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Much, much Thanks to Rick over at "Mail it to Team-up" and "Plastic Man Platitudes" (to name just a few) for posting a link to the "Power of Shazam" episode on the animated series "Batman: The Brave and the Bold".
This has to be my favorite episode so far and that's saying a lot considering how much I loved the Plastic Man episodes.
This series has been a blast and so much fun to watch. Just like the classic comic book that it is based on, Batman teams up with guest stars that have run the gamut of the DC Universe and some of the heroes that they have used, I never would have thought they would be animated. I can't recommend this show enough.
Be sure to to check out Rick's Blogs, they're great fun and entertaining.
Plastic Man Platitudes:
http://plasticmanplatitudes.blogspot.com/
Mail it to Team-up:
http://mailittoteamup.blogspot.com/
On My Mind:
http://onmymind1.blogspot.com/
Show Rick some love - He's posted some of my art work!
The Mighty Destroyer
The Star-Spangled Kid and Stripesy
This week Ol' Huck portrays two heroes from the Golden Age of Comics and he brings an old friend along to play his sidekick.
At the top Huck portrays Timely's (now known as Marvel) defender of democracy of the foreign shores, The Mighty Destroyer.
And above Huck stars as The Star-Spangled Kid and Yogi Bear co-stars as his sidekick, Stripesy. The Star-Spangled Kid (Sylvester Pemberton) was a wealthy young boy who wanted to do his part for the war effort and being too young to enlist, created a patriotic costume for himself and along with his chauffeur/bodyguard Pat Dugan takes on the alter-ego Stripesy and helps fights the Axis powers.
I'm feeling a little under the weather this week and not wanting to skip H.H.H.D., I'm posting the original pencils. Hopefully by the weekend I'll have the colored versions posted for you.
Thank You
Above is my recreation of the cover of Captain Marvel Adventures #90. I did this back in the early 80's with a pen and ink wash.
A great cover of Cap saving the day with help from Tawky Tawny.
Gag team-up I did a couple of years ago.
This reminds me that I need to draw a Popeye & Capt. Marvel team-up.
Here is a great history piece of Capt. Marvel and Fawcett Comics by E. Nelson Bridwell that appeared in Shazam #1 1973. This was DC Comics first issue of the revival of Captain Marvel. 
Remember to left click on the image to enlarge it for easier reading.
The above art was done by C.C. Beck, Captain Marvel's co-creator. Beck would hand these out to fans when he attended Comic Book Conventions in the 1970's and 80's and sign them.
As I understand it they were black and black copies. The piece above was colored by Yours Truly.
Above is a xerox of a pencil drawing of Captain Marvel done by the Great Comic Book Creator, Jack Kirby. This sketch was done for the 100th issue of the great old comic book fanzine "The Comic Reader".
Kirby didn't do a whole lot of work on Captain Marvel, but his contribution to the World's Mightiest Mortal is an important one. When Fawcett Publications decided to expand their popular hero to his own title "Captain Marvel Adventures", the assignment went to Kirby (who penciled the issue) and his partner Joe Simon (who wrote the stories and did some inks). Simon and Kirby only worked on the first issue. At the same they were working on this comic book, Joe and Jack were also working on their classic character of the Golden Age, Captain America for Timely Comics - now known as Marvel Comics (ironic isn't it!). 
The above sketch is my inks over Kirby's pencils, and then I colored it with Berol Prismacolor Markers.
I love to ink over the King's pencils and this one was a pleasure to do.
Here's a painting by Captain Marvel's co-creator C.C. Beck. It was a commission done for a fan.
To get a better look at the painting, left click on the picture.
In honor of Captain Marvel's 70th Birthday, here's Huck as the World's Mightiest Mortal.
SHAZAM!!!
This is Billy Batson, the alter-ego of Captain Marvel. Billy was a ten year old orphan when the wizard Shazam summoned him to be his champion of justice, Captain Marvel.
Shazam picked Billy because he was "pure of heart". Even though Billy lived on the streets, he sold newspapers on a corner near an abandoned subway entrance where he slept at night. He was not one to steal or shoplift to provide for himself.
When his parents died he was left in the care of his Uncle Ebenezer, but once Ebenezer gained control of Billy's inheritance, he threw the young boy out into the streets.
Once Billy gains the powers of Shazam, he defeats what will become his long time foe, the mad scientist Dr. Sivana. Billy takes the story of this experience to Mr. Sterling Morris, owner of radio station WHIZ (of course not telling him that he and Captain Marvel are one and the same). Mr. Morris hires Billy as a roving reporter to bring in the youth market and because Billy seems to be "Johnny on the Spot" when it comes to covering the exploits of Captain Marvel.
Bill Parker and C.C. Beck (who drew the sketch above) created Captain Marvel and Billy Batson. It was a great inspiration to make Capt. Marvel's alter-ego a young boy, seeing that was the target audience of the comic book adventures. Young boys could identify with Billy and pretend to be him. Many a boy would shout out "SHAZAM!" hoping to change into the adult Captain Marvel.
Billy was smart, intelligent and adventurous. His radio job sent him all over the world reporting on world events. And when trouble reared it's head, Billy would shout his magic word and change to save the day.
