Jack Kirby-Censored?! 1976 CAPTAIN AMERICA Cover Art! Marvel Comics!

SAY IT AIN'T SO! The great Jack Kirby--censored? Re-drawn? Embellished?! All true! Dig this 1976 cover art to CAPTAIN AMERICA # 207! Below, left, you can see the "King's" original cover art (with inks by Frank Giacoia), depicting a stern Cap peering at the embattled enemy hordes! But, if ya glance to the right of said image, you'll see the mightily modified head of our harried hero, patched up by (what looks like) the pen of John Romita Sr. (and inks by Giacoia)! Why? Sure, Jack's figures could be just a bit wonky by this time in his career, but ain't that part of the charm of Kirby art? It's like no other's! Alas, the revised version is what was published (final image below), and who's to say which was the more powerful? Click to enlarge, compare, and decide for yourself, frantic one!

The final printed version is also a bit marred by the
odd purple tone given to Cap's outfit!

Bob and Ray! The 50s Years! 1953 TV GUIDE Pics and Article!

Time for a real change of pace for a moment (as if my Monkees posts don't qualify for that)! I've loved the audio hi-jinks of master satirists BOB AND RAY for some time now, so here is a frantic post on the team! From a 1953 TV GUIDE issue, we get to peer into the keen minds of these two sharpies, who began spoofing the underside of celebrity, movies, politicians, and other over-puffed blowhards and institutions in those early days! The duo continued right up until Ray's untimely 1990 passing, but thanks to tons of fan-saved recordings, any modern comedy fan can laugh along with spoofs of such things as PLANET OF THE APES, MANNIX, soap operas, news teams, and kid's shows! If you love the dry humor of the POLICE SQUAD! show, or anything that lets the air out of the pompous and over-evaluated world we live in (now more than ever) give the duo a try! BONUS: In the 50s, Bob and Ray were picked to transform some of their hilarious radio scripts into MAD magazine pieces, mostly drawn by the inimitable Mort Drucker! Click to enlarge, and remember to "hang by your thumbs!"!

Yep! Bob and Ray actually had a short-lived TV show in the 50s, with frequent
co-star Audrey Meadows!

Morbius! Spider-Man's Vampire Foe! 1974 Original Trading Card Art! Marvel Comics!

Talk about rare! Here is an original color art master for the famed 1974 "Comic Book Heroes" sticker set from the Topps folks! This is Morbius, the "Living Vampire," a then-popular foe of the ever-amazing Spider-Man! This art would be later married to some background elements and text (a supposedly "funny" quotation), as part of a multi-card set that made use of some of the best art Marvel had to offer! In this case, Gil "Sugar Lips" Kane is honored, with his terrific art on display! Gil was a main Marvel master artist at the time, providing not only mucho interiors for several books, but most of the covers of the day! Click here to see more examples of this peculiar production artwork for Topps Cards! Click image below to enlarge!

If you clicked on that first link above, you'd see how Morbius' sticker pose here
was modified from the cover art to AMAZING SPIDER-MAN # 101! Note also
the changes to the legs and feet between production art and final printing!

The Monkeemobile! See The New Trailer?! The Monkees' 1966 Custom Car! Davy Jones!

Anyone who digs cars has to dig the Monkeemobile! Customized by car guru Dean Jeffries, this was a heavily modified 1966 Pontiac GTO, complete with extended engine, pipes, custom interior, chutes, and so much more! But, one addition that didn't quite make the cut? A pull-behind trailer. Yep! The idea was for the traveling group to haul a pop-up stage, for the benefit of giving impromptu concerts as needed, both on the zany sit-com, and in real-life appearances! The story goes that, once the four band members first spied the decidedly up-hip and clunky accessory, they nixed it right in the parking lot! Some footage and pics still exist of the super-square stage idea (see below), but it woulda certainly spoiled the image of the fire-red monstrous Monkeemobile if included on any rambunctious road trips! Click images below to enlarge, custom car kooks!

Below, left: Actual blueprint designs for the car, made before construction began (right)!

Below: Davy Jones (left) with Monkeemobile designer, Dean Jeffries!

Yep! Both the original car, and several replicas,
are still around for promotional appearances
and charity events!

Swingin' 70s SPIDER-MAN Sunday Strip! Aunt May Sick! Kraven Makes Plans! Marvel Comics!

Wow! Spidey's done with his awesome origin recap, but that doesn't mean his worries are over! Ever-doting Aunt May is sick (again), former gal-pal Mary Jane is in far-off Florida with feckless Flash Thompson, and, as if that weren't enough, it looks like Kraven the hunter is cooking up a new batch of plans for stalking Spidey! Will it ever end? Let's hope not, for this is stellar stuff, by Stan Lee and John Romita, Sr.! Click to enlarge, Web-Snappers!

Once again, notice the expert use of color, for isolating characters,
directing the eye, and overall mood and scene changes!

INCREDIBLE HULK! Lou FerrigNo-Show?! 1979 Magazine Article and Pics! Marvel!

As a testament to the prodigious popularity of the late-70s INCREDIBLE HULK TV show, almost every Hollywood magazine of the day covered the show and it's stars, mostly tackling "Hulk" himself, Lou Ferrigno! Dig this 1979 piece, from the then-ubiquitous GOSSIP magazine (remember equally ubiquitous and obnoxious Rona Barrett?)! Lou was the must-have interview subject then, but, due to the heavy shooting schedule on the HULK set (and his grueling physical work-out routine), could only give so much time to intrepid interviewers!  Such is the case with this resolute reporter, who goes on a NANCY DREW-like trek to obtain an audience with Louie! But, that doesn't mean we don't learn some new things about the famed bodybuilder! Click to enlarge and enjoy!

A lot of the pics included with this article come from the filming of
"Married," the 2nd season HULK opener!

Add-A-Patch Update! Superman! Batman and Robin! Rare 1973 DC Comics Patches!

Recall this familiar ad (below), from the Add-A-Patch Emblem Company, that ran in DC Comic books around 1973? 

The patches advertised were sold only thru mail-order, and today are very rare and hard to find, even online! But, thanks to the fantastic Batcave Trophy Room site, here are the little-seen Batman and Robin patches! BONUS! You get to see the also-rare "World's Finest" patch, with Superman and Batman rocking it together!

I had both (as well as most of the patches you see in the ad), but they've been long lost since I proudly paraded these emblems on the back of my navy-blue jacket (see pic below), in New Jersey, circa 1973!

  I still, somehow, managed to hold on to the Riddler and Catwoman patches (click here), but the rest of the Bat-cast is now only a memory.  Gotta love these lo-res (but colorful) interpretations of that great Silver Age Carmine Infantino art! Now you can say your life is complete, patch-patriots! Click to enlarge!