I was about 14 years old when Ballantine Books started their reprint series of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ John Carter of Mars. Being a science fiction fan, a character fiction fan, and fan who’s attracted to anything numbered sequentially, I devoured the series. I re-read the first five books about 12 years ago and I enjoyed them, albeit with a nostalgically jaundiced eye.

I was both amazed and, oddly, not surprised (they’re two different emotions) when my father told me he was a John Carter fan. He started reading them around 1928 – by then, the first book was about 16 years old. Sharing this bond was quite comforting: both John Carter, my father, and I were created in Chicago over a 38 year span.

There have been numerous comics adaptations. The first was for the newspapers and for Dell Comics, created by Burroughs’ son John Coleman Burroughs. Gold Key tried a few issues; despite Jesse Marsh’s art, they were pretty lackluster. Later on, both DC and Marvel got into the John Carter business – sequentially – and those projects attracted an amazing line-up of artists, including Murphy Anderson, Dave Cockrum, Ernie Colón, Larry Hama, Carmine Infantino, Gil Kane, Frank Miller, Walt Simonson, and Mike Vosburg. Whereas the latter Marvel issues were written by Chris Claremont and Peter Gillis, the majority of the DC/Marvel runs (by far) were penned by Marv Wolfman, and that stuff is among my favorite of his. And that says a lot. Later on, Dark Horse did some crossovers with Tarzan, and John Carter even popped up in the waning days of the classic Tarzan newspaper strip. Currently, both Dynamite Comics and Marvel are publishing the character – the latter is tied into the new movie, and the former is tied into a lawsuit.

There had been a great many attempts to bring John Carter to the screen, both large and small. If you dig around, you’ll find the legendary cartoonist Bob Clampett’s test footage and sketches – they were amazing, and I wish he was able to sell the project. I remember going to the International Licensing Show in the early part of this century and seeing a huge display for an upcoming movie adaptation – some stunning artwork, particularly in their mammoth backdrop. Sadly, none of these projects came to be. There was a movie released just a couple years ago starring Antonio Sabàto, Jr. and Traci Lords, but because I’m a nice guy who always maintains a civil tongue, I won’t mention it again.

This Friday, John Carter of Mars finally makes his big-time movie debut. Produced by Disney – not coincidentally the owner of Marvel Comics – if you haven’t seen any of the trailers, commercials or ads for the movie you just might be Stevie Wonder. For many, many reasons, I have set the bar for John Carter pretty high. My dad died six years ago, so I won’t be able to see it with him. But I notice my daughter Adriane is pretty excited about the movie, and I hope to extend the family bond to her this weekend.

By the way, this is John Carter’s 100^th anniversary. If you’re planning on sneaking a cake into the theater, please, don’t light the candles.

THURSDAY: Dennis O’Neil

Cover Sketch by Felipe Echevarria

Airship 27 publisher, Ron Fortier unveiled the cover artist and cover sketch for the fourth volume in the highly popular Lance Star: Sky Ranger pulp anthology series.

Cover mock up ad

The cover sketch by Felipe Echevarria included with this entry is just a tease of the upcoming painted cover, which depicts a scene from Bobby Nash’s story from this volume called “Ring of Fire.”

Lance Star: Sky Ranger vol. 4 includes stories from New Pulp Authors Bobby Nash, Andrew Salmon, Tom Novak, and Sean Taylor. Edits by Ron Fortier. Production design by Rob Davis. Cover by Felipe Echevarria. Interior art by Scott “Doc” Vaughn.

Look for Lance Star: Sky Ranger vol. 4 coming from Airship 27 Productions.

You can learn more about artist Felipe Echevarria at http://www.felipe.tv/ or www.facebook.com/people/Felipe-Echevarria/100000501620661

For more information on Airship 27 Productions, visit them on-line at http://www.airship27.com/ and http://www.gopulp.info/

For more information on Lance Star: Sky Ranger, visit http://www.lance-star.com/

Lance Star: Sky Ranger volumes 1, 2, & 3, and the Lance Star comic book “One Shot!” are still available. Look for links at http://www.bobbynash.com/ and http://www.lance-star.com/.

While television at first reflected American culture, it then tried to mold it in the 1950s before giving up all pretense towards reality in the 1960s. The seismic cultural shifts in the latter part of the decade could be felt everywhere, including television. A rule of thumb is that the theater reflects society fastest with television and film following years later. That certainly seemed to be the case as the television series of the latter 1960s began to explore the themes people had been debating in classes and on the streets. It also forced producers to mirror the reality of the day, no longer attempting to display the ideal lifestyle.

Neil Simon was one of the brightest playwrights of the decade, having cut his teeth on live television in the 1950s. His play The Odd Couple became a box office smash film and a perfect vehicle for a sitcom. It represented a new breed of comedic television when it arrived on September 24, 1970. Over the course of its five seasons, the show, starring Jack Klugman and Tony Randall, was never less than funny and often sharp with its humor and display of human foibles. (more…)

The new season of CELEBRITY APPRENTICE is loaded with dramatic personalities and we’ve got two right here. STAR TREK Alumni George Takei and actress Tia Carrere join Donald Trump to talk about what we can expect on the show in the next few weeks. Plus was that a WALKING DEAD spoiler we saw?

The Point Radio is on the air right now – 24 hours a day of pop culture fun for FREE. GO HERE and LISTEN FREE on any computer or mobile device– and please check us out on Facebook right here & toss us a “like” or follow us on Twitter @ThePointRadio.

The medium of television is often a reflection of our times and sometimes an overly idealized, unrealistic portrayal of American life. As radio programming became nationally broadcast series, they reflected the rural lifestyles and Depression-era standards of its time. As a result, many of these shows were transferred with little change from radio to television. Similarly, as prosperity brighten America’s fortunes, so did the images of life shown in living rooms around the country.

On Tuesday, CBS Home Entertainment released seven samplers of six situation comedies and one drama with the contents selected by the fans themselves. In part one of our review, we’ll be looking at the earliest offerings and seeing what they tell us. (more…)