HOTW- Dynamo

 

From Wiki- Dynamo – Leonard Brown wears the Thunder Belt, which makes him super-strong and invulnerable for thirty minutes. Going past the time limit puts a great strain on his body. Due to this, a safety measure was implemented in the belt that causes it to automatically turn off after thirty minutes.  Brown's code name is Dynamo, but none of the agents have secret identities.  He isn't the sharpest thinker, but he is a capable agent.  Len also has none of the alleged secret agent's ability to be suave and debonair with women, either.  Just ask the sort of evil Iron Maiden!

Rubber Rodeo- Jolene

               

Calvin Monday- 3-2-1989

 

Calvin isn't even cheating by cutting the box tops off before eating the cereal.  That tells you how much he wants this dang beanie.  Beanies like this weren't even much of a thing by the 70s, aside from seeing grown men wear them in TV shows and movies.  This was done to make the characters seem more juvenile.

Pinkymaniacs Live (2024)

 

Last night I journeyed up to the thriving Metropolis of Loveland,CO to see Animaniacs Live.  It was billed as starring Rob Paulsen, Maurice LaMarche and Randy Rogel. However, Maurice was not there, which was a bummer, but the show was still great.  It was Rob and Randy, who was the composer of many of the songs.  He played and sang the parts that Rob did not.  I am only familiar with a few of the songs from the Animaniacs, and really, none of the ones they did for Histeria!, so it was like a brand new performance for me.  They held a meet and greet after, and did not leave until everyone that wanted a picture or something signed.  Since I had planned in advance, I got this done, plus Rob's book Voice Lessons.  That may have been the most fun part.

Zorro (1990 TV series)

 

From Wiki- The series is set in early 19th-century Spanish California. When the commandant of Los Angeles, Alcalde Luis Ramone, terrorizes the people of the pueblo and oppresses them, Don Alejandro de la Vega summons home from Spain his son Diego to fight the alcalde and his men. When Diego arrives, he finds his town in a sorry state, and while pretending to have little interest in anything but books and his experiments, he creates the secret identity of El Zorro: The Fox. He and his mute servant, the teenage Felipe, battle the alcalde's tyranny.

Willard (1971) - Official Trailer

                  

What If...? vol. 1

 

Late in 1976 Marvel Comics released a different comic book- What If?  The Watcher took the readers on journeys to different worlds (the multiverse) where heroes made some slightly different choices. The Distinguished Competition used to do these stories, but they were generally dreams, hoaxes or "imaginary stories" back then.  I enjoyed them, though generally they were tame.  I quite enjoyed the Superman Blue and Superman Red story though.  However, the trope had become a joke by the 70s, to both companies.  We would see cover blurbs proclaim that what we see on the cover was "not a hoax!  not a dream!  not an imaginary story!" constantly.

HOTW- Marine Boy

 

From Wiki- Marine Boy is an extremely intelligent, strong and athletic boy of perhaps 13 to 15 years of age. He is a martial artist (episode 1, 2, 8, 16), football player (ep. 17), and an accomplished pilot (ep. 10) whose talents are further enhanced by the inventions of his father, Dr. Mariner. He has a great affinity with sea life, most particularly with a white dolphin he calls Splasher who Marine Boy occasionally seems able to communicate with quite clearly (ep. 11, 12, 17, 28). (MB also wears a ring with a dolphin-calling whistle in it (ep. 2, 4, 16).) It is perhaps because of his skills along with his avid insistence to get involved with trouble that his father, along with Professor Fumble, invented for him the red wetsuit which protects and equips Marine Boy, allowing for him to use his talents to perform dangerous duty. With his headstrong personality, he hardly seems able to avoid it.

The Cars Perform "Touch & Go" (Live) - Fridays

           

The Cars- Panorama

 

This is the third studio album from the Cars.  It was released on August 15th, 1980.  I must have got this LP sometime later, perhaps early '81.  I know I had it before the follow up was released (Shake It Up, Nov. 1981) was released.  It was rather different from the previous two LPs.  I liked it a lot, and it is my favorite Cars recording.  I even bought the extended CD edition that was released in 2017.  I had the first five LPs from the band, and liked them all, though I never did own the fifth and sixth LPs.

