The Nights Are Reserved For Cats!

Anne Hathaway has landed the role of Selina Kyle in the upcoming film "The Dark Knight Rises". Hathaway will join Christian Bale, reprising his role as Batman. Also joining the cast is Tom Hardy, who will portray the steroid-freak villain Bane. Director Christopher Nolan's press release specifically avoids referring to "Catwoman" (Selina Kyle's other identity), so we'll have to wait and see if she dons the catsuit of her alter ego. Other actors who were vying for this part were Keira Knightley, Rachel Weisz, Blake Lively and Natalie Portman. I personally didn't care for any of those otherwise fine choices for this particular character.


As far as I'm concerned, they made the right choice. Hathaway is sexy, delicious, talented and should add quite a bit to what is expected to be the last outing of Nolan's version of the Caped Crusader. Plus, this gives me the opportunity to post this stunning photo of Ms. Hathaway. I've sat on this for a long time, since she has already been featured as a "Gal" Friday selection, but I could never quite bring myself to delete it.


Yeah, she looks like "Catwoman" to me!
Source URL: https://galgadots.blogspot.com/2011/01/
Visit Gal Gadot for Daily Updated Hairstyles Collection

Marga the Panther Woman in "The Lost Plateau" (Fox;1940)

Marga the Panther Woman returns to the Catacombs in "The Lost Plateau" from Science Comics #8 (Sept.1940); originally published by Fox and with story & art attributed to "James T. Royal".


This is a typical golden age tale of jungle adventure and I have to admit that the artwork, while serviceable, leaves a lot to be desired. That's still no reason to hate on poor Marga. She does the best she can with what she's got, and that is good enough for me.


Enjoy!
Source URL: https://galgadots.blogspot.com/2011/01/
Visit Gal Gadot for Daily Updated Hairstyles Collection

1980's Flashback: Thriller (DC Comics)

Thriller was a short-lived series published by DC Comics beginning in November, 1983. The series, created by writer Robert Loren Fleming and artist Trevor Von Eeden, was sold only through the direct market. Highly regarded as innovative in terms of narrative and design, the tagline for the series was, "She has 7 seconds to save the world ".


"She" was protagonist Angie Thriller (pictured; top), the leader of a team of adventurers called the Seven Seconds, who were based in the New York City of a subjective fifty years in the future. Angeline Marietta Salvotini Thriller had the power to become one with any inanimate object, and thus control it, after her scientist husband, Edward's experiments with alien DNA resulted in his merging bodies with his wife, and resulted in her attaining godlike powers. They could not co-exist in the same place at the same time. She could cause her face to appear on an object or even in the sky. The only living beings she could actually merge with were her twin brother Tony, and the artificially created Beaker Parish. Angeline could also see visions of possible future events.


The "7 seconds" referred to a team of operatives who assisted her in various conflicts including Tony Salvotini, a former mercenary soldier and member of the U.S. Marines' rapid Deployment Force. After mistakenly killing an innocent man, "Salvo" vowed to never again shoot to kill. He would instead only wound his targets; Beaker Parish, was the test tube experiment of two renegade college science students which resulted in a 7-foot-tall red-headed priest with unexplained psychic abilities; Crackerjack, a young Honduran pick-pocket, who was the ward of Edward Thriller, who served as an all around "gopher" for the team; Daniel Grove, a photojournalist who filmed his brother's execution by the villain Scabbard (pictured; above). Grove was saved from Scabbard by Angie, and invited to join the Seven Seconds; Data (Freddie Martin) was the son of the President of the United States. As the team's communications and information expert, he worked from an enhanced computer system built into his limo, one which Data was physically interfaced with and could never leave; Proxy (Robert Furillo, Tony's best friend) was an actor, who suffered a disfiguring accident while freebasing drugs. Proxy used a synthetic spray-on skin to create new disguises for the team's more covert requirements; and White Satin (Janet Valentine) was Tony's girlfriend. She had extra-normal abilities and could disrupt a person's physiology and mental state with a simple touch. She was also a jet pilot, hence the nickname "Jet", coined by Salvo. The Seven Seconds usually investigated cases involving unusual menaces, some bordering on the supernatural. During one of their most notable missions, they were able to thwart an attempt to bring about a nuclear holocaust and destroy all life on Earth.


After the first seven & eight issues respectively, both Fleming and Von Eeden left due to frustration over editorial indifference and general lack of communication between the co-creators. The series ran for four more issues under the hands of a different creative team.
Source URL: https://galgadots.blogspot.com/2011/01/
Visit Gal Gadot for Daily Updated Hairstyles Collection

In Memorium: Susannah York

Susannah York died from advanced bone marrow cancer yesterday, a mere six days after her 72nd birthday. Genre fans know Ms. York for her role as Lara, the doomed Kryptonian mother of Superman in Superman The Movie (1978; pictured above) and two sequels, Superman II (1980) and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987).

