Celebrating Artist Bob Layton

Celebrating writer/artist Bob Layton on his birthday (September 25, 1953) with Hercules...that is, the mini-series, Hercules: Prince of Power.  

Set in the 2300s, this series follows Hercules as he runs through the galaxy, meets Recorder 417 and Galactus (and had a few follow ups, all of which deserve to be collected again).

Hercules #1 and #2 (September and October, 1982)

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Hercules #3 and #4 (November and December, 1982)

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Sorcery Vs Red Sonja

Red Sonja usually fought monsters and men, but occasionally fought sorcerers, like the evil Kulan-Gath (as shown in these two versions of Red Sonja #12 (July, 2006, by George Perez and John Romita Jr).

But, Kulan Gath began his career in Conan The Barbarian #14 (March, 1972), and faced Red Sonja (via possession) along with Spider-Man in Marvel Team-Up #79 (March, 1979).

Kulan Gath would also return to fight the X-Men in Uncanny X-Men #190 and #191, February and March 1985, as well as the Avengers in Avengers #28 through #30, May to July, 2000.

Remembering Jack Kirby

Remembering the King, Jack Kirby, on his birthday (August 28, 1917 - February 6, 1994) with a couple of his Captain America covers, with Cap reflecting on his life in the 1940s and the 1960s.  (Issues #107 and #112 from November, 1968 and April, 1969). 

Kirby Strange Tales

A couple of fatalistic covers by Jack Kirby for Strange Tales, #96 from May, 1962, with a man dreaming of a doom....to #97 from June, 1962, with doom coming to the whole planet!

Celebrating Artist Alex Saviuk

Celebrating the birthday of artist Alex Saviuk (August 17, 1952) with a couple of his covers to Web Of Spider-Man (#47 and #48, February and March, 1989), where Spider-Man faces Hobgoblin and Demogoblin.

Kirby Tales Of Suspense

Alien menaces were all over the pre-hero Marvel Universe, as the hapless humans of Earth had to deal with Zarkorr from Tales of Suspense #35 (November, 1962) and Haag (name misspelled on the cover as Hagg) from Tales of Suspense #37 (January, 1963) in these two covers by Jack Kirby.

Kirby Amazing Adventures

Here, a couple of random Amazing Adventures, with covers by Jack Kirby, (#3 and #4, August and September, 1961), featuring humans dealing with a prehistoric age with dinosaurs and cavemen, and a village dealing with robotic invaders.

Kirby Journeys

A couple of Journey Into Mystery (#77 and #78, February and March, 1962) with covers by Jack Kirby, with a slightly supernatural bent, as Marvel's super heroes were just starting to settle on the line.

Celebrating Artist Chris Sprouse

Celebrating artist Chris Sprouse on his birthday (July 30, 1966) with a couple of classics...Spider-Man Classics, that is (#12 and #13, March and April, 1994)...featuring a lengthy early battle between Spider-Man and Doctor Octopus.

 

How Hot Is It?

All in all, it is too hot to make a column.  

But you want it hotter?

Well, how about this cover to Vault Of Evil #13 (September, 1974) by Larry Lieber and Vince Colletta?

...and if you really want it hotter, you can go to...

Celebrating Artist Scott Koblish

Celebrating the birthday of artist Scott Koblish (May 28, 1970) with his wraparound cover to the Despicable Deadpool #300 (July, 2018) featuring...well, Deadpool and a ton of his alternate world counterparts (well, who would it feature...Shakespeare?).

Remembering Artist Earl Norem

Remembering artist Earl Norem on his birthday (April 17, 1924 - June 19, 2015) with a couple of his high kicking painted covers for the Deadly Hands Of Kung Fu (# 9, February 1975 and #33, February, 1977) featuring Shang-Chi.  

Happy Easter...Island

A happy Easter to all...and even though Easter Island has nothing to do with the holiday, this little cover by Jack Kirby and Christopher Rule, where a man discovers invading aliens on Easter Island from Tales To Astonish #5 (September, 1959), reprinted in Where Monsters Dwell #24 (October, 1973) should make you happy that that is not how you are spending the day.

