Tagged: Flash Gordon

Dark Horse Comics October Pulpy Offerings

Coming in October from Dark Horse Comics.

FLASH GORDON COMIC BOOK ARCHIVES VOLUME 5 HC
John Warner (W), Bruce Jones (W), George Kashdan (W), Gene Fawcette (P/I), Al Williamson (P/I), Carlos Garzón (P), Al McWilliams (P/I), Frank Bolle (P), and Rick Veitch (C)
On sale Dec 28
FC, 280 pages
$49.99
HC, 6 5/8″ x 10 3/16″
Flash Gordon—hero of Mongo, gentleman scientist, two-fisted fighter, and now savior of the universe! Join Flash, the lovely Dale Arden, and Dr. Zarkov as they make a last desperate stand against alien monsters, corrupt kings, ravenous sharks, and the ultimate supervillain, Ming the Merciless! This volume collects Flash Gordon #28–#37, plus the three-issue adaptation of the cult favorite Flash Gordon movie!
• Introduction by Michael T. Gilbert.

TARZAN: THE JESSE MARSH YEARS VOLUME 10 HC
Gaylord DuBois (W) and Jesse Marsh (A)
On sale Jan 4
FC, 224 pages
$49.99
HC, 7″ x 10″
Tarzan faces his most harrowing adventure yet when his treehouse is targeted and destroyed by slavers, who kidnap Jane and Boy! This volume sees Tarzan battle lion-sized wasps, outwit ivory poachers, brave giant spiders to find desperately needed medicine, become stranded in the Valley of Monsters, and even track a murder cult for the British government. Reprinting Dell’s Tarzan #47–#51, from 1953, for the first time.
• Introduction by PictureBox’s Dan Nadel.

ABE SAPIEN: THE DEVIL DOES NOT JEST #2 (of 2)
From the pages of Hellboy!
Mike Mignola (W), John Arcudi (W), James Harren (A), Dave Stewart (C), and Dave Johnson (Cover)
On sale Oct 26
FC, 32 pages
$3.50
Miniseries
Abe Sapien’s investigation of a demonologist gets gory when, at the mercy of a malformed beast, he stumbles upon the secret of a rotten family tree—the roots of which, he may never escape.
• Abe loses his mind in this early adventure!

B.P.R.D.: BEING HUMAN TP
Liz’s origin revealed!
Mike Mignola (W/Cover), John Arcudi (W), Scott Allie (W), Richard Corben (A), Ben Stenbeck (A), Karl Moline (P), Guy Davis (A), Andy Owens (I), and Dave Stewart (C)
On sale Dec 14
FC, 152 pages
$17.99
TP, 7″ x 10″
In these terrifying tales of witchcraft and the undead, Abe, Roger, Liz, and Johann learn the ropes as agents of the Bureau For Paranormal Research and Defense! Abe copes with survivor’s guilt, Roger goes on his first adventure with Hellboy, Liz tells the story of how she killed her family, and Johann Kraus dies!
• A standalone collection that’s perfect introduction to these bizarre heroes.

B.P.R.D. HELL ON EARTH: RUSSIA #2 (of 5)
The vault of horrors!
Mike Mignola (W), John Arcudi (W), Tyler Crook (A), Dave Stewart (C), Dave Johnson (Cover)
On sale Oct 19
32 pages
$3.50
Miniseries
In the vault of the Russian Occult Bureau’s headquarters is a man chained down and heavily monitored. When Kate and Johann are brought in for assistance, the zombie director of the Russian bureau pits them against the possessed prisoner!

BALTIMORE: THE CURSE BELLS #3 (of 5)
Vampire nuns, giant snake gods, and the occult!
Mike Mignola (W/Cover), Christopher Golden (W), Ben Stenbeck (A), and Dave Stewart (C)
On sale Oct 12
FC, 32 pages
$3.50
Miniseries
A bloody ritual climaxes in a terrifying rebirth, as Lord Baltimore battles against the twisted “blessing” of vampiric nuns and an insane occultist.
• A horrifying new take on vampires!
• By Mike Mignola (Hellboy) and Christopher Golden (Buffy the Vampire Slayer).

BALTIMORE VOLUME 1: THE PLAGUE SHIPS TP
Mike Mignola (W/Cover), Christopher Golden (W), Ben Stenbeck (A), and Dave Stewart (C)
On sale Dec 21
FC, 144 pages
$18.99
TP, 7″ x 10″
After a devastating plague ends, Europe is suddenly flooded with vampires. Lord Henry Baltimore, a soldier determined to wipe out the monsters, fights his way through bloody battlefields, ruined plague ships, exploding zeppelins, and submarine graveyards, on the hunt for the creature who’s become his obsession.
• First time in paperback!
• By Mike Mignola (Hellboy) and Christopher Golden (Buffy the Vampire Slayer).

