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.
Sunday, December 31, 2023
Saturday, December 30, 2023
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.
Friday, December 29, 2023
Thursday, December 28, 2023
Gigantor part One- 1-26
Wednesday, December 27, 2023
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.
Tuesday, December 26, 2023
Monday, December 25, 2023
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!
Sunday, December 24, 2023
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.
Saturday, December 23, 2023
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.
Friday, December 22, 2023
Thursday, December 21, 2023
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.
Wednesday, December 20, 2023
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.
Tuesday, December 19, 2023
Monday, December 18, 2023
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.
Sunday, December 17, 2023
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.
Saturday, December 16, 2023
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.
Friday, December 15, 2023
Thursday, December 14, 2023
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.
Wednesday, December 13, 2023
HOTW- Hawkman (Golden Age)
Tuesday, December 12, 2023
Monday, December 11, 2023
Curse of the Aztec Mummy
Sunday, December 10, 2023
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.
Saturday, December 9, 2023
Hey There, It's Yogi Bear! (1964)
Friday, December 8, 2023
Thursday, December 7, 2023
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.
Wednesday, December 6, 2023
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.
Tuesday, December 5, 2023
Monday, December 4, 2023
Calvin and Hobbes 06-23-1992
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.
Sunday, December 3, 2023
Sven- Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933)
Saturday, December 2, 2023
Friday, December 1, 2023
Thursday, November 30, 2023
Hot Seat
Some enterprising fans have been recreating the English versions of 8th Man, using the audio from extant episodes with the Japanese versions from the new DVD sets. They look amazing, and they sound pretty great, considering the source. They have done quite a few of the episodes already. Some of the missing ones have been subtitled as well. It is rather startling to see the difference- this series might not have looked this good when it debuted in syndication in the US in the mid '60s.
Wednesday, November 29, 2023
HOTW- The Whizzer (40s)
Tuesday, November 28, 2023
Monday, November 27, 2023
Calvin and Hobbes 12-20-88
Sometimes I think my parents had the same idea, Calvin. Apparently Calvin's father is based on Watterson's own father. Riding his bike in the freezing weather, eating plain oatmeal with prunes are all taken from his father. I will have to research if Calvin's mother was based on Bill's mom as well. I really need to get Hobbes in here at some point in time. I mean, his name is in the title of the new Monday feature. Currently it is 12° F at the moment, which is what made me think of this particular strip.
Sunday, November 26, 2023
the Seaview
The Seaview was a nuclear submarine created by Admiral Harriman Nelson (USN-Ret). He was a scientific and engineering genius. He first saves the Van Allen Radiation belt so the Earth will not fry, and then later on takes on spies, aliens and all kinds of menaces. He had admirable help from Captain Lee Crane as his commanding officer. They have a great crew but a rather high mortality rate from them, like all shows of that era did. They didn't even wear red shirts! There were all kinds of monsters to battle as well, including toy robots.
Saturday, November 25, 2023
Brain Monster Noman
Spectreman is a great show, This last third of the series has definitely been influenced by Kamen Rider, since the action quotient has been kicked up a notch. I mean, the human action. The villains have more hench-beings as well. I thought that Megaloman was the show that did this first, but Spectreman is had the fighting group with the giant hero first. Kudos! The action isn't always paced properly, as one episode had a really long fight scene with no breaks. That got a little much, I'll tell you what. There has to be a breather here and there at times, you know?
Friday, November 24, 2023
Thursday, November 23, 2023
Wednesday, November 22, 2023
HOTW- Blue Bolt
From Wiki- After college football star Fred Parrish is struck by lightning during practice he boards a plane in order to seek help. This plane is struck by a second lightning bolt, causing the plane to crash. Finding himself underground, Parrish is found by a scientist named Bertoff who heals him using an experimental radium treatment. This treatment gives Parrish super powers. Using his powers and a lightning gun given to him by Bertoff, Parrish takes up the name the Blue Bolt and battles the underground forces of his arch-enemy, the evil Green Sorceress.[5] He also fights Nazis and goes to space a lot. By 1951, Blue Bolt Comics' name had been changed to Blue Bolt Weird Tales of Terror and featured the type of horror covers epitomized by EC Comics.[4] A couple of issues after the name change, the Blue Bolt was dropped in favor of horror stories. With issue #120 (published in 1953) the title was changed to Ghostly Weird Stories, which published four more issues under that title before folding after issue #124 (September 1954).
