Comics, old time radio and other cool stuff

Friday's Favorite OTR

noreply@blogger.com (Tim DeForest) — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 13:00:00 +0000

The Six-Shooter: "The Capure of Stacy Gault" 11/8/53

People are in a panic when outlaw Stacy Gault rides into town. Britt, though, has some doubts about whether the stranger really is Gault.

Click HERE to listen or download.

Underwater Shenanigans

noreply@blogger.com (Tim DeForest) — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 13:00:00 +0000

So I watch the 1973 movie The Neptune Factor on YouTube and I kind of like it. So I decide to do a blog post about it, alerting my thousands of devoted readers (don't disillusion me!) to the movie's existance.

Except now that I'm writing about it, the flaws in the movie are starting to become more apparent. This doesn't retroactively prevent me from having enjoyed watching the movie, but the flaws are real.

The movie is about an undersea lab, with three men aboard, that's knocked into a deep trench by an undersea earthquake. An experimental sub--the Neptune--is sent down to see if the lab is still intact and the crew rescued.

The sub is cool and the underwater photography is quite good. Also, I like the cast, especially Ernest Borgnine as a diver and Yvette Mimieux (who played Weena in George Pal's The Time Machine) as a scientist. Ben Gazzara (an actor I normally like) puts on a very unconvincing Southern accent as the sub's designer/pilot, but he's still good in the role.

When the sub gets close to the remains of the lab, the crew discovers the deep waters are infested with huge sealife. Rescuing the crew, who are rapidly running out of air, means running a gauntlet of giant moray eels.

This is all pretty cool. The problems with the movie are:

1. Why is there sunlight this deep?

2. How can the divers so casually leave/enter the sub this deep without worrying about water pressure?

3. The "giant" fish are regular fish shot in extreme closeup without any effort to give them a sense of scale.

These problems were obvious when I watched it and more obvious now that I'm writing about it.

But, gosh darn it, I like the sub. And I like Ernest Borgnine. I watched this whole movie and I don't regret it.

I've read of a Sean Connery rule--a rule that states if Connery was in it, the movie is worth watching no matter what its quality is otherwise. Should there be an Ernest Borgnine corollary to this rule?

Decide for yourself. Here's the movie:

Dead Bad Guys Who Aren't Dead

noreply@blogger.com (Tim DeForest) — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 13:00:00 +0000

cover art by Sal Buscema

Steve Rogers is walking home after seeing Sharon Carter--perhaps for the last time, because he's on the outs with Nick Fury and has been told to stay away from SHIELD and SHIELD agents.

Mr. Hyde and the Scorpion, though, are looking to take revenge on SHIELD and, seeing some guy in the company of an agent, decide to capture him to get more information.

This is how Captain America #151 (July 1972), written by Gerry Conway and drawn by Sal Buscema, starts out. And it's a good slam-bang opening for a good slam-bang issue.

Steve fights back effectively, but to protect his secret identity, he runs away rather than finish the fight. We then get a flashback that sets up why the two villains are working together and why they are mad at SHIELD.

It's a bit complicated and because of that takes up a page or two more of this issue than it should have. The two were supposed to have been killed fighting Daredevil and the Black Widow not long ago. But those were robot duplicates. The real Hyde and Scorpion have escaped from the super-villain who made the duplicates and mistakenly assumed that SHIELD was behind their capture.

Anyway, Cap goes to Falcon for help. Falcon is dealing with some other black people in his neighborhood calling him a sell-out, but he's always available to help his best friend.

Because Sharon had mentioned being followed, Cap and Falcon head to her apartment. But, because of Fury's decree, he's locked out and can't warn Sharon. It's then that the two bad guys show up.

There's a fight, with Buscema doing his usual superb job of depicting action scenes. The good guys are winning, especially when Falcon begins to take out his personal frustrations on Scorpion. But Hyde manages to capture Sharon, forcing the heroes to back off. The issue ends with the villains escaping with Sharon and, when Nick Fury arrives, a frustrated Cap decking the SHIELD leader.

It really is a slam-bang issue, despite having to take a little too much time explaining the complicated Hyde/Scorpion backstory. It mixes in the heroes' personal issues without slowing down the pacing and gives us several really good action scenes.

Next week, we'll look at the second part of this story.

Cover Cavalcade

noreply@blogger.com (Tim DeForest) — Mon, 13 Apr 2026 13:00:00 +0000

APRIL IS "WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE SNAKES" MONTH!!!!

This cover, by Hugh Rankin, is from 1930.

