While we’re waiting for IndyPlanet to upload our latest issues (Big Bang Adventures #23 and 24, Knight Watchman: Creatures of the Knight #2, National Guardians #3), I thought I’d remind you of our other recent issues that have been listed on IndyPlanet.com.

Big Bang Adventures #18

Journey into the past with these two Ultiman stories. In “The Fury of Faust’s Four”, our hero fails to save a moon-bound rocket from blowing up and as the four occupants lay dying they sell their souls to a demon for revenge against Ultiman, becoming some of the Ultimate Human Being’s most dangerous enemies: The Visible Man, the Wisp, Vesuvius and the Glob. Art: Ron Williams. Pinups Frank Fosco. Next up, Ultraman’s toddler daughter gains his amazing powers from a chunk of Ultranium, the radioactive meteor that originally gave Chris Kelly his own powers, which are now at low ebb. How do you stop the world’s most powerful baby – especially when she’s angry? Art: Jeff Weigel.

Big Bang Adventures #19

Vinnie Fresco’s rendezvous with Venus, Goddess of Love is cut short when she is called away by the Round Table of America. Moments later, Vinnie is contacted by another alien on Earth, named Vanguard. Just as Vinnie protects the Earth from his own people, Vanguard protects against attacks from his people’s enemies. Van has detected an alien presence near the planet Venus, with multiple eyes and wonders if he’s related to Vinnie’s people. Vinnie zooms off to to check it out and discovers a powerful being known as the Juggler of Worlds.

Art: Cesar Madarro

Big Bang Adventures #20 and 21

This action packed two-parter takes place just over a year after the events in the classic Knight Watchman: Graveyard Shift storyline. The new Mayor of Midway City is running for reelection by campaigning against mercenaries like Galahad and the Knight Watchman. Jerry Randall, who uses both identities to fight crime since his uncle Reid’s retirement is battling bad publicity and crime as new villains the Inquizitor and Cardinal Sin target the city. When the Mayoral Election ends, John Princeton has won and his anti-vigilante program will become law. Galahad promised to retire if this happened, but just to make sure that he did, the InQuizitor’s assistant Cardinal Sin makes it appear that the White Knight used a bazooka to blow up a sign in the middle of town. Art: Ron Williams. Plus, a new Dr. Weird prose story “A Duel With A Dead-King!” by Ray MacKay with art by Glenn Whitmore.

Big Bang Adventures #22

The Last Whiz Kids Story reaches its climax as our heroes fight sorcerers, evil genies and Assassins. When tragedy strikes again, the Fate of the World depends on Galahad making his own Leap of Faith. Two lost members of the team join the fight, but for another two it will really be their LAST! Burials, the New Round Table of America & some other guests. Plus a great Pin-up gallery! By the classic team of Pedro Angosto, Jorge Santamaria and Juan Moreno.

Anomalies #5

Jinx introduces newcomer Jimmy Griffin to the world of T.A.R.O.T. by testing out his new Arachnoid enhancements in a trial by combat. Then they join the fracas between the Anomalies Beta Team and the Spoilers, which has drawn the attention of The Project, T.A.R.O.T., and The Humanity Salvation Mission, which which all launch investigations by agents from each organization. As the battle continues, all sides discover that they have a new common foe. What new threat could possibly bring all of these enemies together? Find out in, “Enter The Arachnoid!” Art: Ron C. Williams

Knight Watchman: Creatures of the Knight #1

The original Knight Watchman’s rogues gallery takes on monstrous identities in this dark homage to the great classic Monster films. The madly manic Pink Flamingo gathers Hal “Mr. Mask” Owen, Chester “The Cheshire Cat” Katz, Patsy “The Paper Doll” Dahl and Edward “Grandfather Clock” Klock in an effort to resurrect the vampire Baron Fledermaus from his grave to wreak havoc on Midway City. Meanwhile the ghoulish living deadman Red Ted has a change of heart and identity, becoming the mysterious protector of the city’s homeless population who have come under the attack of a vampire cult. Will Ted and Knight Watchman join forces or clash? Story and art by the team that brought you the classic Graveyard Shift: Chris Ecker art and Ben Torres.