BRAIN BOY ARCHIVES HC
Herb Castle (W), Gil Kane (A), and Frank Springer (A)
On sale Dec 14
FC, 216 pages
$49.99
HC, 7″ x 10″
A freak accident with an electrical tower affected Matt Price’s brain while he was still in the womb. Ever since, he’s had mysterious powers—telepathy, levitation, and mind control. Naturally, the government recruited him straight out of high school, and now he battles mad dictators and thawed-out dinosaurs as Brain Boy!
• Introduction by Batton Lash.

CONAN: ROAD OF KINGS #9
Roy Thomas (W), Dan Panosian (A), Dan Jackson (C), and Aleksi Briclot (Cover)
On sale Oct 19
FC, 32 pages
$3.50
Ongoing
Beneath the city of Tarantia, Conan, his allies, and the child in his care are at the mercy of a horde of zombie Hyborians, while above their heads an even greater menace reveals itself! If they survive the catacombs, can Conan and his charges withstand a siege of the city?

FEAR AGENT #32: OUT OF STEP part 5 (of 5)
Rick Remender (W), Mike Hawthorne (P), Tony Moore (P/Cover), and John Lucas (I)
On sale Nov 2
FC, 32 pages
$3.50
Miniseries
THE END!
The creative team that came together on Fear Agent reunite for the stunning conclusion!
• From Uncanny X-Force and Venom scribe Rick Remender!

KULL: THE CAT AND THE SKULL #1 (of 4)
David Lapham (W), Gabriel Guzman (P), Dan Jackson (C), Jo Chen (Cover), and Stephanie Hans (Variant cover)
On sale Oct 12
FC, 32 pages
$3.50
Miniseries
Few women in all the Seven Kingdoms can equal the beauty of Delcardes, but Kull is more interested in her traveling companion—the cat, Saremes. It is rumored that Saremes is of the old race and Kull is anxious to hear her counsel. The Hate Witch is dead but the serpent cult are rallying under a powerful wizard. In order to protect the people of Valusia, Kull must unravel the mysteries of this wise and ancient creature.
• Kull vs. his greatest foe: THULSA DOOM!

KULT #4 (of 4)
Jeremy Barlow (W), Iwan Nazif (A), Michael Atiyeh (C), and Jake Murray (Cover)
On sale Oct 5
FC, 32 pages
$3.50
Miniseries
The illusion is pierced! The hellish real world is revealed! The final battle for humanity has begun! But with the power to reshape the world and his allies helpless to stop him, has Tomas Zenk been the true danger all along?
• Inspired by the legendary RPG!
• For fans of The Matrix and Hellraiser!

MIGHTY SAMSON ARCHIVES VOLUME 4 HC
Arnold Drake (W), Paul S. Newman (W), John Warner (W), Jose Delbo (A), and Jack Abel (A)
On sale Dec 21
FC, 224 pages
$49.99
HC, 7″ x 10″
In a world of monsters and scavengers, Samson continues fighting his way across a wasted future America, searching for hope and dishing out justice. With his beautiful companion, her brilliant father, and a rogue’s gallery of foes, Samson and his team are constantly bombarded with danger! This volume collects Mighty Samson issues #25-#31 and Gold Key Champion #2 and features an introduction by Samson artist Jose Delbo.
• Collects material unavailable anywhere else!

ROBERT E. HOWARD’S SAVAGE SWORD #3
David Lapham (W), Paul Tobin (W), Jeremy Barlow (W), Wellinton Alves (A), Joshua Williamson (W), Patric Reynolds (A), Cobiaco (A), Tony Parker (A), Gerald Parel (Cover), and others
On sale Oct 26
FC, 80 pages
$7.99
Ongoing
Paul Tobin and Wellinton Alves conclude their Conan adventure, David Lapham and Fabio Cobiaco tell a high-seas adventure featuring King Kull’s right-hand man Brule, Jeremy Barlow and Tony Parker adapt a cowboy adventure by Howard, Joshua Williamson and Patric Reynolds them up to revive Howard’s gritty detective Steve Harrison, and we bring you part one of the classic graphic novel Kull: The Vale of Shadow!

TUROK, SON OF STONE: AZTLÁN VOLUME 1 TP
Jim Shooter (W), Eduardo Francisco (A), James Harren (C), and Raymond Swanland (Cover)
On sale Jan 4
FC, 96 pages
$15.99
TP, 7″ x 10″
The American Southwest, 1428. Turok, a wandering warrior, rescues young Andar from death at the hands of the ruthless Maxtla and his Aztec horde. Turok and Andar seek refuge in a vast cavern, where an otherworldly force sweeps them and their pursuers to a savage, timeless land of rampaging dinosaurs and unimagined wonders. Hunted in a world of danger and death, Turok and Andar fight to survive—and to find a way home.
• Collects issues #1-#4 of the new Turok series.

