Media Medicine BEN CASEY FILM STORIES "Operation Tycoon" Part 1

Medical-Themed Shows Have Always Been Popular on TV...

One of the hottest shows on the air was Ben Casey, starring Vince Edwards as a handsome, but surly rule-breaking surgeon whose abrasive manner got under peoples' skins...but produced almost miraculous results!

The show was so popular that it produced two different comics from two different publishers: a regular-format comic book from Dell and this fumetti comic-sized magazine from Gold Key using photos from two episodes to re-tell the TV tales in "photonovel" format!
Remember, there was no internet and streaming services, no videotape/DVD/BluRay, or any other way to see TV series when you wished!
BTW, the show was filmed in black and white, so the b/w pix aren't a cost-saving measure by the publisher!
Most TV shows were filmed this way until the mid-1960s!
Let's begin our story, based on the first season episode "An Expensive Glass of Water"...

Will Ben Casey Buckle to the Will of Type-A Tycoon Walter Tyson?

Will Tyson Turn Chicken?

(Sorry, couldn't resist!)

Tune in NOW at Secret Sanctum of Captain Video to learn the Astounding Answer!

Besides the regular cast members: Sam Jaffee as Dr David Zorba, Bettye Ackerman as Dr Maggie Graham, Harry Anders as Dr Ted Hoffman, and Jeanne Bates as Nurse Wills, the guest cast included Chester Morris as Walter Tyson, and Neva Patterson as Miss Warren.

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Military Medicine TRUE COMICS "Call Him 'DOC'"

They're Celebrating the 250th Anniversary of the US Army This Weekend...

...so let's tell a real story about a real medic!

I'm not sure if this never-reprinted tale from Parents Magazine Press' True Comics #33 (1943), is, in fact, true!

But it is just unusual enough to be believable.

Military Medicine SHIP AHOY "Navy Air Medic"

Before the Air Force Became a Separate Branch of the Military...

...all three of the services (Army, Navy, Marines) had their own, distinct air services...and unique ways of doing things tailored to their specific needs!

Now, this isn't to say they didn't share results of research between the branches, but there were aspects applicable only to each service.

This never-reprinted feature from Spotlight Publication's one-shot Ship Ahoy (1944) was likely checked by the government so that no critical/secret info was inadvertently published!

ROMANCES OF NURSE HELEN GRANT "Unmasked Heart!"

Unlike Our Previous Nurse Soap Opera...

...the long-running Private Diary of Mary Robin R.N." this series ran only one issue!
We'll go into the likely reasons at the end of this story!

A series about a totally-loyal, lovestruck nurse obsessed with a Handsome Young Doctor whom every female who walks through the Emergency Room doors lusts after!

Unlike Nurse Mary Robin who wavered in her loyalty to her Dr Love Object, eventually ending up with a different doctor, Helen Grant seems determined to be by Dr Brian Clark's side...obviously as close as possible, until Death Do Them Part!
Was that the reason there wasn't an issue #2?
We'd have to ask plotter/editor Stan Lee, inker Vince Colletta, and the likely "ghost" penciler, Matt Baker, what they had in mind after this premiere issue of Atlas' Romances of Nurse Helen Grant #1 (1957).
But since they've all passed away, we'll never know!

DOCTOR DAN DAZZLER "Deadly Playmates"

It's fascinating to see what, in the 1960s...

..."internes" had to do, including, serving as "physician-on-duty" when a circus comes to town!

Actually, I believe the esteemed interne is royally-pissed in this never-reprinted story, illustrated by John Tartaglione from Dell's Ben Casey #5 (1963)

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ECLIPSE MAGAZINE "Death"

The Late Howard Cruse was a gifted Writer/Illustrator...

...with a knack for making "uncomfortable" subjects palatable!

This never-reprinted feature from Eclipse Publishing's anthology Eclipse: the Magazine #1 (1980) was typical of Howard's combination of insight leavened with humor.

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Other Sides of Howard Cruse

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OMNI "Kinesthetic" Conclusion

We Have Already Seen...

(and yes, this kool Dave Johnson cover is symbolic!)

A disguised Dr Cobbina arrives at a migrant detention center where now-superpowered children, separated from their parents, have thrown out their captors!

She assesses the situation, and tries to keep the kids calm...but they are children, and tend to over-react...

Written by Devin Grayson and illustrated by Alitha Martinez, this first Don da Con administration-era issue cleverly took a real-world issue and inserted it into the series' sci-fi-oriented universe without seeming out-of place!

Doctor Cobbina aka Omni Will Return!

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OMNI "Kinesthetic" Part 1

When Last We Left the MD with a Mind That Operates Faster Than Light...

I love it when the comic does my work for me!

Now let's get to it...

MAGA's greatest nightmare: undocumented immigrants with super-powers...willing to use them to protect themselves!

Written by Devin Grayson, illustrated by Chris Eliopoulos (intro.synopsis) & Alitha Martinez, this tale from Humanoids' Omni #3 (2019), set during Don da Con's previous administration, takes a timely topic and adds twists and turns aplenty to a real-world situation!

To Be Concluded...One Way or Another...

Next Week!

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