Thứ Sáu, 31 tháng 8, 2007


Number 183



Imitation Madness



In my opinion the best story in Mad comics not done by one of the Big Three, Wood, Davis and Elder, is "Plastic Sam," by Russ Heath in Mad #14. Heath, mostly known for his illustrative approach, was freelancing from his regular gig at Atlas Comics, working for Stan Lee.

I think he really liked the idea of the humor comics, because he approached "Plastic Sam" by tightening up and inking Kurtzman's layout. At Atlas, he did the story I'm posting here, "The Wild Blue Yonderrrr," from Crazy #3, in an ersatz Bill Elder/Wally Wood style, with lots of jokes in each of the panels. I like puns and wordplay so I enjoy them, although overall the story is typical Mad imitation; without Kurtzman it's mostly nonsense, rather than satire.

You've got to give companies that went after Mad's popularity credit for trying. Try is all they could do. None of them succeeded, which is why they're obscure and Kurtzman's Mad is still revered.

Heath, who was born in 1926, had a great career at Atlas, turning out Westerns like Kid Colt, Outlaw. He also created some memorable science fiction and horror stories. From there Heath went to DC, where he made his mark in war comics, Sea Devils, et al. All-in-all, a remarkable career by a remarkable artist.

In his humor work Heath liked to insert a self-caricature as part of his signature, as he did in "The Wild Blue Yonderrr."

I've always admired the comic book artists who, when the going was the toughest during the 1950s, still signed their work.

I've been researching what could have inspired "The Wild Blue Yonderrr," and haven't found it. I assume it was a movie, maybe British, about breaking the sound barrier, but can't find references to it in any of my standard resources. If you know please clue me in.





Thứ Tư, 29 tháng 8, 2007


Number 182


Sex and Skeletons Part 5



Ah, the things I do for you guys, looking through all of these skeleton covers so I can give you a few moments of pleasure. Well, it's a chore I enjoy. ::he said, giving his Crypt Keeper cackle:: I've explained how publishers used images of sex and death--like that's a big surprise--to sell their products, and comic books of the '50s were no different.



Eerie
was published by Avon, and Eerie Adventures by Ziff-Davis. More than one cover of Eerie used the same girl in the same stance, looking at some horrific sight, like an approaching skeleton. It might have been some sort of inside joke. Why repeat the motif? Another mystery from the horror comics of the 1950s.





Secret Diary Of Eerie
would have been one of those one-shot rebound editions of three unsold copies of regular issues squarebound in a new cover. A way of recycling that produced some interesting giant comics.



The cover to Eerie Adventures is painted by illustrator Allen Anderson. The beautiful girl in the foreground, giving much the same pose as the girl on the Eerie covers, is actress Jean Dawyot, who Anderson used for multiple covers, including pulps like Planet Stories. An article on Anderson in the excellent magazine, Illustrator #18, has several of Anderson's covers reproduced, including his Ziff-Davis covers; Dawyot is in most of them.

Eerie and Eerie Adventures were mentioned in the infamous Seduction Of The Innocent by Fredric Wertham, M.D. It was about Avon suing Ziff-Davis for using the word "Eerie" on their covers. Wertham thought the judge should've throw in his opinions on the contents, but the fact that the judgment was solely on unfair competition and infringement didn't occur to the good doctor. What the judge ruled was that Eerie Adventures had to make the word "Eerie" smaller. I guess Wertham thought the judge should have torn them to pieces or burned the books in front of the court.





Thứ Ba, 28 tháng 8, 2007

Robert Kurtzmans Beneath the Valley of the Rage. Volume 1. Number 1

Robert Kurtzmans Beneath the Valley of the Rage. Volume 1. Number 1
June 2007 | 36 pages | PDF | 17.7MB

A four issue prequel to the new Robert Kurtzman (director of Wes Craven's Wishmaster, Dimension's Buried Alive) horror film, The Rage. Andrew Divoff (Wishmaster) reprises his movie role as the maniacal Dr. V, hellbent on bringing the world to it's knees by infecting it with his Rage serum and transforming all of mankind into mutated, murderous monsters!