Friday's Favorite OTR

noreply@blogger.com (Tim DeForest) — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 13:00:00 +0000

Tales of the Texas Rangers: "The Wheelchair Killer" 10/7/51

A man confined to a wheelchair is found beaten to death. A few grains of sand found at the murder scene is the first clue in tracking down the killer.

Click HERE to listen or download.

Another Great LAST STAND Scene!

noreply@blogger.com (Tim DeForest) — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 14:44:00 +0000

Francis Xavier Gordon, known as "El Borak," had numerous blood-and-thunder adventures in Afghanistan and the surrounding countries in the early years of the 20th Century. One of the seven El Borak tales is set during World War I--the others sets before the war.)

All the El Borak yarns are great--though, of course, Robert E. Howard rarely turned out anything other than great--and just occasionally merely good-stories.

The one I want to mention today is "Country of the Knife," first published in the August 1936 issue of Complete Stories. It's been reprinted--often under the title "Sons of the Hawk"--multiple times and is currently available in Del Rey's El Borak and Other Desert Adventures.

The story awesome from start to finish, with El Borak showing off his talents for disguise, playing another part, and manipulating his enemies. There's still lots of action, of course, and--as good as the rest of the story is--I want to emphasize how good REH is at writing short action scenes that are so effectively stuffed with violence that you come away thinking it was several pages more to it than there is.

The climax has El Borak and four companions fleeing a remote city, pursued by a larger force on fresher horses. The fugitives reach a mountain pass soon after one of them tumbles off a cliff and their remaining horses die of exhausion. They take cover at the entrance to the path, determined to sell their lives dearly. They "lay behind boulders in the mouth of the pass. They had three pistols, a saber, a tulwar and a knife between them."

The bad guys charge them on horseback. Bullets fly and the battle quickly turns into a hand-to-hand melee.

From start to finish, the action runs through only about a dozen short paragraphs. So much happens in those few paragraphs that, as I said, you think the battle might have run several pages before coming to its unexpected and satisfying end. But the prose doesn't feel crowded, over-stuffed or too long. It feels just right.

This was one of REH's talents as a writer. He did the same thing in Black Colossus, a Conan novella in which you THINK the epic battle between two armies must have been several chapters, but is only a few pages. The large-scale battles in his Conan novel The Hour of the Dragon are the same way--satisfying battle scenes that last just a few pages, but (in a good way) feel much longer.

You can read "Country of the Knife" (aka "Sons of the Hawk") online HERE.

The Mighty Hercules, The Final Chapter

noreply@blogger.com (Tim DeForest) — Wed, 08 Apr 2026 13:00:00 +0000

cover art by Rube Grossman

The Mighty Hercules #2 (October 1963) comes to an all-too-soon end with the last story in the last issue.

This time, writer Paul S. Newman and artist Rube Grossman move the action to sea. Helena is aboard ship, coming home after trading her sheep for food and spice. (She was herding her sheep in the first story--I wonder if that minor bit of continuity was intentional or a coincidence.)

On a nearby island, Aeolus, the god of winds, is asleep. The sea witch Wilamene sees this and takes the opportunity to hypnotize him and place him under her control. Knowing Helena's ship will contain valuable cargo, she has Aeolus call up a wind to toss the crew overboard and then bring the ship to shore.

Helena calls on Hercules for help, who jumps down from Olympus. Wilamene tries to use a freezing wind to encase Hercules in ice, but he uses his warm super-breath to melt that ice and then still rescues Helena and the rest of the ship's crew.

That tactic surprised me, though that wasn't a rational reaction. Hercules' frequent use of super-breath can't help but call up images of Superman using his super-breath. Since Kal-el's breath freezes things, it momentarily seemed weird that Hercules' breath is warm. But it is two different universes and each one is allowed to have its own "Super-Breath Logic."

Everyone is soon safe on the island, so Wilamene uses Aeolus to use some wind to bring a shipful of slavers to shore. Hercules drives them off by using a tree as a spear.

Hercules knows Aeolus lives on the island and goes to look for him. Wilamene tries to use wind to bury the hero in sand, but he manages to bury her first, then forces her to release Aeolus from mind control.

The good guys begin to sail away, but the sea witch is a sore loser. She uses her own magic to set the ship's sail on fire. But Aeolus uses a wind to call up a water spout and douse the flames, while Hercules mans the tiller to keep the ship on course during the deluge.

