[Quirky Quokka]

You know, Q.Q. I’m surprised nobody has done a book on all those folks who went into the jungle and got to be a local god or pretty much the same thing. You have Tarzan, The Phantom, and in westerns, who-knows-how many people who were raised by the local indigenous people and wind up running the show.

Morgus, I think you're just the man to write such a book! Let us know when you're done  It would be interesting to line them all up. At least Phantom doesn't expect them to worship him, and he respects the local people. Tarzan was probably pretty good too, though I haven't read the original book. My main experience was the Johnny Weissmuller movies and the Ron Ely TV show. Some of the others wouldn't fare so well in the "respecting indigenous people and not expecting worship" stakes. Thanks for the tip about The Lost City. I know of it, but haven't looked at it in detail.

Cheers

QQ

[Quirky Quokka]

Amazing Mystery Funnies v02 07

2039 A.D
That's only 15 years from now. 

Bill says that "10 of their days is about 3 months of terrestrial time!"
No, 10 Jovian days would be about 100 Earth hours, or just over 4 Earth days.

The Conqueror Part 1
So they fly into space, hit a cosmic storm and are stopped, but since they are outside of Earth's gravity sphere they'll be stuck there forever?
Errrrrrrg... science don't work that way...

SuperScrounge, do you think we'll be whizzing around in space like that in 15 years? The more immediate concern in Australia at the moment is whether we can pull off the Olympics in 8 years! They're still debating about venues. But re space travel, maybe if they hadn't canned the Apollo program in 1972, we'd be a little further advanced. Though I'm not sure the outer space equivalent of a motorcycle cop will ever be a thing 

I did smile when Tim and his crew suddenly found themselves outside of the gravity sphere. Though if they had have become a satellite, they would have beaten Sputnik. (At least in comic book history.)

Cheers

QQ

[Quirky Quokka]

Trivia from Amazing Mystery Funnies

I was wondering how much some of the facts on the "It's a matter-of-fact" page at the end of the book may have changed since 1939.

They said a baseball is about $1.22US. According to Dr Google, a professional baseball these days ranges from about $15-$25US. But on the official site, you can get one for $24.95:

https://www.rawlings.com/product/EA-ROMLB.html

They said the usual cost of coffee in Rio de Janiero was 1c. Well it's gone up considerably, but Rio was still the cheapest place for a cup of coffee (on average) in a study of 75 countries. Australia came in at No. 28, and the US is dearer again. Here's the complete list.

https://www.caffesociety.co.uk/blog/the-cheapest-cities-in-the-world-for-a-cup-of-coffee

So now you know - LOL

Cheers

QQ

[Robb_K]

Trivia from Amazing Mystery Funnies

I was wondering how much some of the facts on the "It's a matter-of-fact" page at the end of the book may have changed since 1939.

They said a baseball is about $1.22US. According to Dr Google, a professional baseball these days ranges from about $15-$25US. But on the official site, you can get one for $24.95:

https://www.rawlings.com/product/EA-ROMLB.html

They said the usual cost of coffee in Rio de Janiero was 1c. Well it's gone up considerably, but Rio was still the cheapest place for a cup of coffee (on average) in a study of 75 countries. Australia came in at No. 28, and the US is dearer again. Here's the complete list.

https://www.caffesociety.co.uk/blog/the-cheapest-cities-in-the-world-for-a-cup-of-coffee

So now you know - LOL
Cheers  QQ 

I notice that the price of a cup of coffee at home in The Netherlands is about HALF its cost in The UK and Germany, A THIRD of its cost in USA, and A QUARTER of its cost in Australia.  But, I think that's only if we buy inferior beans at ALDI!!!  We DO love our coffee.  I notice that the Starbucks' prices vary differently from country to country, somewhat different from the difference in overall cost of living.  I wouldn't want to buy cups of coffee at Starbucks, anywhere, but especially in Zurich, Milan, Oslo, and other high-cost cities.  My sister's house in The Los Angeles Area has 4 Starbucks within 2 street blocks!!! I guess nobody drinks coffee at home! Baseballs in Europe probably cost 100 times their cost in USA (IF they are sold at all). I suppose people can just buy them from Amazon USA, Japan, Cuba, or Venezuela, or, best from a mail order catalogue in The Dominican Republic (IF the purchaser can read Spanish). 

