Saturday, October 31, 2009

Happy Halloween



I'd like to wish everyone out there a very happy Halloween. What would be scarier than the Man Of Steel's pesky girlfriend having super powers? Not much I'd say. That cool Curt Swan cover from April, 1958 is definitely not scary though.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

1941 The Illustrated Story



I recently picked up the adaptation of one of the more underrated comedies of the 1970's. Steven Spielberg's 1941 bombed at the box office but it's surprisingly funny on repeated viewings. The comic adaptation, published by Heavy Metal in 1979, ratchets up the slapstick humor to a high degree. Featuring art by Steve Bissette and Rick Veitch with the script by Allan Asherman, the book is a fun read that follows the movie fairly well. The art is pretty cartoony on the inside but the front and back covers are pretty nice.



I found this gem fairly cheap and it's a great addition to my film adaptation collection. If you haven't seen the movie in a while, check it out. It's a hoot.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Secrets Of Haunted House



Secrets Of Haunted House was one of many horror books DC put out in the Bronze Age. I enjoyed them all and didn't see a whole lot that was different in each one. They all had great creepy art by the likes of Bernie Wrightson and the Fillipino stable of artists DC had at the time. This particular series only lasted 46 issues, from 1975-1982. I need to get the whole series. I only have a few including this beauty from December 75/January 76. Behind that fantastic Wrightson cover, there's art by Nestor Redondo, John Albano, and Ernie Chan. I enjoyed going back to my grade school years with this stuff. It needs to be October every year.

Saturday, October 17, 2009

George Tuska R.I.P.

I was saddened to learn of the death yesterday of comic book legend George Tuska. I was always a fan of his 1970's output for Marvel Comics but it was only in the last ten years or so that I realized how far back his career went. He was one of those workhorse artists that could draw in any style or genre. My friend contacted him for a commision back in 2001 and I added my name to the list. I was thrilled with the result.



I thought he brought a certain John Buscema like nobility to the Thunder God. It's one of my favorite commissions. A few years after I got this sketch, I got to meet Tuska at Heroes Con in Charlotte, NC. He was very pleasant although he could barely hear. He signed my copy of the excellent Art Of George Tuska book from Twomorrows which is an excellent overview of this great man's work.



It's a true loss for comic fans. At least we'll always have his excellent output through the years to remember him by.

Monday, October 12, 2009

Weird War Covers



One of my favorite DC titles of the Bronze Age was Weird War Tales. It combined two genres that DC did very well at the time, horror and war. While not every single issue had great stories, the covers were almost always fantastic. My favorite, of course, is the above beauty by Jim Aparo from issue #53, cover dated May, 1977. Here are some of my other favorites. This series is always a great read but it's especially great this time of year.

#1 September-October, 1971 Cover by Joe Kubert



#13 April, 1973 cover by Luis Dominguez



#58 December, 1977 cover by Joe Kubert



#77 July, 1979 cover by Joe Kubert



#93 November, 1980 featuring the great Creature Commandos. Cover by Joe Kubert

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Ghosts Treasury Edition



I'm still on my horror comic kick and dug up this beauty the other day. I'm a huge fan of the treasury sized comics both DC and Marvel put out back in the 70's. This particular issue, cover dated December 1974-January 1975, features a great Nick Cardy cover and interior art from the likes of Art Saaf, Gerry Talaoc, George Tuska, John Calnan, and many more. The high point of the book is the reprint of the Jim Aparo drawn gem Death's Bridegroom from Ghosts #1. I wish Jim had drawn more horror stories. He was really good at it as evidenced by his great run on the Spectre. He captured the creepy mood of the genre very well. If you like the treasury format, this is a definite must get if you don't already have it.

Monday, October 5, 2009

Showcase Presents The House Of Mystery



With Halloween approaching in a few short weeks, I thought I'd dig out one of my favorite volumes of DC's Showcase Presents series. The House Of Mystery was one of my favorite horror anthologies back in the 1970's and it's great that DC decided to collect these seminal mystery stories in multiple volumes. Volume 2 reprints issues #'s 195-211 in beautiful black and white. The B&W reproduction makes these tales even more spooky than they were back then. These issues feature stories by such Bronze Age legends as Len Wein, Gerry Conway, and Robert Kanigher with art by such luminaries as Bernie Wrightson (perhaps the finest horror artist DC had at the time), Michael Kaluta, Nick Cardy, and Alex Toth. If you're interested in horror comics, there's no reason you shouldn't pick up either volume of this great series.

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