Uncanny Tales 2, 1973 “Out of the Swamp…”

Posted on by billyd75

It has been too long since I last blogged about a horror comic! Last week’s awesome post aside (click here for my contribution to Super Blog Team Up), lately I’ve been all over the spectrum on my posts, as in, whatever hits me as worthy at that very moment. Some would say they’re ridiculous and not top tier like certain books that have beloved runs even 40+ years or more later. But I feel like all comics have worth, obviously some more than others, and there’s nothing wrong with liking or not liking any comic. So even when I blog about some lesser known comic, rest assured its got at least some redeeming value. Now, let the horror commence!

This week’s post is solid, and has some really good material from the Golden Age. Some pre-code even! Five stories of madness are inside this one, and solid creators are behind them. The first story (“The Graves that Moved“) starts out in a graveyard as we see caskets popping out of the ground and killing an old guy! Very eerie and sets a good tone for the rest of the book. Art by Jim Mooney (no other credits given).

The second story is called “Out of the Swamps!” This one has a scientist, gangsters, and talking Lemurs…yep. A very bizarre story indeed, but with very good art by Dick Ayers!

Next, we get “Dead End” and we see a man telling the readers that he’s killed himself and doesn’t really exist anymore. It seems like they were going for a real nutty vibe in this one as well, and they achieved that with flying colors. script by Burt Frohman, Art by Tom Gill.

The fourth tale is called “Last Seen Climbing a Ladder!” The story revolves around a scientist that thinks he can build a ladder from Earth to an asteroid. Yes, you read that correctly. He actually succeeds but has plans of his own afterward! Art by Vic Carrabotta.

Last but not least, we get “Superstition.” It shows a penal colony on Guiana, and how the prisoners have escaped. They were helped by some of the natives, but when the prisoners demand to be taken off of the island, things get dicey. You see, the natives have a superstition and don’t want to leave the island. They have a good reason, and the prisoners find out why, but it’s too late! Art by Syd Shores!

All of these stories are kicked off by a cover by none other than Golden Age artist, Carl Burgos (you may have heard of him), but with heavy alterations by John Romita.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marvel Triple Action 17, 1974 (originally Avengers 23, 1965) “Once an Avenger…”

Posted on by billyd75

 

Things have been quiet here at Magazines and Monsters, especially on the podcasting front. Well, there is one big reason and I shall reveal it now! I was asked recently to participate in the Super Blog Team-Up event! Some of you may know of this event, and some not, so I shall attempt to educate you on the matter. Simply put, it’s a quarterly event where bloggers (and podcasters) get together to share each other’s love of comics, through blogging about a certain subject (or story line), and share said content throughout the online community. An exercise in building up a community, and as we all know this is needed on social media. On Twitter, you can follow along by searching the hashtag #SBTU or #SuperBlogTeamUp. And these are some of the most interesting and fun blogs you can find anywhere! And needless to say, I feel honored to be among these fine people (links at the bottom to the other blogs/podcasts).

 

Now, on to the main event! The subject this time around is Immortal! For me, being a long time Marvel zealot, there is one character that pops into my brain right away when I hear that word. His name is Kang…or Immortus…or Rama-Tut if you prefer. But why the three names? Because each represents the same character but at different times in history. Kang first appeared in The Avengers 8, 1964, and announced he was from the far flung future, where he discovers the time travel technology of Dr. Doom, and uses it to travel to ancient Egypt, to rule as Rama-Tut (first appearance was in FF 19, 1963). After ruling there for a spell, he encounters the Fantastic Four (they time traveled into the past to find a cure for Alicia’s blindness :D). The FF defeat him and send him packing. In his time travel vehicle, he encounters Doctor Doom, but the two part ways without any shenanigans. Immortus, who first appeared only two issues after Kang in the pages of The Avengers. He wasn’t more than a schemer with time travel abilities initially, but he is the future version of Kang, that grew weary of battle and was eventually entrusted with being a time keeper of sorts by a “higher power” (Avengers Forever, see below).

