A Martian's Christmas with the Kents

should probably save this for next month, but I'm enjoying J'onn in the early JLA comics and wanted to showcase some of his time in the cartoon. this is one of the best stories they did in the second season. lots of great touches here, from seeing Streaky to the Charlie Brown homage sweater. and J'onn eating Oreos for the first time.

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home is probably my favorite of the movies.  it's funny, endearing, has a message and features the entire cast in some great scenes.  the effects are well done.  man I miss actual miniatures (including the whales, of all things).  the opening title card is also pure class.

Baron Von Raschke vs Buddy Roberts

heard today that former Fabulous Freebird Buddy Roberts passed away. he was the oldest member of the team, and the one that usually took the falls to save the heat for Michael and Bam Bam. he was the weaselly one that you always wanted to see get beat up the most.

Doom Patrol #122

this is the first Doom Patrol comic book I ever bought.  I didn't know at the time it was a reprint.  it showed a team of heroes I had never seen before battling a villain who was part dinosaur.  that was just too much for my 7 year old brain, and I bought the issue in a second.  I went home and read it for the rest of the afternoon.

being a new fan, I didn't quite get the dialog about Rita making them some new outfits, as I hadn't seen the original ones.  nor did I notice the similarities to the Fantastic Four- the genius leader who is rarely seen (the Chief), the girl who can change her size (Elasti-girl), the man who can fly at astounding speeds and is made of energy (Negative Man) and the grumpy strongman (Robotman).  some fans see the similarities to the original X-men, which are also there, but I see far more similarities to the FF.

Bruce and Diana dance together

this is from the second season JLA episode "Maid of Honor". Bruce Wayne meets Princess Diana of Themyscira for the first time (ha!) and saves her from paparazzi by asking her to dance. this goes better for either of them than they would have thought.

Kookie Batman

There are just some things Batman shouldn't say. Frank Miller showed us this recently, but in the second JLA story Gardner Fox did as well.  I understand that it was hip to say back then, but it's a dopey word no matter who says it.  did Snapper have such a big influence on Batman, or perhaps the word bubble is coming from the wrong person?

Lisa Haley - Don't You Tell Your Mother

I've had the pleasure of meeting Lisa Haley and seeing her perform, she and her band are really great. had I known that I could play a violin like this I might not have given it up oh so many years ago. of course, she has a great voice as well, so that might have hindered me a bit.

JLA: The Savage Time (24, 25, 26)

returning from a mission in space, six of the JLA- Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, The Flash, Superman and Wonder Woman are saved from a temporal blast that leaves them outside a transformed Earth.  though why there wouldn't have been counterparts to them is beyond me, since Bruce has one.

The Double Riders Return!

after watching The First and The Next, I thought it would be nice to see some of the original Riders in action again. so I found this bit of excitement and drama from the second series, Kamen Rider V3. it's with Baron Fang, and he's finally got V3 where he wants him. he's planned it all out perfectly...

Kamen Rider The First (2005)

I really want to like this movie more than I do.  it's got a lot going for it, some great action, not too much "bullet time" crap (I'm so over seeing slow motion spin around punches, kicks, etc) and a good cast with a decent story.  the music is OK, but when you open with the first minute of "Let's Go! Rider Kick!" which is an awesome song, it's gonna be hard to top that. 

it's only 90 minutes long which also helps a lot.  most superhero movies should only be about that long, otherwise they tend to dip into pretentious posturing about how important they are.  or have far too many fake out endings (I'm over those as well).

the Three Stooges create Thanksgiving

in a round about way, actually. gotta love "old time" talk and muzzle loaders. which probably fired exactly like these did most of the time anyway. usually everyone posts the clip from "An Ache in Every Stake" which is funny, but overused. so I chose this today, to honor this tradition.

Dino-humor

I wonder which way I'd be motivated to run...

1960s Superheroes Themes

three of my favorites and one really good one. I never saw the Captain America cartoon as a kid, or it would probably have a similar effect on me like the last three. those I love completely.

Avengers #40

"Suddenly...the Sub-Mariner!"

Roy Thomas writer
Don Heck penciler 
George Bell inker 
Sam Rosen letterer    

essentially, Namor finds the Cosmic Cube and figures out how to use it, and the Avengers, plus Hercules have to stop him.  I believe this is historic for the being the first time Hercules and Namor have met.  I have to believe that Herc would have mopped the floor with the Sub-Mariner.  It would have been cool if Herc had dropped the fact that he is on a first name basis with Poseidon/Neptune, since that's someone that Namor has met in the past as well.