Of course, she had extensive stage and screen credits including Tom Jones (1963), A Man for All Seasons (1966), The Killing of Sister George (1968) and Battle of Britain (1969). She famously snubbed the Academy Awards, regarding her 1969 nomination for They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, declaring that it offended her to be nominated without being asked.

She also earns some “cool” props for having been expelled from school at age thirteen, after owning up to a naked midnight swim in the school pool.

The Catacombs extends its condolences to her family, friends and fans.
Source URL: https://galgadots.blogspot.com/2011/01/
Visit Gal Gadot for Daily Updated Hairstyles Collection

Science Fiction/Double Feature Presents: The Cosmic Brain & Escape on a Planetoid (Ziff-Davis;1951)

Today's true "double feature" is the final pair of stories from the third issue of Ziff-Davis smashing 1950's science fiction series, Amazing Adventures #3 (May-Jun.1951).


There aren't any writers credited in the GCD, but the artwork on "The Cosmic Brain" is by Leonard Starr. Rudy Palais & John Belfi team up to illustrate "Escape on a Planetoid".


Hurry on back, next Saturday! We'll crack open issue #4, and begin reading the back half of this short run, but fun comic.


Enjoy!
Source URL: https://galgadots.blogspot.com/2011/01/
Visit Gal Gadot for Daily Updated Hairstyles Collection

"Gal" Friday! Riddle

I've seen Riddle in various costumes attending several of the regional events in the Southeast. She is usually in attendance at the Heroes Convention in Charlotte, NC (plus other Heroes events) and at Dragoncon in Atlanta, GA. The range of costuming that she typically sports runs the gamut from recognizable superheroines to popular anime characters, and anything in between. She always looks awesome, too!


Late last year, I asked "Riddle" for permission to feature her in the Catacombs and I'm very glad that she has finally agreed to my request. If any of you guys out there are lucky enough to have a girlfriend like this young lady, well, I can only imagine how happy you must be to have a smoking hot "gal" don your favorite geek-centric guises for endless hours of fun & frolics.


Although Riddle admitted to a degree of trepidation in encapsulating herself in writing, here is a brief bio in her own words: "Riddle recently transplanted from her igloo in Canada. She had been costuming for over 10 years, but in the last 5 years it has developed into a career with the skills she has learned from her hobby. Riddle skill’s involve sculpting, mold making and casting, now her talents have led her to create more complex and dynamic costumes. Her work has garnered attention from her peers and she has won awards and received press in many magazines and websites. She works part time with Lab 604 and Plan B, doing sculpting, mold making and casting and also assists local comic artists with clerical duties. Her costumes have been shown in TV Guide, Game Informer, Hardcore gamer, Maxim and various Japanese cosplay magazines. Riddle was recently contacted to participate in a costume challenge in which she was part of a team that had to build an elaborate costume in 14 days. Big Sister, from 2K’s sequel Bioshock 2, which was featured on websites like College Humor, Geekologie, and Kotaku. She recently finished working on a feature film as a Special Makeup FX Technician."


Sounds good to me, Riddle. And you certainly don't seem the least bit boring. You definitely earned your spot in the Catacombs as this weeks "Gal" Friday pick. I look forward - as always - to seeing what you will be wearing next.
Source URL: https://galgadots.blogspot.com/2011/01/
Visit Gal Gadot for Daily Updated Hairstyles Collection

29 hours & 44 minutes.....

That's how long it took me to beat Mass Effect 2 on Xbox 360.


It was also one of the most intense and entertaining thirty hours that I have had in quite a while. I tip my hat to Bioware, Xbox and all the creative talent behind this incredible gaming experience.


I'm really not the gaming type, and typically only played video games on rare occasions, since I basically suck out loud and generally fail to get anywhere on the damn things. But. This science fiction-action game was an inventive, truly immersive experience from start to finish. I chose to customize my Commander Shepard as a Colonist blond female, Sentinel class, and War Hero. Although I researched the game continuously as I played it - not looking for cheats mind you - there were still many aspects of the overall Mass Effect universe, that I either missed out on, didn't understand or begin to fully appreciate until my next two playthroughs. I bought the game as a Christmas present for my son and ended up being the one to get completely "hooked" on it!


Yes. I've already played through two more times. Well, I'm on my third right now and still enjoying it just as much. Look, if you are interested in kicking it up a notch and haven't played this game - go Google it - and see if this would be something worth experiencing for yourself.


Mass Effect 2 is an event. My "readers digest" description for the uninitiated would be, think big budget CGI-sci-fi extravaganza crossed with The Dirty Dozen. Now tell me that sound bite doesn't at least make you a bit curious? I could go on and on about this whole thing, but I just picked up the original game and can't wait to pop it in. Gotta run!


