Thursday, August 14, 2014

Amazed by Aparo: "The Image's Idyl!" by Kaler and Aparo

Hey, hey, hey, Groove-ophiles! Ya'll have been begging for some Charlton Action Hero goodness, so, having been inspired by the guys from Charlton Arrow (man, if you're don't have the first two issues of Charlton Arrow, you're missing two of the best comics of the decade! I kid you not!! Click that Charlton Arrow logo over in the sidebar and get those mags in your hands a.s.a.p.!), Ol' Groove figures it's about time! We're gonna kick off with something really cool--the first Nightshade back-up from Captain Atom #87 (cover-dated August 1967)! Written by early pillar of comicbook fandom Dave Kaler, "The Image's Idyl!" is not only the first Nightshade solo story, but it's also (can ya believe this?) our man Jim Aparo's very first super-hero strip! Oh, and dig the villain's name and chest emblem...makes ya wanna go "hmmmmmm" dunnit?







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5 comments:

  1. Edo BosnarAugust 14, 2014 at 5:10 AM

    A big thumbs up from me every time you post this wonderful, hard-to-find early Aparo material from his pre-DC days in the '60s. Aparo seems to have been another artist who didn't have much of a learning curve: even this early stuff looks so polished and mature. And I love those monochrome flashback panels.

    Also, I agree with you about the villain's name and logo. Looks like outright theft on the part of the Image crew...

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  2. SMAugust 14, 2014 at 5:46 AM

    It is a very good comics site.

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  3. RussAugust 14, 2014 at 9:41 PM

    Even though he later got to draw the Phantom, it seems an odd omission that Aparo never headlined one of the original Action Hero books. Lots of great backups, though: Nightshade, Prankster, Thane of Bagarth, Wander, and Tiffany Sinn, the C.I.A. Sweetheart. Did I miss any?

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  4. Dave BlanchardAugust 15, 2014 at 9:36 AM

    Tiffany Sinn, the CIA Sweetheart?!? Hey, Groove, after you finish delivering all of the Nightshade backups by Aparo, here's a vote for the never-heard-of-her-before Tiffany Sinn.

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  5. RussAugust 16, 2014 at 9:34 AM

    Dave, the stylish Miss Sinn appeared in a couple of issues of Career Girl Romances, I think, before her only Aparo-drawn episode, which was in the back of the Sarge Steel SECRET AGENT comic #10. "Espionage: Muscle Beach Style" meant Tiffany spent half the story in a bikini, but it was all in the line of duty, of course. Ah, the sixties...

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