Fantastic Friday!

At various times, Sue Storm has taken leaves of absence from the Fantastic Four, usually because she wanted to spend more time being a mother to her and Reed's son, Franklin. Her spot in the line-up was filled by Crystal or Medusa of the Inhumans, or, most noteworthy, by She-Hulk.

Princesses of Mars, Part 21

The exploration of the beautiful sights the Red Planet has to offer continues.

By Fred Grid

By Ron Adrian

By Frank Cho

It's a Wonder Woman Wednesday!

More portraits of the world's most famous Amazon!

By Jose Luis Garcia Lopez

By Schumacher

By Brian Bolland

Happy Fourth of July!

Joan Bennett is making sure this Fourth of July goes out with a HUGE bang!

Fireworks safety...

... means nothing--NOTHING!--to Rochelle Hudson! (Don't follow her lead... have a safe and happy Fourth of July!)

It's a Wonder Woman Wednesday!

Wonder Woman gets armored up in this month's edition of Wonder Woman Wednesday.

By Darryl Banks

By Jason Mettcalf

By Jose Luis Garcia Lopez

Darro & Moreland bring value to an otherwise weak film

You're Out of Luck (1941)
Starring: Frankie Darro, Mantan Moreland, Richard Bond, Kay Sutton, Tistram Coffin, Janet Shaw, Vicki Lester, Paul Maxy, Alfred Hall, and Willy Castello
Director: Howard Bretherton
Rating: Five of Ten Stars

Friends, co-workers, and brothers-in-slackerhood Frankie and Jeff (Darro and Moreland) become involved in a police investigation of a murder linked to a gambling ring. Will they help Frankie's police detective brother (Bond) solve the case, or will they end up the next victims of the gunmen?

"You're Out of Luck" is a fun little mystery/comedy that is another showcase for the talents of Darro and Moreland. It's not quite as good as "Up in the Air," mostly because the way Frankie and Jeff become involved in the murder investigation, and remain involved, feels forced at every turn. The film is further weakened by the fact the paltry budget is made on shows multiple times on the screen through recycled and thinly disguised sets and cheaply done effects used in place of location shots. There's also the issue that the story feels a bit haphazardly put together and overcrowded with characters--most of whom serve no purpose in the story whatsoever. (Darro's character is given two possible love interests, neither of which do anything for the story nor his love life, and his cop brother's girlfriend likewise does nothing for the story. These characters are so pointless that I don't remember any of their names and I had a hard time telling two of them apart while the film unfolded.)

The film's weaknesses are almost made up for by Moreland having some of the best quips of any of the films he made together with Darro... and by Moreland once again being the smarter of the characters (even if no one ever listens to him). The film is completely carried by the charm of its two leads and the feeling that a true, warm friendship exists between them, and even that barely manages to drag it up to a low 5 rating.

If you're a big fan of Darro & Moreland, "You're Out of Luck" is worth checking out, but it may not be worth going too far out of your way for; look to see if you can find it in a DVD multipack. If you're not familiar with their work, "Up in the Air" is a far better place to start.

Princesses of Mars, Part Twenty

More visions of beauty from the Red Planet...

By Adriano Batista

By Rubismar da Dosta

By Sebastian Grenier

By Dean Kotz

In Memory of Darwyn Cooke

Artist/writer Darwyn Cooke died from lung cancer on May 14, 2016. Highlights of his career, spent mostly on titles from DC Comics, include relaunching Will Eisner's signature creation The Spirit in a monthly series, and the Selina's Big Score graphic novel, one of the best Catwoman stories ever told. Here's a small gallery of his work.

Fantastic Friday!

Once per month, I'm going to be posting portraits of the Fantastic Four until I run out of good ones. (Marvel may have cancelled their series, but they will forever be the First Family of Comics.)

As befitting with a day as dire as Friday the Thirteenth, today's post guest-stars their greatest foe--Doctor Doom! All selections this time out are by John Byrne, who was the main creative talent on one of my favorite periods of the Fantastic Four.