Meanwhile... On Planet X

It's Friday! Which means, of course, that there's a new page of the Perils On Planet X webcomic online today! Words by Yours Truly, art by Gene Gonzales, colors by Ian Sokolwski.... check it out, my faithful planeteers!

Wednesday Cover: STRANGE ADVENTURES

Adam Strange and his beloved Alanna battle the "Beast from The Runaway World" on this stunning Strange Adventures cover by the late Joe Kubert. Over the last decade or so, the powers at DC have sucked pretty much all of the fun out of the character and his interplanetary adventuring, but at least I still have all of the old Gardner Fox-scripted tales to enjoy in the DC Showcase Presents volume.

Happy Birthday, Lee Marvin

"Boy, that was really exciting. I bet you're a big Lee Marvin fan, aren't ya? Yeah, me too. I love that guy."

 - Mr. Blonde, Reservoir Dogs 

Wednesday Cover(s): SPACE DETECTIVE

Joe Orlando/Wally Wood

If ever there was a comic book tailor-made to my tastes, it has to be Avon's Rod Hathaway, Space Detective, published from July of 1951 to July of '52 - for a total of four issues. I've never actually seen or read a copy, but from the covers - Issue #1 by Joe Orlando, inked by Wally Wood! - and the story titles featured thereon ("Opium Smugglers of Venus," "Sea Nymphs of Neptune," "Metal Murderers of Mars," et al), I suspect I'd love every page! Here's all four covers for your enjoyment!

Wally Wood/Joe Orlando

Everett Raymond Kinstler

Gene Fawcette

Cover scans and credits courtesy of the Grand Comics Database.

Eurospy Binge

Over the last couple of weeks, I have been indulging in a Eurospy movie binge, working my way through my meager collection of 60s James Bond knock-offs whenever my back starts aching from spending too much time at the computer.

My definition of "Eurospy" is rather flexible; I include 007-inspired films from England as well as those produced on the Continent. This means that entertainments like the two "Hugh Drummond" flicks with Richard Johnson - Deadlier Than The Male & Some Girls Do - as well as Hammerhead, with Vince Edwards as secret agent Charles Hood, have been part of my pseudo-marathon.

I even ordered a new disc for the occasion - a Swedish, Region 2 import of 1966's Killers Are Challenged/Our Man In Casablanca, with Richard Harrison as agent Bob Fleming. I ordered it from Diabolik DVD and was very impressed with their service. I enjoyed the movie, too.

So far, this binge has included: Deadlier Than The Male, Some Girls Do, Hammerhead, Fury In Marrakesh, Lightning Bolt, Kiss The Girls And Make Them Die, Special Mission Lady Chaplain, Mission Bloody Mary, From The Orient With Fury and the aforementioned Killers Are Challenged. Before I'm done, I'll probably be watching Murder For Sale, Espionage In Tangiers, and Modesty Blaise as well.

What triggered this craving for badly-dubbed, bizarro sub-Bondian hijinks? I have no idea. But I'm really enjoying myself, and finding that I'm really getting caught up in the adventures of these amusingly dickish "superspies," enjoying all the gorgeous spy vixens (Daliha Lavi, Margaret Lee, Mitsouko, Helga Line, Daniela Bianchi, Beverly Adams, Elke Sommer.... sigh) and digging the utterly bonkers plots.

Surprisingly, I'm not tiring of them at all, and wish I owned more....

Wednesday Cover: Warrior-Maid of Mars!

I posted this gorgeous Planet Stories cover on my Facebook homepage a few days ago, but it bears another look. Man, I wish I'd been able to see and buy these magazines off the newsstands when they originally appeared...

The Fall of Iron Man?

Usually, by the third installment of any film franchise - especially super-hero ones - you start seeing strong evidence of the law of diminishing returns. In fact, they usually blow (Superman 3? Batman Forever? Spider-Man 3?). But I have reasonably high hopes for Iron Man 3.

For one thing, Robert Downey doesn't appear to have tired of the character at all, as witnessed by his great turn in The Avengers last Summer and his appearance in the Iron Man 3 Super Bowl spot (below). For another, the film is written and directed by Shane Black, who not only scripted the most popular action films of the 80s and 90s, but wrote & directed Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, one of my favorite movies ever - which, not coincidentally, featured Downey in one of his best screen performances.

I liked Jon Faverau's first IM film a lot, but his second one seemed to be retreading a lot of the same ground as his first. From the teasers released so far, IM3 looks to be exploring some new emotional territory...

