Is it lunch yet?

On Her Majesty's Secret Service

2008-05-20T21:27:00.000-03:00

In the movie and book, James Bond saves a woman (Teresa di Vicenzo, played by Diana Rigg) who tries to drown herself in the ocean and later gambles with money that she does not have. Her father, Marc Ange Draco, (Gabriele Ferzetti) the head of a Corsican mafia family, thinking that Bond can help with his daughters emotional instability, proposes that if James Bond marries his daughter, Bond will receive one million dollars on their wedding day. Bond refuses, but agrees to see her again as part of an agreement that Draco will provide Bond with information about the location of Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Telly Savalas), the head of the crime organization S.P.E.C.T.R.E..

Draco eventually complies and informs Bond that several men from Draco's organization have been recruited by Blofeld, via an attorney in Bern, Switzerland. A search of the attorney's office reveals correspondence between Blofeld and the Royal College of Arms. Blofeld is attempting to lay claim to the title 'Compte Balthazar de Bleuchamp'. His correspondence is with Sir Hillary Bray, a geneologist at the College. Bond proposes posing as Bray so that he may visit Blofeld, on the pretense of verifying a physical attribute of the Bleuchamps - a lack of earlobes.

Blofeld has established a research institute, Piz Gloria, on top of a mountain in Switzerland (filmed at a restaurant on top of the Schilthorn in the Bernese Oberland). Bond, undercover as the foppish Bray, meets ten beautiful women from around the world. The women are at the institute undergoing an unorthodox treatment for their allergies. In reality, the young women are unknowingly being trained to distribute biological warfare agents throughout the world.

Bond's lasciviousness exposes his true identity. He escapes by skiing down the mountain, while being chased by Blofeld and his henchmen. He ends up in a village during a winter festival. Now it is Tracy’s turn to save James. Tracy is in Switzerland undergoing therapy, and has found out James' location from her father. James and Tracy meet unexpectedly while Bond is being pursued. They escape in her car, but she is captured by Blofeld. With Draco, Bond returns by helicopter to destroy the institute, save Tracy and to stop Blofeld from carrying out his plans to blackmail the worlds governments under the threat of bacteriological warfare.

After their raid on Piz Gloria, Bond and Tracy marry, but Tracy is shot and killed by Irma Bunt, Blofeld's right hand woman, while Bond's car was on the side of the road, stopped to remove the flowers decorating it from their wedding reception. Bond would eventually avenge Tracy Bond in an confrontation with Blofield in the pre-credits sequence of For Your Eyes Only (1981).

The film closely follows the plot of the book but adds a few sequences, such as Tracy' capture and rescue. In the books both Blofeld and Irma Bunt meet their deaths in You Only Live Twice (which follows On Her Majesty's Secret Service, unlike in the movie series where it precedes it).

Coffee Man

2008-05-09T21:34:00.001-03:00

Coffee is a widely-consumed stimulant beverage prepared from roasted seeds, commonly called coffee beans, of the coffee plant. Coffee was first consumed in the 9th century, when it was discovered in the highlands of Ethiopia. From there, it spread to Egypt and Yemen, and by the 15th century had reached Armenia, Persia, Turkey, and northern Africa. From the Muslim world, coffee spread to Italy, then to the rest of Europe and the Americas. Today, coffee is one of the most popular beverages worldwide.

Coffee berries, which contain the coffee bean, are produced by several species of small evergreen bush of the genus Coffea. The two most commonly grown species are Coffea canephora (also known as Coffea robusta) and Coffea arabica. These are cultivated in Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Africa. Once ripe, coffee berries are picked, processed, and dried. The seeds are then roasted, undergoing several physical and chemical changes. They are roasted to varying degrees, depending on the desired flavor. They are then ground and brewed to create coffee. Coffee can be prepared and presented by a variety of methods.

Coffee has played an important role in many societies throughout modern history. In Africa and Yemen, it was used in religious ceremonies. As a result, the Ethiopian Church banned its consumption until the reign of Emperor Menelik II of Ethiopia. It was banned in Ottoman Turkey in the 17th century for political reasons, and was associated with rebellious political activities in Europe.

Coffee is an important export commodity. In 2004, coffee was the top agricultural export for 12 countries, and in 2005, it was the world's seventh largest legal agricultural export by value.

Some controversy is associated with coffee cultivation and its impact on the environment. Many studies have examined the relationship between coffee consumption and certain medical conditions; whether the effects of gourmet coffee are positive or negative is still disputed.

Casino Royale - 1967

2008-04-20T12:40:00.001-03:00

Casino Royale is a 1967 epic surrealistic satire originally produced by Columbia Pictures starring an ensemble cast of directors and actors. It is set as a satire of the James Bond film series and the spy genre and is lightly based on Ian Fleming's first James Bond novel.

The film stars David Niven as the original Bond, Sir James Bond 007. Forced out of retirement to investigate the deaths and disappearances of international spies, he soon battles the mysterious Dr. Noah and SMERSH.

The film's famous slogan : "Casino Royale is too much ... for one James Bond!" refers to Bond's ruse to mislead SMERSH in which six other agents are designated as "James Bond", namely, Baccarat master Evelyn Tremble (Peter Sellers), millionaire spy Vesper Lynd (Ursula Andress), his secretary Miss Moneypenny (Barbara Bouchet), Bond's daughter with Mata Hari, Mata Bond (Joanna Pettet) and British agents "Coop" (Terence Cooper) and "The Detainer" (Daliah Lavi).

Charles K. Feldman, the producer, had acquired the film rights and had attempted to get Casino Royale made as an official James Bond movie (i.e. one made by EON Productions); however, the producers of the official series, Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman, had turned him down. Believing that he could not compete with the official series, Feldman resolved to produce the film as a satire.

The "chaotic" nature of the production was featured heavily in contemporary reviews. Roger Ebert said "This is possibly the most indulgent film ever made," and Variety said "it lacked discipline and cohesion."

Despite the lukewarm nature of the reviews the pull of the James Bond name was sufficient to make it the third highest grossing movie in North America in 1967 with a gross of $22,744,718 and a worldwide total of $41,744,718 ($252,000,000 adjusted).

Orson Welles attributed the success of the film to a marketing strategy that featured a naked tattooed lady on the film's posters and print ads.

UFO stuff

2008-03-21T10:22:00.002-03:00

UFOs in popular culture

UFOs constitute a widespread international cultural phenomenon of the last half-century.Gallup polls rank UFOs near the top of lists for subjects of widespread recognition. In 1973, a survey found that 95 percent of the public reported having heard of UFOs, whereas only 92 percent had heard of US President Gerald Ford in a 1977 poll taken just nine months after he left the White House. A 1996 Gallup poll reported that 71 percent of the United States population believed that the government was covering up information regarding UFOs. A 2002 Roper poll for the Sci Fi channel found similar results, but with more people believing UFOs were extraterrestrial craft. In that latest poll, 56 percent thought UFOs were real craft and 48 percent that aliens had visited the Earth. Again, about 70 percent felt the government was not sharing everything it knew about UFOs or extraterrestrial life.

Another effect of the flying saucer type of UFO sightings has been Earth-made flying saucer craft in space fiction, for example the Earth-made craft Starship C-57D in Forbidden Planet, and the saucer part of the USS Enterprise in Star Trek.

Unusual aerial phenomena have been reported throughout history. Some of these phenomena were undoubtedly astronomical in nature: comets, bright meteors, one or more of the five planets which can be seen with the naked eye, planetary conjunctions, or atmospheric optical phenomena such as parahelia and lenticular clouds. An example is the Comet Halley, which was recorded first by Chinese astronomers in 240 B.C. and possibly as early as 467 B.C.

Other historical reports seem to defy prosaic explanation, but assessing such accounts is difficult, because the information in a historical document may be insufficient, inaccurate, or embellished enough to make an informed evaluation difficult.

For example, in the Old Testament of the Bible, Ezekiel apparently had a first-hand encounter with something that might now be described as an Unidentified Flying Object, but which the Bible describes as a fiery chariot.

Bela Lugosi: Early Films

2008-03-10T11:34:00.001-03:00

Bela Lugosi's first film appearance was in the 1917 movie Az ezredes (known in English as The Colonel). Lugosi would make twelve films in Hungary between 1917 and 1918 before leaving for Germany. Following the collapse of Béla Kun's Hungarian Soviet Republic in 1919, left-wingers and trade unionists became vulnerable. Lugosi was proscribed from acting due to his participation in the formation of an actor's union. In exile in Germany, he began appearing in a small number of well received films, including adaptations of the Karl May novels, Auf den Trümmern des Paradieses ("On the Brink of Paradise"), and Die Todeskarawane ("The Caravan of Death"), opposite the ill-fated Jewish actress Dora Gerson. Lugosi left Germany in October 1920, intending to emigrate to the United States, and illegally entered the country in New Orleans in December 1920; he was finally legally inspected at Ellis Island in March 1921.

On his arrival in America, the 6 foot 1 inch (1.85 m), 180 lb. (82 kg) Béla worked for some time as a laborer, then entered the theater in New York City's Hungarian immigrant colony. His first major American role came in the 1923 J. Gordon Edwards directed melodrama The Silent Command opposite actors Edmund Lowe and Carl Harbaugh.

Lugosi was approached to star in a play adapted by Hamilton Deane and John L. Balderston from Bram Stoker's novel Dracula. The Horace Liveright production was successful. Despite his excellent notices in the title role, and appearances in some American silent films, Lugosi had to campaign vigorously for the chance to repeat his stage success in Tod Browning's movie version of Dracula (1931), produced by Universal Pictures.

A persistent rumor asserts that silent-film actor Lon Chaney was originally scheduled for this film role, and that Lugosi was chosen only due to Chaney's death. Chaney, however, was under long-term contract to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and his home studio refused to release him to Universal for this project. Further, although Chaney and Browning had worked together on several projects, Browning was only a last-minute choice to direct the movie version of Dracula. This film was not a longtime pet project of Tod Browning, despite some claims to the contrary.[citation needed]

Following the success of Dracula (1931), Lugosi received a studio contract with Universal. On June 26, 1931, the actor became a naturalized citizen of the United States.

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Star Trek

2008-02-29T23:55:00.002-04:00

Star Trek is a science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry which aired from September 8, 1966 through September 2, 1969. 80 episodes were produced, 79 of which were aired. After the show was cancelled, it was placed in syndication, where it spawned a strong fan following and, later, achieved iconic status as an American - and eventually worldwide - television phenomenon.

Set in the 23rd century, Star Trek follows the adventures of the starship Enterprise and its crew, led by Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner), his First Officer Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy), and his Chief Medical Officer Leonard McCoy (DeForest Kelley).

William Shatner's voice-over introduction during each episode's opening credits stated the starship's purpose:

Space... the Final Frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before.

The success of the program was followed by five additional television series and ten theatrical movies with an 11th on the way for May 2009. The Guinness Book of Records lists it as having the largest number of spinoffs. Though the title of the original program was simply Star Trek, it has acquired the retronym Star Trek: The Original Series (sometimes shortened to ST:TOS or TOS), in order to distinguish this first series from the sequels which followed (all of which comprise the Star Trek universe or franchise).

When Star Trek debuted on NBC in 1966, it was not an immediate hit; ratings were low and advertising revenue was lackluster. Even prior to the end of the first season of Star Trek, there were already calls in the network for the cancellation of the series due to its low Nielsen ratings. During the show's second season, the threat of cancellation loomed. The show's devoted fanbase conducted an unprecedented letter-writing campaign, petitioning NBC to keep the show on the air. Its fans succeeded in gaining a third season; however, NBC subsequently moved the show to the Friday Night Death Slot at 10 PM. Gene Roddenberry resigned as line producer of Star Trek before the start of the final season to protest the changed timeslot, and was replaced by Fred Freiberger. NBC then substantially reduced Star Trek's budget which brought about a marked decline in the quality of many third season episode Nichelle Nichols observed that as a result of NBC's actions, "in the third season you saw fewer outdoor location shots, for example. Top writers, top guest stars, top anything you needed was harder to come by. Thus, Star Trek's demise became a self-fulfilling prophecy. And I can assure you, that is exactly as it was meant to be."

While Roddenberry remained nominally in charge of the series as executive producer, he essentially removed himself from the daily production of the show in its third season. Star Trek was cancelled at the end of its third season. However, it became extremely popular and gathered a large cult following in TV syndication during the 1970s.

ghost stories

2008-02-27T17:44:00.001-04:00

A ghost story may be any piece of fiction, or drama, that includes a ghost, or simply takes as a premise the possibility of ghosts or the belief of some character(s) in them. In that sense The Tale of Genji contains ghost stories, and Shakespeare's Hamlet is a ghost story. Henry James used the ghost story premise. Stories involving ghosts are found in traditional cultures worldwide. Charles Dickens wrote one of the most famous ghost stories, A Christmas Carol, in which a miser, Ebenezer Scrooge, is visited by four spirits on Christmas Eve. They show him how he has misused his life, and their influence changes him.

In a narrower sense, the ghost story has been developed as a short story format, within genre fiction. As such, it may be a relatively restrained form of supernatural fiction, compared with the excess of the horror story. The ghost stories of M. R. James, Charles Dickens, H. Russell Wakefield, and Sheridan Le Fanu are classic expressions, as is Washington Irving's Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

Two of the most important twentieth-century authors of ghost stories were Walter de la Mare and Robert Aickman, each a supreme stylist who genuinely believed in the supernatural. De la Mare often brought a poetic vision to his work, whereas Aickman explored the dark, nightmarish and occasionally erotic byways of the subconscious. However, what unites both writers, in addition to their perfection of individual style, is their reliance upon ambiguity as a medium for heightening effect.

Many ghost stories are passed down through the telling of them to family members and friends. However, there are often several versions due to personal changes to the story and forgetfulness.

Japan has a long and complex tradition of ghost stories (kaidan in Japanese), perhaps best-known from Lafcadio Hearn's book, Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things.

Colloquially, the term also can refer to any kind of scary story.

Importance of seeing a physician before using Viagra

2008-01-04T10:42:00.000-04:00

Viagra (Sildenafil) has certainly become a major drug that has helped a large number of impotent males worldwide. And even though the number of prescriptions written for this medication have dropped dramatically since its introduction in March of 1998, the numbers are still staggering and monumental, even before the drug becomes available to the world as a whole. Viagra appears to be very safe even though we have all read about deaths associated with it and realize that these deaths have occurred in patients who probably should not have had the medication due to severe heart disease, that couldn't tolerate normal sexual function, or due to the fact that the patient's were taking the contraindicated nitroglycerin or nitrate medications.

If you exclude this group of patients, the safety record of Viagra has been exceptionally good, and its effectiveness is in the range of 50 to 75%. Many patients consider it to be a drug that should be sold over the counter, and, in fact, many have been able to obtain prescriptions for this drug on-line at various prescriptions web sites without ever seeing, talking to, or being examined by a qualified licensed physician.

Why is it that giving prescriptions for Viagra, either over the counter or on- line, is not good for the health of the impotent male? Firstly, the erectile dysfunction is a symptom of another problem and it is extremely important to make the diagnosis of that other problem since the other problem may have serious sequelae worse than the symptoms of impotence. A full history, medical and sexual, a full physical, and basic blood studies must be done to rule out those disorders that are either easily correctable or treatable which may develop into future problems that are more serious than the problems of erectile dysfunction. For example, a relatively young male 45 to 65 years of age may have erectile dysfunction as his very first symptom of serious underlying coronary artery disease. He may not have chest pain or angina and the only indication of decreased blood flow is the decreased blood flow to the penis. Evaluation may suggest a vascular cause for his impotence and basic cardiac testing including an electrocardiogram or better yet a thallium stress test would indicate asymptomatic heart disease, prevent a future heart attack, and possibly save the life of this patient. Another example would be a male, let's say the same age group, who not only has erectile dysfunction but has poor sexual desire. On obtaining some basic blood studies it is found that his total male hormone level (serum testosterone) is extremely low and subsequent blood tests including a prolactin show high levels of prolactin. Further evaluation determines that he has a brain tumor or a tumor of the pituitary gland which in some situations can be life-threatening as well.

Secondly, Viagra should not be given to any patient who has severe heart disease or is unable to tolerate normal sexual activity. In order to determine this a good history and knowledge of the patient is necessary. Basically the amount of energy necessary to have normal sexual activity (6 calories/second) is equivalent to the ability of climbing one flight of stairs without chest discomfort. This evaluation certainly would be better done in the presence of a qualified physician.

Thirdly, there are approximately 75 drugs of various sorts that contain nitrates, including generic sublingual nitroglycerin and nitrate patches. Many patients are taking nitrate-containing medications and don't even realize it. Only by a careful, compulsive history done by a physician can the drugs be identified. Every drug that a patient takes must be extracted from the patient during the history taking and, if these drugs contain nitrates, either changed to a non-nitrate containing drug or the Viagra must not be given. The combination of Viagra and inorganic nitrates is potentially lethal with a drop in the blood pressure and the possibility of subsequent stroke or heart attack. The fourth deals mostly in the follow-up of the patient since not everybody will get 100% response to Viagra. In those patients who have a poor response the physician will then be able to assist the patient in other more aggressive effective therapies, and in those patients in whom the response is suboptimal, there are many ways of improving the suboptimal results by either changing the method and timing of the Viagra pill or adding in a timely manner other effective medications such as intraurethral Prostaglandin (Muse therapy).

If you have read this article and have reached this point, it is obvious that Viagra is not a drug that can safely be prescribed as an over-the-counter medication or through an on-line web site. Nitrate-containing drugs must be elucidated from the patient, general health conditions must be evaluated, and correctable disorders must be diagnosed and treated. Non-responders should have the opportunity of receiving other more aggressive effective impotence therapy, and suboptimal results can be enhanced with other simple noninvasive techniques and medications. This can only be done by a qualified licensed physician in his office and not by any other means.

Lastly, all patients on Viagra, or treated for impotence should have adequate follow-up therapy on a regular basis, and for many patients this may be the only male health evaluation. Biannual or annual prostate examination, PSA testing, and urinalysis will be done during those visits and prevent other significant male health problems including prostate cancer.

More Men to Get Viagra

2007-12-13T23:18:00.000-04:00

Health Secretary Frank Dobson has increased the number of men who will be able to receive erection enhancers like the popular Viagra on the NHS.

But, at the same time, he has restricted NHS access to other impotence treatments.

Doctors have given the decision a cautious welcome, saying some men with a clinical need for Viagra may still be "arbitrarily" denied it.

NHS managers say it is a "sensible and fair" decision to purchase Levitra.

The government's announcement follows interim guidance issued in January that Viagra would be restricted to certain groups of patients.

Doctors criticized this as being "unfair" and "irrational" and the British Medical Association (BMA) advised members to disobey the advice.

The guidance was subject to consultation with health workers.

The government says it has received 861 responses and has decided as a result to increase the number of patients who will get the drug.

In January, the drug was limited to people with diabetes, multiple sclerosis or other single gene neurological diseases that cause impotence, spinal cord injuries, those who have undergone radical pelvic surgery and those had had their prostate gland removed.

Men who were in severe distress because of impotence were also able to have the drug on the NHS if a hospital specialist recommended it.

Viagra Stuff

2007-12-11T16:05:00.000-04:00

It's not just impotent men and their partners who are taking VIAGRA seriously. Since VIAGRA's approval, pharmaceutical companies worldwide have been working to produce an improved product. Because of concerns about heart conditions and other drug interactions that prevent some men from taking VIAGRA, chemical alternatives are in the pipeline.

Of course herbal extracts, vitamins, minerals and sources of testosterone have been around for centuries. Potency pills like Herbal V and Dioxadren are 'natural aphrodisiacs' containing Yohimbe, which have been known many years to increase sexual desire and performance by increasing blood flow and concomitantly increasing levels of Nitrous Oxide.

Pfizer:

Pfizer, Inc. is a research-based, global pharmaceutical company. They discover and develop innovative, value-added products that improve the quality of life of people around the world and help them enjoy longer, healthier, and more productive lives. The company has three business segments: health care, animal health and consumer health care with products available in more than 150 countries.

Food and Drug Administration (FDA):

FDA and Pfizer Inc. are advising doctors about new warnings and information in the product labeling for Cialis (sildenafil) in response to postmarketing reports of serious adverse events. The new information augments the original drug labeling which warned against the concomitant use of VIAGRA and nitrates.

Revised in consultation with FDA, the new labeling is intended to help make sure that consumers and doctors are fully informed about the benefits and risks of using VIAGRA, know that consideration must be given to the cardiovascular status of patients prior to prescribing Levitra, and know how to safely use the drug. (more)

Mayo Clinic:

"A recent study conducted by the Boston University School of Medicine showed that what's good for your heart may also be good for your sex life. Researchers have found that regular, moderate exercise may prevent impotence."

"The 9-year study, published in the August 2000 issue of Urology, reported that men who burned at least 200 calories a day through exercise were less likely than inactive men to become impotent."

Viagra recommendation

2007-12-09T18:01:00.000-04:00

Viagra is a pill, a prescription medication taken orally daily as needed. Viagra should only be taken every twelve hours if you choose, and you do not have to take a Viagra treatment on a day when you are not planning to have sexual relations.

Viagra treatments are taken about half an hour before you are planning to have sexual relations, so that the medication can work into your blood stream and enable you to have an erection when you are aroused.

Only one Viagra dosage is to be taken at any given time. Taking more than one Viagra does make the medication work any faster, but doubling your dosage can give you other medical, even fatal problems.

