NEMESIS 11: B&B #176

Brave and the Bold #176 (July 1981)

cover: Mike Kaluta (signed)

title: "Endgame!"

writer: Cary Burkett

art: Dan Spiegle

letterer: John Costanza
colorist: Gene D'Angelo

editor: Paul Levitz 

NEMESIS 10: B&B #175

Brave and the Bold #175 (June 1981)

cover: Jim Aparo (signed)

title: "Queen: En Prise!"

writer: Cary Burkett

art: Dan Spiegle

letterer: John Costanza
colorist: Carl Gafford

editor: Paul Levitz 

BLB: Dick Tracy Encounters Facey

Here is another in my ongoing series of reviews on the 1960s Big Little Book series. You can find others by clicking on "BLB" at the bottom of this post.

Big Little Books were a series of story-books published by Whitman Publishers from the 1920s thru the 1980s. The books I have are 250 pages but very compact, only 10 cm x 13 cm x 2 cm (approx 4 inches x 5 3/4 inches x 1 inch). There is text on one side of each page and an illustration on the other. Although the writers were always credited, the artist never was. They began in the 1920s but then evidently stopped sometime in the 1940s? Then Whitman revisited the format. From 1967 thru the early 1970s such then-TV luminaries as Lassie, Flipper, the Lone Ranger, Bonanza, Shazzan, Space Ghost, Frankenstein Jr, Tarzan, and, yes, Aquaman, were featured. Eventually the TV series' stars fell by the way-side and were replaced with perennial favorites like Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny, and Woody Woodpecker, who returned several times each.

This time we are looking at the very first book in this revised series, number ONE, Dick Tracy in Encounters Facey. Written by Paul S. Newman and published in 1967, this of course features the hard-hitting police detective and other characters created by Chester Gould. Oddly enough, the only credit goes to Chicago Tribune-NY News Syndicate, who I guess owned the copyright on the characters. The artist is not credited, but if it is not Chester Gould then it is someone who is definitely aping his style. Dick Tracy Encounters Facey as number 1 in this Big Little Book series has no precedents. However, it was probably given the number one slot because in atleast one previous iteration, Dick Tracy was the #1 spot before. This time it is followed by Bonanza, Flipper, Lassie, and Tarzan (which we already reviewed.) All of those were published in 1967.

NEMESIS 9: B&B #174

Brave and the Bold #174 (May 1981)

cover: Jim Aparo (signed)

title: "Bishop's Sacrifice"

writer: Cary Burkett

art: Dan Spiegle

letterer: John Costanza
colorist: Gene D'Angelo

editor: Paul Levitz 

NEMESIS 8: B&B #173

Brave and the Bold #173 (April 1981)

cover: Jim Aparo (signed)

title: "Knight's Gambit!"

writer: Cary Burkett

art: Dan Spiegle

letterer: John Costanza
colorist: Gene D'Angelo

editor: Paul Levitz

NEMESIS 7: B&B #172

Brave and the Bold #172 (March 1981)

cover: Jim Aparo (signed)

title: "Pirate's Peril!"

writer: Cary Burkett

art: Dan Spiegle

letterer: John Costanza
colorist: Gene D'Angelo

editor: Paul Levitz

NEMESIS 6: B&B #171

Brave and the Bold #171 (February 1981)

cover: Jim Aparo (signed)

title: "Double or Nothing!"

writer: Cary Burkett

art: Dan Spiegle

letterer: John Costanza
colorist: Gene D'Angelo

editor: Paul Levitz

JL#49 "Rumble in the JUNGLE!"

Hello and welcome to my newest fan-fiction Justice League story! 

If this is your first time reading my series, there are only two things you need to know. 1. In "my" universe John Stewart is the main Green Lantern; Hal Jordan is HIS back-up. 2. Although the Martian Manhunter never left Earth, the Atom has quit the League (to move to Brazil). 

Hope you enjoy this story, it has been cooking for several years (truthfully!) and I'm glad to finally have it complete!

Super Friends Coloring Book (1975)

If you are of a certain age, you may have come across this great Whitman coloring book in a department store. More likely, you have seen it for sale on Ebay or at a comic-con.

This SUPER FRIENDS coloring book was published during the initial run of Hanna-Barbera's cartoon on ABC-TV. This book has a published date on the inside front cover of 1975. It features the five main Super Friends plus those Junior Super Friends Wendy, Marvin, and Wonder Dog.

