18 May 2018

The Human Generator

One of these days i'll get around to posting about why Cat-Man is better than Batman. Not today. (But, for the record, it's been a long time since i was a big Batman fan. Batman was the great "Human" hero, once upon a time - no longer. Now he's a demigod and might as well be an alien superhuman.)

Today, let's look in the back pages of Cat-Man and pull out an odd little character - Volton! (no r)

Joe Kubert has been around so long that it's easy to forget that he was once just another artist, yet to work out his iconic style. Volton was one of his early training grounds, running as a back-up feature for 5 issues Cat-Man, #s 8-12 back in 1942, just 2 years into his professional career. At six pages per story, that's only 30 pages total, so let's run them all, eh?

Kubert's Volton got a cover introduction on Cat-Man #8, but with seemingly random-generated colours with no relation to his costume inside the comics:







Notice that last blurb had no mention of another episode, enjoining the reader to watch for the next issue of the comic instead. So far as i know, Volton never adventured again.

pages by Joe Kubert for Cat-Man #s 8-12 (1942)

16 May 2018

Slow Posting Schedule

I've referred to myself as a hermit in the past, and not merely facetiously.

Minimal though it may be, this blog is my single greatest link to the world outside my cave. Nearly ten months on and it's still up and running - somehow.


But the innate sociopath wants to dig deeper into the cave and block the entrance at times.


I'm working on it.


Johnny Lee Miller being entirely too relatable for me on Elementary (201-)

13 May 2018

Sweet Boy

A quick little post today for some of the old folks. "Old folks" in this case referring to those who were listening to the radio with Meredith Quill back in the days when she was picking music for her little Star Lord's first mix tape. Those folks who sat through Guardians Of The Galaxy waiting for Dobie Gray and Stealers Wheel to break out.*

You folks are likely to remember a song by Sweet about that pesky Little Willie.

You don't suppose they were singing about this guy...?


Here's the cover for this issue...


Appearances to the contrary, L'il Willie only had two issues with #20 being his premiere issue.

artist unknown from L'il Willie #20 (1949)


===
 *(Drift Away and Stuck In The Middle With You, of course)

12 May 2018

Sontarans Ate My Homework

Sorry for running so late today. Weekend has gone sideways, and no key in sight.

Here's the answers to yesterday's puzzles:








puzzles from Doctor Who Battles In Time #5 and Doctor Who Annual (UK) (1968, 2006)

11 May 2018

Friday Fun & Gallifrey Games

It's Friday once again, and while the real-man bloggers are off competing in Friday Night Fights, we ...  What? No more?

Alas, another fine tradition fades into the aether.

Nonetheless, we carry on with -


I'm missing The Doctor, and no new shows for half a year yet, so let's it's time for some Gallifreyan games!

First, a couple of word games - one to search them out, and one to stuff them in...



Indulge in a bit of robo-puppy love with a trio of K-9 puzzles -




...and finally, let's close it out with a little old school Doctor puzzle...


Puzzle solutions tomorrow, of course.

10 May 2018

Introducing Kona - Monarch Of Monster Isle

Last week some "cave paintings" were offered up - painted covers to various caveman comics - and i asked which you thought might be my favorites.

Let's take an introductory look at one of them, Kona. Here's a second look at Tom Beecham's painted cover to "Kona #1" (actually Four Colour #1256)


 Before we proceed, a quick bit on the term 'Cavemen' is in order. I use the word as a cultural touchstone. It has precisely zero scientific value and is used to refer to a wide variety of hominids, ranging from neanderthal to nomadic homo-sapiens, depending on the situation. Very rarely does the term apply to actual cave dwellers. After all, most locations don't readily offer caves, as you might have already noticed in your day-to-day lives. The term is also used in the same way that 'Man' is used to refer to human beings in general, without regard to individual gender.
Okay, moving right along...

The first thing that sets Kona apart from most caveman comics is the time frame. Our story begins in the 20th century. Not that this is completely original or anything, just ask Marshall, Will & Holly. (Actually, the original Land Of The Lost is on our posting topic list; both the book and the 1940s comic)


The expedition proceeds until a massive storm assaults the craft, tearing it apart as it pushes them into an unseen island. The family works together to salvage as much as they can -


While Grandpa and the kids seem fairly well suited to adventure, Mom - not so much. She flees the bats and has to be rescued by Mason clubbing a bat away with the butt of his rifle. As things settle down, the family suddenly find themselves inundated with water again -


The dai kaiju wrestle until the snake crushes the breath from tyrannosaur, but as they collapse...


 The pithecanthropes behead the serpent, taking their prize with them and leaving the family staring in wonder at what just happened...


A short march later...


And there you have the setup for Kona.
By the way - his tribe have domesticated triceratops, much as the others had their tyranosaurs.

Not surprisingly, their first battle goes supremely well, and the tribesmen get brutally wild in their victory. Grandpa gets disgusted and declares no more guns. A nice sentiment, but the reality of their new world rapidly reverses that decision.

It didn't take long for things to begin to get wonderfully odd. In the 2nd issue...


"Though the tyranasaurus-rex is at the bullfrog's throat the croaking beast still manages to lash out with his powerful legs kill two charging triceratops!"
"Kona's .45 makes short work of the dragonfly and he turns to face an enraged bee..."

You're going to have to work hard to find more awesome oddness packed into two sentences and one panel.

He was called Monarch Of Monster Isle, not Dean Of Dinosaur Island, y'know.

page art by Sam Glanzman for Dell Four Color #1256 and Kona #2 (1962)