Thứ Hai, 27 tháng 8, 2007

Soulfire New World Order. Volume 1. Number 0

Soulfire New World Order. Volume 1. Number 0
July 2007 | 16 pages | PDF | 10.3MB
Writer: J.T. Krul ; Artist: Francisco Herrera

Exploding from the pages of Soulfire! The power of magic has returned, and people across the globe are discovering their strange and sometimes disturbing relationship to the Light. As old allies arrive to search for the missing light bearer, another ominous force is gaining power, intent on making his mark on the world... even if it leads to the destruction of mankind! Dark and violent, New World Order is a story about the future of humans surviving in a world of magic, steering towards their own salvation... or doom. This gripping new mini-series serves as the direct lead-in to the exciting premiere of Soulfire: Volume Two!

Chủ Nhật, 26 tháng 8, 2007


Number 181


The Big Little Hero



Doll Man was a superhero who hung around for a long time, considering how fast some superheroes disappeared after the end of World War II. But then, Doll Man Quarterly, and before that, Feature Comics, where Doll Man appeared, were published by Quality Comics, which had an all-star lineup, good artwork and great distribution. When they went out of business in the 1950s most of their heroes were sold to DC Comics, who went on to great, long-running success with their version of Quality's Blackhawk. Later on they re-introduced characters like Doll Man and even Plastic Man.



This particular story, "The Tiny Terrors," is from Doll Man #6, dated Summer, 1943.

It's drawn by Al Bryant, who does a competent job. Not spectacular like Doll Man creator Lou Fine, but good enough in its own right.

The story itself is kind of a horror story, if you have insect fear. A mad scientist (and there are no other kinds of scientists in comic books), Dr. Dlee, discovers how to make insects big. His plot is to kill all the other humans on the planet. The war, going at the time this story was written, drawn and published, isn't mentioned in the story, but its effects are felt "off-camera." I see Dr. Dlee as having snapped under a form of war psychosis. The mad doc joins a long list of would-be conquerors and destroyers. And, of course it's up to Doll Man to stop him! The side effect to making the insects big is to make them intelligent, and murderous.

This story has one of those illogical comic book run-that-one-by-me-again-wouldja? moments on page 6, where an impossible transition is made. I'll let you spot it for yourself, but when I read it I had to go back and see if I'd missed something in the timeline established by this story. Nope, I didn't.

Doll Man has what I think is the worst name in the history of superhero comics. What boy of the era would be caught dead reading something with the word "doll" in the title? Apparently a lot of them, but maybe they kept their copies hidden so their buddies wouldn't razz them. Doll Man also had a costume that was right out of the Will Eisner/ Lou Fine costume shop. The bare legs and arms, along with the elf-shoes, would probably be OK during the summer, but in winter weather he'd be one cold, shivery little fella. I look at these costumes that Fine designed as somewhat fetishistic. It showed on a cover like Doll Man Quarterly #5, which featured Doll Man in male bondage.

All of that aside, "The Tiny Terrors" story is fast-moving and entertaining. You know, what it's supposed to be.

My copy of Doll Man #6 I got for free from a comics shop owner. It had been seriously mouse-chewed in the upper right corner. Only the last three stories are salvageable, but of course I took it from him, mouse-chewed contents and all. The cover shown above is one I took off the Internet. As longtime Pappy's readers know by now, Pappy's comics collection includes a lot of coverless comics, tear sheets of stories, damaged and unsellable comic books. That's OK, because you are a beneficiary, as I make digital copies to preserve them.














Marvel Previews for November 2007

Ah, November. It's quite the month. While we here at Marvel understand that juicy turkeys, buckle-shoed pilgrims and professional football are all very exciting, we respectfully suggest that you put these notions in the back seat, fasten your safety belts and get ready for another month of pure, high-speed comic nirvana the way only the House of Ideas can deliver. Don't believe it?

