Unusual Heroes: Dracula #1 (Dell, 1966)

 

Although Halloween passed weeks ago, I never got a chance to post about Dracula, the Dell superhero version from 1966. Dell's Dracula was part of an attempt to merge Universal monsters into superhero form, and similar versions were released featuring Frankenstein and The Werewolf.

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DC Diversions: Ekko

DC Diversions is a new feature here at OTBP that will take a look at some of the more obscure characters and hidden gems among the DC universe. Today's diversion is Ekko, a story that was featured in three issues (#4, 5 and 6) of New Talent Showcase in 1984.

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Unusual Heroes: Captain Zilog! #1 (Zilog, 1979)

It's time for another Unusual Hero, so let me introduce you to Captain Zilog, who became the face of Zilog Inc., the microcontroller manufacturing company. It was 1979, and Zilog had just released the Z8000, a 16-bit microprocessor for computers, and wanted to come up with an eye-popping brochure for their latest product at the upcoming Wescon conference.

And from the looks of things, they found the right guys to make it. Lou Brooks wrote and designed the idea, while the legendary Joe Kubert provided the pencils, and by adding a rich amount of four-color brightness Captain Zilog was born.

The first part of the comic details the origin of Captain Zilog as we watch programmer Nick Stacey get eaten by a glowing CRT screen, where he is given a microprocessor which shall be the "beginning of a new freedom for man's imagination!"

Before we know it, Cityville is invaded by a giant spaceship inhabited by the diabolical Dr. Diabolicus, who warns the citizens that he is now the SUPREME MASTER! Nick finds a restroom to turn into Captain Zilog and the battle begins.

The Cap uses his innate knowledge of microprocessing power to trick Dr. Diabolicus into faster, more lethal moves!

It's very strange reading about the kind of technology we had way back in 1979. To see 8 megabytes of computing power as the godsend back then is a thing to behold. I mean, take a look at some of this tech!

The second part of the story focuses on Dr. Diablolicus' plans for revenge. He decides to use his miniturization process to shrink down to microscopic size, allowing him to infiltrate Captain Zilog's computer! But as you are about to see, the Z8000 is one computer not to mess with!

The Zilog Z8000 CPU went on to become one of the first true multi-user systems that could share resources before networking became common, but was soon overshadowed by Intel brand microprocessors in the early 80's.

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Unusual Heroes: Omni-Man (Lighthouse, 1989)

Readers of OTBP will probably remember my post about L.I.F.E. Brigade, a Blue Comet comic that was amazing in it's absurdity and amateur artwork. My most recent post, The Electronaut, featured a Canadian hero straight out of the 80's. Well, I've found a comic that just might rival both of those, and it's none other than Omni-Man #1! 

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Unusual Heroes: Electronaut (Icon Text, 1987)

In the 1980's, and long before the internet, electromagnetic waves were the source of most communication forms. Canadian Curt Shoultz tapped into that technology as inspiration for the superhero he created, and in 1987 The Electronaut #1 was born. The story revolves around a company called Wavision in Brandon, Manitoba. Scientists there are working on a suit that can read all forms of electromagnetic waves, and due to recent security threats, they need to hire an undercover agent to supervise the company.

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Unusual Heroes: Bleu Horn #1 (Lewis Studios, 1993)

Here at OTBP, no comic is safe from the dusty bargain bins I find them in. Not everything I find or post is going to be worthy of recommendation. Some are just so odd you have to wonder what the creators were thinking at the time, and such is the case with Bleu Horn #1.

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Unusual Heroes: Pteranoman! #1 (Kitchen Sink, 1990)

Don Simpson is best known for the hilarious antics of his Megaton Man creation, but he also created many other characters such as Pteranoman: Dinosaur Fighter!...a guy that dresses up as a dinosaur and...fights dinosaurs!

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Unusual Heroes: Berzerker #1 (Gauntlet, 1993)

Berzerker began life on Gary Carlson's (of Big Bang Comics) spiral notepad during high school way back in 1974. Originally called the Terminator, the character was a cyborg sent back in time to stop sentient machines from killing humans. Sound familiar? That would be because the 1985 movie of the same name shared many common themes with Carlson's idea, although Carlson has chalked this up to just coincidence.

