Steele Sidetrips And Dizzy Distractions

So... I was on my way to meet up with Steelgrip Starkey when i got distracted by Skyrocket Steele. You might not know either of those guys, but i suspect most of you know Bill Everett, the creator of Sub-Mariner (among others).

His Skyrocket Steele first appeared on the cover of Amazing Mystery Funnies #1...

Oddly enough, despite the cover he did not appear inside. It was in the next issue that he made his debut...

The tale continued in issue #3...

...and then it gets tricky. I thought i had the next part in issue #4. Nope. There were two #3s! 
Silly me, i thought there was only One.

So, i'm off on a hunt now. And not just for the other 3, but also for the debut chapter for this guy -

Whether i can find one better than my crappy copy or not, we'll be meeting up with Tippy Taylor soon. I assure you it beats the hells out of the new Fantasy Island.

While i'm hunting, here's a slightly deranged little strip to enjoy, Adam The Atom-Smasher...

As far as i know, that's just what he did and we never saw him again.

But we'll be back to see more of those other guys.

page art by Bill Everett, Grieg Chapian, and Fred Schwab for Amazing Mystery Funnies #s 2, 3, & 17-19 (1937, 1938, 1940)

The Evil Of Dr. Strange

Just a quick look at a series this morning while i'm sorting out my calendar confusion.

UPDATE: I found this tale reprinted in Dynamic Comics #10 with George Tuska credited for the artwork.

Today's strip is definitely an Odd one, in many ways. For one thing, he's a scifi superhero with a costume (and mask), but he uses his civilian name - Dan Hastings. You may, perhaps, be thinking "Hey! The title says Dr. Strange!" Indeed, but he is the villain of this tale.

For another thing - it's brutally grim from the first page, even while being light in style. Giant space insects devouring the flesh from infants, leaving behind skeletons? And this was about 80 years ago...

Of course, we should maybe be expecting Oddness when consecutive covers on the title look like this -

For more Odd, though hardly unexpected, the evil Dr. Strange did return after being reduced to a skeleton - later in that same issue...

I should perhaps point out that Dan Hastings was not a new character in this story. He had already been around in comics for five years at this time. And he continued to appear for another 5. So there's plenty for us to peruse when we return this way.

page art by George Tuska from Scoop Comics #2 (1942)

2020 Calendars - Week 11

Bloody Hells.
I went to post this week's calendars, and find that somewhere I lost a day; it's already Monday evening. You probably knew that. I'm still reeling. But here's the planned post that should have gone up at 12:03 this Ante-Meridian:

Y'know - i may be digging a hole for later me, but i feel like tripling again. So let's do 3 of each of our 3 calendar artists this week.

For our Classic Pin-Ups Calendar, please welcome a newcomer to the roster - Mr. Art Frahm. Art is one of those artists who has something to say...

...well, perhaps not 'something to say' exactly...

...but he definitely offers his own distinct views... 

Of course, he'd be greatly handicapped by modern wardrobes.

I think i may have said i'd try to move away from Enoch Bolles for a bit on the Covers Calendars.

I failed -

Someday i'd like to see a count of how many magazine covers he painted.

For our Blue Calendars this week, let's return to one of the true masters of the form - Gil Elvgren -

These calendars contain nudity, and so they are tucked back behind the age check in our 'back room'. This link will take you to the uncut version of this post.

This next one i find oddly intriguing. Mr. Elvgren seems to have been trying a little something different, slightly more stylized, reflecting other art trends of the time...

...and back for a classic Elvgren end -

As always, the calendars are sized to print 8"x10" at 150dpi, with 1" square spaces for notations.

This Time He's SciFi Serious!

On with the conclusion to the Enchanted Flivver saga from Capt. Frank Moss and Frank Borth. (You've been reading along, right?) Giltrock steps up his efforts to capture and make Henrietta his own...

So far as i know, that's the last anyone ever saw of Henrietta and company. But there's lots more Borth artwork to love, along with many other treasures in the Chest, so we'll be back once again.

And now we just have to wait 8 more months for Love & Thunder...

page art by Frank Borth from Treasure Chest Of Fun & Fact v.21#s 16-20 (1966)