Friday, November 11, 2011

Reading Room: PHANTOM LADY "Ace of Spades"

The Damsel of Darkness meets her first costumed villainess...
in this Western-themed, never-reprinted tale from Phantom Lady #20!
Phantom Lady takes a couple of tricks, horsemanship, lassoing and sharpshooting, from another Golden Age heroine, the Black Cat, who was secretly movie actress/stunt girl Linda Turner, and thus had a reason to be skilled in those talents, which most modern women didn't perform.
Curiously, Sandra Knight had never demonstrated proficiency in any of those skills before...
Script probably by Ruth Roche, art definitely by Matt Baker.

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

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Reading Room: CROM THE BARBARIAN "Giant from Beyond"

Return to a time before Atlantis sank with comics' first barbarian...
...as we present the third and final chapter in the saga of Crom, from Strange Worlds #2 (1951)
 
Thus do the tales of Crom come to an end, two decades before the coming of Conan in 1970...
His last adventure was produced by co-creators Gardner Fox (writer), and John Giunta (artist).
None of his stories were reprinted, even after the success of Lord of the Rings, Conan the Barbarian, and others made sword and sorcery a hot genre!
One bit of barbarian trivia; artist John Giunta took on a 15-year old apprentice who would later illustrate many fantasy characters including Conan.
His name?
Frank Frazetta!

Monday, November 7, 2011

Reading Room: Silver Age FRANKENSTEIN "Rebirth of Frankenstein"

The Silver Age was an odd period of comics history...
 ...when anyone from spies (T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents) to soldiers (Blackhawk) to monsters could be remade into superheroes...with decidedly-mixed results!
You can read the origin of this funky, far-out revamp of Frankenstein HERE, then continue with this titanic tale...
 copy
Coming soon! The cataclysmic conclusion to the Silver Age Frankenstein's origin tale!

Friday, November 4, 2011

Reading Room: PHANTOM LADY "Bullets for Ballots"

When voting fraud needs to be revealed, there's no one better at exposing things than...
...the Luscious Law-Enforcer herself, the Phantom Lady!
This timely tale (Election Day 2011 is this Tuesday, November 8th!) from Phantom Lady #20 (1948), was probably penned by Ruth Roche and definitely illustrated by Matt Baker.
featuring goodies emblazoned with cover art that Fredric Wertham railed against in Seduction of the Innocent.