The ship escapes and, well, the comic book adventures of the Mighty Hercules comes to an end. It really is sad. Newman's skill at pacing and plot construction, plus Grossman's lively and expressive art made both issues a lot of fun. There was potential for a lot of good stories yet.

Next week, we'll visit with Captain America to witness an unusual villain team-up.

Cover Cavalcade

noreply@blogger.com (Tim DeForest) — Mon, 06 Apr 2026 13:00:00 +0000

APRIL IS "WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE SNAKES" MONTH!!!!

Here's a 1934 cover by Hubert Rogers.

Friday's Favorite OTR

noreply@blogger.com (Tim DeForest) — Fri, 03 Apr 2026 13:00:00 +0000

Lights Out: "Fast One" 1/5/43

25 burgalries are committed in just a half-an-hour, with no witnesses. A private detective thinks its the work of one man. But how could that be possible?

Click HERE to listen or download.

The Fighting Pilot (1935)

noreply@blogger.com (Tim DeForest) — Thu, 02 Apr 2026 13:00:00 +0000

Richard Talmadge, born in 1892, worked as an acrobat as part of the Flying Melzettis before diving into the movie business as a stuntman, often doubling for Douglas Fairbanks or Tom Mix. In later years, he was behind the camera as a stunt coordinator or second-unit director. But for a few years in the 1930s, he was the star of a series of B-movies, produced by the Poverty Road studio "Reliable Pictures."

One of these films is The Fighting Pilot, which was released in 1935. Talmadge plays Hal Foster, a pilot with acrobatic talents that come in handy when someone tries to steal both the plans and the prototype of a new airplane.

The movie clocks in at 56 minutes, so (like most B-movies) it doesn't waste any time. A villain named Cardigan steals the plans and a couple of pilots he's hired fly off with the plane itself. Foster pursues a carload of bad guys on a motorcylce, eventually jumping into the car and fighting three men while the car careens out of control.

Laster, he trails Cardigan to a building in Chinatown. More acrobatic/fight shenanigans follow. Along the way, he learns where the prototype plan is actually stashed. Flying there, he makes a mid-air leap into a plane full of bad guys.

The story is structured purely to show off Talmadge's acrobatic abilities. This is fine, because he's a great acrobat and his stunts (especially that motorcylce-to-car leap) are fun to watch.

The supporting cast is also good. Well, mostly good. Rorbert Frazer is appropriately oily as Cardigan. Gertude Messinger plays Foster's gal--she's nice to gaze upon and is pretty darn spunky. The downside is Eddie Davis as Berty, Foster's comedic sidekick. It's here that the movie as the same failing as many other B-movies in that it inserts a sidekick who simply isn't that funny.

But it's not enough to spoil the film. Richard Talmadge was a great acrobat and stuntman, so a short film built around his stunts is an inherently good idea. This makes watching The Fighting Pilot a pleasant way to pass an hour.

You can watch it yourself here:

The Mighty Hercules, Part 5

noreply@blogger.com (Tim DeForest) — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 13:00:00 +0000

cover art by Rube Grossman

Sandwiched between the two Hercules stories in Gold Key's The Mighty Hercules #2 (October 1963) is a comic book adaptation of the Perseus vs. Medusa myth. Written with by Paul S. Newman with his usual skill at quick exposition and sound plot construction, it is drawn by Rube Grossman.

After I read it, I was surprised when I leafed back through the issue and discovered it was only four pages long. Newman and Grossman pack a lot of story into those few pages without the story being crowded or rushed.

King Polydectes has the hots for Perseus' widowed mother. (A little cleaning up of the original myth goes on here to match Gold Key's family-friendly standards. Perseus, in this version, is explicitly not one of Zeus' many illegitimate kids.)

Perseus' mom declines a proposal and the king doesn't want to just take her because she's protected by Perseus. So Polydetes sends Perseus off on a mission--he has to bring back the head of Medusa the Gorgon.

It seems like a suicide mission, but the gods Athena and Hermes give him a shield, sword and Hermes' super-speed sandals to aid him. For brevity, the story leaves out the cap of invisibility and a few other magic items also given to him in the original myth.

Perseus uses the reflection of Medusa on the back of his shield to approach and behead Medusa, with our view of the beheading hidden by some rocks.

Perseus heads home. Again, for brevity's sake, this version leaves out events of a longer version of the myth where Perseus saves his future wife Andromeda from a sea monster. Too bad--Grossman's lively art would have made that look cool.

Perseus arrives at home to discover the king has made Perseus' mom a slave. But the hero uses Medusa's head to turn the evil king to stone, then takes his mom home.

