The Devil's Own / Green Horror

After seeing the great Eerie Pub cover art by Bob Powell in our last post, it was decided that a couple of his classic Harvey tales would seriously kick things off for December nicely! "The Devil's Own" from the Sept. '52 issue of Witches Tales #14, (with an awesome assistant from Howard Nostrand) and the gloriously goofy "Green Horror" from the Oct. '54 issue of Witches Tales #27, (first appeared in the Nov. '51 issue of Witches Tales #6.)

 (Bonus Text Filler)

D2-083 Convict Squad on Rog

Story: Harry Harrison 

Art: Dan Barry 

Summary: Leaving Mars after the dramatic conclusion to the alien hunt (see D2-082 An Alien Stowaway), Flash touches down on the Space Penal Colony to pick up three convicts who have volunteered for a dangerous mission on the planet Rog in order to earn parole.

Landing on the barren planet, the nonplussed quartet discover that their contacts have been liquidated and that the people they have come to help are trying to kill them - with only hours left to avert Armageddon...

(Source of summary: www.ipcomics.net) 

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It's from Emile's e-collection. All credits go to her & "Allen Lane" who scanned and first shared at net.

D2-082: An Alien Stowaway

Story: Harry Harrison 

Art: Dan Barry 

Summary: As Flash leaves Mongo (see D2-081 Neptunia and Frigia) to be reunited with Dale and Zarkov on Mars, a rubber-limbed alien stowaway escapes from an incoming starship on Mars and commandeers Flash and his friends’ small craft out of the starport.

Stranded in the middle of the Martian desert at gunpoint, the trio manage to complete an arduous trek back to Marsport to join the frenetic search for the radiation-seeking, elusive and by now completely unpredictable silicon-alien...

(Source of summary: www.ipcomics.net) 

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It's from Emile's e-collection. All credits go to her & "Allen Lane" who scanned and first shared at net.

Brain Boy #2

I was not aware of these comics in the 1960s and only recently purchased a couple of issues on ebay, unfortunately, not including the first issue (Four Color #1330), so we'll have to go to Don Markstein's Toonopedia for the origin:

Brain Boy was Matt Price, whose father was killed two months before he was born, in a spectacular car accident that also demolished a high-voltage power line, sending enough electricity through his pregnant mother's body to kill a dozen people. Miraculously, she and Matt both survived, and Matt grew up to be the world's most powerful telepath. He learned early on that kids who can do spooky things get beat up a lot, so he hid his power — but right after he graduated from high school, he was approached by Chris Ambers, also a strong telepath, who recruited him for an agency of the U.S. government so secret, it hid under the name "Organization of Active Anthropologists" so nobody would suspect it was engaged in international skulduggery.

The story in this issue is not particularly unusual: Dictator plans to take over the world by provoking a nuclear war between the US and Russia. However, there are some individual elements that are quite interesting and the concept of a Brain Boy fits in well with the early 1960s, so I thought I would discuss those more than the plot itself.

The early 1960s was a celebration of youth. John F. Kennedy was (and still is) the youngest president ever elected. It was also a time when intellect began to be respected more. The Whiz Kids of Robert McNamara, having reformed and modernized Ford Motor company, moved on to the Department of Defense.

Of course the Whiz Kids weren't really kids; McNamara had been 30 when he joined Ford and 44 by the time he became president of the company. But then, neither was Brain Boy a boy; his adventures start after his graduation from high school.

His powers are not described in full in the story, but it is obvious that they include telepathy, mind control, and the ability to fly:

He also possessed the ability to make himself virtually invisible, a la the Shadow:


Super powers and an origin mark him as pretty much a superhero, although he did not wear a costume. Dell had up till that point mostly specialized in licensed characters such as Donald Duck, but as Don Markstein notes, they had recently spun off much of that business to their Gold Key imprint and thus were apparently willing to experiment more in search of sales. Correction: As noted in the comments by my old buddy King Faraday, Gold Key was an imprint of Western Publishing, which had previously provided content to Dell.

Although Brain Boy did not operate in disguise, he did conceal his true abilities, causing him occasional problems with his girlfriend:

A very standard dilemma for a superhero character and his female companion, although as you can see, Maria (the girl in question) is far from a typical girlfriend for a 1960s superhero character. An interracial romance was definitely cutting edge by the standards of the time.

Brain Boy also lacked the code against killing that was common for the Silver Age:

And as Brain Boy leaves, he says "So die all tyrants." Not quite the literal meaning of "Sic semper tyrannus," (the words John Wilkes Booth shouted after shooting Abraham Lincoln), but close enough that it hardly seems coincidental.

Update: See here for several Brain Boy issues, including the first one (Four Color #1330).

D2-081: Neptunia and Frigia

Story: Harry Harrison 

Art: Dan Barry 

Summary: Seeing his friends off as they prepare to make their way back to Earth after surviving the horrors of Mongo’s dinosaur caves (see D2-080 Dinosaur Valley of Mongo), Flash stays behind to answer an urgent summons from King Trigon of the undersea utopia of Neptunia (see also D2-041 H-Bomb Under the Mongo Sea).