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Unusual Heroes: Sidney Mellon's Thunderskull! #1 (Slave Labor, 1989)

There are heroes, and then there is Thunderskull!...a hero that could only exist within the fantasies of young Sidney Mellon. A smart fellow, you might have caught Mellon's name within the columns of comic-book letter pages in the late 80's, spewing fanboy kitsch among the masses.

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Unusual Heroes: L.I.F.E. Brigade (Blue Comet Comics, 1986)

Depending upon your level of intellectual open-mindedness...L.I.F.E. Brigade #1 just might be one of the most amazing obscure comics you'll ever find in the 80's era...or the most idiotic. Created by C.A. Stormon, the Brigade features a bevy of interesting (and slightly neurotic) characters:

Long John Lazer:  Leader of the Brigade. Can shoot a lazer-beam from his left eye, which has caused that side of his face to mutate John into one ugly mofo. The mullet doesn't help!
The Ray Gun Kid: Sports a weird-looking helmet and two generic guns. No one knows much about him.
Rochel Windraven: An Indian Shamaness with spiritual powers such as ESP and teleportation.
The Blue Comet: Silly looking hero that can fly around space and wields the power of a comet.
The Atomic Oracle: A powerful robot that was discovered and built by the Brigade. Looks like a ripoff of Acroyear of Micronauts fame.

The first issue kicks off like an old movie I saw recently but can't remember the name of. The L.I.F.E. Brigade are on a mission to find a new planet that can sustain life when they spy a group of armored aliens burying a large box.

 Blue Comet uses his powers to open the box, and the group finds parts to build a "Totally Radical!" robot.

 

The robot dons his armor and chooses to help the L.I.F.E. Brigade after some introductions....

....yep, this is how Blue Comet gets his powers.

And there you have it, the L.I.F.E. Brigade.

The next chapter focuses on helping the Atomic Oracle retrieve his "self" computer-chip, which is hidden deep within the caves of a small moon. Once they retrieve the chip they are attacked by those darned armored aliens again...and proceed to obliterate every alien in sight...in one panel!

And more origin stories are revealed!

Thanks to the Atomic Oracle's new chip, he is able to warp-speed the Brigade back to planet Earth, where they find evolution has reversed and taken a turn for the worse.

No sooner do they arrive when they are attacked by....well wouldn't ya know it, those damned armored aliens again!

The Brigade are able to shoot down all of the alien-fighter ships, but the Emperor's ship escapes...leaving one mad alien king begging for vengeance!

And there you have the bulk of the first issue of L.I.F.E. Brigade. The writing didn't win any awards and almost singlehandly ruined the comic, that is if the artwork hadn't been this spectacular in it's uniqueness. I really enjoy Stormon's art styles...he has an underground drawing style that really appeals to the eye.

Three issues of L.I.F.E. Brigade are floating around out there in the basements of the world. It might behoove you to seek these out, that is...if you are open to enjoying a bizarrely generic space opera from hell.

And here's a cool depiction of L.I.F.E. Brigade by some guy named Wong:

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Unusual Heroes: Tigress #1 (Basement Comics, 1997)

With a busier schedule and some out-of-town trips I was unable to post as many Halloween comics as I would have liked, but no worries...I will save the rest for next year. Now that October has faded into memory, time to get back to the good ol' obscure stuff.

Tigress #1 is based off of the below illustration by Mike Hoffman, which is inspired by the beautiful artwork of a man that goes by the name of Frank Frazetta. It amazes me how many people Frazetta's art has inspired to pick up a pencil and begin drawing, and Hoffman is no exception. He captures the essence of Frazetta's style perfectly here, with a story to go along with it that would make Wally Wood proud.

The story involves a strange, uncharted world full of prehistoric dinosaurs, giant bugs, and....well cat-women. A rocketship approaches the planet, responding to a beacon sent by a lost rocket years before.

 

The crew land and find themselves face-to-face with Tigress, the cat-woman who holds a mysterious past with the previous astronaut of the missing rocket. Tigress befriends the crew and leads them to the crash site of the missing rocket, but before they know it they are attacked by a giant dinosaur.

Things get hairier as the crew find themselves at the mercy of the other cat-people, and Tigress is captured by her own people and tied to a stake for her role in helping the humans.

The first issue of Tigress might be a very simple science fiction story...but that's why I like it. It's more of an ode to the aforementioned artists/writers than anything else, which is right up my alley. Unfortunately Tigress only lasted two issues, but the character has appeared in various other series under different publishers since then. Any fans of Frazetta or Wood might be inclined to check this out.

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