All of these and much more are available only at www.IndyPlanet.com. Be sure to check them out and watch for the new issues too.

When a mysterious killer murders the crimefighter Mr. ?, Galahad discovers a centuries-old conspiracy by the leader of the Assassins, a sorcerer called the Old Man of the Mountain. The Whiz Kids regroup with new members to fight this menace. It takes them on a Quest for the Holy Grail, from Iran to the blessed island of Sarras led by the returned wizard Mike Merlin. Not only the villains from BloodPact and sorceress Kundry stand in their way, bur Galahad will discover some shocking truths about his past that were hidden for many years. All that, plus many more surprises.

Big Bang Adventures # 14, 18 and 22 (plus many more issues) are available here: https://www.indyplanet.com/?s=big+bang+comics

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Greetings to all of you in the Big Bang Gang. There are new issues of Big Bang Comics up for sale on IndyPlanet.com as print-on-demand copies for about $5.00 or pdf downloads for 99 cents. You ought to check them out. These are issues of Big Bang Adventures and our Anomalies series. It’s New Comic Book Day every day at IndyPlanet.com. Here are our latest offerings, all available at https://www.indyplanet.com/?s=Big+Bang+Comics.

In Big Bang Adventures #17, the Whiz Kids and Mike Merlin launch a full scale attack on Alamut, base of the mysterious Old Man of the Mountains and his Assassins. But are they too late to stop the villain who seeks to reach the Holy Grail? Inside the castle, dark and forgotten secrets from Galahad’s past await when he discovers Sword of Allah’s true identity! Guest-starring Robo-Hood, Thunder Girl, Lady Knight and the Whizzards! Plus a fantastic pin-up gallery!

Story by Pedro Angosto, art by Jorge Santamaria and Juan Moreno, colors by Ulises Kuroshima and letters by Adam Pruett. Edited by Gary Carlson

The beautiful Thunder Girl stars in Big Bang Adventures #16, featuring an even more beautiful cover and first story art by Jonathan Dhenry. When Wendell Wilkins’ science experiment at Maryvale High School goes awry and transfers Thunder Girl’s amazing powers to three athletes. Instead of using their new abilities for good, the three jocks run amuck in town, trying to decide which one gets to be the World’s Strongest Girl’s boyfriend. This is a fun tale homaging Archie and his Riverdale pals. Story by Gary Carlson and Chris Ecker.

After sorting out that mess, Molly Wilson uses her powers to stop the diabolical River Rat Gang, but things really get out of control when she meets a magical cat in an alley and must face “The Curse of the Thunder Kitten!” Story by Gary Carlson and art by Francisco Menor. All this plus a gallery of pinups covering Thunder Girl’s history.

Then, Not So Secret Origins presents the Knight Watchman in “Birth of the Greatest Hero” by Pepe Diaz and Jose Aguilera.

The Anomalies are back in their second and third issues. Hopefully you’ve checked out the previous stories in Big Bang Adventures #7 and issue #1 of Anomalies. Issue #2 features the top-secret government team known as the ANOMALIES, young humans who were genetically mutated by exposure to the radioactive Element K which gave Ultiman his powers years earlier, who drop onto an island fortress to rescue Victor Stalina (code name: Richter) who had been kidnapped by the underground organization known as T.A.R.O.T. The Anomalies, led by Victor’s older sister Anya Stalina (a.k.a. Inertia) successfully liberated him, only to be confronted by another team of enhanced humans: Terrie O’Hara (Sweet T), Bobby Topps (Black Ice) and Billie J. Jackson (White Lightnin’), collectively known as The Spoilers.

In Anomalies 3, the Anomalies have successfully liberated Victor (Richter) from the clutches of T.A.R.O.T., but the mastermind known as “His Excellency” has not given up on defeating them. Enter: JINX! Is she friend or foe? Will she use her past ties to members of The Project for good or ill? And what of the other, yet undisclosed anomaly-powered “Children of the Meteor”? Project Director Isinglass wonders on whose side Team Beta’s loyalties will fall? More intrigue, more adventure, more ANOMALIES! Both issues written by Chris Ecker, art by Ron Charles William edited by Gary Carlson and cover colors by Glenn Whitmore

Plus, these other great issues are Coming Soon. Both Big Bang Adventures #18 and Anomalies #4 are at the printer and will be listed for sale soon. See you next time.

