Tag Archives: superheroes

December 3, 2016 · 6:25 pm

HAVE YOURSELF A SANDMAN LITTLE CHRISTMAS

have-yourself-a-sandman-little-christmasIn Pop Culture these days it’s Marvel Comics’ world and the rest of us are just innocent bystanders whose homes and places of business get destroyed.

In that spirit here’s a Christmas Season look at what I’ve learned was a milestone story in the Marvel Universe. It was from the very first issue of Marvel Team-Up (1972) and featured Spider-Man and the Human Torch taking on their mutual foe the Sandman on Christmas Eve.

have-yourself-a-sandman-little-christmas-2Years later an unnamed black woman that the pair saved from a mugging got retconned into being Misty Knight, adding even more significance to the issue.

Synopsis: While photographer Peter Parker was covering the Polar Bear Clan’s Christmas Eve dip (yes, it goes back at least that far) the Sandman showed up on the beach after surviving his apparent death in battle with the Hulk months earlier. (For a long time it was a comic book truism that only Bucky stayed dead but apparently even that eventually fell by the wayside.)   Continue reading →

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November 27, 2016 · 8:01 pm

VOLTON (HOLYOKE VERSION)

Here’s another neglected Holyoke figure for our superhero-crazed world.

voltonVOLTON

Secret Identity: None was ever provided

Origin: No origin was ever provided, either. From his very first adventure Volton the Electric Man (not “Electrical Man” like in some sources) stood on guard atop fictional Empire City’s Great Empire City Building.

When needed he would spring to life and fight crime, Bund members and other forces of evil.

volton-2First Appearance: Cat-Man Comics #8 (March 1942). His final Golden Age appearance came later that same year.

Powers: Volton possessed super-strength and super-vision, could fly and could shoot lightning bolts from his hands. In addition he could convert his entire body or just parts of it into a big lightning bolt and stretch like Mr Fantastic or Plastic Man.  Continue reading →

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November 21, 2016 · 11:30 pm

BLACKOUT: HOLYOKE SUPERHERO

Balladeer’s Blog continues to feed the beast that IS our superhero-obsessed world with a look at another forgotten Holyoke Superhero.

blackout-holyokeBLACKOUT

Secret Identity: Jack Wayne, Berlin Correspondent for the New York Globe.

Origin: When America entered World War 2 on the Allied side Jack Wayne and his editor “Pop” Simms were seized by the Gestapo. Since Jack had been a Flying Ace for the Americans during World War One the Gestapo assumed he and Pop were spies and tortured them for information.

Pop was killed by the torture and Jack, though blinded by his interrogator’s whip, managed to escape. He was rescued by the Underground Society, a secret resistance group led by Dr Dismal who – despite his name – was not a supervillain. Dr Dismal ran his resistance group from a secret base far beneath Gestapo Headquarters and, noting that Jack Wayne’s optic nerves were not entirely dead, devised special glasses and a visor he could wear that allowed him to see in daylight OR at night.

Jack donned a costume and under the nom de guerre Blackout joined Dr Dismal’s band of rebels, terrorizing the Nazis by night.  

First Appearance: Cat-Man Comics #10 (May 1942). His final Golden Age appearance came in 1944.

Powers: Continue reading →

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November 16, 2016 · 11:57 pm

DIANA THE ARCHER: HOLYOKE SUPERHEROINE

diana-the-archerDIANA THE ARCHER

Secret Identity: War correspondent Diana Archer. (Yet even SHE thinks people are stupid for not figuring out that whole Superman/ Clark Kent thing.)

Origin: Unknown beyond the obvious fact that – in her costumed identity – she works for British Intelligence with her role as a newswoman serving as a cover for her superheroics. 

First Appearance: Terrific Comics #3 (June 1944). Her final Golden Age appearance came later that same year.

diana-the-archer-2Powers: Diana was in peak physical condition and possessed the maximum strength a human female could possess. In addition she was more agile than an Olympic gymnast and was a champion archer.

Most of Diana’s arrows had normal arrowheads but a few would sport the usual trick-items like grappling hooks, dull edges for concussive impact, miniature explosives, etc, just like those employed by Alias the Spider, the Red Archer and every other bow and arrow-oriented superhero over the decades. However, since it was wartime Diana used her arrows to much deadlier effect. Continue reading →

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November 14, 2016 · 11:44 pm

MORE HEROES ADDED FOR THE HOLYOKE PANTHEON

blaze-baylor-3Technical issues caused delays yesterday but I have added on to the Holyoke Comics pantheon for this superhero-obsessed society.

CLICK HERE

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November 13, 2016 · 11:22 pm

HOLYOKE SUPERHERO PANTHEON

This has become a superhero-crazed culture. Balladeer’s Blog’s previous looks at the superhero rosters of now-defunct comic book companies have been so popular I decided to examine the heroes and heroines of Holyoke Comics.  

doctor-diamond

Any of us could stick a drawing pencil up our butt and draw a better picture.

DOCTOR DIAMOND

Secret Identity: Drake Gorden, MD

Origin: While on a passenger ship in the South Seas Dr Drake Gorden was swept overboard during a typhoon. He washed ashore on an uncharted island inhabited only by a monk formerly from Tibet. The monk decreed Doctor Gorden to be worthy of the Egyptian black diamond he guarded. That jewel bestowed super-powers on Gorden, who returned to the U.S. and fought crime as Doctor Diamond. 

First Appearance: Cat-Man Comics # 1 (May 1941). His final Golden Age appearance came in 1942. 

Powers: The black jewel granted Doctor Diamond the strength of fifty men and an impressive degree of invulnerability. 

