Pow! The Last Squeeze Play!

Wally Wood was always it seemed a roving agent, always looking for opportunities and his mastery of his craft made him a desirable partner for folks, both those up and coming and looking for a mentor and those like James Warren looking for a talent to help him expand his magazine empire. He'd found partners in Forry Ackerman for Famous Monsters of Filmland and Archie Goodwin for Creepy and Eerie among others. He looked to Wally Wood for that special somewhat naughty flair that Wood had delivered on some independent and underground projects and which simmered just under the garments of many a well-rendered damsel in countless above ground comics pages. He wanted Woody to give him a comic magazine that was a little more frank about sexual matters. The magazine was dubbed Pow! and work was begun by Wood and Nick Cuti among others such as the artist of the page above Ernie Colon. (Note: That's Nick Cuti with the muttonchops in the first panel.) "I Wonder Who's Squeezing Her Now?" is a downbeat story of life in post-modern United States and how downtrodden people can become and what measures they can resort to when times get tough and love and expectations falter. Read the story here. 

But Pow! did not develop and the story was all that was produced aside from some logo designs and such. It became yet one more what-if project in the career of one of comic's most talented creators.

The story has been published twice t my knowledge, once over a decade after its creation in the Warren magazine 1984 and later in a Renegade Press publication named Murder. It's a rough and tumble story and show's what might have been if Pow! had become a reality. 

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Bon Voyage Captain Cosmos!

Captain Cosmos has stood his final watch my friends. The Last Starveyer has left this planet Earth behind for good alas. Nicola Cuti has passed away after a long bout with cancer.

The creator of Captain Cosmos - the Last Starveyer and Moonchild the Starbabes and scores of other entertaining comic book characters, Nicola Cuti worked as an editor and writer and artist for Warren, Charlton, DC, and more through the many decades of his career. He has a story in the most recent issue of The Creeps magazine titled "Bug-Eyed Monster" and it was his role as an Associate Editor which finally got me to give that mag a chance. Nick Cuti had career and life which seemed filled with enthusiasm for the comics and characters he loved.

His most famous creation was E-Man who he fashioned with artist Joe Staton long ago at the now gone but hardly forgotten Charlton Comics shop where Nick was an Assistant Editor to George Wildman.

E-Man stares down on me at this very moment, the delightful poster used to promote the character was added to my walls many years ago and has always had the most prominent and important position. For the umpteenth time on a blog a mine, but the first time at my "Other Blog" here are the covers for the original E-Man run.

The ten original issues of that magnificent comic book are perhaps the most influential in my life. I remember reading the sixth issue (the first I found) as if it were yesterday afternoon. You cared about the characters, even the baddies and no romance was more potent or real than that between Alec Tronn and Nova Kane.

Michael Mauser was a stroke of comic genius all by himself. The humor and adventure and sheer humanity evident in those comics is superior to any other comic I've chanced upon in decades of reading.  Some books came close, but none ever blended those elements so  harmoniously or with such aplomb.

I might well have more to say about Nick, the only one of my favorite writers I ever got to correspond with, but now his Captain Cosmos videos are just the thing to remember him by -- I'll dig that out. And then it's to reading some of that original E-Man yet again to warm my heart. Thanks again Nick and bon voyage Captain Cosmos.

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