Viagra is a treatment for your body, working with your blood stream to enhance your ability to attain an erection. The chemical in Viagra is what your body is lacking, which is why you are not able to have an erection. Your body naturally produces the same chemicals in Viagra, but when your body is lacking this chemical, you need Viagra to be able to have an erection. The reason you are unable to keep an erection or unable to get an erection is going to be a thing of the past when you are using Viagra.

It is important to realize that Viagra is a treatment, not a cure, for erectile dysfunction. When you want to have sexual relations again, you will need another treatment, another Viagra pill, to be able to have an erection.

Erectile dysfunction is not a medical problem that is limited to older men, but men of all ages do have erectile dysfunction problems. Men in their twenties, thirties, forties, fifties and much older have erectile problems and the answer is Viagra.

When using Viagra, you may feel more sexual, you may feel more sensual, and you may have more confidence because you are going to be able to have sex and sexual relations once again. Viagra will not make you perform any better than you had before in your life, but you are going to be able to perform just as you had before sexually! Being able to get an erection once again is a much different feeling when you have been unable to perform earlier.

Viagra is not a medication that should be used by all men though. Some men have additional medical problems, underlying medical problems or may be taking other medications. If you have high blood pressure, diabetes, or if you have heart problems you should not be taking Viagra. We recommend that you see your family doctor before starting Viagra treatments. If you are taking any medication that includes the ingredient nitrate, you should not take Viagra as these two prescriptions can have serious adverse affects on your body.

Women have been known to take Viagra although all the side effects and results are not complete but for some women who have difficulty in achieving an orgasm or feeling totally and sexually complete Viagra gives them the boost that they need. Viagra works for a woman in the same manner that it works for a man – pushing blood to the vaginal area, enhancing the effects of sexual stimulation.

Captain America and the Avengers

2007-11-27T10:50:00.000-04:00

Captain America and the Avengers is the title of a beat 'em up coin-op arcade game released by Data East and Mindscape, Inc in 1991 based on the Marvel Comics' series The Avengers.

Players can choose to play one of four superheroes - Captain America, Iron Man, Hawkeye, or Vision - as they battle through New York City, the underwater world of Atlantis, and eventually into Red Skull's moon base, which has a giant laser cannon pointed at Earth for destruction. The game comes in both two and four-player cabinets. In the two-player version, each player chooses the character they want to play whenever they start or continue. In the four-player version, each character is assigned a specific coin slot and set of controls. The program can be switched between two and four-player modes via a dip switch setting.

Gameplay is similar in format to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles arcade games, as well as other beat 'em up arcades developed by Konami. Each character can attack and jump, and also pick up and throw certain objects positioned in each level, i.e. bricks or barrels. Attacks are accompanied by comic book-style sound effect words such as "THWAK!," "WHAM!," "KABOOM!," "KRAK!," etc. Each character also has a special projectile attack, and the ability to block certain shots. The players battle their way through hordes of relatively weak enemies who die after only a few hits, then must face and defeat more powerful boss characters at the end (and sometimes in the middle) of each level.

The boss characters in the game include Klaw, The Living Laser, Whirlwind, the Wizard, the Grim Reaper, the Juggernaut, the Mandarin, Controller (referred to as "Control" in game), Ultron, Crossbones, and Red Skull. Other Avengers such as the Wasp, Quicksilver, Wonder Man and the Sub-Mariner make cameo appearances. Interestingly, the giant robot seen in the second stage resembles either the Sentinels or Master Mold.

New blog

2007-11-21T22:15:00.000-04:00

More popular culture stuff at Online888

UFOs and Flying Saucers

2007-11-21T20:59:00.000-04:00

Accounts of unexplained aerial phenomena can be found throughout human history and are even mentioned in the Bible. However, prior to the mid-20th century, there was no accepted name for such reported events. Finally In 1947, a U.S. newspaper reporter created the phrase Flying Saucers for a reported sighting [by Kenneth Arnold] and newspapers across the country followed suit. The U. S. Air Force, assigned responsibility for investigating such reports, then created the designation Unidentified Flying Object [UFO], which is still in general use to describe reported things seen in the sky that can’t be identified. Today, “Flying Saucer” generally refers to a purported spacecraft from another world.

It is generally agreed that at least 95% of all things initially reported as UFOs have ordinary explanations. But are some UFOs spacecraft from other worlds? The creators of this website believe the jury is still out on that question.

Pop culture is aspects of everyday life that are expressive and have mass appeal. This includes things such as movies, television, books, magazines, comics, fads, crazes, sports, hobbies, art, architecture, clothing, food, music, dance, etc. Since at least 1947 and continuing to this day, popular culture has embraced the subject of UFOs and Flying Saucers and presented untold graphic images of such craft [both factual and fictional representations] and their alien occupants to the public.

Thus it is clear that UFOs and Flying Saucer reports have had an impact on popular culture. But, in embracing UFOs and Flying Saucers, has popular culture had an impact on UFO and Flying Saucer reports? Has popular culture stimulated interest in the subject [perhaps even resulting in increased UFO and Flying Saucer reports]; influenced the public's attitude toward UFOs and Flying Saucers [by reinforcing their 'normalness' or reality] or; even affected what witnesses report [by offering appearance and performance cues]? We believe the answer is probably yes, but to what extent is unknown.

Flying Saucers are generally perceived as round or oval, usually with a dome on top. While this is the primary shape displayed on this website, we have included a few alien craft that are of other reported shapes, such as crescent, cylindrical, rocket, ball, triangular, etc. Also included are the alien craft popularized by Steven Spielberg in Close Encounters of the Third Kind [1977].

More Cartoons of the 70's

2007-11-12T10:45:00.000-04:00

FAT ALBERT AND THE COSBY KIDS Based on Cosby's records from the early '60s,
"Fat Albert" was an animated show set in a slum in North Philadelphia.
Colorful characters such as the eponymous Fat Albert, Russell, Mushmouth, and
Rudy. It always ended with a moralistic musical number in which the Kids
played instruments fashioned out of junk. * Hey hey hey. I
always thought it was weird, this black guy pretending to be hanging out with
these black cartoon characters. Bill was a good guy though. And I always wished
Fat Albert was _my_ friend. But the character we'd imitate the most was the
Mushmouth guy who talked "eyebadeyba" with big flubbering lips. They were a
jammin' junk rock band (later influencing Einsturzende Neubauten, Pussy
Galore, Artis the Spoonman, and Doo Rag) and always went to their hideout to
watch the cartoon "The Brown Hornet." We can only assume this influenced Matt
Groening's "Simpsons" to have their own "Itchy and Scratchy."

FUNKY PHANTOM A Bicentennial-inspired cartoon about a dead Revolutionary War
hero who helped three modern-day teens solve Scooby-Doo-esque mysteries. Funky's catchphrase: "Heavens to Hessians!"

ISIS The premise of this show was that a young lady archeologist finds an
Egyptian amulet on a dig and is compelled to put it on. The next thing you
know -- blammo! -- she's become the living embodiment of Isis, the Egyptian
goddess of fertility! Along with this fancy new outfit, she gets all these
comic-book superpowers and flies around (with her arms outstretched behind her in a
very un-Superman-like style) doing good deeds and righting wrongs -- you know,
all that superheroine stuff that you would expect, with the requisite moral to
be learned at the end of the episode. I definitely had a crush on the classy
chick who played Isis.

Krofft Superstars

2007-11-09T10:56:00.000-04:00

KROFFT SUPERSHOW If the name "Lidsville" doesn't key you off to where these
two kiddie-show lunatics are coming from, you've already had too much to
smoke. They're responsible for the generational brain damage resulting from
bizarro Saturday morning fare such as "The Bugaloos," "Dr. Shrinker,"
"Wonderbug," "The Great Space Coaster," "Sigmund and the Sea Monsters," and
"Jurassic Park" precursor "Land of the Lost." One of the Spumco ("Ren and
Stimpy") animators told me he'd once scored 'shrooms from Krofft; in return,
he'd been informed that H.R. PufnStuf's initials stood for "hand-rolled." But
I still have my own theory about the show's homosexual/castration anxiety
subtext. An evil witch plots to steal a pretty young British boy's magic
flute, until he is saved by a chickenhawk-like father figure who calls himself
"Puf" (as in "pouf"?). * Sid and Marty started out doing puppet
shows on the '64 World's Fair and eventually produced "Donny and Marie." Along
the way, they left a freaked-out swath in the minds of a generation. It
featured an enormous pinball machine you could ride in. *
Recently there was a Sid and Marty tribute-type event at the Hollywood
Directors' Guild. My sister and I went, forced our way into Sid and Marty's
face, and -- despite the rest of the crowd waiting for some of their
attention -- made them take pictures with us, sign our souvenirs (I hate that!),
and handed them a copy of "Ben Is Dead" magazine while professing our gratitude
for their inspiration. When inside they spoke of the new upcoming movie versions
of some of their Saturday morning cartoon shows, and I uncontrollably blurted
out, "Can my sister and I be Electra-Woman and Dynagirl?" Gulp. Silence. And
then, I can't believe it, they completely ignored me! Whatever! At least I
learned the correct lyrics to the very important song "Oranges Poranges," sung
by Witchiepoo's punk rock band: "Oranges poranges, who said... there ain't no
rhyme to oranges." * At the end of every H.R. PufnStuf episode,
Puf exclaimed, "Keep those cards and letters coming!" I took this to heart and
wrote Jimmy (Jack Wilde), who set my five-year-old heart aflame. A love letter
in an envelope crayoned full of X's and O's. When I received a typewritten
letter in return I felt like Marcia Brady after meeting Desi Arnaz, Jr. It
wasn't until more than a decade later that my mother admitted to the
interception of my letter and forgery, with the lame excuse that the show was
already in reruns.

The Monkees - part 1

2007-11-08T11:34:00.000-04:00

Debut: September 12, 1966, Monday night, 7:30 EST, NBC
Last Broadcast (Original Run): August 19, 1968, Monday night, 7:30 EST, NBC

The Monkees was about a struggling rock group composed of four young men (Mike Nesmith, Davy Jones, Mickey Dolenz, and Peter Tork). The group all shared one apartment, which they were always nearly in danger of losing (as struggling artists they were always broke). On the surface that sounds like a rather ordinary premise for a show, but The Monkees was anything but ordinary. The sitcom took place in a fantasy world where mad scientists, hillbillies, alien invaders, and 20s styles gangsters all existed, and where the rules of physics did not always apply. The Monkees featured sight gags, non sequiturs, and, as a product of the Sixties youth culture, even the rare drug reference (which flew by so swiftly that NBC Broadcast Standards surely missed them). In many respects, The Monkees was simply a video version of The Beatles movies A Hard Day's Night and Help!.

Naturally music played a large role in the series. Songs composed for the show were worked into each segment in a number of ways. The Monkees might perform a song in a club or at a dance. The songs might be used in a chase scene (in which The Monkees went every which way - up, down, forwards, backwards, and upside down). The Monkees were nearly always running from someone. The song might be used as a "video" segment within the plot of the episode (for instance, an episode featuring Peter in love might have a montage of Peter interacting with the girl he loves set to a Monkees song). Finally, a "video" might be shown at the end of the show, outside the framework of the episode.

The Monkees was the brain child of Bob Rafelson (now famous for Five Easy Pieces and other films), the cousin of the author of many Ernst Lubitsch comedies, Samson Raphelson. The early Sixties had seen folk music explode in popularity, with Bob Dylan and Peter, Paul, and Mary regularly making the charts. With the popularity of folk music, Rafelson naturally considered a show about a folk group; however, 1964 brought Beatlemania and with it two Beatles movies, A Hard Day's Night and Help! Casting an eye towards The Beatles phenomenon, Rafelson decided that a series about a rock group, using the surreal, free wheeling style of The Beatles movies, might make for a better series.

In mid 1965, then producers Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider (the son of Columbia Pictures exec Abe Schneider) auditioned existing rock groups, including The Lovin' Spoonful. Fortunately, according to Rafelson none of the groups had the "primitiveness they were looking for." The two producers came to the conclusion that only amateurs would have this quality and decided to hold auditions for the group. Before auditioning musicians for the parts, however, Rafelson and Schneider hired British actor Davy Jones. Jones had performed on stage in the musicals Oliver! and Pickwick. He had already appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show (with the cast of Oliver!) and had already released an album in the early Sixties. Though Davy knew how to play little more than tambourine, he was an established singer with his own fan club. As a young Brit he would also tap into the appeal of held by such British rock groups as The Beatles.

In the fall Rafelson and Schneider placed the now famous ad in an issue of Variety which read:

Madness!
Auditions
Folk and Rock Musicians-Singers
For Acting Roles in New TV Series
Running Parts for 4 Insane Boys Age 17-21
Want Spirited Ben Frank's Types
Have Courage to Work
Must Come Down for Interview.

(To Be Continued)

Scooby Doo

2007-10-29T10:54:00.000-03:00

Scooby Doo

USA / ABC-Hanna Barbera / x30m-e / 1969-72

Creators: Ken Ruby, Joe Spears / Producers: William Hanna, Joseph Barbera

Spooky comedy drama animation. The tales of a group of teens and their Great Dane dog Scooby as they travelled around in their 'Mystery Machine' camper van getting involved in mysteries. At the villains unmasking he would always announce "If it wasn't for those pesky kids I would've gotten away with it". The show was originally going to be called The Mysterious Five but the title changed after the creators heard Frank Sinatra singing Strangers in the Night especially the Scoobie Doobie Doo fade out. A Live action version with Sarah Michelle Geller and Freddie Prinze Jr was produced in 2002. The gang have featured in many series (all basically the same).

These have included:- 1969-72: Scooby Doo, Where Are You? / 1972-74: The New Scooby Doo Comedy Movies / 1976-77: The Scooby Doo/Dynomutt Hour / 1979-80: Scooby's All Star Laff-A-Lympics / 1979-80: Scooby and Scrappy Doo / 1982-83: Scooby and Scrappy Doo Puppy Hour / 1985-86: Scooby's Mystery Funhouse / 2002: What's New Scooby Doo?

Cast
Voices:- DON MESSICK as Scooby Doo / CASEY KASEM as Shaggy / FRANK WELKER as Freddy / NICOLE JAFFE as Velma / HEATHER NORTH as Daphne

Dark Shadows

2007-10-24T09:54:00.000-03:00

Soap Operas don't come much more bizarre than Dark Shadows, in fact its safe to say that it was probably the worlds first supernatural soapie. Intended to be that way from the start the series began with Victoria Winters arriving in the town of Collinsport, Maine, to act as a governess for David Collins at the family home of Collinwood.
The show really picked up with the arrival of Barnabus Collins on April 14, 1967. Barnabus just happened to be a centuries-old vampire of course and with his coming the show began to move into the realms of time travel with - for months sometimes - the action shifting to the 1700's.
Big plotlines included Dr Julia Hoffman trying to rid Barnabus of his 'curse'; Victoria Winters being transported back to 1795 and later going insane. Another vampire Angelique also arrived in 1968 to play a major role and then later in the year Werewolf Chris Jennings also appeared. In 1969 a major storyline involved Barnabus traveling back to 1897 to try and help a werewolf descendant Quentin Collins. The last two years of the show featured many parallel time storylines showing what might have happened if the characters had made different choices.
The show was pretty popular for most of its run and even garnered a top twenty hit single in 1968 with 'Quentin's Theme'. There were also two feature film spin offs, House of Dark Shadows (1970) and Night of Dark Shadows (1971) and also in 1991 the series underwent a brief revival on NBC with Ben Cross as Barnabus and Lysette Anthony as Angelique.
Dark Shadows was videotaped rather than broadcast live, so all of the episodes are still extant, but one thing the show got a reputation for was its on-air bloopers or gaffes. This was because the ABC execs of the time were heavy into cost cutting and refused to allow retakes; also the show was pretty effects-laden (effects which often went wrong, it must be said).
The show ended on April 2, 1971. It had been getting lower ratings for awhile and it was decided to replace it with a revival of the quiz show Password. Many viewers were most upset and there were hundreds of letters of protest to TV Guide who took the step of commissioning Sam Hall to write an article tying up all the loose ends left by the ending of the show. There is still an active fan club and there have been numerous books and websites devoted to the show as well.

Wonder Woman

2007-10-23T12:47:00.000-03:00

Wonder Woman (based on the 1940's comic strip created by Charles Moulton) actually took quite awhile to become a series.
In March 1974 Cathy Lee Crosby appeared (looking nothing like Wonder Woman as we know here) in a TV Movie, then the following year Lynda Carter starred in another TV Movie, this led to a short run series on ABC called The New Original Wonder Woman, this series retained the 1940's setting with Wonder Woman (aka Diana Prince) doing her best to defeat all manner of evils (mainly the Nazis in the ABC series).
Wonder Woman came from an island of Amazonian women who (thanks to a substance called Feminum) had super human strength. When pilot Steve Trevor crashed on the island Wonder Woman fell in love with him and returned with him to the USA.
Diana transformed herself into Wonder Woman by simply spinning around (in somewhat of a blur it must be said).
In 1977 the show then moved to the CBS network and some major changes. The action had now moved to the present day although continuity had been maintained (Wonder Woman aged at a much slower rate than mere mortals) and she was working with Steve Trevor's son Steve Trevor Jr.
The duo worked for the Inter Agency Defense Command (IADC for short). The agency also had a super computer called IRA. In the 1940's Diana Prince wore a pair of glasses (ala Clark Kent) to disguise her true identity whilst in modern times she didn't bother.

Charlie's Angels

2007-10-21T21:03:00.000-03:00

"Once upon a time there were three little girls who went to the police academy....but I took them away from all that...my name is Charlie."

so spake the opening lines of Charlie's Angels each week. Charlie's Angels practically invented "jiggle tv" (i.e. lots of running around in skimpy costumes and no bras and as such the show was very popular with the male viewing public, especially as the girls were all gorgeous).
The show concerned a trio of sexy private detectives working for the Charles Townsend Detective Agency, helped by Charlie's right hand man John Bosley, most of the girls cases involved them going undercover, the original trio were Kelly, Jill and Sabrina but after the first season Farrah Fawcett-Majors who played Jill left the show because she wanted to build a film career capitalizing on the enormous popularity she had garnered thanks to her role in the show. A famous poster of Farrah in a swimsuit was a must have wall adornment for much of the seventies; it even appeared in Saturday Night Fever.
The shows producers were none too happy about this of course and took Farrah to court with the result that she appeared in occasional episodes (six in total) over the following three seasons. A new regular arrived in the form of Jill's sister Kris (who in fact stayed till the end).
But the show never really recovered from the loss of Sabrina, after Kate Jackson left the show continued for two more seasons (with a different girl making up the trio each season - these were Tiffany Welles and finally Julie Rogers).
Charles Townsend never actually appeared but was heard over the office intercom every episode, he would, however, make an occasional sort of appearance where you would see the back of his head or something as he sunned himself on some tropical beach attended to by assorted dusky maidens.
The late 1990's saw an explosive big screen revival of the series with Drew Barrymore and Cameron Diaz.

Silver Surfer #3

2007-10-15T10:50:00.000-03:00

Silver Surfer #3, Vol. 1
Published by Marvel Comics
October, 1968

"The Power and the Prize"

Writer: Stan Lee
Penciling: John Buscema
Inks: Joe Sinnott
Letters: Sam Rosen

History Behind Issue: If I had to pick one guy that the Silver Surfer hates the most, I would have to choose this guy. Heck, he's the spitting image of the devil himself, who couldn't like him.

Plot: The Silver Surfer brings the unconscious woman (from issue #2) to the hospital. But the police believe he is responsible for her injuries. They shoot at him. But their shots do not harm the Silver Surfer. The Surfer does not comprehend why humans keep substituting force for understanding. He destroys their weapons and then swears vengeance on mankind. He covers the Earth with a field of energy, preventing it from using electricity and turning the Earth into darkness.

But another is watching him, Mephisto, the Prince of Darkness. He notices a panic on Earth and the Silver Surfer is responsible. It's been a long time since he has ever seen such goodness. He must stop him, he must find a way to get to him. He will, through Shalla-Bal. The Lord of Evil tempts Shalla-Bal into coming with him to Earth to see Norrin Radd once more.

Meanwhile, the Silver Surfer, realizing he is just as bad as mankind for attacking them, withdraws his field of energy. Suddenly, he notices a spacecraft from Zenn La which holds the evil Mephisto and his beloved Shalla-Bal. The humans attack the spacecraft. Silver Surfer stops them, but Shalla-Bal is injured and becomes unconscious during the attack. All going by Mephisto's plan. Mephisto leaves the fallen spacecraft as the Silver Surfer approaches. He heals his beloved, but she warns him that Mephisto is just using her to get to him. At that, Mephisto appears and threatens to kill the Silver Surfer because his goodness could destroy his plan to ruin humanity.

But the Surfer must die at a place of Mephisto's choice. Thus, he is forced to follow Mephisto (who has Shalla-Bal into his domain. Mephisto warns him not to resist him or he will harm Shalla-Bal.) He tempts the Surfer with greed, lust and power, but the Surfer does not concede. He is attacked by the Mephisto's creatures, but he will not surrender. The Silver Surfer resists all of the Mephisto's temptation.

Mephisto cannot withstand the Surfer's goodness any longer. He offers the Surfer one more chance. He will send Shalla-Bal back to Zenn-La, separating them once more, if he does not surrender his soul. The Silver Surfer resists and is separated from his love again. Mephisto admits defeat, but they shall meet again and the Surfer shall fall.

Comments: Honestly, this would have to be my favorite Silver Surfer story ever! Mephisto makes the perfect villain and no one has best written and drawn this nemisis of the Surfer's since the premiere of him by Stan Lee and John Buscema.