Sven- Evil of Frankenstein (1964)

 

Frankenstein almost gets caught stealing another corpse, and flees back to his homeland.  His assistant Hans helps him find his former creation.  It is frozen in ice.  Frankenstein tries to revive it, but the brain is unresponsive.  He obtains the service of Zoltan, a hypnotist.  Ol' Zoltan makes the creature obey him, rather than Frankenstein.  Lots of mayhem ensues, with the inevitable conclusion.  That is, until the next movie.

Astro and the Space Mutts

 

From wiki- Astro and the Space Mutts features Astro, the family dog from The Jetsons. He teams up with two other dogs named Cosmo and Dipper, led by their human leader Space Ace. Together, the trio act as galactic police officers and travel through outer space. Don Messick reprised his role as Astro.  Somehow they manage to foil whatever villain they are up against.  They even help out the real heroes of the show a few times.

The Evil of Frankenstein / US Theatrical Trailer (1964)

                    

Rick's little sister?

 

The Young Ones debuted on MTV in 1985, a year after it had ended on England.  MTV was able to broadcast all twelve episodes once a week on Wednesday, though they must have shown it on Saturday or Sundays nights as well.  That is my memory, anyway.  Wiki says it was edited for content, but I don't believe that, either.  I recorded all the episode in EP speed on one VHS tape, which lasted longer than I thought it would have.  This is where I learned that British shows had different runs than US shows.

HOTW- Green Lantern (Alan Scott)

"And I shall shed my light over dark evil, for the dark things cannot stand the light— the light of the Green Lantern!" 

Alan Scott received his magic lantern and ring in 1940.  He was a founding member of the Justice Society of America and would continue to battle crime until after WWII when he retired.  That lasted less than 15 years, when the JSA reactivated in the 60s, thanks to the Flash.  He would marry Rose and Thorn, and they had two kids.  Then he married the original Harlequin, and things were sorta peachy.  DC has done a lot of retcons since I stopped reading comic books, so if you want more history, look it up yourself.

PINK PANTHER & JAMES BOND | EPIC Theme Song Mashup 2022

Calvin Monday 3-1-1989

 

Calvin is nothing if not a showman.  Trying to avoid something unpleasant is a skill, and generally the mother of invention.  However, he needs to work on his schpiel, since he rarely sells anything to his intended victims.  Hobbes, his parents, Susie, and even Moe don't seem to fall for them.  The important thing is he keeps trying.

The Podcast of Heroes and Monsters

Here is the link directly to my new-ish podcast!  Please like, share and subscribe, I would appreciate it!  It is something I had been thinking about for quite a while.  Any support is greatly appreciated!

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968)

Inventor Caractacus Potts has some wild ideas, but is a loving father.  His children, Jeremy and Jemima, want him to buy an old race car (well, the shell of it) for a whopping 30 shillings.  That is about $22 USD today.  BE that as it may, he figures out a way to earn the money, and spends several days renovating the car.  Once that happens, they go on a picnic and Potts regales them with an adventure.  He also falls in love with Truly Scrumptious.

RetroBites: Batman: Action on Set (1966) | CBC

                         

CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG (1968) | Official Trailer

                     

Voice Lessons (2019)

 

I had no idea this book was a thing.  I discovered whilst doing my research on both Pinky and the Brain and the 80s Jonny Quest series.  I bought it as a Yule gift (thanks Mom),  I am almost done reading it, but some parts are not easy to get through.  See, Rob Paulson is a voice actor, and as life will do to people, he got throat cancer.  This book is about his life, from start until he wins his battle with cancer.  That would be a spoiler, sweetie, if you didn't know he wrote the book (with help from Michael Fleeman).