For a full listing of Dark Horse’s October Release, visit them at http://www.darkhorse.com/.

ARDDEN ENTERTAINMENT NEWS. FLASH.

NEWS. FLASH!!

FLASH GORDON : THE VENGEANCE OF MING COMING SEPTEMBER 2011
INVASION OF THE RED SWORD TPB – COMING THIS FALL 2011

With the next exciting Flash Gordon series on the launching pad (The Vengeance of Ming #1 – due September ’11), Ardden can also reveal that its Collected Edition of The Mercy Wars is almost out of print and due to go back to press this fall for the book market and with a brand new cover too!

The Mercy Wars has gained great reviews and critical acclaim and collects the hard to find issue zero and issues #1 to #6 of the mini series released in 2009. Written by Brendan Deneen with art by Paul Green, Flash Gordon: The Mercy Wars #1 sold a staggering 15,000 copies of its debut issue in July 2008 and since then fans have just loved Ardden’s twist on a the classic sci-fi hero.

The follow-up collected edition, The Invasion Of the Red Sword, is also written by Deneen by this time Eduardo Garcia provides the interior artwork, with colors by JOK and will be 160 pages with additional material and priced at $19.99.

Ardden has something planned for the New York Comic-con this fall for Flash fans – so make sure you’re they’re to “pick up” the excitement!

FLASH GORDON : THE INVASION OF THE RED SWORD #2 – OUT NOW!!
ISSUE #3 IN JULY!

Thank you everyone who have been emailing us about the next issue of Flash Gordon IOTRS… well, you’ll be pleased to know that issue #2 is out now, with issue #3 in stores very soon.

Both Brendan and yours truly would like to let you know that Flash will return with another series very soon and after IOTRS is wrapped up in August. We’re so pleased with the feedback we’re getting – and the fanbase we’ve built – that we’d love to keep it going for another 1000 issues, but Brendan has a definitive story that will end after 24 issues and as they say “all good things come to an end.”

We’d also like to thank you for the emails that amassed after another indie publisher announced that it too would be publishing Flash Gordon. We’re none too worried as we know that when we all look back in a few years we’ll all agree that Ardden’s Flash was the best one out there. They say that imitation is the highest form of flattery — and we tend to agree! :)

Moving on… we have lots planned. The last few months have been rather busy for us with several new indie signings, one of which has caught the eye of several international publishers and studios. But for now… Flash is our main goal and to make sure you love what we’re doing each and every month.

FLASH GORDON : INVASION OF THE RED SWORD #2
Writer: Brendan Deneen
Artist: Eduardo Garcia
Price: $3.99
Full Color

To learn more about Ardden Entertainment, please visit http://limited-edition-comix.com/atlas/index.htm

EXTRA! EXTRA! BITS O’ NEWS FROM ALL PULP!

EXTRA! EXTRA! BITS O’ NEWS FROM ALL PULP!

BALLADS FOR THE BALLADEER

Joe Nazare, author and professor, has begun a celebration of original pulpster Manly Wade Wellman’s JOHN THE BALLADEER stories by posting a series of mini-ballads on his blog Macabre Republic under the title “On the Road with Silver John”!



BLOGGING FLASH GORDON
William Patrick Maynard (The Terror of Fu Manchu) is at it again, with his in-depth look at Alex Raymond’s Flash Gordon strip over at the BLACK GATE MAGAZINE blog!
BLOGGING BURROUGHS’ VENUS
Over at the BLACK GATE MAGAZINE blog, Ryan Harvey is celebrating the upcoming anniversary of ER Burroughs’ Martian stories with a look at the author’s second sword & planet series-Carson of Venus! 

THE LATEST ‘FLYING GLORY AND THE HOUNDS OF GLORY!”
FLYING GLORY AND THE HOUNDS OF GLORY
“I think I’ve got it retuned to Ms Clay…” The strange scanner allows
the vicious Dr. Molly Payne witness those early moment when Debra first began to fly and even more about Flying Glory
in the latest two pages of “Reverberations” our 10th Anniversary Issue.

FLASH GORDON RETURNS AT DYNAMITE!

August 25th, 2011 – Runnemede, NJ – The iconic legend Flash Gordon is making his dynamic splash back into comics with Dynamite Entertainment this November!