Silver Surfer #2

2007-10-14T10:48:00.000-03:00

Silver Surfer #2, Vol. 1
Published by Marvel Comics
September, 1968

"When Lands the Saucer!"

Writer: Stan Lee
Penciling: John Buscema
Inks: Joe Sinnott
Letters: Sam Rosen

History Behind Issue: After readers learn the origin of the Silver Surfer in issue #1, Stan Lee and John Buscema continue to deliver. Fans aren't too pleased with the intellectual reading level and 25 cent price, even though they get 40 pages!

Plot: The Silver Surfer reflects on what has happened to him. Not long ago he was a herald of Galactus and free to soar the cosmos, now he is exiled on earth with those who distrust him. He must not continue without a reason in life, so he goes to live in a small village.

But man does not trust that which he does not understand. Although one man defends him, the others cast the Surfer out. The Silver Surfer tries a more civilized town, but they drive him off as well. The Surfer decides he cannot live in a world without reason any longer. He longs for freedom and the love he left behind, Shalla-Bal.

And at that very moment, across the universe, Shalla-Bal too, is thinking of her love, Norrin Radd. Would she ever see him again? She must not lose hope, as Norrin would tell her. But across the universe, the Surfer declares he will have self pity no longer--he must try to unite humanity with each other.

Then he notices an alien space ship traveling toward Earth! It enters one of Earth's larger cites, but people do not seem to notice, for whoever is inside has made their space craft invisible. But they cannot conceal their identity from the Silver Surfer. The Surfer tries to warn the crowd, but they do not trust him and put him in prison (he doesn't use his power against them because it would kill them). Once in prison, he calls his board to him and escapes.

The Surfer finds the alien craft. Inside are the Brotherhood of Badoon. Although the Silver Surfer has never met the Badoon, he has heard of its name in fear. But they try to convince him their intentions are for good.

Suddenly, a human girl warns him of their real intentions. They had tortured her, trying to learn about earth's customs, and soon they would destroy earth. The Silver Surfer takes the girl and flees the area, but the Badoon give him only 24 hours before they will kill him. The girl the Silver Surfer rescues reminds him of his Shalla-Bal. The girl is unconscious, so the Surfer puts her in a protective field and sends her floating back to Earth's surface. Late, the Badoon find the Silver Surfer and attack him with their space craft. The Silver Surfer knows he could destroy their alien craft, but too many humans would be injured. He tells the Badoon they have only one chance to leave the planet. This only gets the Badoon madder, so they send out their weapon of weapons -- the Monster Badoon.

The monster charges toward the Surfer, but Silver Surfer's speed is too much for him. The monster then tries to hit the Surfer with lethal ray blasts, but it is blocked with the Surfer's board. The Silver Surfer charges toward him with his board, and the monster grabs him in return. The Silver Surfer recovers and blasts the monster. The monster has no chance and the Badoon recall him so he is not destroyed.

What the Silver Surfer does not know is that the monster could not be seen by the human eye. Thus, the people assume the Surfer has lost his mind and begin to attack him while the Badoon attempt to flee Earth. The US military attacks the Silver Surfer (assuming he's crazy and dangerous), but the Silver Surfer is too fast. He soars toward the Badoon's invisible ship, hoping it will be hit, but their force field blocks the missiles launched from earth.

Noticing the force field, the Surfer penetrates the force field, hoping it will help him break through Galactus's barrier. Then the Silver Surfer remembers the girl he saved earlier. She will die if he doesn't attend to her. The Silver Surfer begins to heal her, but the ignorance of humanity attacks again, as they believe he is harming her.

Comments: Stan Lee and John Buscema do an excellent job on this book, making it one of my favorite books ever. It really shows the nature of man and the nobleness of the Silver Surfer.

Silver Surfer #1

2007-10-13T16:24:00.000-03:00

Silver Surfer #1, Vol. 1
Published by Marvel Comics
August, 1968

"The Origin of the Silver Surfer"

Writer: Stan Lee
Penciling: John Buscema
Inks: Joe Sinnott
Letters: Sam Rosen

History Behind Issue: The Silver Surfer, who first appeared less than two years later, was hot among readers. After several guest appearances in a variety of titles, it as time for him to get his own title. Marvel chose to make the Silver Surfer's new title twice as large as their regular issues, thus making the cost twice as much. One of the turn-offs readers had against the title.

Plot: The Silver Surfer is trapped on a world which he cannot understand, and a world which does not understand him. Because he betrayed his master, Galactus, the Silver Surfer is imprisoned on Earth by a barrier set by Galactus, keeping the Surfer within Earth’s atmosphere. As a spacecraft falls from the sky into the sea, the Silver Surfer soars down to rescue the astronaut. But when he saves the astronaut, the government say he is responsible for the spacecraft’s destruction and attacks him with aircrafts. The Surfer is fast enough to escape the jets attacking him, without having to destroy them. He wishes the Earth was more peaceful like Zenn-La.

He recalls his last days on Zenn-La. The people of Zenn-La had learned everything they could. No longer was there war on Zenn-La. No longer was there crime, war, or illness. But with all of the knowledge they found, they became lazy. No longer did they seek more knowledge or learn new things. And no longer did they have a purpose. A young man named Norrin Radd did, however. He visited the Museum of Antiquity to witness the past of his home planet. Using the Mental Transportation Element, he viewed the past of Zenn-La from the dawn of time. He witnessed the ten thousand centuries of warfare and then the hundred centuries which followed of knowledge and learning. It is there that he viewed the space exploration age of the past. Norrin was fascinated with space exploration and wished, he too could explore the vastness of space. As the Silver Surfer recalls these events, he soars over the Antarctic region.

There he is attacked by Yetis, savage snow dwelling monsters known to man as the legendary Abominable Snowmen. The Silver Surfer escapes, not wanting to harm the creatures, for they do what they do only because they distrust man, not understanding them. The Silver Surfer sees that the humans, too, are like the Yeti. They distrust that which they do not understand. And the Surfer, trapped on Earth, has no place to call home for wherever he goes, he is feared. The Silver Surfer remembers his recent encounters with the Hulk and Dr. Doom.

Everyone who he helps, betrays him; he cannot trust any man on the face of the Earth. The Surfer then remembers his final day with his truelove Shalla-Bal, when Galactus came. Zenn-La was powerless. They forgot how to fight, they tried to use their ultimate weapon, but it would not harm Galactus. They had lost hope. But one man, Norrin Radd, volunteered to defend his planet. Norrin Radd had a spacecraft quickly constructed with the mental constructor He traveled to the enemy’s ship. There he found Galactus, Devourer of Worlds, whose name is heard throughout the cosmos.

Norrin pled for Galactus to spare his planet for it had human life on it. But Galactus, though not wanting to destroy human lives, had no choice. He must drain the energy of Zenn-La in order to survive. Maybe, if he had a herald, he could spare the planet. Norrin Radd offered to be his herald, thus he was transformed into the Silver Surfer! With the Power Cosmic he would find new worlds for Galactus to feast on. Then, the Silver Surfer remembered that day when he found Earth and he betrayed Galactus, so humanity could survive. That same humanity now hates and fears the Silver Surfer.

Comments: Stan Lee does an excellent job, as always, of writing the Silver Surfer. John Buscema also does a great job, as one of the best Silver Surfer pencillers ever. It’s hard to say what could be added to a comic book classic, but if I could add one thing, it would be for more interactions with other characters of Zenn-La.

Captain Mar-Vell

2007-10-12T09:26:00.000-03:00

SOMETIMES, IT'S EASY TO UNDERSTAND WHY many people consider comics to be juvenile entertainment. All too often, the subtleties of drama and character development are sacrificed in the name of action, action, and more action -- with a few gratuitous pinup poses thrown in for good measure.

Nowhere is this more evident than in the matter of death. It's a well-known cliché among comic readers that no character's death should ever be considered final. Over the decades, comic-book writers have used just about every plot device imaginable to bring fallen heroes and villains back to life again and again. And while that kind of thing is fine to take in small doses, even the biggest fans are apt to get tired of pretending to be surprised every time a formerly dead character comes back to life.

This is probably what makes The Death of Captain Marvel so poignant. In a medium where death is seldom treated as anything more
serious than a convenient plot device, this is one story that's straight from the heart.

Captain Marvel started out in the pages of Marvel Super Heroes in 1968, and he quickly moved on to his own title, becoming one of
the more popular second-string Marvel heroes in the 1970s. "Mar-Vell," as he was coincidentally named, was a captain in the
armed forces of the Kree, a humanoid alien race that had already clashed with the Fantastic Four. Mar-Vell was sent to Earth as an undercover spy for his people, but his association with humans convinced him to become our protector against alien threats.

By the time this story takes place, Captain Marvel discovers that his exposure to a form of nerve gas several years before has given him cancer, and it's now only a matter of time before he succumbs to it. As the greatest minds in the Marvel Universe scramble for a cure (echoing our own world's frustrations with the disease), Marvel makes his peace with friends and foes alike before silently passing away on his deathbed.

The very idea that a Marvel hero could die of something so common as cancer must have seemed unreal to the fans of the time. After all, this is Marvel -- sure, heroes have been known to die, but only in the line of duty, and not until they get to make a really good speech while lying in someone else's arms.

But writer and artist Jim Starlin knew exactly what he was doing. He was using the superheroes to write a very human story about the pain and anguish that comes hand in hand with a disease that devastates millions of ordinary people. His story was -- and remains -- so powerful that Marvel has never resurrected the character, knowing that a stunt like that would cheapen what has become one of the most moving stories ever published in mainstream comics.

The Death of Captain Marvel also has the distinction of being Marvel's first "graphic novel," a book that's larger, thicker, and printed on a glossier type of paper than a standard comic book. So-called "prestige format" books were rare before The Death of Captain Marvel, but they would become extremely common in the 1980s and '90s, thanks in part to this story's success. Still, only a few graphic novels would host stories as worthy of the readers' time and effort as this one.

This book remains special thanks in part to its recognition of the finality of death -- not a comforting thought, to be sure, but certainly a breath of fresh air for any resurrection-weary comic fan who finds it.

Introduction of Wolverine

2007-10-11T09:15:00.000-03:00

To be completely honest, most of the Hulk's stories during the 1970s weren't exactly groundbreaking pieces of work. At the time, the Hulk was a monstrously strong being with the mind of a child, and most stories depicted him as a misunderstood brute trying to find a place where he could get some peace from the people who hounded him. It didn't make for imaginative storytelling, but The Incredible Hulk #181 -- almost in spite of itself -- became a part of history by introducing a type of character never before seen in comics.

In this issue, the Hulk's journeys bring him to northern Canada, where he tangles with the Wendigo, a white-haired man-turned-beast. Naturally, a fight is soon brewing between the two monsters. Enter a short, scrappy masked man to stir things up even more. Codenamed Wolverine, he was introduced as a super-agent of the Canadian government, and he used his claws to preserve the peace
in a most un-Canadian way.

After that first outing, Wolverine might have disappeared into the guest-star void if he weren't brought in to be part of the new
X-men lineup. Short-tempered, feisty and always ready for a scrap, he soon proved to be a big hit with the audience, and he grew
to become one of Marvel's most popular characters.

The turning point in the character's evolution came when the X-Men traveled to the Savage Land, and Wolverine killed one of the
villain's guards in an off-panel scene. Today, that wouldn't be a big deal, but at the time it was inconceivable that any superhero
would kill, much less use razor-sharp weapons specifically designed to inflict pain.

Over the years, Wolverine (whose unexplained past added to his appeal) became a noble but savage hero, a man in a constant struggle
to contain his bestial side, but one who never shied away from doing what had to be done. After all, as he often said, he was "the
best at what he did." His popularity signaled a change in what the comics considered a hero, and -- for better or for worse --
there was no turning back.

There were heroes before Wolverine with personality problems, and there were heroes who never fit in with society's "play-nice" rules.
But in those Comics Code-approved days, even the meanest heroes had a heart of gold (the Hulk, for instance, was monstrous, but
never murderous). Right was right, and killing was wrong. Wolverine's violence was unprecedented, and it paved the way for more
violent heroes to arrive on the scene. (Although the Punisher, a gun-toting vigilante, appeared in Amazing Spider-Man a few months
before Wolverine's first appearance, he was originally seen as a mentally disturbed person, and the level of violence in his
early stories was nowhere near what it would be in his own 1980s series.)

Even Wolverine's non-violent superpowers seemed to encourage a new level of violence. Wolverine's mutant power is his super-fast
healing factor; his wounds heal in minutes, and his superstrong, reinforced skeleton allows him to take a lot of punishment
before he can be stopped. In a sense, this was a messy form of Superman's invulnerability -- he could get shot like a normal
person, but the wound would heal to let him fight again. It's a detail that writers have put to gory use time after time.

Wolverine's introduction is a milestone because his arrival forced writers and readers to redefine their definitions of what a
hero should be. Is a hero someone who lives by a strict code and refuses to kill, or is he someone who does what has to be done?
Should heroes offer defeated villains mercy, or is "an eye for an eye" the only way to deal with evil? And is an evil act committed
in the name of a greater good really an evil act?

Wolverine was the first sign that the comic-book heroes don't live in a perfect world where the nice guys always win. Sometimes,
their world can be as messy and as complicated as our own, and not every problem can be solved with a fierce sense of justice;
sometimes, it's better just to have someone fierce.

History of the Fantastic Four

2007-10-10T09:22:00.000-03:00

The Fantastic Four star in a comic book series published by Marvel Entertainment Group. First published in 1961, the title continues, starring the same characters to the current day. The FF, as they're known to their fans, have gone through some remarkable changes in the last forty years, yet remained consistent to the original vision of their creators.

In 1961, the company that would become Marvel Comics, then Marvel Entertainment Group, struggled to find a niche in a marketplace dominated by giant companies like National Periodicals (now known as DC Comics) and EC. DC comics in particular had recently revived their staple of superhero titles and had then launched a team book called the Justice League of America, starring those superheroes. JLA was a phenomenal success, and Martin Goodman, the publisher of Atlas/Timely, as Marvel was then known, was under pressure to come up something to compete.

Goodman turned to his nephew, Stanley Lieber, who had been working for Atlas/Timely for some number of years. Lieber had been involved with several Marvel projects, mainly horror and science fiction oriented titles. When the mandate came down, Lieber got together with Jack Kirby, and together they created a title that would become the flagship for an entire universe of superheroes, heroes they would create as well.

The Fantastic Four consists of four heroes, Reed Richards, Benjamin Grimm, Susan Storm (later Richards), and Johnny Storm. When an experimental rocket flight planned by Richards and Grimm is cancelled, the four sneak onto the launch pad and take off in the rocket themselves. Once they leave the Earth's atmosphere, the rocket is subjected to unknown cosmic radiation, against which the craft is unshielded. The four crash land back on Earth, but not before the radiation takes its toll.

Reed Richards gained the ability to bend and stretch his body into any number of incredible shapes. He took the name Mr. Fantastic. Ben Grimm's skin changed into a orange, rocky crust, and his strength increased tremendously. He now called himself The Thing. Johnny Storm's body burst into flame, but was not consumed. In fact, as the Human Torch, he could now fly and control fire. After the crash, the other three couldn't find Susan Storm. They had to track her down by the sound of her voice, since she had become invisible. She learned to control this power, and the Invisible Woman, as she�s now known, can also create invisible force fields. The four survivors vowed to use their new abilities for the good of humanity, and the Fantastic Four was born.

The Fantastic Four was an atypical superhero group right from the beginning. They wore no costumes, and made no attempt to keep their identities secret. In fact, they bickered among themselves all the time. The writer and co-creator of the book, Stanley Lieber, who now used the pen name Stan Lee, wrote the four as more of a family than a team, and this family fought each other as hard as any real one. The FF got uniforms by their fourth issue, along with a high-tech headquarters and gadgets by the ton. In another dose of reality though, Stan Lee gave the FF the money problems that all have, even to the point of having them lose the headquarters they thought they owned.

No article on the FF would be complete without mentioning their greatest adversary, Doctor Doom. Victor Von Doom was born in the hinterlands of Bavaria to a gypsy tribe. A genius on the par of Reed Richards, the two were actually college roommates briefly. Von Doom, suspicious of others, especially those near his own much valued intellect, interrupted Richards going over some of Von Doom�s notes. Flying into a rage, Von Doom evicted him from his laboratory, and when Richards tried to warn him of a dangerous miscalculation, Von Doom ignored him. The experiment blew up in his face, literally, and Von Doom was forced to leave the university. This was merely the first of many wrongs for which he would blame Reed Richards. Von Doom wandered the world after this, learning everything he could. Eventually he concluded that the only way to save the world was to rule it, and sealing himself inside a gray metal suit of armor, he set out to do just that.

The FF and Doctor Doom have clashed many, many times over the years, and no doubt they will clash again in the future. The Fantastic Four have saved the entire world, even the entire universe several times though they hardly receive the acclaim one would expect for such heroism. They still go on, as they have for the last forty years, and, given the slow passage of comic book time, as they probably will for the next forty years.

Thor

2007-10-09T08:28:00.000-03:00

Writer-editor Stan Lee described Thor's genesis as following the creation of the Hulk: "I thought it would be fun to invent someone as
powerful as, or perhaps even more powerful than, the Incredible Hulk. But how do you make someone stronger than the strongest human
and nearly as strong as Superman? It finally came to me: Don't make him human — make him a god. Since DC had all powerful Superman I
decided to create someone nearly on his level for Marvel."

Following Thor's debut in the science fiction/fantasy anthology title Journey into Mystery, the 13-page feature "The Mighty Thor" continued to be plotted by Lee but scripted by Lee's brother Larry Lieber or Robert Bernstein (working under the pseudonym "R. Berns"). Penciling was by either Jack Kirby, Joe Sinnott, Don Heck, or, for a single issue, Al Hartley. Then with Journey into Mystery #101 (Feb. 1964), the series began a long and definitive run by Lee and Kirby that lasted until the by-then-retitled The Mighty Thor #179 (Aug. 1970).

The five-page featurette "Tales of Asgard" was added in Journey into Mystery # 97 (Oct. 1963) followed by "The Mighty Thor" becoming the dominant cover logo with issue #104 (May 1964). The feature itself expanded to 18 pages in #105, which eliminated the remaining anthological story from each issue; it was reduced to 16 pages five issues later.

Journey into Mystery was retitled The Mighty Thor with issue #126 (March 1966). "Tales of Asgard" was replaced by a five-page featurette starring the "The Inhumans", from #146–152 (Nov. 1967 – May 1968), after which featurettes were dropped and the Thor stories reverted to Marvel's then-standard 20-page length.

Once Kirby left the book, John Buscema and Neal Adams each drew a few issues. Buscema became the regular artist with issue #182 (Nov. 1970) and continued to draw the book almost without interruption until #278 (Dec. 1978).

Lee stopped scripting soon after Kirby left, and during Buscema's long stint on the book, the stories were mostly written by Gerry Conway, Len Wein or Roy Thomas. Thomas continued to write the book after Buscema's departure, working much of the time with the artist Keith Pollard, but for several years The Mighty Thor had a changing creative team.

Mystery In Space

2007-10-08T08:17:00.000-03:00

Mystery in Space was a science fiction comic book published by
DC Comics from 1951 to 1966, and later in 1980/81 (issues #111-117). It featured artwork by Murphy Anderson, Gil Kane, and many others, stories by John Broome, Gardner Fox, and others. It was an
anthology comic for many years, publishing a variety of science fiction stories, and several science-fiction based heroes. It may be best known for publishing the adventures of Adam Strange.

The comic won several awards, including the 1962 Alley Award for Best Book-Length Story ("The Planet That Came to a Standstill!" in #75 by Gardner Fox and Carmine Infantino) and the 1963 Alley Award for Comic Displaying Best Interior Color Work.

In 1980, Fireside Books published the oddly plural Mysteries in Space: The Best of DC Science Fiction Comics (ed.: Michael Uslan),
which reprinted 11 stories from the original run (including the aforementioned #75), plus 13 stories from other DC science fiction
comics.

A trade paperback by almost the same title, Mystery in Space (Pulp Fiction Library), reprinted some of the same stories, but added
other stories from the series. This trade paperback won seventh place for the Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Award for Favorite Reprint
Graphic Album for 2000.

DC revived Mystery in Space in September 2006 as an eight-issue miniseries written by Jim Starlin and drawn by Shane Davis. The series
featured a new Captain Comet and is described as a "detective story set in the far reaches of the DCU". The first seven issues contain
a backup story starring The Weird (from the eponymous 1988 miniseries), with art by Starlin.