That Newman and Grossman were able to condense the story into just four pages and still make it a satisfying read is a remarkable accomplishment. One of the sadder things about this second issue being the last is that we don't get to see anymore adaptations of classic myths by these two.

Next week, we'll finish our journey through the pages of The Mighty Hercules.

Cover Cavalcade

noreply@blogger.com (Tim DeForest) — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 13:00:00 +0000

MARCH IS SCIENCE GONE MAD MONTH!!!!

We close out "SCIENCE GONE MAD!" month with the original Mad Scientist. This January 1973 cover is by Mike Ploog.

Friday's Favorite OTR

noreply@blogger.com (Tim DeForest) — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 13:00:00 +0000

Sherlock Holmes: "The Iron Box" 12/31/45

Because he was born on February 29, a man has waited over eight decades to reach his 21st birthday and receive the iron box (reputedly containing gold) that is his inheritance. But reaching this milestone might be a motive for someone else to commit murder.

Click HERE to listen or download.

Sailor Steve Costigan

noreply@blogger.com (Tim DeForest) — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 13:00:00 +0000

cover artist unknown

I'm glad that so much of Robert E. Howard's stuff is getting reprinted nowadays, especially those stories that show what a strong sense of humor he had.

That humor is probably most apparent in his stories about mountain man Breckinridge Elkins, but you can also look to Sailor Steve Costigan for both great fight scenes and laugh-out-loud moments.

Costigan is a somewhat naive sailor who is quick with his fists. In fact, his solution to many of the problems he encounters is punching someone.

The stories often have him on shore leave in a port somewhere (often but not always accompanied by his bite-happy bulldog Mike), getting entangled in an adventure that requires him to get into fist fights and always features one of those fights being a formal match in the boxing ring.

"Sailor's Grudge" was published in the March 1930 issue of Fight Stories and is typical of how much fun a Sailor Steve yarn can be. Costigan goes ashore in San Francisco for a few days, this time without his dog, and meets a girl. Later, he finds out the girl has been forbidden to see him again by a big guy named Bert. Costigan deduces that Bert is a villain who is probably blackmailing the girl's father to force the girl to see him. It's not much of a spoiler to tell you that Costigan's deductions lack accuracy.

Anyway, Bert is the fight double for a movie star on a boxing film. Steve lands the job of the opponent in the big finale by beating up four other guys who want the part. Steve and Bert are supposed to fight for real for four rounds--giving the director some great fight footage---then Steve is supposed to take a dive. Close-ups of the movie star will be spliced in later.

What follows is a great fight scene--something that is also typical of the Costigan tales. Here's an example:

We traded rights to the head and lefts to the body and he brought up a sizzling uppercut which might of tore my head off, hadst it landed. I buckled his knees with a right hook under the heart and he opened a cut under my left eye with a venomous straight right.

He then backed away, sparring and working for my wounded eye with a sharp-shooting left. Much annoyed, I followed him about the ring and suddenly dropped him to his knees with a smashing right cross to the side of the head. He bounced up without a count and flashed a straight left to my sore eye, following it instantly with a right uppercut to the body. I missed a looping right, landed with my left, took two straight rights in the face to sink my left hook into his belly, and he went into a clinch. We worked out of it and was fighting along the ropes at the gong.

The end is hilarious, with the movie almost ruined and a disillusioned Steve learning he's not going to get the girl after all.

Howard, famous for his Conan the Barbarian tales, is not always remembered for his sense of humor. But he should be.

Read "Sailor's Grudge" HERE. And for a deeper dive into Howard's boxing tales, check out an excellent article HERE.

The Mighty Hercules, Part 4

noreply@blogger.com (Tim DeForest) — Wed, 25 Mar 2026 13:00:00 +0000

cover art by Rube Grossman

According to the reliable Grand Comics Database, the cover and interior art in The Mighty Hercules #2 (October 1963) is by Rube Grossman, who worked for various comic book companies beginning in the 1940s until his 1964 death. Grossman is clearly emulating the look of the cartoon, as did the artist in the first issue, so it's pretty much a shot in the dark whether Grossman drew the first issue. As with the first issue, the stories are written by the prolific and always dependable Paul S. Newman.

As with the first issue, there's two Hercules tales plus a direct adaptatioh of a Greek myth. The issue opens with "Journey to the Land of the Dead."