I'd have liked to see the comparison of auto petrol/gasoline prices, and the cost of choice cuts of red meat, and monthly rents for flats of specific sizes/no. of rooms.

[SuperScrounge]

wowzers, ‘Super. Thanks. It’s faster and better than the original serial.

You're welcome. 

SuperScrounge, do you think we'll be whizzing around in space like that in 15 years?

No.

Though I'm not sure the outer space equivalent of a motorcycle cop will ever be a thing 

It won't.

I did smile when Tim and his crew suddenly found themselves outside of the gravity sphere.

Yeah, that's one of those things that seem to be common in older sci-fi. All atmospheres are a bubble of air around a planet, same with gravity, there are clear demarcations between atmosphere and vacuum, gravity and zero-gravity, whereas now people seem to understand better that atmospheres just get thinner and thinner (heck, Earth's atmosphere technically extends past the moon, but you wouldn't want to try breathing it.  ) and in space it's not so much zero-gravity as micro-gravity. Not to mention that rocket ships should have thrusters to push them in any given direction, and in a micro-gravity region require less force to move the ship than in a planet's gravitational 'sphere'.

[The Australian Panther]

When I made the choices this time, I was hoping for perhaps a bit of celebration or nostalgia. Thought the original posters might revisit the scenes of their crimes {That's a joke.] and have maybe review their original comments.
I was less interested in the original choices themselves. 
Accordingly I'm going to mainly comment on the comments.
Week 1 - Crime Does Not Pay #63
https://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=15015
Scrounge was fascinated by the list of restrictions on the inside cover of  Crime Does Not Pay 63.

Interesting set of restrictions. Some common tropes just out right forbidden. (Outta here, you scantily-clad & good-looking dames! Those injuries are too graphic! Get to the hospital! Laughing during a crime? Go to DC, you joker!)   

QQ said,

I thought it was an interesting list. The stories in this book are all true, but if the writers and artists abided by all of those rules, wouldn't that mean that some of the 'true' bits would have to be altered? Gorgeous dames swapped for plain ones. Mocking crims changed to serious ones. 

Yes, there is definitely a Catch22 about those rules.
It seems the list was intended as a statement of intention, but was it really followed in practice?
Probably explains why 'Lev Gleason''s books don't appeal to me much.
Crash wrote,

  He filled his crime comics with letters and pious statements about how Crime Does Not Pay taught youngsters to hate crime while the stories themselves glorified gangsters and violence. Note that the story immediately following Biro's "guidelines" violates numbers 5, 8, and 9. It doesn't have blood and visible wounds but it does show bullet impacts (pg 14 panel 3). As for the rest of the guidelines...I invite everyone to take a peek at page 28. 

Exactly!
At the bottom,
'Permission is hereby granted to other comic publishers, and editors who may wish to make similar use of this list"
Grandstanding Much? 

Most publishers did have their own 'codes', 

Western Publishing [Dell, Gold Key] had their own code and published it at times in their books.

True crime was a genre at the time that has mainly disappeared from comics. It's currently quite popular in book and magazine form.  It leaves me cold, I have no interest in it.       

[Morgus]

‘Panther, that’s a good point about no crime comics anymore. I bet we all remember SERIAL KILLER TRADING CARDS that were a big noise in the 80’s...but aside from that, bupkis.

I wonder why...

Q.Q. for that book, you ‘d need someone with a really good access to the artwork, and that ain’t me...and encyclopedic knowledge of westerns would probably be another requirement. I mean, I don’t mind westerns, I read ‘em when they come up here. But you’d need an interest that would verge on mania. ..Ron Ely was MY Tarzaan too. Never missed an episode.  He was cool because he had The Supremes on. By the way, a bit of behind the scenes stuff for you; Manuel Padilla Jr. who played Jai, was a little card sharp. They’d play between takes on the set and he never lost. Friendly, always smiling, wonderful kid...but never lost.