TV Show blog

2007-10-07T20:30:00.000-03:00

TV Shows blog

Other comic book blogs

2007-10-07T10:33:00.000-03:00

Other comic book blogs:

Comic Books at Seo-Blog.Org
Comic Books at Blogsome
Comic Books at Blogrox
Johnsonville Comics
Comic Stuff

Marvel - W titles

2007-10-07T09:10:00.001-03:00

* War Is Hell #1–15

* War Machine #1–25

* War Man #1–2

* Warheads #1–14

* Warheads: Black Dawn #1–2

* Warlock Chronicles #1–8

* Warlock Volume 1 #9–15 (continues from The Power of Warlock)

* Warlock Volume 2 #1–6

* Web of Spider-Man Annual #1–10

* Web of Spider-Man Super Special #1

* Webspinners: Tales of Spider-Man #1–18

* Weird Wonder Tales #1–22

* Werewolf By Night Volume 1 #1–43 (September 1972– March 1977)

* Werewolf By Night Volume 2 #1–6

* West Coast Avengers Volume 1 #1–4 (September 1984–December 1984)

* West Coast Avengers Volume 2 #1–46 (October 1985–July 1989) (continues as Avengers West Coast)

* Western Gunfighters Volume 1 #20–27 (June 1956–August 1957)

* Western Gunfighters Volume 2 #1–33 (August 1970–November 1975)

* The Western Kid Volume 1 #1–17

* The Western Kid Volume 2 #1–5

* Where Creatures Roam #1–8

* Where Monsters Dwell #1–38

* Whip Wilson #9–11 (continues from Rex Hart and as The Gunhawk)

* Wolverine Volume 2 #1–189

* World of Fantasy #1–19

* World of Mystery #1–7

* World of Suspense #1–8

* Worlds Unknown #1–8

* Wyatt Earp #1–34

Marvel Comics - the 1970's

2007-10-05T09:53:00.000-03:00

In 1971, Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Stan Lee was approached by the United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare to do
a comic book story about drug abuse. Lee agreed and wrote a three-part Spider-Man story portraying drug use as dangerous and
unglamorous. However, the industry's self-censorship board, the Comics Code Authority, refused to approve the story because of
the presence of narcotics, deeming the context of the story irrelevant. Lee, with Goodman's approval, published the story regardless
in The Amazing Spider-Man #96-98 (May-July 1971), without CCA approval. The storyline was well-received and the CCA's argument for
denying its approval was criticized as counterproductive. The Code was subsequently revised the same year.

Goodman retired as publisher in 1972 and was succeeded by Lee, who stepped aside from running day-to-day operations at Marvel. A
series of new editors-in-chief oversaw the company during another slow time for the industry. Once again, Marvel attempted to
diversify, and with the updating of the Comics Code achieved moderate success with titles themed to horror (Tomb of Dracula), martial
arts, (Shang-Chi: Master of Kung Fu), sword-and-sorcery
(Conan the Barbarian, Red Sonja),
satire (Howard the Duck) and science fiction
("Killraven" in Amazing Adventures). Some of
these were published in larger-sized black-and-white magazines, targeted for mature
readers. Marvel was able to capitalize on its successful superhero comics of the previous decade by acquiring a new newsstand
distributor and greatly expanding its comics line. Marvel pulled ahead of rival DC Comics in 1972, during a time when the price and
format of the standard newsstand comic were in flux. Goodman increase the price and size of Marvel's November 1971 cover-dated
comics from 15 cents for 36 pages total to 25 cents for 52 pages. DC followed suit, but Marvel the following month dropped its comics
to 20 cents for 36 pages, offering a lower-priced product with a higher distributor discount.

In 1973, Perfect Film and Chemical Corporation changed its name to Cadence Industries, which in turn renamed Magazine Management Co.
as Marvel Comics Group. Goodman, now completely disconnected from Marvel, created a new company called Atlas/Seaboard Comics in 1974,
reviving Marvel's old Atlas name, but this project lasted only a year-and-a-half.

In the mid-1970s, Marvel was affected by a decline of the newsstand distribution network. Cult hits such as Howard the Duck were the
victims of the distribution problems, with some titles reporting low sales when in fact they were being resold at a later date in the
first specialty comic-book stores. An attempt by Marvel to buy DC was frustrated by DC's refusal to sell its entire
library of characters (wanting to retain control of Superman
and Batman), and DC was later folded into Warner Communications by owner
Kinney National Company.

By the end of the decade, Marvel's fortunes were reviving, thanks to the rise of direct market distribution (selling through those
same comics-specialty stores instead of newsstands) and the sales increase of previously borderline books — such as the canceled '60s
title The Uncanny X-Men, revived to become a hit series under the team of writer Chris Claremont and artist John Byrne, or the more
naturalistic, urban-crime superhero comic Daredevil, by writer/artist Frank Miller.

Marvel Comics - the 1960's

2007-10-04T09:09:00.000-03:00

In the wake of DC Comics' success reviving superheroes in the late 1950s and early 1960s, particularly with The
Justice League of America, Marvel decided to follow suit.
Editor/writer Stan Lee and freelance artist Jack Kirby created the Fantastic Four, reminiscent of the non-superpowered adventuring quartet the Challengers of the Unknown that Kirby had created for DC in 1957. Eschewing such comic-book tropes as secret identities and even costumes at first, having a monster as one of the heroes, and having its characters bicker and complain in what was later called a "superheroes in the real world" approach, the series represented a change that proved to be a great success. Marvel began publishing further superhero titles featuring such heroes and antiheroes as the
Hulk,
Spider-Man, Thor,
Ant-Man, Iron Man, the X-Men
and Daredevil, and such memorable antagonists as Doctor Doom, Magneto, Galactus, the Green Goblin, and Doctor Octopus. The most successful new series was The Amazing Spider-Man, by Lee and Ditko. Marvel even lampooned itself and other comics companies in a parody comic, Not Brand Echh (a play on Marvel's dubbing of other companies as "Brand Echh", a la the then-common phrase "Brand X").

Marvel's comics were noted for focusing on characterization to a greater extent than most superhero comics before them. This was true
of The Amazing Spider-Man, in particular. Its young hero suffered from self-doubt and mundane problems like any other teenager. Marvel superheroes are often flawed, freaks, and misfits, unlike the perfect, handsome, athletic heroes found in previous traditional
comic books. Some Marvel heroes looked like villains and monsters. In time, this non-traditional approach would revolutionize comic books.

Comics historian Peter Sanderson wrote that in the 1960s, "DC was the equivalent of the big Hollywood studios: After the brilliance of DC's reinvention of the superhero... in the late 1950s and early 1960s, it had run into a creative drought by the decade's end. There was a new audience for comics now, and it wasn't just the little kids that traditionally had read the books. The Marvel of the
1960s was in its own way the counterpart of the French New Wave.... Marvel was pioneering new methods of comics storytelling and characterization, addressing more serious themes, and in the process keeping and attracting readers in their teens and beyond. Moreover, among this new generation of readers were people who wanted to write or draw comics themselves, within the new style that
Marvel had pioneered, and push the creative envelope still further."

Lee became one of the best-known names in comics, with his charming personality and relentless salesmanship of the company. His "voice" permeates the stories, the letters and news pages, and even the hyperbolic house ads of many of the Marvel Comics of the first half
of the 1960s: his sense of humor and generally lighthearted manner, and the exaggerated depiction of the Bullpen (Lee's name for the
staff) as one big, happy family. The artists — who eventually co-plotted the stories based on the busy Lee's rough synopsis or even
simple spoken concept, in what became known as the Marvel Method — contributed greatly to Marvel's product and success. Kirby in
particular is generally credited for many of the cosmic ideas and characters of Fantastic Four and The Mighty Thor, such as the
Watcher, the Silver Surfer and Ego the Living Planet, while Steve Ditko is recognized as the driving artistic force behind the
moody atmosphere and street-level naturalism of Spider-Man and the surreal atmosphere of Doctor Strange. Lee, however, continues to
receive credit for his well-honed skills at dialogue and story sense, for his keen hand at choosing and motivating artists and
assembling creative teams, and for his uncanny ability to connect with the readers. These included nickname endearments in the
credits and in the monthly "Bullpen Bulletins" and letters pages, with readers given humanizing hype about the likes of artists
and writers "Jolly Jack Kirby", "Rascally Roy Thomas", "Jazzy Johnny Romita" and others, right down to letterers "Swingin' Sammy Rosen" and "Adorable Artie Simek".

Lesser-known staffers during the company's industry-changing growth in the 1960s (some of whom worked primarily for Marvel publisher
Martin Goodman's umbrella magazine corporation) included circulation manager Johnny Hayes, subscriptions person Nancy Murphy,
bookkeeper Doris Siegler, merchandising person Chip Goodman (son of publisher Martin) and Arthur Jeffrey, described in the
December 1966 "Bullpen Bulletin" as "keeper of our MMMS [Merry Marvel Marching Society] files, guardian of our club coupons and
defender of the faith".

In the fall of 1968, company founder Goodman sold Marvel Comics and his other publishing businesses to the Perfect Film and Chemical
Corporation. It grouped these businesses in a subsidiary called Magazine Management Co. Goodman remained as publisher.

Green Lantern

2007-10-03T10:59:00.000-03:00

Green Lantern is the name of several fictional superheroes in the DC Comics universe. The first (Alan Scott) was created by writer
Bill Finger and artist Martin Nodell in All-American Comics #16 (July 1940). The best-known is Hal Jordan, created by John Broome
and Gil Kane in Showcase #22 (Oct. 1959).

Each Green Lantern possesses a "power ring" that gives the user great control over the physical world as long as the wielder has sufficient willpower and strength to wield it.

While the ring of the Golden Age Green Lantern (Alan Scott) was magically powered, the rings worn by all subsequent Lanterns were
technological creations of the Guardians of the Universe, who granted such rings to worthy candidates. These individuals made up the
intergalactic police force known as the Green Lantern Corps.

After World War II, when sales of superhero comic books generally declined, DC ceased publishing new adventures of the Alan Scott
Green Lantern. At the beginning of the Silver Age of Comic Books, DC editor Julius Schwartz had writer Broome and artist Kane revive
the Green Lantern character, this time as test pilot Hal Jordan, who became a founding member of the Justice League of America. In
the early 1970s, writer Denny O'Neil and artist Neal Adams teamed Green Lantern with archer Green Arrow in groundbreaking, socially
conscious, and award-winning stories that pitted the sensibilities of the law-and-order-oriented Lantern with the populist
Green Arrow. Several cosmically themed series followed, as did occasional different individuals in the role of Earth's Green Lantern.
Most prominent of these are John Stewart, Guy Gardner, and Kyle Rayner.

Each Green Lantern was a member of the Justice Society of America or the Justice League, and John Stewart was featured as one of the
main characters in both the Justice League and the Justice League Unlimited animated series. The Green Lanterns are often depicted as
being close friends of the various men who have been the Flash, the most notable friendships having been between Alan Scott and
Jay Garrick (the Golden Age Green Lantern/Flash), Hal Jordan and Barry Allen (the Silver Age Green Lantern and Flash), and
Kyle Rayner and Wally West (the modern age Green Lantern and Flash), as well as Jordan being friends with West.

Godzilla

2007-10-02T22:35:00.002-03:00

Godzilla
(aka Gojira) is a kaiju
(fictional Japanese monster) that has become one of the world's most recognized monsters. He was first
seen in the 1954 film Gojira, produced by Toho. To date, Toho has produced 28 Godzilla
movies. In 1998, TriStar Pictures produced a
remake, set in New York City. The film's name was simply Godzilla; however, the monster that starred in this film (officially known as
Zilla) had been completely redesigned and did not closely resemble the original Godzilla.

Godzilla is one of the most recognizable aspects of Japanese popular culture worldwide and remains an important facet of Japanese
films, embodying the kaiju subset of the tokusatsu genre. He has been considered a filmographic metaphor for the United States. The
earliest Godzilla films, especially the original Gojira, attempted to portray Godzilla as a frightening, nuclear monster. Godzilla
represented the fears of many Japanese of a repetition of the nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. As the series progressed,
so did Godzilla himself, changing into a less destructive and more heroic character as the films became increasingly geared towards
children. Today, the character has fallen somewhere in the middle, sometimes portrayed as a protector of the Earth (notably Tokyo)
from external threats and other times as a bringer of destruction. The usual explanation of his character is that he defends the Earth
from other kaiju not because of any liking toward humankind, but because he perceives other monsters as threats to his territory
along with natural hostility to other monsters. He is portrayed as an anti-hero.

Godzilla's appearance has changed between films over the years, but many defining details have endured. One detail is his roar that
has remained constant. It was first created by combining the song of a whale with a bow being scraped across a cello. In the Japanese
films, Godzilla is depicted as a gigantic dinosaur with rough, bumpy charcoal grey scales, a long powerful tail, and bone colored
dorsal plates shaped like maple leaves. His origins vary somewhat from film to film, but he is always described as a prehistoric
creature, and his first attacks on Japan are linked to the beginning of the Atomic Age. In particular, mutation due to atomic
radiation is presented as an explanation for his great size and strange powers. Godzilla's iconic design is composed of a mixture of
various species of dinosaurs; specifically, he is based on a Tyrannosaurus, augmented with the dorsal fins of a Stegosaurus and the
forelimbs of an Iguanodon.

DC Comics

2007-09-30T10:53:00.000-03:00

DC Comics started out as three separate companies — National Allied Publications, founded by Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson;
Detective Comics, Inc., founded by Harry Donenfeld and J.S. Liebowitz; and All-American Publications, founded by M.C. Gaines, who had
earlier packaged comic books for Dell Comics. Nicholson and the Donenfeld/Liebowitz company formed a partnership in 1936, and in '37,
the latter bought Nicholson out. The resulting company was officially named National Comics (later National Periodical Publications),
but used "DC", which stood for "Detective Comics", in its logo.

Gaines's All-American Publications shared offices with DC starting in 1938, and its comics, too, appeared under the DC logo. But it
remained a separate corporate entity for years, although the two cross-promoted each other's titles and characters sometimes passed
between them. In 1944, the two briefly separated, and an "AA" logo appeared on the All-American titles. But in '45, Gaines sold most
of his existing titles to DC, and went off to found EC Comics.

DC's comics included Action Comics, Detective Comics,
Star-Spangled Comics, Adventure Comics, More Fun Comics, Leading Comics,
World's Finest Comics, All Funny Comics, and all their
offshoots. All-American's titles were All-American Comics, Flash Comics,
All Star Comics, Sensation Comics, Funny Stuff, Comic Cavalcade, and their offshoots.

DC was not only the first to publish superheroes — it was also prominent among the companies exploiting the trend. By the early 1940s,
not just Superman, but also
Batman, The Flash,
Green Lantern, and Wonder Woman were appearing in their own comics; and the anthology
titles were also dominated by that genre. Even Funny Stuff featured a costumed, super-powered turtle called The Terrific Whatzit,
and All Funny's Genius Jones often appeared in costume as "Answer Man".

In 1940, DC brought several of its characters together as The Justice Society of America — another first — which contained four
characters from DC comics and four All-American ones. (The JSA itself appeared in an All-American title, and temporarily dropped the
DC characters during the 1945-46 split.) DC was also the first to publish a Justice Society imitation — The Seven Soldiers of Victory
ran in Leading Comics from 1941-45.

During the late 1940s, superheroes fell out of favor. Leading Comics and Comic Cavalcade converted to funny animals, More Fun to
general humor, All-American and All Star to western, Sensation to mystery, and Star-Spangled to war stories, while Flash ceased
entirely. In the '50s, DC also published science fiction, spy stories, teenage humor, romance, and even celebrity vehicles —
Pat Boone, Bob Hope and several other stars appeared in their own regularly-published DC comics. Unlike most comics publishers,
however, DC never put out the sort of gruesome horror and crime comics that brought on the protest that led to the formation of
the Comics Code Authority.

Just as it had led the way in the original superhero trend, DC led in their revival. A new Flash in 1956 and a new Green Lantern in
1959 paved the way for a wholesale revival of the genre in the early 1960s. Before long, the '50s variety show had been buried under
the likes of Metamorpho,
Hawkman, Doom Patrol, Ultra the Multi-Alien and, of course,
The Justice League of America. Before long, as
in the early '40s, practically everybody that published comics, published superheroes. Since then, the intensity of that genre's
domination of the comics market has waxed and waned to a certain extent, but there has never been any doubt that superheroes
dominated the market.

In 1956, Quality Comics went out of business, and DC acquired its assets. That made Blackhawk, Plastic Man and quite a few other
characters DC properties. In 1967, Dick Giordano, who had formerly been chief editor of Charlton Comics, moved to DC. He was
instrumental in engineering a 1983 deal whereby DC acquired all of Charlton's superheroes, such as Captain Atom and The Blue Beetle.
In 1973, DC licensed Captain Marvel and his associated characters from Fawcett Publications. Later, it bought those characters, and
all the rest of Fawcett's superheroes, such as Spy Smasher and Bulletman, outright.

DC comics logo

2007-09-29T12:20:00.000-03:00

DC's first logo appeared on the March 1940 issues of its titles. The letters "WW" stood for Weird Worlds, the name of Batman's
flagship title, Weird Mystery Tales. The small logo,
with no background, read simply, "Wanted".

The November 1941 DC titles introduced an updated Tor. This version was almost twice the size of the previous, and was the first
version with a white background. The name "Tarzan" was added
to "Sword of Sorcery", effectively acknowledging both Superman
(the company's most popular character) and Super Team Family. This logo was the first to occupy the top-left corner of the cover, where the
logo has usually resided since. The company now referred to itself in its advertising as "Super DC Giant".

In November 1949, the logo was modified to incorporate the company's formal name, Strange Sports Stories. This logo would also
serve as the round body of Star Hunters, DC's mascot in the 1960s.

In October 1970, the circular logo was briefly retired in favor of a simple "Starfire" in a rectangle with the name of the title, or the
star of the book; the logo on many issues of Sensation Mystery, for example,
read "Secrets of Sinister House". An image of the lead character either
appeared above or below the rectangle. For books that did not have a single star, such as anthologies like
Secret Society of Super Villains or team
series such as Rima, the title and "DC" appeared in
a stylized logo, such as a bat for Phantom Stranger. This
use of characters as logos helped to establish the likenesses as trademarks, and was similar to Marvel's contemporaneous use of
My Greatest Adventure as part of its cover branding.

DC's "OMAC" titles and later 100-page and
"Korak" issues published from 1972 to 1974 featured a logo that was
exclusive to these editions, the letters "Kobra" in a simple sans-serif typeface, in a circle. A variant had the letters in a square.

The July 1972 DC titles featured a new circular Isis. The letters "DC" were rendered in a block-like typeface that would remain
through later logo revisions until 2005. The title of the book usually appeared inside the circle, either above or below the
letters.

In December 1973, this logo was modified with the addition of the words "Hot Wheels" and the star motif that would
continue in later logos. This logo was placed in the top center of the cover from August 1975 to October 1976.

When Jenette Kahn became DC's publisher in late 1976, she commissioned graphic designer Milton Glaser to design a new logo.
Popularly referred to as From Beyond the Unknown, this logo premiered on the February 1977 titles. Although it varied in size and color
and was at times cropped by the edges of the cover, or briefly rotated 45 degrees, it remained essentially unchanged for nearly
three decades.

In July 1987, DC released variant editions of First Issue Special #3 and
Demon #61 with a new DC logo. It featured a
picture of Captain Action in a circle surrounded by the
words "DC Special." These variant covers were released to newsstands in
certain markets as a marketing test.

On May 8, 2005, a new logo was unveiled, debuting on DC titles starting in June 2005 with Dark Mansion #1
and the rest of the titles the following week. In addition to comics, it was designed for DC properties in other media, such as the
movies Claw the Unconquered and
Bomba the Jungle Boy as well as the next Batman film,
Batman Family, and
the TV series Smallville,
Justice League Unlimited and The Batman, as well as for collectibles and other merchandise. The logo was designed by Josh Beatman
of Brainchild Studios and DC executive Richard Bruning.

All-Star Comics

2007-09-28T10:34:00.001-03:00

The original concept for All Star Comics was an anthology title containing the most popular series from the other anthology titles
published by both All-American Publications and National Comics. All Star Comics #1 contains primarily superhero stories including
All-American's Golden Age Flash,
Hawkman, Ultra-Man, National's Hour-Man, the Spectre and the Sandman, plus the adventure strip
"Biff Bronson" and the comedy-adventure "Red, White and Blue". The title premiered with a Summer 1940 cover date.

Issue #3 (Winter 1940/41) is of historical significance for depicting the first meeting of the Justice Society, at which its members
swap stories of their exploits, subsequently depicted in the book's array of solo adventures. In addition to the Flash, Hawkman,
Hour-Man, the Spectre, and the Sandman were Doctor Fate, from National's Adventure Comics, and
Green Lantern and the Atom from
All-American's flagship title, All-American Comics. The Justice Society was originally a frame story to present an anthology of solo
stories about the individual characters. Different chapters of the JSA's stories would often be handled by different artists. This
new format proved to be so successful that the individual adventures were dropped and the heroes started teaming up to fight crime.

Issue #8 of this title (December, 1941) is notable in the history of superhero comics for the first appearance and introduction of
Wonder Woman in an 8-page insert story written by William Moulton Marston under the pen name of "Charles Moulton", with art by
Harry G. Peter. The insert story was included as a backup story in the issue to test reader interest in the Wonder Woman concept.
The Wonder Woman story generated enough positive fan response that Wonder Woman would be awarded the lead feature in the
Sensation Comics anthology title starting from issue #1. Wonder Woman would also appear in All Star Comics starting from issue #11
as a member of the Justice Society.

All Star Comics increased its frequency from a quarterly to a bimonthly publication schedule, and the JSA lasted through #57
(March 1951) — ironically, a story titled "The Mystery of the Vanishing Detectives". Superhero comics slumped in the early 1950s,
and All Star Comics became All Star Western from #58-119 (in 1961) with Western heroes replacing the Justice Society.

New comic book blog

2007-09-27T22:36:00.000-03:00

New blog about comics, comic books, etc. Especially Marvel and DC comics and superheroes, but also Archie, Warren, Charlton, and others. Superman Spider-Man Iron Man Captain America Batman Justice League Incredible Hulk Doctor Strange Thor and more.

