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May 24, 2013
 

Continuing to Celebrate the 80th Anniversary of Doc Savage and King Kong
Radio Archives continues to offers new King Kong and Doc Savage products, with one more still to come. Today we are proud to offer high-quality limited edition Joe DeVito posters. Click here to take a look at these four gorgeous paintings by this award winning artist.

Doc Savage: Skull Island Series 1, wraparound cover
Doc Savage: Skull Island Series 2, front cover
KONG: King of Skull Island, full montage
KING KONG

 

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ra266-350-1017633In the post-war years, America developed a new economic base with a new and ever-increasing standard of living. This new middle-class lifestyle, coupled with the baby boom that ran throughout the 1950s, created suburbia — with housing developments, highways, shopping centers, and all of the other hallmarks of this new society becoming the norm.
As always, radio reflected the culture of its audience — and never more so than with the rise of the situation comedy in the late 1940s.
 
Originally, Father Knows Best was not much different than similar situation comedies of the period, the concepts of which were basically that “daddy is a well-meaning dumbbell, but we still love him.” However, by the time the show first aired over NBC on August 25, 1949, most of the clichés had been removed, and thanks to excellent writing and the outstanding acting talents of the principals, these hilarious slices of everyday life rise above the norm to make Father Knows Best one of the highlight series of late-era network radio entertainment.
 
As portrayed by Robert Young, who co-created the series with writer Ed James, the title character of Jim Anderson is a successful insurance salesman. He is ambitious, likeable, and a good provider for his family — though he often grows exasperated by the turmoil of his everyday home life. The plots generally begin quite simply — Jim surprises his wife Margaret (June Whitley) with tickets to a show, for instance — then quickly become complicated as the plans, schemes, commitments, and miscommunications of their three children, Betty (Rhoda Williams), Bud (Ted Donaldson), and Kathy (Norma Jean Nilsson) and their friends and neighbors get in the way.
 
Heard today, Father Knows Best still retains its ability to hilariously reflect the interpersonal relationships of a typical American family, because, though times change, people don’t; raising good kids today is no easier or less complicated than it was in 1950.
 

The twenty shows in this collection have been digitally restored, resulting in ten full hours of family-friendly radio entertainment from one of the best and most enduring situation comedies of all time. 10 hours $29.98 Audio CDs / $14.99 Download.
 
 
Special 50% discount Offer
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The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is considered one of the greatest tales of horror to date. When one of the best, but most underrated producers of the Golden Age Radio added in his production and vocal skills, a true radio serial classic was born and is now collected in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Volume 1.
 
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is just one of over 300 radio series and serials produced by George Edwards over the course of his twenty year career in radio. Telling Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic tale of a man divided, this fifteen minute serial debuted in 1943, running for 52 episodes, and was produced by Edwards, a well-known Australian radio personality. The man behind other Australian series, such as Afloat with Henry Morgan and Adventures of Marco Polo lent not only his production skills to Jekyll and Hyde, but shared his amazing vocal talents as well. Edwards’ skill to do multiple voices in a single episode definitely fit the needs of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
 
Dr. Jekyll and Mister Hyde, Volume 1 collects the first 28 episodes, 7 hours, of one of the best serial adventures of the radio era. The intense pacing of each episode as well as the high quality production values and the talented voice acting of George Edwards and the rest of the cast make this a must have for any fan of Classic Radio.
 
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde now features a fantastic painting by Douglas Klauba.This painting was originally painted for the Scottish Tourism Board. The background behind the image relates to Robt. L. Stevenson originally writing Jekyll and Hyde based in Edinburgh, or at least upon his boyhood memories of the city and the streets.
7 hours. Regular Price $20.98 - Specially priced until June 6 for $10.49 Audio CDs / $5.24 Download.
 
 

 
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It was the largest, most ambitious, and most successful military operation ever attempted — and radio was there to cover it.
D-Day, the invasion of Normandy. It was the turning point of the war in Europe, the beginning of the end for the Axis as the Allies started their drive towards Germany. It was a momentous event that would change not only the course of World War II, but the history of the world. Radio Archives is pleased and proud to offer the complete and continuous NBC network coverage of the events of June 6 and 7, 1944.
 
Noted inspirational author Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, King Haakon VII of Norway, Premier Gerbandy of the Netherlands, Premier Pierlot of Belgium, and US Senators Clark, Barkley, White, Hill and Congresswoman Clare Boothe Luce speak, as does the President of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. General Eisenhower speaks from SHAEF headquarters.
 
Regular NBC shows were included in the broadcast, “The Bob Hope Show”, “Fibber McGee & Molly”, “The Guiding Light”, “Vic & Sade”, “The Red Skelton Show”, “The Road of Life”, “Today’s Children”, “Ma Perkins”, “Pepper Young’s Family”, “Mary Noble, Backstage Wife”, “Stella Dallas”, “Lorenzo Jones”, “Young Widder Brown”, “When A Girl Marries” and “Front Page Farrell” among them.
 
Hear the events of the day as reported by Ben Grauer, Cesar Saerchinger, Charles F. McCarthy, David Anderson, Don Goddard, Don Hollenbeck, Ed Hocker, Edward R. Murrow, Elmer Peterson, George Wheeler, H. V. Kaltenborn, Herbert M. Clark, James Willard, John W. Vandercook, Louis P. Lockner, Lowell Thomas, Merrill Mueller, Morgan Beatty, Ralph Howard, Richard Harkness, Robert McCormick, Robert St. John, Tommy Traynor, W. W. Chaplin and Wright Bryan. Alex Dreier, in Chicago, recalled his experiences as the last western correspondent in Nazi Germany while Stanley Richardson offered an eyewitness account of the invasion from the Channel boats, and George Hicks reported from the beach-head itself!
These are recordings that many historians believe to be among the most valuable audio documents ever preserved. The NBC broadcasts — containing over 38 hours of continuous programming of news, music, drama, comedy, and entertainment — are history as it happened, in a special collection that is sure to occupy a special place in your radio collection. 38 hours. Normally priced at $113.98 Audio CDs / $56.99 Download, D-Day is Specially priced through the month of June at only $99.98 Audio CDs / $49.99 Download.
 
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On June 6, 2004, in remembrance of the 60th anniversary of the Normandy invasion, the ABC Radio program Perspective featured a fascinating story detailing radio’s coverage of D-Day as it happened in 1944. Written, edited, and narrated by ABC reporter Chuck Sivertsen, the feature utilized clips from the D-Day collection described above. We think this in-depth and well-presented piece provides an excellent overview of the historic content of this collection.
 
 
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Will Murray’s Pulp Classics #26
Read by Doug Stone. Liner Notes by Will Murray
 
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They called G-8 the Flying Spy. History never recorded his exploits—and for good reason! No one would ever believe World War I was that wild!
 
