In Memorium: Joe Kubert

Comic book artist Joe Kubert, who started a Dover, New Jersey school of cartooning in 1976 [The Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art — known internationally as The Kubert School] that cemented his legacy as an industry great, passed away yesterday at the age of eighty-five. Students from all over the world who wanted to make a serious career in the comic book industry have sought training at his school or through correspondence courses that are offered. One day a week, Kubert left his drawing table to teach a class in comic book narrative. He is the father of noted comic book artists Andy and Adam Kubert.

 As a comic book artist, Kubert had a hand in creating Sgt. Rock, a World War II Army soldier that debuted in 1959, as well as the prehistoric Tor, one of the first comics presented in 3-D. He famously drew Hawkman, starting in the 1940s. His long association with DC Comics also produced Viking Prince, The Haunted Tank, Tarzan, Korak, Ragman, and covers for a variety of series and specials. Joe Kubert was one of the last of the true greats, and the Catacombs extends its sincerest condolences to his family, friends and fans.

"Gal" Friday! Cătălina Ponor

Twenty-four year old Romanian gymnast Cătălina Ponor won three gold medals on balance beam, floor, and with her team at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. Her athletic career continued, and she usually earned medals in whatever competitions she entered, but she subsequently retired in 2007. That all changed at the beginning of 2011. In August of last year, Ponor had a minor medical procedure to correct a congenital heart defect, and returned to active competition. At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, her efforts helped the Romanian team qualify for the team final, and individually she qualified for the balance beam final and the floor final. She won a bronze medal alongside her team, and a silver medal on floor exercise. Unfortunately on balance beam, Ponor had the same score as American Aly Raisman, but after tie-breaking procedures Raisman was awarded the bronze medal. As a consolation prize, based on her terrific comeback performance alone, she is inducted into the Catacombs as this weeks official “gal” Friday.

Samar in "Primitive Horrors" (Quality; 1942)

Samar stars in a previously untitled golden age adventure that I’ve dubbed "Primitive Horrors" from Feature Comics #53 (Feb.1942); originally published by Quality Comics, written by John Charles and illustrated by Max Elkan. The Catacombs acknowledges "Comic Book Plus", an excellent source for classic comics downloads [please go donate to their site] as the source of 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 "Cannibal Bait" (Fiction House; 1942)

Sheena, Queen of the Jungle stars in an early golden age adventure from Jumbo Comics #39 (May 1942); originally published by Fiction House and illustrated by Robert Webb. The title "Cannibal Bait" is taken from this issues cover. 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!

Tygra in "The Stone Man From Space" (Standard; 1948)

Tygra of the Flame People ran as a back-up feature in later issues of "Startling Comics" during the golden age. In her origin story, Lynn Thomas was returning from a nearby village with an experimental vitamin that was desperately needed to stem the tide of a plague, when her airplane crashed during a thunderstorm. Inadvertently ingesting the elixir to revitalize her diminished pep, Lynn overheard a cry and rushed to the aid of a local tribesman under attack by a lion, only to discover that she had become somewhat ferocious in battle herself. In a genre-bending adventure that could easily have appeared in later silver age anthology titles, "The Stone Man From Space" from Startling Comics #53 (Sept.1948); originally published by Better/Standard/Nedor, was written by Joe Greene and illustrated by Art Saaf. “Tygra” (as Lynn Thomas was christened by the Flame People) and her paramour, Dr. Terry Winton also make their final golden age appearance (this is the last issue of the series). The Catacombs acknowledges "Comic Book Plus", an excellent source for classic comics downloads [please go donate to their site], as the source of these scans. 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!

Twin Wonders!!

Click to embiggen (lol)!

Sometimes life throws you curve balls, and sometimes crap just hits the fan. It isn't always easy to make "lemonade" when you're gifted with lemons; and occasionally you're forced to hang out with people who [to put it mildly] are crazier than a shit-house rat. It is in the spirit of keeping it light, that I present you with this op-ed cartoon that I grabbed off of Facebook recently. I have no idea what/when/how/why/who the source of this funny image is, and I futilely tried to make that determination before throwing in the towel. Laugh it up. Smoke 'em if you've got 'em; and as always - Enjoy!

Tiger Girl in "Flee the Cobra Fury!" (Fiction House; 1948)

Tiger Girl (aka Princess Vishnu) returns to the Catacombs in "Flee the Cobra Fury!" from Fight Comics #54 (Feb.1948); originally published by Fiction House, written by "Allan O'Hara" and illustrated by Matt Baker. The story title for this golden age thriller was taken from the issues front cover blurb. Tiger Girl saves the life of a man named Quinn, sent by the Commissioner to map out the Valley of the Purple Rocks, but the Cobra has plans for the film being taken. 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!

"Gal" Saturday?? Kaitlyn Leeb

Comic-Con 2012 (and yes; it's an appliance)

A little drama in the family tail-gunned things for me this week, and I ended up taking yesterday off from work, therefore being a tad busier than usual,my regular  “gal” Friday only gets posted today. Actor Kaitlyn Leeb has a degree in Psychology, but for the past three years, she has appeared in television series such as Aaron Stone, Blue Mountain State, and feature films Locked Down and Wrong Turn 4. Kaitlyn is a Toronto native of mixed Chinese/Irish background. Besides acting and modeling, she also won the Miss CHIN Bikini pageant (in Toronto) in 2009. She actually didn’t have to work too hard to stand out in the tepid remake of “Total Recall”, even with the smoking hot Kate Beckinsale and Jessica Biel getting most of the audiences attention. All Ms. Leeb had to do was flash all three of her boobs. Of course, in the film they're uncovered and that’s a good thing. Right?

Joe Barton in "The River of Allah" (Ziff-Davis; 1952)

Sometimes you just don't know where the time went. I had intended to post this story yesterday, and then sorta forgot about it. Go figure! Joe Barton stars in "The River of Allah" from Wild Boy #8 (Oct-Nov.1952); originally published by Ziff-Davis, and illustrated by Irv Novick and Bernard Sachs. Joe, accompanied by his new found friend Barney Brewster, is hired by the fanatical Mahomet Ben Ali to guide him on a holy mission to find the river of Allah. This story is the last Joe Barton adventure that was published and it appears today courtesy of "Comic Book Plus", an excellent source for classic comics downloads [please go donate to their site]. Enjoy!