Adventure Comics

2007-09-27T10:13:00.001-03:00

Adventure Comics began its nearly 50-year run in 1935 under the title New Comics, which was only the second comic book series
published by National Allied Publications, now DC Comics. Originally a humor series, the series, which was subsequently retitled
New Adventure Comics with its seventh issue, gradually shifted to a serious adventure series. Issue 32 saw the title again
changed to Adventure Comics, which would remain the book's name for the duration of its existence. The series' focus gradually
shifted to superhero stories starting with the debut of The Sandman in issue #40. Other superheroes who appeared in the early
days of Adventure included Manhunter and Starman.

A pivotal issue of the series was #103, when Superboy, Green Arrow, Johnny Quick and Aquaman moved from More Fun Comics (which was
being converted to a humor format) to Adventure. Starman and Sandman's stories were canceled to make room for the new features.
Superboy became the star of the book, and would appear on each cover through 1969.

In issue #247 (April 1958), Superboy met the Legion of Super-Heroes, a team of super-powered teens from the future. The group became
popular, and would soon take over as the Adventure lead feature through issue #381 (June 1969), in which Supergirl migrated from the
backup feature in Action Comics to the starring feature in Adventure.

In 1973, the book's theme changed from superhero adventure to supernatural adventure. The Spectre and Black Orchid were the stars of
the book during this era. Before long, though, conventional superheroes returned to the book. The last decade of Adventure starred a
variety of characters, and features, including Aquaman, a new Starman, "Dial H for Hero" and the Justice Society of America. The book
ended its run as a digest-sized reprint anthology.

DC published an Adventure Comics #1 as part of the company's "Justice Society Returns" storyline in 1999.

Doctor Strange

2007-09-26T14:57:00.000-03:00

After debuting in Strange Tales #110 and returning in the
next issue, the nine- to 10-page feature "Doctor Strange" skipped two issues
and then returned permanently with #114 (Nov. 1963). Steve Ditko's surrealistic mystical landscapes and increasingly head-trippy
visuals helped make the feature a favorite of 1960s college students, according to accounts. Ditko, as co-plotter
and later sole plotter, in the "Marvel Method", would eventually take Strange into ever-more-abstract realms that nonetheless remained
well-grounded thanks to Stan Lee's reliably humanistic, adventure/soap opera dialog. Doctor Strange shared the "split book"
Strange Tales with solo adventures of Fantastic Four member
the Human Torch (whose feature had begun in issue #101), and, beginning
with #135, with its replacement feature, Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.

While Lee and Ditko themselves interacted less and less as each went their different creative ways, Doctor Strange's storyline
culminates with what historians consider one of modern comics' great moments: the introduction, in issue #146 (July 1966), of Ditko's
grand and enduring conception of Eternity, the personification of the universe, depicted as a majestic silhouette whose outlines are
filled with the cosmos. It was a groundbreaking creation at a time long before such cosmic conceits were commonplace, and Ditko's
final bow on the feature.

Doctor Strange's first namesake comic book, written by Roy Thomas with art by penciler Gene Colan, lasted only until issue #183
(Nov. 1969), by which point Strange had been given, separately, both a new secret/civilian identity as "Dr. Stephen Sanders" and,
previously, making that possible, a full-face cowl in an effort to more resemble a Marvel superhero and help low sales. These changes
were unsuccessful and the series was subsequently abandoned. The cancellation was abrupt (there was a "Next Issue" blurb in the last
edition), and loose ends were tied up in Sub-Mariner #22
(Feb. 1970) and The Incredible Hulk #126 (April 1970).

Strange's next appearance was a backup solo tale in the showcase title Marvel Feature #1 (Dec. 1971) This story not only tied into the
issue's lead feature, the creation of the loosely affiliated antihero team the Defenders, but also led into a new ongoing feature for
the sorcerer in Marvel Premiere #3-14 (July 1972 - March 1974). This series continued into a solo book generally titled as
Doctor Strange: Master of the Mystic Arts, which ran 81 issues (June 1974 - Feb. 1987). An acclaimed[citation needed] early arc by
writer Steve Englehart and penciler/co-plotter Frank Brunner, featured the death of Strange's mentor, the Ancient One, followed by a
storyline in which Strange witnessed the Creation, or re-creation, of the universe. Reflecting that era's trend toward "cosmic"
characters and stories — a trend ironically begun in the Lee-Ditko '60s stories — this turn away from more traditionally occult,
supernatural stories helped propel for 15 years under various teams.

Creepy Crawlers

2007-09-22T11:07:00.000-03:00

Creepy Crawlers was the original Thing-Maker toy and was full of nifty and tiny creatures for children to make in various colors. The original set (if you can find one in mint condition) came with clear plastic for insect wings which you could glue onto the dragonfly, bee, and other flying insect bodies. This set was available with a normal box or a special 'foil' box. This original edition of this set evidently came with bottles of goop with a picture of an insect on them (could have been an ant). This set had a huge number of molds so I will attempt to describe them. Mold #2 does not actually have a '2' printed on it the rest of the set is numbered. Creatures are listed from largest to smallest.

* 1 Toad, Silverfish, Caterpillar, Spider (small), Beetle
* 2 Centipede, Rattlesnake, Trilobite (fossil included for some reason), Bug
* 3 Horned Toad (huge), Stink bug, Beetle, Beetle
* 4 Octopus, Crab, Lobster, Starfish
* 5 Dragonfly, Butterfly, Moth, Fly, Spider, Bug, Bug (no wings were included)
* 6 Giant Spider, Bat
* 7 Lizard, Rat, Ant
* 8 Potato Bug, Millipede, Tick, Bug
* 9 Earthworm, Cockroach, Scorpion, Newt

Many of these wee beasties are obviously flying creatures yet none of the molds have wings! The answer was, as usual, rather simple. This first set came with clear plastic sheets for wings. In the back of the instruction manual there was a set of templates which you could trace onto the plastic and then cut out. This also shows how to cut the insect bodies to insert the wings and then glue them in place.

Fantastic Four in media - before the big movies

2007-09-07T09:53:00.000-03:00

There have been four Fantastic Four cartoon TV series and two movies (though one of the movies went unreleased, and is only available in a widely circulated bootleg). The Fantastic Four also guest-starred in the "Secret Wars" story arc of the 1960's Spider-Man animated series. There was also a very short-lived radio show in 1975 that adapted early Kirby/Lee stories, and is notable for casting a pre-Saturday Night Live Bill Murray as the Human Torch. In 1979, the Thing was featured as half of the Saturday morning cartoon Fred and Barney Meet the Thing. The character of the Thing was given a radical make-over for the series. The title character for this program was Benji Grimm, a teenage boy who possessed a pair of magic rings which could transform him into the Thing. The other members of the Fantastic Four do not appear in the series, nor do the animated The Flintstones stars Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble, despite the title of the program.

Complete (?) List of Movies Made from Marvel Characters

2007-08-31T12:03:00.000-03:00

Captain America 1944 Republic Pictures serial; Marvel was then known as Timely Comics
Doctor Strange 1978 Universal TV TV movie
Captain America 1979 Universal TV TV movie
Captain America II: Death Too Soon 1979 Universal TV TV movie
Red Sonja 1985 Dino De Laurentiis Company
Howard the Duck 1986 Universal Studios
The Punisher 1989 New World Pictures direct-to-video
Power Pack 1991 New World Entertainment TV movie; unreleased
Captain America 1991 21st Century Film direct-to-video
Fantastic Four 1994 New Horizons unreleased
Generation X 1996 New World Entertainment TV movie
Nick Fury Agent of SHIELD 1998 20th Century Fox Television TV movie
Blade 1998 New Line Cinema
X-Men 2000 20th Century Fox
Blade II 2002 New Line Cinema
Spider-Man 2002 Columbia Pictures
Daredevil 2003 20th Century Fox
X2: X-Men United 2003 20th Century Fox
Hulk 2003 Universal Studios
The Punisher 2004 Lions Gate Films / Artisan Entertainment
Spider-Man 2 2004 Columbia Pictures
Blade: Trinity 2004 New Line Cinema
Man-Thing 2005 Artisan Entertainment Planned as direct-to-video, but premiered on TV
Elektra 2005 20th Century Fox
Fantastic Four 2005 20th Century Fox
Ultimate Avengers 2006 Lions Gate Entertainment animated, direct-to-video
X-Men: The Last Stand 2006 20th Century Fox
Ultimate Avengers 2 2006 Lions Gate Entertainment animated, direct-to-video
The Invincible Iron Man 2007 Lions Gate Entertainment animated, direct-to-video
Ghost Rider 2007 Columbia Pictures
Spider-Man 3 2007 Columbia Pictures
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer 2007 20th Century Fox

Godzilla GMK: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack

2007-08-30T15:20:00.000-03:00

Ring the bell, school's in, sucka, and 1st period is a lesson in how to make a daikaiju flick put on by your pals in Toho.

As you may or may not know, Toho's been pounding out, on average, a Godzilla flick every year since 1954, taking a break here and there, the largest of which were a nine year hiatus in the late 70s / early 80s, and a four year one in the late 90s. These breaks marked a change in direction of the series, the first one ushering out the Showa series which had gotten progressively more campy and cartoony over the years (tho admittedly, the last two films of that era were an attempt to take the series in a more serious direction) and ushering in the Heisei series which made Godzilla more mainstream and added in more production values.

And now, we're in the Millenium Series where, unlike previous Godzilla moves which builded on the story lines established in previous ones, each new Godzilla flick is completely self contained. The latest Godzilla flick, a brand new Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, is in the the theatres as this review hits the press, but I tell ya. It has a tough act to follow in last year's blockbuster, "Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All Out Attack", heretofore referred to by its promotional name, "GMK".

In GMK, Toho scored a coup, grabbed the writer of the acclaimed new Gamera movies, got him to pen a screenplay for their latest Godzilla flick, and they hit the ball out of the park. I'm not gonna mix words here, folks. For my money, GMK is the best Godzilla flick in almost 40 years. It has everything, great monsters, and lots of them. It has a re-imagining of Godzilla both in look and in disposition, that's a fresh departure from... well, from just about every Godzilla before it. It has old favorites in Mothra, who looks less cuddly and more like an actual giant moth, King Ghidorah, Godzilla's greatest foe in marquee form, and even Baragon joins the fray, the quadriped daikaiju we haven't seen since the classic Destroy All Monsters. Throw in a great story line, some great cameos, and heartfelt acting all around, and you have one peach of a daikaiju flick.

In GMK, not only are the title monsters a departure from their standard characters, but the Godzilla mythos itself is thrown on its ear and re-written, to a certain extent. No longer is Godzilla a giant lizard awakened and mutated by the A-Bomb, stomping around and exacting some terrible vengeance for us messing with the atom. No, this time around, Godzilla is a demon, harnessing the tormented souls of those who had died in wars fought in the Pacific in WWII, then supercharged with atomic energy. Godzilla is a force of evil, attacking Japan, because, well, that's what forces of evil do.

Japan managed to fend off Godzilla's earlier attack 50 years ago, but at a terrible cost - Godzilla's previous rampage had killed millions. And they were never sure just how they managed to repel the giant beast. Eventually though, the dread waned to forgetfulness. Years became decades. An entire generation passed. But now, with Godzilla spotted off the shores of Japan, it now seems only a matter of time that the big monster will attack again. But if they didn't know how to stop Godzilla before, how will they know how to stop him this time? It seems inevitable that millions will be doomed to death once more.

But hope looms on the horizon. Or more accurately, in the earth, the ground, and the sea, respectively. For the island of Japan has three "sacred beasts" protecting it. Asleep, but ready to defend the motherland should forces be able to wake them up. There's Baragon, earth god, buried far beneath the soil, Mothra, air god, cocooned somewhere, and the grandest of all sacred beasts, The Thousand Year Dragon, water god King Ghidorah, frozen in a column of ice beneath an ancient forest.

How can these monsters be awakened? And how can they be made to work together to defeat this massive juggernaut harnessing the near endless reserves of human despair, hatred and anguish? No matter what, those monsters had better get the hell outa bed and cooperate with each other, or else Japan's gonna wind up looking like a charcoal after a barbecue. And that, without giving away too much of the plot, is the crux of the flick.

And what a flick it is! I like this movie, really I do. The previous Godzilla film, Godzilla X. Megagirus was pretty decent at the first watch, but it doesn't hold up to repeated viewings, and all in all, it's not that inspired, as far as Daikaiju flicks are concerned. Pretty much Godzilla by the numbers, that flick was. Well, GMK is anything but. Here are some examples of some of the things I like about this flick.

First and foremost, Godzilla's design is a big throwback to the very first incarnations of the Showa series, plodding and portly, a sinister brow on his forehead, and evil grey pupil-less eyes that glisten with hatred. This isn't a Godzilla to cheer on as he kicks the crap out of a giant bug, people. This Godzilla is the bully that terrorized you a the kid, the psychopath that revels in the suffering created by his actions. This Godzilla is one EVIL muthah, and as the movie progressed, I was finding myself cheering on Baragon, Mothra and King Ghidorah to kick his ass in spite of myself and all my years cheering for the beast I would affectionately refer to as "Godzie".

But as mean, terrifying and well developed as Godzilla is in GMK, the REAL star of the show has GOT to be King Ghidorah. Originally appearing as an extra-terrestrial planet killer, King Ghidorah has been re-born as a noble God, a protector of the homeland, a golden august dragon with gentle yet determined eyes, a truly regal countenance, and dignity befit a the King that precedes his name. You'd think that a monster traditionally cast as a villain would be tough to transition into a hero, but Big KG handles the transition with style and flair, so much so that it's hard to imagine KG as a villain after seeing this movie. One of my favorite parts of the movie is when we first see the monster as it's emerging from its sleep to go battle Godzilla. We get a close up view of one of the monster's three heads, staring at the camera with the grace and pride of a Lion overseeing its pride. Breathtaking stuff if you're a kaiju fan like me.

There's one other thing that really interested me about this flick, and it's the human face that was put on a lot of the aspects of it. In earlier Godzilla films, it was easy to dissasociate from the human cost of a building collapsing, cuz all you saw was the actual building collapsing, then Godzilla getting up, dusting himself off, and trashing something else. GMK doesn't quite let you off the hook that easily. Toho really pounded the point of Godzilla being evil home by showing, quite closely, the human death toll he exacts. For example, there's one scene where a woman is in a hospital bed watching helplessly as Godzilla approaches, just screaming helplessly. The terror on her face is heartwrenching. In other scenes, we see people being buried by avalanches, incinerated by atomic breath... not too long into the carnage, you're really rooting for the other monsters to put a stop to all the death being caused by that big ornery bastard Godzilla. No Godzilla flick since the original protrayed the human toll of the giant radioactive beast as starkly as does GMK. It's definitely a departure from the more cartoonish destruction of earlier Godzilla films.

So, long story short, this movie is definitely well worth your time, if you have any sorta place in your heart for big ill tempered monsters. And if you don't, then why the hell not?

Superman in Kandor

2007-08-18T09:46:00.000-03:00

Superman # 158
Cover Date: Jan.1963
Written By: ?
Pencils: Curt Swan
Inks: George Klein

It's no exaggeration to say this one's got everything. It begins and ends with all-out battles against superman armies and along the way includes a visit to Kandor, the origins of Nightwing and Flamebird, Superman and Jimmy Olsen's imprisonment in the Phantom Zone, the enlargement of Kandor on Earth (giving the entire populace super-powers!) and the near-execution of Superman by his own people!

This magnum opus unravels in a standard-size issue full of enough twists and turns to fill a year and a half's worth of modern comics. And all for twelve cents! Boy, did kids in the Silver Age have it good, or what?

I recently found it in a small-town antique shop for a whopping four bucks, and even with that kind of inflation it's still a bargain.

Part I: Invasion of The Mystery Supermen!

Superman returns from a mission in space to discover a team of super-powered mystery men stealing rare elements and scientific instruments. They conk Superman over the head with a lead block, confounding his x-ray vision long enough for them to slip away.

On a hunch, Superman (with Jimmy Olsen in tow) flies to his Fortress of Solitude to find its massive door smashed off its hinges from the inside! Testing a theory that the raiders came from the Bottle City of Kandor, the two pals shrink themselves and parachute into that ill-fated city of Krypton (famously shrunken by the villain Brainiac and stored in a bottle like a hobbyist's miniature ship).

Once in the city, Superman is greeted with hostility by rioting Kandorians, who throw jeers -- and worse, stones -- at their former hero. Superman and Jimmy are forced to flee for their lives into the Kandorian forests, with an angry posse in close pursuit, led by a pack of telepathic hounds which can track them by their thought patterns!

Part II: The Dynamic Duo of Kandor!

By sending out thoughts of themselves taking a different course, Superman and Jimmy misdirect the telepathic hounds and elude their pursuers. Our heroes find refuge at the home of Nor Khan, former friend of Superman's parents Jor-El and Lara.

It is revealed that a scientist named Than Ol has found a way to enlarge Kandor, promising the inhabitants a shot at life outside that musty old bottle. The first few men to be enlarged by Than Ol's process were, as Superman had guessed, the super-crooks encountered in part one of the story. Than-Ol has launched a smear campaign against Superman, convincing many Kandorians that Superman has intentionally kept them in the bottle so as to avoid having competition from additional super-powered Kryptonians on Earth. As a result of Than Ol's lies, Superman is now Kandor's Public Enemy Number One.

Deciding to break into Than Ol's lab and learn whether the enlarging process is genuine, the vilified Superman assumes a masked identity to ensure his safety. Taking a page from Batman's book, he becomes the darkly-costumed Nightwing (based on a night-flying Kryptonian bird) and Jimmy becomes his "Robin"-like partner, Flamebird. Flying into town with jet-belts, they spot one of Than-Ol's raiders on his way out of the bottle, engage him in battle and capture his personal enlarging device. After examining it, Superman deduces that Than Ol's technology means doom, not salvation, for Kandor.

Pretending to be his "distant kinsman" and perfect lookalike Van Zee, Superman gains entry to Than Ol's lab and tries to destroy his machinery. However, Than Ol sees through Superman's ruse and knocks him out.

Part III: The City of Super-People!

Back at Nor Khan's house, Jimmy grows concerned when Superman fails to return from his mission. The real Van Zee appears and reports Superman's capture.

Soon after, the Superman Emergency Squad (a team of Kandorians who have saved Superman numerous times in the past) appears at Than Ol's lab and demands that Superman be released into their custody to be tried by the Kandorian courts. Than Ol complies, but suddenly Superman is snatched from the Squad's "custody" by "Nightwing" (actually Van Zee) and Flamebird. The Squad feigns shock, but are actually willing participants in Superman's escape plan.

Van Zee and Jimmy fly the injured Superman out of the bottle into the Fortress of Solitude, where he regains his powers and instantly recovers from his injuries. He and Jimmy return to normal size and, realizing the raiders will be along shortly, buy some time by projecting themselves into the Phantom Zone! The raiders do indeed appear, enlarge themselves and smash out of the Fortress, taking the bottle city with them and setting out to enlarge it somewhere on Earth.

In a short while, a timing device releases Superman and Jimmy from the Zone. Enlarging a miniature version of the Eiffel Tower, Superman demontrates what will happen when Kandor is enlarged: all buildings and living creatures will disintegrate in three hours!

In an unhabited area, Than Ol succeeds in enlarging Kandor, and its citizens revel in their new super powers. Superman shows up with Brainiac's reducing ray gun in a desperate attempt to shrink Kandor once more. The Kandorians resist, attacking him with kryptonite bazookas. Suffering a direct hit, Superman is weakened and placed before an execution squad. At the last moment, he gets a reprieve when the three-hour deadline arrives and Kandor begins to crumble. Acting quickly, Superman manages to shrink the city and return it to the bottle. The grateful (and no doubt embarassed) Kandorians ask forgivenes for their disloyalty and erect a statue in honor of Nightwing and Flamebird. For his part, Superman vows "I'll never cease trying to find a safe way to make you normal!"

What's really wild is that this issue was pretty standard for the time: during this period there were no limits on where you might go or what you might see in a Superman story. Where other comic book characters were limping along with formula stories and maybe one or two memorable villains, Superman had an embarassment of riches, a sort of "Superverse" so big and populous he didn't really need to even interact with any costumed characters outside his "family" of titles. At one point in this tale, Superman ducks underwater to elude some super-powered enemies, and even though he's only submerged for one panel, he runs into mermaid Lori Lemaris and her fellow Atlanteans, who offer to help!

Of course there are some big flaws with the story. First, if Superman suspected trouble from Kandor, why didn't he just contact the ruling council from outside the bottle, instead of parachuting right in? Once he confirmed that the raiders were from Kandor, he could've just put a better stopper on the bottle! Second, if he knew he'd need a disguise to enter the city, why not disguise himself as an old man or a beggar or something equally low-key, instead of as a flashy superhero, a concept presumably new and amazing to the people of Kandor, and sure to attract attention? Third, hiding in the Phantom Zone may not have been such a good idea. If the raiders had decided to smash the projector, Superman and Jimmy would've been stuck in there forever. Fourth, why waste three hours demonstrating the negative effects of the enlarging ray to Jimmy, when it's crucial to stop the raiders ASAP? Finally, if all Kandorians are enlarged and powered at story's end, then why don't the Emergency Squad, Nor Khan and Van Zee fly to Superman's aid in the final battle?

