THOR AND HERCULES, SIDE BY SIDE

thor and herculesThis weekend’s light-hearted and escapist superhero post from Balladeer’s Blog looks at the Marvel Comics run in which Hercules and Thor fought side by side against assorted menaces.

Previously I examined the first encounter between Thor and Hercules as well as Hercules’ first period as a member of the Avengers.

th 221THOR Vol 1 #221 (March 1974)

Title: Hercules Enraged

Villains: Ares and Pluto/ Hades

Synopsis: In Asgard, the Valkyrie named Hildegarde tells Thor that via Odin’s magic implements she saw her missing sister Krista trapped in the Greek pantheon’s Netherworld being used as a slave by Pluto and Hercules.

The furious Thor travels to Mt. Olympus to demand answers. He encounters his former ally Hercules and when Herc says he doesn’t know anything about Krista, Thor attacks him in a berserker rage.

The lengthy battle between Hercules and Thor ends when Zeus abruptly appears. Zeus tells them that Pluto is indeed holding Krista captive in the Netherworld, but his ally was really Ares disguised as Hercules to incriminate the demigod in the eyes of Asgard. Continue reading

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VIRGIL TIBBS: THE FORGOTTEN NOVELS AND SHORT STORIES

Author John Dudley Ball, Jr. created the iconic African American detective Virgil Tibbs in his 1965 novel In the Heat of the Night. Sidney Poitier brought Virgil to life on the big screen in the classic film version in 1966. Poitier reprised the role in They Call Me Mister Tibbs (1970) and The Organization (1971).

cool cottontailBalladeer’s Blog takes a look at the forgotten (or at least neglected) novels and short stories which John Dudley Ball wrote about his fictional detective. I am amazed that no one adapted the other Virgil Tibbs novels in the 70s, 80s or 90s. He is up there with other American detectives like Sam Spade, Nero Wolfe, Moses Wine and more.   

THE COOL COTTONTAIL (1966) – After winning the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best First Novel for In the Heat of the Night, John Ball wrote this follow-up novel about Virgil Tibbs. If you’re only familiar with the big screen Tibbs let me point out that The Cool Cottontail is set in Pasadena, CA, where the literary Virgil Tibbs was a homicide detective. In movies Virgil worked in Philadelphia and San Francisco while the In the Heat of the Night tv series stranded him down south.  Continue reading

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MARCH 21st ROUNDUP OF NEWS, MEMES AND POLITICAL CARTOONS

From Independent Voter site Balladeer’s Blog comes another look at current events here in the Joe Biden Banana Republic.

democrats vote fraudWISCONSIN DEMOCRAT KIMBERLY ZAPATA FOUND GUILTY ON ALL COUNTS IN VOTE & BALLOT FRAUD SCANDAL. But no matter how many of these cases come up every year the Democrats STILL pretend such things never happen and it’s all just “a conspiracy theory.”

CHICAGO VOTERS OF COLOR SPEAK OUT ABOUT THE FAILURES OF JOE BIDEN AND HIS REGIME.

FACULTY LOUNGE FASCISTS: THE LATEST.

democrats gagging rfk jrCOURAGEOUS ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR. CALLS OUT THE CORPORATE FASCISM AND “INTELLIGENCE AGENCY” UGLINESS IN AMERICA. And he comes from a family that should know. RFK said “The CIA works for military contractors, providing a steady pipeline of forever wars. The health agencies are controlled by the pharmaceutical industry, which profits from chronic disease …” 

IN CONGRESS, A DEMOCRAT REP EMBARRASSES HERSELF BY CITING LONG LINE OF THE PARTY’S ALREADY DEBUNKED HOAXES ABOUT DE FACTO THIRD PARTY PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP. Truly hilarious self-own!

VOTERS WHOSE LIVELIHOODS HAVE BEEN DESTROYED BY JOE BIDEN’S DISASTROUS POLICIES PUTTING THEIR HOPE IN TRUMP. Sadly, I still believe America’s authoritarian political establishment will not let the opposition leader return to the White House. Continue reading

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BALLADEER’S BLOG: USCAA COLLEGE BASKETBALL CHAMPIONS IN BOTH DIVISIONS

USCAA (United States Collegiate Athletic Association)

newport news apprentice school buildersDIVISION ONE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME – The last two teams standing in this division’s tournament were the NEWPORT NEWS APPRENTICE SCHOOL BUILDERS (Shipbuilders) and the LYON COLLEGE SCOTS.

By Halftime the Builders were clinging to a tight 33-30 lead over their opponents. After the break the Apprentice School eked out just a bit more separation from the Scots to win the game by a final score of 73-68. Donovan Means led the Builders to the title with 19 points.  Continue reading

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ROBERTO CARLOS ALVAREZ-GALLOSO, A LIFELONG FIGHTER FOR FREEDOM, EXPRESSES HIS SOLIDARITY WITH THE PEOPLE OF CUBA

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THE DERELICT (1912) ANCIENT SCIENCE FICTION

derelictTHE DERELICT (1912) – This short story was originally published in Red Magazine in December of 1912. The author was William Hope Hodgson, whose other works have already been reviewed here at Balladeer’s Blog. 

A ship traveling from Madagascar to China comes across a derelict vessel which seems to be from hundreds of years ago. An away team is sent to investigate the derelict.

The away team had to struggle through strange brown, clinging scum that surrounded the exterior of the ancient vessel. Once they managed to board the ship they found a bizarre white mold covering the decks, cabins and fittings.    Continue reading

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NEWS, MEMES AND POLITICAL CARTOONS ROUNDUP: MARCH 19th

media scumFrom Joe Biden’s corporate fascist kleptocracy comes the latest look at current events from Independent Voter site Balladeer’s Blog.