Flash Gordon – Zeitgeist

As Flash Gordon’s story begins, it is a time of two-fisted swashbuckling, of fearsome threats and wild adventure-and of ever-growing threats on the horizon. Three valiant humans — Flash Gordon, Dale Arden and Dr. Hans Zarkov — are plucked from the Earth, traveling to the distant planet Mongo. Their exploits are legendary, battling the machinations and terror schemes of the dreaded emperor Ming, the All-Seeing Ruler of Mongo. But they did not fight alone! And coming up, witness a startling meeting with Ming the Merciless! With the fate of our world helpless, can even Flash Gordon save us?

Alex Ross had this to say about Flash Gordon – Zeitgeist, “Finally, after all this time, I’m working on a Flash Gordon series that brings the best I have to contribute to this legendary character and forerunner of all comic books!”

“I couldn’t be happier about this project,” stated writer Eric Trautmann. “It is a genuine treat to be able to let my inner ‘pulpster’ out, and write in an idiom I rarely get to play in, which has a rich core of optimism and innocence. We’re very much approaching the comic as if it were the Flash Gordon movie we’d all want to see. Add to that, I’ve adored Flash Gordon for as long as I’ve been reading, and the opportunity to play with Alex Raymond’s material — in a way I don’t think has been done before — is truly exciting. The Raymond strips were just so plot-dense, with a sense of ‘anything goes’ that I look for — often unsuccessfully — in contemporary comics. And, of course, several times a week, I check my e-mail, and find a dozen amazing pieces of artwork from Alex Ross; I’d be hard-pressed to find someone who has a greater understanding of the characters, or who harbors more affection for them, than Alex. He has laser-like clarity about the look and feel of the characters, the setting, the story, technology, making it all look new, and at the same time quite familiar. He’s an exceptional ‘vision holder’ for our tale.”

“Dynamite has added another classic character to our growing library of comics,” says Dynamite Entertainment President and Publisher Nick Barrucci. “Eric has put together an amazing story and all Flash Gordon fans will fall in love with this book, just as I have!”

PICK UP FLASH GORDON – ZEITGEIST #1 THIS NOVEMBER AT COMIC BOOK STORES EVERYWHERE!

To learn more about Dynamite Entertainment, visit www.dynamite.net
#1 is written by Eric Trautmann (Vampirella, Red Sonja), from a story and designs by Alex Ross (Project: Superpowers, Kingdom Come, Marvels), and illustrated by Daniel Lindro!

FLASH GORDON (1936)

