Tag Archives: Christmas

The Saturday Comics featuring Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (Christmas Classic)

28 Dec

December 28, 2012

Why is Saturday Comics being reposted at Christmastime? because this one features not just Batman, not just big apes, not just Jimmy Olsen, but read on for the Christmas Classic Santa Claus Conquers the Martians.

You’re welcome.

December 10, 2011

Sometimes comic companies seem to lose their minds. You look at what they put out and you wonder who they expect to buy it. I’m not talking about a badly written story or an issue with bad art, I am talking about a comic whose very cover makes you think that just maybe the publisher has had a stroke. This week I present five WTF? covers and I am proud/sad to say that I own four of them.

 

There was a time that Batman was so popular that you could put anything on the newsstands and it would sell as long as it had Batman on the cover. Now while I am firmly of the opinion that everything is better with apes, this one leaves me scratching my head.

First of all, the ape is wearing a cowl, presumably to protect its identity. But Batman goes right ahead and blows it by blurting out his name. Way to go, Bruce.

Secondly, the gorilla must have ripped that flag pole out of its base on the roof, and I am just not sure gorillas are that strong. And really, did Batman and Robin have no other way of getting across the rooftops? Did they  forget their Batropes at home?

And finally, why? Why bother? Does Batman really need an ape sidekick?

But I have to be honest. If I were a kid I would have totally bought that issue.

 

Sticking with Big Apes (forgive me) we have this issue of Konga’s Revenge, based on the Ape from Konga which you may recall from The Late Night Movie House of Crap.

This is a comic book starring a giant rampaging ape. Did that not offer enough creative opportunities that the creators found it necessary to send him back in time too? Is Konga that much more exciting when facing a Trojan warrior? In my opinion, once you have a giant ape running amok, why mess with a good thing?

But to be fair, King Kong once had to face ancient warriors too.

 

I’ve covered Jimmy Olsen comics before and I am more convinced than ever that DC had no clue what to do with that book.

 

I must admit that not only do I own this book, I love it. It really is a lot of fun. But above all, you have to admire the sheer ego, gall, and chutzpah it took for Stan Lee and Jack Kirby to put themselves into the comic- and as the stars, no less!

The premise is that, on “our” Earth, the editors and staff of Marvel Comics received a mysterious package that turned them into the Fantastic Four. That’s Stan Lee as Mr. Fantastic, Jack Kirby as The Thing, Sol Brodsky as The Human Torch, and Flo Steinberg as The Invisible Woman. Admittedly, the Marvel bullpen was already legendary, and none more so than Stan and Jack, but to put themselves out there are comic book stars? Sheer hubris.

 

Honestly, I look at that cover and I cannot decide between “genius” and “crap.” And while I think I fall on the “crap” side of things, I’ve got to say that with a cover like that, how could that comic not sell?

On the other hand, the movie is utter, utter trash.

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Christmas In Heaven (Christmas Classic)

27 Dec

December 27, 2012

This has never before been reposted. This is a true story whose impact that the passage of time has not blunted at all.

December 29, 2011

I need to tell you upfront that this is not about religion. While the following post will touch on religion it is not a central part of the story. It is just sort of there. So before you go in, if you are the type to be easily offended, turn off that part of your brain.

This is, at the core, a sad story. It was told to me secondhand by frequent contributor and distinguished scholar Allan Keyes but it is one that has happened to millions of people, possibly even those you know. As I said, it is a sad story.

Mr. Keyes was sitting in a restaurant when he overheard a conversation between two people at the next table. They were talking about a friend of theirs who had tragically lost her baby. A horror at any time, the woman was taking it even harder due to the looming holiday season. The couple at the table had, among other things, bought her a card to console her. It was a “Baby’s First Christmas in Heaven” card. They thought it would cheer her up so much that the woman would, and I quote, “frame it and put it on her wall.”

While on the surface a card like that may seem a bit ghoulish, when written well it can bring some measure of consolation to the person getting it. Here is a sample found online of what I think is a good verse:

I see the countless Christmas Trees around the world below,
with tiny lights, like heaven’s stars, reflecting on the snow.
The sight is so spectacular, please wipe away that tear,
for I am spending Christmas with Jesus Christ this year.

A poem like that could give a measure of comfort to a grieving parent.

But it has to be done right.

I found this bit of poetry online.

~Christmas In Heaven~

In Loving Memory of all who are spending their first Christmas in Heaven

I’ve had my first Christmas in Heaven;
A glorious, wonderful day!
I stood with the saints of the ages.
Who found Christ the Truth and the Way.

We sang the glad songs of redemption,
How Jesus to Bethlehem came,
And how they called His name Jesus,
That all might be saved through His name.

Oh darling, I wish you had been here;
No Christmas on earth could compare
With all the rapture and glory
We witnessed in Heaven so fair.

You know how I always loved Christmas;
It seemed such a wonderful day,
With all of my loved ones around me,
The children so happy at play.

Yes, now I see why I loved it;
And, oh, what a joy it will be
When you and my loved ones are with me,
To share in the glories I see.

So dear ones on earth, here’s my greeting;
Look up “till the Day Star appears,
And oh, what a Christmas awaits us,
Beyond all our partings and tears!

~written by A.S. Reitz 

Something in those lines caught my eye. Did it catch yours?
Read these lines again.

Oh darling, I wish you had been here

And

And, oh, what a joy it will be
When you and my loved ones are with me

In other words, “I wish you were with me up here in Heaven. Things will be so great when you get here.”

Catch it yet?

The narrator of the poem is saying “I wish you were dead too. I can’t wait for you to die.”

It continues.

And oh, what a Christmas awaits us,
Beyond all our partings and tears!

Wow, he makes Christmas in heaven sound so good that maybe I should jump in front of a truck and get there right now! Maybe I’m nuts, but if you reread the poem’s last two verses, isn’t the narrator implying that the loved ones should hurry up and die already? That is a dangerous message to send a grieving parent.

I fail to see any comfort in that poem.

Merry Christmas! Now Drop Dead! Isn’t that what the season is all about?

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