The latest issues of Big Bang Adventures are up for sale on IndyPlanet.com as print-on-demand copies for about $5.00 or pdf downloads for 99 cents.

Ultiman is back in BBA #15, guest starring Megaton and Shutterbug as they face the briliiantly evil Dexter Cortex, who is out to kill the Ultimate Human Being and everyone that he loves – by using Ultiman’s own robots against him! Story by me (Gary Carlson), art by Ron Williams and colors by Glenn Whitmore.

The Whiz Kids are back and starring in Big Bang Adventures #15’s The Last Whiz Kids Story, written by Pedro Angosto, pencilled by Jorge Santamaria, inked by Juan Moreno, and colored by Daniel Caramanico. The mysterious hero known as Mr. ? has been murdered and Galahad recruits the past members of the Whiz Kids to help unravel the mystery.

Big Bang Adventures #13 stars both Thunder Girl and Megaton in their own stories. The World’s Strongest Girl squares off against her old enemy Hydro, and Megaton journeys to Ultiman’s Secret Citadel, a desert island in the Pacific Ocean in this prequel to the adventure in issue #15. All this plus a Venus role playing game by Scott Casper.

And finally, Big Bang Adventures #12 celebrates the 40^th Anniversary of Megaton #1, where the Big Bang Universe all began, with these prequel tales that predate that historic first issue. “Touchdown!” – Before desperation led Dr. Pomeroy to turn the dying Matt Scott into Megaton, another seemingly ideal candidate became Pulsar, a journey that would lead him on a collision course with Matt’s destiny. “Napier Stays” – When everyone else had left Matt, and his fortune was gone, his dedicated and unflinching butler remained to help him find his way. Yet there was more to Napier than Matt ever imagined. Stories and Art by Allen Forbes II.

Check them, and the other issues of Big Bang Adventures at https://www.indyplanet.com/big-bang-comics

Hi gang. Just a reminder that the latest issues of Big Bang Adventures are up for sale on IndyPlanet.com and print-on-demand copies or pdf downloads. The contents and characters vary from issue to issue, but there is a continuity behind it all. Mostly, we try to have fun.

As we say on Indy – Remember when comics were fun? Big Bang Comics does. Big Bang is a retro series, honoring the creators, styles, and characters from the Golden and Silver Ages right up to modern times. Enjoy 80 years of faux comics history in the pages of Big Bang Comics, which began as a mini-series at Caliber Press in 1994, moved to Image Comics for about 50 issues and one-shots, and most recently as a series of annuals from AC Comics.

In Big Bang Adventures #9, the Knight Watchman and Kid Galahad face off against the deadly Killer Shark! Plus, Erik Larsen’s Mighty Man and Captain Tootsie find themselves in a conflict with aliens from outer space. And finally, the Master of the Macabre Dr. Weird is engaged in a battle with an elemental demon for the soul of an innocent little girl. Stories, art and colors by Gary S. Carlson, Jon D’Henry, Coink Adink, Edward DeGeorge, Ron Williams, Glenn Whitmore.

In BBA #10, the high-flying Shutterbug becomes Public Enemy #1 when Dexter Cortex, the man who uploaded his brain into the internet takes control of the alien technology in SB’s suit. Then, in a blast from Ultiman’s past, his grown up daughter Christie arrives as Ultrawoman from the future to foil a plot by Cortex to alter time. And Speed Queen, the vixen of velocity runs into a gang of crooks that learned to teleport in this Golden Age tale.  By Gary S. Carlson, Ron C. Williams, Gianluca Cerritelli, and colors by Glenn Whitmore.

