Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Reading Room: Silver Age FRANKENSTEIN "Origin"

Before we present the Golden Age origin of Frankenstein's nemesis, "Bulldog" Denny...
...we jump ahead to the Silver Age for a slightly-different version of the Monster of Frankenstein as seen in the Swinging '60s, when everyone in comics was either a spy, a superhero, or both!
Will the Monster use his powers for Good instead of Evil?
And how the heck did this whole thing come about, anyway?

In 1964, Dell Comics published a line of comic adaptations of Universal Monster movies to tie in with their successful revival on tv.
Two years later, Dell decided to take the monsters' base concepts and rework them into then-trendy superheroes and spies!
Frankenstein and Dracula became superheroes while WereWolf (the name Wolf Man was trademarked) was a secret agent (albeit one with a "stealth" suit to avoid detection).
Yeah, it was as dumb as it sounds, and none of them ran more than three issues.
This was part one of the Silver Age Frankenstein's three-part origin tale from Frankenstein #2, illustrated by Tony Tallarico, who did a lot of work for Dell and Charlton in the 1960s.
(Frankenstein #1 was the previously-mentioned movie adaptation.)
We'll be presenting the other two parts of the origin in the near future
Here's Part Two with Part Three to come shortly...
You'll get a better look at how Dell shamelessly ripped-off both Superman and Batman by taking elements from both of them for this series.
Scary, eh?)
But, first: we'll return to the Golden Age for the intro tale of the Golden Age Monster's greatest nemesis...the Man called Bulldog!

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Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Reading Room: PRIZE COMICS "New Adventures of Frankenstein"

...now learn why they (and others) were in pursuit of the creature, and how he ended up in (then) present-day America!
Talk about motivation...
This story in Prize Comics #7 (1940) was the Monster's second comic book appearance ever.
(The first had been a comic adaptation of the movie Son of Frankenstein in Movie Comics #1 [1939].)
Dick Briefer both wrote and drew this tale under the name "Frank N. Stein", which was dropped several tales into the series.
With the concept firmly in place, the stories would follow the format of the Doctor trying to stop his progressively-deadlier creation, until a new hero would enter the battle...

Next week, 
The End of Dr Frankenstein!
and 
The Origin of the Monster's NEW Nemesis...
"Bulldog" Denny!

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Reading Room: PRIZE COMICS "Frankenstein vs the Prize Fighters"

Before the Justice Society!
Before the Avengers!
There were the Prize Fighters!
And who are these other paragons of justice (all of whom had their own strips in Prize Comics)?
"Well known"?
Most of them recently appeared in the Project SuperPowers series from Dynamite Comics, but beyond that...
Anyway, on with the action!
While the characters did appear in the next issue, it was in their individual strips, not in Frankenstein.
There is a mention of him being subdued by a group of heroes in the next issue's Frankenstein tale, but that's it.
This one-time team-up of the various characters, though historically-important, didn't even make the cover of the issue (Prize Comics #24).
Not even a blurb!
Note: We've covered a couple of the characters in separate entries including The Black Owl (both of them), The Green Lama, and The Monster of Frankenstein himself.
As to who Bulldog Denny is, we'll be explaining (and showing) who he is and how he came to be the Frankenstein Monster's nemesis in future entries during October.
For the record, the super-hero group never had an official name.
Several historical articles in print and on blogs gave the team the "Prize Fighters" moniker, and it seems like a good fit, so we're using it as well.
Frankenstein artist Dick Briefer did a good job trying to match several different art styles including the "bigfoot humor" look of the General & the Corporal strip.

Oddly enough, a cover from several issues (#20) earlier seemed to telegraph the events of this story four issues later...

...even though there was no reference in any of the stories in #20 to an attempt by a group of heroes to capture the Monster, he's clearly shown bound and helpless in the second car!

Of course, the concept of a group of heroes beating up on one misunderstood monster wouldn't catch on...
Art by Marie Severin & Sam Grainger
Art by Herb Trimpe
Art by Jack Kirby & Sol Brodsky
 Uh...yeah...won't catch on...
More Monster of Frankenstein later this week...

Friday, September 30, 2011

Reading Room: PHANTOM LADY "Fire Fiend"

Things get hot for the Voluptuous Vixen of Vengeance...
...as a pyromaniac tries to end the career of the Pulchritudinous Personage!
For God's sake, she doesn't even wear a pair of glasses or a mask, and the guy standing two feet in front of her (in both guises) can't figure out who The Phantom Lady really is?
The somewhat-silly story from All Top Comics #13 is probably by Ruth Roche, while there's no doubt the art is by Matt Baker.
Phantom Lady will be taking a month-long vacation as this (and all the other RetroBlogs™) celebrate October and the Halloween season with horror and monster-oriented tales.
Phantom Lady will return in November...

featuring goodies emblazoned with cover art that Fredric Wertham railed against in Seduction of the Innocent.

Monday, September 26, 2011

Reading Room: JET POWERS "Man in the Moon"

It's been several months since we looked in on Jet Powers and Su Shan...

Some guys really carry a grudge (but provide great expositional dialogue)!
Yeah, Sinn died.
Nothing to worry about.
Won't be seeing him again!
No, siree...
You don't really believe that, do you?
Good, 'cause if you did, you wouldn't be able to read the rest of this series, featuring superb Bob Powell art like this, the second Jet tale from Jet Power #1 (1950).
Watch for more Jet Powers coming soon!