NEMESIS 5: B&B #170

Brave and the Bold #170 (Jan 1981)

cover: Jim Aparo (signed)

title: "If Justice Be Blind!"

writer: Cary Burkett

art & letters: Jim Aparo

colorist: Adrienne Roy

editor: Paul Levitz

NEMESIS 4: B&B #169

Brave and the Bold #169 (Dec 1980)

cover: Jim Aparo (signed)

title: "The Council Calls For Death!"

writer: Cary Burkett

art: Dan Spiegle

letterer: John Costanza
colorist: Gene D'Angelo

editor: Paul Levitz

Seven Soldiers of Victory The Land of Magic Conclusion

Adventure Comics #443 (Feb 1976)

title: "Confrontation!"

writer: Joe Samachson

art: Dick Dillin & Tex Blaisdell

editor: Joe Orlando

cover: Jim Aparo (signed)

Seven Soldiers of Victory The Land of Magic Chapter 6

Adventure Comics #442 (Dec 1975)

title: "Gnome Man's Land"

writer: Joe Samachson

art: Jose Luis Garcia Lopez & Mike Royer
editor: Joe Orlando

cover: Jim Aparo (signed)

Seven Soldiers of Victory The Land of Magic Chapter 5

Adventure Comics #441 (October 1975)

title: "Dead End Animals!"

writer: Joe Samachson

art: Ernie Chua

editor: Joe Orlando

cover: Jim Aparo (signed)

Seven Soldiers of Victory The Land of Magic Chapter 4

Adventure Comics #440 (August 1975)

title: "Kings Make A Full House!"

writer: Joe Samachson

art: Mike Grell

editor: Joe Orlando

cover: Jim Aparo (signed)

Seven Soldiers of Victory The Land of Magic Chapter 3

Adventure Comics #439 (June 1975)

title: "Father Time's Inn!"

writer: Joe Samachson

art: Lee Elias

editor: Joe Orlando

cover: Jim Aparo (signed)

Seven Soldiers of Victory The Land of Magic Chapter 2

Adventure Comics #438 (April 1975)

title: "Knight After Knight!"

writer: Joe Samachson

art: Howard Chaykin

editor: Joe Orlando

cover: Jim Aparo (signed)

Seven Soldiers of Victory The Land of Magic Chapter 1

Adventure Comics #438 (April 1975)

title: "Land of Magic!"

writer: Joe Samachson

art: Dick Dillin & Tex Blaisdell

editor: Joe Orlando

cover: Jim Aparo (signed)

Seven Soldiers of Victory The Land of Magic Prelude

I picked up three specific issues of Adventure Comics in 1975: the three Spectre lead issues that also featured Aquaman as the back-up series. There is a lot I could write about these three issues, but the reason I bring it up today is that at the end of Adventure #437 is a half-page ad for a series it took me YEARS to complete: a "new" adventure of the Seven Soldiers of Victory!

NEMESIS 3: B&B #168

Brave and the Bold #168 (Nov 1980)

cover: Jim Aparo (signed)

title: "Swift Wing of Recompense!"

writer: Cary Burkett

art: Dan Spiegle

letterer: John Costanza
colorist: Gene D'Angelo

editor: Paul Levitz

NEMESIS 2: B&B #167

Brave and the Bold #167 (Oct 1980)

cover: Jim Aparo (signed)

title: "A Name Writ In Blood!"

writer: Cary Burkett

art: Dan Spiegle

letterer: John Costanza
colorist: Adrienne Roy

editor: Paul Levitz

NEMESIS 1: B&B #166

Brave and the Bold #166 (Sept 1980)

cover: Jim Aparo (signed)

title: "Nemesis!"

writer: Cary Burkett

art: Dan Spiegle

letterer: John Costanza
colorist: Adrienne Roy

editor: Paul Levitz

DC Comics' NEMESIS!

NEMESIS! 

The first time I came upon this word was in the pages of A Caribbean Mystery by Agatha Christie. In the course of the story Miss Marple, Christie's famous elderly spinster detective, considers herself an embodiment of Nemesis, the Greek Goddess of retribution. She acts to prevent a murder, and refers to herself as "Nemesis."

Not really an austere beginning for an action hero, right?

In 1980 writer Cary Burkett and artist Dan Spiegle populated the eight extra pages at the back of The Brave and The Bold with another character code-named NEMESIS. And this young man had almost nothing in common with Miss Jane Marple!