Happy Halloween with Alvin Hollingsworth's The Ghost of Fire!

On this Halloween when the ghost and gullies come out to play, I thought I would share a great old horror story from the Golden Age of comic books as told by the great Alvin Hollingsworth.

 

 

 

Zippy the Pinhead

Zippy the Pinhead burst onto the comics scene in the Underground comic Real Pulp #1, March 1971. Zippy is not just a comic; it's an experience; a way of thinking and interacting with the world.

Zippy, based on the freak show performer Zip the Pinhead, is a free spirited, free thinking simpleton who gets himself in and out of all kinds of crazy trouble.

Tony Salmons Batman

Tony Salmons is one of my all time favorite comic artists. He has this loose, kinetic style that is super exciting. Though he has been making comics for 30 or so years, no one has approached what he's been doing all these years. He is a true original in the comics world.



Batman commission by Tony Salmons showing off some of his skills at depicting buildings, cars and crazy kinetic action as well as his unusual inking techniques.

Happy 55th Birthday Jaime Hernandez!

Jaime Hernandez (born Oct, 10th, 1959) and his brothers Gilberto became independent comic sensations in the 80's with their fun depiction of Mexican/American women in their, Love and Rockets. While Gilberto took inspiration for his Heartbreak Soup from stories he was told about village life in Mexico, Jaime took inspiration for his Locas from the LA punk scene that were a part of.



Jaime surrounded by some of his spirited female characters; clockwise from lower left, Daphne "DAFFY" Matsumoto, Beatríz "PENNY CENTURY" Garcia, Margarita "MAGGIE" Chascarrillo,  Esperanza "HOPEY" Glass, TERRY Downe, Isabel "IZZY" Reubens

The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers NSFW

The other big Underground Comix artist besides R. Crumb of the late 60's and early 70's was Gilbert Shelton, the creator of the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers.

the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers #2, 1972

The Black Widow, Hawkeye and her co-creator dashing Don Heck

The Black Widow is one of  Marvel's most interesting characters. Of all of Marvel's early female characters, the Black Widow was one of their most independent and modern superheroines. While Janet van Dyne, (the Wasp) was chasing Hank Pym (Goliath) and Sue Storm (the Invisible Girl) was having Reed Richard's baby, Natasha Romanoff (a.k.a. Black Widow) was working in international espionage for S.H.I.E.L.D. (Supreme Headquarters of International Espionage and Law-Enforcement Division) as well as being Marvel's first superheroine to get her own solo feature in Amazing Adventures. How did her character come about? Was she always so emancipated? Who were her creators? Let's take a look.