Creem- America's ONLY Rock 'n Roll magazine

 

This was the first magazine I ever purchased about music.  I knew of Rolling Stone, of course, and had read some reprints of articles from that fine zine, but had never thought to buy one.  I had seen this magazine in the local newstand, but again, never wanted to own one.    That changed after I saw the Plasmatics perform on the mostly not very good Fridays variety show on ABC.  This was aired in December 1980, but I saw it in march of 1981. Say what you want about the "comedy" of the show, they really featured some outstanding musical acts for the scant three seasons it was on.  I wanted to learn more about this band that used chainsaws in their presentation.

This is only a test

 

I want to see if I can post back in time!

WandaVision 8- Previously On

 

And there will be spoilers.  Agatha is shown to be an actual witch, though she might also be a mutant.  This episode is mostly flashbacks, but they show us things we didn't know.  We get flashbacks seeing Wanda's family before they get killed, how Wanda and Vision bonded, how she got exposed to the Infinity Stone which brought out her latent magic and even more.  Also, the director of SWORD is a lying jerk, just sayin.  And if all this magic is going on, why hasn't the Sorcerer Supreme been alerted?    He knew exactly where Odin was without trying hard.

MOTW- Martian crabs

 

When the puppet boy Pinocchio visited Mars with Twertle, they discovered a devastated civilization.  While the Martians were absent, their creations were still there.  The first creatures that showed up were these giant Martian crabs.  They have absconded with Twertle's spaceship, thinking perhaps it is food.  After they get away from these crustaceans, they find a deserted city, which also has many other styles of monsters.

Dinosaur Playsets 2021

 

As soon as I saw this advertised in The Prehistoric Times I knew that I would be getting it.  Getting my first playset after eating all that awful cereal was worth it.  I now had caves and cavepeople for my dinosaurs to roam around in and snack on, respectively.  I had no idea, of course, about the history of these toys, I just knew I liked them.  I got another set later on, for Christmas, but it was slightly different.  Naturally, these have long since disappeared from my collection.  Who knew they would become so collectable?

GI Joe vs Octopus

 

I was never much into GI Joe, in either incarnation.  The dolls were too big and I had already discovered Mego dolls.  I wanted superheroes, and Joe was just not it for me.  I liked the concept, though.  I did have one doll, and the "Eight Arms of Danger" set.  I wanted the octopus far more than anything else, and I played with it a lot.  I had quite an octopus collection, actually, and those were not easy to come by back in the early 70s.  But I digress. 

Worked on me!

 

Sometimes you have to suffer in order to get something you want.  Boy howdy, I sure did.  This cereal was terrible, but I had to get dinosaur figures.  I still have a few of them, but many got lost to time.  The best part of eating this awful stuff was that after collecting a thousand or so box tops (stay away from them, Boris!) I got the play set for free.  In those days, they would tell you it took 4-6 weeks, and for a 5-6 year old, that might as well have been an eternity.  It did arrive eventually.  I was walking home from school, and somehow, I could tell something exciting was happening.  My younger brother, who hadn't started school, was too excited.  He had issues keeping secrets, so that was one tell.

WandaVision 7- Breaking the Fourth Wall

 

IN which we join the lame "reality TV" of having characters talk to an interviewer while the episode is going on.  This of course is done really well, as both the Vision and Wanda start to figure things out.  Monica has now gained her Photon powers, even if she is unaware of it.  Dr Darcy is wonderful, and she and Agent Woo could have their own series.  She fills the Vision in on what happened to him with Thanos, and we get to hear flashbacks from some of the movies.  Then we get a new reveal of who Agnes actually is...

cute MOTW- Minya

 

Minya is the son of Godzilla.  It's never explained exactly how this happened, or even if they are the same species.  They do seem to be, since Minya has the same, if less powerful, atomic breath that Godzilla has as well as the back spines.  He's not nearly as angry as Godzilla, nor as brave, but he's just a baby.  He does have a pretty intense growth spurt right away, but then it slows down for at least 30 years.  He's the same size in 1999 as he was in 1967.  He might just be a mini-zilla, as his Japanese name implies.

satisfaction

The version I love most Satisfaction!

