This weekend’s light-hearted, escapist superhero post from Balladeer’s Blog looks at DC’s team of adventurers called the Challengers of the Unknown.
SHOWCASE Vol 1 #6 (Feb 1957)
Title: The Secret of the Sorcerer’s Box
Villains: Morelian and creatures from Pandora’s Box
Synopsis: In this origin story, wrestling champion Rocky Davis, scuba diving marine biologist Professor Walter Haley, war veteran jet pilot Ace Morgan and circus daredevil Red Ryan miraculously survive a plane crash. Deciding that the odds of them surviving were so low they consider themselves living on borrowed time, so they devote themselves to challenging the unknown.
After attracting publicity over some minor escapades, the Challengers of the Unknown are hired by millionaire Mr. Morelian to open Pandora’s Box and survive. Our heroes take the box to a remote desert island and open the relic.
The Challengers defeat the menaces unleashed by Pandora’s Box – a giant lizard, a miniature sun, a giant stone warrior and more. With the dangers eliminated, Morelian steals the ring he wanted from the box and flees, only to die when his escape craft crashes. Continue reading
America’s 250th birthday is coming up in July, so over the next few months Balladeer’s Blog will take a look at the anniversary years 1826, 1876, 1926 and 1976.
U.S. President: John Quincy Adams Vice President: John C. Calhoun Speaker of the House: John W. Taylor Chief Justice: John Marshall 
THE CITY OF SPIDERS (1926) – Short story by H. Warner Munn. This quasi-Creature Feature type tale featured biologist Jabez Pentreat. 
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME – Fighting it out for the crown were the PARKLAND COLLEGE COBRAS and the ELLSWORTH COLLEGE PANTHERS. The Cobras had mustered a 35-28 advantage going into the locker room. After the break, Parkland College eked out a bit more separation from the favored Panthers as they won the game 76-68. Jaiden Martin’s THIRTY-FOUR points led the Cobras. 
ELITE EIGHT: FIRST BERTH – The GULF COAST STATE COMMODORES played the INDIAN HILLS COLLEGE WARRIORS in this game. The Commodores put Indian Hills College on Upset Alert at Halftime with their 41-35 lead. From there, the Warriors rallied but fell just short as Gulf Coast State prevailed 72-70. The Commodores were led by Devontes Cobbs with 17 points. 
MAZEPPA – No relation to Tchaikovsky’s opera Mazeppa, this blog post refers to comedian, artist and actor Gailard Sartain, who got his start playing the wizard Mazeppa (center left) while hosting Tulsa, Oklahoma’s late Saturday night Bad Movie show called The Uncanny Film Festival and Camp Meeting. 
In between films came old educational shorts, black & white sci-fi shows, weird cartoons, you name it. It was like a countrified forerunner of Night Flight from later decades. 
And let’s quickly address the nice coincidence of Mazeppa and Busey’s character Teddy Jack Eddy hosting campy rock and roll movies like Don’t Knock the Rock, Untamed Youth or Shake, Rattle and Rock only for Busey to go on to play Buddy Holly and Sartain to play the Big Bopper in The Buddy Holly Story. 
BORDER PATROL (1959) – Based on actual case files of the United States Border Patrol, this half-hour series ran for 39 episodes and starred Richard Webb of Captain Midnight fame. Webb played Don Jagger, Deputy Chief of the Border Patrol, yet oddly he took part in individual cases. Why not just make him an agent or officer? I guess the creative team felt Deputy Chief sounded cooler. 
As the Argo pulled into Colchis, King Aeetes and his family – including his daughter Medea – observed their arrival. The Royal Family was on hand because of a dream that the goddess Hera had sent to Aeetes regarding foreign forces that would take Medea across the seas. 
Balladeer's Blog 