Weird War Tales 21

Tags

Bernard Baily, Frank Robbins, Ghost in the Portrait, Jack Oleck, Joe Orlando, one hour to kill, Sheldon Mayer, soldier, time travel, war, Weird War Tales, weird war tales 21, when death took a hand

 
You can still buy the original Weird War Tales #21 at a decent price if you don’t mind VG to VG+ copies. Printed by DC Comics in the early 1970s, Weird War Tales also makes regular appearances on eBay where you can often score inexpensive lots of several issues at once. The stories blend sci-fi, horror, and fantasy elements into vignettes about war and combat. Pretty much anything goes in these tales as long as there’s a war on!

 
The first story, One Hour to Kill, gives us a man tasked with traveling back in time to kill Leonardo da Vinci before Leo can establish an early design for guns, thereby eliminating from history all human suffering caused by our propensity to shoot each other with small projectiles at high velocities. It turns out pretty much like every EC Comics story that had a similar idea in the 1950s, but that doesn’t stop it from being fun.

Here are the last three pages, below, where the tale reaches its climax.

 

 
Another story, When Death Took a Hand, stood out to us not simply as a worthy ghost story but as an example of a pretty sweet art technique. Look how the spooky ghost soldier is rendered. It looks to us like the inker rendered the black shapes and lines of the ghost, but then drew white lines through it with a white pen. No, that’s not exactly a revolutionary idea to today’s comic book artists, but try digging out any other comic book made in 1974 and finding this cool visual effect.

 

Credits:
Cover art by Luis Dominguez. One Hour to Kill script by Jack Oleck, art by Frank Robbins. When Death Took a Hand script by Sheldon Mayer, art by Bernard Baily. Joe Orlando, editor.

We obtained a handful of vintage Weird War Tales when we bought a friend’s box of 70s and 80s DC Comics back in 2011, and they’ve been fun to read. They had some awesome Alex Nino artwork we dutifully scanned for posterity and learning. This one has one of our favorite covers from the lot, and we have a couple more issues we’ll take a look inside here.

Godzilla Meets Devil Dinosaur!

Tags

Devil Dinosaur, dinosaur, Doug Moench, Godzilla, Herb Trimpe, Jack Abel, Jack Kirby, Moon Boy, Rob Takiguchi, time travel

Today, we reprint our guest post from Diversions of the Groovy Kind in April, 2012.

In Godzilla #22, Godzilla joins forces with Jack Kirby’s Devil Dinosaur and his pal Moon Boy. In the previous issue, Devil and Godzilla met, tussled, and became friends. This issue, dated May 1979, hit the stands five months after the end of Devil Dinosaur’s short-lived series. Author Doug Moench clearly needed more Devil Dinosaur – and who doesn’t?

Collector’s Guide:
– From Godzilla #22; Marvel, 1979.
– Reprinted in black and white in Essential Godzilla TPB #1

You may ask, “How are Godzilla and Devil Dinosaur the same size? Isn’t Godzilla ‘up from the depths, thirty stories high’ as the cartoon theme song says?” Right you are! This story takes place during a plotline where the King of the Monsters got hit with a shrinker-izer to whittle him down to more manageable size. At one point, he was small enough to go toe-to-toe with a vicious sewer rat!

You’ll notice the effects begin to wear off in this tale. There go the property values! Plus, the device which threw Godzilla back in time to meet Devil begins to backfire. You no doubt recognize that glowing white square… It’s Dr. Doom’s time machine! What would the Bronze Age be without that thing?

 
Artists Herb Trimpe and Jack Abel craft a double-splash for pages 2-3 that echoes Jack Kirby. Moench also throws in some lesser-known parts of Devil’s world, like the old hag and the pits from Devil Dinosaur #9. These are the same pits that took Devil through time in his own final issue!