FLASH GORDON (1936)
1936
Universal Pictures
Directed by Frederick Stephani
Produced by Henry MacRae
Written by Basil Dickey, Ella O’Neill, George H. Plympton
Based on the comic strip by Alex Raymond
Say whatever you want about The Internet.  It’s done all right by me so far.  It’s a never ending source of delight to me that I can find and rediscover movies, books, comics and old TV shows that I thought I’d never see or experience again.  But it’s all out there and thanks to the wonderful technology we now have, it’s a joy to be able to relive some of my childhood pleasures.  This is one of ‘em.
Set The Wayback Machine for pre-Netflix days, Sherman. (I’m talking about the 70’s and 80’s, folks) when the only way I could see cliffhanger serials from the 30’s and 40’s was to either borrow them from the library and hope the VHS tape hadn’t been dubbed from a poor copy or wait until they were shown on PBS.  Usually during the summer PBS would have a Saturday night marathon showing of “Spy Smasher” “Perils of Nyoka” “The Masked Marvel” or “Manhunt of Mystery Island” in their original form.  Much more common were the edited versions of cliffhangers that Channel 9 or Channel 11 here in New York would show on Saturday afternoons.  15 chapters were edited down into 90 minutes.  It gave you a good flavor of what cliffhangers were like but that was all.
But now we’ve got Netflix and it was while accidentally finding they had “King of The Rocketmen” available, I hunted up some other serials as well.  Including what is probably the best known and best loved cliffhanger serial of all; FLASH GORDON starring Larry “Buster” Crabbe.   The man was known as The King of The Serials due to his playing in serials arguably the three most popular comic strip heroes at that time: Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon and Tarzan.  Talk about your hat tricks.
But there’s a reason why Mr. Crabbe got to play such heroes.  The cat looks like a hero.   He had the genuine square chin, steely eyes and a build most guys would give ten years off their life for.  But I think that Buster Crabbe’s real appeal in this serial lay in his Everyman quality.  His Flash Gordon isn’t the smartest guy in the room.  And he’s okay with that.  He’s more than happy to let Dr. Zarkov be the brains of the outfit while he does the dirty work.   He’s clever and resourceful.  He’s got morals and compassion for the little guy.  And when it comes to kicking ass all over Mongo, just step back and give Flash some fightin’ room.
By now, the story is legend.  The planet Mongo is hurtling toward Earth on what appears to be a collision course.  Earth’s weather is going crazy as well as the populace.  Flash Gordon is on one of the last cross country flights as he wishes to be with his scientist father when the end comes.  Also on the plane is Dale Arden (Jean Rogers).  Due to the severity of the weather, Flash and Dale are forced to bail out by parachute and happen to land right near the spaceship of Dr. Hans Zarkov (Frank Shannon) who talks them into a suicide mission to fly through space to the planet Mongo and somehow stop it from crashing into Earth.
Flash and Dale agree to go along and our intrepid heroes successfully make it to Mongo where they are promptly captured by Captain Torch (Earl Askam) who takes them to his Emperor: Ming The Merciless (Charles Middleton) who rules Mongo by fear and terror.  Ming and Flash take an instant dislike to each other.  However, Ming’s daughter Princess Aura (Priscilla Lawson) falls immediately in love with Flash and tries to save him when her daddy throws Flash in the Arena of Death with three brutal ape men.  Now mind you, this is just the first chapter and I didn’t even describe half of what happens.
The next 12 chapters are a goofy blizzard of classic space opera pulp adventure as Flash and his friends are chased, captured, enslaved, escape, battle and struggle against Ming while making friends and allies with Vultan (John Lipson) King of The Hawkmen, Prince Barin (Richard Alexander) the rightful ruler of Mongo and Prince Thun (James Pierce) of The Lionmen.
First off let me say up front that you have to have a love of this kind of thing from Jump Street or at least be curious to learn more about this genre.  This entire serial was made for less than a million bucks which today wouldn’t even pay for the catering for some of today’s movie.  So we’re talking about production values that are downright laughable by today’s standards.  The acting is nothing to brag about.  But it is sincere.  Buster Crabbe sells it with all his heart.  When he’s up there on screen he convinces you that he’s in the deadliest of peril even while fighting the most obvious rubber octopus in the history of movies.  And the rest of the cast follow suit.  Especially John Lipson as Vultan who I was afraid would belly laugh himself a hernia, that’s how much he’s enjoying playing the Falstaffian King of The Hawkmen.
Jean Rogers as Dale Arden is kinda blah, even for this material.  She mostly just stands around looking gorgeous in her flowing, gossamer robes.  Mongo must really be hard up for women since everybody who meets Dale wants to marry her.  Her contribution to the story consists of either fainting or screaming at least once every chapter.  I gotta give her props, though.  Not many actresses even today could give so many inflections to one line; “What have you done with Flash?” which is usually all she gets to say.
Princess Aura is much more fun to watch as she’s the real woman of action here.  She’s always pulling a ray gun on someone, even on her own father to rescue Flash.  Something she does a surprising number of times.  There’s even a scene where Aura tells Dale that if Dale really cared about Flash, she’d do something and not just stand there cramming her fist in her mouth to hold back yet another scream.  Whenever she hears Flash has been captured yet again, Aura grabs  the nearest ray gun, holds up her dress so as not to trip and runs off in her marvelously high heels to save him.
Frank Shannon is amazing as Dr. Hans Zarkov, one of the greatest Mad Scientists in fiction.  There’s a scene in the spaceship that made me laugh out loud:  Our Heroes are heading for Mongo when Flash asks Zarkov if he’s ever done this before.  Zarkov admits that he hasn’t but he’s tested with models.  “What happened to them?” Flash asks.  “They never came back,” Zarkov sheepishly admits.  If you watch this serial, check out the expression on Flash’s face.  Priceless.
And while I’m sure that Mr. Crabbe didn’t mind having to wear shorts through the whole production, I would think Frank Shannon and Richard Alexander did since they don’t have the legs to pull that look off.  At least Charles Middleton didn’t have to.  He doesn’t have the fabulous wardrobe Max Von Sydow sported in the 1980 movie but he does have the sufficient gravitas to make us take Ming seriously.  Flash Gordon vs Ming The Merciless is one of the most celebrated hero/villain pairings in heroic fiction and I believe it’s largely due to the work Mr. Crabbe and Mr. Middleton do in this serial as well as the two sequels.  They are never less than convincing and in their best moments they make us forget the cheapness of the production.
So should you see the 1936 serial version of FLASH GORDON?  It depends.  Are you just looking for a casual Friday or Saturday night movie? Then  go Netflix the 1980 version starring Sam J. Jones as Flash and Max Von Sydow as Ming with the absolutely kickass Queen soundtrack.
But if you consider yourself a student of pulp fiction, of heroic fiction in film, of the cliffhanger serial or of the science fiction movie genre or of just plain movies then I say that there is no way you can call yourself a student of any/all those genres and not watch the 1936 FLASH GORDON at least once.  It’s the great-grandfather of 90% of filmic space opera that came after it and need I remind you that the major reason George Lucas created “Star Wars” is because he couldn’t get the rights to do FLASH GORDON, which is really what he wanted to do.  If things had turned out different we might have been watching Flash Gordon, Prince Thun and Prince Barin wielding those lightsabers.
Ideally you should do it the right way and watch one chapter a week on Saturday to get the real effect of watching Saturday morning cliffhangers but I’m a greedy bastard and watched it all in one day with 15 minutes breaks in between.  No, it’s not the same but I kinda think that after the first two of three chapters, you’re gonna keep watching.
Taken as a cultural artifact it is a superior example of a style of film storytelling that isn’t done anymore.  As a gateway drug into pulp in general and as cliffhanger serials in particular, there are few better examples than FLASH GORDON.  Load it up on Netflix and enjoy.
FLASH GORDON has no rating but be advised that it is a culturally and racial insensitive movie by our standard today.  If you’re willing to overlook that and understand it was made in a less socially enlightened time, fine.  If not, give it a pass.
245 minutes (13 Episodes)
Adrienne Roy, 57 (1953-2010)

