Tell them Boris sent you ....

William Henry Pratt passed away on Feb. 2, 1969, although generations of film-goers knew him better as "Boris Karloff", star of the classic 1931 film version of Mary Shelley's early science-fiction novel, Frankenstein.

Today, November 23, 2009 marks the anniversary of his 122 birthday, and I noticed that the "The Horrors Of It All" blog is linked to Frankensteinia's week long celebration in remembrance of the truly gentle man who portrayed so many notable screen terrors. Since we're sliding ever closer to the holidays, it also pays to remember Karloff for his famous voice work as the Grinch Who Stole Christmas.

Happy Birthday, Boris! You really brightened many Saturday afternoons that I spent watching your movies on Shock Theatre. [The post title is a line taken from Bobby Pickett's hit 1962 song, Monster Mash!]

(Above; top) Photo of Karloff, the final issue of his classic Gold Key series, Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery #97 (Feb. 1980) and illustration of the Frankenstein Monster by artist George Perez.

1980's Flashback: G.I. Joe, A Real American Hero

In 1982 when the Hasbro toy company relaunched their classic G.I. Joe franchise it was ably supported by what became a very popular Marvel Comics series. Running for 155 issues and spawning several spin-off titles throughout the course of its run, G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero was produced by Marvel Comics between 1982 and 1994.

The overall premise for both the toyline and the comics series revolved around an elite counter-terrorist team code-named G.I. Joe, whose main purpose was to defend human freedom from Cobra, a ruthless terrorist organization determined to rule the world, but the roots for the Marvel Comics series were laid even before the relaunch of G.I. Joe actually began.

Prior to Hasbro's G.I. Joe relaunch in 1982, Larry Hama (pictured above; right) was already developing an idea for a new comic book series called Fury Force, which he was planning as an ongoing series for Marvel Comics. The original premise would have featured the son of established S.H.I.E.L.D director Col. Nick Fury assembling a team of elite commandos to battle Marvels own neo-Nazi terrorists HYDRA. That idea was ultimately nixed, but Hama reused the basic premise when he learned of Hasbro's plans to resurrect their G.I. Joe toyline. Subsequently, each G.I. Joe action figure included a character biography called a "file card". Hama was largely responsible for writing these file cards, particularly during the first ten years of the toyline. While developing many of these characters, Hama drew much inspiration from his own experiences in the US military.

The G.I. Joe franchise is currently being published by IDW Publishing.

Donald Duck in "Old MacDonald Duck" (Dell Comics; 1941)

Saturday evening is a great time for a golden age short story post, and this all-ages classic is provided courtesy of Don "Zu-Gogo" Falkos. I've selected this six-pager from a file of Dell's long-running Four Color series. "Old MacDonald Duck" is written and illustrated by Jack Hannah and was originally published in Four Color #13 (Walt Disney's The Reluctant Dragon) in 1941.

Enjoy!

"Gal" Friday! Irish McCalla

A month of blonds continues in the Catacombs, with this weeks "Gal" Friday and "Classic Cutie" pick.

As an actor, Irish McCalla appeared in only a handful of films, but she was immortalized during the 1950's with her 26 episode run as Sheena, Queen of the Jungle (based on the Fiction House comic book series created by Will Eisner & Jerry Iger), which aired between 1956-57. In the iconic role of Sheena, McCalla performed many of her own stunts, until the day she grabbed an unsecured line and slammed into a tree, breaking her arm. Following the cancellation of Sheena, she appeared in five films and also guest starred in a few roles on other television series.

Irish McCalla had a more prolific modeling career and in fact was one of the Vargas Girls, regularly posing for pinup artist, Alberto Vargas. She went on to become an artist herself, eventually producing more than 1000 paintings. Irish passed away in 2002 at the age of 73, from complications of a stroke and brain tumor.

Flash Gordon in "Steps of Doom" (Harvey Comics; 1951)

I've temporarily scuttled an Alex Raymond Flash Gordon post from earlier in the week. There were at least three pages that would not "blow up" sufficiently to read & enjoy when clicked upon. I had posted comments that mentioned this, but actually received quite a few more. I have tried to correct the problem, but thus far have had no luck.