On being told that unknown human predators are harvesting precious underwater resources belonging to the pacifist Neptunians, Flash agrees to investigate, and it is not long before a new raiding ship with remarkable properties arrives...

(Source of summary: www.ipcomics.net) 

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It's from Emile's e-collection. All credits go to her & "Allen Lane" who scanned and first shared at net.

D2-080: Dinosaur Valley of Mongo

Story: Harry Harrison 

Art: Dan Barry 

Summary: Back in Arboria after his brush with piracy on Mongo (see D2-079 Pirates of Mongo), Flash takes Dale, Zarkov and the Space Kids on a field trip to Mongo’s ancient Dinosaur Valley with its fossils and deep caves.

But the pleasure trip soon turns into a living nightmare as the group encounters walking stone dinosaurs, a vanishing spaceship and deceptive pre-historic caves in close succession - with more to come...

(Source of summary: www.ipcomics.net) 

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It's from Emile's e-collection. All credits go to her & "Allen Lane" who scanned and first shared at net.

D2-079: Pirates of Mongo

Story: Harry Harrison

Art: Dan Barry

Summary: Out mountain-climbing after quelling the desert rebellion on Mongo (see D2-078 Desert Tribes of Mongo), Flash, Dale and Zarkov discover a hidden base housing a well-equipped band of modern pirates.

Released as a result of Prince Barin’s payment of a hefty ransom, the trio has some bad news to deliver to the ruler of free Mongo: his young son Prince Alan has also been kidnapped by the pirate outfit, who is now beginning to raise impossible demands...

(Source of summary: www.ipcomics.net)

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It's from Emile's e-collection. All credits go to her & "Allen Lane" who scanned and first shared at net.

Number 852

Blazing Death!

I don't know if any story drawn by Basil Wolverton could ever be considered routine, but this Spacehawk episode from Target Comics Volume 3 Number 3, 1942, seems like a standard superhero vs. mad scientist story. Still, it's Wolverton...and even routine Wolverton is better than most other stories of this era. His artwork is so distinctive he hardly needed to put his name on it.

Spacehawk's early adventures were freeform science fiction set in outer space, on other worlds with bizarre aliens and are usually what we remember about the feature. Then someone, the editors or Wolverton himself, decided to put Spacehawk on earth fighting on the side of America during World War II. So Spacehawk lasted just seven more issues of Target Comics after this and was gone. I don't know how long Spacehawk would have continued if the original premise of the strip had been kept. We can only speculate, but Spacehawk was fairly interesting, even in his later earthly adventures. He had the power of anti-gravity, he lived in his spaceship cruising through the stratosphere, and had a pal named Dork. I showed another story of Spacehawk and Dork a year ago in Pappy's #637.

Little Red Riding Hood and the Werewolf

This is our last gory glimpse into The Weird World of Eerie Publications (for now), but of course there's always more at Mykal's amazing Bloody Pulp and don't forget about THE ESSENTIAL book on all things Eerie Pub by Mike Howlett in stores NOW! Our story today from the April 1966 issue of Weird Vol. 1 #11 originally came to life as "Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Werewolf" in Fantastic Fears #8 from 1953 (you can thank either Burgos or Fass for removing the artist name at the bottom of the splash page), while the great Bob Powell signed his name on the gorgeous cover.

Bonus Filler!

Sunday Linkage

Again With the Comics covers the Jimmy Olsen Helmet of Hate story, with some appropriate sarcasm. It is amazing to consider the wild schemes Superman came up with to avoid breaking his word.

Captain America's 1960s version of the I-Phone gets covered (along with the rest of the story from ToS #92) by Jared at Blog Into Mystery.

All recovered from the L-Tryptophan buzz, Jacque Nodell pens a post on why she loves romance comics from the 1960s and 1970s. I would just add one more reason: the characters in romance comics are generally better realized than those in the superhero books.

Comic geeks do not live by the Silver Age alone. Bronze Age Babies covers the first issue of FOOM (Friends of Old Marvel) here.

Frew #1581: The Secret Of The Stone Plains

Writer: Norman Worker
Artist: Georges Bess

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All credits go to "Kit Walker" who has provided the scans.

Sharing after additional editing.

Number 851

Target: Hitler

The Target was a superhero who usually ran with a posse, the Targeteers. The Targeteers are missing from this story, from Target Comics Volume 4 Number 1, 1943. The artist puts himself into the story, talking to the Target, who tells a strange and allegorical tale about Hitler. The Target is telling a hallucinatory tale, or else the artist is hallucinating about the Target hallucinating.

Superheroes getting to Hitler was no big deal in the comic books of World War II, fairly common, actually. But those stories were mainly of the smash-into-the-bunker-and-punch-Hitler's-lights-out variety. This has religious overtones, not unheard of, but unusual for the comics of the era.

Surprise! Another story from Target Comics tomorrow: the one and only Basil Wolverton and a Spacehawk adventure.

