In Memorium: Harvey Pekar

Harvey Award winning underground comic book writer Harvey Pekar passed away today at the age of 70. Pekar was best known for his autobiographical American Splendor series, which in 2003, inspired a critically acclaimed film adaptation of the same name starring Paul Giamatti. Pekar was also a highly regarded music and literary critic.

His "American Splendor" series had its roots in Pekar's friendship with Robert Crumb, the seminal underground comic-book artist. The two first met in 1962 when Crumb was working for American Greetings in Cleveland. At the time, Crumb was just beginning to explore the possibilities of comics, which would later lead to such groundbreaking work as his "Mr. Natural" and "Fritz the Cat."

When Pekar, inspired by Crumb's work, began writing his own nascent strip in 1972, Crumb illustrated it and also contributed to Pekar's first full-fledged books, which Pekar started publishing annually in 1976.

He appeared in a string of amusing and controversial episodes of David Letterman's late night talk show during the late 1980's, riling parent company GE when Pekar was vocally critical of the company.

I was fortunate enough to meet Harvey Pekar once during the mid-1990's in Atlanta, GA. The Catacombs expresses its deepest condolences to his family, friends and fans.

1980's Flashback: Batman and the Outsiders

The Outsiders were founded by Batman, whose ties to the Justice League of America had become strained. As its name suggests, the team consisted of superheroes that did not comfortably fit the norms of the mainstream superhero community.

They first appeared in the final issue of The Brave and the Bold #200 in 1983 and then Batman and the Outsiders, which debuted in August of that year. The team was created by Mike W. Barr and Jim Aparo. After Batman left the group in issue #32, the title was changed to Adventures of the Outsiders and continued until its cancellation with issue #46.

The cast of the Outsiders consisted of new characters Geo-Force, Katana, Halo and Looker; plus two established characters who had previously refused membership in the Justice League (Black Lightning and Metamorpho), and the Batman.

The team faced a variety of "moniker-challenged" threats such as Baron Bedlam, The Masters of Disaster, The Force of July and the Bad Samaritan.

From the Dust Bin: Silver Age - Mystery (SOLVED) - Trivia!!!

Here's a mystery photo that reminds me of the by now discarded "Silver Age" origin of Oliver Queen aka Green Arrow.

First, here is a reminder of Ollie's origin from the Silver Age years: "When millionaire Oliver Queen fell overboard from a yacht, he was washed up on a deserted island where he was forced to learn how to hunt with a bow and arrow in order to survive. He eventually escaped from the island by overpowering some drug smugglers and handing them over to the authorities. Changed by his experiences, he decided to give something back to society, in as exciting a way as possible - becoming a crime-fighter, using his archery skills for good. With a nickname coined by the press, Green Arrow (and his sidekick "Speedy") made it their mission to protect Star City. He took his cue from Batman and built his own "Arrow Cave," complete with an "Arrow Car" and allegedly a yellow submarine. He and Speedy fought crime with trick arrows that were designed to be non-lethal. Green Arrow eventually joined the Justice League of America and soon fell in love with member Black Canary (even though he was almost twice her age)."

Now, until one of you accurately identifies both the person pictured and the circumstances under which the image was actually taken, I'm gonna have a little "more fun" and suggest that this is a "rare" news photo of millionaire Oliver Queen taken at the time of his rescue (and prior to his beginning a career as a costumed crusader).

Tom Floyd correctly identified the photo as actor Ty Hardin (new photo; top) as "Ensign Leonard Thom" in the 1963 film, PT-109 (based on the Navy experiences of former President John F. Kennedy).

"Gal" Friday! Odette Yustman

Twenty-five year old actress, Odette Yustman debuted at an early age, playing a young, Spanish-speaking student named Rosa in 1990's Kindergarten Cop (opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger) and later appeared on various television shows and movies such as South Beach and October Road. In 2008, she starred in J. J. Abrams' successful giant-monster movie, Cloverfield. She also provided the voice of the character Amata in the game Fallout 3. Odette next appeared in the horror thriller The Unborn, released in 2009 amid much buzz generated by the international poster for Unborn that seemed to exploit Yustman's physical attractiveness.

My question is, "What the heck was wrong with that?" Enjoy!

Marga the Panther Woman in "The Secret Ray Repressor Plans" (Fox;1941)

This golden age story from Weird Comics #16 (July 1941) marks the second appearance of Marga the Panther Woman in the Catacombs. She is a fairly obscure character from the ranks of Fox Feature Syndicate.

Marga and her boyfriend, aviator Ted Grant are entrusted with delivering top secret plans to the Army office of a nearby city. They are soon bedeviled by Cruor, a peculiar looking gentleman who wishes to become ruler of the world. He manages to swipe the plans and hastens to a hidden domain. However with Marga on his trail, Cruor never has any real chance of succeeding at his plot. At least in this tale Marga doesn't play second banana to the tacked on male boyfriend, but Ted makes a valuable contribution that helps bring down the villain.

