BURLESQUE COMICS by Dave Goode

I've mentioned in the past that I've been a fan of old-time burlesque and striptease since I saw the movie GYPSY as a preteen back in the 1960s. In my early twenties I started collecting mags like CABARET and MODERN MAN that featured articles and pictorials on burlesque and nightclub performers. It was also about this time that I started collecting SHERRY THE SHOWGIRL and SHOWGIRLS comics from Atlas Comics in the 1950s. As most comic book fans know Atlas was the name of the company that would become Marvel Comics in the 60s. I'm sure that the target audience for these Atom Age comics were adolescent boys. I mean the stories were just flimsy excuses to draw the female characters in cheesecake poses by legendary comic book artist Dan De Carlo.De Carlo was best known for his work at Archie Comics in the 1960s. 

 

And just how many comics were there out there in the 50s had a lead character who was a cabaret performer / showgirl ? Hmm. Just what was Torchy's occupation ?

A little while back my buddy Vance Capley and I introduced a character Miss Ginger Snaps. We put her in a strip with a character we called Pharaoh Love, a black bodybuilder. We then put her in two one - pagers of her own. We then decided to build a comic around her. Below is the first page of that comic. Give us some feedback on what you think. Is the world ready for a retro cheesecake comic strip?

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Gee Mr. Weisinger... Could Superman Beat A Wrestler? by Dave Goode

When I first started watching professional wrestling in the early 1960s my favorite grappler was Antonino Rocca. A great athlete and sensational showman Rocca was one of the top box-office draws of the day. And his matches were frequently broadcast on television. But as popular as he was I never expected to see him on the cover of a Superman comic book. But there he was on the cover of Superman No.155 (August 1962) tossing the Man of Steel out of the squared circle to the shock of Lois Lane , Jimmy Olsen and an arena full of wrestling fans.

 The Downfall of Superman was a seven and a half page story written by Superman's co-creator Jerry Siegel and illustrated by the tag-team of Curt Swan (pencils) and George Klein (inks). The story begins with pro wrestling star Antonino Rocca giving a press conference before an exhibition bout that evening with Superman. He demonstrates a few wrestling holds on the Man of Steel's alter-ego Clark Kent.Kent feigns an injury so he has a reason not to be in attendance at the match when Superman wrestles Rocca.

My favorite part of the story has Rocca equipped with an aqualung pinning an octopus to the bottom of a huge water-filled tank. After that exhibition Superman flies into the ring at the Metropolis Arena for his bout with the wrestler. No one in attendance believes Rocca will last more than a second against Superman. And you have to wonder why anyone  would think this match would be competitive. So everyone is shocked when Rocca tosses Superman from the ring.

It turns out that Mr. Mxytpilk has used his magic to make Rocca stronger than Superman to annoy his old adversary. And to further prove his point the 5th dimensional imp materializes both Hercules and Samson from the past to face Rocca who pins both the famous strongmen at the same time with his pinkies. But since this is a Silver Age Superman story everything isn't quite what it appears to be.

 

Of course the coolest thing about it all was having Superman face off against the popular wrestling star. The story goes that Superman editor Mort Weisinger often asked the neighborhood kids what kind of stories they would like to read. This seems like one of those stories. " Gee Mr. Weisinger. Who would win in a fight? Superman or a wrestling champion?

My buddy Vance Capley and I paid homage to this comic several years ago when we had our masked wrestling hero Mr.Incognito take on Superiorman.

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KING OF THE GLADIATOR MOVIES by Dave Goode

After more than 60 years since HERCULES (1957) was released the actor most identified with the role is Steve (no relation to George) Reeves. Remarkably the Mr.America (1947), Mr.World (1948), and Mr.Universe (1950) winner only played the mythical muscleman in two movies HERCULES (1957) and HERCULES UNCHAINED (1959). Though he would play similar characters in other movies.

One of my favorite non-Hercules Steve Reeves' movies is GOLIATH AND THE BARBARIANS (1959) about the Lombard invasion of Italy. Reeves plays a character named Emiliano a.k.a Goliath who rages a guerilla war against the invading barbarians after his father is slain. Reeves physique never looked better on screen than it does in this flick. Especially in the scene where he is put through a trial of strength. Also appearing in this flick is sultry Chelo Alonso. If Reeves was the king of sinew & sandal flicks then Alonso was the queen.