G-8, the high-flying ace pilot of World War I, was born in the front seat of a car barreling through the Holland Tunnel. His father was Robert Jasper Hogan, who had made quite a name for himself as a prolific pulp writer specializing in aviation fiction during the glamorous era now styled Between the Wars. Among practitioners of that now-lost art, this school of writing was styled Yammering Guns, after the sound of contending synchronized machine guns in furious action.
 
It was the summer of 1933, and despite the Great Depression, Popular Publications was booming. Part of their Autumn expansion plans entailed launching The Spider, and a companion title to be aimed at the legions of readers who drank up fictionalized accounts of World War I Allied aces versus Imperial Germany’s various bi-winged counts and barons, red and otherwise.
 
One of Popular’s star writers, Hogan was doubtless the first writer publisher Harry Steeger considered when casting about for a suitable scribe. The unnamed magazine was on the schedule as a monthly. The designated author would have to know his rudders and ailerons—and be reliable. Hard drinkers need not apply. And Hogan had been an air cadet during World War I, although the armistice came before he could ship out and see action.
 
Steeger and Hogan hashed out an idea. It was part Eddie Rickenbacker and part What Price Glory?—which was a popular Maxwell Anderson stage play turned into a motion picture. Price stressed the horrors of war as counterpoint to the sentimental comradeship of the Allies in the trenches. Only in this case, by horror, Popular Publications meant something far more horrific than mustard-gas trench warfare atrocities.
 
For, envisioning the expected strain on the writer’s imagination a monthly novel would enact, Steeger and Hogan agreed that the new series would soon grow stale if they didn’t spice it up with elements of the fantastic. This recipe ranged from merely super-scientific death rays to the unabashedly supernatural manifestations. Nothing was taboo in G-8. Hogan was a pioneer of over-the-top plotting generations before the term was coined.
 
Normally, pulp publishers put house names on such fare, to protect themselves from ill, drunken or unreliable authors. But Hogan’s byline was pure pulp gold, so Steeger took a chance. The series would carry the author’s true name. Hogan never let him down.
 
Driving home to New Jersey from Manhattan, Hogan passed through the Holland Tunnel. While in traffic, he worked out the details of G-8’s first wild adventure. He named his hero after a Colorado ranch where Hogan worked one summer. G-8 never had another name. His wingmen, Bull Martin and Nippy Weston, were modeled on a pair of real-life flyboys named Bull Nevin and Nippy Westover. Pulp fans have accused Hogan of copying the friendly rivalry of Doc Savage’s wartime buddies, Monk Mayfair and Ham Brooks, in his depictions of Bull and Nippy. In fact, all those characters were derived from What Price Glory?’s memorable Captain Flagg and Sergeant Quirt.
 
The premier tale, which appeared in the October, 1933 issue of G-8 and His Battle Aces, exemplified the outrageous approach Steeger and Hogan envisioned for the series. Hogan called it The Bat Staffel. Therein he introduced a German mad scientist who would bedevil his new hero the length and breadth of the series—some eleven tortured years. This first time out, Herr Doktor Krueger unleashed monster bats as big as bi-planes on Allied Sopwith Camels and Spads. It made for fearsome reading.
 
With his canvas limited to the skies over No Man’s Land during the four years encompassed by what was originally called the Great War, Hogan went for broke, escalating from terrifying tales such as The Skeleton Patrol and Squadron of the Scorpion to unchecked phantasms of terror like Satan Paints the Sky, Here Flies the Hawks of Hell and The Bloody Wings of the Vampire. Hogan had a predilection for half-human antagonists, which manifested in an annual parade of beast-men, wolf-men, leopard-men, panther-men, even rhino-men. For G-8 and his battle buddies, the War to End All Wars proved to be a very long and hairy conflict.
 
Once, Hogan outlined a particularly gruesome G-8 plot for a queasy  but mesmerized Popular Publications staffer. “My editor was nauseated,” he recalled. Readers ranging from ten years old to outwardly mature stockbrokers ate it up, however. They were so captivated by the Flying Spy that even the glamorous new all-metal aircraft dominating the skies of World War II didn’t squash their interest in the glorified kites of the prior conflict. It took a crushing shortage of pulp paper to force Steeger to finally and reluctantly cancel the magazine. After penning over a hundred G-8 novels, Hogan took it in stride and blithely switched over to writing quality stories for The Saturday Evening Post. His last editor was aghast. He didn’t think Hogan had it in him.
 
Before it was all over, G-8 battled weird menaces ranging from Martians to Zombies, with assorted undead minions of the Kaiser in between. If Hogan couldn’t concoct a fresh beast-man, why, a clutch of cave men or freshly-defrosted Viking berserkers would keep readers riveted. Recurring foes came and went. G-8 finally vanquished Herr Doktor Krueger late in the series. Or did he? Maybe they renewed their feud for World War II. If so, Hogan failed to record those encounters. No doubt they would have captivated ever-loyal fans of the one and only Flying Spy.
 
Through it all, Robert J. Hogan never seemed ashamed to have his Christian name attached to effusions bearing overblown titles like The Flying Coffins of the Damned. And he a minister’s son.
 
This inaugural G-8 audiobook is narrated by the talented Doug Stone. Stand clear! Contact! Zoooom! Tac-tac-tac-tac! Yammering Guns live again!

 
Nick DeGregorio composed the music for the G-8 and His Battle Aces series of audiobooks.  7 hours $27.98 Audio CDs / $13.99 Download.
 
 

 

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RadioArchives.com and Will Murray are giving away the downloadable version of the newly released Strange Detective Mysteries audiobook for FREE.
 
If you prefer the Audio CDs to play in your car or home CD player, the coupon code will subtract the $11.99 price of the download version from the Audio CDs. That makes the Audio CDs half price.
 
Add Strange Detective Mysteries to the shopping cart and use the Coupon Code AUDIOBOOK.
 
“Strange Detective Mysteries #1 is one of my favorite pulps and I am excited to produce it as an audiobook with my good friends at Radio Archives. It leads off with Norvell W. Page’s bizarre novelette, “When the Death-Bat Flies,” and includes thrilling stories by Norbert Davis, Paul Ernst, Arthur Leo Zagat, Wayne Rogers and others. Popular Publications went all-out to make this 1937 debut issue a winner. And they succeeded!”
 
Happy listening,
Will Murray
 

 

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New Will Murray’s Pulp Classics eBooks

 
The best of timeless Pulp now available as cutting edge eBooks! Will Murray’s Pulp Classics brings the greatest heroes, awesome action, and two fisted thrills to your eReader! Presenting Pulp Icons such as the Spider and Operator #5 as well as wonderfully obscure characters like the Octopus and Captain Satan. Will Murray’s Pulp Classics brings you the best of yesterday’s Pulp today!
 