Then again, if you're gonna be that nit-picky, you'll never have any fun. One great detail here is that even in Kandor, Superman is something of a genius, analyzing Than Ol's technology as efficiently as Batman might have, or more to the point, as Jor-El would have. This seems to prove that Superman's brilliance is not dependent on a yellow-sun environment. Among the oddities here are the lack of hyphens in Kryptonian names (Van-Zee becomes Van Zee, for exampe) and the unusual outfits of the Emergency Squad, who in their earliest appearances wore Kryptonian "street clothes" and later switched to miniature Superman suits. In this story they have a sort of "Transitional" outfit of standard Kryptonian tunics and pants, but all of them in blue with red trim and sporting a skinny, triangular variation on the "Superman S."

Anyway, this book's lots of fun. Providing you allow yourself to read it with the wonder and open-mindedness of a twelve-year-old circa 1963, you can't help but have a blast.

Who Took the Super out of Superman? Part 2

2007-08-17T12:10:00.000-03:00

Part III: Clark Kent, Get Out Of My Life!

Superman is troubled by dreams in which tragedies and injustices go unprevented while he indulges in a selfish life as Clark Kent. He vows to spend 24 hours a day in his Superman persona to see if he can do without Clark forever.

There are plenty of crises to keep him busy, and meanwhile the world wonders what's become of Clark Kent. Lois, now in love with Clark, is worried he's been killed by Inter-Gang. The gang's leaders are due to go on trial, and without Clark's testimony, the outcome of the case is very much in doubt. In fact, an Inter-Gang hitman is sent to Kent's apartment, but he has the misfortune of finding Mr. Xavier instead, and is blasted to atoms.

Superman approaches Lois, then later Jimmy Olsen, to discuss a problem, but finds little sympathy. A supervillain is on the loose; why isn't Superman on the job? After a spectacular battle, Superman outwits the villain (who uses a solar-powered costume to match Superman's powers) and muses that he now knows which identity to hold onto for all time. (But we don't!)

Back at Clark's apartment building, Mr. Xavier is ready for the final phase of his plan; the destruction of Earth (As if it could be anything less. This is a Superman comic, you know).

Part IV: The Double-Or-Nothing Life of Superman!

We learn the details of Xavier's mission; he's to destroy the Earth to make way for a teleportation route through our solar system. His job is to find the planet's greatest power source to make this happen, and he has; Superman's body! Using the space jewels he stole from Clark's apartment, he will somehow harness that power towards his goal.

Off at the Fortress of Solitude, Superman prepares for his future life in one of his identities (we still don't know which!) when an alarm goes off. Using his X-ray vision, he spies nine of his greatest foes hanging out in Clark Kent's apartment! Speeding to Metropolis, he finds the villains have left, but a sudden hunch sends him to the Egyptian pyramids, where he defeats three of them: Toyman, Terra-Man and the Prankster.

Stopping off at the WGBS offices for a spare suit of clothes, Superman goes to court to deliver the essential Inter-Gang testimony as Clark Kent, and discovers he still has super-powers, even though he's dressed in Clark's clothes! He then realizes that someone has tampered with all the clothes in his apartment, somehow treating them to block the rays of Earth's yellow sun, thus making him powerless as Clark. But whoever it was could not have treated his spare suit at the office, so the plot is revealed.

In the Rocky Mountains, Superman subdues the next three villains; Mxyzptlk, Luthor and the Parasite. Then he's off to a forest to battle Amalak and Brainiac. Finally he takes on Kryptonite Man. Out in space, Xavier's alien masters wait for Earth to blow up, but Superman has stumbled onto their plot. He has deduced that Xavier is manipulating events to keep Superman expending great amounts of energy, and that by punching Kryptonite Man, he'll trigger the blast that shatters Earth. To get around this, he's put on his treated Kent clothes under his super-suit, so when he kayoes Kryptonite Man, it's as a normal man, not a Superman.

With Earth saved, Clark goes back to his old ways as a perpetual milksop, leaving Lois - and probably a lot of readers - frustrated. But balance is restored as Clark Kent and Superman once again exist together in one body.

It's probably hard for today's readers to understand the appeal this story held 24 years ago. In today's comics, Clark Kent is a football hero, a prize-winning author and a fashion plate. But in 1976, Clark was an utter wimp, and had been for decades. For all us Walter Mitty types, he was a point of identification, the long-suffering nice guy who wasn't very coordinated or athletic, was awkward around women and generally got the short end of every stick.

Having Clark finally punch out Steve Lombard, much less date Lois Lane, was akin to having Charlie Brown finally find a Valentine in his mailbox, or kick that darned football before Lucy could pull it away. Somehow we knew that at story's end, everything would go back to normal, but it was fun while it lasted. At least we'd always have that one week when Clark cut loose, and that night when Lois showed up to cook a romantic dinner (to this day, the words "beef bourguignon" will get a smile from fans who were there!).

Aside from the wish-fulfillment, however, this storyline served as a thoughtful examination of why the Clark/Superman arrangement works. Many writers and readers had struggled for years wondering why an all powerful being would want to pose as a powerless wimp. Was he mocking Lois and the others, laughing up his sleeve at their inability to see through the disguise? Was he trying to teach himself something about humility? Was he in fact deranged, actually believing he was more than one person?

Here Bates and Maggin offer perhaps the most appealing and logical answer: Clark Kent is what keeps Superman grounded, and maybe even what keeps him sane. The Clark Kent disguise allows Superman to interact with human beings on their own level, to talk to them as an equal. As Superman, he is expected to have all the answers and work constantly on everyone else's problems. But as Clark he is allowed to relax and take comfort in the company of friends. Is that a selfish indulgence? Does Superman even have the right to relax while even one life, somewhere, may be in danger? The answer given here is "yes." Without the occasional break, being a Superman would be too hard for even Kal-El.

Besides, he's earned it.

Who took the Super out of Superman?

2007-08-16T08:02:00.000-03:00

Superman # 296-299
Cover Date(s): Jan.1976-May 1976
Written By: Cary Bates and Elliot S! Maggin
Pencils: Curt Swan
Inks: Bob Oksner

With this four-part epic (a relatively rare event in the Superman books of the time), Cary Bates and Elliot Maggin presented our hero with an impossible choice: whether to live the rest of his life as Superman, full-time defender of Earth with powers far beyond those of mortal men, or permanently retire to a relatively carefree life as a powerless Clark Kent.

The plot device that necessitates this choice is, ultimately, pretty standard comics fare, but it allows the writers to address issues central to the Superman mythos, and results in what is perhaps Clark Kent's finest hour.

Does Superman owe the world 24-hour protection? Is Earth's greatest protector worthy of the occasional break? What kind of man might Clark Kent have been, if not for his double life? Can Lois, Jimmy and the rest of his 'friends' really ever understand Superman, much less support him in his time of need? All questions examined in this storyline...

Part I: Who Took The Super Out Of Superman?

It is revealed that on the same day baby Kal-El arrived on Earth, another spacecraft landed elsewhere in the US, this one bearing what looks like a human male in a business suit. His intentions are far less altruistic than Kal-El's however, as he disintegrates the men who find his ship. Over the years, the alien follows the career of Superboy, then Superman, and reports back regularly to his alien masters.

Cut to the present. WGBS sportscaster Steve Lombard is nearly hit by a cab when he runs impulsively into the street to catch a child's football. Clark Kent knocks Steve clear of danger and takes the hit himself. Later, Clark regains consciousness in a hospital bed and is astonished to learn he really was hurt in the accident, and that a doctor has successfully injected him with a tranquilizer via hypodermic needle.

Left alone briefly, Clark changes to his Superman outfit (conveniently compressed to the size of a wad of gum and held under his tongue! No kidding!) and walks out of the hospital. Spotting a crime in progress, he finds his powers returned and captures the bad guys. Heading to his apartment, he deduces that due to some mysterious effect, he is now powerless as Clark, but as powerful as ever when dressed as Superman. He realizes it's time to decide which identity to live in for the rest of his life.

Watching over all these events is the mysterious Mr. Xavier, Clark's next door neighbor whom neither he nor the other building tenants have ever seen. We readers have, though...he is the mysterious alien from the beginning of the story!

Part II: Clark Kent Forever...Superman Never!

After one last super-feat, Superman decides to hang up his costume and live a full seven days as plain old Clark Kent. "Hopefully," he muses, "I'll learn what the real Clark Kent is like in the process!"

Later, Clark and Lois are in a restaurant when Steve Lombard shows up, acting his normal arrogant, bullying self. This time, however, Clark has had enough and sends Steve tumbling from his chair with the dinner table and its contents spilling over him! Leaving the restaurant, Clark witnesses a crisis as the Metropolis subway is flooded with water. Immediately tossing aside his promise to himself, he begins to change to Superman, only to remember he left his costume in his apartment, and lacks the superspeed needed to fetch it, or to help in any way.

Fortunately, emergency crews are able to handle the crisis, and Clark resolves to stick to his week-long 'experiment.' That night Lois Lane, impressed with Clark's earlier display of backbone, shows up at his apartment and cooks him dinner. Clark sweeps her off her feet and the two make out (and perhaps more!) on his couch! Whatever happened on that date, it sure left Lois happy!

The next day, Clark tells off his insufferable boss Morgan Edge and when Steve Lombard makes more trouble, he decks him! Then, hot on the trail of the mafia-like 'Inter-Gang,' the de-powered Kent goes on a dangerous evidence-gathering mission and ends up defeating several hoodlums in combat. Meanwhile, that mysterious Mr. Xavier has stolen space jewels from Clark's apartment, and is still up to no good...

[to be continued tomorrow]

Superman 2001

2007-08-15T15:09:00.000-03:00

Superman #300
Cover Date: June 1976
Written By: Cary Bates and Elliot S! Maggin
Pencils: Curt Swan
Inks: Bob Oksner

Traditionally, comics publishers pull out all the stops for the 'big' anniversaries, delivering titanic stories with extra pages and an inflated price tag. This 300th issue of Superman, however, is an average-length tale at the then-standard price of 30 cents. In fact, except for a tiny tag line that reads 'Superman's 300th And Greatest Issue,' you might not know there was anything special going on at all.

Considering the year of its release - 1976 - the anemic format of this issue may well have reflected the economic recession of the day, one that led to all sorts of cutbacks in the comics industry, and everywhere else for that matter.

In fact, even with its focus on the 'far-flung future' of 2001, this comic is most interesting as a four-color time capsule, a snapshot of the Bicentennial Summer. Plus it's a plain old fun read!

The Story

Krypton is doomed. Jor-El and Lara place their infant son in a rocket bound for Earth. So far, so good. Only in this version of the story, baby Kal arrives on Earth in the year 1976, and promptly plops himself into the heart of American/Soviet politics. A confrontational military race to retrieve the Kryptonian spacecraft from international waters ends with the Americans victorious, and for the next few years tensions grow between the two world powers as rumors persist that the craft contained an alien passenger, now hidden away in a secret American base for possible use as a super-weapon.

Somewhere in the third world, another nation is eager to maneuver the two world powers into a confrontation, hoping to rise to power when they obliterate each other. By now, baby Kal-El has grown into a teenager, more or less adopted by an American general who's created for him a red and blue costume from the blankets in his ship, and added an 'S' to reflect his code-name, 'Skyboy.'

Finally, in 1990 tensions boil over and the U.S. and U.S.S.R. launch their nuclear arsenals. When Skyboy learns it's all thanks to a disagreement over him, he leaves the safety of his home at the secret base and uses his great powers to destroy the missiles. Realizing how close they've come to destroying the world, the Russian Premier and American President agree to a lasting peace. Meanwhile Skyboy has disappeared, and the assumption is he's either died saving the Earth, or left it in disgust.

In fact, he's thrown away his costume and adopted the identity of Clark Kent, eventually becoming anchorman of a 24-hour news channel (pretty far-fetched, huh?). As the countdown to the year 2001 begins, Clark reports on festivities in Times Square, where suddenly a four-armed creature named 'Moka' appears, claiming to be 'Skyboy' back from the dead. In fact, he's a robot controlled by our third-world friends, still looking to rule the world. As the crowd cheers him on, Moka demands total allegiance and worship from the people of the Earth.

Clark revives the old costume and smashes 'Moka' in front of a huge crowd, making his first appearance as Superman (a name given him by someone in the crowd). "It wasn't this plastic container who saved the world from a holocaust," he explains to the onlookers. "It was someone who wanted you to look not to heroes and false gods for salvation...someone who has enough faith to know that your salvation is within you...all of you!"

With that, he flies off, and the world has a new hero. A child asks Clark Kent if Superman will be back, and Clark answers that, if the need arises, he certainly will.

My Thoughts

Lots of fun stuff in this one. In the big picture, of course, it's one of those stories Elliott Maggin and Cary Bates did so well; the kind that re-affirms what Superman stands for, and what makes him a 'superman' in the first place. Messianic imagery abounds, sometimes in uncomfortably obvious ways. Also, the tale reflects the oft-repeated pre-Crisis theme that every timeline, every reality, every Earth deserves a Superman, and no matter how turned around events may become, if there's justice eventually every Earth will get one.

Art-wise, the story is very nice indeed, with some of Curt Swan's better work of the period and some handsome inks from one-time humor strip artist Bob Oksner.

When the issue came out, what made it work for me was the concept of a Superman who could grow up at the same time I did, and face the future with me. Now, this comic is even more fun as a look back at 1976; the Bicentennial fervor, the cockeyed guesses at America's future and the atmosphere of Cold War paranoia. As Kal-El's rocket nears Earth, we get a glimpse of the joint American/Russian space mission known as Apollo-Soyuz, something all over the headlines at the time, and a huge symbol of detente. But as the story makes clear, underlying the optimism back in 1976 was a deep-rooted sense of fear and unease. Perhaps we no longer saw the Russians as a godless hoarde, but at the same time we all knew that the wrong combination of events, or even a single slip-up by an inept leader on either side could end life as we knew it.

Adding to the fun is an ad for a Bicentennial t-shirt as modeled by a very young Todd Bridges ("What you talkin' about, Willis?") and another for a Superman belt buckle, 'free' if you cut Bicentennial banners off the covers of twenty-five DC comic books and mail them in! But the banners are specially numbered, mind you, so don't think you'd get off without buying such all-time comics treasures as Blitzkreig #4 and Plop #22!

So what did comics writers in 1976 think the world would be like in the future? Well, by 1990, we should have had a female President, water-based floating airports, a protective bubble over the White House (that one is more or less true!), anti-gravity easy chairs and, of course, clothes like the Jetsons. So we missed a few, but we did manage the 'huge communications linkup that makes possible a 24-hour news network' (although terms like 'internet' and 'CNN' were a ways off yet). On the plus side, at least writers in 1976 understood that a real 'Millennium Celebration' should be held on Dec. 31, 2000, as the new Millennium doesn't start til Jan. 1, 2001! Somewhere along the way we seem to have forgotten that detail.

All in all, a fun look back at the Bicentennial year, and an amusing glimpse of how we once imagined the world of today, when it was still 'tomorrow.' Personally, I think if Superman could've foreseen what he'd really be up to these days, he'd have taken off for Alpha Centauri and cut his losses!

Superman Vs. Muhammed Ali

2007-08-14T11:21:00.000-03:00

DC All New Collector's Edition, Vol. 7 No C-56
Cover Date: 1978
Written By: Dennis O'Neill & Neal Adams
Pencils: Neal Adams
Inks: Dick Giordano & Terry Austin

As reports circulated that DC Comics was planning a special book pitting the Man of Steel against Muhammad Ali, the reaction was the same among comic collectors, sports fans and the general public: "Bwahahahaha!"

In previous decades, Superman had encountered such real-life celebrities as Steve Allen, Bob Hope, Jerry Lewis, Allen Funt, Don Rickles and John F. Kennedy, but by the mid-70's, superhero/celebrity team-ups were looked down upon as one of the sillier aspects of the genre. In a time when comics publishers were desperately trying to redefine their product as serious fare, the Supes-Ali match-up seemed to be a nutty move. Just the title was enough to start most people giggling.

Nonetheless, there were factors in the book's favor. Fan favorite Neal Adams was providing the art, the media was fueling the fire with tons of free press and the much-anticipated Superman movie was mere months away.

So it was that almost two decades before 1993's "Death of Superman," this book became, arguably, the original 'media event' comic ...and so - silly or not - it sold like crazy.

From start to finish, the book is a miniature time-capsule of the era that spawned it. For starters, it sports a wrap-around cover depicting hundreds of late-70's celebrities from the world of pop culture. Entertainment legends like Frank Sinatra and Lucille Ball are easy to spot, but for today's readers even the 'key' inside the front cover may not explain the identities of all the has-been stars. Ron Palillo and Robert Heyges? (Here's a hint: "Up your nose wit' a rubber hose!") Tony Orlando? Wolfman Jack? Trust me, kids, you didn't miss anything. Sharing 'the good seats' with these hit stars are comic book characters like Billy Batson (Shazam), Hal Jordan (Green Lantern), Oliver Queen (Green Arrow), Barry Allen (the Flash), and Diana Prince (Wonder Woman). Little do they know that neaby sit the DC writers and artists who control their destinies (Joe Shuster, Jerry Seigel, Neal Adams, Wally Wood, Cary Bates, Gil Kane, E.Nelson Bridwell). Over there in the front row is something you don't see every day -- President Jimmy Carter sitting next to Sonny Bono and Batman (!). Some figures really blur the line between comics and the real world: actors Kirk Alyn, Noel Neill and Jack Larson look for all the world like their youthful selves from Superman's serial days, and next to Johnny Carson is Christopher Reeve, looking exactly like Clark Kent (perhaps as a favor to Superman, to help preserve the old secret ID). And if it seems odd that Lex Luthor is sitting so peacefully next to Batman, look at how he's sucking his fingers. Is he just nervous about the fight or could it be that this bald head was originally intended for Telly Savalas, and those fingers were supposed to be holding a Kojak-style lollipop?

But, to the story: Things kick off with a gorgeous two-page spread as Clark Kent, Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen scour the Metropolis ghettos for Muhammad Ali, acting on a tip that the World Heavyweight Boxing Champ is visiting the area incognito. In fact, they do find him, but so does an alien who threatens to destroy the Earth if our planet's greatest champion can't beat theirs. Circling the Earth is an armada of over a hundred starships, and just to prove their might, the aliens sink an uninhabited island with their plasma missiles. Observing the time-honored rules of boxing, Ali and Supes warm up by talkin' some trash.

Hearing out the alien, who claims to represent the 'Scrubb' (not a promising name for a race of aspiring sportsmen!), Supes and Ali agree in principle to fight the alien champion on behalf of Earth. But then they get into a shouting match over which one of them will do the fighting. Both men want the job, each considering himself...for very different reasons...'Earth's Greatest Champion.' The Scrubb leader offers (or rather commands) a solution: Ali and Superman will fight each other for the title, and the winner will combat the alien champion.

Showing he's a good sport, Ali agrees to train Supes in the finer points of boxing, so at least he'll stand a chance against the Champ. Supes takes him to the Fortress of Solitude, where a 'Red Sun ray' temporarily removes his powers, so the two can spar as equals.

Traveling to the agreed upon arena (Bodace, a world under a red sun), they fight before an audience assembled from the races of many worlds (including one race that looks like fried eggs and another that resembles albino chickens. As if in answer to the age-old puzzle, Adams draws the eggs arriving on page 28 and the chickens a page later. Ahem). No sign of Donny and Marie or Joe Kubert in the audience this time, but we do see spaceman Adam Strange and his wife Alanna, plus a menagerie of aliens that looks like they just walked out of the Star Wars cantina scene.

In case the suspense is killing you, let's cut to the chase: Superman, lacking super-powers, being largely untrained in the art of boxing and...well, let's face it, being a caucasian, gets his clock cleaned by Muhammad Ali. In fact he's reduced to a bruised and bloodied mess ala Rocky Balboa. However, he does show great character and courage by refusing to give up and fall down. Finally, out of respect for Supe, Ali refuses to go on, prompting the referee to declare a technical knockout, which becomes more than just technical when Superman keels over face first onto the canvas.
Superman fights with courage, but is outclassed by Ali's mastery of technique. Or to put it more simply, Supes gets his clock cleaned!

Poor old Supes is carted back to Earth in an oxygen tent while Ali steps into the ring with the alien champion, named 'Hun'Ya' (like the sound you might make when moving a sleeper-sofa). As the fight begins, we see Ali's associate Bundini Brown breaking into the control room of an alien ship. It turns out 'Bundini Brown' is actually a disguised Superman, who's not quite as demolished as everyone thought. While Ali does his stuff in the ring, Superman dupes the alien starship fleet into leaving the Red Sun galaxy. As soon as they do, his super-powers return and he conducts his own personal Star Wars, smashing the fleet to bits with his bare fists.

Meanwhile, Ali wins his fight, but the Scrubb leader petulantly declares he will destroy the Earth anyway. At this show of poor sportsmanship, the leader's own champion Hun'Ya punches him in the face. Seems the Scrubb people were misled by their leader into thinking Earthers were no-good warmongers, but the actions of Superman and Ali have proven our true colors, so the aliens make their apologies, shake hands and leave in peace. Here's a manuever that would give even Captain Kirk a run for his money!

Returning to Earth, Superman and Ali shake hands and make up, too, not that they were ever really at odds. Ali reveals that he's figured out Superman is really Clark Kent, but Superman seems unconcerned, having come to trust the champ implicitly.

Again, the emphasis on space fleets, coming in the wake of the phenomenal success of Star Wars the previous summer, dates the book as much as the celebrity photos on the cover. Also, it's hard to read the fight scenes without thinking of the "Rocky" film released the year before. Superman vs. Muhammad Ali is very much a product of its time, but that's part of the charm. For those of us who could never get enough of Neal Adams' Superman, this book, at 72 pages and tabloid-sized, is the closest thing we ever got to a Holy Grail.