Billy Batson (and Captain Marvel) are one of my favorite characters. Even though the stories were written for "all ages", The Adventures of Captain Marvel and Billy Batson are some of the greatest comics ever produced, and I highly recommend them to everyone!
I hope everyone has a Great Valentine's Day.
Above is one of the posters for "The Adventures of Captain Marvel" movie serial from 1941. The 12 chapter serial starred Frank Coghlan Jr. as Billy Batson and Tom Tyler as Captain Marvel.
This serial is one of the best ever produced and is still a lot of fun to watch. Even though Billy is a lot older than he is portrayed in the comics, he still is a radio reporter who is picked by the wizard Shazam because he is pure of heart. The scene where Shazam grants Billy his powers is great - the old wizard explains that his name is an amalgam of the gods is shown on a stone tablet. The only thing that is missing are the statues of The Seven Deadly Sins of Man.
The serial shows the transformation of Billy Batson to Captain Marvel, Billy (and Cap) shout "SHAZAM!" and in a cloud of smoke, the change takes place. I just wish that they would have shown a flash of lighting. In the comics when Billy or Captain Marvel shout the wizards name, a bolt of lighting strikes from the heavens and a clap of thunder change our hero.
"The Adventures of Captain Marvel" is one of the best serials ever made and one of the only other depictions of Captain Marvel in media other than his comics in the Golden Age.
I highly recommend it.
What a week!
Since last Thursday we've had close to 30 inches of snow. The temps at night have gone down to the single digits. At various times we have lost power due to the weight of the heavy snow falls bringing down trees and power lines. Twice I've had to dig my car out of the snow, and with a messed up heart that's NOT a good thing!
My internet service has been off and on, and when it is on, it has been very slow. Uploading has been practically nil.
So hopefully I'll get Huckleberry Hero Hump-Day back up once the internet is running normally.
I've also been working on some more Captain Marvel pieces that I want to feature this month. I'm currently watching the serial that was made in 1942 on my old VHS copy. I'll have to check my archives of pictures - I'm sure I have the movie posters on some of my old discs.
Thanks for your patience.
P.S. - a personal rant:
"GOD, I HATE WINTER!"
This month marks the 70th Anniversary of Captain Marvel. Cover dated Feb. 1940, Whiz Comics #2 arrived on news stands next to the recent crop of super-heroes that debuted the prior year. Fawcett Publications wanted to join National Publications (DC Comics) and Timely (Marvel Comics) and get into the super-hero/comic book game.
Their most popular character was Captain Marvel. Created by Bill Parker and C.C. Beck, Cap was really young orphan Billy Batson who when he shouted the name "Shazam" (the old wizard who gave him his powers), took the combined powers of six gods and became the World's Mightiest Mortal.
The name Shazam was an amalgam of the six elders that help forge the mighty hero:
S - Solomon - for wisdom
H - Hercules - for strenght
A - Atlas - for stamina
Z - Zeus - for power
A - Achilles - for courage
M - Mercury - for speed
Billy Batson became a radio reporter for station WHIZ and this helped him to be on top of the dangers that threatened the city (First New York, then Fawcett City) where he lived.
Captain Marvel was one of the most popular super-heroes of the Golden Age of Comics. His comics sold into the millions and many months outsold Superman. Captain Marvel Adventures was the only title to be sold twice a month for a period in the mid-1940's.
As this month goes on, I'll write more on the history of Captain Marvel and Fawcett. I'll post about The Marvel Family, Mary Marvel, Captain Marvel Jr., Hoppy the Marvel Bunny and the other Fawcett heroes. I'll also write about the long standing lawsuit that DC Comics had against Fawcett claiming that Captain Marvel was a rip-off of Superman.
Plus I'll post more artwork of Cap and the rest of the Fawcett Heroes that I've done.
Happy Birthday, Captain Marvel! Let the Magic of Shazam help us to celebrate of one the greatest Super-Heroes of all!
Plas meets the spinach-eating sailor. He better change back or he's going to get a smack in the mush!
Firestorm The Nuclear Man
Hi all! Today is my Birthday and I wanted to post something special, so I decided to bring back what has become this blogs most popular feature, Huckleberry Hero Hump-Day.
For those of you who are new to my blog, every Wednesday I post a couple of sketch's of my favorite Hanna-Barbera star Huckleberry Hound and dress him in a super-hero uniform to see what he would look like as one of Earth's Mightiest Hero's. From the Golden Age to the present, I've drawn Huck as Super-heroes from all the Comic Book Company's. I've even depicted him as the Super-hero's that the Hanna-Barbera Studios has introduced.
Above I have Huck as DC Comics nuclear powered man, Firestorm.
In the above sketch I have ol' Huck meeting a famous monster from the Land of the Rising Sun, Godzilla.
One of this blog's friends CooperGal wrote me a while ago with some suggestions for Huck. She is a big fan of the show "Dirty Jobs" starring Mike Rowe. CooperGal requested Huck do one the the jobs that they featured on the show, so I decided to show our blue-furred hero as an exterminator who is called to Japan. Little did he know that a giant irradiated lizard is what he would have to get rid of. Looks like he has his work cut out for him!
I'll try to keep Huckleberry Hero-Day coming every Wednesday as long as my health (and vision) permits.