The Rainmakers - "Downstream"

one of my favorite bands from the 80s- I had their first three albums which I really enjoyed. the music was good and the lyrics were funny, fascinating and somewhat controversial, depending on the song. the band was from Kansas City, MO, and still are, from what I can tell.

superhero comics in The Watchmen

remember The Watchmen? 

yeah, most of us do.  it was all groundbreaking and beautiful and how superheroes would actually be in the "real" world.  to a certain degree, anyway.  it sure was big news back in the day.  it's still a pretty good work of fiction, though it's legacy has been diluted to many comics trying to achieve the same thing with known characters who were not designed to be in any kind of adult situation likes these characters were.  the majority of famous comic book characters were designed for kids, not adults or cynical, stunted semi-adults who want everything to be dark, gritty and realistic.

and fie upon that sort of thinking- it's why I don't read new comics these days.  that's not why I'm writing this though.

Thomas Dolby - Europa And The Pirate Twins

in a fair world, this song would have been a far bigger hit than "She Blinded me With Science" (as good as that song actually is). it's an amazing piece of video as well, imaginative and goes well with the song. I saw and heard this all at once back on "FM-TV" on Channel 12. you just never knew what you would see or hear back then.

Android Kikaider manga

as has been noted here, Kikaida is one of my favorite heroes and one of my favorite live actions shows.  it's really good.  I enjoy the sequel quite a bit as well, since it's action packed and has one of the best closing songs ever. 

just click the tags to see what I've written on this blog.

The Wayne's World Band - Pain Cave

back in 1992, when eMpTV used to show stuff about music, you know, videos and such, they had a special about the first Wayne's World movie. this clip is from that show, a song Garth wrote. he has issues.

Ultraman 25: The Dreaded Comet Tsuiphon

comet 24 is on a collision course with the Earth! well, only for about 2 minutes, then it will only come within 22,000 miles of our planet.  there's a lot of concern though, especially once it's remembered that there are six hydrogen bombs that were lost and might explode due to the intense radiation from the comet.

Awesome Forces by the Aquabats

well, the song is by the Aquabats. the video is by fans. just watch, it's great. just like the song. I wonder if the band has seen it.

Frankenstein, Jr.: The Menace of the Heartless Monster (BLB #16)

I had this book when I was a kid, probably got it when I couldn't quite understand the concept of the book.  not that it's incredibly esoteric or anything, but by the time I got old enough to actually read the darn thing it had started disintegrating- covers gone, pages missing (what do you want for a $.39 book, after all?).  I'd love to get another copy of it, as Franky, Jr is a favorite of mine now.  wonder why they never did an Impossibles book.  it's hard to find information on these books if you don't actually own one.  the books are almost 300 pages, though half of them are drawings, so it's not that long a story.

Attack of the Crab Monsters (1957)

once more, here is the trailer to Attack of the Crab Monsters. what a fun movie. and it's pretty effective. so much so that by the time the monsters show up you can accept it fairly easily. it's atmospheric and nicely acted.

30 years of the Young Ones!

I think I discovered this great show in about 1985 or so, a few years after it had aired in the UK. MTV showed all 12 episodes uncut, and with no commercial interruptions at all. how about that? the channel used to rock. anyway, by that time most of the group had moved on to other things, but "Neil" showed up to be a VJ, I think. I thought today was the 30 anniversary of the show, but Wiki says it's the 9th of November. not that it really matters!

Avengers 39

"The Torment...and the Triumph!"

Writer- Roy Thomas
Artist- Don Heck
Inker- George Bell
Letterer- Artie Simek
Dog Catcher- Irv Forbush

the story opens with the Avengers reading the news about the Black Widow being a traitor.  for a change, none of them really believe it, not even Goliath.  Hawkeye cuts out to do some moping, and them some detective work.  and promptly gets captured by The Mad Thinker and his Triumvirate of Terror, who I thought originally were the Wrecking Crew, but apparently this has been their only appearance.  the Thinker is still annoyed by his defeats and wants revenge on the Avengers.  he also wants all of the secrets Tony Stark has in the Avengers Mansion.

Brad Armstrong vs. Tim Horner

I saw this angle unfold as it happened in early 1984. it was part of a tournament to face World Champion Ric Flair in Baltimore. Jack Brisco had already advanced, and Tim Horner had beaten Hawk with a clean pin (yeah, the Roadies never put anyone over). of course this ties in with this angle as well...

Avengers #38

yet another great Gil Kane cover...

"In Our Midst...An Immortal!"

Writer: Roy Thomas
Artist: Don Heck
Inker: George Bell
Letterer: Artie Simek


we've added inker credits now on the inside.

we open with Hank and Hawk renewing their quarrel about Natasha becoming an Avenger.  Cap and Pietro intervene, and they start their meeting... without the Black Widow being there.  where is she?  well, she gets kidnapped by S.H.I.E.L.D. and asked to become a double agent.  not exactly the way I would have gone about it, but it's an exciting sequence.