Pat Patriot -- Just in time for Fourth of July!

In celebration of Fourth of July, NUELOW Games is presenting the four best adventures of "Pat Patriot," an early female superhero (who pre-dated Wonder Woman's first appearance) and an all-but-forgotten champion of the American spirit.

By way of a preview, here are the spalsh pages for the four tales included in the "Pat Patriot" book. Additionally, it contains a full supplement for "ROLF!: The Rollplaying Game." You can click here to see additional previews, or to get your own copy.

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Independence Day Fireworks Safety

The Fourth of July is almost upon us, and Americans will again celebrate our country by setting off explosives. If you are handling fireworks this Friday night, be like Marilyn Monroe...

... but completely ignore Ann Miller.

Picture Perfect Wednesday: Lucy Liu

The co-star of "Elementary" pops in to demonstrate this blog's unifying theme.

It's the first day of summer!

Ann Miller's hitting the beach! How about you?

She's also planning on doing a little fishing...

Jeanne Carmen mocks your foolish superstitions!

Jeanne Carmen observes Friday the 13th by pushing her luck!

NUELOW Summer Special Preview

NUELOW Games has released another collection of classic comics in the NUELOW Summer Special. This time, it's a variety of teen comedy comics by the likes of Al Feldstein (who was the editor of Mad Magazine for some three decades) and Harry Sahle (one of the founding fathers of the great Archie series). The book also features NUELOW's unofficial mascot Black Cat taking to water in summer-time action. Finally, there's a supplement for ROLF!: The Rollplaying Game of Big Dumb Fighters in which Kathy (of NUELOW's Kathy fame) takes her boyfriend Hank to a picturesque cemetery for some moonlit romance... what could possibly go wrong?

Here are a few splash-pages from the book as a preview. You can click here to see more of the NUELOW Games Summer Special at DriveThruComics, or to download your own copy. The book is available for less than half price through the First Day of Summer (June 21).

Art by Al Feldstein

Art by Harry Sahle

Art by Lee Elias

Art by Art Saaf

Coming Soon: The Best of 'Kathy'

NUELOW Games is soon releasing Kathy, a small collection of classic teen comedy comics illustrated by the team of Frank Frazetta and Ralph Mayo. If you like teen comedies, if you like the screwier sit-coms, if you just want to read some funny stories with goofy characters, you should check out this book.

You should also check out the book if you have an interest in comics as an art-form. In the course of the four included stories,Frazetta and Mayo trade off being the penciler or inker, and doing both art chores. It's an interesting display of how much an artists style can influence the look of a comic depending on what task he is performing.

You can explore the entire selection of NUELOW Games comics/rpg books by clicking here. It's a treasure trove of obscure comics from the Golden Age! And look for Kathy by Frank Frazetta and Ralph Mayo (with RPG content by Steve Miller and L.L. Hundal) within the next day or two!

Picture Perfect Wednesday: Natalie Wood

Night and Day With Natalie!

Judy of the Jungle Returns!

NUELOW Games has just released the second volume in the "Judy of the Jungle" series. It features some great "jungle girl" comics and short fiction, along with all-new material for use with jungle-themed d20 System roleplaying games. (Now... when I say the stories are great, I am biased, given that I edited the book. That said, out of all the Jungle Girls that graced the pages of comics back during the Golden Age, Judy's adventures are the ones that hold up the best. The artwork by Frank Frazetta and Ralph Mayo compares to favorably to any top artist working in comics today.)

Judy of the Jungle: Warriors of the Laughing Hyena is available at DriveThruComics, DriveThruRPG, and RPGNow.

You can click here to get your own copy, or to see previews.

And speaking of previews, here are some of the splash pages and spot-art from the book.
Click on the images to see larger versions.

If you decide to download Warriors of the Laughing Hyena, I hope you'll let me know what you think of the book. I can't make the projected Volume 3 better if I don't know what readers thought was wrong with Volume 2.

Picture Perfect Wednesday: Virginia Belmont

Born in 1921, Virginia Belmont was a formally trained linguist who specialized in Italian, and who enjoyed success as an actress both in Hollywood and in the studios of Rome during the 1940s and 1950s, playing mostly in westerns and other period films. Following her retirement from acting in 1957, she went to work for United Airlines and traveled the world with her husband Albert Califano. She passed away on May 6, 2014.