[Quirky Quokka]

I notice that the price of a cup of coffee at home in The Netherlands is about HALF its cost in The UK and Germany, A THIRD of its cost in USA, and A QUARTER of its cost in Australia.  But, I think that's only if we buy inferior beans at ALDI!!!  We DO love our coffee.  I notice that the Starbucks' prices vary differently from country to country, somewhat different from the difference in overall cost of living.  I wouldn't want to buy cups of coffee at Starbucks, anywhere, but especially in Zurich, Milan, Oslo, and other high-cost cities.  My sister's house in The Los Angeles Area has 4 Starbucks within 2 street blocks!!! I guess nobody drinks coffee at home! Baseballs in Europe probably cost 100 times their cost in USA (IF they are sold at all). I suppose people can just buy them from Amazon USA, Japan, Cuba, or Venezuela, or, best from a mail order catalogue in The Dominican Republic (IF the purchaser can read Spanish). 

Robb, in the interests of research  I had a coffee at a coffee shop this morning. A small cappuccino cost me  a whopping $5.70 AUD (Australian), which on today's rate is about $3.71US and 2.89 (British pound). I need to get it made with almond milk, as I'm sensitive to dairy, so that always adds an extra 50c. We have Aldi here, but I'm a bit indulgent at home and make cappuccinos on my Nespresso machine. I once worked out that by the time I buy the Nespresso capsules and add my macadamia milk, it works out at about $1.50AUD a cup (roughly 97cUS and 76p British). So I'm way above the average. Lucky I only have two cups a day. Perhaps I should move to Rio 

Cheers

QQ

[Quirky Quokka]

True crime was a genre at the time that has mainly disappeared from comics. It's currently quite popular in book and magazine form.  It leaves me cold, I have no interest in it.     

Hi Panther, I guess superheroes have largely taken over the true crime market in comic books. True crime podcasts are really popular now. Aussie comedienne Meshel Laurie has a popular one, though I've never listened to it. Not sure what hers is like, but true crime can sometimes be gory and creepy, so not usually my cup of tea. Though I do read the odd article that pops up about unsolved crimes, like the disappearance of the Beaumont children from Adelaide all those years ago.

Cheers

QQ

[Quirky Quokka]

Ron Ely was MY Tarzaan too. Never missed an episode.  He was cool because he had The Supremes on. By the way, a bit of behind the scenes stuff for you; Manuel Padilla Jr. who played Jai, was a little card sharp. They’d play between takes on the set and he never lost. Friendly, always smiling, wonderful kid...but never lost.

Hi Morgus - You're always good for some interesting trivia  I remember I liked the show at the time, though I can't remember a lot about it except for Ron Ely walking around with his little loincloth and I liked Cheetah. Just looked up Manuel Padilla Jr. and found that he died of colon cancer at the age of 52, and had almost no assets. Sad.

QQ

[The Australian Panther]

QQ said,

Just looked up Manuel Padilla Jr. and found that he died of colon cancer at the age of 52, and had almost no assets

Sad, but that is not an unfamiliar end for a gambler.

[The Australian Panther]

Week 2  Rulah Jungle Goddess 24
https://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=36327

I looked at the first story here, which was the one originally chosen to review, but its such a mess, I'll leave it alone.
The two areas of commentary then as now, were the depiction of African blacks in comics and the unreality of "Jungle' comics.
Obviously the the genre was created by ERB, and is still alive and well. As I've pointed out before. I lived in tropical and subtropical climates for much of my life, and therefore find the idea of people running round Jungles in loin-cloths and bikinis ridiculous. You would be eaten alive by insects and incur third degree sunburn. I tell you from experience, that's no fun, to put it mildly.
However my needs in enjoying a story are good art, believable characters and good story. The art is not bad but the story is too messy.
An aside.
I'm amazed by the Ad for a cigarette lighter in a comic aimed at per-adolescents! Even in that era. And it holds a full pack of cigarettes too. 
Scrounge said,

I'm really impressed with how tough the soles of Elsie's feet are. I mean she goes from wearing protective shoes to running around the streets of New York to running around in the jungle and if she stepped on anything sharp we never saw evidence of it. 

I'd rather run around a jungle barefooted than the streets of New York. And the soles of your feet do get toughened when you do that.
Paw said,

.Weren't jungle girl comics simply a way to get scantily clad females in front of  young lads' eyes?   

