Tag Archives: superheroes

August 25, 2015 · 6:48 pm

ANT-MAN: THE EARLY ADVENTURES

Ant-Man 1This past summer Marvel Comics added Ant-Man to their growing list of mega-successful film adaptations of their costumed crime-fighters. By request from a Balladeer’s Blog reader here is my look at the early adventures of that superhero.

1 TALES TO ASTONISH # 27 (January 1962)

Title: The Man in the Ant Hill

Villain: Various hungry ants

Synopsis: The emphasis in this debut story was on Incredible Shrinking Man– style antics. Dr Hank Pym has perfected his shrinking and growing formulas – later retconned to Pym Particles delivered via serum, pills or gas. Testing them on himself the good doctor shrinks and finds himself stuck in the “jungle” of his own back yard struggling to get back to his growth serum. Continue reading →

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August 16, 2015 · 10:41 pm

NEDOR SUPERHERO PANTHEON

With the flood of superhero movies every summer in recent years Balladeer’s Blog will feature periodic examinations of the more obscure comic book companies. 

Cavalier

THE CAVALIER

Secret Identity: Rance Raleigh, owner of an antique and curio shop

Origin: In Raleigh’s store was a portrait of the Duke de Chantreigh, sometimes said to be an ancestor of Rance. When that portrait would frown it was a supernatural sign that danger was coming. Rance would then suit up as the Cavalier and go into action. The first time was when Jake Miles, who was investigating munitions factory sabotage was hit by a truck outside Raleigh’s shop before he could tell him what he had discovered. 

First Appearance: Thrilling Comics # 53 (April 1946). His final Golden Age appearance came in 1948 

Powers: The Cavalier possessed the strength of a normal athletic male but was highly skilled with a sword and at unarmed combat. In addition he often used esoteric weapons and relics from his shop, just like the Golden Age Hawkman would wield artifacts from his museum. Continue reading →

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February 4, 2015 · 11:37 pm

FANTOMAH: PART TWO

Fantomah 2Balladeer’s Blog’s examination of the neglected Golden Age superheroine Fantomah concludes with a look at the final eight stories penned by the one and only Fletcher Hanks under his pseudonym Barclay Flagg.

VII. JUNGLE ACTION #8 (August 1940)

Locale: The Temple of the Boiling Mud, hidden deep within Fantomah’s jungle territory.

Villain: Mister X, another Great White Hunter type, who plans to steal the sacred relic in the Temple of the Boiling Mud then ransom it back to the natives for a fortune.  

The Tale: Fantomah discreetly follows Mister X as he makes his Indiana Jones-ish way to the Temple. After he succeeds in crossing over the boiling mud pit that surrounds the tiny patch of land that the Temple stands on, he penetrates into the Temple itself. Fantomah appears to Mister X and warns him against stealing the relic. The natives believe that if the relic is removed the boiling mud will rise up and flood the entire jungle, wiping out all life. Continue reading →

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February 4, 2015 · 1:16 am

NEGLECTED SUPERHEROINE: FANTOMAH

latest (353×379) Balladeer’s Blog presents the first in my new series about neglected comic book superheroes and heroines of the distant past. With superhero movies and television shows being so popular right now it put me in the mood for some of the obscure and forgotten figures from the Golden Age. Here are my pithy story-by-story takes on our debut figure.

FANTOMAH – This superheroine was created in February of 1940 by Fletcher Hanks under one of his pseudonyms – Barclay Flagg. Hanks is a piece of work all by himself and is described as anything from “a primitive who created Outsider Art” on the good side to “the Ed Wood of comic books” on the bad side.

All of Fletcher Hanks’ comic book creations read like the chronicled psychotic episodes of a not particularly skilled ten year old artist, but his Fantomah stories are my all-time favorites. In the works of Hanks perspective, relative sizes and coloring can all change from frame to frame and the text often doesn’t even match what is being drawn. Continue reading →

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October 8, 2014 · 8:18 pm

FLASH: THE MOST HATED MAN ALIVE PART THREE

HER CAMPAIGN FAILING MISERABLY, WENDY DAVID DECIDED TO TRY HER MOST AUDACIOUS REWRITING OF HER PAST YET, MUCH TO FLASH'S CHAGRIN.