But her youthful beauty is captured forever on film and in photos.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Or as it is known among those who observe it, Drinko de Mayo. Here is genuine Mexican, Raquel Torres, showing some of the key elements of a successful Cinco de Mayo celebration.

Meet the first Muslim Superhero!

NUELOW Games latest comics/RPG release shines the spotlight on Kismet, Man of Fate. This long-forgotten superhero appeared in the four quarterly issues of Bomber Comics during 1944, with the first and final issues coinciding with the opening and closing of Ellliot Publishing.

Kismet was one of numerous Nazi-stomping comic book characters who appeared in comics magazines during the early 1940s, but he stands apart from the crowd not only for his ability to carry off running around shirtless while wearing gloves, a fez and a cape, but also because he is the first Muslim superhero. (There were earlier Muslim comic book heroes, but none were so obviously religious as Kismet, nor did they have superpowers.

I've edited a book for NUELOW Games that's part of the Complete Golden Age Oddballs series. For the first time anywhere, it collects all four Kismet stories under one cover, together with an all-new text piece and roleplaying game material for ROLF! and OGL d20 Modern. In addition to the Kismet stories, the also features all three published cases for Penny Parker, Debutante Detective.

By way of a preview, here are the first pages for all the Kismet stories.

Click here to see more previews, or to get your own copy of Complete Golden Age Oddballs: Kisment & Penny Parker.

Picture Perfect Wednesday: Cheyenne King

It seems like it's time for another visit with actress/model Cheyenne King.

Happy International Dance Day!

April 29 has been designated as International Dance Day by UNESCO. It also happens to be the birthday of of Jean-Georges Noverre (1727-1810), the creator of modern ballet. Ann Miller and friends wants everyone to cut rug, jump with joy, and otrherwise move to the music on this day!

It's Earth Day!

Here's a sketch artist's rendering of Mother Earth. If you see her, approach with caution. She has a tempestuous bearing, and often explodes with fiery rage. Unconfirmed reports indicate that she also has adverse reactions to immodest women.

By Amy Clark

Happy Easter!

I hope you have as much luck at finding Easter Eggs as Ann Miller did. She found the bunny that lays them!

The Milla Jovovich Quartery

It's laundry day, and Milla is waiting for the dryer cycle to finish. But the Milla Jovovich Quarterly must go on!

March 20: It's the first day of Spring...

... and Ann Miller is jumping with joy! Could there be a more Picture Perfect Wednesday?

At least once each month for all of 2014, Ann Miller will show up here in Shades of Gray to mark a special day. Keep checking back, or you may miss her!

Happy St. Paddy's Day!

Hey, look! She's Irish!

Picture Perfect Wednesday: The Return of the Purple Tigress!

In 1944, the mysterious Purple Tigress was capturing hearts and breaking heads throughout Guardian City. Who was this mysterious woman? No one knew, and when her crime-busting exploits came to an end, still no one knew. But if you click here you can learn all her secrets, as they will be revealed by Steve Miller in the soon-to-be released e-book Golden Age Oddballs.

The Purple Tigress adventures are among the six stories featured in Golden Age Oddballs. As we wait for the book to be released by NUELOW Games, here are some modern visions of the mysterious crime fighter.

The Purple Tigress, as seen by Terry Beatty

The Purple Tigress and Friend, as seen by Butch.

(Despite what you might assume from Butch's drawing, and her striped bikini, the Purple Tigress is not a cat-themed superhero. In fact, she draws her name from the Purple Tiger Beetle of all things.)

Diana Danger, Space Girl!

Incarna Comics publishes several "retro" titles... and one which is in the early stages of development is Diana Danger, Space Ranger. Here are some portraits of the title character, who keeps alive the tradition of space-faring women in tight suits and fishbowl-like helmets!

By F. Newton Burcham

By F. Newton Burcham

By F. Newton Burcham

For up-to-date info on Incarna Comics, visit their Facebook page here.