Again i refer you to ERB. I don't know how many pre-adolescents read comics in the 21st Century, most seem marketed to their big brothers and sisters and even fathers and grandathers.
And the genre is alive and well.
There are current 'Sheena' comics, and when it comes to scantily clad, try Vampirella and her several clones, Red Sonia likewise and Barbarella was back for a while - to name a few.
And I just have to mention Dejah Thoris, princess of Mars. I haven't read the original ERB books, so don't know how he describes her but all current comic versions of the character - particularly Dynamite's - portray her as basically nude.
Scrounge said,

Looking at Rulah's giraffe-skin outfit bottom with the wide side openings and thongs to hold it in place, my first thought was, "Well, she's not wearing panties."

Well, I grew up on beaches where Bikinis were commonplace so i don't really see the problem.
Paw Broon said,

Well, this is an education   What a sheltered life I've led.  I thought this stuff started with the under-dressed heroines of the Flare universe.

Well, Paw, you are obviously unaware of the work Wally Wood did in the last few years of his life.
QQ said

She stays in the jungle as their protector. I have problems with a lot of these types of stories. Beautiful white woman saves poor natives who can't help themselves and is thereafter worshipped by them. And how come the white westerner knows more about surviving in the jungle than the indigenous people who've grown up there? It seems that Rulah is a benevolent goddess, but I'm still not crazy about these kinds of concepts.

We are on the same page there.
As Paw has previously pointed out, The Phantom is basically a masked mystery man. We don't see him interfere much in the daily lives of the Jungle folk, he mainly protects them bad guys ( and women) He also doesn't always operate in the Jungle. 
cheers!

[The Australian Panther]

Week 3 - Amazing Mystery Funnies v02 07
https://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=16514

Scrounge wrote,

  The Fantom of the Fair
I wonder if Gustavson knew the answers to the mysteries he set-up about the Fantom in this story? If I recall correctly later stories of the Fantom just gave him powers when he needed them rather than having a defined power set which indicates a 'make-it-up-as-you-go-along' storytelling.
Although as a first story it's okay and can get readers interested in what's coming next.
 

Yes, He Jumps, carrying a body, straight down at least 6 stories, straight through a trapdoor, and lands in the sewers. Never even saw Batman do anything like that. And who closed the trapdoor?
Good energetic art for the period.
C-20 Mystery
Nice art from Bill Everett, although he is not one of my favorites.
Air-Sub 'DX'
These kinds of 'Space fiction' stories seemed corny to me before I was 10 years old, but they can be fun.
It can be argued,if you wish to be pedantic, [my middle name] current space stories in comic books are just as scientifically unrealistic although much more sophisticated.   
Cheers!

[The Australian Panther]

Re Coffee,
[I love the side-trips we take on the Reading Group!]
Robb said,

I notice that the price of a cup of coffee at home in The Netherlands is about HALF its cost in The UK and Germany, A THIRD of its cost in USA, and A QUARTER of its cost in Australia.  But, I think that's only if we buy inferior beans at ALDI!!!  We DO love our coffee.  I notice that the Starbucks' prices vary differently from country to country, somewhat different from the difference in overall cost of living.  I wouldn't want to buy cups of coffee at Starbucks, anywhere, but especially in Zurich, Milan, Oslo, and other high-cost cities.  My sister's house in The Los Angeles Area has 4 Starbucks within 2 street blocks!!! I guess nobody drinks coffee at home! Baseballs in Europe probably cost 100 times their cost in USA (IF they are sold at all). I suppose people can just buy them from Amazon USA, Japan, Cuba, or Venezuela, or, best from a mail order catalogue in The Dominican Republic (IF the purchaser can read Spanish). 

" But, I think that's only if we buy inferior beans at ALDI!!!" Well ALDI here often has very good quality beans as well.
"I wouldn't want to buy cups of coffee at Starbucks, anywhere," Obviously you know your Coffee.  Starbocks started up here, but basically went out of business - as far as I know. In certain innercity areas of Australia,particularity Melbourne, coffee is basically a cult. The scuttlebutt is that only Italy and Australia really know how to make coffee properly. Why this might be so, I can't say. Australians have been know to travel overseas to set up Aussie style coffee shops.
My ex and I ran a cafe in a very small mid-western town in OZ, we were both Baristas - did a course and had a good standard coffee machine.
But don't take my word for it.
The world is hooked on Australian coffee culture. This is how it got so good
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-28/best-australian-coffee-big-overseas/11747342
Making myself thirsty. Have to make a brew!

