Captain's Patriotic Library 1776 Part 2

We Have Already Seen...

...it ain't easy starting a country!

If you think today's Congress is a mess, look at what the Founding Fathers were going through...

The Conclusion...with more musical numbers, tomorrow at... Atomic Kommie Comics

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1776

Restored Director's Cut
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Captain's Library TALES OF THE MYSTERIOUS TRAVELER "Man Alone"

Though his radio show had been off the air for several years...

...the name-value of the Mysterious Traveler had enough cachet to keep this comic book series going for years after!

Although the Mysterious Traveler would literally stand right next to people throughout the story, the other characters never interacted with him.

He never had an origin, and we never learned who (or what) he was!
This story from #12 (1959) began Matt Baker's too-brief run on the title...because it was cancelled with the next issue!
But within that short span, Matt did five stories.

Captain's Library: MYSTERIOUS TRAVELER "Escape"

Though his radio show had been off the air for several years...

...the name-value of the Mysterious Traveler had enough cachet to keep this comic book series going for years after!

This story from Tales of the Mysterious Traveler #4 (1957) was illustrated by the legendary Steve Ditko, who would later create or co-create Spider-Man, Dr Strange, The Question, The Creeper, and a number of other unusual characters.

Captain's Theatre: GORGO

You've read the comic adaptation HERE and HERE...

...now see the movie itself!

(After the trailer, that is!

This is, after all, the Captain's Theatre, and you always have trailers in theaters!)

Now, here's the film itself... Plus, a "Making of" feature... Finally, since you've been such a lovely audience, the never-rerun Gorgo episode of Mystery Science Theatre 3000 with guest star Leonard Maltin!

We hope you've enjoyed our contribution to the

(which you can find details about HERE)

 and hope you stop by again.

(We have some really kool stuff coming up in October to celebrate Halloween!)

Captain's Library: GORGO Conclusion

When Last We Left Our Giant Lizard...

Art by Dick Giordano

While conducting salvage operations off the Gaelic island of Nara, the S.S. Triton is almost sunk by an undersea volcano eruption.

Barely making port, the ship's owners, Joe Ryan and Sam Slade discover dead fish in the water unlike anything seen by modern man.

But, when questioned, the local sailors literally clam up.

The next day, the Triton follows some locals to discover an ancient Viking ship has been uncovered by the eruption...a ship filled with gold.

But the ship wasn't the only thing the eruption freed, as Ryan and Slade encounter a giant reptile and barely escape with their lives!

That night, the local populace conducts a weird ritual, invoking the name of "Ogra", who appears before them...

You'll note artist Steve Ditko didn't use the likenesses of actors William Sylvester and Bill Travers as Sam Slade and Joe Ryan.
Whether this was because Charlton didn't have the licensing rights or Ditko simply didn't receive photo reference is unknown.
While this is the end of the comic adaptation of Gorgo, it's not the end of his comic book adventures!

Charlton Comics did a follow-up mini-series, then an ongoing series which followed the Godzilla movie formula by making Gorgo a heroic character, defending Earth from other terrestrial monsters and alien invaders!

UPDATE: We've just learned that IDW Comics will be reprinting both the Gorgo and Konga series in hardcover sometime in 2013.

Be here tomorrow as we present the movie itself, as well as trailers and the rarely-seen Mystery Science Theatre 3000 version!

It's all part of the Secret Sanctum's contribution to the

(which you can find details about HERE)

Captain's Library: GORGO Part 1

As the Secret Sanctum's contribution to the

(which you can find details about HERE)
we present the following tender tale of a mother's love for her child...

To paraphrase David Letterman; "Ogra...Gorgo, Gorgo...Ogra."

No matter what you call it, you've got a real problem on your hands!

 The story continues tomorrow!

The writer of this 1960 Charlton comic book adaptation is unknown.
The artist is Steve Ditko, who a year later would co-create one of the most famous characters in history...The Amazing Spider-Man, for Marvel Comics.

In 1960, with the success of the Toho Godzilla series and a planned revival of King Kong (which eventually became King Kong vs Godzilla), studios in several other countries decided do their own kaiju (giant monster) films featuring puppets or men in costumes rather than stop-motion animation.
Within a year, two British studios had cranked out both Konga and Gorgo, while a Danish/American company produced two versions of Reptilicus, one with a Danish-speaking cast, one with an English-speaking cast.
(Oddly, other Japanese studios nor American companies wouldn't produce their own kaiju flicks until the mid-1960s.
But, once rival studio Daiei released Gamera in 1965, the floodgates opened...)

Eugène Lourié, who previously directed and co-wrote both Beast from 20,000 Fathoms and Giant Behemoth also directed and co-wrote this film.
After completing Gorgo, Lourié returned full-time to production design and art direction, never to direct again, feeling he had become typecast as a monster-movie director.
He did do occasional work in genre films and TV including Crack in the World, Time Travelers, the mini-series Amazing Captain Nemo, and the series Quark and Kung Fu.