Yellowjacket Webnesdays: Horror in Hotel

The Web usually got knee-deep into trouble that his alter ego, Professor John Raymond, had initially gotten involved in. Which kinda makes sense, since he was a criminologist and crime writer on the side, not dissimiliar from Charlton's Yellowjacket. However, MLJ Comic's resident spider-man found threats not in Hollywood but in a hotel as in this weeks tale:



What secret does this mysterious stranger possess to engender such interest in these nefarious nimrods? What special gadget will the Web unleash on his adversaries? Let's find out...



That's it? What exactly was the purpose of all this chaos? Apparently the writer (not either superhero's other identity, we would hope) left this to our imagination. Which is okay but kind of a cheat, storytelling wise. And the gimmick at Web's disposal... a robe! Not exactly a webline or the exploding web-balls his son John Jr. would use decades hence, but still doable.

What will next tax the terrific talents of our two troubleshooters? Find out next week...

Yellowjacket Webnesdays: Adventure of the Hollywood Blackmailers

After a lengthy hiatus, we're back with an edition of Yellowjacket Webnesdays where we revisit the thrilling (or semi-entertaining, anyways) adventures of the bold bee-boy of the 1940's.

How will this mystery unfold further? What secret weapon will Yellowjacket unleash (hint: it's a vitamin... no not Miraclo nor 2-X... he had his own special formula). The answers are in part 2...

Interesting way of melding the civilian occupation with the costumed career of Vince Harley. And no one is the wiser that he's one-in-the-same despite a lack of a mask. His doppleganger the Web will himself also be drawn into a web of conflict that his alter ego has to resolve, upcoming...

Charlton, Incorporated: Slueth Suits

We think Vic Sage finally met his match, no offense Renee Montoya!

Marvel Mondays: The Other Yellowjacket

Quit complaining bug boy. Least you both have a gal to fly by your side!

Charlton, Incorporated: Atomic Aces

Lose the mohawk and maybe you'll get a gal, Al!

Marvel Mondays:Webheads Love Redheads

Think again, Spidey. Rose is more a nag than MJ. Course you don't have to worry about that these days, ey?

Charlton, Incorporated: Shady Romance

Marvel Mondays: Super-Soldiers

True, Joe, but at least Steve has (had?) an admantium shield which beats your supersuit!

Sitcom Saturdays: Derby's Funniest...er Finest

Last week we asked how a promotional still featuring the Charlton quartet compared with sitcom's fantastic four from Seinfeld. To sum up thus far:

• Jerry Seinfeld = Captain Atom
• Elaine Benes = Nightshade
• George Costanza = Question
• Cosmo Kramer = Blue Beetle

Well, let's check out one scene from our proposed new comedy for next fall's lineup, Derbyfeld:

(Yes, yes, lame. Give us credit for at least thinking outside the box if nothing else. You may now return to your serious online browsing, folks. Drive home safely)

Friday Fiends: Foreign Femme Fatales

Our twin masters of materializing, MLJ's minor league hero Bob Phantom and Charlton's major league villain the Ghost, had more in common than teleporting into troublesome situations. Or their flair for capes and cowls.

Both encountered foreign femme fatales that continually plagued their existence and nearly cost them their lives. Matching their mastery of manipulation of men and machines, Phantom and Ghost outsmarted Japan's Ah-Ku and Sunaria's high priestess using a combination of their potent prowess and their persistence patience even in the face of danger.

While the grand advisor of the Sunarian race of warrior women operated behind-the-scenes until the final confrontation between her people's Faceless One (although the Ghost was not, in fact, their legendary leader... he only looked exactly like him for some strange inexplicable reason), Ah-Ku repeatedly quarreled with Bob Phantom over several cases until she was finally defeated by her adversary.

There are a series of tales chronicled elsewhere on the web that preserve this little known fictional fiend for future fans of fabulous fab fighters of freedom. Although, from the picture above, it was Bob Phantom who was the "fiend" in her eyes, much like the Priestess. And, from a certain perspective, that is definitely true as both enigmatic entities were a thorn in the collective sides of our greedy gals and their minions.

Charlton, Incorporated: Insect Inventors

Which is cooler... a solar powered suit or flying bug? Yeah, we'd take the bug too!

Marvel Mondays: Creature Counterparts

Animal alias...check. Red jumpsuit....check! Strong physique...check! Wolverine style hair...check!

