Monday, November 4, 2024

Russkie-Smashers CRUSADER FROM MARS "Death in the Soil"

Lars of Mars wasn't the only Jerry Siegel co-created character to battle Russkies!
..There was also this guy, who was the Red Planet's only felon in half a century!
Illustrated by Henry Sharp, and written by editor Jerry (Superman) Siegel, the second story from Ziff-Davis' Crusader from Mars #1 (1952) continues the theme that the major example of "Evil on Earth" Tarka and Zira must battle is Communism!
BTW, isn't it a shame there was never a Lars/Crusader crossover?
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Wednesday, October 30, 2024

Commie-Clobbering Kaiju TALES OF SUSPENSE "Power of the Colossus!"

When Last We Left Commie-Crushing Kaiju Colossus...

...the Russkies, unable to stop the rampaging kaiju through "normal"military means, decide to use a nuclear bomb...
Judging by the closing caption, this story from Atlas' Tales of Suspense #14 (1961) was apparently meant for Journey into Mystery!
At any rate, it received enough reader response that a sequel appeared in Atlas' Tales of Suspense #20 (1961)...
...though it only involved Commies at the beginning, when they shipped the statue off to America for an international exposition, not realizing the aliens who animated it would return, only to be beaten by good ol' Yankee ingenuity!
BTW, please don't think that Colossus didn't have the cover to himself, but the splash pages were so kool that we didn't want to use them as the post headers as we usually do in multi-part presentations...
Here's Tales of Suspense #14 (note they mis-colored him orange on the cover)...
...and here's the cover (by Herb [Incredible Hulk] Trimpe) from his reprinting in Marvel's Monsters on the Prowl #17 (1972)!
A year later, the character, whose reprints had sold better than other issues of MotP, was given a brand-new ongoing series, continuing the storyline from the end of the second appearance!
Since no Communists were involved in any of those tales, we're nor presenting them here!
But, there's one thing we'd like to mention...

Fellow Commie-Clobbering Kaiju Fin Fang Foom made his first new appearance since his original Strange Tales story (which we showed HERE and HERE) over a decade earlier, in the final two issues of Colossus' series!
(Can you tell it was during the Kung-Fu craze of the early 1970s?)
Next Week, We Return to Our Usual Russkie-Smashing Fun!

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Tuesday, October 29, 2024

Commie-Clobbering Kaiju TALES OF SUSPENSE "The Colossus Lives!"

It's a story as old as time.
Sculptor is ordered by evil rulers to create tribute to their "greatness".
Flying saucer crashes nearby.
Alien pilot, seeking shelter until rescue, enters statue to protect itself.
Evil rulers' troops arrive.
Alien, believing they are after him/her/it, lashes out!
As they used to say in TV Guide, "hilarity ensues!"

Things get even wilder when this tale concludes...
TOMORROW!

Plotted by editor Stan Lee, scripted by Larry Lieber, penciled by Jack Kirby, and inked by Dick Ayers, this cover-featured story from Atlas' Tales of Suspense #14 (1961) is prime "giant monster" material...except for a really kool, alliterative name like, say, Fin Fang Foom!
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Monday, October 28, 2024

Commie-Clobbering Kaiju TALES OF SUSPENSE "I Created the Colossus!"

For Our Final Commie-Clobbering Kaiju...
...we return to Marvel's predecessor, Atlas Comics, where kaiju (although we didn't call them that back then) rule!
The monstrous mayhem continues...
TOMORROW!
Plotted by editor Stan Lee, scripted by Larry Lieber, penciled by Jack Kirby, and inked by Dick Ayers, this cover-featured story from Atlas' Tales of Suspense #14 (1961) is prime "giant monster" material...except for a really kool, alliterative name!
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Tuesday, October 22, 2024

Commie-Clobbering Kaiju GORGO "Deadlier Than Man" Conclusion

We Have Already Seen...

...well the scene in this Bill Montes-penciled and Ernie Bache-inked art doesn't actually, occur, but it's the perfect symbolic cover to visualize what's going on!
The Soviet Union is arming fellow Communist country Cuba with nuclear missiles.
However, an American trapped on the island manages to radio a warning to the American military, which results in the US warning the Russkies to stop what they're doing!
The Russkies refuse and things get tense!
Meanwhile two large kaiju, just minding their own business, are attracted to all the activity going on in the sea over them..
Did Gorgo and son stop the Cuban Missile Crisis from escalating?
Only these three (along with writer Joe Gill and artist Steve Ditko) know...and they ain't talking!
Next Week:
Another Marvel kaiju takes a crack at Commies!

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