The photos (above) are of my crew, left to right. Top row: Cmd. Shepard, Miranda Lawson, Illusive Man, Grunt, Garrus Vakarian. Middle row: Samara, Tali'Zorah, Thane Krios, Zaeed Massani, Jack. Bottom row: Mordin Solus, Jacob Taylor, Kasumi Goto, Legion, "Joker" Moreau. During the final "suicide mission" that I recruited these team members for, I succeeded at beating the Collectors, destroyed their base - after warping through the Omega 4 Relay - and only got one character killed (Legion). The decisions that I made in this game will have an impact on the sequel, Mass Effect 3, when it comes out in November. I made a save file to rollover into that game, and can't wait to see what the crew of the Normandy SR-2 will have to do next.
Source URL: https://galgadots.blogspot.com/2011/01/
Visit Gal Gadot for Daily Updated Hairstyles Collection

Lance Hale in "Jungle Spaceship" (Lev Gleason;1940)

Among the extensive backlog of golden age jungle comics stories that I have access to - thanks to Don "Zu-Gogo" Falkos - are quite a few that were originally scanned from microfiche. Unfortunately the image quality is very poor in most of them. Aficionados might find a level of appreciation for these classic stories, but the scans really don't lend themselves to what I try to bring to this blog. I culled this story from those particular files and think that it is worth posting despite its grainier overall appearance.


Lance Hale went through several high concept revisions back in the day. He was a space hero. He was also jungle lord/superhero who preferred the wilds to civilization. He was previously featured in the Catacombs in a tale where he helped the golden age Daredevil in his fight against the Claw and Hitler.


In this first appearance from Silver Streak Comics #2 (Jan.1940); originally published by Lev Gleason, he's a red-headed soldier of fortune/adventurer/explorer in the African jungles. He meets up with a scientist (named Dr. Grey in the next issue) with a spaceship that will carry the two of them to the stars. He also has an invention that he gives Lance, an arm-band that has a small needle that under exertion will inject a formula that makes Lance super-strong (able to easily lift at least 500 lbs), which coincidentally makes him strong enough to survive the pressures of piloting the space ship. Naturally Grey also has a beautiful daughter, Myra. "Jungle Spaceship" is written by an uncredited author, but the artwork is by John Hampton. I've included the cover since it was drawn by the legendary Joe Simon.


The Catacombs is grateful to Don "Zu-Gogo" Falkos for providing the scans for this story. Note: The copyright for this issue, its contents and artwork belong to the original publisher and/or creators and is reproduced here solely for entertainment purposes.


Enjoy!
Source URL: https://galgadots.blogspot.com/2011/01/
Visit Gal Gadot for Daily Updated Hairstyles Collection

Border Crossings

Borderlands is a privately owned comic book shop located in Greenville, SC. A simple Google search estimates that the store has a current annual revenue of less than $500,000 and employs a staff of approximately 1 to 4, and that sounds about right. I’ve been a regular customer of Stan Reed (pictured above with a young customer) for almost two decades. Stan was originally the right hand man of Shelton Drum, the owner of “Heroes Aren’t Hard To Find” in Charlotte, NC; Shelton is also the organizer of the annual Heroes Convention.


Apparently Stan has sold out lock, stock & barrel to another person in a whirlwind deal that happened without any preamble. I’m going to miss having Stan at the store, and I’m sure that he would have preferred I spent more money there. My purchases of new monthly comics have dwindled – for lack of a better word – over the past several years as the major publishers have gotten away from producing titles that appeal to me. Stan never made me feel less than appreciated, no matter how much I spent or how often I stopped by. During 2010, thanks to Stan, I managed to pick up quite a few of my bronze age keys for outstanding prices. He wasn’t the type to gouge someone beyond a fair price.


That is what I will miss most. Stan was a great person to deal and/or haggle with over comics. He wasn’t one of those dealers who make it their mission in life to screw you, just so they can cackle about how dumb you were to sell something to them for less than it would bring elsewhere. He was also knowledgeable about the same kind of stuff that I’ve enjoyed in this genre throughout my life. I should also mention that Stan was a huge proponent of gaming, and gaming was at least half of the stores livelihood. I’m sure those folks will miss him too!


I will probably continue to stop by from time-to-time, but the impact of Stan’s departure will certainly be felt. I wish him and his family the very best of luck.
Source URL: https://galgadots.blogspot.com/2011/01/
Visit Gal Gadot for Daily Updated Hairstyles Collection

Science Fiction/Double Feature Presents: The Princess of the Future (Ziff-Davis;1951)

Running a bit late for this post, so lets get down to business....


From Amazing Adventures #3 (Jun 1951); originally published by Ziff-Davis, comes "The Princess of the Future". The art team of illustrator Frank Giacoia and inker John Giunta went on to work on many silver age Marvel Comics series, so this is a nice looking thriller that is somewhat reminiscent of the Christopher Reeve film, Somewhere In Time, but in reverse; since it's partially set in the future.


The second part of today's double bill is the text piece, "Blood Stands For Freedom". Enjoy!
Source URL: https://galgadots.blogspot.com/2011/01/
Visit Gal Gadot for Daily Updated Hairstyles Collection