Adrienne Roy, 57 (1953-2010)

Adrienne Roy, whose colorful storytelling was a fixture throughout two decades of Batman and other best-selling DC comic books, lost a year-long battle with cancer on December 14th.

The premier DC Comics colorist during the “Bronze Age of Comics” provided dramatic coloring and storytelling for nearly all of the company’s top titles, but is best remembered for her 15-year, 189-issue run on Batman, her 16-year, 202-issue run on the company’s flagship Detective Comics, and a 14-year tenure on The New Teen Titans, plus many years coloring other Bat-titles including Brave and the Bold, Robin, Batman and the Outsiders, Gotham Knights and Shadow of the Bat.

Though her initial Bat assignments were for legendary editor Julius Schwartz, she was recruited to color the entire Batman line by editor (later DC president) Paul Levitz, who explains, “Adrienne combined the ability of a set designer to create beauty with the ability of a lighting designer to create drama and storytelling focus, and wrapped it in a sweet professionalism. No wonder we editors chose her again and again, keeping her on favorite titles like Batman literally for decades.”

Adrienne Roy’s coloring enhanced the artwork of comicdom’s top artists, from Golden and Silver Age legends like Jack Kirby, Irv Novick, Gene Colan and Superman’s Curt Swan to modern greats like George Peréz, Jim Aparo, Don Newton, Keith Giffen and Todd McFarlane.

The Verona, NJ native was a veteran of science fiction, comics, Star Trek and horror film conventions, and was one of the first female comics fans to break into the ranks of New York comics professionals. After marrying and moving to Manhattan, she briefly assisted her husband, DC Comics staffer Anthony Tollin, on his own freelance work before being recruited for solo assignments by vice president/production manager Jack Adler, who recognized by her third story that she would soon be “DC’s best colorist.” Under the tutelage of Adler and DC president Sol Harrison, Roy quickly moved into the ranks of DC’s top freelancers, with continuing assignments on a variety of titles including Superman, Green Lantern, All-Star Comics (featuring the Justice Society), G.I. Combat, House of Mystery and Batman Family. She was also the regular colorist on DC’s World’s Greatest Super-Heroes and Batman syndicated newspaper strips.

“For more than a decade, it seemed like Adrienne Roy was coloring virtually every DC comic,” recalls inker and comics historian Jim Amash, “but in truth she was only coloring most of the top sellers, the titles that everyone was reading!” Adrienne was the only DC freelancer with her own desk in the company’s Manhattan offices, and was the first colorist signed by DC to exclusive, multi-year employment contracts.

(more…)

1970’s Atlas Comics Line Being Revived

1970’s Atlas Comics Line Being Revived

Atlas Comics, the 1970s upstart designed to rival Marvel Comics, is being revived in time for New York Comic-Con next month. In a Deadline Hollywood exclusive, Jason Goodman, grandson of Marvel founder Martin Goodman, revealed that the line is poised to be revived beginning with Phoenix and Grim Ghost.

Handling the creative will be Ardden Entertainment’s Brendan Deenan, working with J.M. DeMatteis as editor-in-chief. Together, the pair previously produced a well-received adaptation of Flash Gordon and Casper the Friendly Ghost. No creative assignments were announced in the story but will be unveiled at the convention where both Atlas and Ardden will have table space.

