Tony Trent in "The Most Wicked Genius" (Columbia;1949)

We are closing in on the Christmas holiday, and you folks have earned a bonus today (plus I've had this story floating around for far too long), so hope you like it. In the days following the closing of World War II and the onset of the Cold War, Tony Trent gave up his long-running masked role as "The Face" and returned to his duties as a foreign correspondent. Note: I watched “Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol” on the big IMAX screen last night, (highly recommended, by the way) and was inspired to dig up this untitled story that I've decided to call “The Most Wicked Genius” from Big Shot #103 (Jul.1949); originally published by Columbia and illustrated by Mart Bailey. Enjoy!

"Gal" Friday! Paula Patton

After graduating magna cum laude from the USC Film School, Paula Patton scored her first acting role with a small part in 2005's Hitch, which starred Will Smith. She’s also appeared in Déjà Vu, Mirrors, Swing Vote, Precious, Just Wright, and in limited IMAX release today alongside Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol.

In fall 2010, Patton was announced as succeeding Sharon Stone as the new full-time assistant district attorney on the NBC legal drama and one of my favorite shows, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. However, after she landed the lead female role in Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, her role on SVU was reduced to one episode. This makes me sad, but I’m still looking forward to seeing her on the big IMAX screen later today, and inducting her as an official “gal” Friday for posterity.

In Memorium: Joe Simon & Eduardo Barreto

Eduardo Barreto (top; left) and Joe Simon (bottom; right).

As a writer, artist, editor and publisher, Joe Simon either created or co-created many important golden age comic book characters in the 1930s-1940s. He served as the first editor of Timely Comics, the company that would evolve into Marvel Comics. With his partner, artist Jack Kirby, he co-created Captain America, one of comics' most enduring superheroes, and the team also worked extensively on such features at DC Comics as the 1940s Sandman and Sandy the Golden Boy, and co-created the Newsboy Legion, the Boy Commandos, and Manhunter. Simon & Kirby creations for other publishers included Boys' Ranch, Fighting American, and the Fly. In the late 1940s, the duo created the genre of romance comics, and they were among the earliest pioneers of horror comics. Simon went on to work in advertising and commercial art, also founding the satirical magazine "Sick" in 1960, remaining with it for a decade. He briefly returned to DC Comics in the 1970s. He was inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 1999. Mr. Simon passed away on December 14, 2011 at the age of ninety-eight.

Born in Uruguay, artist Eduardo Barreto made his name on DC Comics series like The New Teen Titans, Atari Force, The Shadow Strikes, and on specialty issues such as DC Comics Presents Annual #4 (1985). He drew Elvira, Mistress of the Dark for Claypool Comics; and The Long Haul for OniPress; and for Marvel he drew Marvel Knights. In 2006, Barreto took on artist duties for the syndicated comic strip Judge Parker from Harold Ledoux. Shortly afterward, he was involved in a serious car accident and was in the hospital for a few weeks, which left him unable to draw Judge Parker; others took on the responsibilities. He resumed his work, but in 2010, Barreto contracted meningitis, which finally forced him to stop drawing the strip, although he continued working on other projects such as a recent Captain Action Special and on July 31, 2011, Baretto became the artist for the Sunday comic strip, The Phantom. He passed away today at the age of fifty-seven.

The Catacombs extends its sincerest condolences to the families, friends and fans of these two fine gentlemen.

Jun-Gal in "The Curse of the Seven Straws" (Rural Home;1944)

Jun-Gal received special powers from an exposed radium pit after she was abducted as an infant by tribesmen who had slaughtered her family. Why the tribesmen never received equal powers from living in such close proximity to the radium goes conveniently unexplained. Fortunately the natives brought "Mammy" along to care for the little girl. That being the case, there is no explanation as to why Joan (aka "Jun-Gal") wasn't raised speaking pigeon English too? Jungle comic books regularly featured insensitive, racist elements back in the day and all too often, for that reason alone, modern readers prefer to forget about them. This Jun-Gal adventure called "The Curse of the Seven Straws" is from Blazing Comics #3 (Sept. 1944); originally released by minor golden age publisher Rural Home Publications. Like the earlier Jun-Gal stories that I've posted, this tale is rife with racist stereotypes. The native Africans are depicted in standard black-face for that era. The artwork is credited to Harold De Lay. 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!

Og, Son of Fire ... ever more adventures (Dell;1937)

Two for Tuesday! The serialized adventures of creator/writer/editor Irving Crump's "Og, Son of Fire", continues this week with back-to-back strips from The Funnies #10 and #11 (Jul/Aug.1937); originally published by Dell. Artist Stephen Slesinger provides illustrations that are re-purposed in color from an original black & white 1936 Big Little Book version copyrighted to Slesinger. Dell serialized "Og, Son of Fire" in issues of "The Funnies" from January to November of 1937 (comprising issues 4-14 in two page snippets). I'll be presenting all of them in pairs on subsequent Tuesdays until I run out.

