949. The spectacular Space Ghost merch review!

I had a lot of fun with this episode!  Space Ghost rules, that is all I gotta say.

Villain of the Week- Metallus

From The Villains.Fandom Wiki- Metallus first appeared in the 1960s Space Ghost series. There he appeared as a galactic space conqueror who had an armada of killer robots and missiles ready to invade a nearby planet, but was thwarted. In another episode, Space Ghost's pet monkey, Blip, removed Metallus' head to find that there was nothing underneath. He later joined the Council of Doom to help destroy Space Ghost, but ultimately failed.  Back to me:

Space Ghost merch

In my Space Ghost research for a new issue of Xenorama, I found several Hanna-Barbera toys or whatever you would all this.  This would look cool, and I always think I would want such things, but then... it is just stuff.  Do I actually need it?  Probably not.  And where would I even find one?  Be that as it may, it sure is cool!  HB sure fell down on the job with merchandise in the sixties, they could have made tons more money with licensing.

Future Quest v.1

 

Official premise by DC Comics:

When the adventurous and inquisitive Jonny Quest and his adoptive brother Hadji make a startling discovery in the swamplands of Florida, they are pulled into an epic struggle between the Space Rangers and a dangerous villain who threatens the galaxy. Now it’s up to the combined forces of Team Quest, Inter-Nation Security, Space Ghost, and a host of Hanna-Barbera’s greatest action heroes to stop him and save their universe!^[1]

HOTW- Space Ghost

 

Space Ghost is Hanna-Barbera's premiere superhero.  He patrols space with his twin wards and their almost useful mutant monkey, Blip.  He has vast powers provided by his arm bands.  He also has the amazing Phantom Cruiser.  His spaceship has self repairing abilities, but also lacks seat belts.  Space Ghost also is very strong, even without any powers.  His suit provides an air pocket so he can survive in space easily.

Space Stars (1981)

 

I remember when this cartoon debuted.  I was excited to see some old friends and hopeful for at least one other team.  The comedy dogs segment I did not care about in the least. I had lowered expectations since by then I knew about parents ruining action cartoons in the 60s, but I had hoped it might be a bit better than the 70s cartoons were.  It was, but the animation wasn't as good, and it sounded different.  Some of the original  voice actors were there, but they talked more like 1980s Earthlings would, rather than people of the future from other planets.  In the original Herculoids series Dorno would call his parents by their names, and now he is calling them mother and father.  Some of the sounds were changed as well, including all the power beams and rays that our heroes used.  They now sounded like they might sting a bit, rather than hurt.

Xenorama #41 in color!

 

This issue is now live on Amazon!  It is a full color edition, featuring Space Ghost, The Herculoids, and Shazzan.   I have used some earlier articles about these shows, but have added a lot more information and pictures about the said shows.  The color really does make the pictures stand out.  These are the big three Saturday morning shows from Hanna-Barbera, though perhaps Shazzan is colored by my memories.  I do plan on doing a full color Jonny Quest issue in the near future.  That will be a lot of fun, since I love the show.  This issue just features the original series, so don't expect much talk about anything past the 60s (except for comic books).

Space Ghost Blu Ray set

 

I got this set a while ago, and it is quite nice.  It is the same set up as the DVD set was, but with such good picture quality that the animation elements are sometimes apparent.  Still, the sound is great, and it has the same great documentary on Alex Toth.  They are slowing releasing all the HB cartoons on Blu Ray, at least the popular ones.  I would double dip on the rest, but if the other cartoons stay on DVD I won't mind either.  It is nice to have a nearly complete set of the superheroes they did when I was growing up. I wish I had known this would happen 30 years ago!

Space Ghost Coloring book (1968)

 

It seems like Hanna-Barbera licensed a lot of their properties right at the tail end of the original TV run.  I had several of these coloring books, but since I was very young, they got destroyed quickly and easily.  I have looked around for this one, but it is either not available or ridiculously expensive.  I have found some scans online, which are cool.  I don't remember many of the actual stories, though.  It is a great cover.

