Saturday, July 11, 2026

RAR #106: ENSIGN WALKING BEAR

 The animated STAR TREK introduced a Comanche crewmember because the Enterprise encountered an ET claiming to be the Mayan deity Kukulcan, so they needed a crewman who could discourse on pre-Columbian culture.



RAR #105: THE LOST MESA TRIBE

 BATMAN #26 (1944) introduced the duo to the Lost Mesa Tribe, who forged their own lost city to escape the torments of the conquistadors 400 years ago. The Indian tribe is not specified, though they call their abode a "pueblo."


 

Wednesday, July 8, 2026

MONSTER MASHUPS #161

 Three inventive aliens from WORLD'S FINEST #96.


THE SOLAR SPONGE.


THE STORM TOP.

And THE CRAWLER.

Also, from HOUSE OF MYSTERY 146, J'onn J'onzz gets two demons for the price of one in AROO and THE CHULKO.





Monday, June 22, 2026

RAR #104: JAY TALL BEAR

 The sixties war-comic CAPTAIN SAVAGE included one Real American marine, name of Jay Little Bear.



CROSSOVER MADNESS

 The Marvel title CAPTAIN SAVAGE took "The Skipper," a minor support-character from SGT FURY #10, and gave him his own title for 19 issues. The first issue shoehorns Fury and his Howlers into the tale to coax Fury-fans to sample SAVAGE.


 The next three issues also pitted Savage against Fury's recurring foe Baron Strucker, who discourses on his success in creating the terrorist cabal Hydra.



Sunday, June 21, 2026

MONSTER MASHUPS #160

 Oh, those 1950s twist-ending tales. In "Deadline" (JOURNEY INTO UNKNOWN WORLDS #16 (1953), horror-writer Herbert Carvel tries three times to get his editor to buy a story involving a conflict between vampires and ghosts. The editor doesn't like pitting two types of monsters in the same story, but he must be desperate for stories because he accepts an invitation to Herbert's house for dinner, only to learn that (1) Herbert is a ghost, (2) wife Lydia is a vampire, and (3) the editor is the dinner! What a twist!


       

Friday, June 12, 2026

CROSSOVER MADNESS

 

I never think of Ed Wood as a crossover-guy, but technically he is, in that he uses one support-character, "Kelton the Cop," in three of his 1950s wonders: BRIDE OF THE MONSTER, PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE, and NIGHT OF THE GHOULS. BRIDE and GHOULS seem more like a standard XO, thanks to the more substantial presence of Tor Johnson's Lobo.