A strip mall. There’s a SPIRIT HALLOWEEN STORE that’s just opened. Its windows are festooned with decorations. A passerby goggles at the next shop, which is a FLESH HALLOWEEN STORE, which has human body parts hanging in the windows.
Those two are big competitors.
We know that Archie artist Bill Vigoda was brothers with “Godfather” actor Abe Vigoda, but he’s not the only prominent Golden Age comic book artist with a famous sibling. Martin Filchock drew comics for about a million years. His most significant creation was Mighty Man. But his brother Frank was a football star:
Frank “suggested” this story to brother Marty. In short: Western College is threatening the sanctity of college football by fielding a team of 7 foot zombies, but Mighty Man, who is 12 foot tall, wades in and saves the day.
You know how almost all these old-timey football stories involve gamblers trying to fix the game (though this is a notable exception)? There’s a reason for that. Gamblers really were trying to fix football games, all the time.
Frank Filchock was a star quarterback for several teams. He threw the first 99 yard touchdown pass in NFL history. He got the first multi-year contract in NY Giants history. He was good. In 1945, he was set to lead the Giants against the Bears in the NFL title game (precursor to the Super Bowl), but it was revealed that sleazy gamblers had tried to bribe Frank and one of his teammates to throw the game. Frank denied everything, and he was probably telling the truth, but there was a cloud hanging over him and he was banned from the NFL. He spent the rest of his long career playing and coaching in Canada.
I think it worked out for Frank in the end, but people should probably remember him better. Sleazy gamblers ruin everything.
Come back next week. I will be here (I think). Be kind to animals. Read “The Monster on the Bus” to your kids. Draw, draw, draw.