The Spider #68 May 1939 King of the Fleshless Legion
Poisoned medicine had flooded New York — and overnight all hospitals had been turned into a hell of betrayed human sufferers! For a strange and incredible horror had gripped the metropolis. Men gazed, terrified, upon a greenish Skull, glowing evilly in the darkness, then died! And no physician nor science could save them from unbelievable agony and death! Where once happy healthy citizens had dwelt was now a city of defleshed corpses. No help could come from the baffled police; and mercy in Manhattan was a forgotten word. Yet one man did not fear to challenge the Terror. Richard Wentworth, as the Spider, set out to find a way to battle the Skull — and save an entire city from an Epidemic of Poison Death! Total Pulp Experience. These exciting pulp adventures have been beautifully reformatted for easy reading as an eBook and features every story, every editorial, and every column of the original pulp magazine. $2.99.
 
 

What were these batlike monsters? What was the strange death they carried? G-8 and his ace buddies follow this horror staffel straight into action skies! G-8 and his Battle Aces rode the nostalgia boom ten years after World War I ended. These high-flying exploits were tall tales of a World War that might have been, featuring monster bats, German zombies, wolf-men, harpies, Martians, and even tentacled floating monsters. Most of these monstrosities were the work of Germany’s seemingly endless supply of mad scientists, chief of whom was G-8’s recurring Nemesis, Herr Doktor Krueger. G-8 battled Germany’s Halloween shock troops for over a decade, not ceasing until the magazine folded in the middle of World War II. G-8 and his Battle Aces return in vintage pulp tales, reissued for today’s readers in electronic format. $2.99.

 

 
Dime Mystery Magazine Wyatt Blassingame Book 1

In 1934 a new type of magazine was born. Known by various names — the shudder pulps, mystery-terror magazines, horror-terror magazines — weird menace is the sub-genre term that has survived today. Dime Mystery Magazine was one of the most popular. It came from Popular Publications, whose publisher Harry Steeger was inspired by the Grand Guignol theater of Paris. This breed of pulp story survived less than ten years, but in that time, they became infamous, even to this day. This ebook contains a collection of stories from the pages of Dime Mystery Magazine, all written by Wyatt Blassingame, reissued for today’s readers in electronic format. $2.99.

 

Terror Tales Wyatt Blassingame Book 3
In 1934 a new type of magazine was born. Known by various names — the shudder pulps, mystery-terror magazines, horror-terror magazines — weird menace is the sub-genre term that has survived today. Terror Tales magazine was one of the most popular. It came from Popular Publications, whose publisher Harry Steeger was inspired by the Grand Guignol theater of Paris. This breed of pulp story survived less than ten years, but in that time, they became infamous, even to this day. This ebook contains a collection of stories from the pages of Terror Tales magazine by Wyatt Blassingame, reissued for today’s readers in electronic format. $2.99.
 

99 cent eBook Singles
Each 99 cent eBook Single contains a single short story, one of the many amazing tales selected from the pages of Terror Tales and Rangeland Romances. These short stories are not included in any of our other eBooks.
 
Terror Tales Prince of Pain by Mindret Lord
Perhaps the horrors Robert Brundage saw in that laboratory of Prince Ahmed had made him mad. Perhaps… In 1934 a new type of magazine was born. Known by various names — the shudder pulps, mystery-terror magazines, horror-terror magazines — weird me most popular. It came from Popular Publications, whose publisher Harry Steeger was inspired by the Grand Guignol theater of Paris. This breed of pulp story survived less than ten years, but in that time, they became infamous, even to this day. This ebook contains a classic story from the pages of Terror Tales magazine, reissued for today’s readers in electronic format. $0.99.
 

Terror Tales Satan’s Roadhouse by Carl Jacobi
A grinning death’s-head led Stephen Benedict to a house of hell, where hanging corpses looked down with sightless eyes on ugly, midnight rites. Known by various names — the shudder pulps, mystery-terror magazines, horror-terror magazines — weird me most popular. It came from Popular Publications, whose publisher Harry Steeger was inspired by the Grand Guignol theater of Paris. This breed of pulp story survived less than ten years, but in that time, they became infamous, even to this day. This ebook contains a classic story from the pages of Terror Tales magazine, reissued for today’s readers in electronic format. $0.99.
 

 
Rangeland Romances #4 The Beautiful Boss of the Double-B by Thelma Knoles
By hiring handsome Jim Raleigh on her ranch, Beth hoped to make Carter Ganes jealous enough to propose to her. But in carefully stacking Cupid’s deck — Beth forgot one two-faced queen!.” One of the most popular settings for romance stories was the old west, where men were men and women were women. As many a swooning damsel could attest, “There’s something about a cowboy.” The western romance became one of the most popular types of magazines sold during the early and mid-twentieth century. $0.99.
 

Rangeland Romances #24 Fiddle-Footed Romeo by Art Lawson
Beautiful tomboy Nell could stand most anything – now that she was going to marry Lew – except Bill giving her a pretty silk nightgown… as a wedding present. One of the most popular settings for romance stories was the old west, where men were men and women were women. As many a swooning damsel could attest, “There’s something about a cowboy.” The western romance became one of the most popular types of magazines sold during the early and mid-twentieth century. $0.99.

 
All eBooks produced by Radio Archives are available in ePub, Mobi, and PDF formats for the ultimate in compatibility. When you upgrade to a new eReader, you can transfer your eBook to your new device without the need to purchase anything new.
 
Find these legendary Pulp tales and more in Will Murray’s Pulp Classics, now available at:
 
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Search for RadioArchives.com in iTunes.
 
 
 

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Receive an exciting original Spider adventure FREE! Part of the Will Murray Pulp Classics line, The Spider #11, Prince of the Red Looters first saw print in 1934 and features his momentous battle with The Fly and his armies of crazed criminal killers.
 
For those who have been unsure about digging into the wonderful world of pulps, this is a perfect chance to give one of these fantastic yarns a real test run. With a full introduction to the Spider written by famed pulp historian and author Will Murray, The Spider #11 was written by one of pulp’s most respected authors, Norvell W. Page. Writing as Grant Stockbridge, Page’s stories included some of the most bizarre and fun takes on heroes and crime fighting in the history of escapist fiction.
 
Even today Page’s scenarios and his edge-of-the-seat writing style are still thrilling both new and old fans everywhere. For those who have never read one of these rollercoaster adventures, you are in for a thrill. If you already know how much fun a classic pulp is, make sure you get a copy of this classic.
 

See what the Total Pulp Experience is for yourself. These exciting pulp adventures have been beautifully reformatted for easy reading as an eBook and features every story, every editorial, and every column of the original pulp magazine.
 
