Unexplored Worlds!

This month the focus is on two heroes who shared the pages of Mysteries of Unexplored Worlds. This was a long-running series from Charlton which had focused on science fiction and weird tales of all kinds. In the push to create new superheroes its pages became host first to Son of Vulcan and later Thunderbolt. 

Son of Vulcan was similar in theme to Marvel's Thor or the even earlier Captain Marvel from Fawcett. A lame reporter named Johnny Mann could transform into the Son of Vulcan and use a range of weapons and powers from the Greek god pantheon. He didn't prove to be a long-term success. 

He was replaced by Peter Cannon...The Thunderbolt, a series by Pete Morisi which was inspired by Bill Everett's Amazing Man and visually by Lev Gleason's Daredevil. Thunderbolt was more successful than Son of Vulcan, but even he failed to find lasting success when the entire Action Hero line was dropped. 

Speaking of Daredevil, there will be a few posts which feature this Golden Age crime buster.

I'll also reach back and take a glimpse at two superhero attempts from Charlton from the 1950's. Jerry Siegel created to heroes, Mr. Muscles and Nature Boy. The latter is famous because his comic featured some early work by none other than John Buscema. 

And finally, in lieu of the fact there is no direct Steve Ditko content this month, I plan to look at a comic which was inspired by four of Ditko's creations (Captain Atom, The Question, the New Blue Beetle and Nightshade), the wildly famous and successful Watchmen. (Don't fret Ditko fans, the great man's work will show up like gangbusters in October and November will be filled with his efforts.) 

That's a peek at what's coming to the Dojo in September. Lots and lots of fisticuffs and more than a smidge of heavy drama. Expect a few surprises along the way as well. 

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Nuclear Summer!

As we enter the heat of the summer it's time for a closer look at comics and movies and characters who use radiation as a motif. Expect to see a new atomic character each day in the Favorite Cover section, look to the weekends for opinions and reviews of vintage radiation heroes Doctor Solar from Gold Key and Captain Atom from Charlton. Look for other significant atomic heroes from across the decades to get a focus. And look for reviews of offbeat movies which have radioactive themes, many in surprising ways. Most days the posts this month will have a radiation theme, but Saturdays, Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays will for certain right now.

Let me kick things off with this link to Radiation and Man, a delightfully optimistic Canadian comic book from 1972 which looks at the history and lore and nature of radiation.

As noted at the site the giant blue man on that cover does evoke the specific memory of Doctor Manhattan of  Watchmen fame.

And of course everyone knows that Manhattan himself is a variation on the classic Captain Atom created by Joe Gill and Steve Ditko at my beloved Charlton.

So Duck and Cover amigos! The "Nuclear Summer" begins!

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Watching The Watchmen!

I waited and waited and finally the other day I found the Ultimate Watchmen DVD package. It seemed more than a fair price relative to the prices for the individual parts.

This is the director's cut with the Black Freighter material interpolated. I've not watched it yet. I've only gandered at a few of the special features and I'm currently watching the Motion Comic version of the story.



In regard to the latter, I'm pretty impressed. I grew up with the old Marvel Super-Heroes cartoons, so using actual comic art and manipulating it to create "animation" is a technique my genetic code responds well to.

I'm not a diehard Watchmen fan by any means. But I am a diehard Charlton Action-Hero fan and this is as close to a movie featuring my Charlton faves as I'm ever going to get. Rorschach is the Question through and through after years of bitter battle against crime. It makes perfect sense. Dr.Manhattan is what Captain Atom might become after he realizes he's not human anymore. The Nite Owl is the Blue Beetle, Bug and all, but at a quieter time in his life. And Ozymandias makes an ideal dark image of what Peter Cannon might become if his attitude slipped a bit out of kilter. Great stuff.


I liked the movie when it appeared last year. It was pretty entertaining, and I'm not one of those folks who thinks a movie must adhere slavishly to its source material. This is a pretty good adaptation, and I'm very interested to see it in its ideal form.

More later.

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