Tuesday, November 21, 2023
Monday, November 20, 2023
Calvin and Hobbes 12-07-1990
One of the recurring themes or "running gags" as we used to call them in Calvin and Hobbes was that his father was always making Calvin do things he didn't want to do. Raking the lawn, go camping, shovel snow. You know, being part of the family. For some reason I identified with Calvin about this nonsense a lot. I might have been a darn sarcastic kid back then as well. I highly doubt it, though, and no one has any proof.
Sunday, November 19, 2023
Sven- Empire of the Ants 1977
This is not a good movie. Giant ants organize and attack humans. These ants have been mutated by radioactive waste, so of course the queen can also control the people via pheromones. Where is Hank Pym or even Scott Lang when you need them? It is a good thing there are explosives on this island, so the scant survivors can blow up the ants. The end, or is it? Thankfully the world never found out.
Saturday, November 18, 2023
Superman and Spider-Man - 1978 style
Friday, November 17, 2023
Thursday, November 16, 2023
mego super heros
I loved these dolls. I had a ton of them, including many duplicates of a few of them. I wasn't rough on toys, but I sure did play with them a lot. I had seven of the ones pictured here, and then several of the Star Trek dolls (and yes, they were dolls back then). I had the second Batman, as the first one had a removable cowl. It was cool, but very bulky, so I had no real desire for it. I also had the Batcave, the Batcopter and the Command Center Starship Enterprise. I also had a lot of Tarzan dolls, but not because I really wanted them. The reason will be clearer shortly.
Wednesday, November 15, 2023
HOTW- Spectreman
Spectreman is sent to Earth to track down renegade scientist Dr. Gori and Gori's idiot assistant, Karis. There he assumes the identity of George, and joins the Anti-Pollution and Monster Squad. He is from the Nebula 71, where his creators (Overlord) monitor his progress. He then battles Gori and his monstrous minions, along some other aliens that show up. He also has to learn to be human, and then makes friends all over Tokyo. And after defeating Gori, he has to say goodbye to his friends.
Tuesday, November 14, 2023
plesiosauria!
Listen to the most recent episode of my podcast: 200 years of Plesiosauria! https://anchor.fm/agentx7/episodes/200-years-of-Plesiosauria-e2bu7mc This is a new thing I am doing, and I appreciate any feedback. They are short episodes, none longer than 20 minutes, currently. That could change.
Monday, November 13, 2023
Calvin Monday
Sunday, November 12, 2023
Catwoman
Since I have already reviewed Munster, Go Home! earlier, I don't need to do that. I did watch the Batman episode afterwards, since it was a Catwoman episode, and the second part at that. It was The Cat And The Fiddle (s2, ep4) , which sees Catwoman trying to steal a "fiddle" which had cat gut or something in it. I wasn't exactly sure what her reasons where. I think this is where the romance aspects between Batman and Catwoman started, at least in the series. In her first appearance in season one, she did not show any amorous attention to the Bat. This time they were both a little more interested in each other.
Saturday, November 11, 2023
Loki S 2 06 Glorious Purpose
In which Loki masters his time slipping and attempts to fix the Time Loom. He keeps going back further and further in time, right to his first interview with Mobius. None of these things work, so he goes to visit He That Remains. They have an interesting conversation. Then Loki figures it all out. This leads to things being kind of reset, and there being a lot more timelines. Mobius and Sophie visit his original timeline, then miss Loki. The story continues in different movies and series now. At least that is my guess.
Friday, November 10, 2023
Thursday, November 9, 2023
"Geddy Lee is here from Rush..."
Wednesday, November 8, 2023
HOTW- Birdman
Tuesday, November 7, 2023
invisible cretinizer
I want one. Though most of the time, cretins will let people know they are cretins without any help. I have posted a Calvin and Hobbes strip here a time or two in the past, but it has been a while, I think. It has been two years, almost. Those were the Yule questions. Perhaps I should try a Calvin of the Week, that could be fun. They would be random for the most part. It would be much more difficult to gather multi-week stories together. I am not saying it won't happen, but right now it will be easier to run random ones that are single strip jokes.
Monday, November 6, 2023
Bat-Mite appears
Sunday, November 5, 2023
Sven- Kingdom of the Spiders (1977)
In the remote Valley Verde of Arizona, tarantulas begin cooperating with each other to eat bigger food. Somehow, they increase the power of their venom as well. Rack, the local scientist calls in a specialist. She explains all this to the locals, but they can't believe spiders would be able to do organize like that. Soon the spiders begin attacking the pesky humans in their way. Eventually the arachnids corner the heroes in a house, but fail to kill them. The next morning, Rack looks out the window and sees that the entire valley is covered in silk. The end.