Send an eMail to eBooks@RadioArchives.com and start reading your FREE copy of  the Spider #11 within seconds! Experience The Best Pulps the Past has to offer in the most modern way possible!
 
 

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Pulp fiction’s Master of Men returns in two classic stories from one of the pulp era’s best selling magazines. First, in “Scourge of the Yellow Fangs” (1937), a hidden fiend preys on the city’s Chinatown. Soon, a new menace begins to spread, threatening to engulf Asian and Caucasian alike. Only The Spider has guessed the identify of the ruthless criminal behind the atrocities committed on the nation’s newest citizens – but can he survive after being targeted for a ghastly death? Next, in “Death and The Spider” (1942), from Mar-lar-delan, ancient lama of Tibet, came the prophecy that when Death walked the Earth as a man, The Spider would die! Beseiged by terror and murder, the city struggles to survive as criminal forces rally to the man called Death! These two exciting pulp adventures have been beautifully reformatted for easy reading and feature both of the original full color covers as well as interior illustrations that accompany each story. On sale for $12.95, save $2.00
 

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The Dark Avenger wages war on organized super-crime in two classic pulp mysteries by Walter B. Gibson writing as “Maxwell Grant.” First, a city’s financial system is threatened by the murderous machinations of “Intimidation, Inc.,” until The Shadow beats them at their own game! Then, the Knight of Darkness strives to unmask the “Wizard of Crime,” the hidden financial genius behind Intimidation, Inc., in a rare shadowy sequel. This instant collector’s item showcases the classic color pulp covers by George Rozen and the original interior illustrations by Tom Lovell and Paul Orban, with commentary by popular culture historian Will Murray.$14.95.

 

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The original “Man of Steel” returns in three action-packed pulp thrillers by Paul Ernst and Emile Tepperman writing as “Kenneth Robeson.” First, The Avenger is blamed when massive power outages black out North America. Can Dick Benson locate the mastermind called Nevlo in time to prevent a deadly final blackout? Then, Death in Slow Motion cripples an American industry, and Justice, Inc. must find an antidote in time to save hundreds from the deadly paralysis plague! Finally, a defeated crook returns to plot Vengeance on The Avenger in an exciting novelette by Spider-wordsmith Emile Tepperman. This classic pulp reprint includes both color covers by Graves Gladney, Paul Orban’s dynamic interior illustrations and commentary by pulp historian Will Murray. $14.95.

80th Anniversary Commemorative Special. Commemorating the Man of Bronze’s anniversary with two expanded novels, restored from Lester Dent’s original manuscripts with never-before-published text! First, a Wall Street scandal sets the Man of Bronze on the golden trail of “The Midas Man,” who plots to control the global financial system. Then, while recovering from a serious head wound, a disoriented Doc Savage battles modern-day pirates and murderous zombies in “The Derelict of Skull Shoal.” PLUS: “80 Years of Doc Savage”: a Pictorial History of the Pulps’ Greatest Superman! This landmark collector’s edition features the original color pulp covers by Walter M. Baumhofer and Modest Stein, Paul Orban’s original interior illustrations and new historical commentary by Will Murray, writer of eleven Doc Savage novels. $14.95.

 

80th Anniversary Commemorative Special. Commemorating the Man of Bronze’s anniversary with two expanded novels, restored from Lester Dent’s original manuscripts with never-before-published text! First, a Wall Street scandal sets the Man of Bronze on the golden trail of “The Midas Man,” who plots to control the global financial system. Then, while recovering from a serious head wound, a disoriented Doc Savage battles modern-day pirates and murderous zombies in “The Derelict of Skull Shoal.” PLUS: “80 Years of Doc Savage”: a Pictorial History of the Pulps’ Greatest Superman! This landmark collector’s edition features the original color pulp covers by Walter M. Baumhofer and Modest Stein, Paul Orban’s original interior illustrations and new historical commentary by Will Murray, writer of eleven Doc Savage novels. $14.95.

 
gc340-1-5952961Featured Girasol Replica: Weird Tales #107 November 1932 [Pulp Replica]
This is an authentic replica of an original pulp magazine published by Girasol Collectables. This edition is designed to give the reader an authentic taste of what a typical pulp magazine was like when it was first issued – but without the frailty or expense of trying to find a decades-old collectable to enjoy. The outer covers, the interior pages, and the advertisements are reprinted just as they appeared in the original magazine, left intact to give the reader the true feel of the original as well as an appreciation for the way in which these publications were first offered to their avid readers. To further enhance the “pulp experience”, this edition is printed on off-white bond paper intended to simulate the original look while, at the same time, assuring that this edition will last far longer than the original upon which it is based. The overall construction and appearance of this reprint is designed to be as faithful to the original magazine as is reasonably possible, given the unavoidable changes in production methods and materials. $35.00
 
Will Murray’s Monumental New Novel
Doc Savage: Skull Island
 
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Doc Savage vs. King Kong!
 
Eighty years ago in February, 1933 the Street & Smith company released the first issue of Doc Savage Magazine, introducing one of the most popular and influential pulp superheroes ever to hit the American scene. Doc Savage was the greatest adventurer and scientist of his era, and while his magazine ended in 1949, he influenced the creators of Superman, Batman, Star Trek, The Man from UNCLE and the Marvel Universe—to name only a few.
 
While that first issue of Doc Savage was fresh on Depression newsstands, RKO Radio Pictures released one of the most important fantasy films of all time. Everyone knows the story of how King Kong was discovered on Skull Island and hauled back to New York in chains, only to perish tragically atop the world’s tallest skyscraper, the Empire State Building.
 
As it happened, that was where Doc Savage had his world headquarters. For decades, fans have wondered: Where was Doc the day Kong fell?
 
On the eightieth anniversary of these fictional giants, Altus Press is proud to release the first authorized clash between The Man of Bronze and the Eighth Wonder of the World—Doc Savage: Skull Island. Written by Will Murray in collaboration with Joe DeVito, creator of KONG: King of Skull Island, Doc Savage: Skull Island is a new pulp epic.
 
The story opens when Doc returns from his secret retreat in the North Pole to discover the cold corpse of Kong lying on his doorstep.
 
“I know this creature,” Doc tells his dumbfounded men.
 
Tasked to dispose of the remains, the Man of Bronze then relates the untold story of his epic encounter with Kong back in 1920, after Doc returns from service in World War I, long before Kong became known to the civilized world as “King” Kong.
 
Doc Savage: Skull Island is a multi-generational story in which Doc and his father—the man who placed him in the hands of scientists who made him into a superman—sail to the Indian Ocean in search of Doc’s grandfather, the legendary Stormalong Savage, whose famous clipper ship has been discovered floating, deserted, her masts snapped by some incredible force.
 
