White Princess of the Jungle in "The Headhunters of Bullah" (Avon;1952)

“The Headhunters of Bullah” from White Princess of the Jungle #4 (Aug.1952); originally published by Avon, stars Taanda the White Princess of the Jungle. The artist[s] on this particular story is not credited in the GCD, but as a guess only, I’m going with Gene Fawcette & Vince Alascia who had recently taken over this feature from Everett Raymond Kinstler. 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 belongs to the original publisher and/or the creators and is reproduced here solely for entertainment purposes. Enjoy!

In Memorium: Sheldon Moldoff & Ralph McQuarrie

"Shelly" Moldoff

This weekend brought sad news of the passing of twin titans of the genre realm. Golden age artist Sheldon "Shelly" Moldoff  passed away at the age of ninety-two on February 29, 2012. He was best known for his early work on the DC Comics characters Hawkman and as one of Bob Kane's primary "ghost artists" (uncredited collaborators) on the Batman. As such he co-created the super-villains Poison Ivy, Mr. Freeze, an early version of Clayface, and Bat-Mite, as well as the original versions of Bat-Girl, Batwoman and Ace the Bat Hound . Moldoff was also the sole creator of Jon Valor the Black Pirate (Jon Valor).

 After Moldoff was let go by DC in 1967, he turned to the world of animation, doing storyboards for TV series such as Courageous Cat and Minute Mouse, and he wrote and drew promotional comic books given away through prominent restaurant and fast-food chains, as well as the Atlanta Braves baseball team. I’m grateful that I had a chance to meet him once some years ago. The Catacombs extends its sincerest condolences to his family, friends and fans.

Ralph McQuarrie

Virtually every Star Wars fan knows the name of Ralph McQuarrie, who was the conceptual artist and illustrator who designed the original Star Wars trilogy, the original Battlestar: Galactica TV series, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and Cocoon, for which he won an Academy Award. Other genre films which bear his artistic touch include Raiders of the Lost Ark, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home,*batteries not included and Jurassic Park. McQuarrie passed away at the age of eighty-two on March 3, 2012, in his California home, from complications of Parkinson’s disease. The Catacombs extends its sincerest condolences to his family, friends and fans.

"Gal" Friday! Lynn Collins

Next week Disney's theatrical adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs pulp hero, John Carter opens worldwide. Fans of ERB are probably more familiar with his classic lord of the jungle icon, Tarzan of the Apes. Hopefully the good word of mouth building for "John Carter" will translate into big box office dollars. I know that I'm looking forward to seeing the film at long last. John Carter is a personal favorite of mine!

Lynn Collins who hails from Texas, will be the embodiment of Carter's Barsoomian love interest,"Dejah Thoris" in the new film. I think that as much as the trailers and sneak peeks have won me over, it is the brief snippets of her portrayal that grabbed me the most. I found this incredible image (left; click to see larger version) of her to kick off my month of nearly nude "gal" Friday posts, and as much as it reveals; it also conceals (and that's just good photography). Have a peek, see the film, and hurry back next week for another barely there hottie representing the world of video games.

Zegra, Jungle Empress in "Games of Havoc" (Fox;1948)

Something a bit different today. Here is a nice black and white golden age reprint called "Games of Havoc" from Good Girl Comics #17 (Fall 1994); published by AC Comics; however the original full-color Zegra, Jungle Empress adventure was titled "Games of Death", which was first published in Feature Stories Magazine #3 (Aug.1950); by the Fox imprint, Hero Books, Inc. Jack Kamen is the artist, no matter which version is to your liking (and if you want to see this fine tale in color), click on this link to our friend, Pappy's post of the Feature Stories version.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 belongs to the original publisher and/or creators and is reproduced here solely for entertainment purposes. Enjoy!

In Memorium: Davy Jones

The Monkees #4 (Sept.1967; Dell)

Tenuous comic book connection notwithstanding, I had to post this. What a bummer! Singer Davy Jones of The Monkees has died of a heart attack at age sixty-six at his home in Florida. Jones was most famous for his role in the pop group The Monkees, which was put together in 1965 for the TV show of the same name. Their many hit songs included "Daydream Believer," "Last Train to Clarksville," "I'm a Believer," and "Pleasant Valley Sunday" and they also charted with the theme song from the show. The Monkees sold more than 50 million records and yes, they even had their own comic book series from Dell which ran for seventeen issues between March 1967 - October 1969. The Catacombs extends its sincerest condolences to his family, friends and worldwide fans.