Saturday, November 4, 2023
the Cartman table
When South Park did an episode about Casa Bonita, I had to tell a lot of people in San Diego that "yes, it is a real place." Growing up in Colorado, it was always a "destination" place for us as kids. It was always an adventure, and it is exactly like the episode from South Park. Minus all the swearing and locking Butters into a bomb shelter. The food was always adequate, but that was never a reason to go. The sopapillas were amazing though. Casa Bonita closed over the pandemic, and then Mat and Trey bought it. It has been a big deal out here. They have allegedly spent over $40 million to fix it up to look just like it did in the 70s. And improve the food.
Friday, November 3, 2023
Loki S2 05 Science/Fiction
In which Loki appears, and the TVA is gone, empty, not populated. No one is there. He leaps timeslips about time and place, and into branches, to find all his friends living other lives. Casey is breaking out of a very famous prison, Mobius is a jetski salesman, single dad with two boys, B-5 is a doctor and OB is a quantum physicist (who should have been named Al, or Sam). OB tells Loki he should be able to control his leaping about, but he can't. He does reassamble the team, once OB makes a new tempad. Then Sylvie refuses to join them, until the red skies take her branch. Then the darkness comes for the team...
Thursday, November 2, 2023
Justice!
What a great picture! Sometimes you don't nee more words than that. This was done by George Perez, probably on his first run with the book. One can tell by Zatanna's costume, as well as the Red Tornado's costume (which is not great). This was a great run on the book, I will tell you what. I am glad to see both Supermen there. I still wonder if the Batmen had ever met. I know the Robins did. Heck, even the Arrows did, sorta, though GA of Earth 2 was not a member of the JSA, and neither was Aquaman of E2.
Wednesday, November 1, 2023
HOTW- The Flash (Silver Age)
Barry Allen, noted police scientist, gets coated with a very peculiar amount of chemicals when lightning mysteriously strikes them. It is only certain chemicals that are used. It is almost like the lightning chose what Barry needed to get his powers. He is unharmed, but starts to exhibit some super speed at times. He slowly realizes he is now the fastest man alive. He takes his name from an old comic book character he used to read, the Flash. He also starts running into a wide variety of super criminals, such as Grodd, the Mirror Master, Mr. Element and more. He also gets a sidekick in about 10 issues. He then visits at least three different dimensions and meets time travelers. And leave us not forget the Elongated Man makes his debut as well!
Tuesday, October 31, 2023
Monday, October 30, 2023
At the Earths Core (1976)
We here at Xenorama have started a podcast called The X7 Adventures. This idea has been percolating for some time now, but the time has finally come to pull the trigger. We have two episodes (and an older one from a time long ago) up. We know that everyone does have a podcast these days, but they come and go like the wind. It takes time and energy to produce one. Currently, ours is very much like a live studio recording, meaning that while we have notes, we also might make an occasional slip up. We will correct it, but at this time our equipment is very basic. Depending on what happens, we may improve that in the future. Mostly we are doing some deeper dives into the same things you see here.
Sunday, October 29, 2023
Sven- The Night Strangler (1973)
it's a worthy sequel. Carl is in the northwest, in Seattle, WA. He is still working for Tony, and is still running into strange things. Women start getting killed and drained of small amounts of blood. Their necks are being crushed, which no normal human can do. The more Kolchak digs into the story, the stranger and more dangerous it gets. It leads him to old Seattle which is underneath new Seattle. There he finds Dr. Malcolm Richards, who has been alive since the 19th century. He is still working on his elixir to make people immortal, but he needs the fresh blood of women. Carl foils him, the police rush in and see Richards disintegrate. Of course, Carl's story is ruined, both he and Tony get fired, and along with Louise, they all head to New York City and a new life.
Saturday, October 28, 2023
The hit FF series
This is interesting. I did not realize 26 episodes made for a hit show. I never once saw these in the grocery store, though to be fair I was always at the comic book rack, looking for a new issue. Or deciding what book to buy with my limited funds. Had I gotten some of these, I would bet the cards I got were of HERBIE, and that would have annoyed me greatly. There are cards with the Human Torch in there as well. Upon further review, it appears as if this is actually the 90s cartoon. Ima leave some of the original post here, to prove I am only human.