The quest for Stormalong Savage leads to the fog-shrouded Indian Ocean and—Skull Island! There, Doc Savage faces his first great test as he encounters its prehistoric dangers and tangles with the towering, unstoppable Kong.
 
“When Joe DeVito brought this idea to me,” says Will Murray, “I knew it had to be written with reverence for both of these immortal characters. So I used the locale of Skull Island to tell a larger story, an untold origin for Doc Savage. It all started back on Skull Island….”
 
“Pulling off the first ever face-off between Doc Savage and King Kong was both challenging and exhilarating,” adds DeVito. “Will’s unique take on the tale scatters the primordial mists surrounding Skull Island long enough to reveal secrets of both classic characters hidden since their creation.”
 
Doc Savage: Skull Island has already been hailed as “The Doc Savage novel that Doc fans have been waiting on for 80 years!”
 
Doc Savage: Skull Island is the fifth entry in Altus Press’ popular Wild Adventures of Doc Savage series. Cover by Joe DeVito. $24.95.
 
 

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Review of Cold Death from Doc Savage, Volume 11
By Dr. Art Sippo
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While walking on the street, Doc Savage has his pocket picked. Well, not exactly. A pick-pocket puts something into his pocket.  It is a warning that if he would prevent death to thousands, he should go to a house in a New Jersey marsh. When Doc and his crew arrive there, they witness a weird explosion that digs a perfectly straight symmetrical canal in an instant. As they did deeper into the mystery, they encounter the Cold Death, a hand-held weapon that shoots a beam of incandescent light which is as cold as the depths of space yet can cut a man in half in an instant. The ray beam is turned on Doc Savage and even the bronze man almosts succumbs to a freezing death! This weapon is the trigger to the most powerful explosive ever known: an explosive that harnesses the power of the atom itself. It is the key to a master plan of extortion where entire cities are held hostage. And New York is the first city on the list! At the center of this plan is a man with weird eyes that glow in the dark who appears to be the mastermind behind the scheme.
 
Who is the mystery man? Where does he come from? What is this weapon that brings Cold Death? Can even Doc Savage prevail against such a doomsday weapon?
This story was written in 1936 yet it eerily predicts laser-like weapons and the explosive power of nuclear fusion. The threat of weapons of mass destruction in the hands of terrorists and fanatics is timelier today than when the story was first printed. This is one of my favorites of the weird science Doc Savage sagas.  Don’t Miss it! Double Novel reprint $12.95

 

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HANCOCK TIPS HIS HAT TO ‘MAN-MADE TROUBLES: THE FIVE-MINUTE FRANKENSTEIN!

TIPPIN’ HANCOCK’S HAT-Reviews of Pulp and Genre Fiction in All Media
by Tommy Hancock

MAN-MADE TROUBLES:THE FIVE-MINUTE FRANKENSTEIN
An Anthology by L. Andrew Cooper, Georgia L. Jones, LS King, Christopher Kokoski, Brad PArnell, Thomas Rafalski, Teddi Robinson, Divinity Rose, and Jason S. Walters
BlackWyrm Publishing
2013

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There aren’t many fictional names that conjure vivid images in young and old, fan and neophyte, expert and novice, reader and nonreader, like Frankenstein.   Originally a novel of course by Mary Shelley, a fact almost every modern person in existence over the age of 12 probably knows, the concept of Victor Frankenstein stitching together parts of various corpses and charging it with life has gone so far beyond Shelley’s original pages.   The indelible images of the Doctor and his Monster are so engrained in our society and consciousness that effort is made by many to prove that both the human and the created being actually existed or at least had basis in reality.  Still others have taken the Frankenstein tale and retold it in different settings, updated it for modern consumption, or simply taken the themes of the original tale and woven those now classic tropes into new tales.

All of that and more is exactly what the writers of MAN-MADE TROUBLES: THE FIVE-MINUTE FRANKENSTEIN have done with some success.

As stated in the book’s introduction, this is a collection that came out of a group of writers associated with BlackWyrm Publishing discussing doing a Frankenstein anthology.  The plan for the collection seems fairly simple and straightforward, with an interesting twist.  Writers were to write a tale about or inspired by Frankenstein, either the doctor, the monster, or both, and to link either directly or thematically to the source work.  The kicker was, however, that each writer only had four pages to do so, about 1200 words to tell a complete story.

The result of this interesting set of rules turned out to be a rather enjoyable mix of horror, humor, and even adventure as well as a revealing look at just how much we as mere humans connect to the Frankenstein mythos.  The stories range from starring the Monster himself as well as various Frankensteins to simply being about the feeling of one’s life being nothing but mismatched parts of others’ experiences.  Dystopian futures are a common element in more than one tale.  An interesting twist on a classic fairy tale with a hint of Monster is included as well.  Ranging from the straightforward to the abstract, the short short tales in this collection pretty much all hit the mark they aimed for.

Were some better than others? Sure.  The stories by Georgia L. Jones, Divinity Rose, Christopher Kokoski, and Jason S. Walters stand out, but all the tales were fine entries in this quirky collection.

A setback for readers, however, may be the price of the print edition.  It’s a ten dollar book on paper, but the ebook is only 99 cents.  It’s well worth that and more to enjoy this, so if the money’s an issue, pick it up digitally!

THREE OUT OF FIVE TIPS OF THE HAT-The stories are overall fun and engaging, with a few near misses, but definitely an interesting read overall!

Mindy Newell: For Kim And John, From The Heart

  • Uncategorized
  • May 27, 2013

newell-art-130527-3100897So Saturday, I’m sitting in the kitchen, my feet up on the table, sipping my morning tea, and flipping through the latest edition of Entertainment Weekly. It’s the one with Hugh Jackman on the cover as Wolverine, dated May 31/June 7 2013.

I’m on page 32, the “Monitor” section, and there’s nothing there really of interest for me, a headline splashing a “Bieber Backlash” – about time – and an announcement under “Splits” that Robert Pattison and Kristen Stewart of Twilight fame have broken up again – duh, I saw that one coming once the last fanfare of Breaking Dawn was done – and then I see a little inset on the bottom left that boldly reads “turn the page and open the flaps for EW’s pick of the 25 greatest superheroes ever” (with “plus the 5 worst” in a shaded grey, and a little arrow pointing to a big advertising spread for a TNT show called Hero.

Hmm. Didn’t see this listed on the “Contents” page. Must be like one of those Easter eggs that some videos have.

So nat’ch I open the flaps and there it is. Very cool, and a nice surprise.

The copy explains that when picking this list EW decided to “specify which version of the hero stands out above the rest,” so that “some icons appear here more than once.”