Finally, something different but a real blast in BBA #11. Vinnie Fresco was a warrior from the planet Vakarra in another dimension, who came to Earth to prepare it for an invasion by his people. Instead, Vinnie fell in love with all of the creative arts of Earth and became a Renaissance Man – writing, drawing, painting, composing music. You name it, he has explored it. In his spare time, he has stopped numerous attacks by his own people and others. Now, he finds himself facing one of his world’s fiercest enemies; a Nyjerran warrior who has been on Earth since ancient Egyptian times. And to make matters even worse, that battle attracts the attention of another alien, named Vanguard, who has been sent to Earth to protect it from other aliens. Story by me, art by Cesar Madarro, and cover colors by Glenn Whitmore

There are twelve or thirteen other Big Bang Comics issues for sale on IndyPlanet and I encourage you to check them out at https://indyplanet.com/?s=Big+Bang+Comics

Gary Carlson

9/13/2021

Red Ted McKenna

It turns out that Monroe Willis, the young boy that the Knight Watchman met in sewer during the previous issue wasn’t a friend of Red Ted’s, but of the Spook. An old man with white skin and a long white beard, the Spook was a former crime-fighter who had fallen on hard times.

The Spook was also the person who discovered Red Ted just after the mob had beaten, stabbed and shot him in the face. The Spook took Ted’s dying body to an underground physician known as the Doctor, who experimented on the almost-cadaver, who recovered in a few days, breaking loose of his restraints and eating the other corpses the Doc had been experimenting on. The Ted went out looking for revenge, in what the papers were calling “cannibal killings”.

Afraid that Red Ted may have overheard Monroe talking about his home at the Wertham Orphanage, the Knight Watchman brings the boy to stay safely with his own mentor, Reid Randall (the original KW).

Meanwhile, the Spook pays a visit to the Doctor in search of Red Ted. Unfortunately, the Doc injects something into the Spook that knocks him out. The Doctor is in cahoots with Ted! Also unfortunately, that is where Part 2 ends – – and the story will be continued, but not until BB #32.

Knight of the Living Dead Part 2 was once again written and penciled by Chris Ecker, and the inking duties this time were split between Jeff Newman and Jim Brozman. Big Bang Comics #29 was published in January of 2000 by Image Comics.

Next up in this issue is a Golden Age Knight Watchman story looking very much like it dates back to 1938. Written by myself, with dead-on ghosted art by John Thompson is “The Pink Feather Mystery,” purportedly the Knight Watchman’s first appearance.

In the story, Midway City’s wealthiest men are killing themselves by jumping out of skyscraper windows or roofs, leaving suicide notes claiming that they lost their money gambling. The Purple Paladin stops one such attempt and comes away with a pink feather that the victim insisted could make him fly.

The Knight Watchman’s investigation takes him to the Flamingo club, where, in his Reid Randall secret identity, he meets the owner, Pinkerton Fleming. That night, Fleming arrives at at Reid’s apartment, sprays him with a secret gas spray and hands him a pink feather. After the millionaire opens his safe, the Pink Flamingo tells Reid to fly away and he jumps out the window.

Minutes later the Knight Watchman swings through the window and subdues the villain, actually punching him out the window. Luckily, Pinky survived and returned for many more stories.

The third story in BB #29 is a slightly creepy 1950-ish horror story titled “The Discovery.” It is narrated by the Spaceman From the Dead, who tells the tale of three struggling scientists on the verge of a major breakthrough in rocket fuel technology. Unfortunately, one of the three gets greedy and kills another for the credit and glory. The third scientist walks in on the killer and manages to shoots him. The third scientist, Professor Thompson makes sure that the first victim, Dr. Higgenboth, gets the credit for the discovery and that his family shares in the monetary success. Unfortunately for Thompson, one night Higgenboth’s corpse pays him a visit and kills him out of gratitude. Strong emotions in the walking dead! The story was written by Kirk Uhlmann, with art by Jeff Wood.

Last up in the issue is a missing chapter from the History of Big Bang Comics, called “Who Is The Spook?” It details the comic book history of the mysterious Spook from the lead story in the issue,

full of lots of covers and art from his faux history by wonderful artists Mark Lewis, Jeff Weigel, Tim Stiles, Glenn Whitmore and Andrew Sheppard.

“Who Is The Spook?” is a lot of fun and helps provide a background for the Spook, who was seen for the first time in this issue. According to the info, he was originally a hard-boiled detective named Rod Flynt who starred in pulp magazines. Flynt eventually got married and readers hated the new light romantic style so the creator killed the characters off in a chemical vat.

The character was revived as the Spook, with deathly white skin, eventually moving from the pulps to slick magazines and then comic books. Very much a pastiche of the Spirit, the artists had fun with their splash panels and he made a nice background character and somewhat of a mentor for the original Knight Watchman.

