The Return of Jungle Johnny by Dave Goode

Arguably the greatest swimming champion of the 20th century , Johnny Weissmuller was as big , if not bigger , than Michael Phelps. In the 1920s he stood on equal ground with such sports legends as Red Grange , Jack Dempsey and Babe Ruth. He of course would become a movie star portraying a variation of Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan of the Apes in six movies for MGM. And then in another six pictures for RKO. But I knew Weissmuller first as Jungle Jim from the syndicated television series. Later I would discover the 13 Jungle Jim movies he made for Columbia Pictures. And from 1954 to 1955 Weissmuller would play himself in three more flicks for Columbia, CANNIBAL ATTACK , JUNGLE MOON-MEN and DEVIL GODDESS. All of which would have been great adapted to the comic book page.

Considering just how little Columbia's Jungle Jim movies had to do with Alex Raymond's comic strip , which they were based on , you could have taken the stories from the movies and translated them into comic books without anyone ever noticing. With art by the likes of Frank Frazetta , Al Williamson and Wally Wood. That trio would have been great illustrating some of the sexy sarong-clad native girls that appeared in the movies. As well as the adventures of "America's No.1 Jungle Hero".  And as I could easily imagine a Johnny Weissmuller comic book I can just as easily imagine a Johnny Weissmuller adventure digest magazine. Just like with the Johnny Weissmuller comic book I can't understand why some
publisher didn't give it a shot.

 And now....Dave Goode and Vance Capley present:

Do you love comics?! We do too! We love them so much we made Judo Comics!! Don't be a CHUMP, grab your copy of Judo Comics by clicking this Link!

Watch Dave Goode and Vance Capley discuss this blog  and comic on youtube:

The World's Finest Models by Dave Goode

 If you are a Silver Age Kid chances are you probably owned the Superman model kit from Aurora. This was a decided must have for fan-boys of the era. Pure bosso-keeno coolness from 1963. It's coolness began with the illustration on the box cover of Superman (looking more than a little bit like George Reeves) smashing through a brick wall. That was an image burned into this Silver Age kid's mind from repeated viewings  of The Adventures of Superman. The man of steel more powerful than a locomotive and faster than a speeding bullet crashing through a wall to save the day.

A couple of years later during Batmania , Aurora would give comic book readers a Batman model kit. It had the caped crusader swinging on a tree branch brandishing his batarang. I kept the two figures on top of a bookcase in my room for years guarding a stack of books. It was just too bad that the figures weren't heavy or strong enough to use as actual bookends. Still later Aurora would come out with a couple of other superhero model kits. Superboy and his pet Krypto , the Superdog dragon-hunting. And Wonder Woman roping an octopus with her magic lasso. But the only other superhero model kit I picked up was Robin , the Boy Wonder heroically pulling the lever on some machine in the Batcave. Why oh why didn't they have him swinging on his bat-rope and brandishing his batarang?

 Aurora would also come out with a line of Marvel superhero model kits. The Amazing Spider-Man,the Incredible Hulk and Captain America , the Living Legend of World War Two. But after putting together the "World's Finest Team" I really had no further interest in superhero models. Now Aurora's line of classic Universal monsters was an entirely different story. I owned the model kits for Count Dracula , the Frankenstein Monster , the Wolf Man , the Mummy and the Creature from the Black Lagoon. All very cool stuff.

Speaking of cool superheroes, grab your self a copy of JUDO COMICS! 
 That's right, Judo Comics! Featuring brand new Atomic and Silver Age superheroes and adventurers! Including Dr. Judo, Mr. Incognito, the Golden Adonis, and the Phantom Gorilla! Super neat-o articles! Fun comics! Great price!

Monsieur Mallah,Silver Age Simian by Dave Goode

Silver Age kid that I am I've always had a strange fascination for the intelligent apes of the era. I love the Super-Ape minions of the commie comic book villain the Red Ghost. And what Silver Age kid wasn't a fan of Gorilla Grodd,arch-enemy of the Flash? My personal favorite intelligent ape of the 60s however was Monsieur Mallah. A six feet three inch 400 lb. French speaking gorilla.

 

Created by Arnold Drake (writer) and Bruno Premiani (illustrator) Monsieur Mallah first appeared in the pages of THE DOOM PATROL No.86  (March 1964) from DC Comics. He was the subject of an experiment of a scientist. The scientist raised a captured gorilla's I.Q. through shock treatments and other methods to the genius level of 178. The scientist who would later become the super-villain the Brain after losing his own body. One of those disembodied brains that you find so often in pulp fiction and B-movies. He would name the beast Monsieur Mallah and educated him for the better part of a decade training him as his assistant. The pair would become charter members of the Brotherhood of Evil and sworn enemies of the super-hero team the Doom Patrol.

Of course as a gorilla Mallah was a physically formidable foe. Standing 6' 3" he was quite a bit taller than an average gorilla.But just as strong. Silverback gorillas are 6x as strong as humans per kilo bodyweight. So a silverback gorilla (220 kg.) weighs about twice as much as a large human. So a silverback is about 12 times as strong as a human athlete. And even more impressive is the fact that they can run between 20 to 25 mph. To put that into perspective Usain Bolt ,the 3-time Olympic champion has been clocked at 23.25 mph.

In the Silver Age before CGI if you were making a Doom Patrol movie featuring Monsieur Mallah or a Flash movie featuring Gorilla Grodd you would be using an actor in an ape-suit. But we Silver Age kids were so use to men in ape-suits from repeated viewings of serials and monster movies from the thrilling 30s and fabulous 40s we wouldn't have cared. We had our own super-power. We had the ability to suspend belief.

 You can read the Phantom Gorilla's first action packed adventure in the pages of JUDO COMICS! Get yours today! Wanna watch Dave Goode and Vance Capley discuss ape suit cinema, comics, and the Phantom Gorilla? Click here for the VIDEO!