The next time we see Kang, is in this story! After the bout with the FF, Kang is back in the future (Avengers 23, 1965), and pining for Ravonna (his love interest, and her first appearance). She’s the daughter of a king, whom Kang defeated in the 40th century. Kang let her father live and stay in power only to try and earn her hand in marriage. She rebuffs him constantly, though, and this infuriates Kang. He sees that Captain America has left the Avengers (in the previous issue), and knows this is the time to strike! He easily captures Hawkeye, Quicksilver, and the Scarlet Witch, and places them in “oversized pickle jars,” to quote Hawkeye. The Scarlet Witch uses her Hex power to bust them out, but this is meaningless to Kang, because he can easily defeat these inexperienced heroes (Wanda and Pietro are very young at this point, and Hawkeye is no match for Kang). Before Kang can unleash the final blow, he’s interrupted by none other than Captain America! With Cap back as their leader, the Avengers manage to stop Kang. But, before he’ll accept defeat, he whisks them all away to his future, where his army awaits to destroy them, and the disobedient king and even his daughter!

There was one more piece of info about this story I’d like to quickly mention. When Cap quits the team, he sees an ad for a sparring partner for a boxing champ. Upon arrival, he’s rebuffed by the champ’s tough guy buddies that are apparently screening the candidates? Cap makes quick work of the meatheads after they not only insult him, but try to assault him thinking he’s a wimp. Hilarious on all levels, with classic Stan Lee banter.

Over the years, Kang hasn’t changed very much, and that’s a good thing. His raison d’être (purpose) is always to either conquer or just simply better himself. This can be by killing someone else, enslaving people, or whatever other nefarious scheme he’s plotting. I’d have to say without much hesitation, that Steve Englehart and his Celestial Madonna story from the 1970s is probably the best Kang I’ve read. The Kurt Busiek and Carlos Pacheco “Avengers Forever” epic and the Roger Stern, John Buscema and Tom Palmer “Under Siege” tale is awesome as well. Look those up for further readings on the Immortal villain, Kang!

Credits in this issue are as follows: Cover by Jack “King” Kirby (pencils), John Romita (inks) and Sam Rosen (letters), “Smilin” Stan Lee (script), “Dashing” Don Heck (pencils), “Jazzy” John Romita (inks), and Artie Simek (letters)!

 

 

Super Blog Team Up!


https://benjaminherman.wordpress.com/author/benjaminherman/

https://charltonhero.wordpress.com/tag/charlton-hero/

http://davescomicheroes.blogspot.com/

https://comicscomicscomics.blog/

https://www.chrisisoninfiniteearths.com/

https://chrisandreggie.podbean.com/

https://betweenthepagesblog.typepad.com/between-the-pages-blog/

http://blackwhitebronzecomics.blogspot.com/

https://theunspokendecade.com/

https://comicreviewsbywalt.wordpress.com/

http://www.dcinthe80s.com/2019/08/sbtu-immortal-forager-second-life-of-bug.html

https://popcultureretrorama.com/2019/08/31/pop-culture-retrorama-podcast-ep-08-i-am-legend/

TDR 459: Super-Blog Team Up: Immortal!

The Flash 227, 1974 “Flash this is your Death!”

Posted on by billyd75

Have you ever seen a cover, and thought you had to buy a book even before you looked inside? Well, this comic did that to me, as the incredible work by Nick Cardy drew me in! He’s rapidly moving up on my favorite artists list, and is right up there with my favorite artists for DC comics. His work is always outstanding and on par with anyone.

The story itself is pretty hilarious, and features a villain that we all know and love, well, ok, maybe not all of us love him, but I love Captain Boomerang (created by John Broome and Carmine Infantino in Flash 117, 1960). We see Boomerang going to jail, but then he’s sprung by…his father? That’s right, Boomerang’s father is working on a sadistic scrapbook, that will hopefully showcase Flash’s death!

