Captain Science has faced aliens (twice) and an undead Adolf Hitler.
So what's next?
Giant robots, of course!
To be specific, giant robots sent by the aliens he's beaten twice!
The writer is unknown.
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Reading Room: CAPTAIN SCIENCE "Metal Monsters"
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Steve Holland IS Steve Zodiac in STEVE ZODIAC & FIREBALL XL5
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| Art by George Wilson |
Due to the passing of sci-fi movie/tv creator Gerry Anderson, we've been running tributes to his shows on our "brother" blog Secret Sanctum of Captain Video™, including the never-reprinted one-shot Steve Zodiac and Fireball from Gold Key Comics (HERE and HERE).
When we posted the painted cover for SZ&F, the face of Steve Zodiac looked very familar to us.
It's Steve Holland, the manliest actor/model who ever lived!
Best known as the model for the iconic Doc Savage #1 paperback cover that redefined the "look" of the character from 1964 onward, Holland was also The Avenger, The Spider (both the masked Berkley Books and turtlenecked Pocket Books versions), James Bond (on Bantam Books' early 1970s reprints)
and as various characters (who aren't even in the movie) on movie posters including Danger: Diabolik and Wild, Wild Planet!
Plus. he was TV's Flash Gordon in the 1950s!
Now we can add the distinction of being the first person to appear as a live-action version of a Supermationation character to Holland's extensive resume!
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Reading Room: SPACE SQUADRON "Planet of Madness"
Let's blast-off for excitement (if not scientific accuracy) in the year 2000...
...which was actually thirteen years ago!
You can move the Sun away from Mercury?
(Wouldn't moving the tiny planet Mercury be easier than moving the Sun, the largest body in the Solar System?)
Mercurians have the element Mercury in their veins?
And they possess both a "good" head and a "bad" head?
(Why not just remove the "bad" head at birth?)
The writer and artist for this lead story from Atlas/Marvel's Space Squadron #3 (1951) are unknown, though in the scripter's case, it might be best to remain anonymous.
(Wouldn't moving the tiny planet Mercury be easier than moving the Sun, the largest body in the Solar System?)
Mercurians have the element Mercury in their veins?
And they possess both a "good" head and a "bad" head?
(Why not just remove the "bad" head at birth?)
The writer and artist for this lead story from Atlas/Marvel's Space Squadron #3 (1951) are unknown, though in the scripter's case, it might be best to remain anonymous.
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Monday, January 7, 2013
The Black Beetle is Not Just "Noir"...It's SUPER Noir!
It's not often you get to define (or redefine) an entire genre...
...but multi-award-winning artist Francesco Francavilla has done just that, with Dark Horse Comics christing his new pulp-style retro-hero series Black Beetle as "Super Noir"!
So, what are you waiting for?
Get out there, and buy it...NOW!
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Valentine's Day is Coming! Don't Wait Until the Last Minute!
They also tell intimate tales of heartbreak and true love, betrayal and redemption, and misery and sheer joy!
With than in mind, Valentine's Day is coming in just over a month!
And, what says "True Love" better than a kool, kitchy gift from TRUE LOVE COMICS TALES™? (Plus, it's both longer-lasting AND cheaper than a dozen roses!)
Choose from over 50 heart-rending designs in ten categories including...
(The ORIGINAL LonelyHearts Columnist)
(or is that "Love in School"?)
(A lost, never-reprinted series from the 1970s)
on greeting cards, teddy bears, calendars, shirts/tops/intimate wear, diaries, and many other kool kollectibles!A public service announcement for all lovers and would-be lovers from your BFFs at Atomic Kommie Comics™.
Saturday, January 5, 2013
Steve Ditko Cover FINALLY Published...51 Years Later!
Here's the unpublished version of Marvel's Amazing Fantasy #15 (1962)...
...the final issue of the title, and the introduction of some comic book character.
Now, here's an alternate cover of the current issue (#700) of Marvel's Amazing Spider-Man...
...and I have to ask, now that it's finally published, 51 years later, did Marvel ever pay Ditko for the cover art?
Friday, January 4, 2013
Reading Room: FANTASTIC WORLDS "Triumph Over Terror"
What if a science fiction writer was the hero of a sci-fi tale?
And, what if the science fiction writer was, initially, just as dumb as any other protagonist in such a tale?
This tale from Standard's Fantastic Worlds #5 (1952) was drawn by Alex Toth and John Celardo, though the writer is unknown.
BTW, though it's #5, this is actually the first issue of the title!
There was no #1-#4!
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Reading Room: LANCE LEWIS: SPACE DETECTIVE "Amoeba Men of Saturn"
Yet another Golden Age interstellar law enforcer joins our blog...
...as he meets the first of two alien races who will become his arch-foes, and rescues the woman who will become his constant...(ahem)...friend and companion!
Referred to as both "Saturnians" and "Amoeba Men", these aliens would return to wage a full-scale interplanetary war with Earth.
This story from Nedor/Standard's Mystery Comics #4 (1944) was Lance's second appearance ever.
Both the writer and artist are currently unknown, even to the Grand Comic Database.
Since Mystery Comics was cancelled as of #4, Lance moved over to Startling Comics, where he became the cover feature from his premiere in #44 to the book's demise as of #53.
Several years after this series ended, an unrelated Space Detective series with art by Wally Wood and Joe Orlando ran in its own title at Avon Comics.
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Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Reading Room: DAN HASTINGS "Radium Raiders from Earth's Core"
Originally a Flash Gordon clone, even using Alex Raymond art swipes....
...by the time the wandering strip took up residence in Scoop Comics, it had gotten away from interplanetary adventures to intraplanetary tales!
I suspect this tale from Dynamic's Scoop Comics #1 (1941) was meant to be an interplanetary adventure with several panels redrawn/relettered to make it a "civilization at the earth's center" story.
Both writer and artist(s) are unknown.
Originally proposed as a newspaper strip packaged by the Harry A Chesler Studio in 1937, Dan Hastings was reworked into comic book format when comics using new material instread of strip reprints took off in 1939!
The series went thru several different publishers, starting at Chesler/Dynamic, moving to Centaur, then MLJ (later Archie), finally back to Chesler/Dynamic, with minor modifications to cast and premise at each company.
This tale was the first of his final run at Chesler/Dynamic, where he faced more Earth-bound foes, including thinly-disguised Axis surrogates (with more advanced tech than the real-life Germany and Japan).
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Reading Room: JETTA OF THE 21st CENTURY "Pardon My Power!"
It's January 1st, 2013, so it's time for FOOTBALL!
...or football as shown in the "future" (our present), as presented in 1952!
Dan actually started at Atlas Comics (the 1940s-50s predecessor to Marvel Comics) doing a variety of humor strips before beginning a long-term run on various Archie titles in 1951.
Even then, he continued to work for a number of other publishers, including Standard Comics, who asked him to create, write, and illustrate a teen-humor series.
(Every publisher had at least one of them!)
Exactly whose idea it was to set it in the "far future" of the 21st Century is unknown, but the resultant strip, though extremely derivative of Archie, was unique in the teen-humor genre for it's Jetsons-style setting and "futuristic" slang.
To see more of Jetta go HERE!
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