Friday, June 23, 2017

Reading Room WOLFF "Daughter of the Witch"

...that pretty much covers it!
Carry on...
This never-seen-in-America chapter of the Wolff saga from New England Library's Dracula #8 (1972), by Luis Gaska (aka Sadko) and Estaban Maroto takes us into uncharted territory!
What is "worse to come"?
We'll find out...soon!

Friday, March 24, 2017

Berni Wrightson's RED-NECK!

The late, great Berni Wrightson didn't do much super-hero material...
...and this never-reprinted strip is probably his least-known work in the genre.
It's not even from a comic, but from Esquire Magazine's March 1972 issue!


The Monster Times #5 (1972) reviewed the article and accompanying strips.
"Berni, the baneful Wrightson, presented the adventures of Red-Neck...obviously Archie Bunker's fondest dream; abble to beat tall children in a single bound!"
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Berni Wrightson
A Look Back

Friday, March 17, 2017

Reading Room NOT WHO YOU THINK: BANSHEE "Origin"

Before a certain Marvel villain-turned X-Man...
Art by Dave Cockrum
...acquired the name, there was this guy...who also used the name of an female Irish demon!
Illustrated by Louis Cazeneuve, this premiere/origin of the Banshee plays more off the classic "Criminals are a cowardly, superstitious lot..." shtick with a costumed athlete than the later, sonic super-powered mutant from Marvel.
Of course I'm curious as to why a villain named "The Scorpion" is wearing a Devil mask instead of, say, a hood with an embroidered scorpion image.
Was he working on a really tight budget?
Debuting in Fox's Fantastic Comics #21 (1941) and continuing until the book was cancelled two issues later, the Banshee migrated to a new book, V... Comics, for it's brief two-issue run, then disappeared into comics limbo.
He didn't even appear in Dynamite's various Project Superpowers series which even brought back characters whose names had been co-opted by later, currently-trademarked (though unrelated) characters like Daredevil and Yellowjacket.
(Blue Beetle is a whole 'nother story...)
BTW, HAPPY ST PATRICK'S DAY!
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(Even without The Banshee, if you're a Golden Age fan, it's worth reading)

Wednesday, March 1, 2017

Reading Room: WOLFF "Mother of Waters"

At last, the never-seen (in America) continuation of the saga of Wolff...
...as our post-apocalyptic barbarian and Galadra meet...guess who?
This tale from New England Library's Dracula #7 (1972), by Luis Gaska (aka Sadko) and Estaban Maroto takes a tragic turn.
But, it also sets up a major change in the storyline, as we'll see in the near-future!
Don't miss it!

Thursday, December 8, 2016

SPY SMASHER "Crime of Pearl Harbor"

...on December 6th, 1941, Spy Smasher discovered a huge Japanese submarine in the waters just outside Pearl Harbor.
Unfortunately, he was captured...
(NOTE: Considered NSFW due to racial stereotypes common to the era.)
Wow!
Those last two pages were a serious attempt at propaganda/revisionist history to an impressionable young audience!
Published in early 1942, this never-reprinted tale from Fawcett's Spy Smasher #4 was created just after the events of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, so the overt racism is somewhat understandable.
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