Pass the Comics: Panther People

Oyster War



An oyster-fishing town fights back against oyster pirates. [Oyster War, by way of Robot 6]

Pirate Max Overacts



Wait'll you hear what Max and Klaus consider "relevant information." [Occasional Comics Disorder]

Young Tarzan



I didn't have a subscription to Pizzazz as a kid, but because it ran these John Buscema Tarzan stories (as well as a recurring Star Wars strip), I wanted one. The best I could do was try to find new issues when they hit the drug stores, but of course I missed some. It's very cool to see them collected in one place. [Diversions of the Groovy Kind]

Princess Pantha, Corporate Tool



I love the art on Princess Pantha, but she's a lousy hero. This comic concludes the multi-part storyline in which she plays Carl Denham to M'Gana's Kong for a paycheck from a cigar-smoking fatcat back in the States. [The Comic Book Catacombs]

Marga the Panther Woman on The Lost Plateau



Marga's much cooler. When a scientist takes his family on a scouting expedition to look for a radium deposit in the jungle, the pilot insists on bringing Marga along as a guide. The scientist objects at first, but soon learns her value when a rival group who also wants the radium attacks the party. [The Comic Book Catacombs]

The Phantom fights The Beasts of Madame Kahn



Were-beasts, that is. [Diversions of the Groovy Kind]

Pass the Comics: Now I Just Have the Nazis to Deal With!

Still catching up from being gone last week, but I did see these two cool comics from The Charlton Story.

Hercules in the Land of Menace!



Hercules always looks best in Nemedian Lion, don't you agree?

The Phantom must prevent the Triumph of Evil!



The Phantom fights Nazis.

Comics News Roundup: Al Williamson RIP

Re-looking at The Last Phantom



I'd pretty much dismissed Dynamite's take on The Phantom after seeing the above "costume" and hearing how the new series is essentially a reboot. I like the current Phantom enough that I don't really want to see him rebooted. But then I read this interview with writer Scott Beatty in which he said that he wants to explore a question that's always sort of itched the back of my mind for years: "Is [being the next Phantom] choice or predestined? And can one simply walk away?"

I'm not totally caught up with Moonstone's series, so maybe they've touched on it, but I've never read a Phantom story in which the hero struggled with whether or not he wanted to accept the role. I still hate the new look, but I am interested in seeing Beatty explore this aspect of the character.

Jesse James vs. not-exactly-Machine Gun Kelly



If you've followed this blog for a while, you know that I co-wrote a story in which Jesse James and Machine Gun Kelly meet during the early days of the gangster's career. The fate of that story is still being determined, but my interest in the subject matter means that I automatically love this post by Snell about a different kind of meeting between Jesse and some gangsters.

After the break: the return of Vampirella, the mystery of Captain Marvel, and the passing of Al Williamson.

Comics News: Defenders of the Earth and Space Dock 7

Together Again: The Phantom, Flash Gordon, and Mandrake the Magician



I got an email from Dynamite Entertainment last week about their now having King Features' top three characters. According to the press release, this is the first time that Phantom, Flash Gordon, and Mandrake have been under the same publisher in 43 years. Which makes for some cool crossover possibilities.

I'm mostly curious to see how they handle Flash. I know nothing about Mandrake, so they can do whatever they want with him, but I'm not at all excited about their version of the Phantom. I've heard good things about their Buck Rogers though, so maybe Flash will be okay. I hope so, 'cause I'd really like to read some new, good Flash Gordon stories.

It sounds like they'll be starting with a faithful re-telling of the origin story:

Dynamite's comic book story begins as Earth is bombarded by fiery meteors. Dr. Zarkov believes the meteors are from outer space and invents a rocket ship to locate their place of origin. Half mad, he kidnaps Flash and Dale, whose plane has crashed in the area, and the three travel to the planet Mongo, where they discover the meteors are weapons devised by Ming the Merciless, evil ruler of Mongo.

Space Dock 7



The webcomics portal that was teased back in February is live and full of awesome scifi comics including some I've mentioned here before and some I'm brand new to.

Saturday Night Art Show: Menace from the Murky Depths!