The Sex & Violence Commences

Starting today, my critically-acclaimed, hardboiled crime webcomic, Gravedigger, returns, with a 28-week re-presentation of the first serial, “The Scavengers,” which first appeared online in 2003.

When “The Scavengers” concludes, artist Rick Burchett and I will roll into the all-new, never-before-seen Gravedigger caper, “The Predators.” As with “The Scavengers,” the new story will update one page a week, every Monday.

Starts Monday: GRAVEDIGGER: THE SCAVENGERS

While today marks the launch of my swashbuckling, interplanetary adventure webcomic, Perils On Planet X, this coming Monday will see the re-launch of my hardboiled crime webcomic, Gravedigger: The Scavengers, in its original, online format.

Hard, brutal and ruthless – with a weakness for hot women and cold cash – "Digger" McCrae is the consumate criminal. Whether it’s an armored car hijacking, bank robbery, art heist or a kidnapping, you can depend on “Digger” to handle every obstacle and double-cross with professional cool and a complete lack of conscience. And that “Gravedigger” nickname? Well – don’t ever call him that to his face, or you’ll find out where that monicker came from… the hard way.

The critically-acclaimed Gravedigger: The Scavengers first appeared online ten years ago, serialized weekly on the subscription-based ("pay") webcomics site, AdventureStrips, and was subsequently published as a one-shot comic in 2004. Now, artist Rick Burchett (the Eisner Award-winning scribbler of dozens of terrific comic books - including tons of Batman - and the webcomic series Lady Sabre & The Pirates of the Ineffable Aether) and I are re-presenting this first "Digger" McCrae caper for free... and in a few months, when the story concludes, we'll roll directly into an all-new, never-before-seen story: The Predators!

Here's a sampling of what reviewers said about Gravedigger: The Scavengers, when it first appeared:

“Chris Mills and Rick Burchett have created an instant crime comic classic. Briskly told with all best aspects of a pulp story presented with panache and the proper measure of meaness. I love this comic!”
– Chuck Dixon
Writer: Detective Comics, G.I. Joe, Nightwing

“‘Gravedigger’ McCrae claims this is his last job, but for the sake of crime fans – I hope it’s not. Mills & Burchett have put together a fantastic noir comic, and it would be a crime if they stopped here.”
– Jay Faerber
Writer: Dodge’s Bullets, Noble Causes, Point of Impact

“Gravedigger: The Scavengers is the great lost film Lee Marvin coulda (and shoulda) done – straight up hard stuff, no chaser. It may go down easy, but it packs a punch like a set of bloody brass knuckles. Let’s hope Mills and Burchett serve up another round of murder and mayhem real soon.”
–Kevin Burton Smith
January Magazine Rap Sheet

“Gravedigger: The Scavengers from Christopher Mills with pencils and inks by Rick Burchett is a beaut. Crisply rendered with deft thick-and-thin lines, dramatically composed panels and page layouts, toned various grays (by Mills), and with a Lee Marvin look-alike in the lead. A brutal, amoral tale but expertly done.”
– R.C. Harvey
Comics Historian and Critic

“Gravedigger is pure homage to Richard Stark and Lee Marvin. It’s the unofficial sequel to Point Blank that we never got to see. The story by Mills is loaded with rip-offs, double and triple crosses, brutal violence and steamy sex. The artwork by Rick Burchett is crisp and clean and presented the way noir should be presented: in black and white and shades of gray.”
– Terril Lee Lankford
Author: Earthquake Weather, Shooters
Screenwriter: Armed Response, Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers

“Mills is an underappreciated writer. He has solid skills and uses them to good effect here. Digger and the other characters are well-realized, even those destined to play but minor roles in the caper. The pacing is solid, the writing appropriately hard-boiled. He threw some good curves, too; I saw one of them coming only to be fooled by the second. Solid. Artist Burchett is a consummate storyteller as well. All the visual elements – character designs, panel and page construction, backgrounds – are in service of the story. That he draws so well adds to the quality of the presentation."
– Tony Isabella
Comics Buyer’s Guide

“…a good tale about a bad man… All in all, Gravedigger is a swell little crime fiction vignette – a tight package. Highly recommended.”
–Sean Fahey
C.H.U.D.com

1... Blast Off!

Reason #1 to read Perils On Planet X: IT'S FREE... and it begins NOW!!