Reading Room: THE BATMAN & THE SHADOW "Who Knows What Evil--?" Conclusion

When Last We Left Our Heroes...

Art by Mike Kaluta

While tracking a group of counterfeiters, The Batman is saved by an expert marksman who shoots a criminal in the hand who was about to plug the Darknight Detective.
The wounded criminal runs into a dead-end alley...and disappears...with only a mocking laugh to indicate anyone had been there!
A clue from the crime scene leads the Caped Crusader (as Bruce Wayne) to Tumbleweed Crossing, where he meets another visitor...Lamont Cranston, a scientist investigating the water supply, which is loaded with minerals and would be perfect for matching the government's formula for the ink used in printing...money!
Believing nearby abandoned cliff-dwellings would be an ideal base of operations for the counterfeiters, The Batman is ambushed as he heads there, but an antique autogyro distracts the gunmen long enough for the Cowled Crimebuster to capture them.
As he nears the ruins, The Batman speculates about the identity of the mysterious laughing marksman in the autogyro.
Could he be...?

This appearance in Batman #253 came between the first and second issues of The Shadow's bi-monthly Bronze Age run at DC, back when comics actually came out on schedule.
It was a nice tip-of-the-fedora to the long-believed idea that the pulp character was a primary influence on the creation of the Caped Crusader. (A fact confirmed by Shadow historian Anthony Tollin HERE.)
Denny O'Neil was also writing The Shadow comic, and this issue's cover artist Mike Kaluta, who had already done a number of wonderfully-moody Detective Comics and Batman covers, would come to be the definitive Shadow artist for all versions of He Who Knows What Evil Lurks since. (much as James Bama's version of Doc Savage is the iconic one all others have been based upon)

We'll be presenting the other Batman story featuring The Shadow HERE, and the Shadow/Avenger team-up HERE!
And, if you want to see a REALLY strange version of Lamont Cranston, be here next week, when the purple and green costumed version makes his debut!
(Yes, you read that right! Purple and green costumed version! And you can blame Batman for that...)

Check out the

 Comics Collectibles Shop 

for goodies featuring other Silver Age heroes, besides The Batman and The Shadow!

Reading Room: THE BATMAN & THE SHADOW "Who Knows What Evil--?" Part 1

Less than half of The Shadow's Bronze Age appearances have been reprinted in hardcover or trade paperbacks!
Two of those were appearances in Batman. which will never be reprinted due to licensing issues, so we'll re-present them here for your entertainment.

We'll find out what the Caped Crusader discovers, and toss in some other kernels of knowledge, tomorrow!

Same Blog Time!

Same Blog Feed!

Check out the

 Comics Collectibles Shop 

for goodies featuring other Silver Age heroes, besides The Shadow!

FLASH GORDON by Jeff Jones

Jeffrey Catherine Jones

1/10/44-5/19/11

Jeffrey was a serious Alex Raymond/Flash Gordon fan, so this work in Flash Gordon #13 (1969), while a bit rough, showed enormous love and enthusiasm for the character.
Written by Bill Pearson. Penciled and inked by Jeff Jones (as she was known then).

Recently reprinted, for the first time, in Dark Horse's Flash Gordon Archives Vol 3.

Jet Powers: Captain of Science!

 

Flash Gordon!

Buck Rogers!

Brick Bradford!

Even...Rocket Kelly!

Have you ever noticed that space-faring heroes almost NEVER have a first name like "Dave" or "Melvin"? (Yeah, there was DAN Dare, but his last name was "Dare" for chissakes!)
It's always something dramatic and/or futuristic!
Makes you wonder what their parents were thinking when they filled out the birth certificate..."Yeah, 'Brick'! That's a good name for the kid!"

Jet Powers was one of the last of that breed of high-adventure heroes, a kick-butt, blast-first-and-ask-questions-later kinda guy who crossed space and time like you and I cross the street!
As rendered by Bob Powell, one of the most versatile illustrators of the Golden Age (He did everything, sci-fi, romance, war, horror, etc), Jet was a ruggedly-handsome guy with distinctive white hair and a nose that had been broken and reset! (Think of a combo of Bruce Willis and Peter Graves.)
Besides being good in a fight, Jet was a scientific wiz with his own mountaintop base and spacecraft!
He operated as a freelance agent for the United States, at least once meeting the President himself to receive orders!
In four issues of his own title Jet battled Mr Sinn, an evil scientist equal to himself, who was colored bright green, but like Ming the Merciless, was an alien variation of the "Yellow Menace" villain stereotype.
Powers also met, rescued, and fell in love with Su Shan, formerly a servant of Sinn. Of course, Sinn wanted her back, so Jet had to keep rescuing her for the entire series!

Here's how it all began...

BTW, we did present a later appearance of Jet, unconnected with Mr Sinn or Su Shan, HERE.
The amount of hits to that entry inducated you wanted to see more, so we've decided to present his complete adventures over the next few months.

And, Atomic Kommie Comics™ has returned him to interplanetary action as SpaceMan Jet, along with the SpaceBusters, (whom you've previously-seen) in our The Future WAS Fantastic!™ series, even giving him his own section.where all four of his spectacular star-spanning covers adorn mugs, shirts and a plethora of other goodies!

For the special someone in your life with a taste for retro sci-fi / fantasy, you can't go wrong with one of these items as a birthday or graduation present!
(Heck, if I didn't already have them, I'd want 'em!)

Check out the

Comic Collectible Corner

Reading Room: JAGUAR MAN "Tale of the Tatooed Egg"

Well, that opening caption certainly synopsized all you need to know about our hero, which is convenient, since this is his one and only appearance anywhere!
The byline is "Jack Lane", but since this story is the only credit for him on the Grand Comic Database, I suspect it's a pseudonym for a writer-artist team, probably from the Iger studios, who supplied a lot of Fox Comics' material.

All-Great Comics was a giant-sized (132 pages!) annual for 25¢ from Fox that basically ran anything lying around the offices including one-shots like Jaguar Man and leftover material from other titles like Green Mask.
(There were 30 different stories in this issue!)
Two comments:
Why doesn't his costume have a mask? Does "Steve Lane: lion house keeper" have no acquaintances who might think his sideline a bit...odd if they ran into him as he prowled the streets?
Don't you think Wonder Woman villainess The Cheetah filled out the exact same costume much better?

Check out the

Collectibles Store!