Mighty Mouse #55 (1954)
In Mighty Mouse's world, pelicans don't deserve to eat.
Okay,
just to clarify...I have no problem with
Elfquest existing. I'm all for it. I'm glad people like it. It just doesn't do anything for
me. But one issue did include
an elf orgy (SFW, scroll halfway down), so I guess it can't be all bad.*
Also, since I was talking about Starfox's amazing super-power last time,
pal Josh lets me know that
Bliss from DV8 also had the power to give people "the happy feeling." And didn't
Fascination from
Gatecrasher's Technet have a similar ability? (
Pal Mojo IV, I'm a'lookin' at
you.)
As long as I'm posting the sexiest entry ever here on "Progressive Ruin -
After Hours," here's a link stolen from
Fark that
isn't political flamebait:
a quick look at Veronica's toplessness and Betty's alleged nudity from a recent issue of
Betty and Veronica's Double Digest.
Which Sexy Comic Book Villainess Are You? You know you want to know.
Here's a page about
Jean-Claude Forest, creator of
Barbarella (minor cartoon nudity at 2nd link).
The official page of Grin And Bare It, a very funny European magazine of good-natured naughty cartoons. (Link
definitely not safe for work, young'uns, or prudes.)
* By the way, never do a Google search on "elfquest orgy."
1. So I understand that there's some online comics columnist somewhere making a few snarky comments about comics weblogs. Eh, whatever. To be fair, looking at his previous "articles," his shtick appears to be making snarky comments about whatever that week's particular topic happens to be, so I wouldn't make a big deal out of it. Besides, if he's true to form with other comics weblog critics, he'll have a weblog of his own soon enough.
Actually, the only thing that peeves me is that he linked to
pal Dorian's site, and not mine. Man, how does
he rate?
2. I'm the last person on the planet to finally see the premiere of Cartoon Network's
Justice League Unlimited, and this creaky old DC fan got a kick out of it.
Tons of brief cameos in the scenes on the satellite (was that Blue Devil's head I saw poking up there? And Johnny Thunder's Thunderbolt, and Booster Gold, and Gypsy (
Gypsy!), and Aztek, and and and....) Like
pal Tom, I found the voice they used for Green Arrow a little off-putting...nothing wrong with it, aside from my own preconceptions as to how his voice should sound, but I got used to it quick enough, so no big deal. I did like the nods to DC's past continuity (the Green Lantern/Green Arrow team-up, GA's idealogical conflicts with Captain Atom being reminiscent of his verbal sparring with Hawkman, GA's eye for Black Canary). Also like Tom, I found the quick and easy way they took out
Brimstone bit of a cheat, but I'm willing to overlook it in favor of the broader point that they were making with the episode. Plus, it was nice to see just how the boxing glove arrow worked, exactly...seemed a little awkward to just shove that into a quiver ("the actress said to the bishop").
I'm looking forward to the next one, which adapts Alan Moore and Dave Gibbon's "For the Man Who Has Everything" from
Superman Annual #11. It got me to pull out my copy from the vast Mikester Comic Archives for a reread...and holy cow, it's 19 years old now? I wish Tempus would stop Fugiting so darn fast.
2a. Here's
a fan site for
Justice League Unlimited, which has a small screen capture of one of the satellite crowd scenes. The official Cartoon Network site is
here, and it includes an episode guide for all this season's shows.
Monday, August 02, 2004
Witches Tales #13 (August 1952)
One of the most awfully-printed comics ever (and that's
including 70s Marvels), this comic was chock full of terrible stories...the cover story "The Torture Jar" would have been a good one, but most of the captions were in cursive, and I could feel my eyes beginning to bleed trying to read the darn thing. There's another story which involves Bozo the Clown (no relation), and then there's
this story:
Professor George Denton has been working on his powerful super-strength formula for years...careful planning, long nights of hard work, and extensive research have led up to...feeding it to the dog:
The dog's name is Doddo, by the way. "Doddo." Anyway, the super-strength formula has instead made Doddo the unfortunately-named dog into a savage creature that demonstrates no super-strength whatsoever:
However, the professor seems to believe that this means his experiment was successful, reassuring his daughter that he beloved dog would turn back to normal shortly. Karam, who is, I don't know, an assistant or something, seems to think that the formula was a success as well. "I'll be strong enough to amass a fortune! Power! Influence! And then perhaps the lovely Liza will be mine!" From a formula that, as demonstrated so far, only makes dogs additionally scruffy and unpleasant, mind you.
So, yes, Karam sneaks back to the lab and downs the formula, turning him into a hideous creature that's sure to win Liza over:
And, as one might expect, rampaging ensues, complete with a front page above-the-fold photo on the award-winning
Daily Blur. Or
Blurb. Or
Blurx:
Meanwhile, as the nights wear on and Karam continues his shenanigans, the Professor notices that his formula supply is mysteriously decreasing. That night, Prof stakes out the lab, and spots Karam sneaking in. The professor busts in on Karam, catching him red-handed, but too late! Karam takes a swig of the formula, and starts chasing the professor around, all the while carefull enunciating the word "Growl:"
Liza happens upon the scene, and the professor, realizing the threat the monstrous Karam poses to her, manages to get his hands on his own formula...and he himself transforms into a monster! This of course does wonders for Liza's sense of well-being:
However, the professer and Karam fight to the death, while Liza looks in horror and provides some stunning commentary:
The battle is finally decided when, the captions tell us, the professor overpowers Karam since "the professor was far stronger than Karam originally, his [the prof's] superior strength was decisive!" Yes, even though this was established at no point prior in the story, and the way the characters were drawn, Karam was a young man and the professor relatively older.
After dragging Karam from the fire (since the building they were in turned into a raging conflageration during the battle), the now human-again professor reveals to the waking Karam that, due to consuming too much of the formula, Karam will always be a slightly unshaven man with a pug-nose, a Beatles haircut, and no ironing board. Karam, angered at the news, jumps at the professor, but Prof dodges and Karam goes hurtling over the previously-unseen cliff, and changes his hair color at the same time:
And thus does another man learn the folly of...um, drinking spurious super-strength formulas, I guess.