Sitcom Saturdays: A Comic About Nothing

When you boil down the fantastuc four of the Charlton Comics universe, you find startling similarities with a famous sitcom, Seinfeld:

1. The centerpiece of our quartet, Seinfeld, is bubbling with energy and thirsts to be a hero of the caliber of Captain Atom (well, of a certain Man of Steel, actually)
2. The femme friendly of our foursome can take care of herself in the tough streets of the big city, like Nightshade.
3. George is the man who questions life in all its complexities, like a Mister Vic Sage.
4. Then there is the creative mind and quirky personality, a dead ringer for Blue Beetle. 

So how would an actual Seinfeld promotional still work with the Charlton cast look? Tune in next week to find out...

Friday Fiends: Green With Greed

This installment of Friday Fiends is brought to you by the letters M D D. What do they stand for? An obscure but nevertheless enduring character in the Archie Comics mythos.

Mad Doctor Doom first appeared in the fall of 1962 as a foil for a Little Archie. Accompanied by his boy sidekick Chester, Doom (not to be confused with Victor Von at a Marvelous competitor, who appeared around the same time) continued to bedevil the lad eight additional times before graduating into the big time... and modern day... when he took on a grown-up Mr. Andrews under the alias of Captain Pureheart the Powerful. At times assisted by Pureheart's frienemy Reggie "Evilheart" Mantle, Archie's alter ego had to enlist the aid of his fellow heroes Superteen and Captain Hero to tackle the pair.

Not only was old Doom green with envy, thirsting for world domination (or at least, Riverdale rule) over on Archie's Earth, on the parallel Earth-MLJ where a golden age Archie and his gang rubbed shoulders with the likes of the Shield, another green skinned gone similar to the mad doctor arrived on the scene. Dueling with Steel Sterling, the Monster Master started out a normal scientist until his super-computer transformed him into something more hideous and heinous. And then, of course, Earth-Four had the Preying Mantis who also turned green while battling the Blue Beetle.

It was refreshing to see that Archie, Mighty, and Charlton Comics each decided to focus a bit of attention to that most ignored of minorites... the greenskins. Think it had anything to do with yet another scientist, a Mister Robert Bruce Banner, perhaps?

Crusadering Caps: New Sentinels of Justice

Among the templates upon which Bill Black rebuilt his Sentinels of Justice, after the departure of their original members from Charlton Comics, was that of Captain Atom. Wait... we considered him previously with Stardust... who emulated the more cosmic aspects that made Nathaniel Adam's alter ego his world's premier protector.

Charlie Starrett was a 19th century ranch hand who assumed the identity of the Latigo Kid. After a conflict on the planet Rur, upon which Stardust resided, Starrett was enlisted in the early 20th century to become their protector named Captain Paragon after consuming a Life Fluid and Stellar Erg Implanter. Although under suspended animation for 30 years after his battle in 1952 with the Black Shroad (shades of Atom's arch-foe the Ghost), Paragon became a founding member of the Sentinels.

As for the seeming duplication of the Cap Atom template,  remember that the good Captain became embroiled in conflicts with an alien race of Sunurian warrior women, much like Stardust's own peoples. Perhaps, had the queeen of their race had time to siphon off some of the hero's abilities upon herself, she would've manifested into her world's own variation of sizzling sister. Alas, she was busy squashing the schemes of her planet's monarch, the Ghost, and never had the chance.

Friday Fiends: VS New Sentinels of Justice

Commando D was the last member of the Sentinels of Justice from the Americomics-verse, and followed similar elements to other smart superheroes. Originally, lab technician Kon-Nar of the parallel world of the Altrann was used as a template for a size-shifting super-soldier to combat the equally malleable menace known as the Vardax. These reptilian desired claiming the world as their latest conquest, and after being overwhelmed by their forces, Kon-Nar and his girlfiend Dorna escaped to Earth.

It was there that Dorna perished, bequeathing her ring to young Denny Bryant, a ring that housed a minaturized chamber which actived Kon-Nar's abilities. Using the dual identity of Connor Page the unassuming civilian and in his costume alias, Commando D! Like Earth-Four's Peter Cannon, the Thunderbolt, Commando also harnessed mythical might from the mental magnificence of a secluded civiliztion. And, like John Raymond aka the Web over on Earth-MLJ, he favored the colors green and yellow while having a red head drapped over his shoulder (a lot less nagging than Rose, Web's wife, we would imagine).