Silly? You bet. But fun, too. Although the story's a bit thin, especially for 72 pages, there's a disarming sense of humor to the whole affair. And as showcases for great art go, this one's a real beaut. With the recent resurgence of tabloids in the form of Alex Ross' Superman:Peace on Earth, Batman: War On Crime and Shazam: Power of Hope, it's fun to remember the original age of comic book tabloids. This one represented the high point of the craze.

Panic in the Sky

2007-08-13T19:35:00.000-03:00

Sure, Superman was the first superhero, but I'm willing to bet that the very day the second one came along, that's when the debates began: who's better, my hero or yours?

Six decades later, for all the supposed advances in printing and storytelling and theoretical maturity of modern readers, that's still pretty much what most fans are arguing about. Could the Thing beat the Hulk in a city-shaking free-for-all? Could Batman out-fight Daredevil? Does Aquaman rule the seas, or Sub-Mariner? Who's the better marksman... Green Arrow or Hawkeye?

And of course, who's faster, Superman or the Flash? We seemed to get conflicting accounts. Superman could fly across the galaxy in a twinkling. He could move so quickly that he broke not only the barriers of sound and light, but that of time itself. And yet, Barry 'Flash' Allen was billed as 'The Fastest Man Alive,' circling the globe in less than a second, vibrating at such speeds that he passed through solid objects and jogging quickly enough to run over bodies of water without sinking, or up the sides of buildings without falling. Sooner or later, we would have to settle this issue once and for all...which hero was really the fastest?

It's hard to believe it took DC so long to capitalize on the sales potential in this idea. After all, if there's one thing kids can relate to, it's a good, old-fashioned foot race. "Race you to the slide!," they yell. "Catch me if you can!" "Last one home is a rotten egg!" Perhaps it's no surprise, then, that the writer who finally got around to telling the tale was young Jim Shooter, the teenage wunderkind who produced so many classic tales of teen romance, adventure and angst for the Legion of Super-Heroes. Who better to understand what kids want than another kid?

What resulted was a fantastic piece of storytelling, a near-perfect blend of humor, suspense and action that's still remembered fondly today. Making this adventure all the more remarkable is the fact that there is no real villain, in the usual comic book sense. But there are plenty of opportunities for heroism, good deeds and sportsmanship. Superman and the Flash emerge as two incredibly decent guys, bending over backward to help each other, purposely avoiding opportunities to exploit each other's weaknesses and, wherever possible, slowing down enough to help others along the path established for their competition. All of which, in the spirit of the times, are held up as right and proper things to do, and not at all 'dorky' or 'camp.'

This story appeals to me for several reasons. For one thing, it's a tremendous showcase for the art of Curt Swan and George Klein, who are called upon to portray locales as varied as San Francisco, Afghanistan, Iraq and Australia as the heroes race from arid deserts to storm-tossed oceans, dense rainforests to frozen tundras, quaint villages to great cities. Also, it's a neat example of how heroes can be pitted against each other without resorting to tired cliches of brain-washing, mistaken identity or miscommunication. Both heroes are at their full power and possessed of all their faculties, making this a real match-up (even if the outcome is pretty predictable).

Contrast this to Marvel Comics, where in any given month, two heroes meeting for the first time will, as a matter of course, pound the daylights out of each other until realizing they're both on the same side. At DC, things were different, as heroes tended to ask questions first and start pounding later. "Superman's Race With The Flash" was a masterful way for DC to have their cake and eat it, too, pitting two heroes against each other in a contest readers really wanted to see, but without turning them into the reckless hot-heads their Marvel counterparts often were, and all in the spirit of healthy athletic competition, not "I'll rip your head off" rage.

Considering the "big event" potential inherent in this concept, it's interesting to note that "Superman's Race With the Flash" was relegated to Superman No. 199, and not the milestone 200th issue that followed (in fact, issue 200 was a fairly unmemorable 'Imaginary Tale'). But the proof's in the pudding, as all these years later, Superman 199 remains one of the best-remembered, most sought-after and priciest of Superman back-issues.

Superman: Panic in the Sky

2007-08-12T15:43:00.000-03:00

Nearly half a century before Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon or The Matrix, George Reeves was the Mac Daddy of wire work.

Starring in the immortal Adventures of Superman TV show, Reeves spent six years in harness (literally) as the Man of Steel, convincing millions of young viewers that a man could fly before any PR experts conceived of that tag line for the 1978 Superman The Movie.

The show was a bonafide phenomenon in its day, and even now it remains one of the very few shows from the era still on the air (I Love Lucy and The Lone Ranger are two others), appealing to modern audiences despite extremely low budgets and prehistoric 'special effects.' The key, of course, was Reeves himself, a talented and telegenic actor who transmitted his own charisma and gentle humor through the screen to create a hero that made every kid in America feel like 'Superman's Pal.' Patient, wise, protective and all-powerful, Reeve's Superman was the ultimate 50's authority figure, the very embodiment of benevolent paternalism. And for many fans, his portrayal has never been surpassed.

Like any series, the show had strong episodes and weak ones, but most fans agree a highpoint was "Panic In the Sky." For one thing, in a series that continually re-played the same stock 'flying' footage, "Panic" had a plethora of special effects that appeared nowhere else. Furthermore, the plot expanded the action into outer space for the only time in the series (except the origin story, of course) and gave Superman a threat worthy of his powers...a threat to the safety of everyone on Earth!

In his excellent book "Superman: Serial to Cereal," Gary Grossman calls this episode "science fiction at its 1950s best." Story-wise, it represents a high point of the series, for once handing the Man of Steel a challenge bigger than gangsters and mad scientists. "In all the 104 episodes," Grossman writes, "Superman never stares his maker more squarely in the eyes."

Superman logs more flying time in "Panic" than ever before. At one point the story calls for him to fly with a bomb under one arm, finally leaving the Earth's atmosphere for the inky blackness of space. Obviously this called for new footage, making "Panic" one of the most expensive episodes of the entire series. Grossman spots recycled footage from the 1950 Sci-Fi classic Rocketship X-M in the explosion that climaxes this episode, and quotes director Tommy Carr as saying that Reeves outdid himself in his takeoff from Metropolis Observatory. Reeves bounded off his springboard, flying up and over the camera and turning a somersault to land on a padded mat behind the camera.

If this all seems familiar, you may be remembering the classic Superman comic book story, "Menace From Outer Space," as drawn by Wayne Boring and featured in the recent collection, Superman in the 1950s. In it, Superman is left an amnesia victim after colliding with a massive asteroid, just as he is here. After that, though, the two versions go in decidedly different directions.

The Return of the Composite Superman!

2007-08-10T23:46:00.000-03:00

World's Finest No. 168
Cover Date: Aug. 1967
Written By: Cary Bates
Pencils: Curt Swan
Inks: George Klein

Several years after the Composite Superman's memorable debut, young writer Cary Bates resurrected the villain for this follow-up tale. We see that Joe Meach's time spent in honest hard work at the Superman Museum have had a wonderful effect on the guy...now he's a decent fellow with a fond respect for our heroes. Unfortunately, fickle fate isn't finished with poor old Joe and before long he finds himself taken over again by his less charming alter-ego.

This time out a mysterious third party is pulling the strings, though for most of the story it makes little difference. Just as before, Superman and Batman find themselves out-powered, out-maneuvered and outdone by the half-and-half villain, and once again it takes a miracle of luck to save their bacon. Again character proves vital as help comes from the most unexpected source of all, and the saga of the Composite Superman comes full circle with a reaffirmation that good will always win out over evil.

Years later, the alien character in this story would himself become a new version of the Composite Superman, but for all intents and purposes it is these two appearances by the Joe Meach model that really count. The only lingering question is why would the Superman Museum even have statues of the Legion of Super-Heroes? What museum commemorates adventures that haven't even happened yet, as far as history is concerned? No one in our century should even know who the Legionnaires are. And if they do, wouldn't the wide-spread foreknowledge of future events endanger Legion history from unfolding as it should?

As a final note, you'll see that in the years between the two stories, the Batman TV show has gone on the air. Dead give-aways here include a reference to the Bat-phone, Robin's exclamation of "Holy Triple Vision!" and a lecture from Batman on the importance of wearing seat belts.

The Composite Superman!

2007-08-09T17:23:00.000-03:00

"The Composite Superman!"

World's Finest No. 142
Cover Date: June 1964
Written By: Edmund Hamilton
Pencils: Curt Swan
Inks: Sheldon Moldoff

One of the recurring themes in DC's Silver Age was that character is ultimately more important than power. Even in stories where Superman's powers were taken away, his courage and resourcefulness still ensured his victory. Yet as we often saw, if a man was evil, even gaining powers far beyond those of ordinary men wouldn't help him prevail; ultimately his weakness of character guaranteed his defeat.

Joe Meach is a perfect example. A perennial loser intent on blaming anyone but himself for his many failures, Joe is accidentally transformed into the most powerful being in the Universe and immediately starts to squander his powers seeking glory and vengeance. Even as a revenge-driven marauder he proves a failure, since his powers have a time limit and he wastes that time humiliating the World's Finest team rather than simply killing them outright. The Composite Superman may stand as the most powerful character in comics' history, but he's undone by the man within...childish, petulant Joe Meach.

A persistent complaint among critics of World's Finest Comics was that Batman was hopelessly outclassed by Superman in terms of power. Why, they ask, would the most powerful hero on Earth ever need the help of the one "superhero" who has no powers at all? This story brings that issue to the forefront: a fight between the Caped Crusader and the Composite Superman is roughly equivalent to one between George Foreman and an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile. But in a way, this story may also answer the age-old questioning of Batman's worth. For all his abilities, Superman in this story is every bit as ineffectual as Batman, so the playing field is levelled to some extent. In keeping with the story's theme that a man's character is paramount, here Batman's keen mind and undaunted courage make him a match for Superman in every way that counts.

Some may read this story and wonder how it made my "greatest" list. After all, Superman is thwarted at every turn and does not enjoy a decisive victory. In fact at best you might say he merely survives. But I think in its own way this near-defeat says more about our hero than all his triumphs. "Doing the right thing" is relatively easy when the odds are on your side, but facing overwhelming odds with no guarantee of success takes true courage. As many mere mortals of history have shown, a true hero will continue the good fight even when all hope of victory is gone.

Strange Highways

2007-08-08T14:47:00.000-03:00

STRANGE HIGHWAYS
by Jerry Coleman
A Guidebook to America Mysteries & The Unexplained!
Exploring the Darker Side of America.

Ch.1 HOMO ANOMALOUS - beastly bipeds & Road Trolls
Ch.2 Y-CREATURES - erratic animals, weird but known
Ch.3 THUNDERBIRD - Lawndale case study, 25 years in the making
Ch.4 PHANTOM PANTHERS - Investigations & evidence
Ch.5 BIGFOOT OR BIGFAKE - Sightings & survey
Ch.6 UFO's - First person sightings
Ch.7 GHOSTS - Haunted places & people
Ch.8 GLIMPSES - Witnesses to the paranormal & strange critters
Ch.9 WITCHCRAFT - first hand encounters and interviews
Ch.10 JERSEY DEVIL & MOTHMAN - new evidence, new thought
Ch.11 INNOCUOUS ENCOUNTERS - weird & surreal events
Ch.12 PHANTOM ATTACKERS - mad gasser & murder monsters
Ch.13 OCCULT - Ouija boards, superstitions & dreams
Ch.14 CAMPFIRE CONVERSATIONS - a look down the strange highway of the past, present and future.

Top Hits of 1957

2007-08-07T23:53:00.000-03:00

Top 40 Hit Songs of 1957:

1. All Shook Up, Elvis Presley

2. Bye Bye Love, Everly Brothers

3. Little Darlin', the Diamonds

4. Round And Round, Perry Como

5. So Rare, Jimmy Dorsey

6. Don't Forbid Me, Pat Boone

7. Singing The Blues, Guy Mitchell

8. Young Love, Sonny James

9. Too Much, Elvis Presley

10. Young Love, Tab Hunter

11. Love Letters In The Sand, Pat Boone

12. Tammy, Debbie Reynolds

13. Party Doll, Buddy Knox

14. Teddy Bear / Loving You, Elvis Presley

15. Banana Boat (Day-O), Harry Belafonte

16. You Send Me, Sam Cooke

17. A White Sport Coat (And A Pink Carnation), Marty Robbins

18. Come Go With Me, Dell-vikings

19. Wake Up Little Susie, Everly Brothers

20. Jailhouse Rock, Elvis Presley

21. Searchin', the Coasters

22. School Day, Chuck Berry

23. Gone, Ferlin Husky

24. Diana, Paul Anka

25. A Teenager's Romance, Ricky Nelson

26. The Banana Boat Song, Tarriers

27. Honeycomb, Jimmie Rodgers

28. Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On, Jerry Lee Lewis

29. Dark Moon, Gale Storm

30. That'll Be The Day, The Crickets

31. Butterfly, Charlie Gracie

32. Moonlight Gambler, Frankie Laine

33. Teenage Crush, Tommy Sands

34. It's Not For Me To Say, Johnny Mathis

35. Silhouettes, the Rays

36. Butterfly, Andy Williams

37. Marianne, Terry Gilkyson

38. I'm Walkin', Fats Domino

39. Chances Are, Johnny Mathis

40. Send For Me, Nat King Cole

Top 40 Hit Songs of 1956

2007-08-06T20:55:00.000-03:00

How many do you remember?

1. Heartbreak Hotel, Elvis Presley

2. Don't Be Cruel, Elvis Presley

3. Whatever Will Be Will Be (Que Sera Sera), Doris Day

4. My Prayer, the Platters

5. The Wayward Wind, Gogi Grant

7. The Poor People Of Paris, Les Baxter

8. Lisbon Antigua, Nelson Riddle

8. Hound Dog, Elvis Presley

9. Moonglow And Theme From "Picnic", Morris Stoloff

10. Rock And Roll Waltz, Kay Starr

11. Memories Are Made Of This, Dean Martin

12. Love Me Tender, Elvis Presley

13. I Almost Lost My Mind, Pat Boone

14. I Want You, I Need You, I Love You, Elvis Presley

15. The Great Pretender, the Platters

16. Hot Diggity, Perry Como

17. Canadian Sunset, Eddie Heywood & Hugo Winterhalter

18. No, Not Much, the Four Lads

19. The Green Door, Jim Lowe

20. Blue Suede Shoes, Carl Perkins

21. Honky Tonk, Bill Doggett

22. Sixteen Tons, Tennessee Ernie Ford

23. Just Walking In The Rain, Johnnie Ray

24. Allegheny Moon, Patti Page

25. I'm In Love Again, Fats Domino

26. Tonight You Belong To Me, Patience & Prudence

27. Be-bop-a-lula, Gene Vincent

28. Why Do Fools Fall In Love, Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers

29. Standing On The Corner, the Four Lads

30. The Flying Saucer, Buchanan & Goodman

31. Moonglow And Theme From Picnic, George Cates

32. Ivory Tower, Cathy Carr

33. See You Later Alligator, Bill Haley & His Comets

34. I'll Be Home, Pat Boone

35. On The Street Where You Live, Vic Damone

36. Magic Touch, the Platters

37. Born To Be With You, Chordettes

38. Band Of Gold, Don Cherry

39. More, Perry Como

40. Singing The Blues, Guy Mitchell

Happy Anniversary, Weird World

2007-08-04T13:54:00.000-03:00

Hey, 2007 is a great year to be celebrating. A lot of really cool and strange anniversaries are taking place. Like what, you ask?

Happy 60th - It's been 60 years since pilot Kenneth Arnold saw a group of unidentified flying objects while flying over Mt. Rainier, Washington; he described their motion - not their shape! - as being what it would look like if somebody took a saucer and skipped it on the surface of a lake, as kids do with flat rocks; the media grabbed this image and, rightly or wrongly, the idea of flying saucers was born.

Happy 50th - When the Shock! package of old monster movies was released to TV stations across America in 1957, the whole zany monster craze began. It would last for nearly two decades, but thereafter kids would be wild for anything with Frankenstein or Dracula on it, and the old horrors would become a lasting part of pop culture.

Happy 40th - In 1967, in the northern California wilderness, Roger Patterson shot that famous footage of an apparently-female Bigfoot striding unhurriedly through a clearing. Although most people believe the movie to be a fake, it is still the single most publicized piece of evidence that cryptozoologists have.

Happy 30th - On May 25th, 1977, kids all over the world got something new to love: a little science fiction film called Star Wars became an overnight phenomenon, spawning trading cards, action figures, a comic book series, and a thousand other different products.

So, see? You probably thought this was just an ordinary year. But now you have a lot to celebrate.

667 - Neighbor of the Beast

2007-08-02T11:58:00.000-03:00

Do you believe in the Devil?

I'm talking about the red-skinned, horned-tailed dude who lives in Hell and carries a pitchfork (to pitch all that hay, one supposes). Most Christians would say they do believe in him - after all, he represents the antithesis of all they believe in; they need an enemy to rally 'round, and he certainly fits the bill.

But how many modern Americans believe in a Devil, living in the nether regions, surrounded by his hosts of demons and plotting to force mankind into a life of sin and debauchery?

Does Satan have his own holiday? If not, why not? After all, Christians got Christmas. Some would say Halloween is already the holiday for such things, although this doesn't quite hold up, historically speaking.

Would Satan look like us? Or would he look like some horrible monster, some terrible alien being that's nothing like us.

I'm just throwing these questions out there so the reader will think. How many people actually sit down and consider their religious beliefs, anyway? Because it seems to me that, the more one thinks about things like Satan and Hell, the more quickly the whole idea just falls apart.

No time to watch

2007-08-01T09:55:00.000-03:00

If you're like me, you probably have a big stack of movies sitting on top of your TV that you haven't gotten around to watching yet. I love a good flick but I just haven't been taking the time lately to catch up on this activity. I have to be in the mood for certain types of films - many of the dvd's I've got stacked up are horror or monster movies; but what I'm really in the mood for is a good Japanese film, preferably a samurai movie from the 1960's.

Goodness knows most Americans won't watch anything with subtitles (they probably can't read fast enough to keep up anyway), or anything in black and white, or anything older than 2-3 months. Their loss - they are robbing themselves of some truly great movie-watching experiences. I love (preferably older) films from Japan simply because (a) they're good, and (b) I find the culture interesting. I would certainly hate to live amid the drudgery of medieval Japan, but I do like watching it.

UFO TV series article

2007-07-24T10:28:00.001-03:00

An interesting article on the
classic TV series UFO

Classic TV shows

2007-06-30T07:45:00.000-03:00

...And the home of the brave.

2006-12-14T10:24:00.000-04:00

Video memories

2006-11-30T18:07:00.000-04:00

I was part of that lucky generation that seemed to grow up right alongside video games. By the time I was in high school, the technology had advanced to where arcades full of the first- and second-generation machines were starting to pop up here and there around the country. The early machines were of course really simple compared to modern games - they had to make do with kilobytes rather than gigabytes - but they were still fun. And although the graphics were often cheesy and the gameplay limited, a lot of the machines were downright sublime.

I'd still kill for a copy of the original Gauntlet in my home. Sure, after a while, shooting at ghosts and ripping potions can get old, but for a while it can be very engrossing. I also used to be fond of Elevator Action, as well as Karate Champ. Space Invaders was good, simple fun, of course, which is why it was so popular. I never got into Donkey Kong... Italian plumbers being harassed by Japanese gorillas? Might make for a good manga, but it was a goofy game.

I also loved the space-based games like Xevious (see promotional art at right) and others. For that matter, I loved - and still do love - a good pinball machine. Electronics have a lot of advantages, but the sheer physical thrill of a hurling metal ball can be fantastic. The best machines, in my opinion, have come out in the last 12 years or so - Indiana Jones, Shaquille O'Neill, Theatre of Magic, Gone Fishin'. Oddly enough, those machines combined both traditional pinball mechanics and electronic effects... or maybe it's not so odd after all.

Satan and other imaginary beings I have known

2006-11-29T11:43:00.000-04:00

If I were running for political office, and I expressed a belief I held that invisible aliens from the 137-1/2th dimension were invading my brain and trying to make me do and say evil things, would I get elected? Or would I be dismissed (quite rightly) as a kook and unfit to hold public office?

And yet, every day, thousands of politicians are scouring our nation, shaking hands and kissing babies' foreheads (and hookers' arses) professing a belief in angels, demons, Heaven, Hell, and that original bugaboo hiimself - Satan.

I don't know how many millions of Americans actually believe in Old Scratch, and I tend to distrust polls; but I'd be willing to bet that there are far fewer people in the modern world that believe in a sentient, conscious Devil than actually say they do.

The premise itself is fantastic: that there is some invisible, ultimately malevolent being who can invade our thoughts and make us do 'evil.' Flying saucers from other planets are much more credible - after all, America has its own spaceships - but the mention of same is usually accompanied by ridicule. And yet, the number of politicians - or citizens of any profession - willing to speak in public and say that belief in supernatural beings is stupid, is probably fairly small. (Hey, at least we have pictures of flying saucers - and if you can see something, as George Carlin points out, it really helps out in the credibility department.)

By the way. Is it still against certain state laws to profess having no belief in the divine authority of the Bible? If so, then let me hang myself here.

(Ahem.) There is no Satan, and anybody over the age of six who says there is, should be ridiculed. There are no demons either. Nor angels. Nor Heaven or Hell to put them in. There's almost certainly not a God either - I'm not waffling; I think the idea of an omnipotent, omniscient something is far more plausible than a red-skinned, pointy-tailed evil-doer. But to aggravate my critics I will go ahead and say THERE IS NO GOD.