Another favorite was THE LAST DAYS OF POMPEII (1959) based loosely on
the novel by Edward Bulwer-Lytton. This one has Reeves playing the Roman legionnaire Glaucus returning home from war. He discovers his father has been murdered and swears vengeance on the killers. Along the way he falls in love with a Christian girl who he will end up defending in the arena.

As I grow older it becomes harder for me to remember what the first Steve Reeves movie I ever saw was. I'm going to go with THE SLAVE a.k.a THE SON OF SPARTACUS (1962). Reeves plays Randus a Roman centurion. This flick is an unofficial sequel to the Stanley Kubrick epic SPARTACUS (1960) that starred Kirk Douglas as the rebel slave leader. Randus upon learning that he is the son of the former gladiator takes up his father's battle against slavery. Interestingly enough Reeves didn't play a super-human hero in any of these films like he did in the Hercules flicks.More of a gladiator hero like the type Richard Harrison would play in later movies in the peplum cycle.

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SUPERARGO UNMASKED by Dave Goode

As I've mentioned before Superargo vs. Diabolicus is one of my favorite masked wrestler movies. And I like the sequel Superargo and the Faceless Giants as well. Just not as well. What makes both of these movies for me are the athletic performances of actor Ken Wood who portrays the masked grappler. The way he moved , especially in his scenes in the squared circle , I imagined that he was a professional wrestler. Like Blue Demon , Mil Mascaras or any other star from the Mexiluchahero film genre. It wasn't until later that I found out he wasn't a pro wrestler. Nor was his name Ken Wood. He was in fact Giovanni Cianfriglia.

Giovanni Cianfriglia is a name that's familiar to fans of European costume melodramas. But at the same time he might be considered an unsung hero of the peplum film genre. In a film career that spanned decades he appeared in many sinew & sandal flicks as an extra, stuntman and even Steve Reeves body double. His two best known roles outside of the costumed crime-fighter Superargo might have been in Maciste vs.The Vampires a.k.a Goliath vs. The Vampires ( 1961 ) and Hercules the Avenger ( 1965 ).

In Goliath vs. The Vampires he appears in the movie's climax as Goliath's evil twin and they fight an epic battle. It had been rumored for years that it was Steve Reeves himself that appeared as the evil twin in long shots. But it was Cianfriglia who you'll remember was Reeves' body double in several movies including Hercules ( 1957 ).

In Hercules the Avenger Cianfriglia portrays the demi-god Antaeus. The highlight of this film has Hercules , played by multiple Mr. Universe - winner Reg Park , looked in a life or death struggle with Antaeus. It's Cianfriglia who makes this fight acting like a professional wrestling "jobber" making the much more muscular Park look good.

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 At the time of writing this weeks blog we learned

of the passing of legendary artist Russ Heath

 Russ Heath - September 29, 1926 – August 23, 2018 RIP

Before There Was Bane..... by Dave Goode

Before Bane there was the Hooded Hangman. But unlike Bane who wore a luchador-styled mask and who I've often referred to as the penultimate rudo, the Hooded Hangman was an actual pro wrestler. He appeared in the Silver Age of Comic Books in a story from Detective Comics No. 355 (September 1966). Written by John Broome and illustrated by the tag-team of Carmine Infantino and Joe Giella "Hate Of The Hooded Hangman" was a 14 page story that had the Caped Crusader facing off against a cyclopean masked wrestler. The pair engage in a sort of two out of three falls mask vs. mask match. The Hangman actually wins two falls and unmasks Batman. But Batman preserves his secret identity with a trick he could have torn from Mil Mascaras playbook.

The story is pure Silver Age fun. It begins with Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson attending the wrestling matches where the Native-American wrestler the Arizona Apache is taking on the gargantuan grappler known only as the Hooded Hangman in the main event. The Hangman is filling the arena with the promise to unmask if anyone can defeat him. The masked man makes short work of his opponent using his signature move the  "Hangman's Knot" (a variation of the sleeper hold ). The fans leave the arena disgruntled. And Dick suggests to Bruce that they use their world renowned detective skills to discover the Hangman's true identity. Of course in a series of "this could only happen in a comic book" coincidences Batman and the Hangman find themselves at odds.