Comment: This hero’s foes included Najar the android and the mad scientist Doctor Borcia. Doctor Diamond is one of those Golden Age superheroes who had potential but whose career was tantalizingly short. In my opinion heroes with actual super-powers are preferable to that period’s endless array of ordinary people who simply donned a costume and fought crime.

kittenKITTEN

Secret Identity: Katie Conn

Origin: When she was eleven years old Katie’s parents died in a train accident. She was taken in by her criminally-minded uncle who trained her in acrobatics, unarmed combat and cat-burglary. By age twelve the girl was an expert thief until Cat-Man (Holyoke’s most famous original superhero) nabbed Katie’s nefarious uncle and adopted her. (And you thought Batman’s relationship with Robin was questionable.)

The strong-willed girl donned a costume of her own and – calling herself Kitten – was determined to fight crime as Cat-Man’s sidekick. The superhero tried to dissuade Katie but her independence and streetwise nature made that impossible. Deciding she was safer working at his side he accepted her as his partner.

First Appearance: Cat-Man Comics # 1 (May 1941). Her final Golden Age appearance came in 1946.

Powers: Unlike Cat-Man, Kitten had no super-powers. However, she was more agile than an Olympic gymnast and was in peak condition for a female her age. In addition her cat-burglary skills and street-fighting abilities made her a very capable superheroine. In a few stories her gloves were clawed.  

Comment: Kitten often teamed up in separate adventures with Mickey Matthews, the boy sidekick of the Holyoke superhero called the Deacon. The pair fought criminals and Nazi supervillains as the Little Leaders.   Continue reading →

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October 22, 2016 · 5:37 pm

TOP FOUR SUPERHERO PANTHEONS COVERED AT BALLADEER’S BLOG

australian-superheroesWith superhero Cosplay rivalling monster themes for Halloween these days I figured it was a good time to showcase the various superhero pantheons that Balladeer’s Blog has examined in a style similar to my mythology posts.

***

Dark NebulaAUSTRALIAN SUPERHEROES

Sampling: Vixen – She’s part human and part fox … The Jackaroo – Picture a costumed Crocodile Dundee … The Technocrat – She’s a mutant technopath with a flying rocket-skateboard … The Southern Squadron – Australia’s home-made team of superheroes.  

Top Hero On List: Dark Nebula – A cosmic and mystical hero whose adventures combine science fiction and the supernatural, like Doctor Strange meets Green Lantern. 

Comment: For this list I went ONLY with superheroes created by Australian writers and artists and published in Australia.

FOR THE OTHER AUSTRALIAN HEROES CLICK HERE  Continue reading →

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September 17, 2016 · 11:24 pm

FOOLKILLER BATTLES THE SCAVENGER OF ATLANTA

Foolkiller but first they must be stopped

Foolkiller drawing his Purification Gun.

These days in pop culture it’s Marvel Comics’ world and the rest of us are just possible LMD’s. Regarding one of their rare missteps my script doctoring of Marvel’s handling of Foolkiller continues with Part 22. Wonder what all this is about? FOR PART ONE CLICK  HERE 

Foolkiller (Greg Salinger) attempts to end the reign of terror of the Scavenger of Atlanta, at that time still on the loose following the hurried wrap-up to the 1970s run of the original Man-Thing series.  

*** ADULT THEMES AND VIOLENCE ***  

We’re up to issue number five of the Foolkiller solo series.  Continue reading →

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September 17, 2016 · 4:30 pm

BATWOMAN (1968) MOVIE REVIEW

This time around the subject is the 1968 Mexican film Batwoman (La Mujer Murcielago).

Batwoman 1For starters this should NOT be confused with the Jerry Warren film The Wild, Wild World of Batwoman, but often is because Warren was the stateside distributor for plenty of Mexican films in the 50s and 60s. This movie is purely a Luchadora film with Batwoman being a wrestler as well as a seasoned crime fighter.   

It’s not quite fair to call this a “bad” film, but it is a bit of a weird one. In my view it’s much tighter and more entertaining than most of the El Santo movies from Mexico. And I’m not just saying that because of how incredibly sexy the star Maura Monti is. She has an arresting (see what I did there) figure that’s perfect for her version of the Batwoman outfit: a bikini, boots, mask and cape. 

Batwoman 2Like the Turkish movie Three Dev Adam, which features Spider-Man, Captain America and El Santo, this little honey did not pay for character rights but slipped under the radar long ago thanks to its south-of-the- border origins. Maura Monti has a certain screen presence that was lacking in other Luchadora flicks like Wrestling Women vs the Aztec Mummy. And this movie is nowhere near the embarrassment that Halle Berry’s Catwoman was. Continue reading →

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September 4, 2016 · 8:54 pm

SUPERMAN VS LOIS LANE: ZACK SNYDER’s NEXT MOVIE

superman cover

She also never expected him to get so much enjoyment out of killing her. Look at that smile!

(FOR A SERIOUS LOOK AT AUSTRALIAN SUPERHEROES CLICK HERE  )

Another entertainment world scoop for Balladeer’s Blog. My sources in the industry – and by the industry I mean the business – have told me Zack Snyder’s next foray into pointlessly glum and operatically melodramatic superhero stories will see Superman killing off his love interest Lois Lane.

Unfortunately audiences may have quite a long wait for this little honey because first Kal El has to be brought back to life in the Justice League movie.

Snyder’s plan for a film trilogy about the last day in the life of Bruce Wayne’s parents will also get in the way since my sources tell me that Zack STILL doesn’t think that audiences understand Batman’s origin story. Continue reading →

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