The Evolution of Homo mermanus

By Jack Kirby & Stan Lee. FF & Sub-Mariner © Marvel Comics.

And in colour:

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The Hyborian Age: Chapter Three

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Script by Roy Thomas; Art © Walt Simonson; The Hyborian Age and Conan © their current copyright holders.

Read:Chapter One
Chapter Two

The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus

The enchanted World of Rankin & Bass Blog

“THE LIFE & ADVENTURES OF SANTA CLAUS… was the last ANIMAGIC TV Special from RANKIN/BASS and originally aired on CBS in 1985. It is based on a story by FRANK L. BAUM (WIZARD OF OZ) and is well loved by a generation of fans that grew up in the 1980's!”

Think of it as a cross between the classic “Rudolph” and “The Mad Monster Party”. “Adventures” has a lot of cool monsters and weird fantasy creatures, and is definitely cut from a darker cloth than the rest of the Rankin/Bass specials. Which is probably why it is rarely broadcast these days. link

An excerpt from “THE LIFE & ADVENTURES OF SANTA CLAUS” is up on Youtube:


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Have A Marvelous Christmas!

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Vaughn Bodé’s 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea: Part 5

Back in the 60’s Vaughn Bodé illustrated a number of classics that had been rewritten for “reading challenged” kids. The books were published by Frank E. Richards and sold exclusively to schools.

Because these books are almost impossible to find at reasonable prices I’ll be posting all the illos from the best book of the bunch, “Jules Verne’s ’20,000 Leagues Under The Sea” in eight installments.

Read: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8

All art © the estate of Vaughn Bodé

This Day In History: 1st Full-length Animated Film Premieres

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In 1937, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Walt Disney's first full-length (83 minutes), animated film opened in Los Angeles, California. Using the story adapted from Brothers Grimms' Fairy Tales, it was the first commercially successful film of its kind.

Taking two years and $1.5 million to create, it was released for its premiere during Christmas of 1937. Disney had to mortgage his house to pay for the film's production. This followed within a span of just 12 years since the first black and white talking Mickey Mouse in Steamboat Willie (1928). link

Mystery Cosmic Explosions

Scientists have discovered what appears to be a new kind of cosmic explosion. They call the explosion a hybrid gamma-ray burst.

As with other gamma-ray bursts, this hybrid burst is likely signalling the birth of a new black hole. It is unclear, however, what kind of object or objects exploded or merged to create the black hole or, perhaps, something even more bizarre. The hybrid burst exhibits properties of the two known classes of gamma-ray bursts yet possesses features that cannot be explained.

Art by Jack Kirby. Galactus © Marvel Comics.

"Gamma-ray bursts are the most powerful known explosions in the universe and fall into two categories, long and short. The long bursts last for more than two seconds and appear to be from the core collapse (supernova) of massive stars forming a black hole. The short bursts, under two seconds long and often lasting just a few milliseconds, appear to be caused by the merger of two neutron stars or a neutron star with a black hole, which subsequently creates a new or bigger black hole. The small amount of remaining merger material can only feed the black hole for about a second and hence gives a short period of energy release.

The hybrid burst, called GRB 060614 after the date it was detected, was 1.6 billion light years away in the constellation Indus. The burst lasted for 102 seconds, placing it soundly in long-burst territory. But the burst lacked the hallmark of a supernova, or star explosion, commonly seen shortly after long bursts. link

An enigmatic long-lasting -ray burst not accompanied by a bright supernova. 2006. M. Della Valle et al. Nature Nature 444: 1050-1052.