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!

Ty-Gor, Son of the Tiger in "Hold That Tiger!" (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 roamed the jungle accompanied by Malma. In this story from Blue Ribbon Comics #7 (Nov.1940); originally published by MLJ/Archie Comics, Ty-Gor is brought on board the river trawler “Junglier” by Joan Davis & her father; travelers who had previously been rescued by Ty-Gor. Their efforts to civilize the wild boy result in less than favorable results, particularly after Malma is locked away in the ships hold. The writer of "Hold That Tiger!" is Joe Blair and the artist is 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!

Jungol in "The Lost Laboratory" (Holyoke;1947)

Jungo the Man-Beast stars in this previously untitled story from Sparkling Stars #23 (May 1947); originally published by Holyoke. There was a minor change by this point in this golden age series, as an extra letter had been added to the characters name, he was now known as "Jungol". The writer and/or artist is identified on the splash panel as "R.T. Golden" (per the GCD). Actor Phil Gant was famous for his movie serial role of "Jungol" until a blow on the head convinced him that he actually was the very jungle lord that he had been portraying. In this story, Jungol, his girlfriend Gloria Dean, and their companions stumble upon evidence of an ancient civilization; even as they try to steer clear of the villain, Malon. To a degree, the explosive climax mirrors Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic novel, "The Lost World".

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 publishers and/or the creators and is reproduced here solely for entertainment purposes. Enjoy!

"Gal" Friday! Diora Baird

Florida native Diora Baird has made a name for herself among the usual sources that an up & coming actress-model can typically be discovered in: viral websites, video game voice-work, cheesecake photos in Playboy, FHM, Maxim, etc.  Her television credits include The Drew Carey Show, Big Day, Shark, The Loop, Two and a Half Men, and this weeks episode of “Psyche”.

Diora’s theatrical releases include Wedding Crashers, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006), 30 Days of Night: Dark Days, and Night of the Demon. In 2009, Baird portrayed an Orion Starfleet officer in “Star Trek” directed by J. J. Abrams, but her brief appearance was cut from the final version of the film. She can be seen in the deleted scenes on the home video release.

Her wholesome, girl next door good-looks combined with her stunning natural figure really make her one to watch; and it amazes me that she hasn’t been given more screen time. Hey, if you want to spend some pleasant minutes surfing the web, just do a Google image search in her name and enjoy the variety of shots of this weeks awesome “gal” Friday selection. She doesn’t take a bad photo!

In Memorium: Jerry Robinson

Legendary golden age artist Jerry Robinson passed away in his sleep last night at the age of eighty-nine. For his classic work in comics on such features as The Batman, The Green Hornet, and The Black Terror, he won numerous industry awards including the National Cartoonists Society award for the Comic Book Division in 1956, their Newspaper Panel Cartoon for 1963 for his "Still Life", their Special Features Award in 1965 for "Flubs and Fluffs", and their Milton Caniff Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000. Robinson was also inducted into the Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2004.

During the mid-1970s, alongside artist Neal Adams, Robinson was instrumental in winning full recognition and compensation for Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster in their long struggle with DC Comics as the creators of Superman. Thanks to their efforts, in December 1975, Siegel and Shuster were granted lifetime stipends and an acknowledged creator credit in all subsequently broadcast and published Superman works.

1953 science-fiction-spy adventure strip "Jet Scott" by Robinson. I met Mr. Robinson only once, in 2007 at the annual Heroes Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Catacombs extends it's sincerest condolences to his family, friends and fans. 

Rulah Jungle Goddess in "Murder in Duplicate" (Fox; 1949)

The Catacombs favorite golden age cutie, Rulah Jungle Goddess makes her fourth appearance this year in a classic golden age adventure that tells the story of an ace reporter falsely lured to the Congo to do a profile on our lovely jungle goddess, only to fall victim to a “Murder in Duplicate”. This tale is taken from All Top Comics #15 (Jan.1949); originally published by Fox. The splash page ["Alec Hope"] creator credit belongs solidly to veteran good-girl artist Matt Baker. 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. Enjoy!

Ka'a'nga in "The Mighty Broot" (Fiction House; 1940)

Ka'a'nga stars in a previously untitled story that I've christened "The Mighty Broot" written by 'Red Brady' and illustrated by Ken Jackson. This golden age tale is from Jungle Comics #4 (April 1940); originally published by Fiction House. 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!