Blue & Gray

Today's post in our 'back room' for adult content takes a quick peek at a short tale by an artist famed for his work on Tarzan, Buck Rogers, and Flash Gordon, among others in this edition of

 Most readers are likely to be familiar with Gray Morrow's adult themed strips like Orion and Amora, created in traditionally inked comic strip style. While i enjoy those, and we'll likely wind up running some strips eventually, there's one odd tale done quite differently rendered, and written by his then-wife, Betty.

If you're interested in this story (The Journey) from Wally Wood's prozine, Witzend, follow the link to this post on The Other Voice Of ODD!

 The Journey by Betty & Gray Morrow for Witzend #7 (1970)

Saturday Solutions Fan Fest

As mentioned in the previous comments, some idiot thought spam for plastic surgery would fit naturally with yesterday's post. So, fair warning - we may have to implement human detection on comments before too long. But no plans on requiring registration, don't worry there.

Meanwhile, how about some of those promised solutions, eh?

Yes, i know that there's no 'M' for married on answer E in the puzzle above. But there's no 19, either.

BONUS FUN!
The first puzzle mentions that Julius Schwartz appeared regularly in a couple titles, so here are examples by Sidney Greene.

Mystery In Space -

Strange Adventures -

Now let's see if today's topic title brings on the spam for room cooling devices...

Quizzes from Alter Ego #2 and RBCC #s 74, 79, 80, & 90 (1961, 1970, 1971)

page art by Sydney Greene from Mystery In Space #69 and Strange Adventures #130 (1961)

Where's The Enigma Force When We Really Need It?

Today belongs to arguably the most tragic story in comics. Unfortunately, the tragedy does not take place within the pages of the comics.

Today is Bill Mantlo's 66th birthday. Bill was a brilliant writer and is a tremendous person. He left writing as his main career behind and focused on being a hero to others. And then he was cruelly struck down. Rather than try to explain things myself, we'll excerpt from the introduction to Mantlo: A Life In Comics and let his brother Michael tell it...

I cut most of the introduction - meeting Jack Kirby, living with a member of The New York Dolls, and much more. And this was merely the introduction to a book filled with memories and behind the scenes stories of Bill Mantlo, Comics, and old Marvel. Not only is it great reading, it's also a benefit book to help cover Bill's medical costs. If you haven't read it, don't own it, nows a good time to correct that.
Personally, i found a new connection to Mantlo just in the introduction bits above. I used a Jon Nagy drawing board as my main drawing surface throughout the 70s and 80s. (It was an old Jon Nagy drawing kit passed down to me from the 50s)

While i enjoyed  his work on The Incredible Hulk and his Spider-Man tales, among many, many others; and loved creations of his such as Jack Of Hearts and Cloak & Dagger - one of the things that impressed me the most about Bill Mantlo as a young reader was Rom: Space Knight and The Micronauts. They gave him toys and he gave us fully fleshed out universes for them to exist and adventure within. Decades after it ceased publication, there are still hordes of fans aching for a return of Rom. Now if only the Enigma Force would find Bill to act as host for Captain Universe.

Of course, his most famous creation has gone as yet unmentioned - Rocket Raccoon of the Guardians Of The Galaxy. As we mentioned a couple of days ago, Rocket was based on the Beatles' song Rocky Raccoon (and we'll get to that a bit more next time). His first appearance was in Marvel Preview, one of the black & white newsstand magazines Marvel put out back in the 70s. Of course, being John Lennon's raccoon, Rocky had a British accent when he first arrived on the scene.

The story of Wayfinder began 3 issues previously, with this being the second part. In truth, the story is unimportant today. All that's really needed to know is that Wayfinder found his way to crashing on a strange planet known as Witch-World while on a quest for revenge. He makes his way to shore and seeks to get his bearings...

Local lifeforms have noticed the Wayfinder's ship, but it protects itself. Meanwhile...

The predictable fight erupts...

...but "Kirke watches without eyes. And when she speaks... Power flows through the very molecules of the air from her vocal chords...to the strangely humming gem at the top of her scepter..."

<Spoiler> the Pilgrims failed.

It would be over half a decade before our favorite Raccoon returned. But next time, he got the cover. Join us later for "Now Somewhere In the Black Holes of Sirius Major There Lived a Young Boy Named Rocket Raccoon" Meanwhile, here's the cover for the tale above for those what loves 'em:

text images from Mantlo: A Life In Comics (2007), pages by Bill Mantlo & Keith Giffen for Marvel Preview #7(1976)

Sunday Morning Funnies - Len Wein Style

As you know, we lost Len Wein a week ago today.
I'll continue to offer up odd bits from his career in the days ahead as a reminder to folks of just how wide ranging his work was over the years.

