Little Known Frazetta Illustration

Was searching through some scans of of comics looking for fodder for FOUR COLOR SHADOWS when I ran across this text story illustration by none other than Frank Frazetta in issue 26 of AMERICA'S BEST COMICS. GCD doesn't list it. At least one Frazetta checklist lists him as having work in the Miss Masque story of the issue (which he doesn't) but not this. It's even signed "Fritz" which is how the master fantasy painter often signed his humor work in those days.

More Presto Pete by Howie Post!

Today over at FOUR COLOR SHADOWS, we ran a 1947 story of PRESTO PETE (the Magic Bunny) by Howie Post. It's been very popular very quickly so, quick like a bunny, here's another one...very quickly!

Bronze Age Sub-Mariner Splash Page Saturdays # 47

Another nice one. Someone has finally discovered a more muted yellow! At last! Huzzah!

This Gene Colan splash is strongly--but probably coincidentally--reminiscent of the artist's work on this series back when it was still in TALES TO ASTONISH. Back then, there was a multi-part story where Namor was on the run and in disguise. Here he has amnesia and is disguised as a regular human.

That's his father's image appearing above him. The storyline beginning here is a redo of the old Subby teams up with Doctor Doom to take on the world theme first seen in FF # 6. I don't know why that supposedly seemed such a natural team-up but, as Namor's title ended in a couple more years, Marvel would revisit it yet again...monthly in fact...in SUPER-VILLAIN TEAM-UP! As if Subby was a villain! What the heck was up with that?

Friday 13 Come on Friday This Month!

Jarrett-1973

JARRETT was a failed 1973 pilot film starring Glenn Ford as an investigator who specializes in art-related crimes. The eccentric, over-the-top bad guy played by Anthony Quayle is also a comic book collector! He keeps his collection in a special room he calls his "funatorium."

Although most of the posters seen are contemporary DC covers, Jarret asks the collector if he has CAPTAIN AMERICA # 1. He, in fact, professes to have everything from UNCLE SCROOGE, HAPPY HOOLIGAN and KRAZY KAT (the latter being mainly comic strips, not books) right up to and including "the latest undergrounds such as ZAP and THE FABULOUS FURRY FREAK BROTHERS."

He even has a pile of duplicates which he routinely runs through a shredder in order to enhance the value of his collectible copies!

Towards the end of the picture, this whole marvelous room is destroyed in a climactic fight scene.

In another sorta-kinda comic book connection, Yvonne (Batgirl) Craig appears/In fact, she appears semi-nude wrapped in a giant snake, representing Eve in the Garden of Eden with the Serpent!

Fred Williamson

Seems to me Fred Williamson never gets enough credit. There were a lot of pro football players who turned actor in the sixties but most weren't that good. The ones that were, with rare exception, ended up as character actors. Merlin Olsen, Rosey Grier, O.J. Simpson, Jim Brown…Only Fred Williamson became and stayed a star. And he did it on his own terms every step of the way. 

Originally he was practically just eye candy--the good looking black man in movies like M*A*S*H or TV series like JULIA. But Williamson took the time to listen and learn and work with the system until he could work around the system. 

Eventually, he wrote, produced, directed and starred in his own films. And he was good at all of them! At first, his movies were considered part of the blaxploitation genre but if that's all they were, then why did they outlast that short-lived phenomenon by decades? 

Here's a small sampling of just some of his films. Forget the stereotyping. A good movie is a good movie…and Fred Williamson starred in a hell of a lot of good movies!

***Attention B Western Fans!*** Lost Whip Wilson Films Found!

"LOST" WHIP WILSON WESTERNS FOUND!

Double Feature! Two formerly-lost Whip Wilson movies, considered the Holy Grail for cowboy fans!  MONTANA INCIDENT (1952) and THE GUNMAN (1952). Fuzzy Knight is the comic relief in the second film and watch for Peggy Stewart in the first!


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