There is also a backup story involving Green Lantern. We all know Hal Jordan can be quite the imbecile, and this story is no different. We see Hal stomping around like a child, even kicking his lantern at one point. Story by Denny O’Neil, art by Dick Dillin and Dick Giordano.

 

Kull and the Barbarians 3, 1975 “Kull, Red Sonja, and Solomon Kane!”

Posted on by billyd75

It’s time for a return trip, back to black and white comic goodness! While these magazines are getting more expensive by the day it seems, but, when a bargain can be found I pull the trigger! A recent show netted me twenty mags for $20! Only a few Marvels, but a bunch of Warren mags (I’ll get to them down the road, no worries). OK, on to the main attraction!

In this issue, there are three comic stories, one prose story (with a couple of illustrations), a pin up of the landscape of the times of Kull, and one awesome pin up of Red Sonja (by Howard Chaykin!). All of this is kicked off with a good painted cover by Michael Whelan!

The first story is straight out of a Ray Harryhausen flick, as Kull is fighting a group of skeleton warriors, and upon returning to his homeland is in shock at how things look. He also must face his ultimate enemy, in Thulsa Doom! Written by Doug Moench, art by Vicente Alcazar!

The following story is a Solomon Kane bio written by Fred Blosser. It’s actually pretty good on its own, but there are some cool illustrations by Bob Budiansky (Duffy Vohland inks) and Gene Day!

“The Day of the Sword,” is next, and features everybody’s favorite ginger, Red Sonja! Who doesn’t want tot see her riding around and taking a broadsword to those that need it? Plot by Roy Thomas, script by Doug Moench, art by Howard Chaykin (some excellent work by Chaykin in this one).

Finally, a story by Robert E. Howard, adapted by Roy Thomas, and illustrated by Alan Weiss and Pablo Marcos! An adventure with my favorite Puritan in Africa! Very interesting story, and almost a love interest for Solomon? Definitely a good finisher to this great magazine!

 

 

Marvel Team-Up 68, 1978 “The Measure of a Man!”

Posted on by billyd75

It has been too long since the Man-Thing was spotlighted on this blog! Not to mention the awesome title Marvel Team-Up and Spidey! Of course the overwhelming majority of issues featured the web-slinger (some had the Human Torch), and he was the franchise at that point without a doubt. The creatives behind this one, were names that are synonymous with Bronze Age comics, but specifically the X-Men, and the greatest run that title has ever known (let’s be honest, will ever know).

But back to Manny and Spidey- in this issue, we see these two heroes that couldn’t be more different, working together to achieve a greater good. These two must put an end to the fearful villain known as D’Spayre, and to vanquish him, is to conquer your own fears. This is obviously a very challenging thing to do for anyone, even a superhero. We know that Man-Thing can sense and exploit fear, but what happens when he must face an adversary that can instill fear in his opponent? And we all know Spidey has doubts and fears even without any prodding, so an easy fight this will not be!

Now, onto this great creative team! We all know Chris Claremont (writer) is “Mr. X-Men” and rightfully so, as he crafted so many of the personalities we love(d) for a very long time. He also created a few new characters that have stood the test of time. His frequent collaborator, was John Byrne (pencils, cover and interiors). His pencils and creativity helped the duo raise the bar for all the titles at Marvel, but specifically the X-Men. But, don’t sleep on this material, because both men were at the top of their game on this run of Marvel Team-Up as well! Inks by Bob Wiacek (cover inks by Josef Rubinstein), colors by Phil Rachelson, letters by Bruce Patterson, and edited by Archie Goodwin!

 

 

Teen Titans 42, 1972 “Slaves of the Emperor Bug”

Posted on by billyd75

It has been way too long since my last Zany blog post! If there’s one thing everyone must do, it’s buy more books written by Bob Haney. The guy writes stories that are really out there, but the dialogue is solid, and although the stories never seem to fit into the part of the DC universe where the mainstream stories take place, you won’t get bored.