I like that, it’s a bit different, and with 75 years of superhero history muddying the waters (Superman first appeared in Action Comics #1, June 1938) along with who-can-count-the-number-of-reboots in that time, I think it shows respect for our beloved genre.

So here’s their list, in ascending order, of the greatest superheroes of all time, with a bit of EW’s reasons why:

1. Spider-Man: Lee and Ditko, Amazing Fantasy #15, August 1962. “…reinvented the muscle-bound superhero as young, funny, geeky, flawed, and struggling. ”

2. Batman Year One: Frank Miller, Batman #404 – 407, 1987. “…has cast its dark, sinister shadow over every Batman iteration since. ”

3. Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Joss Wheedon, 1977 – 2003. “…super and human, as quick with a quip as she was with a stake…Buffy was a teen first, her secret identity her heroism. ”

4. Iron Man: Robert Downey, Jr., 2008. “…tack on the aching wisdom that Downey’s age (and eyes) – oh, and may I add here his pure, unadulterated sexiness – brings to the role and you have the fully charged heart of the Marvel movie universe. ”

5. Superman: Christopher Reeve, 1978. “…most memorable was his playful take on alter ego Clark Kent, depicting him as the meek, benign bumbler” – well, they almost got this one right. Reeve simply was Superman.

Okay, this is getting into dangerous, possible plagiarism territory here (plus it could very possible piss off editor Mike), so let me quickly go down the list without the, uh, word-for-word copying.

6. Wonder Woman: Lynda Carter, 1976 – 1979. Spin, Lynda, spin!

7. Batman: Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight Trilogy, 2005 – 2012. Made everyone forget everything that came after Michael Keaton. Hey, I thought Keaton was great, so stick in it your ear! Although, imho, Pfeiffer still beats out Hathaway as Catwoman.

8. X-Men: Chris Claremont and John Byrne, 1977 – 1981. The team that got me hooked on mutants.

9. Black Panther: Don McGregor, Rich Buckler, Gil Kane, Billy Graham, Klaus Janson and Bob McLeod, “Panther’s Rage,” Jungle Action #6 – #24, September 1973 – November 1976. Marvel’s first graphic novel, even if it did appear in serialized form. Dwayne McDuffie said of it on his website: “This overlooked and underrated classic is arguably the most tightly written multi-part superhero epic ever. If you can get your hands on it . . . sit down and read the whole thing. It’s damn near flawless, every issue, every scene, a functional, necessary part of the whole. Okay, now go back and read any individual issue. You’ll find seamlessly integrated words and pictures; clearly introduced characters and situations; a concise (sometimes even transparent) recap; beautifully developed character relationships; at least one cool new villain; a stunning action set piece to test our hero’s skills and resolve; and a story that is always moving forward towards a definite and satisfying conclusion…and [they] did it in only 17 pages per issue.” Okay, I’m copying again.

I’m going to tighten this up even further, because there’s a big surprise coming, and it’s something that mean a lot to me…and to someone else here at ComicMix.

10. Captain America: Ed Brubaker, 2004 – 2012.

11. Superman (Animated): Max and Dave Fleisher, 1941.

12. The Flash: Carmine Infantino, 1956 – seemingly forever

13. Phoenix: Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum, Uncanny X-Men, #101 – #108, 1976 – 1977

14. The Incredible Hulk: Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno, 1977 – 1982

15. Dream: Neil Gaiman, Sandman #1 – #79, 1989 – 1996.

16. Wolverine: Hugh Jackman, 2000 – 2013

17. Swamp Thing: Alan Moore, The Saga of the Swamp Thing #21, February 1984 – Swamp Thing #64, September 1987

18. Hellboy: Mike Mignola, 1993 – onwards in comics and other media

And here is the one that made me sit up, rush to my computer and send off an e-mail to John Ostrander, my dear friend and fellow columnist here at ComicMix.

19. Oracle: John Ostrander and Kim Yale, Suicide Squad #23, 1989

In 1988, Barbara Gordon, aka Batgirl, was shot and paralyzed by the Joker in Alan Moore and Brian Bolland’s Batman: The Killing Joke as he rampaged against everyone connected to the Dark Knight. Although the graphic novel was a brilliant take on the Joker (which, imho, vastly influenced the late Heath Ledger’s portrayal of the villain) and was critically acclaimed, the controversy of the victimization of Barbara Gordon really upset the fans – particularly the women.

Including Kim Yale, John’s late wife, a wonderful writer and editor, and the best friend this writer ever had.

Well, let me have John tell it, from an interview with Vaneta Rogers on Newsarama dated September 7, 2011:

“My late wife, Kimberly Yale, and I were not crazy about how Barbara was treated in The Killing Joke,” comic writer John Ostrander told Newsarama. “Since the Batman office had no further plans for her at the time, we got permission to use Barbara in Suicide Squa, [another DC title at the time]. We felt that the gunshot as seen in Killing Joke would leave her paralyzed. We felt such an act should have repercussions. So…we took some of her other talents, as with computers, and created what was essentially an Internet superhero – Oracle. “

It so perfectly made sense. Barbara had been established as a PhD. in library science, so Kim and John used that basis to make Barbara the ultimate computer hacker. As Oracle, she was the “go-to” person for any hero in the DC universe needing information; it was a natural progression for Denny O’Neil (yep, our Denny), who was the editor of Batman family editor at this time, to incorporate Oracle as the woman to whom the Dark Knight turned when he sought aid on the computer.

This is a nation that talks the talk about recognizing the value of everyone’s capabilities but rarely walks the walk. This is a country in which Senator Max Cleland, who lost both arms and a leg while serving in Vietnam, lost his seat to a man who got out of serving in Vietnam (“bad knee,” he said in one interview) by claiming Cleland did not support his country against Osama Bin Laden. This is a country in which the comic book industry is filled with muscle-bound men in spandex able to leap tall buildings in a single bound and sexualized women whose bubble boobs enable them to fly.

But this is also an industry that gave us Oracle, who was Batgirl, who was the target of madhouse clown, who was paralyzed, who forged on ahead and demanded our respect.

She got it.

Thanks to two writers named Kim Yale and John Ostrander.

*The rest of the list is: 20. Astonishing X-Men by Joss Wheedon; 21. The Incredibles, by Brad Bird; 22. The Incredible Hulk, by Lee and Kirby; 23. Spider-Man, by Sam Raimi; 24. Daredevil, by Frank Miller; and 25. Fantastic Four, by Lee and Kirby.

**The 5 Worst Superheroes are: 1. Matter-Eater Lad; 2. The Punisher; 3. Halle Berry’s Catwoman; 4. Wonder Twins; and 5. David E. Kelley’s Wonder Woman.

(Mindy will be back in this space Wednesday afternoon.)