The City of Tyre



By NC Wyeth [Golden Age Comic Book Stories]

The Phantom



Artist unknown [Jon Knutson]

Monstro!



By Jack Kirby [Poulpe Pulps]

Shark Girl



By Byron Leboe.

Kelp-Haired Survivor



By Eric Zermeno.

Tiger Lady



By Mel Milton.

Basilisk



By Brian. [Vedunia]

The Flying Monkey



By Jeremy Vanhoozer.

Witch World



Artist Unknown [Pulp of the Day]

The Planet of Peril



I don't recognize this signature either. [Galactic Central]

Exit Life



Artist unkown [American Pulps and Magazines]

Welcome to the jungle

Island girl shirts



The BaliHa'i diving watch company is making T-shirts with the island girl logo that Gene Gonzales created for them.

Rulah and the Skull of the Conqueror



The Comic Book Catacombs has the whole, talking-skeleton-filled story.

Gorilla Warfare



Dave Campbell shows you how to beat up a gorilla.

Jungle Girl statue



It's a gorgeous sculpt, but I do wish this statue based on Frank Cho's Jungle Girl comic was more about her kicking some butt and less about her spreading her legs. That's a weird pose.

The complete Phantom newspaper strips collection



Starting in September from Hermes Press.

Jungle Girls and Giant Monsters

Who Knew Tarzan Lived in California?



I got an email from Danielle, who runs the way cool Who Knew Tarzan Lived in California blog. There are a lot more Tarzan-California connections than you'd think and Danielle's exploring them all.

Jungle Fables



The Comic Book Catacombs has a short, Golden Age jungle girl story up. Fair warning: it's from 1948 and racial depictions are typical of that era.

Femme Noir meets Okona the Jungle Girl

Writer Christopher Mills reveals that Femme Noir #4 will feature a jungle girl character and an island full of giant monsters. Everyone else can stop making comics now. Chris wins.

The Phantom: The Ghost Who Walks



Okay, obviously I was just kidding with that "no more comics" crack. There's always room for more awesome. Like Moonstone's Phantom comics, which are soon rebooting. According to the press release I got, they're leaning towards "edgier stories" that are "torn from today’s headlines of modern day Africa." I'm not sure that's the direction I'm most interested in, but I loves me some Phantom, so I'll give it a shot.

They also promise "new issues more often," which will also be nice.

The Phantom: The Ghost Who Walks #1 will be written by David Michelinie and Mike Bullock, illustrated by Silvestre Szilagyi, and will have a variant cover by legendary Phantom artist Sy Barry.

"Blitzkrieg in the Past"



By J. Allen St. John.

Xenozoic Tales print by Mark Schultz

Flesk Publications has an awesome print of Jack and Hannah in their car fighting a horde of dinosaurs. 18" x 24" for $19.95.

One step closer to Jurassic Park

Making live clones from dead animals is now possible.

Top Ten Pirate Movies

As promised.

10. Dodgeball (2004)

I know, I know. I'm starting off with a cheat. But the only reason that Dodgeball is this low on the list is that it isn't really about pirates. It's just about one, awesome pirate named Steve played by Wash from Firefly. That's good enough to bump it above most "real" pirate flicks. Garrr!

9. Blackbeard's Ghost (1968)

I've got no objectivity when it comes to Peter Ustinov's Blackbeard trying to help Dean Jones and a bunch of old ladies save an ancient, pirate-themed inn from being destroyed by crooked landlords. This was one of my favorite childhood movies, but it does hold up fairly well. There's lots of goofy slapstick and Ustinov is thoroughly charming. And Disney doesn't spare any expense on the awesome, old, pirate inn.

8. Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd (1952)

Dude, it's Abbott and Costello. That's all you really need to know. And Charles Laughton is surprisingly hilarious reprising his role from the much less fun Captain Kidd. Anyone who can hold his own against Lou Costello deserves some recognition. It's too bad it's not available on DVD.

7. Tie: Disney's Peter Pan (1953)/Peter Pan (2003)

If I really had to pick between the two I'd choose Disney's version because it's awesome and it defines Peter Pan for so many people. But man, you can't ignore Jason Isaacs as Captain Hook. You just can't.



