Category Archives: Art

The Covers Of Mystery Tales

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

Mystery Tales was one of the many pulp magazines from West Fiction Publishing Company.  From 1938 to 1940, over the course of 9 issues, Mystery Tales brought readers stories of cults, criminals, demons, femme fatales, and damsels in distress.  Though I’m sure the stories were fine, the magazine is today mostly remembered and sought after by collectors for its extremely lurid covers.  Below are 7 of the covers of Mystery Tales!

June, 1938. Cover by Norman Saunders

November, 1938. Cover by John Walter Scott

May, 1939. Cover by John Walter Scott

September, 1939. Cover by John Walter Scott

December, 1939. Cover by John Walter Scott

March, 1940. Cover by John Walter Scott.

May, 1940. Cover by John Walter Scott.

Moments #7: A Visit To The Cemetery

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

This nature trail is located a few miles away from my house.  When the weather is just right, I like to go down there and walk along the path and just enjoy the peace and beauty of nature.

What many people do not know, even those who visit the park on a daily basis, is that if you take a step off the nature trail and follow an overgrown path through the trees, you can find a historic cemetery that has sat in the park since the town was founded in the 1850s.

It’s rare that I visit the nature trail without also visiting the cemetery.  It’s a reminder of the people who were here before me and who lived on this land before it became a park where people jog, ride their bicycles, and look at their phones when they should be looking at the world around them.

Previous Moments:

  1. My Dolphin by Case Wright
  2. His Name Was Zac by Lisa Marie Bowman
  3. The Neighborhood, This Morning by Erin Nicole
  4. The Neighborhood, This Afternoon by Erin Nicole
  5. Walking In The Rain by Erin Nicole
  6. The Abandoned RV by Erin Nicole

Great Moments In Comic Book History #34: Tawky Tawny Makes His First Appearance

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

76 years ago, in Fawcett’s Captain Marvel Adventures #79, Tawky Tawny made his first appearance.

Who was Tawky Tawny?  He was a humanoid Bengal tiger from India who spoke perfect English and who simply wanted to come to the United States so that he could learn about American culture.  Though Tawky Tawny is friendly and intelligent, everyone panics when they see him because he’s a humanoid tiger who talks.  It falls to Captain Marvel (in the days before D.C. bought the character and changed his name became Shazam) to track down the Tawky Tawny and discover what is going on with him.

Luckily, Captain Marvel discovers that Tawky Tawny means well and just wants to get to know people.  Captain Marvel gets him a job as a tour guide at a local museum.

Created by writer Otto Binder and artist C.C. Beck, Tawky Tawny soon became one of Captain Marvel’s most important supporting characters.  He even got his own origin story when it was revealed that Tawky Tawny was a normal tiger until he was framed for murder.  A local shaman gave Tawny a serum that allowed him to stand upright and verbally defend himself.  For the rest of Captain Marvel’s run, Tawky Tawny was the hero’s best friend.  While Captain Marvel was the beloved hero, Tawky Tawny was the outsider who never lost his positive outlook and his intellectual curiosity.

Fawcett subsequently sold Captain Marvel and all of his supporting characters to DC Comics.  Unfortunately, DC has consistently proven themselves to be inept when it comes to bringing Tawky Tawny into their continuity.  Still, Tawky Tawny endures as a symbol of hope and optimism.

Previous Great Moments In Comic Book History:

  1. Winchester Before Winchester: Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #45 “Ghost Dance” 
  2. The Avengers Appear on David Letterman
  3. Crisis on Campus
  4. “Even in Death”
  5. The Debut of Man-Wolf in Amazing Spider-Man
  6. Spider-Man Meets The Monster Maker
  7. Conan The Barbarian Visits Times Square
  8. Dracula Joins The Marvel Universe
  9. The Death of Dr. Druid
  10. To All A Good Night
  11. Zombie!
  12. The First Appearance of Ghost Rider
  13. The First Appearance of Werewolf By Night
  14. Captain America Punches Hitler
  15. Spider-Man No More!
  16. Alex Ross Captures Galactus
  17. Spider-Man And The Dallas Cowboys Battle The Circus of Crime
  18. Goliath Towers Over New York
  19. NFL SuperPro is Here!
  20. Kickers Inc. Comes To The World Outside Your Window
  21. Captain America For President
  22. Alex Ross Captures Spider-Man
  23. J. Jonah Jameson Is Elected Mayor of New York City
  24. Captain America Quits
  25. Spider-Man Meets The Fantastic Four
  26. Spider-Man Teams Up With Batman For The Last Time
  27. The Skrulls Are Here
  28. Iron Man Meets Thanos and Drax The Destroyer
  29. A Vampire Stalks The Night
  30. Swamp Thing Makes His First Cover Appearance
  31. Tomb of Dracula #43
  32. The Hulk Makes His Debut
  33. Iron Man #182