Saucer Crab

Those dang villains from Rob-Corp!  They sent a deadly saucer crab that attacked Space Ghost and nearly defeated him.  It took all his powers to destroy the ship.  The narrator assured us our heroes would hear from Rob-Corp again.  We never did, as there was no third season of Space Ghost.  Which is kind of sad, though it is always better to leave 'em wanting more rather than wearing out a welcome.  It has happened to many other shows that go on far too long.

RIP Darwyn Cooke

This gifted author and artist passed away today at the age of 53.  I had first heard his name in the commentaries of the DCU cartoons about his storyboards, though I don't think he ever did a commentary himself. I then got the (misleadingly titled) Justice League: The New Frontier movie and quite enjoyed that, though now that I've read the books it was based on it's A. too short and B. lots of changes were made just because they wanted more Batman in everything.  Still, I'm happy to have the books and the blu ray in my collection.

Coloring books from beyond beyond

When I was quite young I had a lot of coloring books.  Some of these have been documented in issues of Xenorama, such as Space Ghost,  Moby Dick,  Samson and Goliath and even The Valley of Gwangi.  Some of these were essentially film books or extended episodes of the cartoons, though I barely remember the "plots" that were in Samson or Space Ghost.  A lot of times pictures got torn out to be stuck on fridges or somewhere else, and at that young age I rarely finished a page I had started.

RIP Gary Owens

This is one obit I didn't want to write, but now I have to.  I met Gary Owens at some San Diego Comic Con in the early 00s. It was after a voice acting panel that also had Maurice LaMarche. Two great reasons to see that and it was one of the best panels I've ever attended. The whole panel was hilarious and told great stories.

Xenorama #16

I'm very happy with this issue as well. The cover again is awesome. I'd actually kind of like to have it in real newsprint, but oh well on that. I may start offering them in b/w form as well.  It would be a bit less expensive, for sure.  I think the color pictures really make the book look great though, even if many aren't close to the 300 dpi that createspace seems to think are needed.

Xenorama #16 Available NOW!

Yes, amazingly after two short months there is another complete issue of Xenorama available!  I am pretty impressed with that, especially after the long hiatus the zine took.  This is the final version of the cover by Dan Ross and it's pretty darn cool.  He keeps it interesting, and yet not too busy to be distracting.  I think it's really eye catching as well.  Who wouldn't want to buy it just by looking at that cover?  The inside is loaded with cool color pictures as well, not too mention several great articles that aren't even on the cover.

presenting... the Xenorama #16 cover (mode one)

Here's the prototype for the next issue of Xenorama, which should be on sale soon!  Dan Ross does some amazing work, doesn't he?  I'm really fortunate to have so many talented people contributing to the magazine.

As one could reasonably ascertain, there are at least three articles in this issue (there are more, but I'll save those for the actual release post):  I can tell you that the Space Ghost article is a complete episode guide to the 1960s series along with some commentary.  It does included the now not so rare six part story from the second season "The Council of Doom".  It's such a great series, I hope it never gets made into anything remotely resembling a movie.

Space Ghost!

Mostly just a fun collection of pictures, some of which will appear in the next issue of Xenorama.  There's a hint as to one of the articles!  Alex Toth did most of the design work on these cartoons, and those critters are amazing.  Weird and cool and very 60s stylish all at once.

Space Ghost and Batman: Space Safari

here's the full five minute team up. how I wish there had been a full episode, but this is the time a normal Space Ghost episode took, so it's pretty great. all that's missing is the classic Hanna-Barbera music cues from JONNY QUEST. they adapt the Space Ghost theme, and it works really well. at least all the sound effects are there! as well as a lot of the classic monsters. there are pictures here on the blog if you want to see them.

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.

Hanna-Barbera's World of Super Adventure

imagine being able to see all these great characters and series in one show. I remember seeing this promo in WV on Channel 20, but sadly, the package was never picked up in Colorado. and even by 1978 I was starting to think the programming for kids was quite lacking in my neck of the woods. we left WV before it started airing, and I had been so looking forward to seeing action cartoons, after the rather anemic Super Friends.