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Here Comes Space Kid!

Space kid – honorary deputy of the Space Patrol!

Space Kid! is a pulpy, old-school, retro-sci-fi, all-ages fun-and-adventure weekly webcomic by John MacLeod. Launched in June 2010, Space Kid is a weekly web comic with a new page posted every Sunday — all previous pages are still up and easily viewable so you can read Space Kid’s adventures from the beginning at http://www.spacekidcomics.com/.

If you like your sci fi mixed with pulpy fun, then give Space Kid a shot.

About Space Kid:

Welcome to the 26th century — as viewed from 1950.

Space Kid! was inspired by artist John MacLeod catching sight of a graphic on a T-shirt: a retro-cartoony style drawing of a big-headed boy in a classic retro bubble-helmet spacesuit. That drawing suddenly triggered a huge wave of flashbacks to the sci-fi junk from the 50s and 60s that he grew up on and loved. Things like The Jetsons, Adam Strange, Marine Boy, Magnus: Robot Fighter, most of the Supermarionation shows, the Legion of Super-Heroes, Perry Rhodan, and other Googie visions of the future that saturated the pop culture of those days, and which he found so much fun and so terribly exciting as a kid. And more flashbacks, to things from the old days which he didn’t discover until much later, like the 50s sci-fi work of Osamu Tezuka and Cyborg 009 and Star Blazers and Dan Dare. According to MacLeod, You will find echoes of all these [and probably lots more] in Space Kid!

You can read the adventures of Space Kid at http://www.spacekidcomics.com/.

The Point Radio: Finding Evangeline Lily

pt1007111-9534227Evangeline Lily has found her way to the big screen again, starring this weekend with Hugh Jackman in this weekend’s REAL STEEL. We talk about the film, her passion for writing and life after LOST plus Horror Genius Wes Craven reports on how SCREAM 4 begins that francise all over again – plus NBC drops the axe on two shows.

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 Facebookright here & toss us a “like” or follow us on Twitter @ThePointRadio.

MARTHA THOMASES: Ennis, O’Neil, and Family

thomases-column-art-111007-7635682Twice in two days this weekend, I ran into Garth Ennis on the street. Other than industry events, I haven’t seen him in nearly a decade (and then, on the street). Apparently, he lives about half a mile away from me, and has for eight years.

Usually, if I see someone I know in a place where I don’t expect to see him, I don’t recognize him. When it’s family, it’s different.

I’m not claiming to have a particularly close relationship with Mr. Ennis. As the publicist at DC in the 1990s, I monitored to the line for his signings at a few conventions and hung out at bars in the evenings with other comics folks.

I have cousins with whom I’ve spent less time.

There aren’t a lot of businesses with the same kind of family feelings as comics. I think it’s because, until recently, we got no respect. Biff, bam, pow, comics were for kids, and any adult who liked them – or worse, made a living working on them – must be developmentally stunted or a pedophile.

The first person I met in comics was Denny O’Neil. I was completely gobsmacked because he was, at the time, my favorite writer (since then, I have added favorites, depending on my mood. Still, day in and day out, he’s frequently the best). It turned out he lived down the street, and I managed to insinuate myself into his life by watering his plants when he was out of town, and borrowing his Ed McBain books. Besides comics, we shared an interest in anti-war politics, the great 1960s culture wars, and schlocky science fiction movies.

Through Denny, I met the crowd that was then at Marvel: Larry Hama, Archie Goodwin, Mike Carlin, Christopher Priest and the gang. I met a great group of freelancers, too: Frank Miller, Walter Simonson, Howard Chaykin, Kyle Baker, Bobby London, Bill Sienkiewicz, Mary Wilshire, Tony Salmons. I met Mike Gold through Denny, even though we know so many of the same people that I can’t believe we hadn’t met before.

And so on, and so on.

When I got the job at DC (thanks to Denny’s referral), I met a whole bunch more. And even though I’d been shy as a teenager, I found I was able to talk easily to people I’d just met. Maybe because we had business to talk about, or Superman, or Jim Shooter, but conversation was easy, and I felt comfortable around these people.

Just like family.

Comics used to be much more of a New York business. Then Fed-Ex, fax machines and the Internet made it possible for people to live in other states, even other countries. And that’s cool. I have family in Australia, and we’re still tight.

Since Denny retired, I don’t get to run into him every day. He moved out of town and I’m using the phone much less. Even so, I know that, the next time I see him, which will probably be at our Chanukah party, we’ll have a bunch to talk about, and we’ll laugh at our respective wrinkles and gray hairs. We’ll talk about the kids, and their crazy music and hairstyles.