This issue revolves around a necklace, but not just any piece of jewelry. It’s a scarab that has some sort of sentience, and it calls out to Wonder Girl. It tells her that it needs to go back to where it came from, so it’s off to the Yucatan. Robin, Kid Flash, Wonder Girl, Speedy, and the Guardian must face off with Crocodiles, Leopards, snakes, and all sorts of magical shenanigans to get out alive!

Writer, Bob Haney, writes some of the craziest dialogue for these characters. Of course it was him trying to be cool and with the times, but even in 2019 it’s incredibly fun. The pencils are by Art Saaf and inks by Nick Cardy! Both gentlemen were stalwarts at DC comics during the Silver and Bronze ages, and you can see why when you look at this book. The letters are by Milton Snapinn, and the awesome cover is by Nick Cardy! Don’t sleep on this run of Teen Titans, it’s groovy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ROM 23, 1981 “The Thing From Outer Space!”

Posted on by billyd75

For anyone that’s never read a ROM comic before, you’re in for a treat. Imagine if you will (sorry, I couldn’t help myself), a cyborg, leaving his home planet to pursue an ancient, malevolent race, that is bent on conquest at any cost. These “Dire Wraiths” are a vicious lot, and not only kill without provocation, they can assume the form of anyone. In this specific issue, we learn that they mimicked the Fantastic Four previously, and also we’ve seen in the past that they’ve replicated many humans, including politicians, and police!

ROM has recently learned that (allegedly) the Wraiths have destroyed much of Galador (ROM’s home planet), and ROM feels he must return to see if this is true and to help rebuild. Along the way, he meets up with two Good Samaritans (Power Man and Iron Fist) that agree to help him get to the Baxter Building to seek the help of the FF in getting him back to his home. There’s only one problem…the media has created an absolute frenzy by reporting that an alien is running amok in the city, so, the National Guard was brought in to contain the matter. And when I say the media, I mean J. Jonah Jameson! It’s up to Luke and Danny to get ROM to the Baxter building, and the only thing standing in their way is a concrete jungle full of police, military, and other assorted crackpots! There’s also a brief cameo by the new superhero on the block, The Torpedo!

Written by “Boisterous” Bill Mantlo, art by “Our Pal” Sal Buscema (pencils) and “Joltin” Joe Sinnott (inks), with colors by Ben Sean, and letters by Rosen and Zalme! The cover is by “Amiable” Al Milgrom!

 

 

Tower of Shadows 1, 1969 “At the Stroke of Midnight!”

Posted on by billyd75

After searching far and wide for an affordable copy of this book, I found it at a small show for a few bucks. The guy I bought it from actually gave me a deal on multiple books, so the price was definitely right. I already knew some of the contents, and was pumped to read it. When the first story of the book has work by a legendary creator, you know it’s gonna be a good time. Honestly, the entire book is filled with giants of the industry. The cover is by “Jazzy” John Romita!

Right out of the gate, you get “At the Stroke of Midnight.” This one has been reprinted a couple of times, and once you check it out, you can see why. A creepy tale about a haunted castle, brought to us solely by Jim Steranko! He wrote, drew, and colored this amazing story! As usual, Steranko sets a mood immediately, and this is one of his calling cards when creating a comic book. He knew exactly what he wanted to convey to the reader, and executed it flawlessly.

The second tale in this nightmarish book (“From Beyond the Brink!“) is one by a classic horror artist that worked for the best in the biz at the genre. Johnny Craig was a mainstay at E.C. comics during their heyday (pre-Wertham, and the Senate hearings of the 1950s). What’s astonishing is that not only was he the artist, but also the writer of this one. A story that involves a man that attempts to expose mediums for the fakes they are, but a twist ending is chilling!

Lastly, Digger introduces us to “A Time to Die!” This one brought to you by Stan Lee (script) and “Big” John Buscema (art), and involves an old scientist that wants to find an elixir that will allow him to live forever. The scientist has an assistant that also has eyes on the elixir! No matter what the genre, John Buscema always looks like a pro. His skills are unparalleled in the Bronze Age.

