Quarter Bin - DC's Ghosts

Even though it's not quite Thanksgiving, I've got some leftovers! I had originally planned this for October but couldn't fit it in.

Do you believe...in Ghosts?

DC Comics did from 1971-1982 with its supernatural anthology comic that ran for 112 issues. Similar to other horror comics of the time, each issue contained several short stories. Unlike other horror comics, Ghosts did not have a host character for most of its run. It wasn't until near the end of the series in issue 104 that the Squire Shade showed up to entertain readers. He never really developed into a character but was more your guide to the supernatural.

If you know your DC, you might think Squire Shade looks a whole lot like Gentleman Ghost. If you don't know your DC, check this out!

The Squire was a bit...portlier than Gentleman Ghost but he did have his own stagecoach, so that's something. There's never been any official confirmation these two specters are possibly the same manifestation or even related. However, back during the Crisis on Infinite Earths, Squire Shade was removed from existence so I guess that takes care of that.

Back to the comic, I know I read at least two of these issues back in the early 80s and was finally able to figure out the specific ones. Number 105 has stuck with me in particular for whatever reason random things get stuck in your brain. I only really remembered part of the first story and the name Serafina, but I think you'll agree these two images are striking enough to recall decades later.

During my research, I also found the cover for 110 which instantly brought back memories of the story "The Game of Electronic G-H-O-S-T". Although reading it now, the story is a bit silly.

If you need to inject a little spooky into your Turkey Day, click on the cover images to grab a PDF copy of the comic complete with original ads! The lead story in 110 is even set at Christmas, how's that for festive?

Quarter Bin - Battle of the Planets

Battle of the Planets will always be one of my favorite cartoons. It was my first real intro to Japanese animation and was one of the shows in rotation that my friends and I would use for inspiration when playing out our own adventures. I remember making our own wristbands and sonic boomerangs out of cardboard.

The arrival of Battle of the Planets in the US was due to the popularity of Star Wars at the time. It's right there in the name! Star Wars. Battle of the Planets. The original show, Science Ninja Team Gatchaman, was edited (read: sanitized) for American audiences and incorporated new footage featuring an R2-D2 inspired robot called 7-Zark-7. Until the internet age, I had no idea BotP was anything other than what I saw on afternoon TV. The original Gatchaman is a bit more violent and has some adult themes, including transgenderism.

Here's the show's intro



Just hearing that music and voice-over makes me feel like a kid again! The basic premise of the show followed this group of super teens battling the evil Zoltar and the forces of Spectra. Like any good hero, each one has a signature weapon and vehicle. Being Japanimation, the vehicles combine but not in a Voltron like way. This is a quick clip showing how all the vehicles combine into the command ship, The Phoenix.

I don't know how popular the show was when it aired but I feel like they missed out by not marketing it in the US with a toy line. I know I kid me would have been all over it!

The show ran in syndication from September 1978 - May 1980 while the comic produced 10 issues from June 1979 - February 1981. The first few issues featured the Gold Key logo and then switched to Whitman. Oddly, issue 4 can be found with either company logo on it.

The art in the comic is about on par with what you'd expect for a comic adaptation of a 70s cartoon. It's not going to knock your socks off but it gets the job done. Like the series, the comics for the most part are self contained stories. I didn't fully look into it but I think they're all original stories.

In 2002, Image/Top Cow Comics brought the super teen team back into print with a 12 issue mini-series featuring alternate covers by Alex Ross. They went on over the next couple years with a manga adaptation, one shots featuring Mark and Jason, and a 6 issue Princess mini-series. There were also a pair of crossovers.

I know next to nothing about Witchblade so that book wasn't nearly as exciting to me as the Thundercats crossover. Definitely a fun read for fans of either!

Collecting the Gold Key issues will put a small dent in your wallet. Ebay shows issues ranging from $10-$40 each and going upwards of $100 for pro graded copies. The more recent Top Cow books are generally under $5 each.

If you've never seen the show, it's worth checking out. There are plenty of episodes to be found on YouTube. While the original Gatchaman might appeal more to us now as adults, Battle of the Planets is still good if you need a dose of Saturday morning cartoons.

And just the next day, Toy Galaxy posted this awesome video.

Quarter Bin - Planet Comics (1940)

Welcome back to the Quarter Bin where I talk about old, random comics. Today we're looking at Planet Comics from Fiction House, published from 1940 to 1953.

Planet Comics was a spinoff from the pulp magazine Planet Stories. It was the first all sci-fi comic. How cool is that? The featured stories were of the space opera genre which is the kind of sci-fi I really dig: spaceships, aliens, rayguns, and plenty of action. Plus, I'm really into the whole retro-future thing so this book is right in my wheelhouse.