The artwork on this tale is by Emil Gershwin (signed as "James T. Royal"). 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 creators and is reproduced here solely for entertainment purposes.

Enjoy!

Rayboy's Review: Tom Strong and the Robots of Doom #1 (ABC)

Tom Strong and the Robots of Doom #1 (of 6) is written by Peter Hogan, penciled by Chris Sprouse & inked by Karl Story. This couldn't have come at a better time, since most of the offerings from both DC and Marvel roil around the latest batch of mega-events.

I actually don't want to spoil this book since I was a fan of the original series from DC's America's Best Comics imprint, just exult in the fact that Hogan, Sprouse and Story ably return the pulp-inspired Strong in a reality-bending mini-series that picks up on elements from the original series run involving Ingrid Weiss and her son Albrecht. The issue is a fairly "quiet" introductory one with few special effects style bells and whistles, with the bulk of this issue occuring after the twisted pair of villains manage to create an alternate-reality in which Tom Strong's wife, Dhalua and daughter, Tesla have perished long ago in a Nazi death camp and King Solomon has been vivisected; even Pneuman, Strong's steam-punk robot, has been reprogrammed to serve the new world order under Nazi control.

Without his support infrastructure in place, Strong is left to contend with these dire ramifications and ultimately this was the only weakness that I found in the otherwise fine first issue. Having the impacts of these events occur "off-camera" elevated the effectiveness of hearing them related to Strong, but whether Hogan dropped the ball in his script descriptions or Sprouse didn't find a way to capture the horrific emotions that the fates of his family members should have elicited from Strong, the overall effect of receiving this "news" is sadly muted. As readers, we should have seen the emotional impact of this massive paradigm shift playing out on the main characters face. There is a brief tearful moment on the final page, but it should have been presented as being much more powerful.

I will still gladly pick up the whole run and hopefully this will be the first of many "returns" of Tom Strong. Recommended!

Ty-Gor, Son of the Tiger in "Captured by the Dyaks" (MLJ; 1940)

Taken as a baby, Tyrone Gorman was offered as a living sacrifice to tigers in the jungles of Malaysia. Instead, the tigress Malma raised him. "Ty-Gor" was unknowingly an heir to a vast fortune back home while he lived the Tarzan bit as a young lad accompanied by Malma. In this story taken from Blue Ribbon Comics #5 (July 1940); originally published by MLJ/Archie Comics, he is found and taken in by an explorer named Davis and his daughter Joan (who are both making their first appearance) leading to more adventures for Ty-Gor outside the jungles.. The script on "Captured by the Dyaks" is by Joe Blair and the art is by Mort Meskin.

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 creators and is reproduced here solely for entertainment purposes.

Enjoy!

Retro-View: Planet of the Apes #20 (Marvel Comics)

Writer Doug Moench and artist Tom Sutton serve up an odd little episode of the ongoing "Terror of the Planet of the Apes" serial called "Society of the Psychedrome" in Marvel Comics black & white, magazine Planet of the Apes #20; originally published in May 1976.

I never bought this mag back in the 70's and it's a title that I've been curious about ever since. At this summers Heroes Convention, I lucked into a seller with plenty of black & white Marvel mags, and I nabbed this pristine mint gem in order to give it a look see. I'm glad that I got to finally check it out, but this first - of two - serialized stories inside didn't really do it for me. The characters highlighted are new ones that were not featured in any of the "Apes" films, so that was one thing. The other was the drugged out, hippy-style goings on within the titular "Psychedrome" itself. A gorilla general called Brutus is in pursuit of a human Jason and his not-quite companion, the chimpanzee known as Alex; the two temporarily aligned in order to rescue other friends trapped inside the underground facility. The psychedrome turns out to be a crashed alien vessel controlled by a being whose face is comprised of multiple eyeballs on stalks, swirling around a squid-like beaked maw. If that doesn't get your nuts in a knot, the pair must also battle through a squadron of flying monkey-demons. Oh yeah! The early artwork by Sutton isn't godawful, but it doesn't really appeal to me and Moench must have been smoking weed at the time, because this tale is just bizarre.

After a nice article on the special effects used to bring the various "Apes" films to the big screen, the issue concludes with part 5 of Marvel's adaptation of the fourth Apes movie, "Conquest of the Planet of the Apes". Again written by Moench but illustrated this time by Alfredo Alcala, "Army of Slaves" picks up right about where Caesar leads the apes in revolt against mankind, setting up what will eventually occur in the remaining Apes film series. This story was a bit more like it for my tastes, since I could at least remember the original film itself and the artwork was more serviceable and entertaining. This issues decent cover is by someone billed as Micheal McN. (Don't ask me?)

Miss Independent!

This "gal" has certainly had a controversial week, but that's primarily because the folks/dumbasses over at DC Comics conveniently forgot one simple little fact.