Frew #1580-The Mines Of Death

Writer: Sverre Arnes
Artist: Heiner Bade

Download  89.59 mb

All credits go to "Kit Walker" who has provided the scans.

Sharing after additional editing.

D2-078 Desert Tribes of Mongo

Story: Harry Harrison 

Art: Dan Barry 

Summary: As the carnival atmosphere lingers after the conclusion to the Trans-Mongo Tournament (see D2-077 Tournaments of Free Mongo), Ming II is rescued from Prince Barin’s prison and whisked to safety by the members of his own acrobatics team.

When news come in that Ming has forged a powerful alliance with the desert tribes, Flash is despatched to the desert capital to quell the dangerous rebellion by initiating a head-to-head confrontation with the mythic desert chief Savara...

(Source of summary: www.ipcomics.net) 

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It's from Emile's e-collection. All credits go to her & "Allen Lane" who scanned and first shared at net.

D2-077 Tournaments of Free Mongo

Story: Harry Harrison 

Art: Dan Barry 

Summary: As planet Mongo once again approaches Earth’s orbit (see also D2-018 Return to Mongo), Flash, Dale and Zarkov are invited to the Trans-Mongo Tournament as guests of honour to celebrate the anniversary of the planet’s democratic alliance.

Determined to hijack the event for their own dark purposes, the underground alliance led by Ming II and Queen Allura manage to attract the Space Cadets into their midst so they can act out their own deadly cat-and-mouse game...

(Source of summary: www.ipcomics.net) 

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It's from Emile's e-collection. All credits go to her & "Allen Lane" who scanned and first shared at net.

D2-076 Flash Gordon vs. the Puppet Master

Story: Harry Harrison
Art: Dan Barry
Summary: Suddenly returning to civilisation after being missing for several weeks, Flash has no recollection of where he has been or what has been happening to him during his forced stay at Diana’s castle (see D2-075 Manhunt).

Acting under a post-hypnotic suggestion, Flash soon lures Dr. Zarkov to the prison satellite (see also D2-001 Space Prison) to deliver him in the hands of a psychopath acting out the early stages of a fantastic quest for world domination...
(Source of summary: www.ipcomics.net)

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It's from Emile's e-collection. All credits go to her & "Allen Lane" who scanned and first shared at net.

D2-075 Manhunt

Story:  Harry Harrison

Art: Dan Barry 

Summary: Returning home to a hero’s welcome (read D2-074 McFry’s Vendetta), Flash is kidnapped at gunpoint and taken to an ancient castle, where he is imprisoned in a private forest reserve by his mysterious hostess.

Learning that he is to be pitted in a remorseless life-and-death battle against Diana, Goddess of the Hunt, Flash prepares for his ordeal in the wild, where nothing is quite as it seems...

(Source of summary: www.ipcomics.net) 

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It's from Emile's e-collection. All credits go to her & "Allen Lane" who scanned and first shared at net.

Bedtime Stories For Impressionable Children Vol.1 #1

Bedtime Stories For Impressionable Children Vol.1 #1
CBR | English | 30 pages | 15.1 MB
A brand new horror anthology in the spirit of the classics! Meet Alonzo Del Vecchio, a former construction work forced by the tough economic times to become, much to just about everyone's regret, a babysitter. Modern horror masters James Kuhoric, Robert Tinnell, Mark Wheatley and J.C. Vaughn provide a series of terrifying tales the babysitter probably should have left at home.
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Batman - Streets of Gotham #1 to #17

Batman: Streets of Gotham #1 to #17
CBR | DC Comics | Released 2009-2010 | 406.7 MB
Batman: Streets of Gotham is an American comic book ongoing series written by Paul Dini, with art by Dustin Nguyen. The series will star Dick Grayson as the new Batman and will tie into Grant Morrison's overarching "Batman: Reborn" story and possibly the new Gotham City Sirens monthly. The first issue was released in June 2009.

Streets of Gotham features Batman as the main character, but from a "street level" with other characters providing the main narrative. When asked about the style of Streets of Gotham, Batman group editor Mike Marts explained, "...these are Batman stories told through the point of view of other characters in Gotham City. So it could be Commissioner Gordon telling the story, it could be a villain, or it could be a supporting character telling the story."
The series also includes a Manhunter co-feature written by Marc Andreyko and illustrated by Georges Jeanty. The co-feature was replaced by another co-feature that spins-off of the end of the Manhunter one starring Two-Face.
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Bruce Wayne - The Road Home - Ra's al Ghul #1

Bruce Wayne - The Road Home - Ra's al Ghul #1
Dec 2010 | 25 pages | CBR | 11 MB
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Justice League - Generation Lost #12

Justice League - Generation Lost #12
Dec 2010 | 25 pages | CBR | 13.2 MB
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Action Comics #894

Action Comics #894
Dec 2010 | 33 pages | CBR | 19.1 MB
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Bruce Wayne The Road Home Oracle #1

Bruce Wayne The Road Home Oracle #1
Dec 2010 | 25 pages | CBR | 9.7 MB
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