So our Sunday Morning Funnies will be a bit of Odd from the man. From the short lived Spoof comic, Len's take on The Odd Squad:

Now enjoy your day with a smile courtesy of Len Wein.

The Clod Squad by Len Wein and Marie Severin from Spoof #1 (1970)

Kirby Is HERE! (King Kirby 084)

In 1970, after a mostly cryptic ad campaign heralding his arrival, Jack Kirby quietly appeared in one little corner of the DC universe. It would be almost half a year before The Forever People and New Gods would kick off the new Kirby titles, with Mr. Miracle, The Demon and Kamandi: The Last Boy On Earth following in their wake.
The DC execs wanted to have Jack do a pre-existing book, both to integrate him into the company and to give him an immediate paycheck while developing his own books. Jack, being Jack, didn't want to take work from another artist, so he chose a minor book without a regular creative team assigned - Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen. Jimmy Olsen was a title that had run on inertia for quite a while, primarily selling simply by virtue of being a member of the Superman family. (Younger readers may be interested to know there was a time when DC viewed Superman as their flagship character, featuring him at every opportunity)
Then Jack kicked the door down and walked into the place like he owned it...

...and he did. KIRBY IS HERE! we're warned at the top of the cover - Jimmy presiding over a buttkicking for Superman, and you just knew it wasn't one of those old Silver Age tales that would have a full page of exposition to explain the convoluted circumstances that made their confrontation a twisted necessity. And what the hell are those bikers riding down off of...?

Olsen walks in on the first page, as confused as the readers in his new situation...

...and when we turn the page, Jack hits us with our first 2-page splash in his new reign at DC, and the techno beast that is the Whiz Wagon. (That's what happens when it gets named by a group of kids (Reed's just a big kid)) ...

In half a dozen panels (some rather big) Kirby has already changed the dynamic of nearly everything. He's introduced a new science fiction flavor that will build exponentially over the next few issues. He re-introduced the Kid Gang genre to modern comics. Perhaps the most dramatic new element - Olsen's new boss, Morgan Edge - a change that would affect all the Superman titles for years to come. Morgan Edge and Galaxy Broadcasting instead of Perry White and the Daily Planet was so jarring to many readers, that a few months later this page ran in some titles just to say 'Change Happens, Relax.' (Also - Buy Our Comics!)

Meanwhile, back in Jimmy Olsen 133...  Morgan Edge has decided that Clark Kent's connection to Superman makes him a potential liablity his plans with Olsen and ordered someone/thing called Intergang to get rid of him. Somehow Clark survives being run down, and decides to take some sick time, allowing Superman to follow after Jimmy to protect him from the secrets of the Wild Area. But with the Whiz Wagon, the boys have already arrived...

In short order, the gang finds themselves under attack and pinned down - mostly...

The Newsboys charge during the confusion, and a full on rumble breaks out...

Of course, now that Jimmy has defeated their leader in combat, he is their new leader.

A short while later, Superman finds the hidden entrance to the Wild Area...

Superman in Weird Wonderland continues for a short bit, until ...

Of course, Jimmy Olsen is now leading the Outsiders (sorry, Batman - he got here first), and so...

The King serves up warning - yeah, it's nice to be Kryptonian, but that'll only get you so far. Technology has a habit of moving beyond the old 'gods'. Eventually, Kal El wakes up in the Habitat...

...and is soon reunited with Olsen...

Kirby exploded onto the scene and nothing about Jimmy Olsen's book was the same as before. Almost nothing. Just a moment on that...

In the next issue, Jack continued to shake things up and introduce the new readers to KIRBY, with his bold splashes and dynamic layouts...

 ...his two-page splash panels...

...he took his trademark collages to new level...

...ladled in plenty of Kirbytech eye candy...

...and in the last panels, gave the first indications of the war to come...

(Unfortunately, the colourist had no idea about Darkseid)

Jack Kirby was making huge changes, rapidly building a new mythology hiding behind the scenes, and making Jimmy Olsen the most exciting Superman book of the day to read. He was working as a Master Creator and Storyteller, and through it all we got one consistent message from the editors at DC -
Jack's not really good enough to be here.

In a slavish devotion to house style, Superman & Jimmy Olsen were routinely redrawn to look nothing like Jack Kirby's work. It was jarring and constant, and it continually sent that subliminal message to the readers - Kirby's just not good enough for DC. I can't help but think that it hurt the perception of Kirby's work and titles during his time at DC - i know very well that some of my friends at the time were affected by it, and pointed it out in arguments/debates. And worse - that desperate lock on house style was slowly killing DC in the market. Of course, it was hardly the first nor the last time that corporate stupidity would make the world less than it might have been.

Okay, i'm getting downbeat here. Let's let The King end things on a more optimistic note:

all pages by Jack Kirby & Vince Colletta from Jimmy Olsen #s 133 & 134 (1970)