Monday, November 4, 2013

SCORPION "Devil Doll Commission" Part 2

Unused cover from Scorpion #2 (1975) by Howard Chakin finally used as cover for Comic Book Marketplace #77 (2011).
...freelance "problem solver" Moro Frost aka The Scorpion, is engaged by the wife of missing financier Jules Reinhardt, who dabbles in the occult.
The Scorpion finds Reinhardt...murdered!
And Frost learns that the dead millionare was once smuggler Max Cervantes, who "disappeared" after plastic surgery...becoming the respectable Reinhardt!
What does crooked nightclub owner Lyle see?
Be here Wednesday to find out...
The Scorpion was the creation of Howard Chaykin, a young writer-artist who was already a recognized talent in the comics industry.
Unfortunately, while he was (and is) good, he was also slow, and the deadline for this issue crept up on him.
To get the book out on time, a group of friends including Mike Kaluta, Walt Simonson, Ed Davis, and Berni Wrightson jumped in doing whatever needed to be done, so the issue is a fascinating amalgam of styles.

Friday, November 1, 2013

SCORPION "Devil Doll Commission" Part 1

In the 1970s there were a number of pulp-style heroes in comics...
...and here's a never-reprinted story featuring one of the best of them against an occult menace!
...murdered via voodoo doll!
This spooky tale continues Monday...
The Scorpion was the creation of Howard Chaykin, a young writer-artist who was already a recognized talent in the comics industry.
Unfortunately, while he was (and is) good, he was also slow, and the deadline for this issue crept up on him.
To get the book out on time, a group of friends including Mike Kaluta, Walt Simonson, Ed Davis, and Berni Wrightson jumped in doing whatever needed to be done, so the issue is a fascinating amalgam of styles.

Friday, October 18, 2013

CAPTAIN TRIUMPH "Werewolf" Conclusion

Lost and stranded in a small town, Lance Gallant and his friends encounter superstitious townsfolk who claim a werewolf stalks the nighttime streets!
It turns out there is a lycanthrope, and only Lance's super-powered alter-ego, Captain Triumph, saves his friends from being shredded by the inhumanly-strong furry fiend, who escapes into the night!
They also meet Rafferty, an expert in lycanthropy, whose arrival in the town a year ago coincided with the werewolf's appearance.
After Lance is attacked a second time, he and his twin brother Michael's ghost (who merges with Lance to become Captain Triumph) confer...
Illustrated by Reed Crandall, this never-reprinted tale from Quality's Crack Comics #51 (1947) was apparently an attempt to boost sagging sales by introducing horror elements.
Curiously, though the Captain Triumph character himself is supernatural-based, the werewolf in the story is a creation of science run amok and belief in the unseen is mocked as mere superstition!
Go figure...
which features his first AND last cover appearances along with two other classic images!

Thursday, October 17, 2013

CAPTAIN TRIUMPH "Werewolf" Part 1

Usually, when superheroes take on werewolves, vampires and such...
...the "creatures of the night" are merely impersonators.
But not this time...
You'll discover what Lance and Michael have figured out tomorrow...
Illustrated by Reed Crandall, this never-reprinted tale from Quality's Crack Comics #51 (1947) was apparently an attempt to boost sagging sales by introducing horror elements.
which features his first AND last cover appearances along with two other classic images!

Saturday, October 12, 2013

NOT WHO YOU THINK: GRIMM "Lament of the Dead"

Long before the NBC TV series that returns right before Halloween...
...there was another man who battled the supernatural (and frauds who pretended to be supernatural)!
This never-reprinted tale from Elliot's Bomber Comics #2 (1944) is the only time Grimm encounters a non-supernatural threat.
The "Don Weaver" credit is probably a pseudonym since it doesn't appear anywhere else in comics besides on this series.
While it's a fascinating coincidence, I doubt the producers of the TV series Grimm even know about this incarnation of the concept.
Interestingly, Grimm bears marked similarities both to Zero: Ghost Detective, and the first appearance of Fero: Planet Detective, both of whom preceded Grimm.
And, as of this appearance, Grimm switched from being a "Ghost Spotter" to operating as a "Ghost Doctor"!
(And, yes, he makes "haunted house calls"...
Geez, it's like I'm talking to a bunch of 12-year olds...)