"Return of Lady Blackhawk" from Blackhawk #140 (DC Comics)

"Return of Lady Blackhawk" (cont.)

Pappy's Golden Age Comics Blogzine (see the links section) inspired me to post another classic Blackhawk story to close out 2008, after he posted one the other day [here]. This adventure from Blackhawk #140, features the return of Zinda Blake aka Lady Blackhawk and her official induction into the team, with nice artwork by the great team of Dick Dillin & Chuck Cuidera.

Enjoy (and see you again next year) !

Double Review: Hulk #8 & Hulk #9 (Marvel Comics)

The one thing that I don't know about this title is whether or not it is the primary Hulk title these days at Marvel or simply just another book featuring the Jade Giant. Or Grey Giant.

Or "Rulk"! Yeah, I know, but just bear with me.

Jeph Loeb, Arthur Adams and Frank Cho pull out all of the stops on this three-parter (I missed the first part), but I am left wondering why the decision was made to release these issues as a split book. I believe that readers would have been better served by having a single Arthur Adams drawn issue and then a full Frank Cho drawn issue, but whaever.

What really got me interested in picking these babies up was the presence of so many cool 1970's guest stars. In the Adams illustrated sections, Hulk is joined by Ms. Marvel, Moon Knight and Brother Voodoo in a fight against a horde of Wendigos. The Cho pencilled sections feature She-Hulk leading a new lineup of Lady Liberators that includes Thundra, Valkyrie, Invisible Woman, Tigra, Storm, Hellcat, Black Widow and Spider-Woman in battle with the Red Hulk (aka "Rulk").

Now can someone explain to me just who and what this Rulk really is?

I DO wish that either Adams or Cho would continue on as regular artist on the title, but based on the solicitation for the next issue this trilogy was an extended fill-in by the two marquee artists.

Too bad! They were why I bought them in the first place, but I will console myself by seeking out the part that I missed. These issues were alot of fun and I recommend them to everyone that enjoys a little superhero action from a publisher that increasingly seems to have forgotten what that is all about.

"The Killer From Saturn" (Web Of Evil #3; courtesy of THOIA)

"The Killer From Saturn" (cont.)

This "killer" story from the March 1953 issue of Web of Evil #3 was forwarded my way by Karswell over at THOIA. The Horrors Of It All is running a spiffy "Sci-Fi Horrors Week", so to enjoy some really cool outer space (and other) hijinks's just zap on over to his blog.

"Gal" Friday! (In Memorium): Eartha Kitt

Singer and actress Eartha Kitt, who portrayed the second Catwoman on the classic Batman television series, passed away from colon cancer on Christmas Day at the age of 81.

She struck it big on Broadway, films and recorded many hit songs, including her perennial 1953 holiday favorite, Santa Baby. Ms. Kitt so impressed her lover, Charles Revson (pioneer of the Revlon cosmetic company), that he created a flaming red lipstick for her called Fire and Ice.

After she became a household name with her association with the Batman TV series in the 1960s, Eartha was effectively exiled from the United States following anti-war statements that she made during a White House lunch which upset First Lady Lady Bird Johnson. That incident put a hold on her career. Eartha had been born to a 14-year-old girl who was raped on a South Carolina cotton plantation and she was handed over to another family before being sent to live with an aunt in New York.

Condolences go out to her family, friends and fans.

The Comic Book Catacombs 2008 "Ghoulie" Awards

I've been blogging from the Catacombs for more than a year now, and to celebrate I am starting a new year end tradition of singling out my own "favorites" of the past year. Posts, featurettes, reviews or other stuff that I posted during the calendar year of 2008, along with one special recognition for above and beyond the call of duty. We'll call these the "Ghoulie" Awards (and I hope that all of you truly appreciate me slipping on my Sunday Best for this portrait).

Best 2008 Classic Comics Story or Strip Nominees

"Crime Lab" Wanted #34 (Feb. 1951; Courtesy of THOIA)
"Riotmascope Presents "How To Marry A Billionaire!" (courtesy of THOIA)
Rulah, Jungle Goddess and "The Pigeons of Flame" (Fox Comics)
Rulah Jungle Goddess in "The Ghoul of Galhalla" (Fox Comics)
"Sandflower of Venus" (Ziff-Davis; courtesy of THOIA)

*Winner: "Sandflower of Venus"

Out of all the comics stories, that I posted this year, Sandflower was easily my absolute favorite of the bunch. Karswell from "The Horrors Of It All" blog, sent it my way after an appeal for more comics material and I was blown away from the first moment that I read it.

