow in a tale adapted from Tales of Suspense #46 (the first Crimson Dynamo story)...
  ...and Tales of Suspense #52 (the sequel which featured the Black Widow's first appearance)!
The episode features one of the characters actually dying on screen (A rarity in 60s cartoons)!

Enjoy!

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

YouTube Wednesday: THE AVENGERS "Molto and the Invasion of the Lava Men"

Adapted from Journey into Mystery #97..
 and Avengers #5 (1964), this combined tale was done as an episode of Mighty Thor! on the Marvel SuperHeroes Show (1966)!
Avengers-based stories were adapted into all the heroes' series except Sub-Mariner! (who was edited out of the animated versions of stories he did appear in, like "Return of Captain America", which adapted Avengers #4!)
Featuring Mighty Thor, Captain America, Iron Man, the Hulk, and Giant-Man & the Wasp (who I really wish were in the movie since Hank Pym is my favorite Marvel character...)
Both tales by Stan Lee & Jack Kirby.
(The animated version also uses some Don Heck and Joe Sinnott art to fill in continuity gaps.)

and go see the movie this weekend!

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Reading Room: SPEED CARTER: SPACEMAN "Slaughter on a Star"

The 1950s, when heroic astronauts fought for Truth, Justice, and the American Way...
...in outer space, as seen in the second (of three) tales from Speed Carter: SpaceMan #1 (1953)!
Y'know, this series has "video game" written all over it!
Written by Hank Chapman, illustrated by Joe Maneely, who managed to jam what, today, would be a multi-issue 100-page-plus series into only five pages...and make it work!

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Monday, April 30, 2012

Tribute to Jonathan Frid...the ORIGINAL Barnabas Collins!

Courtesy of the amazingly-talented Francesco Francavilla...
...a graphic tribute to the late Jonathan Frid, who embodied Dark Shadows' Barnabas Collins for two generations of fans, and who passed the torch to Johnny Depp in the new film opening next week.
Plus the cover for #11 of the new Dark Shadows comic book, also by Francesco...
Superb art, eh?

Sunday, April 29, 2012

Design of the Week--Captain Future Logo Redux

Each week, we post a limited-edition design, to be sold for exactly 7 days, then replaced with another!
In rare cases, like this, we keep it another week because sales are so good!
It's the logo of the hero of Big Bang Theory's Sheldon and Leonard, hanging in a place or honor by the front door of their apartment...
He's the Wizard of Science!
He's been the subject of pulp magazines, comic books, even an anime series!
He's Captain Future, and now you can wear him on shirts, bags, cellphone & e-reader cases, and other kool stuff!

Saturday, April 28, 2012

What's wrong with this cover?

Look closely...
Figure it out?
Clue: One of those Avengers (as shown) doesn't belong there...
Ready for the answer?
Iron Man!
"But..." you say, "Iron Man was one of the original Avengers!"
Quite correct!
But...the all-gold armor Iron Man never appeared with Captain America!
By Avengers #4, when Cap was defrosted, Iron Man was wearing his first red-and-gold armor...
...so this particular assemblage of Avengers, as shown, never occurred!
You could say the cover is "symbolic", but shouldn't "accurate" transcend "symbolic", especially when it's easy to do and would look equally-dramatic?
(The red-and-gold armor was less-bulky and looked kooler!)
Yeah, it's nit-picking, but I expect better from "professionals" who are paid to "get it right".
Hell, it's what I did when I was working full-time in the business...

Friday, April 27, 2012

Reading Room: SPEED CARTER: SPACEMAN "Famous Explorers: Venus"

One of the cool things about the Speed Carter comic was the creation of a "history"...
...of "early" space exploration like this tale set in the "distant past" of 2004!
Hank Chapman, who wrote the entire Speed Carter series, apparently wanted to emulate writers like E.E. "Doc" Smith and Issac Asimov in creating a cohesive universe with an established backstory.
OTOH, the concept of Venusians all being beautiful women was a cliche even then.
The art on this story from Speed Carter: SpaceMan #1 (1953) is by a young guy named John Romita, who had a real knack for drawing gorgeous females.
I wonder whatever became of him?  ;-)
One interesting note: the astronauts in this story, which takes place three generations in the "past" of Speed Carter, have different uniforms and lower-end technology than what's shown in the Speed Carter tales.

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Thursday, April 26, 2012

Reading Room: SPACE ACE "Death in Deep Space"

The final chapter in the short, but exciting, life of Space Ace 2.5!
Art by Al Williamson, the Fleagle Gang, and a special guest-star!
Can you guess who?
Only 50,000 credits?
Last time it was 1,000,000,000.
Space Ace must be slipping!
A hearty Atomic Kommie Comics™ "well done" to all those who spotted the legendary Wally Wood's distinctive style in a number of panels of this tale from Jet #4 (1951)!
It's a spectacular send-off for the character, written by Gardner Fox, penciled by Al Williamson and inked by Williamson, the Fleagle Gang, and Wally Wood.
Space Ace would reappear in a one-shot that reprinted the first Space Ace's tales from Manhunt in 1954.
The two Lawrence Woromay-illustrated tales were reprinted when Super/IW Comics reprinted the complete contents of Jet #1 & #2 in Jet Power #1 & #2 in 1958.
This story has been reprinted in several fanzines and prozines, but never in color.
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Wednesday, April 25, 2012

YouTube Wednesday AVENGERS...1966!

With the new movie opening next week, let's look at some early adventures based on the comics and featuring stats of the original art with limited animation...
They didn't adapt Avengers #1 into animated form, but several other Avengers stories became Captain America, Thor, Hulk, and Iron Man tales.
Today, we're going to present a story starring Captain America where a group of Avengers plays a critical part...



Oddly, Goliath is called Giant-Man! (Yes, it's the same guy, Hank Pym, in the costume, but in the comic, he's called "Goliath" in this blue/yellow costume, not "Giant-Man" as when wearing the earlier red/blue garb.)
And it's almost all Jack (King) Kirby art!

Bonus: The origin of Hawkeye (with the Black Widow) from the Iron Man series...

Art by Dashing Don Heck with a little Gene Colan and Jack Kirby thrown in!

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Reading Room: SPACE ACE "Nothing Weapon"

Buckle up for EXCITEMENT in the far-flung reaches of space, gang...
...the second Space Ace is back, and he's looking good!
Al Williamson assumes the penciling duties, showing off his superb design and anatomy skills.
The inking is by Williamson plus the legendary Fleagle Gang (Frank Frazetta, Angelo Torres, Roy Krenkel, George Woodbridge).
If that weren't enough, the script is by Gardner Fox, taking the concepts of "Space Ace 2.0" and making them a superb example of classic space opera.
It's hard to believe this story from Jet #3 (1951) hasn't been reprinted in one of the numerous compilations of Golden Age material that have popped up in the past few years.

BONUS: the original art for page one...
Is that magnificent, or what? ;-)
Thursday, the (choke) final Space Ace tale.

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