Space Hero Meets Space Force SMASH GORDON "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Mongo!"

1940s Space Opera Meets 1960s Space Opera...

...and may the better version win in this spoof strip by noted comic artist Frank Brunner!

It's saying something when you're too much of an unrestrained "space cowboy" for even James T Kirk, eh?

Originally-presented in #1A (1972) of a prozine (a magazine featuring work by both rookie and veteran creatives) called Heritage whose two-issue run was dedicated to Flash Gordon.
This strip written and illustrated by Frank Brunner (who was already working for Marvel as an inker and colorist) is an affectionate tribute to both Flash Gordon and Star Trek, as well as indicating Brunner would've done a dynamite job on either series!
As to why it's here, there's nudity (barely) on pages 2, 3 and 4, and Google has been cracking down on it on any pages with nudity and without a warning label.

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Mythos: Fantasy Art Realms of Frank Brunner

BIG APPLE COMIX "Over and Under"

Here's a fascinating side-by-side comparison...

...of life at the opposite ends of the social and financial spectrums in 1970s NYC!

The left side of the pages is illustrated by Neal Adams, the right side was penciled by Larry Hama and inked by Ralph Reese, both of whom had apprenticed under Wally Wood!

As for who wrote it, well, that's not entirely clear!

It could be the three artists co-wrote the tale (they all have solo writing credits), or any two of the three, or even any one of them..or someone else entirely, like Archie Goodwin, who also contributed to the 1975 one-shot Big Apple Comix!

I'm afraid we'll never know...

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Big Apple Comix

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SUPERBITCH the THIRD Black Superheroine! (Conclusion)

When Last We Left Our Hot Heroine...

...recruited by the US government to rescue missing astronauts, SuperBitch encounters creepy cosmic perils as she retraces their route...

Sadly, this was SuperBitch's only appearance!

Written and illustrated by Ira Harmon in his only print comics work, this 1977 book was part of the output of little-known underground publisher California Comics, who specialized in scantly-clad (and unclad) action heroines!

Harmon cleaned-up the art and reissued the book as a free download HERE.

Note: We're using a scan of the original 1977 book, so it's worth your time to check out his personally-remastered version!

And, Harmon has apparently gotten back into the comics field with a new line of digital books at Reaction Comics!

SUPERBITCH the THIRD Black Superheroine! (Part 1)

Bet you don't remember this Black superheroine...and her rather...unique...superpowers!
Considering she appeared only once, in a poorly-distributed underground comic, that's not surprising!

The fun continues here
Wednesday!

Written and illustrated by Ira Harmon in his only print comics work, this 1977 book was part of the output of little-known underground publisher California Comics, who specialized in scantly-clad (and unclad) action heroines!

Harmon cleaned-up the art and reissued the book as a free download HERE.

Note: We're using a scan of the original 1977 book, so it's worth your time to check out his personally-remastered version!

And, Harmon has apparently gotten back into the comics field with a new line of digital books at Reaction Comics!

UP YOUR NOSE AND OUT YOUR EAR "Ace of Spades II"

When Last We Left Our Afro-American Hero...

...actually, continuity isn't this strip's strongest point.

Just go with the flow...

You'll note the pages are, in fact, scans of the original art, not printed pages from Klevart Enterprises' Up Your Nose and Out Your Ear #2 (1972).

That's because it was easier to find them than a copy of the printed book!

(We detailed what happened when Ross Andru and Mike Esposito attempted a new Humbug/Trump/Help!-style satirical magazine HERE!)

Sadly, this was the last issue.

But, fear not!

We'll be re-presenting more kool stuff from this lost project from almost a half-century ago on this blog!

Watch for it!

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Andru + Esposito

Partners for Life

(which details the background story of Ross Andru and Mike Esposito along with info on of Ace of Spades, Up Your Nose and Out Your Ear and Klevart Enterprises!)

UP YOUR NOSE AND OUT YOUR EAR "Ace of Spades"

If there ever was a politically-incorrect superhero strip...

...it's this deliberately-inflammatory one by comics mainstays Ross Andru and Mike Esposito!

 

You'll note the pages are, in fact, scans of the original art, not printed pages from Klevart Enterprises' Up Your Nose and Out Your Ear #1 (1971).

That's because it was easier to find them than a copy of the printed book!

In the early 1970s, writer/Artist Ross Andru and artist Mike Esposito felt the time was right to try another Trump/Humbug/Help!-level b/w humor mag.

They produced two camera-ready issues of material and shopped them around to various publishers, but none were willing to take the financial risk!

So the duo self-published!

As Mike Esposito explained HERE:

"Well, we did that because we wanted to do a dissenter’s book. Dissension.

We were teed off at the world, and politics, and racial prejudice; everything that was bothering us as liberals.

We were irritated, and we wanted to make a book about it.

We put out a book called “Up Your Nose,” ... Johnny Carson used to have an expression on T.V.: “May the bird of paradise fly up your nose, and out your ear.”

So I said, “Hey. Why not? ‘Up Your Nose and Out Your Ear.’”

“It’s not bad,” Ross said, “Why not?”

So we had t-shirts with the finger going up your nose.

We sold a lot of t-shirts. The college kids loved it.

We were starting our third one with a take-off on Marlon Brando, and we were knocked out of the box because what happened was the distributor said, “We got a winner!”
He got so excited; Kable News, he called us up and said, “We’re going to bury Mad magazine!” Because he approached it as a magazine, not a comic book, like Mad magazine, and he said, “We got a winner!”
Then all of a sudden the books started coming in from Hawaii, from the west coast.
Carloads.
Because they thought it was a drug book.
And it wasn’t!
But when they heard “Up Your Nose;” cocaine.
And also, the main character was Joe Snow.
And that was his name!
My daughter knew him from school.
So he was perfect for the book, and we gave him a contract, and he appears in all the stories in photographs and we’d draw around him..."

We'll be presenting the only other adventure of Ace of Spades next week!

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Andru + Esposito

Partners for Life

(which details the background story of Ross Andru and Mike Esposito along with info on of Ace of Spades, Up Your Nose and Out Your Ear and Klevart Enterprises!)

BIG APPLE COMIX "My Word"

Wally Wood was not above spoofing himself...

...as this never-reprinted reworking of his classic "My World" from EC's Weird Science #22 (1953) proves!

As a look into Wood's psyche, it's frightening.
As art, it's beautirful!
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Big Apple Comix
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BIG APPLE COMIX "Lotsa Yox Featuring Rodger Farnsworth USAAF"

Here's the entire never-reprinted tale...

..from the legendary one-shot underground title Big Apple Comix (1975)!

As to why it's here in Not Safe For Work, simple; it's the naked girl.

Writer/penciler Herb (Incredible Hulk) Trimpe was a major WWI aircraft buff. 

In fact, he had created a WWI aviator-hero strip in the vein of G-8 and His Battle Aces, as seen HERE!

So when the opportunity came to do something NYC-oriented, he thought of a humorous look at King Kong...from the aviators' viewpoint!

Of course, having the detail-oriented inks of Wally Wood, who had rendered numerous WWI dogfights in EC's Aces High and Warren's Blazing Combat didn't hurt, eh?

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Big Apple Comix
#1 (and ONLY!)