Funny Stuff!!!

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Zegra, Jungle Empress in "The Deserter's Prize" (Fox;1948)

Sorry, but other than the name of this fine tale and the magazine from which it hales, I have no information on the creative minds who produced the work. If I had to make an educated guess, I would pick Jack Kamen as the illustrator of "The Deserter's Prize". There are panels that remind me of Graham Ingels work too, and he also worked on some Fox titles. Fox Comics published this beauty in Zegra Jungle Empress #2 (Oct.1948). Zegra, Jungle Empress was originally the star of a rewritten Rulah story, but she eventually became a separate character whose name was also changed from Tegra to Zegra and whose hair was changed from brunette to blond with this very issue.

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!

Chaos War Restores Dead Avengers!

Writer Fred Van Lente and artist Tom Grummett are teaming to produce a tie-in issue of Marvel Comics upcoming fall event, "Chaos War", featuring some heroic Avengers that haven't been seen for a while because they had passed beyond the mortal coil.

The Kree warrior, Captain Marvel, The Swordsman, The Vision, Doctor Druid, Deathcry and Yellowjacket all earn a reprieve to participate in the epic battle. Let's face it, the last three members are basically losers whose original tenure was ill-advised in the first place, so maybe at the end of the day, Fred & Tom will leave them safely deceased.

For my money, Mar-Vell, Vision and Swordsman can stick around after this mini-series runs it's course. I don't really know much more about Chaos War: Dead Avengers, other than it runs a measly three issues beginning in November and I wish the cover had a bit more dynamic impact. That static cover shot seems a bit of a letdown and too "posed" for a cluster of heroes that just made the trek back from Tartarus.

Mekano in "The Origin of Mekano" (Nedor;1944)

Okay, for those of you who have the intestinal fortitude to tear your eyes away from Sofia Vergara, here's the final "Nedor-A-Weekend" story post taken from Wonder Comics #1 (May 1944), with art by the great Bob Oksner. This fun robot tale also neatly wraps up my impromptu "scientifiction" theme week.

Mekano was a one-shot character who never appeared after this issue, but I've always thought the character was interesting. The robots creator shares a name with a Marvel Comics hero from the 1970's who is better known as .... Black Goliath! A few years ago a buddy of mine made a terrific animated short for me using Mekano, and I'm hoping to post that in the Catacombs soon, so keep your fingers crossed. It's pretty cool!

"Nedor-A-Weekend" will continue next Saturday, but I haven't decided what stories are coming up next. Stay tuned!

"Gal" Friday! Sofia Vergara

Colombian actress and model, Sofia Vergara has been featured in the films Chasing Papi, Soul Plane, Lords of Dogtown and Four Brothers. She is currently starring in the popular ABC sit-com, Modern Family, for which she has deservedly earned Emmy and Screen Actors Guild nominations.

Sofia is long overdue for inclusion in the Catacombs, but what prompted me to highlight her this week was reading that she is a natural blond. Apparently clueless producers have often asked her to dye her lighter locks darker in order to emphasize her Latina image. Those guys really know how to focus, don't they? (Nah!)

Ms. Vergara is stunning as "either" a brunette or a blond, but I knew that you lucky devils wouldn't mind seeing proof for yourselves. Here are three luscious photos of Sofia with her natural blond look and one current brunette shot for "comparison".

Beyond that, all I can really add is that I just love her, love her, love her!

Auro, Lord of Jupiter in "Auro Saves the Universe" (Fiction House;1940)

Let's squeeze in another adventure starring Auro, Lord of Jupiter and just call this a "Jungle-Scientifiction" theme week. That will also allow me to tack on a neat sci-fi post for "Nedor-A-Weekend" on Saturday - all right. "Auro Saves the Universe" is pulled from Planet Comics #4 (Apr. 1940); published during the golden age by Fiction House. The Grand Comics Database says that Nick Charles wrote it and Sid Greene drew it, so there you go!

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!

The Joe Jusko Art Gallery ("Last Call")!!!

Here's one last post of some additional art samples that Joe Jusko sent along with his nifty interview. Bask to the glory of these beauties in descending order: Conan the Barbarian, Vampirella Tree, Vampirella Halloween, Vampirella Sad Wings, Silver Surfer, Patch, Cuddle the Corpse, Stalking Terror and Marvel Superheroes.

Auro, Lord of Jupiter in "The Dragon Man" (Fiction House;1940)

Auro (aka The Lord of Jupiter) appears today from the third issue of venerable Fiction House series, Planet Comics (March 1940). Auro was essentially an outer space version of Tarzan, where the son of the doomed Prof. and Mrs, Hardwich was befriended by a saber-tooth tiger, after being stranded on Jupiter. The higher gravitational pull of the planet gave Auro muscles as strong as steel. The artwork from today's story is credited to R.L. Golden.

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!