Xenorama #62

 

This is the last issue of 2023.  I quite enjoyed all the "research" I had to do for it  All the original appearances of PATB are in here, plus the episodes from the sequel series of Animaniacs as well.  It is in full color and we are quite happy about the way it came out.  It is a good sized issue, almost 80 pages.  It also features the very first ever letter to the editor.  From what I can tell, it came all the way from Japan!  I can hardly believe it took this long- well over 30 years, to actually get a fan letter to the zine itself.

Jonny Quest vs. the Cyber Insects (1995)

 

    The Earth is going through climate manipulation, with all kinds of calamities happening all across the globe. The Quest team is assigned to find out what is going on. This leads them to discover that Dr. Zin is planning to conquer the world with his cyber insects.
    This is now called the “last classic Quest movie” since the next iteration changed things up a bit. It was the last time Don Messick voiced Dr. Quest and Bandit. Tim Matheson, the original voice of Jonny, also is present, bringing 4-Dac to life.

Jonny Quest vs. The Cyber Insects TNT Promo

                 

Gigantor part One- 1-26

I can hardly believe I have owned both of these sets for over twenty years.  I got them over Yule back in 2002, I believe.  I remember because it was cold.  I mean, really cold.  Of course, I had just moved back to Colorado from San Diego, so that might also have been part of it.  I have watched both sets through at least once, and several episodes on Amazon a time or two.  Since there will be an issue dedicated to Gigantor published next year, I have been rewatching these original sets, which are truly great.  There are two sets, so all 52 episodes are present.  They look great as well, almost too good for the clarity of DVD.

HOTW- Spy Smasher

 From Wiki- Similar to Batman and the Blue Beetle (Ted Kord), Spy Smasher (secretly the "wealthy Virginia sportsman"^[1] Alan Armstrong) is a master detective, equipped with a number of gadgets and a specialized vehicle, the "Gyrosub", which was a combination of an airplane, an automobile, and a submarine. Created by Bill Parker and C. C. Beck, Spy Smasher was introduced in Whiz Comics #2 (February 1940).^[2] Alongside Captain Marvel, Spy Smasher became one of the magazine's most popular characters.  After the war he renamed himself Crime Smasher, but that isn't nearly as cool as his original name. 

THE WAITRESSES - CHRISTMAS WRAPPING (1982, FULL VERSION)

           

Calvin Monday 12-24-1987

 

Find me one kid at that age that did not go through this on Yuletide Eve.  Usually after getting yelled at by our parents for going bananas due to all the stress of waiting.  I don't ever recall Santa using such colorful metaphors at all, though.  Of course, we went to bed at 7 PM at that age, is it any wonder we were up at 5 AM Christmas Day?  And we were good kids!

Sven- The Black Cat (1941)

 

From Wiki- The Black Cat is a 1941 American comedy horror and mystery film directed by Albert S. Rogell and starring Basil Rathbone. The film was a hybrid of style: being inspired by comedy "Old Dark House" films of the era as well as the 1843 short story "The Black Cat" by Edgar Allan Poe. It stars Basil Rathbone as Montague Hartley, the head of a greedy family who await the death of Henrietta Winslow (played by Cecilia Loftus) so that they can inherit her fortune. When she is found murdered, an investigation begins into who might be the culprit. Alongside Rathbone and Loftus, the film's cast includes Hugh Herbert, Broderick Crawford, and Bela Lugosi.

The Moon Tower

This is one amazing set of toys.  Had I been old enough to see it, I sure would have wanted it.  I had the Little Big Book featuring Matt Mason, so I knew the character, but by the early seventies the Major had been retired.  Trying to find them from friends with older kids was not that easy, as the toys tended to break during play.  Which is what they were supposed to do.  Be played with.  My mother did find my the alien friend of Matt Mason, but being a dumb kid, I was rather disappointed and did not play with him as much as I should have.  Dumb kid!  Scorpio was quite cool, too, and I could have used him in the 8mm movies I was making.

The Black Cat (1941) - Official Trailer

            

Happy Solstice!

 

Kaida and Xenorama wish all readers a happy Solstice today!  She is shown here hiding under the Yule tree.  I think she was actually just supervising me while I was working, but one just never knows with cats, do they?  She is much better at hiding when she is not trying, as when she thinks she is invisible her tail is always visible.