For escapist fiction, it just doesn’t get any cooler than seeing Devil Dinosaur and Godzilla cutting loose in a whirlwind of dinosaur battles. On a more analytical note, Moench contrasts the worlds of two boys. Rob Takiguchi, in 1979, has a soft spot for Godzilla. The boy always takes the monster’s side. He feels we haven’t taken the time to really understand Godzilla. But, the adults in Rob’s life constantly undermine this potential friendship. They trap Godzilla, shoot him, send him back in time – always some sinister grown-up plan! Rob lives in a state of sadness and rebellion as he struggles to build a rapport with Godzilla. The adults treat Rob like a schmuck, perpetually disregarding his feelings.

Moon Boy has everything Takiguchi could wish for. Although he and Devil often battle nasty adults, Moon Boy’s bond with his reptilian ally is firmly established. The adults may be adversaries, but they have absolutely no authority over him – big difference! Moon Boy knows complete freedom to make his own decisions. Plus, Devil Dinosaur embodies all the good that Rob seeks in Godzilla: strength, loyalty, protection, power, and friendship.

Yes, if we had written our own ending to this tale, it would have been a happy one. Rob would go back in time with Godzilla. Godzilla would stay Devil-sized. The two boys and their reptiles would become fast friends, roaming the Late Cretaceous as they pleased. And, everything would be drenched in rampaging dinosaurs and Kirby Krackle.

A boy can dream, can’t he?

Strange Sports: The Man Who Drove through Time!

Tags

Brave and the Bold, Carmine Infantino, racing, Strange Sports, Strange Sports Stories, time travel

DC Comics took five issues of The Brave and the Bold to experiment with an unusual merger of science fiction and sports called “Strange Sports Stories.” From Gorillas using baseball for world domination, to 24th-century Martian golf tournaments, editor Julius Schwartz and artist Carmine Infantino crafted unique and entertaining short stories. Let’s check them out!

Collector’s Guide:
– From Brave and the Bold #48; DC Comics, 1963. Reprinted in DC Special #7, 1968.

Read a more detailed history of Strange Sports Stories from Mike Grost, who knows all the writers and all the dates, and a solid memoir from BuckBokai.

This Brave and the Bold series should not be confused with DC’s 6-issue revival of the concept in 1973. You can read some of those stories at Diversions of the Groovy Kind, or buy them here: Strange Sports Stories.

Several of those 1973 stories appear in DC Special Blue Ribbon Digest #13. That tiny tome also reprinted a baseball game between DC’s heroes and villians that originally appeared in DC Super-Stars #10 in 1976. Thanks to Gutter Talk for helping us re-locate that lost treasure!

Strange Tales: The Man Who Couldn’t Be Killed!

Tags

Adventure into Mystery, Man Who Couldnt be Killed, Strange Tales, time travel

This senses-shattering backup story from Strange Tales #176 in the 1970s originally appeared in Adventure into Mystery #8 from 1957. That’s retro within retro, baby! That’s almost time traveling! You can tell from the cover scan (below) that our personal copy is getting worn out. But the Marvel Value Stamp is intact!

The Flash & Superman Race to the End of Time!

Tags

DC Comics Presents, end of time, Flash, Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez, Martin Pasko, Superman, superman races flash, superman vs flash, time travel, who is faster flash or superman

Here’s the second half of the story we looked at yesterday, where Superman and the Flash get roped into racing to the end of time by some freaky aliens.

Once they get there, though, they have to travel all the way forward in time to get back to where they started. Why? Because time is a circle! Didn’t you learn anything from yesterday’s post? Anyway, Pasko and Garcia-Lopez give us all of human history in a single splash page!

It’s full-flavored Bronze Age DC goodness, Martians. Enjoy!

Collector’s Guide:
– From DC Comics Presents #1-2; 1978, DC Comics.
– Reprinted by Whitman, which might save you a few bucks, and in the collection Superman Vs. The Flash.
– Reprinted in Showcase Presents DC Comics Presents TPB, 2009.

DC Comics Presents – First Issue!

