Monday, July 10, 2023

Reading Room THE SHADOW "Menace of Radiation Rogue!"

He Who Knows What Evil goes into sci-fi territory with a new villain...
...who kills with atomic radiation!

To Be Continued...
TOMORROW!

This never-reprinted tale from Archie's The Shadow #5 (1965) by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Paul Reinman introduces another of what the publishers hoped would be an ongoing gallery of colorful villains to battle our hero.
Oddly, except for Shiwan Khan, (who appeared four times in the pulps and five times in the 1940s comics), none of the Shadow's multiple-appearance enemies from the Golden Age were utilized in the Archie series!

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Tuesday, July 4, 2023

Reading Room THE SHADOW "Diabolical Dr Demon!" Part 2

We Have Already Seen...

(Actually, this cover scene hasn't occurred...yet!)
The Shadow, tracking Dr Demon, has arrived just as the Nazi fiend is about to form an alliance with Shiwan Khan!
But the long-time arch-enemy of He Who Knows What Evil has a quite different idea...
Curiously, Shiwan Khan in the Archie series apparently doesn't have the same mind-controlling powers as The Shadow..although they are utilized in his other comics appearances!
And, I have to ask, did this Shadow series influence the Batman TV series...which began filming months after this particular issue appeared...the way the original pulp stories influenced the Caped Crusader's early tales?
The entire story could just as easily be a two-part episode of the show with a few name changes!
The 1960s Shadow Will Return to Hero Histories Next Monday!
Tomorrow, Visit
for a never-reprinted tale of the 1970s Shadow!

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Monday, July 3, 2023

Reading Room THE SHADOW "Diabolical Dr Demon!" Part 1

Looking for this guy?
He ain't here!
But we do have a person in blue/purple and green tights with all sorts of weird weapons!
To Be Continued
Tomorrow!
Note: this never-reprinted story by writer Jerry (Superman) Siegel and artist Paul Reinman from Archie's The Shadow #4 (1965) was published only 20 years after the end of World War II, so the idea of first-generation Nazis (especially ones with high-tech weaponry) still running around and creating havoc wasn't unreasonable, especially in pop culture!
In fact, it's the basis of the newest Indiana Jones movie (set in the 1940s and the 1960s)...
...now in theatres!
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Monday, June 26, 2023

Russkie Smashers INDIANA JONES "Trial of the Golden Guns" Chapter 2B

Cover art by Keith Pollard
Indiana Jones has accompanied the granddaughter of "Buffalo Bill" Cody to Ukraine (then part of the USSR) in her quest to recover her grandfather's pistols...
Plotted by Ron Fortier, scripted by David Micheline, penciled by Steve Ditko, and inked by Danny Bulanadi, this two-part tale from Marvel's Further Adventures of Indiana Jones #27 (1985) isn't officially "canon".

Speaking of Indiana Jones...our "brother" RetroBlogSecret Sanctum of Captain Video, ran the comic adaptation of Indy's first adventure, Raiders of the Lost ArkHERE
and is now running the comics-only sequel involving the golden idol that rogue archaeologist Belloq stole HERE!

Note: In July, Hero Histories will temporarily leave Russkie-Smasher mode as our annual RetroBlog Summer Blogathons begin with the re-presentation of the campy, never-reprinted...
...1960s The Shadow "costumed super-hero" series written by Jerry (Superman) Siegel and illustrated by Paul Reinman, and then segue into the re-presentation of the long out-of-print final "Maxwell Grant"-penned Shadow novel...
The Shadow: Destination Moon
But fear not, True Believers!
Russkie-Smashing will recommence after Labor Day!

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(...the only place this story's ever been reprinted!)