Maybe, if I invite him, Garth will come, too.

Martha Thomases suspects that her teen-age self would not believe how little she uses the telephone anymore.

SATURDAY: John Ostrander

New Pulp’s Pulp Magnet Interviews Bobby Nash

Bobby and a few of his book covers.

New Pulp Author Bobby Nash was interviewed by New Pulp for Garrison James’ Pulp Magnet column. The interview covers the pulps, comics, writing, and everything in between. You can read the interview at http://www.newpulpfiction.com/2011/10/pulp-magnet-interview-with-bobby-nash.html

While you’re there, please check out the rest of New Pulp’s fantastic columns at http://www.newpulpfiction.com/.

Boom!’s Straw Poll Show Comic Book Fans are a Discriminating Lot

d12obama-8308864d12paul-7035024The following press release just arrived from our friends and BOOM! and it should be noted that it was conducted before yesterday’s announcement that Sarah Palin was not planning to run for President.

October 6th, 2011 – Los Angeles, CA – BOOM! announces the results of DECISION 2012, the comic book industry’s first straw poll: Barack Obama has won, with the top Republican candidacy going to Sarah Palin and a shocking result for last place: Rick Perry!

The results:
1. Barack Obama
2. Sarah Palin
3. Ron Paul
4. Michele Bachmann
5. Mitt Romney
6. Herman Cain
7. Newt Gingrich
8. Jon Huntsman
9. Rick Santorum
10. Rick Perry

As explained in the original press release announcing the straw poll, only candidates who sell more than 1,500 copies of a book will have their biographical comic book printed. As a result, only the top 4 candidates made that benchmark: the other six candidates’ comic books will not be printed.

“I’m really excited about collecting all these comics,” said Brett Schenker, Online Political Strategist who has worked for such political luminaries as John Kerry and Chris Dodd. “I wish this were around when I was working on Presidential campaigns, it’s a fun thing to support, but a great souvenir to remember the people I tried to get elected.”

The DECISION 2012 line of comics and comic book’s first straw poll isn’t just a contest, but also a great way for voters and students to educate themselves on the candidates running in the 2012 Presidential Election. This series of biographical comic books details the history and political lives of the candidates for the 2012 Presidential Election, giving non-partisan background on the candidates. The DECISION 2012 line of comic books is aimed at anyone of any age who enjoys reading and discussing U.S. politics.
More information on the straw poll and the DECISION 2012 line of comics can be found here: http://www.decision2012comics.com

DENNIS O’NEIL: Poopface

dennis-oneil-7262329Mr. Grotty couldn’t open the comic book. He didn’t know how long he’d been trying because here, in Limbo, there was no day, no night, no sun, moon, stars, and even if there had been any of those things, Mr. Grotty would not have heeded them because they were all poopystupidpooplappers; this was certain because to Mr. Grotty, everything and everyone was either a poopystupidpooplapper, or it was worse.

The comic book – Justice League Number One, it was called, not that Mr. Grotty cared – had on its cover pictures of seven dopeysnargers who all looked like they were hurrying to get somewhere and Mr. Grotty neither knew nor cared where they were going. But he felt that he belonged there with them, if not on the cover, then at least somewhere inside the comic book. Because he had to belong somewhere, because if he wasn’t anywhere, could he possibly even exist? And if he didn’t exist, then he…wasn’t. And that was pretty poopy.

So he attacked the Justice League: pried and pounded and tossed and humped and jumped up and down on it, too. Nothing. He paused, first catching his breath and then wondering how he could have caught his breath if he didn’t exist and then, when his head either did or did not begin to ache, depending on whether or not his head existed, he considered his situation. He knew that he was in a novel and that would seem to indicate that he existed. But he also knew that the novel had not been published – had, in fact, been read by only four people, not counting the check-chasing poopface who wrote it, and three of those four had said that they thought changes should be made. And since poopface had not given any of the four print-on-paper, but instead had asked them to read the book off computer screens, did the book exist only as digital code, and was that existing at all? Worse: even if Mr. Grotty existed now, would he exist if the book suffered future changes? Couldn’t poopface push a button and cause Mr. Grotty to vanish without a trace? Then wouldn’t it the case that he had never existed, even if he had?

AAAAArrrrrgggghhhhh, Mr. Grotty commented.

Mr. Grotty spat on the Justice League. That didn’t help, either.

So it came down to this: he felt that he belonged with those dopeysnargers on the Justice League cover because he dimly remembered doing feats such as they did, and wearing similar clothing – in short, having another identity – when he was computer code, which is all that he could claim to be, even now, and in order to really exist, he had to join them, but he couldn’t because he couldn’t get the poopy comic book to open.