Meet Captain Britain

Time for a new hero from Marvel, but his one didn't come out of the offices in New York...he was produced in jolly old England, the first new hero from Marvel UK....a hero for the times (the mid-1970s, that is)...and he was Captain Britain.

Captain Britain

The story begins in Captain Britain #1 (October 13, 1976) by Chris Claremont, Herb Trimpe and Fred Kida and a cover by Larry Leiber and Frank Giacoia, with Captain Britain (seeming to just getting use to his powers and abilities) fighting the Reaver....

...then, the hero thinks back, to when he was just Brian Braddock, a student intern, working at the Darkmoor Research Centre in the moors, unlocking the secrets of fusion, until the facility was attacked by rouge scientist, Joshua Stagg, who planned on taking those secrets....and making it look like they all died in an unfortunate accident.  But, Brian escaped on his motorcycle, forcing Stagg and his troops to pursue.  Brian drove off a cliff when confronted by Stagg's airship...and fell into the next issue, which came out a week later.

From The Holocaust...A Hero!

In Captain Britain #2 (October 20, 1976, by the same creative team), picks up where the last issue left off, with Merlin and Roma offering young Brian Braddock a choice....the sword or the amulet.  Brian takes the amulet, and is infused with energy from the cosmos, becoming Captain Britain...to be a force for good to protect the land!

But, Stagg takes his time as well, taking the word to become the Reaver, and the battle between good and evil begins.  Brian learns on the go, keeping up the fight (catching up to where readers first met him), and eventually using his abilities to defeat the Reaver, and vows to the spirits that he will be their champion as Captain Britain.

Brian continued that battle for 39 issues....and beyond!

Casey Crime Photographer

A quick look back to a simpler time, when comics weren't based on the big mega movie, or even the latest TV series, but instead were based on novels and radio shows.

Such is the case with Casey - Crime Photographer!

The creation of novelist George Harmon Coxe, Jack "Flashgun" Casey was a feature of the pulp magazine Black Mask and in novels, as well as being a radio show before becoming a comic book.   

It followed the adventures of Morning Express photographer Casey, reporter Ann Williams, with Casey reporting his activities to Ethelbert, bartender at the Blue Note jazz club.

The first cover was a combination photograph and art by Allen Anderson, with interior art by Vern Henkel (with no writer on record)., and typical of the hard hitting crime based comics that were popular in the day.

Casey - Crime Photographer #1 and #2 (August and October, 1949)

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Casey - Crime Photographer #3 and #4 (December, 1949 and February, 1950)

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After the comic series, the feature was turned into a TV show, airing from April 19, 1951 to June 5, 1952, with Jan Miner playing Ann Williams (as she did on the radio show), and from April to June, 1951, Richard Carlyle was Casey, to be replaced by Darren McGavin for the rest of its run, who said of the series: "it was so bad it was never rerun, and that's saying something when you recall the caliber of television programs in those days".  

Darren would take the lead as a much more beloved (by the audience) reporter for the INS as Kolchak the Night Stalker, and the Casey comic turned into Two Gun Western #5 (November, 1950).

    

Celebrate Star Wars Day With Darth Vader

Darth Vader wants you to celebrate Star Wars Day, and here, that is being done with the cover to Star Wars Annual #3 (December, 1983) by Klaus Janson, released between Star Wars #80 and #81.

Deadly Hands Of Nick Cardy

Nick Cardy was an artist known mostly for his work on Teen Titans, Aquaman, and Bat Lash, as well as all over DC Comics covers of the 1970s.

But, did you know he did a few covers for Marvel back in those days?

Here are the two painted covers he did featuring Shang-Chi for Marvel's Deadly Hands Of Kung Fu magazine!

