Captain Action: Let Justice Be Done!

Thanks to lifelong enthusiast, Ed Catto, who is a marketing executive with over fifteen years experience with brands such as Oreo, Disney and Fox, I get to present an early look at an upcoming comic starring a classic character. You see Ed is currently affiliated with Captain Action Enterprises, LLC.

These guys have licensed the super-groovy, 1960's Ideal Toy Company icon to Moonstone Comics for a string of all-new Captain Action Comics, starring a contemporary version of the classic hero. Kids of the 1960's could take their original "Captain Action" doll on whatever adventures they could imagine, and then by purchasing licensed accessory kits, transform the hero into other guises such as Superman, Batman, The Lone Ranger, The Phantom, Flash Gordon, Captain America, Sgt Fury, Steve Canyon and Aquaman. Eventually Ideal added Spider-Man, Buck Rogers, The Green Hornet, and Tonto as options. The toy line was discontinued in 1968.

Beau Smith and Eduardo Barreto produced a six page story for Moonstone that appeared in Captain Action #4 and Eduardo also drew the cover to the Captain Action Special #1, which was published earlier this year.

These two veteran creators are now hard at work on the lead story for the Captain Action Winter Special #1, which goes on sale in January 2011. This issue will sport a Mark Wheately cover and the back-up story will be a "Lady Action" thriller by creators Tony Lee and Reno Maniquis.

If you fondly recall this "original" 1960's action hero and want to experience a little nostalgia, seek out either the four issue Moonstone Comics series, or let your comics shop know that you want a copy of the cool upcoming Captain Action Winter Special #1. Until then enjoy this sneak peek at some behind the scenes artwork by Eduardo Barreto (and thanks again to Ed Catto for providing this early look).

Dragoncon 2010 Photo Report!

No 2010 Dragoncon post would be complete without a shout out and "thank you" to the folks who sponsor and stage this massive media event each year. I had absolutely no problems at the show this year and my friends and I were amazed at how smoothly the check-in process flowed. We all agreed that this was a much larger Saturday crowd than we encountered last year. Think huge!

We got into line fully two hours before the show was scheduled to open for the day at 10am and the monstrous line stretched around the entire block outside of the Sheraton Atlanta Hotel. The Sheraton is only one of the four major downtown Atlanta hotels that Dragoncon spills across, the others being the Hilton Atlanta, the Hyatt Regency Atlanta and the Marriott Marquis Atlanta. All of my time yesterday was split between the latter three contiguous hotels, but kudos for the Dragoncon show staffers/volunteers and the friendly staff of the Sheraton for an outstanding job moving that insane line through quickly. As a suggestion to anyone who decides to go in the future, buy your pass with cash (like me) and skip the plastic, the credit card line bogs down every year and you don't want to stand in line longer than necessary.

There is nothing more fun than being surrounded by actors & actresses from damn near every scif-fi, horror and fantasy show that you've ever watched. This year almost one hundred media personalities appeared at Dragoncon and there was someone for fans of all stripes to appreciate. Seeing the surviving cast members of the classic sit-com "I Dream of Jeannie" (Barbara Eden, Larry Hagman and Bill Daily) in person was really pretty cool. Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell were present for fans of "Quantum Leap" and if you appreciate sexy sci-fi sirens like I do, then I have to say that you have no idea just how smoking hot Summer Glau, Michelle Forbes and Morena Baccarin are in person. Yikes! I am a big fan of each of these lovely ladies and seeing them in the flesh is really the bee's knees, baby! I spoke briefly with Forbes & Baccarin as I purchased autographed photos, but Glau's line was really too long each time I ventured over into her area (sob) but that's just as well since I may not have been able to control the drooling fit seeing her sent me into.

There were also about thirty authors, thirty music, theatrics, & performance art groups and around forty comics-oriented guests to divide your time between. Word to the wise, at Dragoncon you have to pace yourself and accept the fact that you're not going to be able to take in everything - unless you stay for the whole four day show.

I've seen Stan Lee once before (at an earlier Dragoncon of all places) and "The Man" was there this year, but I never laid eyes on him. Ditto for actors Ben Browder, Levar Burton, Michael Shanks, Christopher Judge, Erica Cerra or Lexa Doig. The guests usually participate in panels, presentations and scheduled photo sessions with fans, so that's just the breaks. As I said meeting Michelle Forbes & Morena Baccarin was terrific and I also became infatuated with Kristin Bauer from "True Blood". She is much taller and sexier in person than I had imagined.