6. Treasure Planet (2002)

I don't care what everyone says about this being the movie that killed traditional animation at Disney for a while. It wasn't because Treasure Planet was bad, it was because Disney had been releasing too much stuff and folks were just getting tired of it. Treasure Planet is actually an awesome, well-designed, faithful adaptation of Treasure Island. Or as faithful as it can be and still be set in outer space. It got a raw deal is all I'm saying.

5. The Phantom (1996)

This might be another cheat, but the Singh Brotherhood are undeniably pirates - and very piratey pirates at that - so I'm counting it (even if it is impossible to find pictures of the pirates online). This is another movie that gets a bum rap by people who have no souls. It's better than every Indiana Jones movie except Raiders of the Lost Ark. I seriously don't get the negative reputation.

4. The Princess Bride (1987)

At last one we can all agree on. Cary Elwes held onto the title of World's Coolest Pirate for a nice, long time and there's no dishonor in having it taken away by Johnny Freakin Depp.

3. Treasure Island (1950)

Classic. Robert Newton's Long John Silver defined the word "pirate" for everyone who came after him.

2. Captain Blood (1935)

Of course, Errol Flynn defined "pirate" for everyone who came before Newton. Newton may be more influential over the popular perception of pirates, but Flynn's a lot more fun (and that's saying something, because Newton is fun). Plus, Flynn gets to smooch Olivia de Haviland.

1. Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy (2003-2007)

They took everything I ever loved about pirates and sea adventures and rolled it all into three awesome films. Sure, it would've been cool if they'd added another hour to At World's End and shown some other stuff I wanted to see, but they more than made up for it, all things considered.

The Atlantis Journal: Pirate dinner, sea shows, Bioshock movie, and the Phantom on TV

Pirates Dinner Adventure



Pirate-themed, interactive dinner theater. Sure beats watching The Music Man while you eat.

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea



Christopher Mills has the review. Makes me want to see how Netflix is stocked on that, Man from Atlantis, and SeaQuest. (Pretty well, it turns out, except for Man from Atlantis.)

What other underwater shows do I need to revisit? Don't say Flipper.

Bioshock movie



While looking over Hollywood's slate of upcoming steampunk movies, i09 ranks the Bioshock one pretty high on the excitement meter, mentioning a Jules Verne influence and an underwater city.

Because I'd do nothing else if I played video games, I try to stay away from them, so I don't know much about Bioshock except that I'm tired of hearing ignorant fans cry "rip off" every time they a deep sea diving suit somewhere else. But "Verne" and "underwater city" certainly get my attention.

New Phantom TV show



Daniel Knauf (Carnivale) and his son Charles have pitched a four-hour Phantom TV movie to the Sci Fi Channel in hopes that it'll eventually become a TV series. A Phantom TV show from the creator of Carnivale sounds pretty good to me in concept, but I'm skeptical about their decision to update the character.

They sound like they're keeping enough of my favorite elements (the skull rings, the guns, the Jungle Patrol) that I don't entirely dispair. But making him an orphan who discovers his Phantom lineage and turning the Singh Brotherhood into corporate bad guys conjures up bad memories of Sci Fi's horrible Flash Gordon series. And with no mention in the article of the horse or the wolf... well, I'm nervous.

Friday Night Fights: These jungles are protected!

I mentioned the Phantom below and that reminds me that I've been wanting to get in on this whole Friday Night Fights thing for a while. Reviewing one of Moonstone's Phantom trades this week gave me just the right place to start.

I'm just putting my toe in the water, so I'll offer this one without commentary.




But really, does that need commentary?

Old jungle saying: No smoking in the Bahlactus Cave.

The Indiana Jones/Phantom crossover that wasn't

So the big movie news this week is that the new Indiana Jones movie has a title now. I love it. It's pulpy. And it reminds me of The Phantom movie, which was also about crystal skulls. Now there's a team-up I'd love to see.

Okay, maybe not.

Anyway, the Star Wars blog has some cool Indy/crystal skull-related links, including an Aztec/Mayan scholar on the possible meaning of the title and a look at previous crystal skull adventures in the Indy extended universe.