Best 2008 Featurette Nominees

75th Anniversary Salute to The Man of Bronze
All-New, All-Different X-Men, X-tra
Profile Antics: Colleen Doran
Profile Antics: Stephanie Gladden
Remember the "New" Teen Titans

*Winner: 75th Anniversary Salute to The Man of Bronze

I discovered Doc Savage as a young teenager when I first read The Lost Oasis, and it grabbed me in a very powerful way. So many comic book characters owe a huge debt of gratitude to Doc's creator, Lester Dent, whose pulp novel icon originated many genre staples that were later successfully aped by other - but Doc had often done it first.

Best ‘1970’s Flashback’ Nominees

Devil Dinosaur
The Hands of Shang Chi
Marvel Two-In-One
The Brute (Atlas/Seaboard Comics)
Sons of the Tiger

*Winner: The Hands of Shang Chi

The "Flashbacks" continue to be source of fun, and despite how many I've posted, there are many more to come AND some day, the Flashbacks WILL leap forward to the 1980's, probably the last decade where truly traditional comic books really did finally die off.

Best "Gal" Friday Nominees

Alice Goodwin
Amanda Seyfried
Manuela Arcuri
Marg Helgenberger
Vida Guerra

*Winner: Vida Guerra

The toughest category to whittle down by far, with strong honorable mentions going out to Michelle Ryan and Kelly Monaco (whose posted photos were really awesome), but who were not official "Gal" Friday's.

Best 2008 Movie Review Nominees

The Dark Knight
Hellboy II The Golden Army
Iron Man
Quantum of Solace

*Winner: Hellboy II The Golden Army

Not necessarily the best genre movie of the year, but simply the review that tickled me as I read back through my posted comments.

Worst 2008 Featurette Nominees

Captain’s Trading Post
NBC TV "Heroes" (just because the show itself went so far south)
Somethings Missing

*Loser/?: Captain’s Trading Post

My idea to reinvent a favorite past-time from my youth (swapping comics and stuff) failed to garner even a flicker of interest.

********************************************************************************

If you happened to notice all of the "Courtesy of THOIA" credits in the top category, then you will certainly understand why ye olde editor was able to easily select the winner of the Special Recognition Award. My pal, Karswell maintains one of the most interesting blogs on the web. You will find it in my links section as 'The Horrors Of It All'. If you've never visited there, then I highly encourage you to pop in immediately to enjoy his daily postings of classic golden & silver age horror-themed comics - plus other similar items of interest. His regular heads up announcements for pending monster-esque films on Turner Classic Movies (and other channels) alone is worth the price of admission (so to speak), and either way you will be glad that you stopped by his house. So, without further ado, let me say thanks and congratulations to Karswell by awarding him his very own "Ghoulie" for passing along his odds & ends comics stories for me to share with visitors here in the Catacombs. I appreciate it!

Special Achievement "Ghoulie"

*Winner: Steve Banes (aka Karswell)

White Christmas (1954)

Last night, as part of their '25 Days of Christmas' film festival, the ABC Family Channel ran "White Christmas" from 1954, featuring the Oscar-nominated songs of Irving Berlin and loads of terrific dance numbers. The perennial favorite stars Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, Vera Ellen, Dean Jagger and Mary Wickes in the story of a top song-and-dance act (Crosby & Kaye), who after leaving the Army, meet a pair of beautiful sisters (Clooney & Ellen) who also have a song-and-dance act. When the boys follow the girls to a Vermont lodge to perform a Christmas show, they discover their former commander, General Waverly, is the lodge owner and he is having it rough keeping the inn going. A series of romantic mix-ups ensue as the performers try to help their old General.

"White Christmas" (yes, Crosby does perform his signature song) is one of the many holiday-themed films that I like to catch each year, and no matter how many times I've seen it, I always crack up during the big moment at the films climax, when Gen. Waverly (Jagger; pictured above left) is greeted by hundreds of soldiers from his old division, who've traveled from across the country on Christmas Eve to surprise him. Now, that's a real tear-jerker.