I am presenting random photos that I snapped (mostly of the comics industry guests) as proof that I was actually there, but I must apologize for a couple that are blurry and I had beer with my lunch yesterday; so that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

In descending order: (2) pics of the legendary Neal Adams, J. Scott Campbell, a stunning cosplayer as the "Silver Age" Catwoman, Darwyn Cooker, (2) pics from the Heroes & Dragons booth, Stephanie Gladden, Mike Mignola, Jimmy Palmiotti & two cosplayers (Riki LeCotey at right as "Loki"), George Perez, Eric Powell and my brother David posing with Kelley Jones.

The American Eagle in "The Post-War Peril" (Nedor;1946)

"Nedor-A-Weekend" literally comes to you a day late and a dollar short. Dragoncon kicked my arse yesterday (my wallet suffered some damage also) and although I didn't make it back home too late to post this fine golden age adventure before the day expired, my tired feet and my tired eyes and my utter lack of motivation pulled a trump card on me. I passed out within moments of strolling back into the Catacombs, all curled up with my warm pug, Bandit (who apparently missed me while I was away).

There is no specific title credited for this story from Exciting Comics #46 (Apr.1946) starring The American Eagle and his sidekick, Eaglet, so I've decided to call it "The Post-War Peril". The artist is also unidentified in the GCD.

Next weekend I will present the lead feature from this issue starring The Black Terror. See you then!

"Gal" Friday! / Classic Cutie / 1970's Flashback: Marilyn Lange

I have to admit that my recent wave of awesome golden age "Cave Girl" stories, my imminent departure for Atlanta and the goings on at this years Dragoncon, plus some behind the scenes glimpses at an upcoming jungle girl comic (thanks Ed Catto; and don't worry, you guys will get to see this stuff soon) have all conspired to bring out the "beast" in me.

So this weeks "Gal" Friday selection really had to be special and rise to the occasion. I know that you fine folks will agree with me once you look this "gal" over.

In addition to earning a spot in the Catacombs as this weeks pick, the lovely lady in question also manages a cool trifecta by qualifying as "Gal" Friday, "Classic Cutie" and a nifty "1970's Flashback" - - all in one fell swoop.

Marilyn Lange was the May 1974 Playmate of the Month in Hugh Hefner's classic men's magazine and then later recognizing the goddess they had on their hands, Marilyn was also chosen as the 1975 Playmate of the Year.

Now it ain't easy choosing appropriate photos for this "all-ranks" blog, but take a gander at the two pictures that I've opted to share with you and then - trust me on this - go search the web for Marilyn. If you aren't already familiar with her, well, to put it mildly, you're in for an amazing treat. Marilyn Lange is one of my very favorite 1970's pin-ups. She is truly the very epitome of busty & bodacious and she had one of the best racks from that late lamented decade.

Have a great weekend and "stay thirsty, my friends"! (Sorry, I couldn't resist.)

Cave Girl in "Death Comes Three Ways" (ME;1953)

Man, it would have been really nice to see this Cave Girl series by Gardner Fox and Bob Powell run for a couple more years, but we will just have to drool over this great jungle girl feature and be grateful that we have these few fine stories to appreciate.

"Death Comes Three Ways" is taken from Thun'da, King of the Congo #5; published by Magazine Enterprises in 1953.

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.

I have one more Cave Girl adventure by Fox & Powell scheduled for next Tuesday, so try to contain yourselves until then and let me add that this Saturday's "Nedor-A-Weekend" post is going to pop up either very early in the morning or very late that night since I will be in Atlanta for Dragoncon 2010.

Later!

Rayboy's Review(s): Image United #3, Invincible #74, Science Dog #1

In case you were wondering, Image United #3 finally came out, but the shtick of having the original Image partners (- Jim Lee of course) all participating on the art duties for this Robert Kirkman written series has already worn out for me. I believe the final straw came when I read publisher Eric Stephenson’s two page love letter to Todd McFarlane. Within that pile of editorializing bilge, Stephenson reflects on a time back in the 1990’s when McFarlane penciled and inked a total of 130 pages in a single month, yet there isn’t so much as a single word from Stephenson on why McFarlane took so long to produce his part of the twenty pages of this issues lead story. I only mention this because it has been widely reported that the lengthy delay on this mini-series is largely due to McFarlane’s busy schedule. Bullshit like this I don’t need and it’s not like there is much happening in this book other than page after page of superhero slug-fests with no real point to the thing. Give this book a wide pass!

