Here's another look at a few of my 'birthday books' once again!
Tower of Shadows #1
Grade - GD (2.0)
Cover - John Romita
At the Stroke of Midnight!
Story - Jim Steranko
At the Stroke of Midnight!
Story - Jim Steranko
Art - Jim Steranko
This books shows the debut of Digger this book's story host. He later joined the team Night Shift led by The Shroud, one of their bases of operations is the Tower of Shadows
Unusual art here with the panel count doing all kinds of freaky stuff. The Fowlers have inhabited a vast mansion from Lou's uncle and are searching through it for hidden treasures. They are argumentative, Marie hen-pecks Lou; during their search and chat we discover that he killed his uncle and that the dead man was a studier of magic. A painting of Lou's uncle seems to move and point them to a hidden room, inside they find treasure, adorning themselves with some of the precious jewels they find. They also find a passageway that leads them back into the past to the time of revolutionary France. The Uncle beckons them from where he stands beside a guillotine. They were never seen again, I guess they looked like royalty with all that jewellery and lost their heads!
From Beyond the Brink
Story - Johnny Craig
Art Johnny Craig/John Romita
Arthur Watson is a writer working on a book about Psychic/Spiritualist de-bunker Hayden Hathaway. The book is almost done he just needs to get into Hathaway's head about "Why" he does what he does so fervently. They go to a session with Madame Angelica and spirits seem to appear. Hathaway tears the room apart trying to work out how the 'con' is created and upon realising that it is true, the secret of his search is revealed. Hathaway has been dead for some time and Angelica leads him to the afterlife that has eluded him all this time, leaving a stunned Arthur bemoaning that he can not finish his book now as nobody would believe it!
A Time to Die
Story - Stan Lee
Art - John Buscema/Don Heck
I featured this story during my 13 Nights of Halloween
In it an old man is seeking the secret to immortality. He has a mute assistant an escaped murderer from prison who he treats like dirt and berates constantly. The harassed henchman bides his time until the secret formula for eternal life is discovered where upon he makes his move, causing his master's death and taking the potion which has terrible results.
Ghostly Tales from the Haunted House #75
This books shows the debut of Digger this book's story host. He later joined the team Night Shift led by The Shroud, one of their bases of operations is the Tower of Shadows
Unusual art here with the panel count doing all kinds of freaky stuff. The Fowlers have inhabited a vast mansion from Lou's uncle and are searching through it for hidden treasures. They are argumentative, Marie hen-pecks Lou; during their search and chat we discover that he killed his uncle and that the dead man was a studier of magic. A painting of Lou's uncle seems to move and point them to a hidden room, inside they find treasure, adorning themselves with some of the precious jewels they find. They also find a passageway that leads them back into the past to the time of revolutionary France. The Uncle beckons them from where he stands beside a guillotine. They were never seen again, I guess they looked like royalty with all that jewellery and lost their heads!
From Beyond the Brink
Story - Johnny Craig
Art Johnny Craig/John Romita
Arthur Watson is a writer working on a book about Psychic/Spiritualist de-bunker Hayden Hathaway. The book is almost done he just needs to get into Hathaway's head about "Why" he does what he does so fervently. They go to a session with Madame Angelica and spirits seem to appear. Hathaway tears the room apart trying to work out how the 'con' is created and upon realising that it is true, the secret of his search is revealed. Hathaway has been dead for some time and Angelica leads him to the afterlife that has eluded him all this time, leaving a stunned Arthur bemoaning that he can not finish his book now as nobody would believe it!
A Time to Die
Story - Stan Lee
Art - John Buscema/Don Heck
I featured this story during my 13 Nights of Halloween
In it an old man is seeking the secret to immortality. He has a mute assistant an escaped murderer from prison who he treats like dirt and berates constantly. The harassed henchman bides his time until the secret formula for eternal life is discovered where upon he makes his move, causing his master's death and taking the potion which has terrible results.
Ghostly Tales from the Haunted House #75
Grade - ?
Cover - Jim Aparo
The book starts with an introduction page from the book host who was apparently called Mr. Dedd.
The book starts with an introduction page from the book host who was apparently called Mr. Dedd.
Phantom Patrol
Art - Sanho Kim
Here's another one that I featured in my 13 Nights of Halloween series
A soldier is called into a foxhole by a superior officer who orders him to get a message back to fire artillery on their position. He relays the message as ordered but says not to do it as it will kill the officer and his men. The barrage is completed anyway and the artillery officer tells the soldier that the man he saw was a ghost who had been sighted a number of times previously relaying similar attacks.
The Last Voyage
Art - Charles Nicholas and Vince Alascia
After being sent a mysterious letter promising riches Paul Dumas arrives at the dock where Captain Neelton takes him on his ghost crewed ship to a fog shrouded island. There he finds Lasoir who had been imprisoned on the island by Neelton as punishment for killing his crew, before abandoning him he agreed to send the letter that beckoned Dumas to the meeting. Dumas wants Lasoir's money but Lasoir's wants something far more sinister, he wants his soul to take over Dumas' body so he can escape the island posing as him. Lasoir chants magic that swaps souls and the body of Dumas goes back to the mainland with Lasoir's cash, but it turns out that it is instead Neelton who now lives as Dumas with Lasoir's money with I imagine the 2 men's souls lost or still entrapped on the island.
The Ghost of Glory!
Art - Pat Boyette
A two page story/feature about the death of chivalry in the battle for the skies during WWI, talking about how the honour of the Red Baron was usurped by the ruthlessness of Herman Goring.
No Other Man!