TUESDAY MORNING: Emily S. Whitten

TUESDAY AFTERNOON: Michael Davis

 

John Ostrander: Old Friends

ostrander-art-130526-6357745There are so many books yet to read – classics, mysteries, SF, fantasy, history, biography, comics and so on. All unread, so many of them of such high quality and I really want to read them. There are, however, only so many hours to the day and so many things that need doing in those hours, including writing this column.

Yet I often find myself returning to books that I’ve read before. For several years, right around Memorial Day, we’d go to a mass out by where my father was buried and that would be a key for me to start re-reading Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. There was the return to Middle-Earth and all the locations, all the characters – good and bad – that inhabited it. I’ve often returned as well to A. Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories and Victorian/Edwardian England.

I watch a lot of movies over and over again, but I think books are different. There’s a greater investiture of time in re-reading a book, usually, and it demands a greater investiture of me. Don’t get me wrong; I love movies but it is a more passive activity. You have to use your imagination more with reading; you have to be actively engaged. You’re translating two-dimensional words on a page (or screen these days) into images in your mind, into a sensory experience. You control the pace of the storytelling to a degree; you read fast or you linger. You go back or maybe skip forward, sometimes to the end if you’re cheating and want to know that first. They’re very different experiences.

When I read something for a second time, it’s a different experience than the first. The first time, I want the story. I want to know What Happens Next, how is it all going to turn out. It’s fresh, it’s new, and (if the story is good) exciting.

On subsequent reads, unless I’ve forgotten the plot (which happens more and more as I grow older), I know all of that. I may discover a bit I had not gotten before or the story yields a new pleasure that I had missed in my rush to find out What Happens Next.

So why keep going back when I can keep reading something new, get that first time feeling over and over again? I think its because the story stays with me and it was well told. I’ve never gone back and read a book I disliked or even one to which I was simply indifferent. I had to love that story. I go back, not expecting the same pleasure I had the first time, but simply because it’s a friend. I had a good experience with that friend and I enjoy being in its company. For me, the fact that it’s a repeated pleasure simply deepens that pleasure for me.

I try to balance out the two; reading something new along with reading something familiar. It keeps me sane – or what passes for sane these days. I think I’ll go find an old friend this summer and renew my acquaintanceship. It’s a good time to do it.

On a different note: since this is Memorial Day Weekend, we should remember the reason why the holiday exists. It’s not simply the start of summer, it’s about remembering those who served their country, especially those who died. Our respect and our thanks.

And if you’re traveling, safe journey.

MONDAY MORNING: Mindy Newell

TUESDAY MORNING: Emily S. Whitten

 

PULPED! RETURNS WITH PULP 2.0’s BILL CUNNINGHAM!

From PULPED-THE OFFICIAL NEW PULP PODCAST
PULPED! is back!  But first, a note-
To all Our Fans and Listeners,
My apologies for the irregularity of PULPED! for the last few months and the downright absence of it the last three.   No excuses, just real life and the commitments of being a writer and publisher got in the way and pulled me away from this.  What has pulled me back though is the sincere interest so many of you have expressed in hearing more and the comments I’ve gotten at all the conventions this year I’ve been to about how people are listening and enjoying.  It’s taken some time, but due to adding some much needed help for other things and life settling down in general, you can expect to hear not only me and many guests on PULPED! each week, but I expect my three co-hosts will be making a few appearances as well! Thank You all again for your support and interest and let’s get PULPED!, shall we?
Tommy Hancock
PULPED!
pulped-2035671
This week’s episode finds Pulp 2.0 Press’ head honcho, the Mad Pulp Bastard himself, Bill Cunningham as our guest!  Frankenstein, Miracle Squad, Big Bang Comics and more- Bill shares Pulp 2.0’s mission to bring great stories back from the past for today’s audience to enjoy as well as fresh New Pulp for all us fans to graze on!  Listen in as Tommy Hancock makes sure that Bill Cunningham gets PULPED!
PULP 2.0 PRESS- http://pulp2ohpress.com
Check out New Pulp on at www.newpulpfiction.com and on Facebook and at http://www.comicrelated.com/forums
Tommy Hancock- www.ideaslikebullets.blogspot.com
Ron Fortier- www.airship27.com
Barry Reese- www.barryreese.net
Derrick Ferguson- www.dillon-dlferguson.blogspot.com
Listen to the latest episode of PULPED! Here!

Saturday Morning Cartoons: Patton Oswalt’s “Star Wars VII” for the 30th Anniversary of “Return Of The Jedi”

return-of-the-jedi-1-7514259

In honor of the 30th anniversary of the release of Return Of The Jedi and the 36th anniversary of the release of Star Wars, we have something a little bit different for you.

Last month, for an episode of Parks and Recreation, Patton Oswalt ad libbed a seven-minute vision of what Star Wars VII ought to be, complete with the Avengers and several Greek gods. Now his rant has been animated by YouTube user Izac Less:

Oh, and here’s the original:

And consider yourself lucky. If we really wanted to do Saturday morning cartoons to commemorate Return Of The Jedi, we would have gone with this:

Yubnub yourself, buddy.

Marc Alan Fishman: Press Start – Or Just Turn It Off!

So Microsoft debuted the XBOX One this week and the video game fanboys dropped trou and prayed to Lord Gates. With it, the next generation of consoles are all spec’ed out, and being built by poor children of other countries. Err, I mean by robots. Yes. Souless, never-hungry robots. Perhaps it’s a sign of the times, or just the fact that I’m getting older and crankier by the day (something I may attribute to being in proximity of several fine folks on this very site), but I’m finding it harder and harder to care.

My generation was gleefully known as the ‘Nintendo Generation. When the original NES debuted, I was at the perfect age. With careful prodding, pleading, and sad-face-making, my parents dropped the $100 (a veritable fortune at the time for a lowly birthday / Chanukah gift) for the system. Elation, kiddos. Elation. Flash forward sometime later, and I was able to finagle the Super Nintendo when it debuted. I remember with near photographic memory the reflection of my beardless cherubic face in the glossy UV coating on the box… declaring all the amazing new games debuting with the console –none of which were included, save for Super Mario World.

This cycle continued all throughout high school: the SNES begat the Sega Saturn (don’t judge me). The Saturn begat the Dreamcast (continue to hold that tongue). The Dreamcast gave way to the original XBOX. And I remember it so well; plunking down my shiny new credit card for the $650 charge (the system, a game, and the extra controller, don’t-cha-know), and then holing up at a friend’s apartment for what would end up being one of very few all-night gaming sessions. See, even in my early twenties I was a budding old man. But I digress.