The evil wizard Daedalus' latest shenanigan is stealing the statue of Demeter from the city of Calydon. This ticks off Demeter, who allows the plants around the city to die. With the risk of a famine now looming over the city and Daedalus planning on holding the statue hostage unless he is declared the ruler--well, it looks like a job for Hercules.

The centaur Newton sees Daedalus teleporting the statue into a "Melos's Palace," a floating structure with no apparent entrance. Hercules travels to the city, but it turns out even his strength isn't enough to let him punch an entrance.

The builder of the palace--Melos--is dead. But that minor detail doesn't stop a Greek hero from questioning the man (or rather ghost) about hidden entrances. Hercules travels to the underworld, where he uses his wits and his strength to get by several obstacles. (Cerebus and the Furies, respectively.)

Hades directs Hercules to Melos, whose afterlife punishment is pushing a heavy boulder up a hill, only to have it roll down again. (Something taken from the story of Sisyphus--the cartoon Hercules' world is not an exact mirror of the original myths.)

Herc solves Melos' dilemma by digging a hole at the top of the hill so the boulder won't again roll down. In exchange, Melos tells him what bricks to press to open the door into his palace.

It's back to Earth, where Hercules and his friends gain entrance to the palace and find the statue of Demeter. Daedalus tries to stop them from leaving with a burst of magical fire, but (shades of Silver Age Superman!) Hercules uses super-breath to put out the flame. Demeter is returned and plants begin to grow again. The day is saved.

This sadly short-lived series continues to entertain. Like the cartoon episodes it is emulating, this tale is another example of quickly setting up the plot, then moving the story along quickly. Grossman's art helps keep it all fun and lively.

Next week, we'll look at the myth of Perseus, as told in this same issue.

Cover Cavalcade

noreply@blogger.com (Tim DeForest) — Mon, 23 Mar 2026 13:00:00 +0000

MARCH IS SCIENCE GONE MAD MONTH!!!!

Doctor Doom is about as "mad science-y" as you can get! A February 1964 cover by Jack Kirby.

Friday's Favorite OTR

noreply@blogger.com (Tim DeForest) — Fri, 20 Mar 2026 13:00:00 +0000

Suspense: "Short Order" 8/16/45

A hideously deformed man becomes a regular customer at a diner, which begins driving away the other customers.

Click HERE to listen or download.

NO WEDNESDAY OR THURSDAY THIS WEEK!!

noreply@blogger.com (Tim DeForest) — Wed, 18 Mar 2026 13:00:00 +0000

Because of Laptop Trouble (I needed a new power cord, but I suspect Skynet was behind it), I'm behind in creating posts. I'm afraid there will be no Wednesday or Thursday posts this week.

Cover Cavalcade

noreply@blogger.com (Tim DeForest) — Mon, 16 Mar 2026 13:00:00 +0000

MARCH IS SCIENCE GONE MAD MONTH!!!!

Cover-dated May-June 1950, with art by Al Feldstein.

Friday's Favorite OTR

noreply@blogger.com (Tim DeForest) — Fri, 13 Mar 2026 13:00:00 +0000

The Adventures of the Saint: "Nursemaid" 7/15/51

Simon is hired to convince a young lady not to date a gangster. Unsurprisingly, he ends up having to solve a murder.

Click HERE to listen or download.

When a Cop has to Multi-Task

noreply@blogger.com (Tim DeForest) — Thu, 12 Mar 2026 13:00:00 +0000

cover artist unknown

Mr. J.G. Reeder was created by Edgar Wallace in a series of short stories beginning in 1924. Reeder is a fun character--a former cop now working directly for the "Director of Public Prosecution," Reeder is middle-aged, wears out-of-date clothes and gives the impression of being ordinary and unimpressive. But he actually has a keen mind and an ability to anticipate how a criminal thinks.

The first eight Reeder stories were collected in The Mind of J.G. Reeder in 1925, published in England. In the U.S., the book was retitled The Murder Book of J.G. Reeder, with the individual stories sometimes retitled and arranged in a different order. Title changes, of course, are done by editors who think a new title is catchier for their specific audience. I have no idea why the stories were re-ordered, though the tales are self-contained enough not to matter.

cover artist unknown

A good example of how much fun these stories are is "Treasure Hunt," first published in the November 22, 1924 issue of Flynn's Weekly.

Reeder is looking into the death of Lady Tithermite, who apparently fell off the ferry during a channel crossing. At the same time, an ex-con out on parole, Lew Kohl, is planning on killing Reeder--the man who sent him to prison. Kohl also hopes to find Reeder's secret stash of money, since he's a proponent of the theory that all cops on the take and stash ill-gotten gains away for their retirement.

