12/19/07

Weird-Ass Cover Wednesday: Blackhawk!

Blackhawk is an action comic from the 1950s which featured flying aces from a bunch of different countries and the wacky adventures they got into. Howard Chaykin created a limited series based on this original in the '80s but those covers aren't as funny. So, I bring you Blackhawk!

#42



Oh, man! Not only is it a giant robot, it's got, like, the coolest robot name ever! The Iron Emperor? Awesome! Is he actually the head of an empire?

Also, for a squad of international flying aces, the Blackhawks sure do spend a lot of time out of their planes shooting at stuff.


#56


This cover is a perfect example of the fact that "Weird-Ass" and "Awesome" are not mutually-exclusive terms. Look at that thing! It would never work! Seriously, though, it's this sort of impractical defense spending that lost the war for the Nazis.


#107


One-man helicopters. Why aren't we using these in today's Army? Oh, yeah, because they'll CHOP THE PILOTS INTO TINY PIECES!!


#106


Flying Tanks. This one needs no further commentary. This cover is zen-like in its perfection. Bask in its magnificence.

4 comments:

Jason said...

What, no covers from their unfortunate silver-age "superhero" revamp?

I kid, I kid, that's some good stuff. We really need those flying tanks for the war on terror.

Anonymous said...

The woman in red under the arm of the Iron Emperor looks as if she was added in as an afterthought.

Vaklam said...

Oh, man, Jason. I had forgotten about that. I haven't read any of those but I remember reading about them.

And, Yedna. Yeah, she totally does. I can see the artist getting a note from editorial: "Throw in a dame. One with great gams."

Anonymous said...

The girl also looks to be about seven feet tall (not that there's anything wrong with that!)

There were a lot of proposed weapons systems in WWII that were just about as insane as the War Wheel:
http://www.amazon.com/My-Tank-Fight-Zack-Parsons/dp/0806527587/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198335730&sr=8-1