HOTW- Kenpachiro Satsuma

 

Born in Kagoshima Prefecture, Satsuma began his acting career in the 1960s with small roles in samurai films. In 1971 he was offered the role of the smog monster antagonist Hedorah in Godzilla vs. Hedorah, opposite Haruo Nakajima as Godzilla. He went on to play Gigan in two further Godzilla films. When Nakajima retired from the Godzilla role in 1972, substitutes were hired between 1973 and 1975 until Satsuma took over permanently in 1984.^[4] His portrayal took the character away from the humor of the character's portrayals over the past decades, returning to the more animalistic Godzilla persona of the original 1954 film.

Ramones - I Wanna Be Sedated (Official Music Video)

             

Calvin Monday (12-16-92)

I understand both sides here, as I quite enjoy novelty songs.  However, one cannot hear them constantly.  'Tis the reason I don't enjoy Xmas songs when they start playing them in early November.  Not that the songs are bad, it is too early and too much.  So I get why Calvin's mom booted him outside.  So hard his hat came off!  I wonder if she was an athlete in college.  Especially since she didn't injure him.  Where is Hobbes, though?  I am quite sure he joined Calvin outside shortly.

Sven- The Night Walker

From Wiki- Irene Trent is unhappily married to a blind, pathologically possessive millionaire inventor, Howard. Howard and Irene's palatial mansion is packed with an assortment of cuckoo clocks, all in perfect synchronization, and Howard tape records all conversations in the house, hoping to catch Irene plotting an illicit liaison. Irene lives in a constant state of dread due to Howard's jealousy. Irene remains faithful to Howard, but not by choice; he never lets her leave the house and entertains no guests except his attorney, Barry Morland. Howard spends most of his time working in his upstairs laboratory on a variety of projects, the nature of which he refuses to divulge to anyone, while Irene indulges her yearnings for an extramarital affair with recurrent dreams of a fantasy lover.

Silver Age Teen Titans vol. One

The early adventures of the teenage sidekicks are presented here.  This book contains the first fourteen stories, from the Brave and the Bold, Showcase and the first eleven issues of the Teen Titans proper.  Wonder Girl is missing from the first story, then she just appears in the second one.  The art is great, and the stories are pretty imaginative.  The Titans don't look much older than the mid-teens at this point.  They constantly refer to their peers as "kids" which makes me laugh.  There is a lot of "adult vs. kids" stories in the first part, and Batman, Aquaman, Flash and Wonder Woman come across as pretty out of touch with teens.  Considering who DC's main readers were at this point in time, that is an odd choice to make.

The Night Walker (1964) - Official Trailer

Mystery, Inc in Xenorama (next year)

 

I have written about this magnificent series already, but am working on an issue dedicated to the series.  It has been fun so far, and I am also looking forward to watching the series for the third time. I am sure I will see even more fun stuff I have missed before.  I hope I remember to take notes as well, though the wiki pages on the series have tons of things in them.  But I want to be able to read them if and when I want to, rather than googling the info.  Sue me, I am old school.  Or just old, take your pick.

HOTW- Hawkman (Golden Age)

From Wiki- In the days of ancient Egypt, Prince Khufu was engaged in a feud with his rival, the Hungarian priest Hath-Set, who captured Khufu and his consort Chay-Ara, and killed them. In 1940, Khufu reincarnates as American archaeologist Carter Hall, and Chay-Ara as Shiera Sanders. He would later become a charter member of the JSA.  Carter would return to action in the 60s as well, before his Earth 1 counterpart would become a member of the JLA.  There has been a lot of retconning for all the Hawks that exist in DC Comics, and most of them have been super lame.

Put One Foot in Front of the Other - Santa Claus is Coming to Town

                     

Calvin and Hobbes Monday July 17, 1087

Curse of the Aztec Mummy

Dr. Krupp, alias The Bat, is back at it.  He wants the Aztec treasure, which is guarded by Popoca, the Aztec mummy.  Much like Kharis, he was cursed to do so.  In the previous movie, Krupp had been foiled by a Dr. Almada.  His girlfriend/fiancee Flor was a new incarnation of Xochitl, the Aztec princess that loved Popoca.  See where this is going?  Krupp is in prison, but his thugs bust him out, see?  The formerly unknown Angel shows up to help out, but nothing the humans do compares to the vengeance of Popoca, who eventually tosses Krupp into a pit of vipers.

