Camilla in "The Palace of the Black Heart" (Fiction House;1941)

Long before she started traipsing around the jungle in a zebra-striped bikini, Camilla was the erstwhile “Queen of the Lost Empire” (a knock-off of novelist H. Rider Haggard's 19th century Ayesha, aka "She"); which consisted of a kingdom of former Vikings, who had supposedly gotten lost on their way to the Crusades[?]. Despite this reversal (one among several throughout her features golden age heyday), Camilla enjoyed a long run in Jungle Comics. She was introduced in the titles first issue (Jan.1940) and continued until the final issue (Summer; 1954). The artwork on this previously untitled Fiction House story from Jungle Comics #13 (Jan. 1941), which I’ve christened “The Palace of the Black Heart”, is by Robert Webb and David Heames, the writer is identified as Tad Carter. I have just about all of the Camilla stories, and since the artwork gets progressively better as the feature continues, I’m going to briefly increase the frequency of her appearances in the Catacombs. This will bleed off most of her early Empire-period pieces and allow us to get into the bulk of her jungle girl phase. 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: Ernie Chan

I opted not to post a “gal” Friday selection last week following the passing of Tony DeZuniga (whose memorial ran that day), and now must do the same for yet another artist whose work I enjoyed. In a truly unreal twist of fate, a second legendary Bronze Age artist of the Filipino wave has passed away one week later. Ernie Chan (who was also credited as Ernie “Chua”) was best known for his work on the Marvel Comics version of Conan the Barbarian, but has also worked for publishers such as DC Comics, posting a long tenure on Batman and Detective Comics. He originally studied with John Buscema, and went on to work with him as the inker on various Conan features during the 1970s. He also inked the art of Buscema's brother Sal on The Incredible Hulk. His other series work at Marvel included Doctor Strange, Kull the Destroyer and Power Man in the 1980s. For DC Comics, he illustrated Claw the Unconquered and he was DC Comics primary cover artist from 1975 to 1977. I don't know under what circumstances his passing occurred, but he was only seventy-one years old. The Catacombs extends its sincerest condolences to his family, friends and worldwide fans.

Tom-Tom the Jungle Boy in "The Daring Young Man!" (Magazine Enterprises;1950)

Tom-Tom the Jungle Boy, and his friend Tree-Trunk, learn that there's more than one way to swing from a tree in "The Daring Young Man!" from Koko and Kola #6 (1950), originally published by Magazine Enterprises. I have no credited information on who the writer or artist was on this well-drawn strip. 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!

Cave Girl in "Terror in the Town" (Magazine Enterprises;1954)

Cave Girl stars in "Terror in the Town" from Cave Girl #14 (1954); originally published by Magazine Enterprises. This classic jungle adventure is written by Gardner Fox and illustrated by Bob Powell. 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!

Ka'a'nga in "Man-Trap of Leopard Valley" (Fiction House;1953)

This classic jungle comics adventure starring Ka'a'nga is taken from Ka'a'nga Jungle King #18 (Winter 1953-1954); originally published by Fiction House, with art by John Celardo. This tales title comes from the original Fiction House issues cover, which lists it as "Man-Trap of Leopard Valley”. 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: Tony DeZuniga

Marvel Preview #9 (Winter 1976); Doc Savage #2 (Oct.1975)

DeZuniga's "Black Orchid

Veteran Bronze Age artist Tony DeZuniga passed away early this morning at the age of seventy-nine from complications that arose from a serious stroke suffered last month, which led to brain damage and heart failure. He was the first Filipino comic book artist whose work was widely accepted by American publishers, paving the way for many other Filipino artists to break into the international comic book industry. For DC Comics he co-created the western anti-hero Jonah Hex (All-Star Western #10) and the mysterious Black Orchid (Adventure Comics #428). His other series work for the publisher included Arak-Son of Thunder, Ghosts, Girl’s Love stories, House of Mystery, Phantom Stranger and Weird War Tales. For Marvel Comics he produced particularly impressive work on their line of magazine-size black and white titles such as Deadly Hands of Kung Fu, Dracula Lives, Monsters Unleashed, Rampaging Hulk, Savage Sword of Conan, Savage Tales, Vampire Tales and two personal favorites of mine; his excellent run on Doc Savage and an adaptation of author Philip Wylie’s classic novel, Gladiator in Marvel Preview #9 (“Man-God”). The Catacombs extends its sincerest condolences to his family, friends and worldwide fans.

Nyoka the Jungle Girl in "Nyoka and the Missing Heads" (Fawcett;1948)

Unlike normal jungle girls who wear animal skins and speak broken English, Nyoka was civilized and dressed in safari gear. However, in most of her stories she was knocked out and tied up at least once, so there's that. "Nyoka and the Missing Heads" is taken from Nyoka the Jungle Girl #20 (Jun.1948); originally published by Fawcett Comics. There are no creator credits available for this story. 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!

Rayboy's Review: FCBD "Top 10"!!

If Newsarama can get away with listing their top ten reasons why every time Marvel or DC breaks wind it somehow smells like daisies, then so can I. Forty-two individual titles were available for fans who stopped by their local comic book shop last Saturday for "Free Comic Book Day 2012", and that's not counting Hero Clix figures and other remaindered items that the individual shop owners may have offered. Of course not every store carried every single book, but still forty-two books - free for the taking. It's quite an annual event for geeks of all ages, and to be honest, most of my picks for this years top ten fall comfortably within the all-ages purview. 