Image has other books that are more than deserving of you attention, such as Invincible #74, again from writer Robert Kirkman, with penciler Ryan Ottley and inker Cliff Rathburn; which continues “The Viltrumite War” as the war finally spills into the skies of the planet Talescria. Invincible, Nolan, Young Omni-Man and Allen the Alien drive the Viltrumites away in the wake of a betrayal, but this doesn’t necessarily mean that things have suddenly gone their way. With a huge extended cast of interesting characters, the occasional gut-punch of intense violence and Kirkman's appreciation of simple, straightforward storytelling, this book continues to be one of the most fun superhero titles out there, so buy it already!

While we’re on Image Comics stuff anyway, you might want to grab a copy of Science Dog #1, also written by Kirkman but with artwork by Cory Walker. This one-shot reprints the Science Dog back-up stories from INVINCIBLE #25 and #50, and leads right into the back-up story of Invincible #75. I didn’t start reading Invincible until after #50, so it’s all new to me and just like all of Robert Kirkman’s superhero stuff (Invincible, Astounding Wolf-Man, Guarding the Globe, etc.) the main ingredient here is “fun”. As I understand it, the main character Science Dog is the "fictional" star of a long running "Science Dog" comic book within the Invincible Universe, "Science" (as he is affectionately known) is a heroic hybrid of hound and human who embarks upon fantastic pulp-style adventures; plus he is Mark Grayson's (aka Invincible) favorite comic book hero. Simple, yet effective enough for me to encourage you to go check it out!

Cave Girl in "The Man Who Served Death" (ME;1952)

Today, Cave Girl stars in "The Man Who Served Death" from Thun'da #3 (1952); originally published by Magazine Enterprises.

Cave Girls' parents were murdered by savages in the jungle where they'd been living for several years while she was still a toddler. The infant then known as “Carol”, was carried off by an eagle, who took her far away beyond the mountains natives called The Barrier of the Moon, and deposited her in The Dawn Lands (where things were fairly primordial near the beginning of her career). Instead of feeding Carol to its young, the bird left her to be raised by Kattu, the wolf.

Under his tutelage, the youngster forgot the name "Carol", and soon responded to "Cave Girl", which is what the locals (referred to as "Hairy Men"; science knew their type as Neanderthals) called her, referring to her choice of abode. By studying the Hairy Men carefully, Cave Girl taught herself how to use the spear, the knife, and even the bow & arrow.

Eventually civilization breached the Barrier of the Moon, entered The Dawn Lands and transformed her feature into just another white woman traipsing through the jungle shtick. According to Don Markstein's Toonopedia, Gardner Fox wrote Magazine Enterprises "Cave Girl" feature until 1955, alongside Bob Powell’s lush artwork (which graces this issues cover too). 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!

Dragoncon (Sept. 3-6, 2010) in Atlanta, GA!

Dragoncon, the largest multi-media, popular culture convention focusing on science fiction and fantasy, gaming, comics, literature, art, music, and film in the universe begins in three days (September 3–6, 2010) in Atlanta, GA. If you're a sucker for celebrities from all types of genre television and film, you will be able to hobnob with cool guests from the worlds of Star Trek, Pirates of the Caribbean, Star Wars, Lost In Space, True Blood, Heroes, Battlestar: Galactica, Farscape, I Dream of Jeannie, V, Eureka, Warehouse 13, Andromeda, Buck Rogers, Stargate SG1, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Torchwood, Quantum Leap, Scott Pilgrim, Superman Returns, Babylon 5, The X-Files, Halloween, Firefly, Beastmaster and The Incredible Hulk.

This years excellent comic book contingent includes Stan Lee, Neal Adams, J. Scott Campbell, Olivier Coipel, Amanda Conner, Darwyn Cooke, Peter David, Paul Dini, Kelley Jones, Joseph Linsner, Mike McKone, Mike Mignola, Ted Naifeh, Jimmy Palmiotti, George Perez, Tim Sale and Ethan Van Sciver.

There will also be many more folks in these categories, plus science fiction, fantasy and horror authors out the wazoo. I'm heading that way with the usual gang of horny idiots, so word to the women of "Hotlanta", gird your loins.

The Scarab in "Resurrection of the Dead" (Better/Standard/Nedor;1946)

This next "Nedor-A-Weekend" story from Exciting Comics #46 (Apr.1946), has cool artwork by Ken Battefield. Since the Grand Comics Database doesn't have a title listed for this fine tale featuring The Scarab, I've decided to borrow a line from the opening splash page and call it "Resurrection of the Dead".

As a reminder, two more adventures will be forthcoming from this golden age classic starring the American Eagle and the Black Terror. For no particular reason today I've also included a single page text story called "Police Chief's Son" written by Johnson Craig.

See you next Saturday and as always, "Enjoy!"