Awesome Tales is a fanzine produced by Black Cat Media (R. Allen Leider) and packaged/published by Bold Venture Press.
I had recently reviewed the first two issues, and wondered when the third issue would come out. Well, #3 appeared, dated “Winter 2016.” In speaking with Rich Harvey of Bold Venture Press, the intention now is to publish this on a quarterly basis. So I will look forward to future issues.
The cover feature is on Fantomas, the sinister French pulp supervillain. Fantomas (which I covered more completely in a recent post) was created in the early 1900s and appeared in over 30 stories. Moving beyond gentlemen thieves, he was more clearly villainous, in the style of later villains such as appeared in the “weird menace” pulps. Set during WWII, the story here has Fantomas pitted against the Nazis. This seems appropriate. Other than in the Tales of the Shadowmen series, we haven’t had much new Fantomas works, so this is a nice change. This is the first of a multi-part story.
Rounding out the issue are two other stories. We have “Taxi from Hell” by Lee Richards, a weird little crime tale. KT Pinto provides “The Emerald Eye,” a story with a new PI: Raphael Jones. But this is not your standard detective story. This is promised to be the first of a new series.
Overall, it’s another good issue. I thought it was interesting that #2 had pulp villain Dr. Mabuse, and with this one we get Fantomas. No definite word when the next issue will be out, or what it will bring, but I look forward to it, especially if we get the next part of the Fantomas story.
Thank you so much for the mention! My name is spelled KT, not K.T. ; just a head’s up! Thanks again!
Some way, some how, Fantomas came to Mexican and other Central & South America countries as a comic book character in about 1969.
In this incarnation Fantomas operated much more in the mould of Raffles or the Saint. He stole and otherwise broke the law as he pleased, but he lived by his own moral code. (Woe betide anyone he caught trying to fix a sporting event, for example.) I do not think he killed or hurt innocents like the original did.
His true face was never shown. When he was not in disguise he wore a white mask with ear, eye, nose, & mouth holes. On the rare times he went in public as himself he dressed in formalwear with top hat and walking stick. (http://www.comics.org/issue/571028/cover/4/)
The Grand Comics Database says that the Mexican comic series ran for 732 issues. I have a couple dozen of the first two years. At that time the magazine was released weekly with four color interiors and painted covers.
http://www.comics.org/series/34041/
I alluded to this in my posting, but didn’t want to spend too much time on it. You can find some of this info on Fantomas sites.