 

 

Tom Sutton- The Charlton years!

Posted on by billyd75

There are certain creators that invoke a feeling of excitement for me. One of those names for sure, is Tom Sutton! Of course he’s one of those guys that mainstream comic book fans might not recognize, but the old school/hardcore fans know it well. His work in the horror genre is legendary, and rightly so, but he’s also drawn superheroes, war, westerns, etc., but horror is his forte. At Marvel comics, you saw his excellent version of Ghost Rider, all sorts of horrific scenes in the black and white magazines, and more. The same over at DC, as he did solid work on House of Mystery (I, Vampire) and other titles.

The focus of this week’s post will be not on the work Sutton did for the big two, but for Charlton comics. Some may not recognize the work when compared to what he did at Marvel, but they kept a house style and smooth lines for their artwork. The work is fantastic (see episode 9 of Into the Weird for some thoughts of mine and The Longbox of Darkness), but again, isn’t his developed style. Once he started working at Charlton though, he really brought his own unique work to the horror genre. These images are just a small sample of what Sutton did there, and I’m sure you’ll enjoy them!

 

Tom Sutton

Tom Sutton

Tom Sutton

Tom Sutton

Tom Sutton

Tom Sutton

Tom Sutton

Tom Sutton

Tom Sutton

Tom Sutton

Tom Sutton

Tom Sutton

Tom Sutton

 

Journey Into Mystery 5, 1973 “The Shadow from the Steeple!”

Posted on by billyd75

It’s been a little while since I had a blog post showing how much fun the resurgence of horror material was in the Bronze Age for Marvel Comics. Anthology titles were all over the place, but were where a lot of good material can be found for either reprint material or all new stories. Some of the books had incredible stories with big time writers getting credit. Case in point, some of the issues have names such as Robert Bloch (Psycho, The Skull, Asylum), H.P. Lovecraft (The Call of Cthulhu, At the Mountains of Madness, The Shadow Over Innsmouth), and Robert E. Howard (Conan, Red Sonja, Kull). The men scripting these stories/adaptations were no slouches either, but we’ll get to them in a minute.

The first tale in this issue is called “The Shadow from the Steeple!,” and this story has elements from stories by Bloch, and Lovecraft (there were three stories that were parts made by Bloch and Lovecraft). A grimoire, a cult, a mysterious, ancient jewel, and even more ancient evil, named Nyarlathotep! Ron Goulart (script), Rich Buckler and Frank Giacoia (art), George Roussos (colors) and Denise Wohl (letters).

The next story is one that’s been done before, as a young man marries a wealthy nut older woman in hopes of inheriting a large sum of money. There is one room in the home that the help won’t allow the husband access. The husband thinks that the money/jewels etc., is in this room. One day he decides to suffocate his wife, and use a mallet to gain entry to the locked room. What he finds inside isn’t wealth, but his doom. Apparently, there is a curse on the family that the woman will grow old unless she procures a sacrifice for the evil within! Written by Kevin Frost, art by Win Mortimer and Ernie Chan, and letters by Denise Wohl.

The last story is quite a treat, as a mad scientist that has been experimenting with transplants wants to be left alone. We see that he has a pack of mad dogs patrolling his estate, to keep out unwanted visitors. The first thing our eyes see is the pack of dogs kill an insurance salesman that was just trying to do his job. The scientist’s wife is shocked at far gone his sense of right and wrong has gone, so she picks up the phone to dial the police. He hits her over the head with a shovel, knocking her out. After some thought, he removes her brain, and replaces it with a dogs brain! Let’s just say in the end, the mad scientist ends up dog-meat! Story/script by John Albano and Marv Wolfman, art by Paul Reinman (pencils) with Mike Esposito and George Roussos (inks), and Artie Simek (on letters).

Overall a very good book with a great cover by Gil Kane and Frank Giacoia!