Direct Currents: The Space Ranger

First appearing in DC's Showcase #15, Rick Starr is a New York business executive of Allied Solar Enterprises, but also secretly a guardian of Earth's solar system when disguised as the adventurer called Space Ranger. From his secret base within an asteroid orbiting between Mars and Jupiter, our hero has a well equipped laboratory and full arsenal of weapons including his trusty anti-gravity gun, dissolverizer, explosi-discs, and thermoblaze pistol to fight crime. With the help of his girlfriend, Myra Mason, who happens to be his secretary back on Earth, and the small shape-changing alien Cryll who Space Ranger rescued from a wrecked spacecraft, the trio protect the planets in his incredible ship, The Solar King. Space ranger has stopped many invasions, menaces, and would-be conquers in his 22nd Century adventures, and even defeated his ultimate enemy, the Gordanians, with the assistance of an ally from the past, the Green Lantern named Hal Jordan.

National Cartoonist Society Profile: Mike Peters

Here is one of the shortest of bios for any of the National Cartoonist Society award winning cartoonists...Mike Peters was born October 9, 1943 to Bill and Charlotte Peters. He went through thirteen years of Catholic Education unscathed. While attending classes at Washington University in St. Louis, he met his best friend and later to be his wife, Marian. They moved to Chicago where the artist worked with the Daily News art staff for one short year. Mike soon got drafted and spent two years in Okinawa. After being discharged from the army Mike became the new editorial cartoonist for the Dayton Daily News. He later started his popular syndicated feature, Mother Goose and Grimm, in 1984. He and Marian have three daughters and more awards than he think he deserves.

Even More RBCC Original Art Prices!

Here is yet another shocking report of original comic art prices from the early seventies that was published in the Rocket's Blast Comic Collector by none other than writer, Doug Moench! His four page advertisement starts out in bold capital letters "MOENCH SELLS OUT HIS FRIENDS AND ASSOCIATES' SOULS! ORIGINAL ART", and continues with page after page of great pieces at wonderful prices, (in today's market). Apparently the IRS reared it ugly head, and all the writer's hopes and dreams of keeping his beloved pages went up in smoke, since he had to support foreign assassination plots, bribes to Iran, and excessive toilet paper supplies to ex-presidents... his words, not mine. But you can tell he really didn't want to sell some of these gems, though he provided discounts for the more number of pages you purchased. He would consider "haggling" on them if you wanted to buy pieces from all the various artists, not just trying to get all from one illustrator, and offered to sign them if you wish. So sit back in a comfortable chair and grab a bottle of aspirin, because you'll probably get a headache when reading over these pages and prices so Moench can "make this country what it is...and, at the moment, make Doug just a little wistful..."

Rich Buckler
Astonishing Tales #26
Cover $60
Page 1 Splash $55
2, 3, 7, $40, 15 $45

John Buscema
Master of Kung Fu #27
Page 15 $20, 16 $15

Sal Buscema
Master of Kung Fu#32
Page 16 $7, 17 $6

Paul Gulacy
Master of Kung Fu #25
Page 1 Splash $50
3 $40, 7 $40, 11 $30, 15 $25

Well, you get the idea, same great pricing on the next
twenty-two MOKF Gulacy issues or so!

Larry Hama
Marvel Premiere #17
Page 2 $35, 3 $30

Russ Heath
Ka-Zar #12
Page 3 $45

Don Heck
Ka-Zar #11
Page 3 $6

Gil Kane
Inhumans #5
Page 3o $20, 31 $15

Val Mayerik
Monster of Frankenstein #12
Page 3 $20, 14 $10

Monster of Frankenstein #13
Page 10 $5, 23 $4

George Perez
Inhumans #1
Page 6 $15, 11 $15

Don Perlin
Werewolf by Night #20
Page 15 $5, 17 $5

Giant Size Werewolf by Night #2
Page 16 $3, 17 $3, 25 $4, 29 $3

Pages for three dollars, that is not a typo!

Doug's list goes on for twenty-six issues, all about the same
except issue #32 with the first Moon Knight appearance
are running around $10 to $12.

Frank Robbins
Fear #25
Page 18 $15, 23 $15

George Tuska
Creatures on the Loose #30
Page 11 $3, 16 $4, 30 $7

There were a lot more pages by these artists and others, but I can't
seem to force myself to keep posting these numbers any more.

My Greatest Adventure: The Metal Men

One of the strangest super teams to come from DC's try-out book, made their first appearance in Showcase #37, back in March 1962. More than mere robot facsimiles of humans, The Metal Men, had the minds of several noted scientists and a few unlucky bystanders that got caught in a terrible experiment gone wrong, preformed by Dr. William Magnus. The good doctor's top secret project for the U.S. Army in robotics caused these heroes to fuse with his prototype "responseometers" that erased the memories and helped animate their powerful new automaton bodies. Based on the metals they came in contact with, Gold was their intelligent and analytical leader, the friendly giant, Iron, provided the muscle, proud and self centered was the robot Mercury, timid and shy was the loyal loving Tin, dynamic Lead was big-hearted but a little on the slow side, while the lovely Platinum rounded out the team, having a crush on their surprised "creator." This fantastic team, forged in the fiery foundries of science, often sold their lived dearly for humanity's sake against foes like the Missile Men or Chemo, only to be salvaged and rebuilt once again by their duty bound Dr. Magnus.