Friday, January 25, 2013

AGAR-AGAR "Harem of Bacchus"

...actually, continuity isn't really a strong point of this series.
So just sit back, get mellow, and enjoy!
Well, that really didn't make much sense.
But hey, that art is really groovy, ain't it?
This story from Dracula #6 (1971) was written by Luis Gasca under the pen-name Sadko (which he also used as the scripter on Wolff, another strip in Dracula, illustrated by Estaban Maroto, which we're running in Hero Histories™) and illustrated in a Peter Max-esque style by Alberto Solsona..
It's the last of three that were published in the Warren trade paperback that reprinted the first six issues of this British magazine.
The remaining five stories have been unseen by American audiences, but will be posted here over the next few months.
It'll be a groovy trip, baby!
Be here next week, when we present another tale of classic comic grrl power!

Friday, January 18, 2013

SAARI "False Priestess of Ugandi"

From the publisher who brought you Aurora of Jupiter...
...here's another short-lived heroine who actually had her own book...for a single issue!
We don't know who wrote or drew this tale, which was one of three stories (two comic and one text) to appear in the first (and only) issue of PL Publishing's Saari (1951).
We do know that, unlike most jungle girls, Saari didn't have a boyfriend/consort to save her when things got rough.
In fact, she's perfectly capable of handling a crocodile or a trio of crooks with equal panache...as long as they don't sneak up on her from behind.
(She gets hit on the head in both comic stories.)

PL Publishing was an American publisher who printed and distributed their books in Canada.
As a result, very few copies of any of their eight short-lived titles (including Saari) ever reached fans in the US!

Be here next week, when we present another tale of classic comic grrl power!

Friday, January 11, 2013

MADAME STRANGE "Hawaii Take-Over"

She's a super-heroine/spy with no secret identity...
...but she's not someone you want to mess with under any circumstances!
NOTE: may be NSFW due to dialogue about Asian stereotypes common to the era.
The threatened reprisal by Bonza's gang was never carried out since the remaining Madame Strange stories take place in locales other than Hawaii.
Though this never-reprinted tale from Great Comics #1 (1941) was created and published before the US entered World War II, most Americans knew it was only a matter of time before we would enter the war on the side of the Allies.
Madame Strange never used any other name or a disguised secret identity (not even eyeglasses).
Between her costume and (never-explained) greater-than-normal strength and speed, most fans consider her a superheroine.
"Achmed Zudella" was a pen-name for writer/artist Charles "Chuck" Winter.
It was only used on this strip.

Be here next week, when we present another tale of classic comic grrl power!

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Friday, January 4, 2013

DIANA THE HUNTRESS "Food for Greece"

TV's Hercules: the Legendary Journeys wasn't the first time...
...pop culture tossed anachronisms into classic mythology, as this never-reprinted tale from Charlton's YellowJacket Comics #3 (1944) shows!
Somehow, I don't think the Roman/Greek goddess would actually spout the line "I used to be a Girl Scout!"...
In addition, as we pointed out in Diana's "origin" story HERE, the authors also mixed their Greek and Roman pantheons, but did utilize the correct powers and abilities for the gods and goddesses they used!
Though the writer is unknown, the artist is Leo Morey,
Plus, for the first time, Diana makes the cover of the book...
Art by Ken Battefield
Here's a close-up of the insert shot...
Is it just me or is the left side of her tunic a little...low?
There'll be more never-reprinted tales of Diana the Huntress in the future.
Watch for them!