“Although my grandfather eventually sold Marvel, he insisted on keeping Atlas Comics in the family,” Jason Goodman told Deadline. “As a result of his vision, Atlas Comics is the largest individually-held library of comic book heroes and villains on the planet. We have 28 titles and hundreds of characters imagined by some of the greatest minds in the industry.”

In 1972, Goodman sold Marvel Comics and by June 1974 decided he wanted to keep his hand in and created Atlas, a name once used by the company. His son, Chip, was its publisher, a role Martin intended Chip to have at Marvel, but one denied him by the new owners. It was always speculated Martin founded Atlas to beat Marvel in revenge.

Martin Goodman hired former Warren editor Jeff Rovin and Larry Leiber, a relative and brother to Stan Lee, to run the color comics and black and white magazines respectively. Both men always felt they were given the wrong jobs.

The line aggressively launched after luring many of the biggest names working in comics to produce covers or stories. Atlas paid top rates and offered creator participation, making them a more attractive outlet than either DC Comics or Marvel.

However, no sooner did titles launch than they were ordered retooled to more closely resemble Marvels’ heroic universe. An example was Howard Chaykin’s pulp-inspired The Scorpion, but after two issues he quit when orders to update it came down. He took his unfinished work to Marvel, reworking it into Dominic Fortune.

The line lasted long enough to publish approximately 60 color comics and nine black and white magazines.

Al Williamson: A Personal Reflection

Al Williamson: A Personal Reflection

When I was a kid, I met Al Williamson on the cover of the King Comics first issue of their Flash Gordon comic book. The elegant romance of the drawing simply stood out from every other comic book cover I had seen. The entire comic book, drawn by Al was a masterpiece that made an impression on me that I never managed to let go of to this very day. And because Al’s work was directly influenced by the creator of Flash Gordon, Alex Raymond, Al’s work on that comic book served to introduce me to all the great comic artists of the past. And from those artists I discovered the great illustrators of the past as well. I’ve become something of an expert on early comics and illustration as a direct result of my picking up one single comic book by Al Williamson.

I was insanely happy to have dinner with Al Williamson and Robert Bloch in the mid-1980s. I didn’t say much, I just listened as these two incredibly talented and influential men talked. I suspect that since Robert Bloch was also someone that Al held in high regard, that is the reason that my first meal with Al didn’t give me any clue to his true personality. At that dinner, Al was polite, intelligent and somewhat reserved in his comments.

A few years later, for a convention in Texas, Al Williamson, Mark Schultz and I were all stay in the same hotel. I believe we had all just attended the Harvey Awards where we had talked together a bit. We then found ourselves sharing the same elevator up to our rooms. On the way up I asked how their rooms were. Mark and Al both said something polite about how they had slept fine. And then Mark asked me how I had slept the night before. I launched into a story about how the people in the room next to me had apparently been having wild, heavy sex all night long, banging the headboard against the wall and keeping me awake.  I finished the story and both Mark and Al were laughing at the way I had told the story.  Honestly – I felt a little out of line telling a slightly off-color tale to one of my heroes. But them we all got off the elevator at the same floor, and walked to the same hall, to find that Mark and AL were sharing the very hotel room that was next to mine. We all stood in the hall with our keys in hand looking at each other for a moment before Al started laughing so hard that soon both Mark and I were also laughing. We couldn’t even speak we were laughing so hard so we just waved at each other as we entered our rooms.  That was my first real introduction to Al Williamson the man.

Al was a funny guy. And he loved to laugh. I came to know him as a slightly more reserved version of Groucho Marx. He could really nail a punch line.

When I visited Al and his lovely wife Cori at his home I came to understand that it was no accident that Al’s artwork had introduced me to the great comic and illustration artists. Al was himself an avid collector and historian. His collection of original ink line illustration and comic art encompassed the cream of both fields. In fact, his collection is unsurpassed for the quality as well as the quantity of material. And Al loved to share the collection with visitors. In fact he was so eager to show me his collection of art that I had to derail him to get him to actually show me some of his own amazing work. But when we would be looking at the classic illustrations and comic art I kept thinking how odd it was that I knew enough to carry on an intelligent conversation with Al about this art precisely because his own work had set me on the path of discovery to go out and learn about it. I tried to tell Al this and explain how important that was – but that was way too serious a subject for Al. He didn’t want to hear it.

I put together a book on Al after that. Al Williamson Adventures collected some of his very best later work. I kept interviewing Al on the phone and in person to try to get some tidbits of interesting background to include in the book. But Al simply didn’t want to get into it. Mark Schultz finally told me that Al didn’t like to examine his process or his inspiration. So I designed a book that would only present Al’s work. And really – his work says it all. His spirit reflected there shows his own eternal youth, romance, adventure, grace and beauty.