Back issues for most Big Bang’s are available for purchase for $3 at our back issue store:

https://bigbangcomics.com/products-page/comic-books/image-comics/

Gary Carlson

8/28/2021

Big Bang Comics and all related characters are © and TM Gary Carlson and Chris Ecker. Knight Watchman is a registered trademark of Gary Carlson and Chris Ecker. Spaceman From the Dead is copyright Kirk Uhlmann.

Jerry Randall’s leg injury from Graveyard Shift has healed, and he has resumed playing Galahad by day and Knight Watchman by night. This issue introduces a new adversary for him – a cannibalistic serial-killer who only kills members of the mob that murdered him.

And eats them, or at least parts of them, before they die.

Naturally, the police aren’t happy. And neither is the mob in Midway City. The Knight Watchman hears some police officers discussing the latest victim and they mention a possible previous one named Red Ted McKenna, who is either dead or has disappeared.

Knight Watchman sets out to trail McKenna and ends up in the sewers beneath the city. There he discovers a young black teen named Monroe Willis watching television in a shabby apartment area. Monroe is an orphan who is friends with whoever’s lair he is visiting.

As KW and Monroe talk, Red Ted McKenna arrives and the hulking fellow is not overly happy to see the Knight butting into his business, and the story ends on a cliffhanger with Red Ted knocking the Knight Watchman senseless.

After a one-page cartoon featuring Moffet the Prophet by Mike Worley, the action resumes in a 1970s era story pitting the original Knight Watchman and no-longer-a-kid Galahad against the Pink Flamingo.

The story is titled “The Pink Flamingo’s Bubble Trouble” and was plotted and drawn by Stuart Sayger, with very much a nod of the cap to the work of Neal Adams. I helped edit the story and gave a bit of help to the dialogue. It’s a somewhat dark story, in which the Flamingo sets out to rob the Wertham Art Museum, but first he alerts the Knight Watchman and sets a trap.

Pinky has a Super-Bubble gun that he uses to transform a henchman into a giant helium bubble monster. While KW takes on the bubble, Galahad goes after the Pink Flamingo, only to be blind-sided by Pinky’s other assistant, the Queen of Hearts. They take Galahad, and the stolen painting to their lair, but the Watchman trails them from the tracking unit in the Kid Whiz’s belt buckle. All ends happily as Pinky and the Queen are sent to prison and the painting is put on display at the Museum.

Back issues for most Big Bang’s are available for purchase for $3 at our back issue store:

https://bigbangcomics.com/products-page/comic-books/image-comics/

Gary Carlson

8/16/2021

Big Bang Comics and all related characters are © and TM Gary Carlson and Chris Ecker.

As I’ve mentioned before, BIG BANG COMICS #24 and #27 are two of my own personal favorite issues that we ever produced, and are based on Jim Steranko’s History of Comics. Like part one in BB #24, this issue details the fake history of a fake comic book company, it’s characters and creators in a fake comics industry, stretching from 1938 through the 1970s. We’ve written an updated “modern” third issue that we hope to publish one of these days.

Part one in BB #24 detailed the “history” of Big Bang’s main characters: Ultiman, Knight Watchman, the Badge, Thunder Girl and Dr. Weird. You can read all about it and see some fun pictures in installment #44 of this blog. This issue carries on the tradition, using art, covers and sketches that had been done over the years by the Big Bang Gang of artists. For the most part we made it all up, although we did base our fake creators on many of the real guys.

The Big Bang History of Comics Volume 2 was originally published in October 1999 by Image Comics. While I wrote a lot of it and edited the issue, a ton of artists contributed, as well as writers including Jerry Acerno, Edward DeGeorge, Lyle Dodd, Chris Ecker, Terrance Griep Jr., Bud Hanzel, Mark Lewis, Terry Pavlett, Mark Shirmer and Jeff Weigel who joined in making up the phony histories of themselves and their characters. Thanks to all of them.

With Big Bang Comics, we knew that we’d never be able to tell all of the retro stories that we’d like. Sales were never that great. Issues like this gave us the opportunity to tell some of those tales, and are full of great art never used anywhere else. The issue featured gorgeous front and back cover paintings by Andrew Sheppard, featuring many of the Big Bang characters.