The newest line of video game consoles continue the trend to move away from entertainment add-on devices to full on hubs of all things do-and-watchable. Literal, visceral computers minus a keyboard and mouse. They’re WiFi-enabled, app-store-shoppable, and motion-sensitive. The XBOX One will apparently be ‘on’ all the time, and be able to take voice commands at will. XBOX, turn on. Bring up Netflix. Order me a pizza. Raise me my child. They’ve even showed a possible add-on that will project environmental graphics onto the walls and surfaces of your media room. I’ve seen the future folks… and I can’t wait to tell my son about how in my day our graphics were crappy and damn-it we liked it that way.

So why all the hatespew, you ask? All allusions to getting older aside, it’s frankly a matter of taste. The commitment of time a child (or teen, or adult for that matter) can sink into a video game is mind-numbing. Pun intended. Games today simply try too hard to be immersive. One simply doesn’t turn on the game, play a level or two, and call it a night. Suffice to say, that is what Angry Birds was designed to do. With the next generation of systems on their way, this is the trend that will continue. The phone will be my Nintendo. The XBOX will demand I plotz for 90 minutes if I intend to game.

The late Roger Ebert was adamant that even the best games were hardly art, I’ve never subscribed to that point of view. While Halo won’t sit on my shelf next to Inglorious Basterds, it certainly provided more smiles and provoked more thoughts than Kung Pow: Enter the Fist. But therein lies the blessing and the curse of modern gaming. The more video games mimic real life / real cinema / long-format stories, the more time and energy will be required of the player. Who here would watch The Godfather trilogy in 20-minute chunks?

And while yes, this doesn’t include Madden, fighting games, or arcade games… even there Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft are subtly demanding more and more of us as players – both in our time, and from our bank account). Madden may have that quick game, but the appeal (for those not online) is in the franchise mode-built for hours-long tweaking, prodding, and finessing. Fighting games demand the completest beat the game with every fighter to unlock a plethora of add-ons. And even the arcade games of my youth, repackaged and resold to me through countless app stores, stack themselves in such a manner that pleads I play it… remember how much I loved it… beat it… and buy the next one.

As it stands today I play only two games on my XBOX. Batman: Arkham City and WWE ‘13. Both provide me enough fun in what brief times I pull myself away from all my grown-up responsibilities. I assume in a year’s time, my stone facade will crack under the pressure of the pretty new graphics and promises of full-on entertainment media-center domination. But until that time, I’ll happily clutch my XBOX 360 like the old fart I’m becoming… and relish my memories of the simpler times. When up-up down-down left-right left-right B-A Start meant I could beat Contra, and head outside. When a round-robin tourney of Virtual On or Mario Kart meant bragging rights for the week to come. When the game manual delivered all the story I’d need in three paragraphs or less.

Those, my friends, were the days.

SUNDAY: John Ostrander

MONDAY: Mindy Newell

 

The Point Radio: One HANGOVER Too Many?

  • Uncategorized
  • May 24, 2013

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This weekend, Director Todd Phillips brings us the final chapter in the HANGOVER saga. We talk to Todd as well as Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis on the pluses and minuses of doing a third sequel. Plus more on the alien life on SYFY’s DEFIANCE as Jamie Murray admits she is just a bit “creepy”. And Amazon is ready to buy your fan fiction.

We’re taking the holiday off, but we’ll be back late next week with our exclusive preview of the new season of THE VENTURE BROTHERS on Adult Swim.

Take us ANYWHERE! The Point Radio App is now in the iTunes App store – and it’s FREE! Just search under “pop culture The Point”. The Point Radio  – 24 hours a day of pop culture fun for FREE. GO HERE and LISTEN FREE on any computer or on any other  mobile device with the Tune In Radio app – and follow us on Twitter @ThePointRadio.

Martha Thomases Boldly Goes…

  • Uncategorized
  • May 24, 2013

thomases-art-120524-3320361Some random thoughts about Star Trek: Into Darkness.

I loved the original series when it started on NBC in 1966. It was around the time I started to read science fiction, so it felt incredibly reinforcing to see my newly beloved genre on a screen in my home. I thrilled to the smart plots, and didn’t care about the cheesy special effects. There weren’t any other kind on television at the time. I loved the banter among the leads, especially from my favorite character, “Bones” McCoy. I complained as loudly as a teenage girl can complain when it was cancelled. That said, I only watched it in syndication sporadically, and I never got into any of the sequels.

Not even the one with Scott Bakula, whom I adore.

So when J. J. Abrams was tasked with reinventing the franchise, I wasn’t too upset. If he took liberties, he took liberties. Either the movies would be good, or they wouldn’t. As someone who read all the Ian Fleming Bond books and has seen every James Bond movie, even the terrible later Roger Moore ones, I have a pretty strong stomach for filmmakers who take liberties with their source material.

Kirk is really a macho asshole, isn’t he? I mean, you could tell from the original series, but it was the 1960s, and macho assholes were all the rage. It was really obvious in this movie. Yeah, he learned a lesson, and grew as a human being, but I suspect he would still be really annoying to sit next to on an airplane.

Bones may still be my favorite. In this particular movie, he was stuck regurgitating all the catch phrases, and yet Karl Urban still manages to maintain his poise. Not easy. Just ask Joe Biden.

A few female characters were actually allowed to have story lines, or at least the inference that, if we looked at the story from another viewpoint, they would be the heroic characters. Zoe Saldana as Uhura is especially brave. It’s as if her life is about more than just being in a relationship with Spock.

I would hope this is an indication of the film makers’ perspectives. Fringe had a female protagonist, as do many other 21st century entertainments.

Certainly, the women on Game of Thrones are the most compelling characters, and that’s one of the top-ten highest rated programs on television. There is money to be made with giving women in the audience someone to admire. Yay, capitalism!

A lot of the reason I went to see this movie in the theater, instead of waiting for it to show up on cable, was Benedict Cumberbatch. He is a wonderful villain, just as he is a fantastic protagonist. And he’s a commanding presence on screen, except sometimes I get distracted because he reminds me of Neil Gaiman .

I am not the only person distracted, although not everyone thinks he looks like Neil. Some are reminded of others.

As the summer goes on, and more blockbuster movies open, you could do worse than spend a couple of hours on the Enterprise. Live long and prosper, my friends.

SATURDAY: Marc Alan Fishman

SUNDAY: John Ostrander

Man finds “Action Comics #1” being used as wall insulation

action_comics_1-4053587

While remodeling his newly purchased home in Elbow Lake, Minn., David Gonzalez noticed something unusual amid the old newspapers that had been used as wall insulation.

It was a copy of Action Comics No. 1 from 1938, the very first comic to feature the granddaddy of all superheroes, Superman.

Read the rest at Man finds comic book worth $100,000 being used as wall insulation | The Sideshow – Yahoo! News.

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