ELON MUSK CALLS OUT GOOGLE’S REPEATED ELECTION INTERFERENCE. More HERE. And HERE.

SPECIAL COUNSEL ROBERT HUR SAYS THE BIDEN REGIME PRESSURED HIM TO CHANGE HIS FINDINGS. Impeachments have been launched over far less. Just a few years ago, in fact.

biden is a weird little man

Weird little man

BIDEN REGIME HAS NOW DESTROYED AMERICA’S RELATIONS WITH NIGER, COSTING THE U.S. EVEN MORE URANIUM THAN HILLARY CLINTON FUNNELED TO PUTIN’S RUSSIA.

ANTI-TRUMP HYSTERIA: DEMOCRAT MEDIA OUTLETS PRETEND THAT WHEN TRUMP SAYS JOE BIDEN’S REELECTION WOULD RESULT IN “A BLOOD BATH” IN THE AUTO INDUSTRY IT MEANS HE IS CALLING FOR VIOLENCE. More HERE. And HERE. And HERE. And HERE. And HERE. As all sane, rational human beings knew, by “bloodbath” Trump meant the additional jobs that would be lost in that industry because of Biden’s disastrous policies. Media propagandists may be the only lifeforms lower than America’s career politicians.

democrat party platformUNHINGED DEMOCRAT MAKES RIDICULOUS CLAIM THAT WOMEN WILL BE FORCED TO DRESS AS HANDMAIDENS IF TRUMP RETURNS TO THE WHITE HOUSE. I will say again that anti-Trump loons are the most ignorant, uninformed and emotionally unstable people I have ever encountered. 

THE DEMOCRAT MEDIA OUTLET THE ASSOCIATED PRESS IS FORCED TO ADMIT THEY HAVE NO EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT THEIR RECENT SMEAR AGAINST AN OPPOSITION PARTY CANDIDATE. No surprise there.

flushing justiceCOURAGEOUS JUDGE CALLS OUT THE WAY THAT DONALD TRUMP IS THE ONLY EX-PRESIDENT TO BE HARRASSED OVER DOCUMENTS. But Democrats, who always outmaneuver the clueless, outdated and utterly useless Republican Party, know they can count on the incredible ignorance of the general public regarding the way previous presidents (for decades) have always taken such documents for their presidential libraries and/ or as reference material for their memoirs. 

MENDACITY AND CORRUPTION IN THE JUDICIARY. A terrific piece about America’s fairly recent (starting in 2016) phenomenon of judges and prosecutors confirming that there are long lists of legal violations by Democrats but then, like the ending of an O. Henry story, they say nothing will be done about those violations. Continue reading

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THACH SANH: TALE OF A VIETNAMESE DEITY

FOR MANY MORE VIETNAMESE GODS AND GODDESSES CLICK HERE

thach sanhTHACH SANH – A son of the supreme deity Ngoc Hoang. His father forced him to incarnate as a human and in this demi-god form he fought monsters, rescued the son of the chief sea god Long Vuong, vanquished his evil foster-brother and married a beautiful princess.

He then went on to lead her father’s people in a war of conquest, uniting the legendary and traditional “original 18” villages (though some sources say 15 villages) that were the basis of the nation that eventually grew into ancient Vietnam. Continue reading

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BALLADEER’S BLOG: NAIA COLLEGE BASKETBALL NATIONAL TOURNAMENT ROUND ONE

NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics)

Mid-America Christian University EvangelsWICHITA SITE – The 10 seeds – the MID-AMERICA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY EVANGELS – faced the 7th seeded HASTINGS COLLEGE BRONCOS.

The opening Half was a defensive epic and ended with the Evangels up 28-27. After the break each team added another 40 points to their tally, with Mid-America Christian University edging the Broncos 68-67. Seth Hurd and Mikel Henderson led the Evangels with 16 points each.

university of tennessee southern firehawksMARION SITE – This game pitted the 7th seeded TENNESSEE SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY FIREHAWKS against the 10 seeds – the TOUGALOO COLLEGE BULLDOGS. 

The Firehawks held a comfortable 45-28 lead at Halftime. The Bulldogs mounted a fierce rally from there, but still fell short as Tennessee Southern U. triumphed by a final score of 91-84. Eighteen points from Mark Vance led the Firehawks. Continue reading

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JANUARY 2021: A LOOK BACK

FOR PART ONE (2016) OF THIS RETROSPECTIVE FROM INDEPENDENT VOTER SITE BALLADEER’S BLOG CLICK HERE.

Tulsi Gabbard pictureCOURAGEOUS (THEN) DEMOCRAT TULSI GABBARD BLASTS C.I.A. GARBAGE JOHN BRENNAN AND OTHERS AS DOMESTIC ENEMIES FAR MORE DANGEROUS THAN PROTESTERS. “But let’s be clear, the John Brennans, Adam Schiffs and the oligarchs in Big Tech who are trying to undermine our constitutionally protected rights and turn our country into a police state with KGB-style surveillance are also domestic enemies,” she continued.  And events since 2021 have more than proven her right.

BEST OF BIDEN GOOFS AND GAFFES. Back then this was just the start of the flood of Biden screwups.

pelosi and schumer love illegal immigrantsBLEEDING AMERICA. A terrific post from a fellow blogger about America’s corrupt political establishment. “They wanted to destroy Trump’s wall and open up the border” And we’ve all seen how accurate that statement was. And is.

HOW DO YOU SOLVE A PROBLEM LIKE THE DONALD

SUPERCUT OF DEMOCRATS CALLING FOR POLITICAL VIOLENCE.

MOTHER JONES: TRUMP IS BRUBAKER AND OTHER HEROES. Continue reading

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