Deadly Hands Of Kung Fu 15

As a "Super Annual Issue", this Summer of 1975 magazine issue featured reprints of Shang-Chi's second and fifth appearances (from Special Marvel Edition #16 and Master Of Kung Fu #19), Iron Fist's second appearance (Marvel Premiere #16), and a feature on Bruce Lee's life...

...but no team up of the characters as the cover suggests.

Deadly Hands Of Kung Fu 18

This November 1975 issue had two stories, with the first featuring Shang-Chi fighting the Shadow-Thief (no relation to the DC character), and ending his Golden Dragon Saga by Doug Moench and Rudy Nebres...

...while the second story, by Bill Mantlo, Pat Broderick and Terry Austin, featured a team up of Iron Fist and the Sons of the Tiger, fighting a villain called Snake-Eyes (no relation to the G.I. Joe character....), as well as a little feature on the Yakusa.

Makes you wish DC had jumped into the magazine market to get some painted covers of DC characters from Nick Cardy!

He also did a few other covers for Marvel, one for Marvel Movie Premiere #1 (September, 1975) featuring an adaptation of The Land That Time Forgot, and Marvel Premiere #28 (February, 1976), featuring Marvel's horror based characters, including the Man-Thing, Ghost Rider, Morbius and the Werewolf by Night!

Marvel Star Wars Empire Strikes Back Adaptation Covers

The Empire Strikes Back, the first Star Wars sequel, had a special premiere on May 20, 1980 in London....and soon, Marvel had adaptations of it....both in collected form, and as issues of Marvel's regular Star Wars title.

Under a cover by Bob Larkin featuring Luke Skywalker on Hoth under the shadow of Darth Vader, Marvel Super Special #16 (Spring, 1980) gave the "official adaptation of the most eagerly awaited space fantasy film of all!"...  

(Hey, it was pre-internet, and people were still excited about Star Wars....), 

...as adapted by writer Archie Goodwin and artists Al Williamson, Carlos Garzon and (for the AT-ATs) Rick Veitch.

The story ran for six issues of the Star Wars comic book, taking over the run in 1980....and below, are the covers by Al Williamson and Carlos Garzon.

Star Wars #39 and #40 (September and October, 1980)

Star Wars #41 and #42 (November and December, 1980)

Star Wars #43 and #44 (January and February, 1981)

Having the comics debut of Lando Calrissian, Lobot, Yoda, Boba Fett and the rest of the bounty hunters, as well as continuing adventures of Han Solo, Chewbacca, C-3PO, R2-D2 and the Skywalker family, and has been recently collected in the 3rd volume of Star Wars Legends The Original Marvel Years. 

If you are still interested in Star Wars, here's coverage of the original adaptation of the first movie as covered for the 40th Anniversary of that movie, as well as a special Marvel issue, and may the Force be with you!

Remembering Artist Earl Norem

World War II veteran Earl Norem (April 17, 1923 - June 19, 2015) was an artist known for stunning painted work, and Marvel and Charlton took advantage of that, featuring his artwork on their magazine versions of comics in the 1970s.

Below are some examples of this fine work, and a representative sample of a lifetime of work!

Six Million Dollar Man 4 and 6, 1977

Savage Sword Of Conan 14 and 47, 1970s

Tales Of The Zombie 5 and 10, 1970s

Rampaging Hulk 3 and 9, 1970s

Marvel Preview 9 and 12, 1970s

Planet Of The Apes 21 and 28, 1970s

Silver Surfer 1 (1978) and Masters Of The Universe: Sunbird Legacy (1983)

Marvel At The Classic Comic Of H.G. Wells' Invisible Man

Comics weren't entirely for the undereducated.  

They even dealt with the classics, as seen (or perhaps NOT seen) with this adaptation of the H. G. Wells' novel, The Invisible Man, in Marvel Classics Comics #25 (1977) with cover likely by John Romita Jr/Pablo Marcos and Frank Giacoia, with the main story by Doug Moench, Dino Castrillo and Rudy Messina as a part of their 36 issue line of adaptations of classic novels.