Shin Tetsujin/New Gigantor

 

This show premiered in Japan in 1981, and about 1992 in the US, on the new Sci-Fi Channel.  It had also been dubbed into Spanish sometime in between those years, as I saw it that way in San Diego on a station out of Mexico.  It was a good choice by Fred Ladd to bring this show out, though it is presented as a sequel rather than a remake.  Naturally they softened a lot of the violence, though since the cartoon was on cable at 6 AM, it wasn't that important like it would have been in the 80s.  And Fred kept the fantastic theme song from the 60s.

Hey There, It's Yogi Bear! (1964)

From Wiki- Boo-Boo Bear wakes up from winter hibernation, excited about the new Spring. Then Yogi Bear wakes up, his only interest finding some food to eat. Cindy Bear unsuccessfully tries to woo Yogi. After Ranger Smith thwarts Yogi's latest attempts to grab some food, Yogi gets angry and convinces the Ranger to transfer him out of Jellystone National Park. Smith prepares Yogi to be sent over to the San Diego Zoo along with an identification tag. Yogi first says goodbye to everything, but tricks another bear named Corn Pone into going to California instead of him and Boo-Boo and Cindy remain unaware of this, thinking Yogi has departed for good. This leads to Cindy getting sent to St. Louis.  Yogi and Boo Boo head out to rescue her.

"Hey There It's Yogi Bear" [Movie Promo, 16mm film]

            

Legend of the Lost (1957)

 

From Wiki- In Timbuktu, experienced guide Joe January (John Wayne) reluctantly joins a Saharan treasure hunting expedition led by Paul Bonnard (Rossano Brazzi), a man obsessed with confirming his dead father's claim to have found a lost city. Dita (Sophia Loren), a woman of dubious reputation, becomes infatuated with Paul and his willingness to overlook her past. She invites herself along, despite Joe's protests. During the tough, dry ordeal, Joe and Dita become attracted to each other, raising tensions.  Things naturally go south when they find the place.

HOTW- 8th Man

 

When Special Agent Brady is gunned down by the crook Saucerlip and his gang, Professor Genius brings him back to life.  He transfers Brady's brainwaves into an awesome robot body.  He can run at impossible speeds, change his appearance at will and is nearly indestructible.    He assumes the identity of Detective Tobor and offers his assistance to Police Chief Fumblethumbs.  Fumble is the only other person to know that Tobor is 8th Man.  They have a lot of adventures together, battling the Black Butterfly Gang, Intercrime and mostly, Dr. Spectra.

SILENZIUM - I Was Made For Lovin' You (Kiss cover)

 

Calvin and Hobbes 06-23-1992

Calvin is an artiste, or so he would have everyone believe.  He also shares his things on occasion.  At least with his best pal Hobbes.  He now has a supply of really messy clay to create with, and asks Hobbes if he wants to make something as well.  Hobbes wants a smock.  Smocks are very helpful to keep both clothes and fur clean, to a degree.

Happy 8th Birthday, Emerald Sage!

 

Today is Emi's 8th birthday.  She's been with us for five years now and is the Queen of the house.  She has slowed down a bit now, but does get a lot of exercise chasing (and being chased) by Kaida.  She is still quite the love and has the loudest purr of any cat that has been in my life.  She is in the tree ring for the Yule Tree.

Sven- Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933)

From Wiki- In London in 1921, sculptor Ivan Igor operates a wax museum that is in financial trouble. One night, he gives a private tour to a friend, Dr. Rasmussen, and an art critic, Mr. Galatalin, showing them statues of Joan of Arc, Voltaire, and his favorite, Marie Antoinette. Impressed, Galatalin offers to submit Igor's work to the Royal Academy after he returns from a trip to Egypt. He and Rasmussen then leave. Igor's partner, Joe Worth, who is frustrated Igor will not create macabre exhibits like those that draw crowds to their competitors, proposes they burn their museum down to collect a £10,000 insurance policy. Though Igor refuses to consider this, Worth starts a fire, and the men fight while the wax masterworks melt.  Twelve years later in New York something is stealing bodies from the morgues.  Intrepid reporter Florence is on the case.

Streams Of Whiskey - The Pogues, 1987

Mystery Of The Wax Museum Trailer 1933