MY FAVORITE COVER OF THE SILVER AGE by Dave Goode

When fan boys talk about great Silver Age comic book covers the one for Batman No. 173 ( August 1965 ) somehow gets lost in the shuffle. Illustrated by the tag - team of Carmine Infantino ( pencils ) and Murphy Anderson ( inks ) it rocked my pre - Batmania world. The story , Secret Identities For Sale was a 13 pager written by John Broome and ghosted for Bob Kane by Sheldon Moldoff ( pencils ) and Joe Giella (inks ). And featured a masked criminal mastermind known as Mr. Incognito.

Mr. Incognito is a criminal mastermind along the lines of the Republic movie serial villain the Crimson Ghost. He negotiates a deal with a paparazzo named Elwood Pearson who has created an X - Ray camera that snaps a photo that reveals who is behind the masks of the Dynamic Duo. Mr. Incognito was obviously created as a one - shot character. One that was never seen again in the Silver Age. But that cover image never left me.

Years later a teammate from my high school wrestling days embarked on a brief career as a pro wrestler. And he asked me to create some promo material for him. And so was born Mr. Incognito, the Man of Half A dozen Masks. Originally he was to be called the Argonaut. But I remembered the name of that obscure Batman villain from 1965. I thought it sounded perfect as the name for a masked wrestler. And this character still exists as a comic book hero who turns up every now and again in this blog.

NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH CIRCUS OF FEAR by Dave Goode

Quite often I wonder why certain movies got comic book adaptations by Dell or Gold Key and others didn't. For instance CIRCUS OF HORRORS ( 1960 ). A movie that is sometimes confused with CIRCUS OF FEAR ( 1966 ). The latter comes from an Edgar Wallace story and features Christopher Lee as a hooded circus performer. CIRCUS OF HORRORS is a wonderfully sleazy circus thriller produced by Leslie Parkyn and Julian Wintle. Directed by Sidney Hayers CIRCUS OF HORRORS had an original screenplay by George Baxt. Anton Diffring ( The Blue Max (1966), Where Eagles Dare (1968) and as De Flores in the Doctor Who television story Silver Nemesis.) stars as the unhinged Dr. Schuler and is supported  by a cast that features Donald Pleasance , Yvonne Monlaur , Erika Remberg and Yvonne Romain.

The story has Dr.Schuler fleeing England for France several years after World War Two after a botched surgery left a patient horribly disfigured. There he operates on the daughter of a circus owner portrayed by Donald Pleasance. The little girl was disfigured during the war. When the circus owner dies under mysterious circumstances Schuler takes over ownership of the circus. The little girl grows up to be a circus performer herself and is portrayed by beautiful Yvonne Monlaur who some of you Hammer film fans may remember from BRIDES OF DRACULA (1960). Through surgery Dr. Schuler transforms a number of disfigured women criminals to beautiful circus performers. When these women attempt to leave the show they die in circus accidents.

Though there was never a comic book adaptation as part of the movie's pressbook there was a one - page comic. Also there was a novelization of the movie written by Tom Owen. I wonder if the book was even sleazier than the movie. Giving the reader things the movie only hinted at.

THE RETURN OF RAT PFINK AND BOO BOO! by Dave Goode

It's time for another voyage into the alternate universe in my head as we revisit a favorite of mine. I  just finished my annual viewing of the psychotronic cult flick RAT PFINK A BOO BOO (1966). Released in September of 1966 , 9 months after the premiere of the BATMAN television series starring Adam West. Produced and directed by Ray Dennis Steckler it had a screenplay by Ron Haydock from a story by Steckler. Haydock , a Gene Vincent lookalike , also starred in the flick as singing star Lonnie Lord alias caped crime - fighter Rat Pfink under the name Vin Saxon. Also along for the ride was Carolyn Brandt , the producer's wife , as Lonnie Lord's girl friend Cee Bee Beumont. Titus Moede plays Titus Twimble alias Boo Boo , Rat Pfink's partner in peril. Ape - Suit actor Bob Burns plays Kogar , the Swinging Ape.

The first 40 minutes of this 72 minute film plays like a crime drama / jd movie ala' Elvis. The next 32 minutes are a parody of the Batman television show. I always got the impression they were writing the movie as they were filming and came up with the ending just as they were running out of film. In any case they manage to slip in four songs sung by Haydock / Saxon into the slightly over an hour running time. Running Wild , You Is A Rat Pfink , I Stand Alone and Go -Go Party. Colonel Tom Parker would have been proud.

Now I never thought there should have been a sequel to this psychotronic masterpiece of guerilla film - making. But in the alternate universe that runs through my mind there was a Rat Phink comic book that ran for 3 years. Through the length of the Batmania craze.

KI - GOR , THE JUNGLE KING by Dave Goode

 

Ki -Gor was one of the more popular of the

Tarzan imitations. He was featured in

about 60 stories appearing in the Jungle Stories pulp magazine from 1938 to 1954. At first glance you might confuse him for Kaanga. And not because both looked like Charles Atlas and could be played by Buster Crabbe in a movie. But because both heroes adventures were published by Fiction House.