HER CAMPAIGN FAILING MISERABLY, WENDY DAVIS DECIDED TO TRY HER MOST AUDACIOUS REWRITING OF HER PAST YET, MUCH TO FLASH’S CHAGRIN.

 

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September 30, 2014 · 8:29 pm

PART 2 OF FLASH: THE MOST HATED MAN ALIVE

WHEN FLASH WAS KILLED BY A MUSLIM FANATIC THE PRESIDENT ORDERED EVERYONE TO ACT LIKE NOTHING HAPPENED AND THE SHEEPLIKE CITIZENS OBEYED.

WHEN FLASH WAS KILLED BY A MUSLIM FANATIC THE PRESIDENT ORDERED EVERYONE TO ACT LIKE NOTHING HAPPENED AND THE SHEEPLIKE CITIZENS OBEYED.

 

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September 23, 2014 · 8:30 pm

FLASH: THE MOST HATED MAN ALIVE

 

THE CITIZENS OF CENTRAL CITY WERE FINE WITH FLASH'S LOOTING SPREE BUT WHEN HE SAID HE MISSED THE BCS THEY DECIDED THEY'D HAD ENOUGH!

THE CITIZENS OF CENTRAL CITY WERE FINE WITH FLASH’S LOOTING SPREE BUT WHEN HE SAID HE MISSED THE BCS THEY DECIDED THEY’D HAD ENOUGH!

FOR CAPTIONS FEATURING BALLADEER’S BLOG’S OFFICIAL SUPERHERO THE BLACK CONDOR CLICK HERE:  Continue reading →

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March 7, 2014 · 1:30 am

THE MATRIARCH: THE SUPERHEROINE SAVES LAS VEGAS FROM AN ARMY OF PARACHUTING ELVIS PRESLEYS

A photo of the superheroine called the Matriarch in action

A photo of the superheroine called the Matriarch in action

Dateline: Las Vegas, NV  The costumed and voluptuous superheroine known only as the Matriarch was in action once again overnight last night saving the citizens and tourists of Las Vegas from a veritable army of looters all dressed as Elvis Presley and all of whom had parachuted in along the Strip and engaged in a night-long crime spree.

As the hours wore on, however, that crime spree became a running battle with the black-garbed Matriarch, and as she whittled down the numbers of the criminal army that running battle turned into a siege as the crooks attempted to Continue reading →

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January 14, 2014 · 10:13 pm

COSTUMED WOMAN CALLED THE MATRIARCH FOILS LAS VEGAS ROBBERY

THE MATRIARCH, costumed vigilante

THE MATRIARCH, costumed vigilante

Dateline: Las Vegas, NV  A costumed – and voluptuous – vigilante calling herself the Matriarch has declared war on crime. This violent woman has chosen Sin City of all places for her crusade against wrongdoing, a crusade which started two days ago when a young woman reported being saved from an attempted rape by the Matriarch’s timely arrival. The incident would have been dismissed as a hoax if not for the level of damage inflicted on the would-be rapist: the costumed woman whipped him nearly unconscious and then proceeded to kick him between the legs repeatedly with her sharp-toed boots. The accused assailant will likely never achieve a normal erection again for the rest of his life.

Overnight last night the Matriarch struck again, thwarting the attempted armed robbery of the Bellagio Casino. Bizarrely enough the heroine subdued the masked, commando-style gang by Continue reading →

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May 1, 2013 · 3:48 am

EVEN MORE BLACK CONDOR CAPTIONING FUN

Regular readers of Balladeer’s Blog will remember that the 1940’s superhero the Black Condor is my Official Superhero because of how enjoyably absurd he was. Here is the latest round of captioning fun with old covers of the comic books he appeared in.

For Continue reading →

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