The Golden Age of Comics promises to be the "#1 site for downloading FREE copyright free golden age comics." I certainly cannot confirm or deny that statement, but with over 4,500 scanned Golden Age comic books, it is the most impressive I’ve seen. Publishers include Ace Comics, American Comics Group/ACG. Better/Nedor/Standard Publications, Charlton, Comics House Publications/Lev Gleason Comics, Eastern Color Printing Company, Fawcett Comics, Fiction House, Fox Comics, Hillman Periodicals, MLJ Comics, Quality Comics and many more. Scanned titles include multiple issues of Captain Marvel Adventures (and his extended family), Simon & Kirby’s Fighting American, Crime Does Not Pay and literally thousands of others.

In order to access and download the comics, you must register. Downloading can be a bit tricky at first, so make sure and read the Golden Age Comics Help FAQ immediately after registering.

Whatever the hassle, this is the finest resource of Golden Age comics available on the web. To acquire a mere fraction of these stories would cost you in the tens of thousands of dollars. So go forth and experience a bit of comic book history.

As part of their "In Character" series about indelible American characters, this morning’s Weekend Edition offered this interesting overview on King Kong.

The piece begins with an interview of Kong creator Meriam C. Cooper recalling the difficulties of getting the film produced.

Course as we all know, King Kong and its amazing Willis O’Brien effects was a huge hit and actually saved RKO from bankruptcy.

The feature goes on to discuss the racism in the film.

Erb (which always reminds me of another ape contributor Edgar Rice Burroughs– one who was often criticized for his racism) further explains her viewpoint.

I do agree with her. It is a complicated issue.

The report, also, discusses the poor treatment of women as well as the sexual undercurrent throughout.

The entertaining and informative ten minute essay– interspersed with interview clips from Cooper and Fay Wray– concludes with a proclamation that I wholeheartedly agree with.

I was reading Blake Bell’s critical retrospective Strange and Stranger: The World of Steve Ditko when I ran across this unexpected mention of my grandfather on p.75.

So Irving Klaw was not only instrumental in the pin-up and fetish industries but served as a source for comic book artists. The latter was news to me.

From the June 25th USA Today Book Buzz:

Somehow, I’m having trouble mustering up much sympathy.

If I didn’t already think that Stephen Sommers lacked any taste or talent, this bit from SFGate re-affirmed it.

Yes.. you read that correctly. "fake breasts" "own cleavage was not big enough".

Miller as The Baroness in G.I. Joe

Chicken fillets? If Sommers likes women with big boobs, why didn’t he hire someone else for the part? Course this is the man who successfully destroyed some 200 years of monster stories in his wretched film Van Helsing. Come to think of it he had a small chested star (Kate Beckinsale) in that one as well. Surprised he didn’t try to pad her out as well.

In the eponymous Web TV series, Kyle Piccolo of New York City’s Midtown Comics doles out pearls of life wisdom to his often socially inept customers and his sidekick Doucheus. Created by Alec Pollak, Neil Turitz, Eric Zuckerman and John Cassaday, Kyle Piccolo: Comic Shop Therapist offers a scarily realistic insight into the world of the comic shop. So far there have been only two episodes but I’ve picked up these two very important pearls of wisdom: Gods sell better at an angle and even though Reed Richards is the smartest man in the world, he too has relationship problems.

With some big time sponsors and witty scripts, I expect this one to be around for a while.

Back in the mid-90s, Phil Hester and I pitched a Gorilla City four issue mini-series. We developed an idea that incorporated elements from the Carmine Infantino Flash and some bizzaro Kirby stuff while introducing new elements of the City’s past and present.

This was actually our second pitch together. The first, a Creature Commandos story looked good to go but then our editor collapsed with a brain tumor (seriously). His successor wasn’t as interested. The third was a millennium-centric Doctor Occult tale co-starring The Demon and Golden Age Green Lantern that failed to materialize.

Things were looking good on the Gorilla City front, the editor loved the proposal. Then someone in marketing decided that modern readers were NOT interested in apes! And it was dead.

Course a few years later, I guess someone there wised-up, because DC produced their JL-Ape series that ran over their 1999 annuals. (Neither of us were involved with the project) This coming October, DC is offering a best of apes reprint collection.

And on top of that, this is coming out from Marvel in September.

Quote:

MARVEL APES #1 & 2 (of 4) Written by KARL KESEL Pencils by RAMON BACHS Cover by JOHN WATSON Variant Cover For Marvel Apes #1 by RAMON BACHS Variant Cover For Marvel Apes #2 by PHIL JIMENEZ Flingin’ feces, True Believer– the entire Marvel Universe has gone APE! Just when he thinks life can’t get any worse or weirder, Marty Blank – a.k.a. that lovable loser, the Gibbon — finds himself and the brilliant-and-beautiful Dr. Fiona Fitzhugh transported to a world where monkeys rule and humans don’t exist! SEE the spectacular simian city of Monkhattan! MEET the hominoid heroes and villains – SPIDER-MONKEY! DOC OOK! IRON MANDRILL! SIMIAN TORCH! THE APE-VENGERS! And more! THRILL to the return of Speedball! CONTAINS No-Ads, as we are thrilled to present you backup tales exploring the Apeiverse! LEARN the dark secret of the primate planet! WORRY that the fate of the entire universe is in the hands of the Gibbon! Not a hoax, not a dream, not an imaginary story – just the most not-to-be-missed mini-series of the season! If you only buy one (well, two) comics this month about super-powered, intelligent apes-in-capes, it must be MARVEL APES!

I’ll be curious how this goes. Marvel doesn’t have quite the ape history of DC.

It appears that Phil and I, by looking backward, were actually ahead of the curve!

Though we remain friends, Phil’s never actually illustrated a story of mine. I did have the pleasure of editing several Hester stories while with Mojo Press.

My Nexus Graphica co-conspirator Mark London Williams penned this moving, heartfelt appreciation of the late comic book shop pioneer Rory Root and his impact on Mark’s life and art.

This comes courtesy of Victoria Strauss at Writer Beware.

Check out the blog for more details.

The fine folks at the Wired How-To Wiki offer this little weekend project.