Wild Boy in "The Slavers" (Ziff-Davis;1951)

Wild Boy stars in “The Slavers" from Wild Boy #4 (Oct.1951); originally published by Ziff-Davis, and featuring the artwork of Paul Parker. Today, Wild Boy falls victim to that staple of the jungle adventure genre, a roving band of Arabs who specialize in human trafficking. His regular animal pals are present too, but the panther "Timba" is referred to as "Dara" for this outing. 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!

Bantor, Monarch of the Jungle in "Revolt of the Jungle Monsters" (Star Publ;1953)

 “Revolt of the Jungle Monsters” is taken from Terrors of the Jungle #6 (Sept.1953), originally published by Star Publications. Briefly billed as the erstwhile "Monarch of the Jungle", Bantor (and his mate, Zenta) actually proved merely to be a one-shot couple; so this was their only golden age appearance. The artist on this feature was Jay Disbrow. 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!

"Gal" Friday! Claudia Bassols

Oh, baby! Check out this luscious Spaniard, currently featured as "Maggie" on the sit-com "Rob" (opposite comedian Rob Schneider). Claudia Bassols appeared with Amber Tamblyn in the 2007 film Blackout; and in 2008 was featured in the PBS series “Spain... on the road Again” alongside diverse celebrities such as Mario Batali, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Mark Bittman. In 2009, Bassols filmed a lead role in the The Eagle Path with Jean-Claude Van Damme. Although the film was screened at Cannes in 2010, it will finally be released on home video in 2012. As a student, her drama studies carried her to such locales as Paris, London, Los Angeles, the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, and at the National Institute of Dramatic Art. She also studied English language and literature at the University of Barcelona. It's doubtful that her gig on "Rob" will stick around too terribly long, so if you want to get a peek at this smoking hot "gal", better hurry.

Dr. Voodoo in "The Castle of Doom" (Fawcett; 1942)

In the jungles of Brazil, Dr. Hal Carey's parents gave their lives tending to the natives of a tribe called the Blancas (because they were “white Indians“), and raised their son Hal to take over for them after they died. Shortly after this happened, Hal (later christened Dr. Voodoo) became the leader of the tribe. During his golden age career Dr. Voodoo's adventure were very well drawn by noted golden age artist Mac Raboy. The stories were like those of Prince Valiant, only set in a jungle, with Hal facing everything from headhunters to tribes of giants and dragons. This short tale is listed as "The Castle of Doom" in the Grand Comics Database, and was chapter nine of the extended “Golden Flask Quest” from Whiz Comics #26 (Jan.1942); originally published by Fawcett, with art by Mark Schneider; but the story title is also used in the next issue blurb at story’s end. 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!

The Tarzan Cover Gallery!

In the early 1970s, DC Comics acquired the license to publish comics starring Tarzan of the Apes, and then continued the numbering from the previous Gold Key Comics series. Here are the first fifteen covers starring the classic Edgar Rice Burroughs creation from #207 (Apr.1972) through #221 (Jul.1973); all illustrated by the legendary Joe Kubert, and with perfectly muted and sensational coloring by Tatjana Wood. Believe me, you'll see nothing of this caliber in the new Dynamite Entertainment series, "Lord of the Jungle" title. Enjoy!

In Memorium: Dick Tufeld

“Danger, Will Robinson! Danger!”

You probably don't recognize the face, but the voice is iconic. DICK TUFELD, the voice of the “Lost in Space” Robot has died at eighty-five, his long time friend and costar Bill Mumy announced today via Facebook. In addition to voicing the Robot, Tufeld was a familiar voice actor having announced the exploits of the super-sub Seaview on “Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea”, “Time Tunnel”, and in commercials for the bubble bath Mr. Bubble. Tufeld also was the announcer on  various Disney TV shows including the 1957-59 series, Zorro, which starred future Lost in Space lead actor, Guy Williams. He also reprised his role as the Robot in the 1998 feature "Lost in Space" which starred Gary Oldman, William Hurt, Mimi Rogers, Heather Graham and Matt LeBlanc. The Catacombs extends it sincerest condolences to his family, friends and fans.

Kara, The Jungle Princess in "Inescapable Disaster" (Standard;1946)

This golden age tale called “Inescapable Disaster” starring Kara, Jungle Princess is from Exciting Comics #44 (Feb.1946); originally published by Better/Standard/Nedor. Artist Al Camy, was a regular artist for Better Publications titles on such features as 'Jill Trent', 'Crime Crushers', 'Grim Reaper', 'Phantom Detective' and 'Spectro'. Before she became a jungle princess called Kara, she was regular army nurse Jane Howell who stumbled upon a lost civilization in the jungles of Africa. There she was elevated to ruler of the Arohitans, a people possessing a charm against physical harm, where she must always stay alert for the evil machinations of the priest Targala. Thankfully, Major Kit Kendall was along to help out with the tougher problems. 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!

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is a single-player action role-playing game with an impressive pedigree. Ken Rolston, the lead designer of The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, acts as the game's executive designer. Additionally, noted fantasy author R.A. Salvatore created the game universe and lore, with Todd McFarlane, creator of Spawn, working on the artwork. It is being released by 38 Studios and Big Huge Games on February 7, 2012 in North America and February 10, 2012 in Europe. Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning features five distinct regions, four playable races, and three class trees with twenty-two abilities per tree. The playable races are the Almain (noble Humans) the Dokkalfar (Dark Elves), the Ljosalfar (Light Elves), and the Varani (nomadic Humans). The class (or ability) trees are Might, Finesse, and Sorcery; corresponding to fighter, rogue, and mage classes respectively. The player starts off as a "blank slate," having awakened in a pile of corpses after returning from the dead. The game utilizes a unique "destiny" system, whereby players invest in a skill-tree system to unlock various "destinies," which act as the class system for the game. Combat works based on the timing of button presses, similar to the style of an action RPG, with occasional quick-time events like those in the God of War series. 38 Studios founder Curt Schilling (former Boston Red Sox Pitcher), originally began developing the Amalur universe for use in an MMO, codenamed 'Copernicus'. After acquiring Big Huge Games in 2009, the studio decided to transform the project into a single-player RPG. There are still plans to expand the Amalur universe into an MMO after the release of Reckoning. A playable demo was released on January 17, 2012 for Windows (Steam and Origin only), Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

As a fan of the Dragon Age franchise from Bioware, I was admittedly curious about Amalur and quickly downloaded the demo last week. Big Huge games and Bioware are participating in a cross-promotional event whereby demoing both Amalur and the upcoming Mass Effect 3 (another favorite game series of mine), earns you some in-game perks for each game once you purchase them. One thing that I really appreciated about Amalur is that the human male characters you are able to create really look like “heroic” warriors. My male human Varani character looked like an awesome hybrid of Thor and Conan the Barbarian; plus the crafting skills allow you to create your very own personalized weapons and armors, etc. In this game I preferred the large two-handed hammers over most other weapons. Those really packed a hell of a wallop, and naming mine (Yurthur, by the way) was pretty cool. After the initial sequence is completed, you are given 45 minutes to romp around select portions of the world of Amalur, and there are a variety of things to experience during the demo. It is lots of fun, and in my opinion, with the dynamic combat, colorful world and interesting character customizations, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning will prove to be popular. Recommended!