Tuesday, June 22, 2021

Reading Room WORLD OF FANTASY "Xom! The Menace from Outer Space!"

Behind this kool, never-reprinted Jack Kirby/Christopher Rule cover...
...lurks an equally-cool (but visually-different) never-reprinted tale!
Plotted by Stan Lee, scripted by Larry Lieber, and penciled/inked by Joe Sinnott, this cover-featured tale from Atlas' World of Fantasy #18 (1959) was a combination of the "giant monster with weird name" and Twilight Zone "switch ending" tropes Lee was so fond of.
You'll note the "monster" is rendered pretty much the same on both the cover and insides, while the Earthmen and aliens are vastly-different!
I'm not certain which was done first, but the difference between the Flash Gordon/Buck Rogers-style renderings by Sinnott and the...well...Kirbyesque versions on the cover are striking!
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Monday, June 21, 2021

Monday Mars Madness MAN FROM S.R.A.M. "vs the Devil Man from S.U.N.E.V.!"

A couple of weeks ago we presented the Man from S.R.A.M. in his only published adventure!
...but there's one more tale to be told...that wasn't told!
Written by Otto Binder (with re-write by Editor Joe Simon?) and illustrated by George Tuska, this story produced for Harvey's never-published Jigsaw #3 features a different Martian form for the protaganist, as well as a different vehicle from the previous chapter!
At the same time, Tuska also drew all three issues of Harvey's SpyMan, another cross-genre (super hero/spy/sci-fi) series just before moving on to a long run as Marvel's primary Silver Age Iron Man artist after Gene Colan!
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Sunday, June 20, 2021

MORE Blogathon MADNESS!

You know about the comic-based novels we're presenting in our Summer Blogathon, but what about actual comics?
Don't worry.
We have that covered...starting with a never-reprinted, over 40-year old extra-long adventure of Marvel's Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu in...where else...
during the last week of July!
Then, get comfy with the latest in our annual gothic-themed Beach Reads in...
...during the first week of August!
Note: this 50-year old tale was reprinted a decade ago...but in black and white!
This is it's first appearance in full color since 1971!
Finally, to wind up the Blogathon in the last week of August, we present...
...the never-reprinted, serialized, Origin of The Shadow from the never-reprinted 1960s Radio/Archie comics in
Hero Histories
And here's the kicker...they're text features...from the comics!
Yep, we start the Blogathon with...

...this novel beginning (appropriately enough)  on July 4th, and running a chapter a day at...
Hero Histories
...then continuing with the earlier-mentioned kung-fu and romance entries at
Pop Art Martial Arts
and
True Love Comics Tales
The Caped Crusader appears the second week of August, also running a chapter a day at
Hero Histories!
And winding it all up will be the (text) Radio Comics adventures of He Who Knows What Evil Lurks in the Hearts of Men, also at
Hero Histories
...where you'll find several of his 1960s comic adventures already there and ready to read!

Saturday, June 19, 2021

Space Force Saturdays SPACE WORLDS "Temptress of Jupiter!"

There are secrets aplenty under the clouds of the Solar System's largest planet...

...but will Jet Dixon and his crew discover them?
In the 1950s we weren't certain of what lay under Jupiter's cloud cover, so sci-fi writers had total freedom to guess what was there.
Artist Allen Bellman and the unknown writer gave it their best shot in Atlas' Space Worlds #6 (1952).
(The Space Squadron comic was retitled for unknown reasons, though the features were the same as in previous issues!)
The rebranding didn't work since this would be the final issue, under any title, of the run!

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Friday, June 18, 2021

Friday Fun HOT DOG "Harry Hotdog in Alarm! Alarm!"

It's my birthday, so I thought I'd present a never-reprinted tale about a birthday present...

... from Magazine Enterprises' Hot Dog #1 (1954) which utilized then-state of the art tech!
I bet you thought Siri and Alexa were terrible as alarm clocks!
At least that's what i hear from those who utilize them as such!
Harry Hotdog was Magazine Enterprises' primary attempt at creating a funny animal series, running four issues.
It wasn't bad, by any means, but it wasn't really distinctive, either