Ki -Gor as mentioned in the pulp magazine Jungle Stories.And Kaanga in the comic book Jungle Comics. And there were a few covers of Jungle Comics featuring Kaanga that were " swipes " of

Jungle stories starring Ki - Gor. In any case Ki - Gor was the original appearing first in Jungle Stories ( Winter 1938 ) in a story written by John M. Reynolds.

As origins go Ki - Gor's was pretty cliche. The son of a missionary killed by the fierce Wunguba tribe the boy survives in the jungle with the help of his elephant friend Mamo. Later growing to manhood he rescues American aviatrix and socialite Helene Vaughn who has crashed in the jungle  and been captured by slavers. The two fall in love after sharing several adventures and she forsakes America to marry Ki -Gor and remain in the jungle with him. Like I said pretty cliche. But the stories wouldn't remain that way. They would become down right psychotronic with the hero facing dinosaurs , mad scientists , glowing zombie men , vampiric flying squirrels and witch women with actual supernatural powers.

I'm sure another reason for the hero's popularity stemmed from the wonderful Jungle Stories magazine covers. Aside from Ki -Gor wrestling with crocodiles , lions and gorillas on his way to discovering lost cities in the jungle , you also found his wife Helene in a two - piece leopard swimsuit. Sometimes in bondage. Sometimes she would be in the foreground looking like she was posing for a pin - up calendar while he swung to her rescue or fought the bad guys in the background. The Fiction House editors certainly knew how to catch the attention of pulp reading young men.

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And as we close this weeks blog, I'd like to congratulate Dave Goode on having written his 200th blog. His knowledge of pop culture, psychotronica, martial arts, and wrestling far exceeds many of the so called "experts" posting on the world wide web. He claims that much of his knowledge has slipped away...I disagree...once you get him talking about some nostalgic moments of yesteryear, the gears begin to turn and Dave Goode's built in pop culture dynamo is back to full power. Dave's a fantastic writer and a better friend. Congrats, bud.

Vance Capley

artist

ILSA , QUEEN OF THE GRIND HOUSE by Dave Goode

If you're a fan of  " men's sweat mags " then you might also be a fan of the Ilsa movie series starring Dyanne Thorne. ILSA SHE - WOLF OF THE SS (1975 ) , ILSA , HAREM KEEPER OF THE OIL SHIEKS ( 1976 ) and ILSA TIGRESS OF SIBERIA (1977 ). There was a fourth flick ILSA THE WICKED WARDEN ( 1977 ). But that was originally a movie titled GRETA THE WICKED WARDEN about another psychotic dominitrix. The title was obviously changed to capitalize on the success of the Ilsa movies.

Born Dorothy Ann Seib in Park Ridge , New Jersey Dyanne Thorne began her show biz career as a band vocalist and stage actress in New York. She appeared on comedy albums with Allen & Rossi , ,Loman & Barkley and Vaughn Meader. She would appear on a number of television variety  shows and television series. To fans of the original STAR TREK she is " Girl No. 1 " on the classic episode A Piece Of The Action. Her buxom figure would lead to roles in grind house  movie like SIN IN THE SUBURBS ( 1964 ) and nudie - cuties like THE EROTIC ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO ( 1971 ). And then in 1975 she would take on the role that would lead her to cult stardom.

Ms. Thorne standing 5' 7" 123 lb. ( 37 - 22 -35 ) figure looked like the embodiment of the Nazi she - devils that tortured captured American soldiers on the covers  of men's adventure mags in the 60s.

It got me to thinking that she would have been the perfect foil for Steve Holland and Eva Lynd in one of those alternate universe war movies I keep imaging that duo starring in.

SILVER AGE MYSTERY ARTIST by Dave Goode

As a preteen during the Silver Age of Comics there was this one artist at DC who really caught my eye. But I had no idea what his name was. I only saw his work in back - up stories. Reprints from the 1940s and 1950s. Or at least that's what I surmised by the archaic clothing and hairstyles the characters sported. And at time credits were rarely given on stories. The stories were different as well. No superheroes. They were crime dramas , mysteries and tales of suspense. Sometimes with science fiction or supernatural overtones. I would later find out this mystery artist was Ruben Morira also known as Rubimor.

Ruben Moreira ( 1922 -1984 ) was born in Puerto Rico and moved to New York City with his mother when he was four. Artistically gifted he began working for Fiction House where among other things he drew the adventures of Kaanga , an ersatz Tarzan. This would serve as an excellent training ground. From 1945 to 1947 he would take over the art chores on King Features' Tarzan comic strip from legendary illustrator Burne Hogarth. And illustrated it under the name Rubimor while continuing to work in comics of the Golden Age.

It's hard to describe Moreira's work. Except to say it's reminiscent of Reed Crandall's. Or to say it looks like Curt Swan's. But with more detail. Like Swan he was a master of facial expressions. Something that helped make him a great story teller. And that's what being a comic book / strip artist is all about. Being able to tell a story. Not just drawing pretty pictures.