Big Bang #27 kicks off with a chapter about Venus, Goddess of Love and Laughter titled “Love Comes Calling – For Goddess Sake”. It details her career in the 1940s battling criminals and Nazis, and leads into the 1950s where her book became Venus’ Tales of Love and War. Here she adopted the alias of Vanessa DeMille, an army nurse in the Korean War, helping to heal soldiers’ wounds and souls, as well as fighting enemy soldiers. Eventually, Venus’ popularity faded and she became merely the hostess of the book, introducing the stories.

The next chapter, “More Stars Than Hollywood” details the secondary Big Bang characters of the Golden Age, individually and as the team, the Knights of Justice: the Beacon, Blitz and Speed Queen, Dr. Stellar, Vita-Man, the Mighty Hummingbird and U.S. Angel.

“Hits And Misses – Good Girls, Bad Girls, Great Art” features the company’s Femme Fatale heroines. There are lots of fun stories and art by Jerry Acerno about his delightful Shadow Lady character. This leads to BlueBird, Zhantika – Princess of the Jungle, Masker, and Astra the Rocket Girl. Most of these fake covers only appeared here in this issue.

Next comes “Back To The Drawing Board,” which details Big Bang in the 1950s, where Ultiman creators Jimmy Ziegler and Joe Schuler regain control of not only their character, but the entire company. The chapter shows how some characters were updated during this period. Noah Talbot was the Atomic Sub, a scientist whose brain was transferred into a robot body. Unfortunately, it’s fake blood – hydroglycerine – could only draw oxygen from water not air. The Sub battled criminals and enemies aided by his pal, Bubbles the Sea Monkey. Enemies included the Ancient Mariner, ruler of an age-old underseas civilization that joined with the Axis during WW2, and the Blue Blaze, who was the ruler of Fire Island. After being seemingly destroyed by the Ancient Mariner in the early 1950s, Talbot’s android body rebuilt itself and he returned as the modernized Atomic Sub.

Another robot hero from the 1940s who was reborn in the ’50s was Robo-Hood. Then, an alien from the planet Mars named Ch’kk KK’xx arrived on Earth during that same time frame. Assuming the name Chuck Cox, the immigrant pledged to serve America as Mr. Martian! Also during the 50s, five pesky teenagers from another dimension arrived on Earth, followed by an angry dimensional cop who shot and killed them. Their bodies melted into the earth and they bonded with minerals there. They were resurrected as the Element Men: Neon, Helium, Titanium, Nickel and Granite.

This chapter continues with the updates of three characters from the 1940s who were reborn and became major Big Bang stars in the late 1950s and 1960s. The Beacon, Blitz and Hummingbird are featured here, starring in fantastic covers that makes me wish we had been able to tell all those stories.

Next up is the chapter titled “The Best and the Brightest,” taking the company and it’s heroes into the 1960s. The Round Table of America is born, assembled by then President John F. Kennedy to protect America. Ultiman and the Knight Watchman were joined by the Blitz, Beacon, Atomic Sub, Hummingbird, and Mr. Martian in case Russia or Cuba attacked. Venus, Robo-Hood and Ms. Merlin eventually became part of the team, as did Jeff Weigel’s The Sphinx. Peter Chefren was an alien from another dimension who loved the American spirit, becoming a self-made billionaire who used his alien technology to battle criminals – and prevent his own people from attacking.

The chapter, and the issue, ends with an update of Venus into the 60s and early 70s. That’s all, folks!

Back issues for most Big Bang’s are available for purchase for $3 at our back issue store:

https://bigbangcomics.com/products-page/comic-books/image-comics/

Gary Carlson

7/28/2021

Big Bang Comics and all related characters are © and TM Gary Carlson and Chris Ecker. Shadow Lady is © and TM Jerry Acerno. Blue Bird is © and TM Brian Petersen and Terry Pavlet. The Sphinx is © and TM Jeff Weigel. Zhantika is © and TM Lyle Dodd and Mark Lewis. Masker is © and TM Phil Cable. The Mineral Men are © and TM by Daniel Reed.