Monday, February 27, 2012

MOVIE COMICS "Stagecoach"

Nobody personified Western movies like John Wayne, and this was his breakout film...
...immortalized in print with a unique fumetti-style adaptation in DC Comics' Movie Comics #2 (1939)
Using photographs was certainly one way around the problem of getting an exact likeness of the actors!
The design/compositing/additional art was done by Jack Adler, a production artist/illustrator who rose thru the ranks and eventually became DC Comics'  Production Manager/Vice President of Production, innovating a number of production techniques that became standard comics practices.

Movie Comics ran for six issues, adapting everything from Westerns to romances to science fiction.
(Our "brother" blog, Secret Sanctum of Captain Video™re-presented the adaptation of Phantom Creeps starring Bela Lugosi which used the same fumetti-format HERE.)

Here's a fascinating piece from a feature called Screen Scoops featuring tidbits about the actors from the various movies adapted in that issue...
Art and script by Walter Galli

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Wednesday, February 22, 2012

LOBO "Old 'Friend'" and "Sad Ending"

Landing a job as a "drover" with a cattle drive, an ex-Union soldier tries to be accepted as just another cowboy.
But a cruel Fate has other plans for him, as he is framed for murder.
Now known as "Lobo",  he seeks to clear his name...
Thus ends the first chapter in The Saga of Lobo.
 Want to see the next (and final) issue?
Let us know!
BTW, the preceding tale  was written by Don "DJ" Arneson and illustrated by Tony Tallarico, two guys who were well ahead of their time!

And, don't forget your Lobo comic collectibles, including t-shirts, mugs, and other goodies at...

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

LOBO "On the Trail" and "The Brand Sticks"

An anonymous ex-Union soldier wanders the Old West, seeking work.
Landing a job as a "drover" with a cattle drive, he tries to be accepted as just another cowboy.
But a cruel Fate has other plans for him...
Tomorrow: An Old "Friend" and A Sad Ending

Don't forget your Lobo comic collectibles, including t-shirts, mugs, and other goodies at...

Monday, February 20, 2012

LOBO "The Saga Begins" and "First Signs of Trouble..."

Created the same year (1966) as Marvel's Black Panther (who guest-starred in Fantastic Four, Tales of Suspense, and The Avengers, but didn't get his own series until 1973, or his own comic until 1977), Lobo was the FIRST Black character with HIS OWN BOOK!
(Other Black characters had their own series in anthology books, but Lobo was the first to have his name AS the comic's title!)
Lobo combined several popular concepts...
Man on the Run for a Crime He Did NOT Commit
Exemplified by then-hit tv series The Fugitive, Lobo was framed, but couldn't prove his innocence.
Lone Western Hero
A loner wandering the Old West, righting wrongs was an especially popular genre in tv Westerns.
Variations on the theme included gamblers (Maverick) and martial-arts experts (Kung Fu)
Note: the tv series Branded combined both the Loner and Man Framed themes!
Prominent Black character
Black characters (except for sterotypes like Amos 'n Andy) were few and far between on tv until the mid-1960s, and even then only as supporting characters (usually servants).
1960s urban dramas like Naked City and East Side, West Side, which dealt with current social themes had Black guest stars including James Earl Jones and Diana Sands, but no Black regulars.
Star Trek (1966) had both a Black regular character (Lt. Nyota Uhura) and Black actors in prominent roles as scientists and high-placed officers (admirals, etc,).
But, at that point, there were no tv series with a Black lead or Black title character!
(Diahann Carroll's groundbreaking series Julia didn't debut until 1968!)
So, Lobo was, to say the least, a daring experiment, albeit one with as many popular themes as possible to maximize sales potential!
Unfortunately, it didn't work.
Lobo the comic only ran two issues, but now you can have the collectibles like t-shirts, magnets, mousepads, etc., they never made during his title's too-brief run!
Dedicated Lobo pages...
Lobo the First
Lobo the Second

Join us over the next few days as we relive The Saga of Lobo...
Tomorrow: On the Trail and The Brand Sticks

And don't forget your Lobo collectibles, including t-shirts, mugs, and other goodies at the...
Lobo Comics Collectibles Shop
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