Tags

Chase to the End of Time, DC Comics Presents, first issue, Flash, flash races superman, Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez, Martin Pasko, Superman, superman vs flash, time travel, who is faster superman or flash

Superman and the Flash get roped into racing to the end of time by some freaky aliens. If that doesn’t sound like a premise for greatness, you may be at the wrong website! We’ve got Martin Pasko scripting. You Swamp Thing fans may recall he was on the book for the inception of the second volume. Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez really hits the perfect look for this book; just the right balance of cartoon silly and sci-fi awesome.

But maybe we’re biased: We first read this as impressionable little Martians close to the time it came out in 1978. So impressionable, in fact, that Pasko’s explanation of time as a circle still seems completely reasonable to us. His aliens explain that if you went to the end of time, you would actually be at the beginning of time… Screw Stephen Hawking, we’re going with Pasko cosmology!

Collector’s Guide:
– From DC Comics Presents #1-2; 1978, DC Comics.
– Reprinted by Whitman, which might save you a few bucks, and in the collection Superman Vs. The Flash.
– Reprinted in Showcase Presents DC Comics Presents TPB, 2009.

Revolt of the Robots!

Tags

Avon Publications, golden age, Revolt of the Robots, robot, Space Detective, Targan, time travel

This brings to mind the old joke, “The peasants are revolting!”

“Yes, they certainly are…”

What is the diabolical secret behind the man from the future who pits robot laborers against the humans? You have to wonder if James Cameron read this story before Terminator.

Collector’s Guide:
– From Space Detective #3.
1952, Avon Publications.

Space Action: Mission into Time!

Tags

golden age, Mission into Time, Space Action, time travel

“In a blinding flash of multi-colored lights, the time capsule sped up the ramp and disintegrated into space!” YES! But you know, these missions into time never seem to work out quite the way your old professor buddy thinks they will…

Collector’s Guide:
– From Space Action #3. 1952, Ace Magazines.

Also including the covers from Space Action #1 and #2 here for your viewing pleasure. Space Action ran only 3 issues.

A Gun for Dinosaur!

Tags

dinosaur, Ernie Chua, Gun for Dinosaur, L Sprague de Camp, parasaurolophus, Roy Thomas, time travel, tyrannosaurus, Val Mayerik, Worlds Unknown

In 1973, Marvel began an 8-issue series called Worlds Unknown. It presented adaptations of science fiction stories. Today we’ll look at our favorite: A Gun for Dinosaur by L. Sprague de Camp, first published in 1956 in the magazine Galaxy Science Fiction. The plot, adapted by Roy Thomas, revolves around using time travel to hunt for dinosaurs. We’ve enjoyed that concept in Sound of Thunder by Ray Bradbury and Flesh by Pat Mills.

A Gun for Dinosaur is a fun romp of Cretaceous carnage and the usual tough guys working out the pecking order with their fists and weapons. We don’t pretend to be literary critics, but one thing is for sure: That’s not how you draw a Parasaurolophus! They have a tube-shaped whatchamacallit on their head, not this fan-shaped thing dreamed up by artist Val Mayerik. Also, if you’re going to use the word “Ceratopsian,” spell it right! Other than these minor dino quibbles, we give A Gun for Dinosaur two claws up.

If you like this adaptation, The Groovy Agent has a few more Worlds Unknown classics for you on his site: Killdozer, Arena, and Farewell to the Master (the original Day the Earth Stood Still.)

Collector’s Guide:
– From Worlds Unknown #2; Marvel, 1973.
– L. Sprague de Camp wrote eight more stories about protagonist Reginald Rivers and his time safaris, collected in the book Rivers of Time.

2000AD: Flesh Finale – The Cover Gallery!

Tags

2000AD, dinosaur, dinosaur comics, Flesh, Pat Mills, time travel

We hope you’ve enjoyed the raging dinosaur Time Travel madness of Flesh as much as we’ve enjoyed sharing it with you.

To wrap things up with a bang, let’s rock these three 2000AD covers that featured Flesh!

Up next on Mars: more dinosaurs, more Jack Kirby, more cosmic journeys, more first issues, more indie comics, and tons & tons of comics that drive us wild!

Collector’s Guide:
– From 2000 AD magazine, #1-19.