As an olive branch to regular visitors of the Catacombs, here is another story, this time taken from Harvey Comics Flash Gordon #4 (Apr. 1951). This issue reprints a sequence of Sunday strips that originally ran between October 24, 1937 and March 27, 1938; again illustrated by the great Alex Raymond, although I'm not enough of a historical scholar to know if artist Austin Briggs was already ghosting some of these Sunday's. Briggs eventually took over the daily Flash Gordon strip, when Raymond was drafted into the Marine corps during WWII.

The Catacombs is grateful to Don "Zu-Gogo" Falkos for providing the scans for this story. Note: The copyright for this issue, its contents and artwork belong to the original publisher and/or the creators and is reproduced here solely for entertainment purposes. Be sure and stop by later today when I will have posted this weeks "Gal" Friday selection. She's a classic cutie who embodied one of the greatest jungle queens ever published in the four-color world.

Enjoy!

Rulah Jungle Goddess vs "Ape Women of Antilla" (Fox Comics; 1949)

There were two additional adventures starring our title heroine in Rulah Jungle Goddess #26 (May 1949), but of the remaining two that I have scans for, one is partially incomplete, so I'm skipping it and running the last full story as a sequel from yesterday. "Ape Women of Antilla" pits our gal against a tribe of hairy african women. That's worth the price of admission along, but she also gets to tangle with a huge snake, and still manages to win the day in six measly pages. Whew!

The Catacombs is grateful to Don "Zu-Gogo" Falkos for providing the scans for this story which, like yesterdays Rulah post, was originally published by Fox Comics and illustrated by Matt Baker. Note: The copyright for this issue, its contents and artwork belong to the original publisher and/or the creators and is reproduced here solely for entertainment purposes. Enjoy!

In Memorium: Edward Woodward

The versatile and wonderful screen tough-guy, Edward Woodward passed away yesterday at the age of 79.

Woodward achieved wide acclaim for the 1967 title role in the British television spy drama Callan, which earned him the 1970 British Academy Television Award for Best Actor. Among his film credits, Woodward starred as Police Sergeant Neil Howie in the 1973 cult British horror film The Wicker Man, and in the title role of the noted 1980 Austalian biopic Breaker Morant. Beginning in 1985, Woodward starred as British ex-secret agent and vigilante Robert McCall in the American television series The Equalizer, which earned him a Golden Globe in 1986 for Best Drama Actor.

The Wicker Man really impressed me when I first saw it in the '70's, and then his later tour-de-force role as Morant truly made me a lifelong fan of Woodward's. He is deserving of much acclaim and was easily one of the most under-utilized actors in the business. Condolences go out to his family, friends and many fans.

Rulah Jungle Goddess in "The Whispering Wires of Death" (Fox Comics; 1949)

Fortunately for all of you purveyors of golden age jungle girls, jungle lords and all things born in the wilds of the dark continent, your patience will be rewarded. Beginning today, and continuing for the foreseeable future, the Catacombs will happily return to regular posts of such material.

As always, the Catacombs is grateful to Don "Zu-Gogo" Falkos for providing the scans for the upcoming mountain of jungle comics. To get things off on the right foot, we welcome back the jungle girl who has already spent a considerable amount of time wandering through the Catacombs, Rulah Jungle Goddess. Don has supplied several Rulah tales culled from All-Top Comics, Zoot Comics, Terrors of the Jungle and additional issues of her own self-titled series. "The Whispering Wires of Death" is taken from Rulah Jungle Goddess #26 (May 1949); originally published by Fox Comics and lovingly illustrated by the legendary Matt Baker.

This adventure brings our resident jungle gal to the aid of those who are trying to lay a telephone line throughout the jungle, but wouldn't you know it, another white jungle queen demands either tribute or death before they traipse through her neck of the woods. Rulah concocts a neat scheme to turn the tides in her favor by simply phoning a friend. Note: The copyright for this issue, its contents and artwork belong to the original publisher and/or the creators and is reproduced here solely for entertainment purposes.

Enjoy!