Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Dracula the SuperHero "Peace Conference"

...terrorist Boris Eval has taken control of Transylvania, and is using Castle Dracula as his headquarters, unware that its' owner, Count Dracula, has discovered a serum derived from bats that gives him enhanced abilities...
But there are many other threats against our world.
Can even a man with the powers and abilities of a bat fight the dangers that threaten mankind?
Find out...tomorrow!
Same Bat-Time!
Same Bat-Blog!

Monday, October 6, 2014

Dracula the SuperHero "Origin"

In the 1960s, everybody in comics, at some point, became a spy or superhero...
...even a descendent of Vlad the Impaler!
But how???
What can even a man with the powers and abilities of a bat do against missiles?
Find out...tomorrow!
Same Bat-Time!
Same Bat-Blog!

Friday, October 3, 2014

Frankenstein the Superhero "Reward"

The Silver Age was an odd period of comics history...
 ...when anyone from spies (T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents) to soldiers (Blackhawk) to monsters could be remade into superheroes...with decidedly-mixed results!
You can read the origin of this funky, far-out revamp of Frankenstein HERE, the second part HERE, then continue with the cataclysmic conclusion to his premiere appearance...
How many elements from Silver Age Superman and Batman stories can you find in this tale?
(I found at least five, some for both Superman and Batman, some just from Batman.)
The art was by Tony Tallarico, who was working steadily for both Dell and Charlton, producing literally reams of pages per month in every genre from romance to Westerns to superheroes!
(And most of the time he was inking himself, as well!)
Monday join us for the even weirder origin of the original "Bat-Man": Dracula the SuperHero!

Thursday, October 2, 2014

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Frankenstein the Superhero "Resurrection"

We're doing something really scary for Halloween this year...
...presenting the campy "pop art" versions of the Monster of Frankenstein , Dracula, and The Wolfman, as seen in the Swinging '60s, when everyone in comics was either a spy, a superhero, or both!
Will the Monster use his powers for Good instead of Evil?
And how the heck did this whole thing come about, anyway?

In 1964, Dell Comics published a line of comic adaptations of Universal Monster movies to tie in with their successful revival on tv.
Two years later, Dell decided to take the monsters' base concepts and rework them into then-trendy superheroes and spies!
Frankenstein and Dracula became superheroes while WereWolf (the name Wolf Man was trademarked) was a secret agent (albeit one with a "stealth" suit to avoid detection).
Yeah, it was as dumb as it sounds, and none of them ran more than three issues.
This was part one of the Silver Age Frankenstein's three-part origin tale from Frankenstein #2, illustrated by Tony Tallarico, who did a lot of work for Dell and Charlton in the 1960s.
(Frankenstein #1 was the previously-mentioned movie adaptation.)
We'll be presenting the other two parts of the origin over the next two days, beginning tomorrow.
You'll get a better look at how Dell shamelessly ripped-off both Superman and Batman by taking elements from both of them for this series.
Scary, eh?

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