Octopus

Octopus
The Ominous Octopus

Monday, March 31, 2014

Starlet O"Hara - COOKIE #35











Starlet O'Hara story from COOKIE #35, which was published in March 1952.


 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

"The Jolly Boys Club" was a group of friends on a radio show in this period, THE GREAT GILDERSLEEVE.  
 
 
 







THE GREAT GILDERSLEEVE:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Gildersleeve





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Moronica - THE KILLROYS #29















I think Moronica's the cat's meow.


 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

















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Sunday, March 30, 2014

Miss Bliss By Al Hartley









MEET MISS BLISS is a comic book about a pretty teacher, sort of like a different version of the "Miss Crabtree" of the "Our Gang" comedies. Published by Marvel ( "Atlas" ) comics and signed by Stan Lee and Al Hartley.

Reblogged from http://fourcolorshadows.blogspot.com/

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 










Al Hartley:
http://www.christiancomicsinternational.org/hartley_pioneer.html





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Lady In White - SUPER MAGICIAN #8








This is another feature from SUPER MAGICIAN #8 of 1945. This "Lady In White" is a nurse. I always liked nurses, but somehow when I was in the hospital I never had any experiences like this. But at least I recovered from whatever ailed me, and that's something.





 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 


















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Saturday, March 29, 2014

BLACKSTONE, THE MAGIC DETECTIVE







A short history of Blackstone's radio show, and a little more about the comics.

Blackstone, the Magic Detective

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
        

EC Comics' Blackstone the Magician Detective Fights Crime (Fall, 1947)
Blackstone, the Magic Detective was a 15-minute radio series which had a tie-in with several comic books. The program aired Sunday afternoons at 2:45pm on the Mutual Broadcasting System from October 3, 1948 until March 26, 1950.[1]

Radio

Starring Ed Jerome as "the world's greatest living magician," the radio series was based on real-life magician Harry Blackstone, Sr.
The series was announced by Don Hancock from October 1948 through June 1949, and Alan Kent from July 1949 through to the end of the series in March, 1950. The background organ music was supplied by Bill Meeder. Scripts were mostly by Walter B. Gibson, the ghostwriter of Blackstone's books, and Nancy Webb, who worked with Gibson on Chick Carter, Boy Detective.[2]

Characters and story

The show usually opened with Blackstone (Ed Jerome) and his assistant Rhoda Brent (Fran Carlon) talking with a friend of theirs, either Don Hancock or Alan Kent (played by the episodes' announcers in-character as themselves) or John (Ted Osborne). A past adventure of Blackstone's would come up in conversation, and that mystery story was then dramatized as a flashback.
After the mystery's climax, the narrative returned to the three main characters as Blackstone performed a magic trick. After a commercial break handled by the announcer, Blackstone returned to demonstrate and explain the trick so that listeners could perform it for the amusement of their friends.[3]

Comic books

Gibson also created EC Comics' Blackstone the Magician Detective Fights Crime in 1947. The comic book series continued as Timely Comics' Blackstone the Magician (#2) and Blackstone the Magician Detective (#3, #4). The character of Rhoda Brent, Blackstone's assistant in the comics, was carried over into the radio series.

References

  1. Jump up ^ "Blackstone, the Magic Detective Episode Log". Retrieved 2008-02-20. 
  2. Jump up ^ "Blackstone, the Magic Detective". Retrieved 2009-09-24. 
  3. Jump up ^ Dunning, John (1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-507678-8. 

External links

   
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I thought that the comic books were because of the radio show, but it seems is was the other way around. The Blackstone comic book series at Street and Smith began in 1941. They changed publishers a couple of times before the radio show began.

The blonde girl in the comics was based on a girl named Mary, they changed her name to Rhoda in the comics and the radio show.


An ad for the EC comic book of 1947.

 
 
 
At EC, the comic lasted for one issue. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Then it went to Marvel for three issues.

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 






Blackstone, Magic Detective ( Radio ):
https://archive.org/details/Blackstone_The_Magic_Detective

BLACKSTONE, MAGICIAN DETECTIVE ( Comic book version );
https://archive.org/details/Blackstone_The_Magic_Detective

WALTER B. GIBSON AND THE SHADOW ( Book ):
http://books.google.com/books?id=vYlHgkDINlEC&pg=PA102&lpg=PA102&dq=Blackstone+super+detective&source=bl&ots=CSJUYJjQ67&sig=mqwX9HdRf-Q7joambTgPlV0SooE&hl=en&sa=X&ei=zW83U-2tGpXKsATc6oHQBg&ved=0CDQQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=Blackstone%20super%20detective&f=false


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Blackstone Souvenir Program









A Blackstone souvenir program which appears to have the comic book character Rhoda on the cover along with a photo of the real Blackstone, and photos of Blackstone's real life assistants inside. There is a section explaining how to do magic tricks, but it doesn't have the comics where Blackstone and Rhoda show how to do tricks.










 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 




















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Blackstone: Fantasy And Reality






Although the Blackstone comic book was a work of fiction, pages from the comics where Blackstone and Rhoda showed how to do magic tricks were later reprinted in a nonfiction book by Walter Gibson, who had also been the writer of the comic book.







The blonde girl character from the comics was also depicted on a souvenir program along with a photo of the real Blackstone.





Here is a 1940 photo of him with one of his assistants, who appears similar to the Rhoda character of the comics.



 This might be the girl who they were depicting in the comics, as it seems that character was based on an actual girl.



Blackstone:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Blackstone,_Sr.

Blackstone Magik Enterprises:
http://blackstonemagic.com/HarrySr.html



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Blackstone - SUPER MAGICIAN #8











Blackstone - a real life magician whose fictional comic book adventures we have seen before on this blog - was the "Super Magician" of this title, which was published by Street and Smith, and has a cover date of December 1945.

When I found this on the internet, I thought it was the same issue that the Abbott and Costello story was in, but it isn't - that was a number 8 of a different series, in 1942. But it is the same title.







 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 





 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

The Bell P 59 Airacomet was America's first production jet fighter, but it did not see service in the war. It's performance was no greater than propeller fighters of the time. Pilots trained in this plane went on to fly more advanced types in the postwar era.







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