"You don't tug on Superman's cape, you don't spit into the wind, you don't pull the mask off that ol' Lone Ranger and you don't mess around with Wonder Woman's iconic costume."

HAPPY 4th of JULY!!

Rayboy's Review: X-Men Forever 2 #1

Nothing quite says "I badly want a sales spike" like a top publisher cancelling a book, only to immediately restart the very same title, with the very same creative team and continuing the very same storyline - for instance - like Marvel Comics X-Men Forever 2 #1.

This utterly ridiculous gimmick blows smoke up the asses of the intended audience, while at the same time artificially boosts sales on a new "#1" issue, at least long enough for the great and powerful Wizard of Claremont to enjoy his extra shekels, spinning his alternate-continuity X-festivities.

Here's a bit of the double speak used to sell this turkey to the fanboys who can't accept the fact that they are the peanut inside Marvels ongoing shell game:

"CHRIS CLAREMONT CONTINUES HIS LANDMARK SERIES WITH A NEW STORY, A NEW TEAM, AND EVEN MORE TWISTS AND TURNS! With the drastic events from the end of Volume 1, the X-Men are shaken to their very core. As they start to pick up the pieces, they are confronted by a new enemy, more powerful than any other they've ever faced. With original series artist TOM GRUMMETT, these are two issues you won't want to miss."

I've just gotta ask if anybody out there really enjoys playing king of the hill on top of such a huge pile of bullshit? I gave the first couple of issues from last years initial volume a try because I liked Tom Grummett's artwork, and admittedly out of curiosity over what Claremont intended to do with the X-Men after so long an absence from the title. Well, he started the ball rolling by killing off Wolverine in the first issue of volume one, then rather than focus his energy on some of the remaining cast and how this seminal event would shift the interpersonal dynamics of the entire team, Claremont shoehorned Sabretooth in as a De facto replacement for Logan. Yeah. I see that glimmer in your eyes already; he basically hit the easy button! Adding insult to injury, Chris made so many bizarre changes to the other remaining X-Men, that even this title - which was pitched as a return to the original X-team, freed from three dozen ongoing other "X" series gobbledygook brouhaha's - seems just as out in the left field of the twilight zone as any other current Marvel series.

I also have to say that Grummett's decent art efforts aren't well served by the inking of Cory Hamscher, but Wil Quintana partially salvages the package - a bit - with his nice coloring work. I can't say that this unnecessary relaunch gets my attention any more than last years model, but maybe 2011's X-Men Forever 3 #1 will finally do the trick. Stay tuned!

"Gal" Friday! Jessica Palette

Jessica Palette was a contestant in the 2008 VH1 reality show, Scream Queens; which featured ten contestants competing in challenges including working with bugs, gore and stunts as they participated in a horror-acting boot camp. Prior to that short-run series (eight one-hour episodes), Jessica supported herself by working as a waitress while she pursued an acting career.

I was contacted last week by writer and director Travis Legge, who is currently in preproduction on a web television series called "The New Adventures of Miss Masque", starring Jessica Palette (pictured; left & above) as the granddaughter of the golden age heroine, Miss Masque.

Here is a brief summary of the series: "Diana Bowman, granddaughter of the original Miss Masque, discovers the truth of her family heritage upon inheriting her grandmother’s worldly possessions. Seeing how awful the world is, and inspired by her grandmother’s youthful crusades, Diana adopts the identity of Miss Masque and begins patrolling the city as a vigilante hero. With the assistance of a retired superhero form the 1940’s the new Miss Masque begins a series of adventures fighting crime and standing for justice."

The New Adventures of Miss Masque will be the pilot for an ongoing web series featuring various public domain superheroes from the 1940’s. Episodes will be available online for free in standard definition, with HD versions (including exclusive behind-the-scenes content) available for a paid download. If the first four webisode story arc performs well, "The New Adventures of Miss Masque" will become an ongoing web series.

Travis is seeking crowd funding in support of his efforts to make this web series. If you would like to help him out with any size donation, please follow this link for additional information. I know that any help would be greatly appreciated.

The Catacombs is pleased to help spread the word and to have Jessica serve as this week's duly elected "Gal" Friday. I can't wait to see her in costume!

Daredevil and Lance Hale in "Fighting Hitler and His Jungle Hordes" (Lev Gleason;1941)

Today's classic golden age story comes from Daredevil Comics #1 (July 1941); originally published by Lev Gleason. The original Daredevil (a death-defying chap if ever there was one) joins forces with a handful of other Lev Gleason action stars to take on Der Fuhrer himself and the third chapter of that epic battle called "Fighting Hitler and His Jungle Hordes", co-starred a jungle lord of a different stripe, the colorfully-clad Lance Hale. The credits all seem to belong to the late Charles Biro for this fine tale, and the memorable cover illustration is included as a nifty bonus in honor of this weekends 4th of July celebration..

Today is also my youngest daughters seventeenth birthday, so "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, STACY!!"

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 creators and is reproduced here solely for entertainment purposes.

Enjoy!