Number 970


Super Stein's Supermouse


In early May I showed three stories by Milt Stein, animator and comic book artist. I like Stein so much I have two more, both from Supermouse #4, 1949.

The thought occurred to me how rich the late '40s were for fans of funny animal art. Walt Kelly's Pogo, Carl Barks' Donald Duck Four Color Comics, the fine work in Giggle and Ha-Ha Comics by the moonlighting animators from the Sangor/ACG shop, and these super Supermouse comics by Milton Stein.

Number 968


Ze Crabmen of Paree


In a few weeks Mrs. Pappy is going with her French cooking class to Paris. Good thing she never reads this blog, so she won't see this story, or be worried about the Crabmen of Paris. I'll do the worrying for both of us while she's there.

This story is Airboy Comics Volume 6 Number 1, 1949, and is drawn by Ernest Schroeder. Dan Zolnerowich did the cover.

Number 967


"We come in peace..."


Regular readers of this blog know I like science fiction. I'm fond of post-war stories about traveling to the moon or other planets. It's all very fanciful, but these stories remind me there was a time in this country when we had a lot of optimism for our future, and the future of technology. We still have optimism and the technology, but it took some unexpected turns from the predictions I grew up with.

When I watched the TV coverage of the moon landing on July 20, 1969, I thought that by 2000 we'd have bases on the moon, and like 2001, A Space Odyssey, we'd be on our way to exploring the solar system. We are exploring, but not with humans. I wonder if it will ever happen that people set foot on the moon again, much less Mars or beyond.

"First Stop--the Moon!" from Boy Commandos #20 from 1947 is yet another entertaining flight of fancy about the "first" moon landing. It's drawn, according to the Grand Comics Database, by Curt Swan and Steve Brodie.

Number 966


Frankenstein Friday redux


In the early days of his blog I presented a Frankenstein story every Friday, thinking myself oh-so-clever for calling it "Frankenstein Friday." Well, for this week, anyway, Frankenstein Friday is back with a tale from Dick Briefer's Monster of Frankenstein #30, from 1954. This was the next-to-last issue. In reading this tale I wondered how exhausting it would be to be a grave robber, having to dig up corpses every night. Bring out the Ben-Gay liniment. My shoulders and back ache, and I'm getting tendinitis in my arms from the shovel. No wonder the grave robber thought the Monster would be helpful.

Craig Yoe's wonderful book, Dick Briefer's Frankenstein, which reprints stories from Briefer's various incarnations of the Monster as a comic book character, is still available from Yoe! Books (many other great titles available, too), Amazon.com and from Bud Plant. Also available from Amazon.com is The Monster of Frankenstein, which reprints in black line all the horror comics Frankenstein stories Briefer did, including the one I'm posting today. Highly recommended, and tell 'em Pappy sent you.