Number 541


Demon of Destruction!


This is a famous story, reprinted in fanzines at least a few times that I can remember. "Demon of Destruction," by Al Williamson and Frank Frazetta is from Forbidden Worlds #1, from 1951.

Only Williamson signed the story, on page 2, but he was known to ask his buddies to dive in and help.

Except for the artwork, "Demon" is pretty standard ACG fare. A man and woman get mixed up with the supernatural, in this case a demon, Marzo, who is "worse than Satan." Wow, that's bad. As always, the humans are smarter than the evil-doers in these stories. There really was no need for Marzo to grant three wishes because they turned against him, but such is the way of ACG plots.

Number 540


Target


The Target and Targeteers lasted through the 1940s. Created in 1940 by cartoonist Dick (Frankenstein) Briefer, using the name Dick Hamilton, the Target was a metallurgist who wore a costume made of metallic fibers that bullets bounced off. His two business partners joined him as the Targeteers.

This episode is fromTarget Comics Volume 3 Number 12, February 1943. By this time the Target and Targeteers were servicemen, and this particular story uses only one Targeteer. Maybe the other guy was on KP peeling spuds.

Sid Greene did the artwork along with somebody named Ryan. Greene was another of the comic book journeymen I'm always glad to feature. He's probably best known to modern comics fans for the work he did during the '60s at DC, where I saw him first as an inker. He was hired to replace the retired Bernard Sachs. I saw Greene's pencils and inks in various places. I showed a story of his from Mystery in Space a couple of weeks ago. Sid Greene died in 1972.

Number 539


Powell's Bad Bad Girls


Last Friday I showed you the original art from two stories by Bob Powell of good girls who are tempted into being bad. Here are two stories about girls who are just bad. Witches. And I don't mean that euphemistically.

"Cavern of the Doomed," from Tomb Of Terror #3, 1952, is a tale of a witch who gets her comeuppance. If I'd seen this story and its vision of Hell when I was a kid it might have straightened me out.

"The Spell of the Black Gloves" is a tale that shows us that genes mean a lot. With her ancestor a witch, impoverished Abegail has no choice but revenge and evil. It's from, appropriately enough, Witches Tales #5, 1951.

Both of these stories are courtesy of Heritage Auctions, where I ::evil cackle:: swiped 'em.

Number 538


Alex Niño


Alex Niño's angular, psychedelic style was probably the most unique of the Philippine comic artist invasion of the 1970s. He could take even the most routine script and turn it into something interesting. As I recall he had some trouble with editors over his style when he stretched his imagination too far, and made the stories difficult to decipher.

There's no problem with that here. These stories are written by Jack Oleck. "Fish Story" is from Secrets of the Haunted House #1 from '74, and "The Evil Power" is from Weird Mystery Tales #9, 1975.

Grantbridge Street has posted an Oleck/Niño DC story here.

Number 537


The Blowhard


Fremont Frog is a lot like some guys I've known over the years. Blowhards. No matter what you bring up they've done it bigger and better. You'd like to put them in their place.

So that's what Fremont's friends do to him. This is a hilarious story from Giggle Comics #67, September-October 1949. It's hilarious because it's drawn by one of the greatest funny animal comic book cartoonists, Jack Bradbury. I've shown you several Bradbury stories, and they all have something in common: great drawing and funny gags.

Jack Bradbury's son has a website devoted to his father's work. http://jbrad.org/

He shows many of Bradbury's stories for Giggle and Ha-Ha Comics, including some more Fremont Frog. If you like this story you'll love what he has on his website.