Thursday, December 8, 2016

SPY SMASHER "Crime of Pearl Harbor"

...on December 6th, 1941, Spy Smasher discovered a huge Japanese submarine in the waters just outside Pearl Harbor.
Unfortunately, he was captured...
(NOTE: Considered NSFW due to racial stereotypes common to the era.)
Wow!
Those last two pages were a serious attempt at propaganda/revisionist history to an impressionable young audience!
Published in early 1942, this never-reprinted tale from Fawcett's Spy Smasher #4 was created just after the events of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, so the overt racism is somewhat understandable.
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Wednesday, December 7, 2016

SPY SMASHER "Now It Can be Told!!!"

After the sneak attack, super heroes dealt with Pearl Harbor...
...as we see in this Golden Age tale which is NSFW due to racial stereotypes common to the 1940s and World War II!
Spy Smasher is down...but not out!
Be here TOMORROW for the thrilling conclusion!
Published in early 1942, this never-reprinted tale from Fawcett's Spy Smasher #4 was created just after the events of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, so the overt racism is somewhat understadable.
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Monday, December 5, 2016

Can You Fit a Green Giant Under Your Evergreen This Christmas?

Pre-dating the "Ho-Ho-Ho-ing" frozen vegetable spokesman by over a decade, a radically-different, costumed, Green Giant appeared in (what else?) Green Giant Comics #1 (and only) in 1940!
The emerald hero was secretly Mr Brentwood (no first name given),who beat Marvel's Henry Pym in utilizing size-changing technology which enabled him to grow to between 15-150 feet depending on who illustrated the cover or the story (which you can read HERE)!
Less than a dozen copies of this incredibly-rare comic, which was distributed only in the New York City area, valued at several thousand dollars each, are thought to still exist!
The Green Giant recently cameoed (in flashback) in Alex Ross' Project SuperPowers mini-series which revives Golden Age heroes in the present day. Hopefully, we'll see more of him in the on-going series.

Atomic Kommie Comics™ has given him his own on-line storefront, plus we incorporated him into the Lost Heroes of the Golden Age of Comics™ line, in the Solo Heroes section, where characters with only one cover available to us (at the moment) go!
If you're looking for a retro-style Christmas gift for a Golden Age of Comics fan in your life, why not bundle one of our Green Giant goodies with the Project SuperPowers hardcover (or the original mini-series issues) for a kool, kollectible present?
It's what I'd want, if I didn't already have it! (one of the few perks of working here) ;-)

Sunday, November 27, 2016

Thanksgiving Turkey: BLACKHAWK "My Brother - My Enemy" Part 3: Return to Blackhawk Island!

...(yes, Blackhawk and crew pre-dated the 1960 movie) with G.E.O.R.G.E., the spy organization that supplied their new super-hero identities and equipment totally-annihilated, the Blackhawks dig out their mothballed WWII uniforms and weapons and seek out the group that wiped out their co-workers.
The only clue is a security camera's footage showing the killers' leader...Black Mask...whom Blackhawk recognizes as his long-believed dead brother, Jack!
An attempt to negotiate or capture Black Mask fails, and as he escapes, Jack tells Blackhawk where they can meet for a duel to the death...
Thus ends the first of two issues under editor Dick Giordano, who intended for Golden Age Blackhawk artist Reed Crandall to illustrate the pair of "return to basics" tales before the book's already-scheduled cancellation.
Unfortunately, personal problems prevented Crandall from doing so, and with two weeks until deadline, Giordano enlisted one of his Charlton art mainstays, Pat Boyette, to do the entire book (24 pages [plus cover] of pencils, inks, and lettering) in just under two weeks!
The finishes are a little rough, but, it's an amazing job!
We hope you've enjoyed our Thanksgiving Turkey (plus dessert) for 2016.
See you on the RetroBlogs next year at this time for more succulent stories!
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starring Kirk (Superman) Alyn

Saturday, November 26, 2016

Thanksgiving Turkey: BLACKHAWK "My Brother - My Enemy" Part 2: Fort Fear

...with G.E.O.R.G.E., the spy organization that supplied their new super-hero identities and equipment totally-annihilated, the Blackhawks dig out their mothballed WWII uniforms and weapons and seek out the group that wiped out their co-workers.
The only clue is a security camera's footage showing the killers' leader...Black Mask...whom Blackhawk recognizes...
...which, in the case of the presentation on this blog, means
Long-time fans may note that the Blackhawks are not flying their distinctive Grumman XF5F Skyrockets in the flashback sequence.
This indicates the flashback occurs before the story in Quality's Military Comics #2 (1941), where those aircraft debut!
Of course we won't go into the fact this never-reprinted story from DC's Blackhawk #242 (1968) totally-contradicts the original origin in Military Comics #1 (1941) and modifies the origin's retelling in Blackhawk #198 (1964)...
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starring Kirk (Superman) Alyn

Friday, November 25, 2016

Thanksgiving Turkey: BLACKHAWK "My Brother - My Enemy" Part 1: Black Mask

For almost two years, Blackhawk fans had been subjected to...
...seeing the beloved WWII veteran aviators mutated into Swinging '60s superhero/spies!
(Thank heaven none of the middle-aged warriors were jammed into skintight suits!)
Sales had deteriorated to the point where the book, which had been continuously-published since 1944 and survived switching publishers without an interruption, had been reduced from monthly to bi-monthly publication and was scheduled to be cancelled.
But Dick Giordano, who had just replaced long-time editor George Kashdan, had no intention of just letting the old soldiers fade away...
The Story Continues...Tomorrow!
Plotted by Marv Wolfman (his first professional comics credit), scripted by Bob Haney, and illustrated by Pat Boyette, DC's Blackhawk #242 (1968) was unlike any previous issue of the title.
It not only reversed the superspy/superhero revamp of the strip, but retold the origin of Blackhawk himself, making several changes to the long-established story, including allowing Blackhawk's brother (who died in the very first story in Quality's Military Comics #1) to survive!
Giordano, fresh from a long tenure at Charlton Comics came on board at DC to inject a new attitude into the comics line.
Besides introducing several new titles, he took over a couple of ongoing books, including Blackhawk.
Knowing that the series was being cancelled, Dick decided to return the strip to the basics that made it a favorite among Golden (and to a lesser extent) Silver Age fans.
The details of what happened can be found at the wonderful blog DC Comics 45 Years Ago.
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The only novel based on the comic book!

Thursday, November 24, 2016

Thanksgiving Turkey: BLACKHAWK "A Blackhawk a Day" Part 2 (Conclusion)

...they were being captured, one-by-one by Baron Booby Trap!
With two down and the third about to fall, things are looking grim for the original Magnificent Seven...
With script by Bob Haney, pencils by Dick Dillin, inks by Chuck Cuidera, the "New Blackhawk Era's" final tale is a mediocre reworking of the classic whodunit "And Then There Were None."
New editor Dick Giordano, moving from Charlton to DC, came in mid-stream during the book's creation, so he didn't have much imput into the content of this story.
But the next issue was another matter...as we shall see tomorrow!
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