Cave Girl in "The Jungle Badman" (Magazine Enterprises; 1954)

Leap year has run its course, and sadly so has my special 50th birthday bash series of "All-Star" posts here in the Catacombs; so thank you all for stopping by during the month of February 2012. As I look back, I think that I could have whittled the list of all-stars down a bit, certainly doing so would have allowed me to showcase more stories from a few select favorites. As it is, I tried to present golden age tales that had eye-popping appeal, at least in my own estimation. However, whether I succeeded or not, it is appropriate that we bring things full circle, and close with the character that started the ball rolling, so here once again is Cave Girl starring in "The Jungle Badman" from Cave Girl #13 (Jul-Sept.1954); originally published by Magazine Enterprises. Just like that Cave Girl story from earlier in the month, this fine adventure is written by Gardner Fox and illustrated by Bob Powell. When Buck Maldin escapes from prison, Bobo the pygmy decides to capture him for the reward money. Cave Girl has to protect Bobo from his own clumsiness and capture Buck. 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 belongs to the original publisher and/or the creators and is reproduced here solely for entertainment purposes. Enjoy!

Fantomah, Mystery Woman of the Jungle in "Fury and the Vengeful Wizard" (Fiction House; 1941)

Although Fantomah later changed her appellation to "Daughter of the Pharaohs", in her earlier career role she was referred to as "The Mystery Woman of the Jungle". It is in that capacity that she stars today in a previously untitled story from Jungle Comics #19 (Jul.1941); originally published by Fiction House, that I'm calling "Fury and the Vengeful Wizard". This tale was written by ['W.B. Hovious'] and illustrated by Richard Case. There is some interesting juju action going on here, and apparently size really doesn't matter, at least as far as the outcome of this particular golden age classic. 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 belongs to the original publisher and/or creators, and is reproduced here solely for entertainment purposes. Enjoy!

Sheena, Queen of the Jungle in "The Idol of Y'Gora" (Fiction House;1951)

Sheena, Queen of the Jungle stars today in the second of two golden age adventures featuring her from Jumbo Comics #144 (Feb.1951); originally published by Fiction House and with art by Robert Webb. This previously untitled story has been christened "The Idol of Y'Gora" by yours truly. 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 belongs to the original publishers and/or the creators and is reproduced here solely for entertainment purposes. Enjoy!

Tor in "Man-Beast!!" (St. John;1954)

Tor stars in an exciting "Panel-Rama" feature titled "Man-Beast!!" from Tor #5 (Oct.1954); originally published by St. John, and fully-illustrated by industry legend Joe Kubert.  Tor is the last member of this months chosen “all-stars” lineup (Fantomah, Jo-Jo, Judy of the Jungle, Ka’a’nga, Nyoka, Princess Pantha, Rulah, Red Panther, Samar, Sheena, Tabu, Thun’da, Tiger Girl, Tor, Voodah and Wambi) to make it to post; three alone will make welcome return appearances in the upcoming week. 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 belongs to the original publisher and/or the creators and is reproduced here solely for entertainment purposes. Enjoy!

"Gal" Friday! Alex Morgan

This year’s annual Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue, which came out Tuesday, Feb. 14, featured three popular female athletes as part of the magazines popular "body paint" series. One of the [thankfully] brazen ladies was U.S. women's soccer star, Alex Morgan. The twenty-two year old beauty wasn’t alone in her spread, the other pair of posers were Olympic swimmer Natalie Coughlin and LPGA star Natalie Gulbis. If you haven’t seen the issue, go check it out. Hard to believe as it is, this is the first full-on nude that I have run in the Catacombs (not that you would notice or anything). The excellent paint job allows me to slide this one past the censors, and has also inspired me to run some “nearly-nude” Fridays next month; so stop back in coming weeks to see what I can get away with. Man, did you catch the dubious double entendre that I tossed in today?