Tarot Witch Of The Black Rose #67

Tarot Witch Of The Black Rose #67
CBR | English | 17.3 MB | 34 pages
Download MIRROR #1

Download MIRROR #2

More about →

Fatman, the Human Flying Saucer #1

Of all the weird titles launched at the end of the Silver Age, this has to be one of the strangest. Milson Publishing (aka Lightning Comics) appeared in 1967, published three issues of this comic and two issues of Super Green Beret, then vanished into the mists. The book did have some sterling credentials behind it, as the creative team was Otto Binder and CC Beck, the men responsible for Captain Marvel in the Golden Age.

Fatman is something of a composite of Captain Marvel, and the other overweight hero of the 1960s, Herbie. Does this ring some bells?

But we quickly learn that Van Crawford has powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men. Via a flashback, we learn that he was bird-watching one day, when he spotted a flying saucer about to crash. He demonstrates that some of his powers were innate to his avoirdupois form:

As the saucer lands on the tree he knocked down, it changes into an alien. It turns out that it was just testing him to see if he was a suitable candidate for super powers. Sure enough, he passed, and the alien gives him a potion that allows him to turn into a flying saucer at will. He later learns that he can change back just by speaking his own name, much like Captain Marvel could change back to Billy Batson by saying "Shazam!"

In the first issue, he battles some crooks who use jets for their getaways. This makes the "change into a flying saucer" routine useful. Like many superheroes, he gains powers as needed by the script:


And when he encounters a sea monster:

In the third story in the comic, Fatman picks up an ally in the war against crime: a beanpole teen named Lucius Pindle who wants to be stronger. He tries exercise, but he can't even lift a barbell. He tries mixing up a formula in his chemistry set, but it just leaves him with a bad aftertaste. Finally he tries a spell from a book of magic and presto:

At first, he has great fun with his powers as Tin Man, but when a lightning bolt hits him he runs amok. So Fatman assumes he's a villain, and they have a classic Marvel-style battle until Tin Man speaks his own name, causing him to change back into Lucius Pindle again. (Shades of Captain Marvel!)

In the final story, Tin Man battles the sea monster in what appears to be just a friendly match, refereed by Fatman. And for a moment, the monster agrees to join their team, but then:

And that's basically the end of the comic, except for a promise that the next issue will bring some major villains:


Comments: Amusing and lighthearted intro to the series. Why didn't it succeed? I suspect there are several reasons. First, the title is off-putting. The publisher probably thought that noting that the book was produced by the creators of Captain Marvel would overcome this, and it may have gotten some of the older fans interested enough to buy it. But for kids like me, Captain Marvel generally drew a shrug. He had last been published in 1954, and none of his adventures had been reprinted. Most of us only knew him from a line in the Beatles' song, Bungalow Bill. Second, the price point of 25 cents was a little steep for a new character. And third, I suspect they just missed the market by putting this out ihttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifn early 1967, when all the other publishers had jumped on the superhero bandwagon by 1965.

Update: Booksteve comes by in the comments and notes that the Bungalow Bill song wasn't released until 1968, so I probably would not have heard of Captain Marvel by the time this comic came out. He adds:

I remember I knew who CAPTAIN MARVEL was but I don't know how. I remember very distinctly though that I had heard of him and the "Shazam" thing but...how? I know I'd never seen any of the comics.

Perhaps I can answer that. There was one very well-known TV character who used the word "Shazam!" a lot back in the 1960s.

More about →

1528 - Destination Haiti

 Update 4th May: New links for D-231 (1000 px width) are added in 100th post.

*************************

Writer: Claes Reimerthi

Artist: Kari Leppänen

1528 - Destination Haiti (NEW LINK)

Scanned, edited & uploaded by "Laki"

Courtesy: Kit walker 

All credits go to both friends.

Egmont  Cover

Fantomet #26 - 2008

More about →

1404 - Eye of the Hurricane (Phantom Year One)

Story:    David Bishop
Art:    Kari Leppänen

1404 - Eye of the Hurricane

Scanned, edited & uploaded by "Laki"
Courtesy: Kit walker
All credits go to both friends.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Egmont cover:

 

Fantomet #26 - 2004

More about →

1345 - Treasure of the Astecs

Story:    Ulf Granberg
Art:    Jaime Vallvé

1345 - Treasure of the Astecs

Scanned, edited & uploaded by "Laki"
Courtesy: Kit walker
All credits go to both friends.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Egmont Cover:

Fantomet #13 - 1976

More about →

Number 938


...and featuring Sonny Bono as Burt the ghostly ex-lover...


Looking at this story makes me realize how long ago 1973 really was, and yet seems so recent, still vivid to me. Maybe it was the sideburns or the turtleneck sweaters, maybe the bell bottom trousers, the wide lapels...man, have we ever approached the coolness of that time since? (That's a joke, son...)

Frank Bolle, the artist on this story for issue #2 of Charlton's Haunted Love, had the look of 1973 down well. Bolle had a clean ink line, and looked like he drew from photographs. The audience for whom the comic was intended, mostly pre-teen or teenage girls, wouldn't be fooled if he had faked it. I wasn't part of the intended readership, but Haunted Love was one of my guilty pleasures in 1973. I was so embarrassed about buying any comic book with "love" in the title that I always hid it in the middle of the stack of comics I bought.

Bolle was born in 1924, and his work pops up many places over several decades of the history of comics. He has his own website, if you want to see other illustrative work he's done. The story is written by Charlton scripter Joe Gill.

More about →

D231 - Chatu's Fate

On April 28, 2011 The fans of the Phantom & Mandrake celebrated the 100th birthday of Lee Falk.

Yesterday 2 new scans of Indrajal Comics (1 Phantom & 1 Mandrake) were posted at Mega Indrajal blog along with a scan of Falk's autograph.

Thanks to Chatur Cheeta, today we can enjoy D-231. All credits go to him & original uploaders.

Start Date: December 13, 2010
End Date: 7 May, 2011
Duration: 20 weeks
Writer: Tony De Paul
Artist: Paul Ryan


As usual adding this strip in 100th post.


100th post

Note: The strip is complete including the strips yet to be published on 30th April till 7th May 2011.

3 Frew Comics are coming today. The celebration continues.......

More about →