Reeder decides that Lady Tithermite was murdered by her husband and was never on the ferry, but he doesn't have enough evidence to get a search warrent and find her body. But... well, perhaps a certain hint dropped to Lew Kohl will convince the ex-con that Reeder does have a secret treasure and use Kohl to solve the Tithermite case.

It really is a fun story, as all of Wallace's yarns usually are. You can read it yourself online HERE.

Dog Owners: Beware!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Tim DeForest) — Wed, 11 Mar 2026 13:00:00 +0000

cover artist unknown

The first story in Richie Rich and Dollar the Dog (September 1977), by an unidentified creative team, includes an important PSA for all dog owners. If you are ever rehearsing a play in which you play a bad guy who dislikes dogs, MAKE SURE your dog doesn't hear you and take the dialogue out of context. This won't end well. It's what happens when Richie's dog Dollar (a dollarmation, of course) overhears Richie and his friend Freckles doing just this.

I don't care how silly the above images are--if you own a dog, this is a heartbreaking scene.

Dollar runs away and begins hitchhiking. He's picked up by a pair of gangster, who by now has heard the news that Dollar is missing and that there's a huge reward. But bad guys are bad guys. Rather than settle for just the reward the Rich family is offering, they come up with a complex plan to smuggle Dollar out of the country the statue of a horse, sell him to a rare animal dealer, THEN tell the Rich family where he is to collect THAT reward.

The horse with Dollar inside is loaded on a plane, but the pilots hear Dollar barking and immediately land again. Dollar makes a break for it.

The gangsters spot him and give chase. Fortunately, Dollar runs into the local school in his attempt to get away, where that play is currently being performed. Richie and Freckles take care of the gangsters (and, wow, does Richie pack a powerful gut punch!), Dollar finally understands that Richie doesn't hate him and everyone is happy. Well, everyone except the gangsters. They get arrested.

It is a silly story, but it's fun. And, by golly, if you own a dog, the story will become an emotional roller-coaster. It can't be helped.

Next week, we return to The Mighty Hercules.

Cover Cavalcade

noreply@blogger.com (Tim DeForest) — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 13:00:00 +0000

MARCH IS SCIENCE GONE MAD MONTH!!!!

From May 1927, with art by Frank R. Paul.

Friday's Favorite OTR

noreply@blogger.com (Tim DeForest) — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 14:00:00 +0000

Fibber McGee and Molly: "Fibber Buys a New Suit and Steals a Hat" 2/4/41

McGee needs a new suit, so he and Molly head to the store. What could possibly go wrong?

Click HERE to listen or download.

The Coming of the Ice

noreply@blogger.com (Tim DeForest) — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 13:17:00 +0000

cover art by Frank R. Paul

It continues to be a universal truth: No matter how familiar one is with pulp magazine authors, you will regularly stumble over one you hadn't heard of before and discover he or she was quite a good storyteller.

For instance, I just read "The Coming of the Ice," by G. Peyton Wortenbaker, published in the June 1926 issue of Amazing Stories. It was the magazine's third issue and was still relying on reprinting classics and stories first published in other pulps to fill the pages. Aside from Wells and Verne, Otis Adlebert Kline and Murray Leinster each had a story included that were reprinted from Weird Tales and Argosy respectively.

But editor Hugo Gernsback was beginning to see original science fiction showing up in his mail box. "The Coming of the Ice" is, in fact, the first original SF story that appears in the magazine. And Wortenbacker, darn him, was only 19 years old when he wrote it.

The first person narrator is friends with a scientist who has accidentally stumbled over the secret of immortality. It involves an operation that will ensure you never physically die, but will have your emotions deadened. Despite this flaw, the narrator and his girlfriend both choose to give it a go.

The narrator goes first and the operation is a success. Then the scientist and the girl are killed in a car accident before she has the procedure.

The narrator, by the way, is telling us this in the far future--hundreds of thousands or perhaps millions of years from now. He's lost count. His story of living on through the centuries as mankind evolves around him--becoming physically weaker but mentally stronger--is filled with melancholy. Those around him gradually forget about the past, concentrating only on the future.

So when a second Ice Age gradually engulfs the Earth, it catches humanity by surprise and the narrator is the only person fit enough to survive.

This is a great story--hitting just the right note of melancholy to make it work and even injecting a small measure of hope in at the end. It's worth reading and can be found online HERE.