Collector’s Guide:
– Collected in Flesh: The Dino Files TPB; Rebellion, 2011.
– Originally printed in 2000 AD #1-19; Fleetway, 1977.

2000AD: Flesh 19!

Tags

2000AD, dinosaur, dinosaur comics, Flesh, Flesh the Dino Files, Pat Mills, time travel

“By the 23rd Century, most animals had been destroyed. Man survived on synthetic foods alone. But he still craved real meat…

With the discovery of time travel, he was able to go in search of it – back 65 million years to the Age of the Great Dinosaurs!”

Mars Will Send No More celebrates the original epic Flesh from 2000 AD magazine, by Pat Mills, and starring Old One Eye, the mother of Satanus!

Now fire up your electric whip and get ready for major dinosaur mayhem!

Collector’s Guide:
– Collected in Flesh: The Dino Files TPB; Rebellion, 2011.
– Originally printed in 2000 AD #1-19; Fleetway, 1977.

2000AD: Flesh 18!

Tags

2000AD, dinosaur, dinosaur comics, Flesh, Flesh the Dino Files, Pat Mills, time travel

“By the 23rd Century, most animals had been destroyed. Man survived on synthetic foods alone. But he still craved real meat…

With the discovery of time travel, he was able to go in search of it – back 65 million years to the Age of the Great Dinosaurs!”

Mars Will Send No More celebrates the original epic Flesh from 2000 AD magazine, by Pat Mills, and starring Old One Eye, the mother of Satanus!

Now fire up your electric whip and get ready for major dinosaur mayhem!

Collector’s Guide:
– Collected in Flesh: The Dino Files TPB; Rebellion, 2011.
– Originally printed in 2000 AD #1-19; Fleetway, 1977.

2000AD: Flesh 17!

Tags

2000AD, dinosaur, dinosaur comics, Flesh, Flesh the Dino Files, giant spiders, Pat Mills, time travel

“By the 23rd Century, most animals had been destroyed. Man survived on synthetic foods alone. But he still craved real meat…

With the discovery of time travel, he was able to go in search of it – back 65 million years to the Age of the Great Dinosaurs!”

Mars Will Send No More celebrates the original epic Flesh from 2000 AD magazine, by Pat Mills, and starring Old One Eye, the mother of Satanus!

Now fire up your electric whip and get ready for major dinosaur mayhem!

Collector’s Guide:
– Collected in Flesh: The Dino Files TPB; Rebellion, 2011.
– Originally printed in 2000 AD #1-19; Fleetway, 1977.

2000AD: Flesh 16!

Tags

2000AD, dinosaur, dinosaur comics, Flesh, Flesh the Dino Files, Pat Mills, time travel

“By the 23rd Century, most animals had been destroyed. Man survived on synthetic foods alone. But he still craved real meat…

With the discovery of time travel, he was able to go in search of it – back 65 million years to the Age of the Great Dinosaurs!”

Mars Will Send No More celebrates the original epic Flesh from 2000 AD magazine, by Pat Mills, and starring Old One Eye, the mother of Satanus!

Now fire up your electric whip and get ready for major dinosaur mayhem!

Collector’s Guide:
– Collected in Flesh: The Dino Files TPB; Rebellion, 2011.
– Originally printed in 2000 AD #1-19; Fleetway, 1977.

2000AD: Flesh 15!

Tags

2000AD, Day of the Dinosaurs Revenge, dinosaur, dinosaur comics, Flesh, Flesh the Dino Files, Old One Eye, Pat Mills, time travel

“By the 23rd Century, most animals had been destroyed. Man survived on synthetic foods alone. But he still craved real meat…

With the discovery of time travel, he was able to go in search of it – back 65 million years to the Age of the Great Dinosaurs!”

Mars Will Send No More celebrates the original epic Flesh from 2000 AD magazine, by Pat Mills, and starring Old One Eye, the mother of Satanus!

Now fire up your electric whip and get ready for major dinosaur mayhem!

Collector’s Guide:
– Collected in Flesh: The Dino Files TPB; Rebellion, 2011.
– Originally printed in 2000 AD #1-19; Fleetway, 1977.

