Landor's End

As promised, let's get back to Landor...

Um, no...   That's not right.
We wanted Landor...

Oh, come on! This shouldn't be tricky - how many Landors can there be...?

Seriously?

Wait...   Little Lois Lane knew a Landor when she grew up on Krypton?
Maybe i should have watched that show.

Ah!
Here we go - Landor, Maker Of Monsters returns. And with a fine example of odd. Tired of just bringing dead bodies to life? How about swapping parts around first...

Let us continue with the rest of Landor's tales...

That was the end of Landor, Maker Of Monsters. (Unless you count his appearance in FemForce #34, but i don't include the modern re-use of the old characters since they're rarely recognizable as the originals. (but at least he was making monsters))

page art by Bob Powell, Joe Kubert, Larry Woromay, Enrico Bagnoli, Curt Swan, George Klein from Speed Comics #s 6-11, All-Star Comics #29, Jungle Comics #122, Uncanny Tales #7, and Superman #159 (1940, 1950, 1953, 1963)

Evolution In Action

I expect we'll return to Landor, Maker Of Monsters this weekend, but first...

Pat Parker is one of those characters who's been swirling around in the topic cloud in my head since back when we started talking about Fly Girls. While she doesn't qualify for that illustrious grouping, she is a kindred spirit.
Pat premiered in the second issue of Speed Comics (#13) and evolved greatly along the way. When she started out, she was very much exactly what her tag line advertised - Pat Parker, War Nurse...

By the following issue, she had shifted from straight nurse to a more pulp hero look, sporting jodhpurs and an almost Doc Savage ensemble, with just a hint of Luke Cage -

How long do you think it took her to evolve to the full-on superhero look like this...?

(Yes, we'll answer that question later, too)

page art by "Howard Reed" (Jill Elgin?) from Speed Comics #s 13 & 14 (1941)

Lando Might Be Cool, But Landor Was A Jerk

Well, once again my peripatetic mind has gone wandering off track on me. But not too far. This time.

I was headed back to early days of Speed Comics to check in on more of Mars Mason or follow up on Pat Parker, the War Nurse, or maybe peek in at that early Dick Briefer strip. Instead, the brain dove towards the Odd. Go figure.

Premiering in Speed Comics #1 was a decidedly off-the-wall concept. Forget the heroes, let's focus on the villain. Yes, it's been done more than once, but this was 1939 - a bit radical for the time, no? But, not unique. So what to do to make the villain more interesting...?

This was the decade that brought us Bela Lugosi's Dracula and Boris Karloff's Frankenstein - great and lasting cinema bad guys. And, more germane to this post - Colin Clive's Dr. Frankenstein. And somebody hooked onto that. Who? We don't know. But we do know that Bob Powell provided the artwork for Landor, Maker Of Monsters!...

No, Brad, don't lie to Janet - it ain't over.
We've only just begun...
 

So wrong.
Landor would be back to bother them again another half dozen times.

And so will we.

page art by Bob Powell from Speed Comics #s 1-5 (1939, 1940)

Meanwhile, Out On The Fringeworlds...

'Twas a fairly successful supply run today. Apparently the fear of vampires has passed and the stores were stocked with garlic once again.

The ol' mind is skittering about, a bit too unfocused for a real post, but the urge to post is there anyway. So let's ramble a few about some of the progress on The 3rd Colony. (If that's unfamiliar to you, it's the game i work to keep my mind from rusting up)

In Week 02, The Registry is running a series of Lotteries to bolster the coffers. (The Registry is the agency which coordinates and supports the superheroes in the game.) The prizes are of the Win-A-Date With A Superhero variety. (Heroes should really read every bit of those contracts) Of course, multiple lotteries are needed lest potential  purchasers be excluded. Hence Lottery ratings M, F, and A. Here is a triptych sampling of the posters to show you what i mean...

A couple of explanatory notes:

The word Consentable is a term indicating Legal Self-Competence in the game world.

Seed is empowered by the World Tree (that's the Wawa Aba on his chest) and has a holy duty to pass on the lineage. But only 1 in 10,000 women (at most optimistic estimates) is capable of successfully bearing the sacred heir. Tired of it though he may be, his search is near constant, by obligation. This is well known in the hero guidebooks, so his 'Prize' is altered accordingly.

Yes, it's Pinku Cherry, too.

Meanwhile, new shows continue to arrive on the vid channels, one of which should look familiar...

New adverts pop up as well, which can be a lot of fun. I wind up setting the design aesthetic of the 'art world' out on the Fringe, as reflected through the advertising. There are two competing major agencies representing the old school and new wave of the current local art movement.

These first two ads are from the new style agency, which you can see reflected in the sets and backgrounds -

This ad is from the old school competition (which a heavy touch of Finger/Sprang influencing their ads - these are the guys who'd have the giant working type-writer).
Yes, Genni is a popular up & coming model/star sought by clients of both agencies -

BTW - that Fluid Glass Fabric is made from industrial mining waste and has some nasty toxic properties. But OKW is OK Worlds Enterprises, the sleazy major corporate co-owner of the mining colony. And they're the most 'good guy' of the partners, so nobody is monitoring that stuff out here on the Fringeworlds.

Yes, i go into ridiculous levels in some aspects of the game. That's the beauty of having no real expectation of completion. Since the work itself is the important part to help keep things chugging along upstairs, i can let it go where it wants - as long as it all weaves together satisfactorily.

And i do believe it's time to slip back into it. Maybe i can get the promos done for C'thul'hu And The Angel or Purr Patrol.

We'll see...

stuff by -3- (2020)

Stay Mellow For Mel

It's one of them days -

As you may (or may not) know, when Mel appears that means a posting will not be doing so. (Thanks, ME!) I'm heading out for the monthly supply run and no telling how long that takes these days. Who knows? There might even be a stimulus sitting in my account - that could extend the excursion. (Since i exist without phone and such, i actually have to go to the bank to find out)

Perhaps there'll be a real post late today.
Sure, the odds are slim. But they're still greater than the odds of us seeing any competence from the federal government any time soon, so cross those extraneous digits!

it's Mel!