Art - Steve Ditko
A recently widowed woman seeks a new husband who she molds into the image of her deceased partner, with the intention of having the new guys spirit usurped by the old. There's no happy ending in this quirky haunted tale.
Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #123
Grade - VG
Cover - Curt Swan
Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen was published from October of 1954 until March of 1974, spanning a total of 163 issues. With issue #163, the title officially changed to Superman Family.
The Sacrifice of Jimmy Olsen!
Story - Leo Dorfman
Art - Curt Swan/George Roussos
After believing himself an orphan for years Jimmy is suddenly pick up by limousine and taken to his super wealthy father Mark Olsen's estate. He has locked himself inside a glass house in a vault in his basement! Jimmy goes in to talk to him and learns of a terrible crime Olsen senior has supposedly committed and for which he has chosen to undergo a self sentenced penance for. He intends to stay locked inside the glass prison for one year but Jimmy offers to do the penance for him instead. Superman turns up as Jimmy has been absent for two days and is assured that all is well and Jimmy will emerge after a year as a prisoner. Superman flies off pondering what deeds Olsen Snr may have committed but we won't get to find out till next issue although the DC wiki synopsis says that Mark Olsen in actually Hal Rand... but then has no more information on the character. A bit of searching reveals that after this 2 part story wraps up he reappears in 128 with Superman on the cover rejecting his appeal in court to adopt Jimmy!
(I did some more research and can reveal that Hal Rand was a collegue of Jimmy's father who suffered from amnesia so thought he was Mark Olsen. The crime was to steal from a Mexican tomb and get the curse of Kulkukan that demanded penance.)
The Robber Robot!
Story - Jim Shooter
Art - Pete Costanza
A scientist, Prof Harker hatches a plan to ridicule Jimmy as he was angered by a news peice done about him. He gives Jimmy a robot which is actually a human in disguise but the idea is for him to extol the virtues of this mechanoid in a live interview with Johnny Carson on the Tonight Show and then for the man in the suit to reveal himself making Olsen look the fool for believing the hoax. The plan seems to go as it was supposed to with people starting to laugh at Jimmy's expense but then Jimmy reveals himself to be a robot and turns the tables on Harker instead! It's revealed that Jimmy observed something about the robot during his time with it/him that
The Puzzles of Space and Time!
Story - E. Nelson Bridwell
Art - Pete Costanza
Jimmy Olsen turns up for a meeting of his fan club dressed up in a "perfect replica" Superman suit and talks about the importance of observation to the group. He illustrates some examples of the importance of this through a few anecdotes of encounters he'd had. Kidnapped and seemingly blasted into space he realises through careful observation that he was actually in a movie studio. A scientist's time viewing machine is similarly revealed to be a hoax. Jimmy then challenges his club members and the readers to test their powers of observation by spotting a lie that he has recently told. The sharp eyed will have realised that his "perfect replica" Superman suit actually has the red & yellow in the 'S' emblem inversed.
So that was this week's look into my books, a couple of horror anthologies and a silly Jimmy Olsen book haha thay are quite silly but fun in a Silver Age madness kind of way!!
After believing himself an orphan for years Jimmy is suddenly pick up by limousine and taken to his super wealthy father Mark Olsen's estate. He has locked himself inside a glass house in a vault in his basement! Jimmy goes in to talk to him and learns of a terrible crime Olsen senior has supposedly committed and for which he has chosen to undergo a self sentenced penance for. He intends to stay locked inside the glass prison for one year but Jimmy offers to do the penance for him instead. Superman turns up as Jimmy has been absent for two days and is assured that all is well and Jimmy will emerge after a year as a prisoner. Superman flies off pondering what deeds Olsen Snr may have committed but we won't get to find out till next issue although the DC wiki synopsis says that Mark Olsen in actually Hal Rand... but then has no more information on the character. A bit of searching reveals that after this 2 part story wraps up he reappears in 128 with Superman on the cover rejecting his appeal in court to adopt Jimmy!
(I did some more research and can reveal that Hal Rand was a collegue of Jimmy's father who suffered from amnesia so thought he was Mark Olsen. The crime was to steal from a Mexican tomb and get the curse of Kulkukan that demanded penance.)
The Robber Robot!
Story - Jim Shooter
Art - Pete Costanza
A scientist, Prof Harker hatches a plan to ridicule Jimmy as he was angered by a news peice done about him. He gives Jimmy a robot which is actually a human in disguise but the idea is for him to extol the virtues of this mechanoid in a live interview with Johnny Carson on the Tonight Show and then for the man in the suit to reveal himself making Olsen look the fool for believing the hoax. The plan seems to go as it was supposed to with people starting to laugh at Jimmy's expense but then Jimmy reveals himself to be a robot and turns the tables on Harker instead! It's revealed that Jimmy observed something about the robot during his time with it/him that
The Puzzles of Space and Time!
Story - E. Nelson Bridwell
Art - Pete Costanza
Jimmy Olsen turns up for a meeting of his fan club dressed up in a "perfect replica" Superman suit and talks about the importance of observation to the group. He illustrates some examples of the importance of this through a few anecdotes of encounters he'd had. Kidnapped and seemingly blasted into space he realises through careful observation that he was actually in a movie studio. A scientist's time viewing machine is similarly revealed to be a hoax. Jimmy then challenges his club members and the readers to test their powers of observation by spotting a lie that he has recently told. The sharp eyed will have realised that his "perfect replica" Superman suit actually has the red & yellow in the 'S' emblem inversed.
So that was this week's look into my books, a couple of horror anthologies and a silly Jimmy Olsen book haha thay are quite silly but fun in a Silver Age madness kind of way!!
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