2000AD: Flesh 14!

Tags

2000AD, dinosaur, dinosaur comics, Flesh, Flesh the Dino Files, Pat Mills, time travel

“By the 23rd Century, most animals had been destroyed. Man survived on synthetic foods alone. But he still craved real meat…

With the discovery of time travel, he was able to go in search of it – back 65 million years to the Age of the Great Dinosaurs!”

Mars Will Send No More celebrates the original epic Flesh from 2000 AD magazine, by Pat Mills, and starring Old One Eye, the mother of Satanus!

Now fire up your electric whip and get ready for major dinosaur mayhem!

Collector’s Guide:
– Collected in Flesh: The Dino Files TPB; Rebellion, 2011.
– Originally printed in 2000 AD #1-19; Fleetway, 1977.

2000AD: Flesh 13!

Tags

2000AD, dinosaur, dinosaur comics, Flesh, Flesh the Dino Files, Pat Mills, spider, time travel

“By the 23rd Century, most animals had been destroyed. Man survived on synthetic foods alone. But he still craved real meat…

With the discovery of time travel, he was able to go in search of it – back 65 million years to the Age of the Great Dinosaurs!”

Mars Will Send No More celebrates the original epic Flesh from 2000 AD magazine, by Pat Mills, and starring Old One Eye, the mother of Satanus!

Now fire up your electric whip and get ready for major dinosaur mayhem!

Collector’s Guide:
– Collected in Flesh: The Dino Files TPB; Rebellion, 2011.
– Originally printed in 2000 AD #1-19; Fleetway, 1977.

You Been Feeding the Monsters with Rotten Meat!

Tags

2000AD, dinosaur, dinosaur comics, Flesh, Flesh the Dino Files, Pat Mills, time travel

“By the 23rd Century, most animals had been destroyed. Man survived on synthetic foods alone. But he still craved real meat…

With the discovery of time travel, he was able to go in search of it – back 65 million years to the Age of the Great Dinosaurs!”

Mars Will Send No More celebrates the original epic Flesh from 2000 AD magazine, by Pat Mills, and starring Old One Eye, the mother of Satanus!

Now fire up your electric whip and get ready for major dinosaur mayhem!

Collector’s Guide:
– Collected in Flesh: The Dino Files TPB; Rebellion, 2011.
– Originally printed in 2000 AD #1-19; Fleetway, 1977.

There’s a Dinosaur War A-Coming!

Tags

2000AD, brains, dinosaur, dinosaur comics, Flesh, Flesh the Dino Files, Pat Mills, time travel

“By the 23rd Century, most animals had been destroyed. Man survived on synthetic foods alone. But he still craved real meat…

With the discovery of time travel, he was able to go in search of it – back 65 million years to the Age of the Great Dinosaurs!”

Mars Will Send No More celebrates the original epic Flesh from 2000 AD magazine, by Pat Mills, and starring Old One Eye, the mother of Satanus!

Now fire up your electric whip and get ready for some major dinosaur mayhem!

Collector’s Guide:
– Collected in Flesh: The Dino Files TPB; Rebellion, 2011.
– Originally printed in 2000 AD #1-19; Fleetway, 1977.

2000AD: Flesh 10!

Tags

2000AD, dinosaur, dinosaur comics, Flesh, Flesh the Dino Files, Old One Eye, Pat Mills, time travel

“By the 23rd Century, most animals had been destroyed. Man survived on synthetic foods alone. But he still craved real meat…

With the discovery of time travel, he was able to go in search of it – back 65 million years to the Age of the Great Dinosaurs!”

Mars Will Send No More celebrates the original epic Flesh from 2000 AD magazine, by Pat Mills, and starring Old One Eye, the mother of Satanus!

Now fire up your electric whip and get ready for major dinosaur mayhem!

Collector’s Guide:
– Collected in Flesh: The Dino Files TPB; Rebellion, 2011.
– Originally printed in 2000 AD #1-19; Fleetway, 1977.