Planet Comics #1 (1940)

I'm curious what the thought process was on the designs of these "helmets." Usually you have the fish bowl style helmets but here it covers the whole torso leaving the arms and legs exposed. My guess would be they thought it made sense to protect the lungs. I"m also guessing if these were a real thing, they'd make moving around really awkward.

Planet Comics #24 (1943)

While each issue was an anthology featuring different characters across multiple stories, the characters often made return appearances. I'm not going to get into different characters and storylines because as you might imagine, there were more than a few over the 73 issues, but you can read more about them on Wikipedia. As you can see here, they weren't afraid to switch up the damsel in distress trope for the cover because they also had capable heroines like Futura and Mysta of the Moon.

Depending on the page count of an issue, they would feature between 4-6 comic stories and sometimes a few pages of written fiction.

Planet Comics #52 (1948)

I picked this particular cover because the perspective is so weird. The guy in the bottom left looks like he's tiny but if he's as far away from the foreground as the monster, that thing must be ginormous! Even though there were strong space heroines, there was no shortage of good girl art in these books.

Planet Comics #64 (1950)

Here we've got your more traditional bowl helmets and jetpacks.
When all else fails, shoot the giant robot in the crotch!

I've read a few issues from the series 13 year run and they're a lot of fun if you enjoy the Flash Gordon/Star Wars type adventure in outer space. If you want to read them or even just check them out for the crazy covers and art, head over to the Digital Comic Museum and sign up for a totally free account. Once you have an account, you'll have access to way more Golden Age comics than you could probably ever read. You may get lost there for awhile, don't say I didn't warn you.

You can view them online or download to read at your leisure. You'll need a cbr/cbz file reader to view on PC. I use the free app CDisplay.

If you have an iDevice, you can grab the free app Chunky. Then just sync your device to your PC, go into file sharing, select Chunky then drag and drop the comics into the right pane.

Quarter Bin - Lars of Mars (1951)

Welcome to the first ever Quarter Bin post, where comics go to be forgotten. If you're a comic fan, you've no doubt stumbled into a box of comics that someone is trying to get rid of and selling for a quarter each. You also know, that digging through that mess can sometimes result in finding some great stuff for a steal.

This won't necessarily be about "great" stuff and pretty much none of it will be stuff I actually bought. This is mainly going to be a place to throw some obscure comic book stuff at you.

Let's take to the stars (sort of) with Lars of Mars!

You probably haven't heard of Lars considering his first, and basically last, appearance was in 1951. He starred in a whole two comic books, which for some reason were numbered 10 and 11. How great is that cover, though?

You might know the name of one of his co-creators, Jerry Siegel.
For you non-comic geeks, he also co-created Superman!

I absolutely love retro future stuff like this: jet packs, funky robots with claw hands, antennas on your head for no good reason. But this isn't just another superhero in space comic. Lars gets to beat down this weird tentacled lizard thing and that's about the end of the space stuff.

The Mars Council detects an H-bomb going off on Earth so they send Lars to make sure we don't get too big for our galactic britches. Apparently, there was a big H-bomb war between Mars and Venus and Mars is not having that again!

On his way to Earth, Lars' rocket malfunctions! (He's got a jet pack, don't you worry.) As he flies to Earth he see a woman being attacked by robots and being the swell guy that he is, he fends them off...only to find they're actors in costumes and the woman a TV producer who thinks Lars is going all out to audition for a role. Thinking it the perfect cover, Lars plays along and becomes an actor. Everyone thinks he's a crazy dude that's a little too into his role.

It's a whole weird alter ego thing with Lars basically playing a version of himself on TV then going out to fight crime still dressed in the same outfit. ("Hey it's that guy from TV!") He does have a few things to help him like his jet pack, a multi-function ray gun, and some minor telepathic abilities. 

In the second issue (#11 if you're keeping up) Lars helps out a hospitalized sick kid by convincing his idol, a baseball pitcher that thinks he's washed up, to get back in the game. He falsely bolsters the athlete's confidence by secretly "helping" with his tractor beam ray gun but the kid seems to get better once his idol is back on the field, so I guess it's all good?

While I could see Superman doing something like this it just doesn't feel quite right to me for Lars. But I guess not every adventure has to be saving the world. Lars and Supes might both be from another world but based on the covers, I wasn't expecting Lars to be earthbound.

Finally, from the "no way they could do that today" department, let's take a gander at the back cover of issue #10.

 

This great offer is for you, presumably child reader of Lars of Mars. For just $1.98 not only do you get yourself an engraved lighter but it also holds your cigarettes! No more keeping your cigs rolled up in your t-shirt sleeve for Little Johnny!

If you want to experience Lars' adventures for yourself, you can read issue 10 and issue 11 at the Digital Comics Museum. If you create a free account, you can download these, and many other forgotten comics. If you don't want to create an account, you can still read them online. The site can be a little tricky to learn so let me know if you have questions.

Good luck, Lars!