   

[crashryan]

I'm amazed by the Ad for a cigarette lighter in a comic aimed at per-adolescents!

I've read two explanations for this. First, Golden Age publishers figured a large number of adults read comics. This was especially true during WWII. Hence ads for lighters, lingerie, etc. Second, cheapjack advertisers like these often paid for their ads to be run across a given publisher's entire magazine line. The same ad might appear in a pulp, a confession magazine, a true crime magazine and a comic book. As far as I know Fox only published comics, so option #1 seems most likely.

Dejah Thoris, princess of Mars. I haven't read the original ERB books, so don't know how he describes her but all current comic versions of the character - particularly Dynamite's - portray her as basically nude

In the original books Dejah was completely starkers. A fact not missed by a certain heavy-breathing young reader I knew. Considering that Martians were hatched from eggs I imagine Dejah's topography would have differed somewhat from that of Earth women.

Looking at Rulah's giraffe-skin outfit bottom with the wide side openings and thongs to hold it in place, my first thought was, "Well, she's not wearing panties."

In the grand tradition established by Maureen O'Sullivan in Tarzan and his Mate.

[Quirky Quokka]

Re Coffee,
In certain innercity areas of Australia,particularity Melbourne, coffee is basically a cult. The scuttlebutt is that only Italy and Australia really know how to make coffee properly. Why this might be so, I can't say. Australians have been know to travel overseas to set up Aussie style coffee shops.
My ex and I ran a cafe in a very small mid-western town in OZ, we were both Baristas - did a course and had a good standard coffee machine.
But don't take my word for it.
The world is hooked on Australian coffee culture. This is how it got so good
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-28/best-australian-coffee-big-overseas/11747342
Making myself thirsty. Have to make a brew!

And if we need more evidence, the Australian Olympic team went to the food and drink capital of the world and took three baristas with them 

https://www.delicious.com.au/travel/international/article/trio-australian-baristas-head-2024-paris-olympics/8q7b8azi

Cheers

QQ

[Quirky Quokka]

Week 3 - Amazing Mystery Funnies v02 07

Air-Sub 'DX'
These kinds of 'Space fiction' stories seemed corny to me before I was 10 years old, but they can be fun.
It can be argued,if you wish to be pedantic, [my middle name] current space stories in comic books are just as scientifically unrealistic although much more sophisticated.   
Cheers!

Accuracy aside, I quite liked this one. At least they put seatbelts on at one point. A practice that could have saved Lieutenant Uhuru from being hurled out of her seat in in a micro-mini every time the Starship Enterprise ran into trouble on Star Trek. 

I also thought the red panels above each page were interesting. They were sort of related to the story but not part of it.

Cheers

QQ

[The Australian Panther]

QQ said,

And if we need more evidence, the Australian Olympic team went to the food and drink capital of the world and took three baristas with them. 

Looking at the Aussie items listed, I add,
"Wot, no Tim Tams?" 
https://www.arnotts.com/brands/tim-tam]
I haven't seen the JATZ variety yet, tho. Salty? Hmmm!
Cheers!
Looking forward to your choices tomorrow.   

[crashryan]

As long as I have all of you here, I want to direct an off-topic question to all our genuine Australians.

My wife and I have been enjoying the Olympic Games. They are broadcast here in the USA by NBC. The NBC commentators frequently refer to Australian athletes as Aussies. They pronounce the word as "ozzies." All my USAnian life I've heard it pronounced "ossies." Which is the proper pronunciation?

[Quirky Quokka]

As long as I have all of you here, I want to direct an off-topic question to all our genuine Australians.

My wife and I have been enjoying the Olympic Games. They are broadcast here in the USA by NBC. The NBC commentators frequently refer to Australian athletes as Aussies. They pronounce the word as "ozzies." All my USAnian life I've heard it pronounced "ossies." Which is the proper pronunciation?

Crashryan, it is indeed pronounced Ozzie. And if you’re cheering on the Australian team at the Olympics, yell out “Ozzie Ozzie Ozzie, Oy Oy Oy”!

Cheers

QQ

[The Australian Panther]

Crash, think 'The Wonderful Wizard of OZ.'
That OZ!

So 'Aussie', with the correct accent, comes out , OZZIE! 

Somewhat fitting, as much of the world sees us as a kind of mythical magic kingdom!