Land of the Lost (1974)

 

I remember seeing the previews for this show in the summer of 1974.  They always featured the dinosaurs, and that was enough to get me to watch it when it debuted on September 7, 1974.  It was on NBC, opposite Valley of the Dinosaurs on CBS.  That was a tough call, but Land won, at least until the reruns started.  It was a pretty easy choice, overall.  I really enjoy Valley, but it sure doesn't have the pedigree that Land does.

WandaVision 6- All New Halloween Spooktacular

 

Wanda and Vision have now moved into the 90s, as evidenced by the new power pop theme song.  The twins are also breaking the fourth wall and talking to the audience, something Malcolm in the Middle did (at least for a season, I lost track of it eventually as the kids got older and less cute).  The cast has a new addition, though it's not a younger sibling.  Instead, it's Wanda's long thought dead twin, Peitro Maximoff, though not exactly the same one that was killed.  This one has been an X-man.  Dun DUN DUNN!  The twins love their uncle.  Vision and Wanda are now not fighting, but pretending nothing is wrong.  And it's Halloween.  It's not quite as magical as Tahiti, but you know something will happen tonight.

Earth X... casualties?

  In the classic JLA/JSA/Freedom Fighters first team up,  we learn from Uncle Sam that many of his comrades had perished in the ongoing battle against the feckin' Nazis.  This implies that the Blackhawks and Plastic Man had perished.  Of course, the 'hawks had been bought by DC and published through the 60s, even getting a superhero upgrade at one point, and Plastic Man had shown up here and there in various series as well.

bloody MOTW- the Naschy Werewolf

 

Pity poor Waldemar Daninsky.  He was bitten by a werewolf in 1968, and then killed in 11 (possibly) 12 more movies.  As we all know, there is only one way to kill a werewolf.  He traveled all over Europe, and even to Japan.  His origins changed from movie to movie, though, but he was the constant.  He was a tortured soul, only wanting to not kill anyone.  In many of his movies, he became the de facto hero opposing, even if accidentally, a worse menace.

A Very Special Episode... WandaVision 5

 

I am going to try to make at least this part before the jump spoiler free.  That seems like it should be easy enough, though I really wanted to use a different cover.  Maybe next week!

 Wanda confronts SWORD after they send an armed drone into her town.  She knows what is going on now, as does the Vision, at least for now.  The twins are growing like weeds.  The director of SWORD is no Nick Fury, I'll tell you what.  The nerdy woman from two of the Thor movies is here, and has been.  I just realized that is where she came from originally.  And Monica Rambeau does not want to talk about Carol Danvers Ms Marvel/Binary/War Bird Captain Marvel at all.  I'm thinking there is some resentment there for her being in space, or possibly causing her mother to get cancer.  I have informed you thusly.

There will be spoilers now.

MOTW- Rhedosaurus

 

The Rhedosaurus was the first ancient creature that was revived by an atomic explosion.  The poor creature was doomed by radiation poisoning even before it was killed by a sharp shooter and burned to death in the ruins of a roller coaster.  I know back then the monsters were considered to be a menace to be stopped, but early on I was feeling sorry for the giant beasts, and even the man sized ones.  Usually they were "monsters" through no fault of their own, that always sucked.

a Wild Wild Book

 

I got this a couple years ago, I think.  I then had to purchase the entire series on DVD so I could watch while I read the book.  It's been worth it, as this book just adds to the excellence that is the series.  I had the first season on DVD several years ago, when it first came out, but since the whole run is available for about half the price, I jumped on that deal.  I got both book and DVD set on Amazon.

You've got another THINK coming!

 

Hattori Hanpei, losing an argument with his car.  Again.