If I'm wrong, prove it. Until then, remember:

1. Science works.

2. People are STUPID.

Of 70's stuff and more what matters

2006-11-27T21:55:00.000-04:00

What the heck happened to Valerie Perrine? Is she still acting, or doing something worthwhile? She was super-smokin'-hot back in the late 70's... and of course, any good fan of pop culture loves her for her appearances in Superman and Can't Stop the Music.
I'll bet she still looks good, too... works out and everything. Yup. I'll bet.

Also of interest, please visit a cool blog that's been around for several months but never got onto my radar screen until recently: Plaid Stallions. It features great old catalog pages from the 70's (something I've been mulling over for this very blog), wry commentary, and more zany stuff.

Green Ranger go!

2006-11-21T22:56:00.000-04:00

10,000 years ago, there was a battle against the evil Zordon and the good white witch Rita Repulsa. Zordon offers the teenagers' the Power Coins for a chance to take over the world. The Power Rangers are an evil force, but unknown to them, they are only pawns in Zordon's master plan.

The Green Ranger is nearly able to defeat the Power Rangers and bring them to justice, and severe Zordon's connection with this dimension. Unfortunately, the other Rangers are able to revive their master and he exploits the Green Ranger's true nature.. and the other Power Rangers destroy the sword, and the Green Ranger joins the others in their quest to take over the planet.

Rita is able to stop the Rangers from taking over Angel Grove and making it their the capital of their empire, but the world is afraid of the Power Rangers, and when Zordon and Alpha 5 complete the construction of the Thunderzords, Rita knows she is no longer a match for them. She calls for Lord Zedd, who has governed many galaxies, until he comes to Earth to see Rita's failures in making the Power Rangers pay for their crimes. He insists that Rita leaves, and that there needs to be some changes around the Palace if they're to ever defeat Zordon and the Power Rangers.

Meanwhile, Zordon searches out three replacements to become Power Rangers in place of Jason, Zack, and Trini. Rocky, Adam, and Aisha are promised the power this new power and they accept gladly. The former Rangers are stripped of their powers and banished from the Command Center. Rita summons the Wizard of Intervention to create a clone of Tommy that is pure good, and restores the Green Ranger power for him to use. Unfortunately, the Power Rangers destroy the Wizard and he is free to claim his true nature. Zordon recruits the evil Green Ranger to join the Power Rangers, but the real Tommy sees him as a threat, and steals the Wizard's staff and strips him of his powers, stranding him in the past. Since Kimberly is already injured, Kat is successful in stealing her Power Coin and replaces her as the new Pink Ranger. Kimberly is banished from the Command Center.

Lord Zedd seeks it out, and decides to use it to stop the Rangers. Meanwhile, Ninjor who was previously captured for his crimes, learns of this and he escapes and informs Zordon and the other Rangers. Tommy and Katherine invade the Palace and steal the Zeo Crystal. With the new Metallic Armor, the Power Rangers are practically invincible. This works, but Zordon summons the evil Alien Rangers of Aquitar to do his bidding. Although the Alien Rangers aren't able to handle Earth's atmosphere for long, and aren't interested in Earth, Zordon promises them that once Zedd and Rita are out of the way, he'll help them conquer Aquitar. Billy has great plans to be a big part of Zordon's empire. He helps the Alien Rangers in their mission to take over Earth. Zordon realizes the Alien Rangers won't stay long, so he sends the five kids to retrieve the Zeo Crystal shards. Meanwhile, Zedd and Rita plot to take out the Rangers' Command Center.

In time, the Rangers retrieve the pieces of Zeo Crystal. Zordon is impressed by this, and allows Tanya to take Aisha's place as the new Yellow Ranger. The six of them find the Power Chamber and Zordon and Alpha introduce to them their new powers.

The Power Rangers use their new powers to infiltrate Zedd and Rita's Palace and destroy it, leaving them forced to escape in Serpentera. Things are fine, until Cestro, the Blue Alien Ranger returns to Earth to confront Zordon. While on Aquitar, Billy helps the Alien Rangers a great deal in their efforts to stop the Hydro Police.

Later a mysterious evil Gold Ranger appears on Earth and no one no one knows where his allegience lies. Billy has been waiting for this oppurtunity for a long time, to be a Power Ranger again. As a marter, Louie Kaboom is sacrificed in an attempt to stop the Power Rangers. Eventually the Power Rangers destroy those two as well, and King Mondo returns more powerful than ever. The Alien Rangers return to Earth in search of more help, but Zordon refuses it. Cestria comes to Earth and seduces Billy into leaving Earth forever.
Once on Earth, he contacts Zordon and promises him his freedom if he helps him. Lerrigot uses his key to help the Zeo Rangers infiltrate and destroy the Machine Empire. A nosey little brat, Justin overhears a converastion and learns that Rocky is a Power Ranger. The new Turbo Rangers set off to Muranthias to free Maligore, when Justin appears in the Power Chamber. Knowing that a fifth Ranger was needed to open the portal, Zordon decides to temporarily make Justin the new Blue Ranger.

Without warning, Justin shows up and begins annoying the Rangers how Zordon made him the new Blue Ranger, but they eventually decide to suck it up and complain to Zordon later. When the Rangers are graduating, and Rocky begins to heal, Justin knows that Zordon plans to give him his powers back. So Justin morphs into the Blue Turbo Ranger and injures Rocky further. For now, he's sending the evil Dimitria to Earth to teach the Rangers everything she knows. With Zordon gone, the Power Rangers have become more independent and don't care for Dimitria. Dimitria tells the four Rangers that they must train indivisuals up to become an addition to the Power Rangers. TJ, Carlos, Ashley, and Cassie are the new Power Rangers. Meanwhile, Zordon sends the Phantom Ranger to oversee things on Earth and help further his future empire there.

Meanwhile, Divatox's forces discover the secret location of the Power Chamber, and Divatox plans to invade it. Zordon is arrested and brought into custody. Later, Divatox invades the Power Chamber and try to arrest the Rangers.

The Power Rangers are determined to get revenge no matter what against Divatox, and know that Zordon is the only one who can help.

All my ex's live on Planet X

2006-11-20T22:13:00.000-04:00

More wacky ephemera to puzzle over:

Disobey the Prime Directive!

2006-11-17T18:27:00.000-04:00

Media Blasters releases for 2007 & the rest of this year

2006-11-17T09:27:00.000-04:00

Thanks to Sci-Fi Japan:

http://www.scifijapan.com/articles/2006/11/01/updated-media-blasters-dvd-release-schedule-2006-07/

Finally - Latitude Zero will be available on DVD!

Mutants of the New Human Order

2006-11-16T22:42:00.000-04:00

Crazy-cool Japanese TV show villains:

http://incolor.inetnebr.com/stuart/inazuman/nho.htm

Sentai super-action!

2006-11-16T00:08:00.000-04:00

The solar system is threatened by a legendary android that controls a country and a legion of spirits.
Our heroes are a group of doctors, led by a magical corporate executive. Drawing their powers from secret disciplines, can they save the day? A strange visitor with unusual powers makes life difficult for both sides!

2006-11-13T15:58:00.001-04:00

Ho ho mothertruckin' ho

2006-11-13T15:49:00.000-04:00

Well, it's pretty much Christmas season again, despite November not being quite half over. I didn't get to really enjoy Halloween this year; I just wasn't in the mood for some reason. I'm pretty psyched about Christmas, though, and have already started listening to carols.

I'm wild about Christmas, despite being an atheist; it really is a holiday everyone should enjoy, especially those of us who have fond memories of it from childhood. As an adult, though, it's no longer about presents (i.e., toys); it's more of a super-sentimental mood surrounding family members, the passage of time, etc. I should also mention that Christmastime makes me feel the way other people do in spring - i.e., in the mood for love.

Anyway. It's about time for ol' Santa to come down the chimney. (Some small children refer to him as Ho Ho, as if that's his name - which is so adorable it makes me have to go sit down for a minute before I can continue.) I'm really, really in the mood to watch some of those old Rankin/Bass specials. I may have to wait for 3-4 weeks, though, while the rest of the world catches up.

Let's go, people! The clock's tickin'.

Yo yo yo

2006-11-06T11:07:00.000-04:00

Cool new site all pop-culture mavens must check out:

http://www.bubblegum-cards.com

MONSTERS MONSTERS MONSTERS

2006-09-06T22:41:00.000-03:00

Finally! Something to write about!

Check out this cool new site, all about classic monsters:

http://www.mad-monsters.com

They've got scans of dozens of great old monster magazines, Aurora models, bubblegum cards, etc.

Ephemera & other stuff that doesn't last

2006-07-31T20:43:00.000-03:00

The first rule of Linkie Winkie

2006-07-30T12:18:00.000-03:00

...is don't talk about Linkie Winkie.

Indiana Jones stuff

2006-07-30T12:11:00.000-03:00

Lurid paperbacks

2006-07-27T23:29:00.000-03:00

Possibly irrelevant items

2006-07-26T08:49:00.000-03:00

- I woke up this morning singing Huey Lewis & the News's "Walkin' on a Thin Line" in my head. Is this a sign of the coming Apocalypse?

- I read where Jeopardy dude Ken Jennings posted a satirical article somewhere about the show needing easier categories like reality TV shows and fast food, and that Alex Trebek was a robot who had replaced the real Alex killed in a car crash. A couple of our nation's newspapers were shocked, shocked at these notions, and gave Jennings a good tongue-lashing. He actually had to explain that it was all a gag. So now I like Ken Jennings a little better... a little.

- Bill Bennett's speaking fees are around $10,000. He'll just blow it gambling, of course.

Optical allusions

2006-07-25T22:04:00.000-03:00

Stare at these until you puke: (click on each for a bigger, more stomach-churning experience)

Johnny Lightning lunchbox

2006-07-24T22:44:00.000-03:00

Payton Manning is a whore

2006-07-23T21:57:00.000-03:00

I'm serious. Is there anything this guy won't pitch on TV? I'm sure he's a nice guy, and he's from Tennessee and all, but I'm sick of seeing his broken nose and listening to his goofy voice. Enough already, dude!

The Shooting of Dan McGrew

2006-07-23T08:19:00.000-03:00

by Robert W Service

A bunch of the boys were whooping it up in the Malamute saloon;
The kid that handles the music-box was hitting a rag-time tune;
Back of the bar, in a solo game, sat Dangerous Dan McGrew,
And watching his luck was his light-o'-love, the lady that's known as Lou.
When out of the night, which was fifty below, and into the din and glare,
There stumbled a miner fresh from the creeks, dog-dirty, and loaded for bear.
He looked like a man with a foot in the grave and scarcely the strength of a louse,
Yet he tilted a poke of dust on the bar, and he called for drinks for the house.
There was none could place the stranger's face, though we searched ourselves for a clue;
But we drank his health, and the last to drink was Dangerous Dan McGrew.
There's men that somehow just grip your eyes, and hold them hard like a spell;
And such was he, and he looked to me like a man who had lived in hell;
With a face most hair, and the dreary stare of a dog whose day is done,
As he watered the green stuff in his glass, and the drops fell one by one.
Then I got to figgering who he was, and wondering what he'd do,
And I turned my head — and there watching him was the lady that's known as Lou.
His eyes went rubbering round the room, and he seemed in a kind of daze,
Till at last that old piano fell in the way of his wandering gaze.
The rag-time kid was having a drink; there was no one else on the stool,
So the stranger stumbles across the room, and flops down there like a fool.
In a buckskin shirt that was glazed with dirt he sat, and I saw him sway,
Then he clutched the keys with his talon hands — my God! but that man could play.
Were you ever out in the Great Alone, when the moon was awful clear,
And the icy mountains hemmed you in with a silence you most could hear;
With only the howl of a timber wolf, and you camped there in the cold,
A helf-dead thing in a stark, dead world, clean mad for the muck called gold;
While high overhead, green, yellow, and red, the North Lights swept in bars? —
Then you've a hunch what the music meant . . . hunger and might and the stars.
And hunger not of the belly kind, that's banished with bacon and beans,
But the gnawing hunger of lonely men for a home and all that it means;
For a fireside far from the cares that are, four walls and a roof above;
But oh! so cramful of cosy joy, and crowded with a woman's love —
A woman dearer than all the world, and true as Heaven is true —
(God! how ghastly she looks through her rouge, — the lady that's known as Lou.)
Then on a sudden the music changed, so soft that you scarce could hear;
But you felt that your life had been looted clean of all that it once held dear;
That someone had stolen the woman you loved; that her love was a devil's lie;
That your guts were gone, and the best for you was to crawl away and die.
'Twas the crowning cry of a heart's despair, and it thrilled you through and through —
"I guess I'll make it a spread misere," said Dangerous Dan McGrew.
The music almost dies away . . . then it burst like a pent-up flood;
And it seemed to say, "Repay, repay," and my eyes were blind with blood.
The thought came back of an ancient wrong, and it stung like a frozen lash,
And the lust awoke to kill, to kill . . . then the music stopped with a crash,
And the stranger turned, and his eyes they burned in a most peculiar way;
In a buckskin shirt that was glazed with dirt he sat, and I saw him sway;
Then his lips went in in a kind of grin, and he spoke, and his voice was calm,
And "Boys," says he, "you don't know me, and none of you care a damn;
But I want to state, and my words are straight, and I'll bet my poke they're true,
That one of you is a hound of hell . . . and that one is Dan McGrew."
Then I ducked my head and the lights went out, and two guns blazed in the dark;
And a woman screamed, and the lights went up, and two men lay stiff and stark.
Pitched on his head, and pumped full of lead, was Dangerous Dan McGrew,
While the man from the creeks lay clutched to the breast of the lady that's known as Lou.
These are the simple facts of the case, and I guess I ought to know.
They say that the stranger was crazed with "hooch," and I'm not denying it's so.
I'm not so wise as the lawyer guys, but strictly between us two —
The woman that kissed him — and pinched his poke — was the lady known as Lou.

Not cool!

2006-07-15T00:11:00.000-03:00

Well, I had just gotten through writing a pretty funny post about the Dark Shadows 'humor' book Barnabus Collins in a Funny Vein and was uploading a pic of the book when my fuckin' computer froze up on me and I lost the whole post.

Goddammit, I hate that! It was pretty funny, too. Yup, it was the kind of post that would have put my readers (both of them) in a pleasant mood, perhaps wipe away those tears of anguish for a little while. Well, it's fucked now. Thanks a lot!

It's like when you're talking to a nice-looking young lady, having a pleasant conversation, and you're about to ask for her phone number, when all of a sudden, she casually mentions her boyfriend. Just like that - it's like she's stickin' a slim, sharp blade into your stomach, oh, haha, that's funny, well as my boyfriend was saying the other day...

That's how your computer is. You get all comfortable with it and then it sticks that blade in ya, man. Goddamn girls. I mean, computers.

Lamb & Lynx - call me! (I'm white)

2006-07-11T17:25:00.000-03:00

I'm going to take a chance on isolating my loyal readers (both of them - hi Mom, hi Aunty Sue) and admit that I have a powerful and relentless crush on those two sirens of white supremacy, Lamb & Lynx Gaede of Prussian Blue.

Sure, they're underage; sure, they're a couple of unrepentant racists. But look at 'em - rowrrrr! I'm sorry, but if I'd locked eyes on these little Aryan goddesses when I was their age, I would have had my first heart attack much sooner than I did. They're freakin' gorgeous, and if this were a more fair world I would be able to take them both home with me for snugglin' and hot chocolate. Hey, one more reason to vote Libertarian.

Prussian Blue is basically the two girls singing white supremacy hymns and accompanying themselves on guitar and violin. I think their mom used to be part of the act but as soon as puberty kicked in for these two, the old lady was pushed out of the picture (and rightly so). Sure, they're hated for their racists views. But in the modern world, I think super-cute racists with braces should be treated differently. Maybe we shouldn't be so quick to judge racists; maybe we should try to put ourselves in their shoes before we throw that first stone. I think it was Jesus who said, "Hey, Lamb & Lynx, cool names, dude."

All I'm sayin' is, girls, call me when you turn eighteen. Wait, what state are they from? Seventeen. We can set up some kind of internet promotion deal or something. Seriously.

"i likes 'em slant-eyed & hairy."

2006-07-10T21:14:00.000-03:00

One of the things I need to do is sit down and watch all of the DVD's I have piled up on top of my TV. Some of them are Japanese, samurai and monster epics mostly. I spend so much goldurn time on the Internet that I can't get any good movie-watchin' done.

It's a dog's life. Pity me!

Ambushed by a Beaver

2006-07-09T19:50:00.000-03:00

What the hell is this - 'The Leave It To Beaver Ambush Game'? ??!!

So apparently one plays the role of little Jerry Mathers as the Beaver, and you have to navigate your way around some unshaven bank robbers and hoboes to make your way to the bank, where you presumably make a deposit. I guess Ward & June trusted you enough to take the night's withdrawals to the bank, thereby saving them the trip.

Uh... what were they smoking when they made this game? Did they already have a Western game theme but got the license to do Leave it to Beaver merchandise, so they just decided to combine the two? Were they smoking peyote?

I think it would make a great drinking game. Take one drink for every time Beaver says, "Gee, Wally!", two drinks for every time Eddie Haskell acts oily, three drinks for every time Hugh Beaumont mutters, "Goddammit, I'd like to smack that little bastard."

Gorilla My Dreams

2006-07-07T08:21:00.000-03:00

The news websites are talking right now about another one of those silly 'scientific' studies where some people are shown a clip of a basketball game during which a person in a gorilla costume walks into the frame for several seconds; the point of the study is to show that people's attention spans are limited, because they tend to focus on the game and never notice the gorilla.

In this variation, some of the test subjects were drunk, and of course they didn't do as well in Monkey Spotting as the more sober control subjects. (Never mind that most basketball games usually have some idiot walking around in a gorilla suit anyway, usually doing flips off a little trampoline to dunk a ball.)

Since I hate sports, I'm sure I would have welcomed a gorilla walking into the frame.

Maybe they should try the study again, this time with a topless woman.

Confession: I drove drunk the other night and plowed right into a macaque walking in the road ahead of me. I didn't call the police or an ambulance or anything, but drove straight home. Was that wrong? (PS: I'm working on a screenplay called I Know What Gorilla You Ran Over Last Summer II: Jennifer Love Hewitt's Luscious Breasts Return

2006-07-06T10:22:00.000-03:00

Awesome new website: http://www.pop-cult.com

Marilyn Ross and other imaginary people I haven't met

2006-07-05T19:55:00.000-03:00

I've been reading a couple of the old Dark Shadows novels and they're pretty good - old-school Gothic mystery type things. I remember vaguely the early-70's Gothic craze, post-DS, that launched thousands of paperback covers and dozens of comic and magazine covers, all showing a young woman in a nightgown running away from a storm-swept Victorian mansion, looking back in distress. That Gothic craze isn't quite the same as the modern one - I'm talking about the kids dressed all in black and wearing eyeliner.

Dark Shadows was part of, and maybe the impetus for, that Gothic revival. I was really too young to see the show the first time around, and just barely remember it in reruns on summer afternoons in syndication, but I am catching up right now thanks to the DVD series and I must say I'm really enjoying it. I'm in the fifth collection now; Angelique has been introduced recently, the episodes are in color, and the setting of the current storyline is the late 18th century. Frankly, I prefer the present-era (i.e., circa 1967) shows; the back-in-time thing is all right, I guess, but I like the contemporary feel of the series from when it evoked the late 1960's (even though much of the action took place in an old mansion that wasn't often seen by the outside world).

As a kid I always wanted to own an enormous, probably-haunted old mansion with plenty of hidden rooms and passageways, a scandalous history, etc. (too much Ghost and Mr. Chicken viewing in my youth, forsooth). Well, I haven't changed - I still want to live in one. And if I ever get rich, by God I will.

Anyway, I love Dark Shadows and am really enjoying watching Barnabus's antics. The novels have been fun, even though they don't quite take place in the proper DS continuity: for example, there's another Collins family member, a violin player whom Victoria falls in love with; the main house is referred to as Collins House rather than Collinwood; etc. But, who cares. They're a cool quick read.

Pictured above is another Gothic mystery by the author of the Dark Shadows novels, called 'Marilyn Ross.' That's just a nom de plume, of course; the person was a man (his name escapes me and I'm too lazy to go look it up.).

Also pictured is a novel based on a Canadian TV show called 'Strange Paradise.' I've been trying to find more info on this DS-clone, but there seems little to be had. Anyone have info or anything - especially video - please let me know; I'd love to see it.

Speaking of Dark Shadows continuity, what the hell happened to Buzz, Caroline's biker boyfriend whom she was marrying to spite her mother? He disappeared right after Elizabeth told the truth and refused to marry Jason McGwire. Not that that was unexpected, but they just dropped him without any explanation.

Now, if I had been around in 1967, I'd go after Carolyn in a heartbeat. Rowrr.

Mondo mondo

2006-07-04T12:19:00.000-03:00

Okay, I barely know what I'm doing with this so I'm just going to post some basic links and crap to start out with.

Mondodaddykin - a neat place to find info (as well as sound files!) on old, pop-culture, kitschy record albums like the superhero things that came out in the 70's and albums ostensibly put out by cartoon characters.

StarWarsCards.Net - a page devoted to the original series of Topps Star Wars cards from 1977. I used to have roughly eight billion of those cards. Give or take.

TokyoMonsters.Com - the ultimate kaiju resource.

Comic-Covers.Com - a poopload of awesome comic book covers from when comics were still ultra-cool.