A number of publishers released two books (and props to them for showcasing as much of their products as possible), but frankly several of this years titles were issued in an anthology format and this didn't work out too well in my opinion. I understand why the publishers opt for this style of presentation, it gives more of a taste of the variety of product that they offer, but frankly the books that featured full issue and/or self-contained stories stood out from the pack simply for being a complete read. While select genres can benefit from this format, not everything lends itself to being fragmented. The New 52 from DC is a prime example.


Without further ado here are the books that I felt deserved the accolade of top ten status (in no particular order): Bongo Comics Free-for-All; Marvel Comics, The Avengers: Age of Ultron; Archaia Entertainment, Mouse Guard: Labyrinth and Other Stories; Oni Press, Yo Gabba Gabba!; Hermes Press, My Favorite Martian; Archie Comics, Sonic the Hedgehog; Boom Entertainment, The Hypernaturals; Viz, Voltron Force: Shelter From the Storm; Fantagraphics, Donald Duck Family Comics; Diamond Distributors, 2000 AD Judge Dredd Special; and my "Honorable Mention Choice" goes to Gemstone Publishing, Overtreet Comic Book Marketplace.


The Mouse Guard hardback book was easily this years best offering in presentation alone, and it even managed to showcase several worthy series from the publisher in an anthology format (so it can effectively be done). You will note that several choices were complete stories (Avengers, Voltron Force, Sonic) and a few reprinted work by classic writers and artists (Dan Spiegle in My Favorite Martian, Carl Barks in Donald Duck, Alan Moore in 2000 AD), plus the Overstreet Marketplace book nicely covered the history of horror comics. No matter how you slice it or what your personal preferences are, this year there was truly something for everybody. We should all be grateful to the publishers, distributors, creators and hundreds of comic shop proprietors for gifting us with another Free Comic Book Day to remember.

Dr. Voodoo in "Captured by Black Marco" (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. Dr. Voodoo's adventures 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 from Whiz Comics #27 (Feb.1942); originally published by Fawcett, "Captured by Black Marco" written by Otto Binder and with art by Mark Schneider, was chapter ten of the extended “Golden Flask Quest”. 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!

Avengers Assemble!!

Marvel Studios pulled off a historic coup at the box office this weekend with the opening of “The Avengers” featuring an entire slate of iconic characters. Combined with the returns from its earlier European release, the blockbuster has raked in $641 million dollars in twelve days, and that’s just for starters. The foundations for this massive undertaking began with the 2003 release of “The Hulk” and its 2008 sequel “The Incredible Hulk” along with “Iron Man” in 2008, “Iron Man 2” in 2010, finally “Thor” and “Captain America: The First Avenger” in 2011. Director Joss Whedon scored big with a topnotch cast uniting all of the big stars from those films: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson, Clark Gregg, Stellan Skarsgård, Gwyneth Paltrow and two new ensemble members: Cobie Smulders and Mark Ruffalo taking over the role of Bruce Banner/ The Hulk in spectacular fashion.

It proved to a worthy effort beyond the sheer amount of earned dollars. Nick Fury (Jackson) as director of an international peace keeping agency called S.H.I.E.L.D. pulls together a who's who of superheroes to save the world from disaster, with Iron Man (Downey Jr.), The Incredible Hulk (Ruffalo), Thor (Hemsworth), Captain America (Evans), Hawkeye (Renner) and Black Widow (Johannson), answering the call when global security is threatened by Thor’s evil brother Loki and his alien cohorts, the Chitauri. Every character gets a proper moment to shine and all of the actors play well together, plus there are some real crowd-pleasing scenes that will bring a smile to your face. As is usually the case, stick around for a couple of post-credit  moments including a brief teaser for the eventual sequel that features an awesome villain that only true Marvel fans will recognize.

I won’t go into further details lest I spoil the flick for anyone, but I highly recommend that you give this film a chance to win you over. However as an aside, I feel for the longtime fans who’ve called for a boycott of this movie in support of the Jack Kirby estate. Jack “King” Kirby died in 1994 and as the co-creator of Captain America, Thor, The Hulk, Iron Man, and The Avengers, Kirby was the single most influential figure in the early days of Marvel Comics. His influence extended beyond his artistic contributions as well, with his personal point of view and philosophy of drawing reflected throughout the entire publishing company. It is Marvels sad legacy that they have neglected to enshrine the “King” with as much lavish accolades as they did with his writing partner Stan Lee. Rather than boycott the film and deny yourself the entertainment, keep calling on Disney (the current owner of Marvel Comics) to finally make things right with the Kirby Estate. In all likelihood “The Avengers” will be a billion dollar box office titan in short order, and there will be no better time for the company to put this stain to rest and honor the late creator of so many classic characters. It would be the “heroic” thing to do. And shame on Stan Lee for his recent comments that he didn’t know how they would list Jack Kirby in the films credits, since his old partner hadn’t produced any of the previous films based on his creations. Hey, Stan, you’ve claimed sole credit long enough, and nobody is particularly buying that shit anymore, so grow a pair and come clean for once in your well-heeled life. Nuff said!