When Al Williamson Adventures was published and Al got his copies, he called me to rave about how wonderful the book was. In fact he called three times that first week to tell me! But he seemed to believe I had somehow made his work look good. I kept telling him all I had to do was put his work into one book – he had done everything. So he would change the subject and we would talk about Roy Krenkel or Adolfo Buylla or Gray Morrow or his son or Cori. Because as much as Al loved to talk about art and artists, what he really loved to talk about was his friends and his family.

I would like to believe that Al and Frank Frazetta and Roy Krenkel and Gray Morrow and Wally Wood are all out there somewhere, working on some new and amazing comic, together. But the deadline has finally passed. So I know it is far more likely that they are hanging out, talking art or playing ball – but certainly just goofing off. I know they’ve earned it.

Al Williamson was born in New York on March 21, 1931. While still an infant his family moved to Bogota, Columbia where he spent his formative years. While in South America he discovered his life-long influences of Flash Gordon, Alex Raymond and the movies. In 1943 he and his mother returned to the United States where he began to develop his abilities as an illustrator and comic artist. He studied with Burne Hogarth and was soon working professionally, assisting Hogarth on the Tarzan newspaper comic strip as well as making his first sales to the comic book industry. He has left a trail of spectacular creations wherever he has worked. Beginning with his remarkable stories for fabled EC Comics in the 1950s, then his work on the Rip Kirby comic strip with John Prentice, Big Ben Bolt with John Cullen Murphy, and eventually his own credited work on Secret Agent X-9 in collaboration with writer Archie Goodwin – his works always embodied grace, style, epic scope and a supreme grasp of figure and character. His body of work and his Flash Gordon comic books of the mid-1960s were the direct inspiration for George Lucas to create the Star Wars movies and caused Lucas to spend years in an attempt to have Williamson draw the Star Wars comic books and newspaper comic strips. When Lucas succeeded in convincing Williamson to take on Star Wars, a new, and possibly the last, classic adventure comic strip found its way to the pages of newspapers worldwide and ignited the imaginations of a new generation of readers. Williamson has been honored for his works with a multitude of awards the world over, but his own best reward has been the love and support of his family, his wife Cori and his children.

Al Williamson 1931-2010

Al Williamson 1931-2010

Al Williamson, the youngest artist in the acclaimed EC stable of artists, died yesterday after a long illness. Born in 1931, he was raised in Bogotá, Colombia, Williamson was attracted to American comic strips, notably Alex Raymond’s Flash Gordon, before relocating to the United States at age 12. As a teen, he attended Burne Hogarth’s Cartoonists and Illustrators School, meeting several future colleagues, notably Wally Wood and Roy Krenkel.

After assisting Hogarth on the Tarzan Sunday pages, he made his first professional sale in 1951, selling a story to Adventures into the Unknown #27, cover dated January 1952. Just a few months later he arrived at EC, contributing to Tales from the Crypt #31. His photorealistic style and strong brush line led him to contribute primarily to the science fiction titles including Weird Science and Weird Fantasy. His other clients included Avon Publications, Fawcett Comics, and Standard Comics. When EC folded, he went to work for Atlas (before it became Marvel) and then reteamed with many of his EC pals at Harvey Comics, where he did noteworthy inks over Jack Kirby features.

Williamson achieved a dream when he took over writing and drawing Flash Gordon comic books in the 1960s, which were collected only last year. These stories earned him the first of many awards, the 1966 National Cartoonists Society Award for Best Comic Book. Throughout the 1960s, Williamson produced stories for the Warren black and white magazines in addition to advertising work.

In 1970, he and writer Archie Goodwin, who became one of his closest friends, took over Raymond’s Secret Agent X-9 which was eventually renamed Secret Agent Corrigan. The duo reteamed to produce the early years of the Star Wars comic strip in addition to producing adaptations of The Empire Strikes Back and Blade Runner. On his own, Williamson adapted the Dino DeLaurentiis Flash Gordon movie and completed his work on the space hero with the 1995 Marvel miniseries (written by Mark Schultz).

By the 1980s, Al was having doubts about his ability and sought the less stressful demands as an inker, notably over Curt Swan’s Superman for DC and later over John Romita, Jr. on Daredevil work which won the team the Harvey Award multiple times.

By the 2000s, Williamson was already ill and slowed his output until he was inking just Spider-Girl and completed an illustrious professional art career around 2005. He was voted into the Eisner Hall of Fame in 2000.

The subjective of at least six retrospective books, Williamson’s influence as an artist and a professional continues to be influential on the current generation of creators. He made his home in Pennsylvania with his wife Corina, until his death.

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