Seasons Greetings!

1970's 'Holiday' Flashback: Marvel Treasury Edition

Remember those tabloid-sized collections of reprinted stories that came out back in the disco decade? Yeah, I thought so.

New material would also be featured in the over-sized format, but for the most part the treasury editions -- roughly 10 x 14 inch comics collections with cardboard covers -- represented older material. Both DC and Marvel produced similar volumes, but today we take a look back at Marvel's classic holiday offerings.

1974 brought us The Marvel Treasury Special, Giant Superhero Holiday Grab-Bag which reprinted "Have Yourself a Sandman Little Christmas!" from Marvel Team-Up #1 (March 1972) among other stories.

1975's Marvel Treasury Edition #8 Giant Superhero Holiday Grab-Bag treated us to "Twas the Night before Christmas" from Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD #10 (May 1971) and "Jingle Bombs" from Luke Cage, Hero for Hire #7 (1972 series), plus even more tales.

and 1976's Marvel Treasury Edition #13 Giant Superhero Holiday Grab-Bag waxed nostalgic over such tales as "Once upon a Time -- the Ox!" from Daredevil #86 (April 1972) and still loads more holiday goodness.

A Christmas Carol (1843)

A Christmas Carol in Prose, Being a Ghost Story of Christmas by Charles Dickens, was first published in 1843 and was illustrated by John Leech. The story met with instant success, selling six thousand copies during the first week. Originally written as a potboiler to enable Dickens to pay off a debt, the tale has become one of the most popular and enduring stories of all time.

The story of Ebenezer Scrooge's transformation by the three Ghosts of Christmas (Ghost of Christmas Past, Ghost of Christmas Present, and Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come) has become a defining tale of Christmas, and since the blessed day is rapidly closing upon us, let’s take a fond look back at four illustrations from the original publication by famed caricaturist John Leech. The four plates show Marley’s Ghost, Fezziwig’s Ball, The Ghost of Christmas Present and The Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come.

Happy Holidays!

Profiling the Original Blue Beetle

The original Golden Age Blue Beetle was Dan Garret, the son of a police officer who was killed in the line of duty by a criminal. The Fox Feature Syndicate version of the character debuted in Mystery Men Comics #1 (Aug. 1939), with art by Charles Nicholas Wojtkowski (as Charles Nicholas) and began appearing in his own 60-issue series shortly thereafter; however, Holyoke also released some issues of the series during it’s slightly sporadic existence.

Rookie patrolman Garret donned a bulletproof costume (described as being made of a chain-mail which was "as thin and light as silk"), and temporarily gained superhuman strength from ingesting the mysterious vitamin 2-X.

The supporting cast remained fairly stable throughout this original run, and included Joan Mason, a crime reporter for the Daily Blade who would eventually star in her own backup series, and Mike Mannigan, Dan's Irish-stereotype partner on the police force. Dr. Franz, a local pharmacist (and inventor of the bulletproof suit and 2-X formula) played a prominent role in the first few issues of the run, but he was soon phased out.

A popular character of the Golden Age era, the Beetle also had a short-lived newspaper strip (drawn by the legendary Jack Kirby under a pseudonym), and a radio serial that ran for 48 thirteen-minute episodes. When super-heroes fell out of vogue in the late 1940s, Fox downplayed the Beetle's super-heroic angle (his superpowers were removed) and eventually relegated him to a hosting true crime stories within his own series before the book was cancelled.

The featured artwork is from DC Comics Secret Origins #2 (May 1986) by Gil Kane.

Santa Claus Funnies; 1942-1949 (Dell)

In remembrance of the holiday season, here is the cover gallery from Dell Comics classic eight year run of Santa Claus Funnies, by the late, great Walt Kelly (Pogo). Santa Claus Funnies continued annually for many years, but Kelly went on to even greater acclaim with his popular syndicated strip about a swamp dwelling opossum. Clockwise, from left to right: [top row] Santa Claus Funnies #1 (1942), Santa Claus Funnies #2 (1943), Four Color #61 (1944), Four Color #91 (1945), [bottom row] Four Color #128 (1946), Four Color #175 (1947), Four Color #205 (1948) & #254 (1949).

MERRY CHRISTMAS!