For my money the best scene in the story has Batman sitting ringside at the wrestling matches in full costume. Gosh but you had to love the Silver Age.

No way did anyone consider using this story for the 60s television series. Not

even for the anything goes final season. But if they had made an adaptation of this story my nomination for the actor to play the Hooded Hangman would have been the late Clint Walker. The former star of the CHEYENNE television western stood 6' 6" tall with the broadest shoulders and thickest traps to be found outside of a bodybuilding contest. One of the things I remember best from the CHEYENNE series was the writers finding some reason to have the star stripped to the waist to show off his physique. I've joked for years that Walker would have made a great Superman. But a pair of glasses could never disguise those shoulders

Image from Megomuseum

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ANOTHER STEVE HOLLAND AND EVA LYND MOVIE by Dave Goode

I was rereading my copy of IT'S A MAN'S WORLD by Adam Parfrey this past weekend. And it got me to thinking again of sweat magazine icons Steve Holland and Eva Lynd starring in low-budget action/adventure movies. Fighting Nazis and Commies (both Russian and Cuban). Or on safari in deepest , darkest Africa where Holland dressed in his Doc Savage togs would have Jungle Jim type adventures. So I got my buddy Vance Capley to photo-shop another faux movie poster starring the duo.

During the 1970s when " everybody was kung fu fighting " there was a series of books about judoka Jason Striker. The books were written by Piers Antony and Roberto Fuentes. And Steve Holland served as the model for Jason Striker on the covers of the paperbacks. It got me to wondering if Holland had any training. If he had been in the service he would have learned the basics at least.

Though Steve Holland was used as the model for Jason Stryker on the covers of the KIAI ! book series he might have been a little to old to play the character in a movie. And again we don't know if he had any judo or other martial arts training. My alternate suggestion for the actor to play the character would have been karate / kick-boxing champion Joe Lewis. There would have been no one better to portray the paperback hero in a martial arts mania era movie.

And now...OPERATION VALKYRIE

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https://www.teepublic.com/t-shirt/3021151-operation-valkyrie-faux-movie-poster

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CAPTAIN AFRICA,THE COMIC BOOK by Dave Goode

 

I often think of the one-shot Republic serial heroes like the Masked Marvel , the Copperhead and the Tiger Woman starring in their own comic books. Likewise I can see Columbia serial heroes starring in spin-off comic books. Especially Captain Africa if he was illustrated by Glenn Cravath. Born in 1897 and dying in 1964 Cravath started as an illustrator for the New York Journal in the 1920s including working on a Sunday Frank " Bring 'Em Back Alive " Buck comic strip for that publication. This strip was based on the adventures of the famed real-life jungle adventurer. Gravath would also work as an illustrator for the King Features Syndicate. In 1928 he started freelancing for movie studios. Most notably Columbia and RKO. It was for RKO that Cravath created some memorable poster art for the classic adventure movie KING KONG. He also did comic strip ads for King Kong , The Song of Kong and Africa Screams , an Abbott & Costello jungle comedy that featured Frank Buck.

 

 

Cravath would create posters for Columbia serials like The Flying G-Men and B programmers like the Jungle Jim / Johnny Weissmuller series. And of course he did the poster art for Columbia's 1955 serial The Adventures of Captain Africa. If you're a fan-boy you already know that this was originally supposed to have been a Phantom serial , a sequel of sorts to Columbia's 1943 serial starring Lee Falk's classic comic strip hero. Well after production on the film started it was found that the studio had let their movie rights lapse. And King Features was asking for more money than Columbia was willing to pay to use the character. So the movie studio created a knock-off hero and gave him a similar costume to match the Phantom's costume in long shots.

 

 

The best thing about the Captain Africa serial was Cravath's poster work. Captain Africa's costume looked ridiculous on actor John Hart. But looked great illustrated by Cravath. Truthfully a lot of super-hero costumes that look great on the pages of a comic book look awful on actors. But this one looked especially stupid. So it's easy enough to imagine a Captain Africa comic book drawn by Cravath. But not a sequel to the serial.

 Greetings, blog fans! Dave Goode has written an article about Konga (1965) for Monster Magazine #1. You can read more about Dave's article and the magazine >>>HERE<<<

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