HOTW- Tigra/The Cat

art by Will Meugnoit

"The Tigra" is the historical defender/champion of the Cat People, a humanoid race created by sorcery during the Dark Ages.  This Tigra is Greer Grant Nelson, who had earlier been fighting crime as The Cat.  She had been given superhuman abilities and a suit that enhanced them.  While battling Hydra (heel Hydra!) she got blasted in the back and was dying.  Dr. Tumolo revealed she was cat person, and they offered to save her life, but she would not be able to look human again.  "Life is precious to me, in any form."  She became the new Tigra!

The Rainmakers -Let My People Go Go (HQ) (1986)

           

Calvin Feb 28th, 1989

At least Calvin gets to eat Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs, instead of Wheat or Rice Puffs.  However, I got a dinosaur that was in the cereal box, so that is a point in my favor.  We also weren't allowed to eat more than one bowl of the glop a day (if we could even finish it).  I wonder how many box tops we needed to get two of the sets, rather than just one.

Sven- The Invisible Ray (1936)

 

From Wiki- The Invisible Ray is a 1936 American science-fiction horror film directed by Lambert Hillyer. It stars Boris Karloff as Dr. Janos Rukh, a scientist who comes in contact with a meteorite composed of an element known as "Radium X". After exposure to its rays begins to make him glow in the dark, his touch becomes deadly, and he begins to be slowly driven mad.  He ends up going out in a burst of flame.  I guess it is better to burn out than to fade away, my my , hey hey,

Spy Quest (2015)

 

Tom and Jerry are up to their usual shenanigans at the beach.  They run into Bandit, Hadji, and Jonny when three cats in robot suits attach them.  After the battle, the duo join Team Quest at Key West.  Tom doesn't get any food, so he gets up to have a midnight snack.  He turns off the Quest alarm, and the cats kidnap Race and Dr. Quest.  Turns out Dr. Zin is responsible, as he wants Benton's new energy source, the Q-Sphere.  Jonny, Hadji, Bandit, Tom and Jerry all set out to rescue the kidnapped adults.  They visit Jezebel Jade at her cabaret, which is run by Droopy Dog as well.

The Invisible Ray (1936) trailer

                  

The Phantom and Diana

Here we see the Phantom and Diana relaxing between adventures.  I am sure this did not happen very often, at least in the newspaper strips.  If they were in the Skull Cave Kit could have taken his mask off, at least.  That couldn't have been comfortable to wear ALL the time.  I mean, did he sleep in it?  Be that as it may, this is a fun little bit of "ordinary days" that one does not get to see much of in comic strips or books featuring heroes and villains.  It was a big deal when the New Teen Titans did a whole issue where nothing earth-shattering happened.

HOTW- The Shield (Joe Higgins) MLJ

 

From Wiki- The origin story of The Shield appeared in Shield–Wizard Comics #1 (Summer 1940). He is really chemist Joe Higgins, the son of Lieutenant Tom Higgins. Tom was working on a chemical formula for super-strength which the Germans were after, and is slain by German saboteur Hans Fritz in the Black Tom explosion, for which Tom was blamed. After Tom's death, Joe continues to work on it while continuing his studies of chemistry. Joe finally figures out the solution, which requires applying the chemicals to certain parts of his anatomy (Sacrum, Heart, Innervation, Eyes, Lungs, Derma), and exposing himself to x-rays.^[9] This gives him super strength, the ability able to make great leaps, and invulnerability. Joe uses the initials S.H.I.E.L.D. as his secret identity. His white costume becomes the familiar colors under the process.

I Was Made For Lovin' You - ("Spaghetti Western" Style Cover)

                    

Calvin Monday Feb 27th, 1989

 

This is the start of Calvin's eating tons of gross cereal to get a premium.  I went through this many, many times, and generally the toys were acceptable.  I think many kids did this in the 70s, or ordered something that looked cool from a magazine.  It was always hit and miss, though.  Many times the items were rather disappointing.