Altron-Boy, Pt. 6

 (Continued from Altron-Boy, Pt. 5)

Larry Ivie's MONSTERS & HEROES 6
"ALTRON-BOY AND THE FUMES OF TERROR!"

THIS is where I came in originally.  Mom was getting into the "monsters" fad, and this was one of the random magazines she picked up.  I'm not sure what caught her attention.  I suspect, apart from the word "monsters" in the title, it was the blurb advertising "FLASH GORDON".  The thing is, that's not Flash Gordon on the cover-- it's "JOHN CARTER OF MARS"!

I gotta say, looking back... I'd never seen anything like this.  How can I put this?  Well... I'd say this was the SEXIEST magazine I'd ever laid eyes on at age 10. 
I mean, look at it.  You've got a half-naked man on the cover.  Inside, there's a NAKED drawing of John Carter.  In the "Altron-Boy" story, there's a big panel of a naked girl with long blonde hair.  On the last page of the story, we see a blonde guy naked from the waist up.  And on the back cover, there's a painting showing John Carter & Dejah Thoris, both of who are wearing rather skimpy clothing.

And to think... it was my MOM who bought this.  Way to go, Mom!

It's bizarre (and more than a little sad) that it took me THIS long to get my hands on all 7 issues.  But I have 'em now.

Also, looking back...it strikes me that the "Altron-Boy" story may have actually had an influence on my own work.  You've got a young hero with a short cape who flies via anti-gravity.  There's 2 girls in the story, one of whom he's friends with, the other of whom doesn't wear very much at all.  And then there's his blonde musician friend who he winds up rescuing.  While quite different, it's just too easy for me to see parallels between them and Pete, Billie, Kyrene & Jay in my STORMBOY comic.  Why not?  I've often thought the best form of influence is the kind that gets into your head so deep you're not even aware of it until after-the-fact.

6 down, 1 more to go!

This blog page finished on 3-20-2021.

ENJOY!

Larry Ivie's MONSTERS & HEROES  6
cover by LARRY IVIE   (M & H Publications  /  October 1969)

Page 7  /  John Carter & Thark

"ALTRON-BOY AND THE FUMES OF TERROR!"
Story & Art by LARRY IVIE  /  Page 8

Page 9

Page 10

Page 11

Page 12

Back Cover  /  A Princess Of Mars

MONSTERS & HEROES  Copyright (C) LARRY IVIE.

Scans from MY collection!
     with special thanks to Agnes J. Kujawa.

Restorations by Henry R. Kujawa.

For more:
See more Larry Ivie art at the ERBzine site.
See the Gods Of Mars gallery at the ERBzine site.
Read the obituary/tribute to Larry Ivie at Buzz Dixon's site.
Read Sandy Plunkett's article about Larry Ivie in ALTER EGO 152.

See the Larry Ivie Gallery of Illustrations!
Read CAPTIVE BRIDE OF THE APE MEN!
Read THE LAST WAR!
Read SKY BOY!   (Coming soon!)
Read the entire ALTRON-BOY series!

(Continued in Altron-Boy, Pt. 7)