- ULTIMATE ORIGINS #1 from Brian Michael Bendis and Butch Guice is a tale of mystery surrounding the Ultimate Universe's greatest heroes. Captain America and Wolverine share a history running deeper than anyone could have imagined and this is only the beginning!

- Annuals aren't only a summertime thing, folks! AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE ANNUAL #1, GHOST RIDER ANNUAL #1, IRON MAN ANNUAL #1 and MOON KNIGHT ANNUAL #1 all hit shelves in November. Oo-wee, that's a lot of great comics!

- Preparing for life without WORLD WAR HULK? Well Marvel's giving you the chance to put it off a little longer with WORLD WAR HULK: AFTERSMASH, a 64-page beauty written by the one and only Greg Pak, exploring the fate of Hulk and all the lives he, uh, touched.

- And if your taste for epic action hasn't been sated, Stephen King's DARK TOWER: THE GUNSLINGER BORN gets the hardcover collection treatment. Collecting issues #1-#7 of this supernatural, Western tour-de-force, this is the must-have book for November. Did we mention Stephen King? Just checking.

- Picking up where the X-MEN: MESSIAH COMPLEX one-shot left off, UNCANNY X-MEN #492, X-FACTOR #25, NEW X-MEN #44 and X-MEN #205 continue the story of Mutantkind's search for the first newborn mutant since M-Day!

- Not enough drama for you? Fine! "Spider-Man: One More Day," the epic Spidey tale illustrated by Marvel Editor-In-Chief Joe Quesada, ends in November's AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #545, answering some heavy questions about the Web-Slinger in the process.

- Just when you thought the Phalanx were a thing of the past, ANNIHILATION: CONQUEST begins and things get ugly quick! This brand new installment comes on the heels of the CONQUEST prologue, four issues of NOVA and the QUASAR, STAR-LORD and WRAITH mini-series.

- Offering bleak visions of what could have been had heroes not prevailed, WHAT IF? ANNIHILATION details alien invasions and evil galactic conquerers having their way with our galaxy and humanity. See what could have been!

- He's baaaaack! Yes, CAPTAIN MARVEL #1 is here, with one of Marvel's most beloved heroes making his return via a mini-series and a dash of time travel. But things get dicey when Captain Marvel can see his own death on the horizon. Look out!

- HOUSE OF M gave comic fans a chance to see an alternate Marvel universe, one ruled by mutants. But where do the Avengers fit into all of this? Luke Cage might have some answers in HOUSE OF M: AVENGERS #1.



Original news is HERE

Thứ Bảy, 25 tháng 8, 2007

The Very Breast of Dolly

The Very Breast of Dolly
JPEG | 52 pages | 16.7MB
Story & Art by Blas Gallego

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100 Bullets. Volume 1. Number 23

100 Bullets. Volume 1. Number 23
June 2001 | 23 pages | CBZ | 8.6MB

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100 Bullets. Volume 1. Number 22

100 Bullets. Volume 1. Number 22
Mat 2001 | 23 pages | CBZ | 8.8MB

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100 Bullets. Volume 1. Number 21

100 Bullets. Volume 1. Number 21
April 2001 | 23 pages | CBZ | 8.4MB

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100 Bullets. Volume 1. Number 20

100 Bullets. Volume 1. Number 20
March 2001 | 23 pages | CBZ | 9.5MB

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100 Bullets. Volume 1. Number 19

100 Bullets. Volume 1. Number 19
February 2001 | 23 pages | CBZ | 9MB

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100 Bullets. Volume 1. Number 18

100 Bullets. Volume 1. Number 18
January 2001 | 23 pages | CBZ | 8.7MB

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100 Bullets. Volume 1. Number 17

100 Bullets. Volume 1. Number 17
December 2000 | 23 pages | CBZ | 9.2MB

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100 Bullets. Volume 1. Number 16

100 Bullets. Volume 1. Number 16
November 2000 | 23 pages | CBZ | 9.9MB

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