As for the Friday Fiends, the serpentile Vardax? They followed their prey to Earth-AC and drew the attention of the then formed Sentinels to retrieve imprisoned teammate Scarlet Scorpion. Yet their loss is Justice's gain in the form of a giant of man, literally and metaphorically.

Brave Bug Boys: New Sentinels of Justice

As with the Blue Beetle from Charlton, and the Fly from Archie's Mighty Comics, the Scarlet Scorpion was the latest incarnation of a legacy. While the golden and silver age Blue Beetles were a police officer on super-vitamins and then an archeologist with a powerful gem, and Thomas Troy was capable to fly by his fly-ring, the Scropions were more grounded in the mundane machinations of modern methods.

Poor Mike McCluskey was a truck driver for a mob operation, caught in the middle of their sinister ways, leaving him with serious injuries. Cured by an injection of a cell regeneration virus by microbiologist Myla Chang, Mike gains a new leash on life when he was presented with the costume of a hero from thirty years previous. As the new Scarlet Scorpion, Mike swiftly gained the trust of local law enforcement. Like his fictional inspirations at other comic publishers, Mike had superstrength and physical attributes far above those of mortal men, whcih would draw him into membership within the Sentinels of Justice of the Americomics universe... of which we'll consider...

Dark Damsels: New Sentinels of Justice

From the Phantom Lady, a superheroines published in 1940's Quality Comics, sprung a sub-genre of dark damsels that have been replicated again... and again... and again. Always with similar elements that highlight brave brunettes battling bad guys.

While Charlton Comics presented Eve Eden as Nightshade, a survivor of a shadow dimension with the ability to turn herself into a shadow and teleport between dimensions. Later, Archie's Red Circle Comics revived the concept in Darkling, aka Darla Lang, a dimension traveling heroine whose powers derived from her cloak. Blending all these elements were filtered into the Blue Bulleteer, the World War II costumed alter ego of Laura Wright who acquired a similar cloak providing her abilities on par with her Sentinels of Justice compatriots when the debuted in 1983.

Team-Up Tuesdays: New Sentinels of Justice

Indeed the Sentinels of Justice were not one-hit wonders... although they were pretty close to qualifying. Thankfully, writer Bill Black decided to quickly revive the Sentinels of Justice brand when its members, all Charlton characters about to be assimilated into DC's Multiverse. However, in order to preserve the modest momentum they tried to maintain, they needed heroes that would fill the roles of the original team's members Captain Atom, Nightshade, the Question and Blue Beetle. And so, we present today's titantic team-up.

First thing you'll notice when comparing the twin teams... no faceless man in a fadora. Kinda hard act to follow? However, the Americomic-verse had others to fill the bill of the remaining senior Sentinels, from the energy avenger, the colorful creeper, the darknight damsel, the crusadering captains. We can take this comparison farther...

For instance, just Stardust and the Shield (Lancelot Strong) mimic one another, so to do Scarlet Scorpion and the Fly, Nightveil and Nightshade, Captain Paragon and the original Shield, and Commando D and the Web. In each case, we have heroes that fit specific niches that complement one another. Alas these Sentinels were only a platform to introduce the much more enduring, and successful, Femme Force. But that is another story.

And this one continues as we dissect this do-gooder division...

Cosmic Crusaders: New Sentinels of Justice

When Americomics acquired the superhero properties from the then defunct Charlton Comics, the publisher quickly moved to assemble a team to spotlight these heroes as a team, something novel from this group of good guys and gal. So in 1983, the Sentinels of Jusice debutted and appeared exactly once before being shelved until they were integrated into the DC Comics Multiverse in 1985. Meanwhile, the aspiriing publisher guided by editor/writer Bill Black found it a prime opportunity to ride the crest of modest success  of the original Sentinels, modeling a new team after the originals yet with distinct differences.

One such divergent doppleganger in the Americomic-verse was Stardust, which according to  Wikipedia was originally "Dr. Mara, a top scientist and political dissident from the female-dominated planet Rur. Looking for a weapon to use against the invading Kronons, Mara revives the hibernating Earth hero Captain Paragon and attempts to enlist his help in the battle. While trying to convince Captain Paragon to help, Mara accidentally enters the Stellar Erg Implanter, which gives her super powers."

Mixing elements of Captain Atom and Captain Lancelot Strong, aka the silver age Shield over at Red Circle Comics,  Mara empowered superheroines in a manner unheard of either on Earth-Four or Earth-MLJ, making her unique among her peers who mirrored their Charlton and Archie templates. Her teammates would harken back to our featured players here on this blog...