Saturday, September 28, 2013

Design of the Week--WereWolf? There, wolf!

Each week, we post a limited-edition design, to be sold for exactly 7 days, then replaced with another!
This week we take a one-liner from Young Frankenstein as our headline as we celebrate the upcoming Halloween holiday!
This vintage movie poster art features a classic lycanthrope with blood dripping from his gleaming fangs!
He's available on t-shirts, messenger bags, mugs, and a whole slew of kool kollectibles, but only on-line from us, and only for one week.
So order now, before the full moon rises...

Friday, September 27, 2013

James Bond! Man from UNCLE! Secret Agent! Doctor Who! All in ONE Movie!

You think I'm joking?
It happened!
Sid James, Patrick McGoohan, Sean Connery
And you can see it Saturday on Turner Classic Movies at 9:45 pm ET!
This historic meeting of genre acting talent occured in the 1957 movie...
Besides the above-named performers, there's also David McCallum (Man from UNCLE. NCIS, Sapphire & Steel), Jill Ireland (Star Trek Classic, Man from UNCLE) , Peggy Cummins (Curse of the Demon), and Gordon Jackson (Spectre, Supernatural [1977], Madame Sin)!
NOT available on Region 1 DVD, so fire up the DVRs (or in my case, DVD recorder)!

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Reading Room: LARS OF MARS "Villain or Hero?"

What if 1950s sci-fi shows like Captain Video or Space Patrol were real?

Or if the "aliens" shown on the screen were real aliens?
As you've just read, that was the premise of the short-lived (two issues) 1951 Ziff-Davis series Lars of Mars!
Created by Jerry (Superman) Siegel and Murphy (Buck Rogers) Anderson, this story from the first issue of his own title (which was #10!) established the somewhat-silly premise.
During his run, Superm...ahem Lars battled Commies, crooks, and other aliens while protecting his "secret identity" from Lo...ahem June, his nosy producer.
(But then what would you expect from the guy who co-created Superman? )
You'll be seeing all of Lars' stories here over the next few months.
Watch for them!
Trivia:
The cover paintings for both issues of Lars of Mars were painted by Allen Anderson, who was not related to interior artist Murphy Anderson!
Here's a "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon"-style fact (done in four degrees)...
1) Ziff-Davis also published a short-lived adaptation of an actual sci-fi tv series, Space Patrol, illustrated by Bernie Krigstein.
2) Krigstein illustrated the first issue of another Ziff-Davis sci-fi series: Space Busters!
3) Bernie was replaced on interior art for the second (and final) issue of Space Busters by...Murphy Anderson!
4) Allen Anderson did the painted cover for the Space Busters issue illustrated by Murphy! (Norm Saunders had painted the first issue's cover!)
Truth is stranger than fiction!
featuring the covers of both issues of Lars of Mars!

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Reading Room: UNEARTHLY SPECTACULARS 3 Rocketeers "Invincible Eranus"

I can just envision the really-bad jokes about that title...
...but, I can assure you this is a deadly serious matter, space cadets!
Written by noted sci fi novelist Otto Binder (who wrote over 3,000 comics scripts) and illustrated by Golden and Silver Age workhorses Mike Sekowsky and Frank Giacoia, this tale of time and space was the next-to-last 3 Rocketeers story published.
We already ran the final one (out of publication order) HERE.

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Reading Room: UNEARTHLY SPECTACULARS "How the 3 Rocketeers Teamed Up!"

Everybody who reads comics likes a good origin story...
...unfortunately, this particular tale ain't one of them, bunky!
Uhhh...yeah...OK...
Written by noted sci fi novelist Otto Binder (who wrote over 3,000 comics scripts) and illustrated by Golden and Silver Age workhorses Mike Sekowsky and Frank Giacoia, this reboot of the series in Harvey's UnEarthly Spectaculars #2 (1967) was not inventory from unpublished 1950s Race for the Moon material, but a new tale commissioned during Harvey's brief 1960s fling with non-humor comics.
Be here tomorrow for the final tale in our re-presentation of the 3 Rocketeers saga...

Monday, September 23, 2013

It's Almost Halloween: TIme for Horror (Horror Comics, that is)...

 
Before videogames came along, comics (and tv...and movies) were said to be the contributing factors to JUVENILE DELINQUENCY!
I say...CELEBRATE the stuff your grandparents said would warp your parents' minds!
After all, they turned out OK, didn't they?
Didn't they?
Oh, well...
What could be more appropriate for Halloween than the frightening images of Horror Comics of the 1950s on t-shirt, hoodies, mugs, and other kool kollectibles?
Are you ready to be scared? Click Now...if you dare!

Sunday, September 22, 2013

Reading Room: CLASSIC COMICS "Legend of Sleepy Hollow" Conclusion

It's 1790 in Sleepy Hollow, a secluded glen in upstate New York.
Ichabod Crane, a lanky, intelligent (but extremely superstitious) schoolmaster, competes with Abraham "Brom Bones" Van Brunt, the handsome and athletic town rowdy, for the hand of 18-year-old Katrina Van Tassel, the daughter and sole child of wealthy farmer, Baltus Van Tassel.
When Ichabod and Brom both attend a party at the Van Tassels, Brom prepares to deal with his rival...
Did a ghostly Headless Horseman abscond with Ichabod?
Or did Brom Bones simply scare him away?
We will probably never know...

You'll note from the cover at the top of the post, that the Headless Horseman took second billing to the tale of Rip Van Winkle.
When the book was reprinted as part of the Classics Illustrated line with a painted cover (as most Classic Comics were), the Headless Horseman wasn't even mentioned, although his tale was still in the book!
And don't miss the new Fox TV series on Monday nights...
It's kool!