Finally, not certain whether or not he was exhausted, he sat on the cold stone floor next to the comic book, which seemed to be mocking him. He might have cried if he could have decided the crying status of maybe-non-existers such as he.

Poop, he either did or did not say.

RECOMMENDED READING: Cosmicomics, by ItaloCalvino.

Note: This column only copyright 2011 by Dennis O’Neil. All Rights Reserved. If you’re not a poopface, maybe some day I’ll tell you why.

NEW KUTTNER COLLECTION FROM HAFNER PRESS!

THUNDER IN THE VOID by Henry Kuttner is a massive collection of 16 vintage Space Opera stories selected from classic pulp magazines such as Weird Tales, Marvel Science Stories, Astonishing Stories, Super Science Stories, Super-Detective, and of course, Planet Stories. Most of the these are appearing in book form for the first time. An added bonus, Haffner Press is pleased to include an unpublished story by Kuttner, “The Interplanetary Limited.”

Prior to his marriage to fellow science-fantasy writer Catherine L. Moore in 1940, Henry Kuttner wrote stories of Lovecraftian horror, weird-menace “shudder” tales, and thrilling adventure stories. But he also wrote blood-n-thunder Space Opera stories in the vein of Edmond Hamilton (one of young Kuttner’s favorite authors) told with a rough-edge style similar to Kuttner’s protege Leigh Brackett.

Award-winning author (and the only writer to stage a live performance of a Kuttner Space Opera story) Mike Resnick contributes an introduction reflecting on his admiration for stories by Kuttner (and Moore).

THUNDER IN THE VOID is scheduled for a mid-November 2011 release.

Table of Contents
Introduction by Mike Resnick
*Raider of the Spaceways  (Weird Tales, Jul ’37)
Avengers of Space  (Marvel Science Stories, Aug ’38)
The Time-Trap  (Marvel Science Stories, Nov ’38)
*The Lifestone  (Astonishing Stories, Feb ’40)
*Monsters of the Atom  (Super-Detective, Apr ’41)
*Red Gem of Mercury  (Super Science Stories, Nov ’41)
*The Crystal Circe  (Astonishing Stories, Jun ’42)
*War-Gods of the Void  (Planet Stories, Fll ’42)
*Thunder in the Void  (Astonishing Stories, Oct ’42)
We Guard the Black Planet  (Super Science Stories, Nov ’42)
*Soldiers of Space  (Astonishing Stories, Feb ’43)
*Crypt-City of the Deathless One  (Planet Stories, Win ’43)
The Eyes of Thar  (Planet Stories, Fll ”43)
What Hath Me  (Planet Stories, Spr ’46)
*Carry Me Home  (Planet Stories,  ’50)
The Interplanetary Limited (first time in print)

*First reprint appearance

1) Single-copy preorders for THUNDER IN THE VOID may be placed on this page:
http://haffnerpress.com/Thunder.html

2) or a copy may be preordered as part of a limited-time combo offer:
Visit www.haffnerpress.com to order THUNDER IN THE VOID by Kuttner with AT THE HUMAN LIMIT, THE COLLECTED STORIES OF JACK WILLIAMSON, VOLUME EIGHT and TALES FROM SUPER-SCIENCE FICTION and receive an exclusive bonus chapbook featuring rare texts and associated ephemera from several contributors to the these three titles.  Shipping is FREE to the Continental USA and we will ship the books as they are published with the chapbook accompanying the release of TALES OF SUPER-SCIENCE FICTION.

AT THE HUMAN LIMIT is already available and selling fast.  We will withdraw this offer when either AT THE HUMAN LIMIT is out of print or we take possession from the bindery of THUNDER IN THE VOID (which is due in November). Don’t miss out on this opportunity to get this exclusive chapbook.

Keep Watching the Skies!

Stephen Haffner
Big Poobah
HAFFNER PRESS

Steve Jobs: 1955-2011

Steven Paul Jobs, co-founder, chairman and former chief executive of Apple Inc., former owner and CEO of Pixar, and the single largest shareholder of The Walt Disney Company (now owner of Marvel), passed away Wednesday at the age of 56.

It would be almost impossible to overstate Steve Jobs’ impact on the world at large, and many other obituaries will do so. We’ll merely touch upon his impact on comics and popular culture: from the creation of the Macintosh, the computer of choice for most comics creators, to his stewardship of Pixar, which revolutionized the animation industry, to the iTunes store, the largest digital sales platform on the planet, to the creation of the iPad and iPhone, widely agreed to be the platform of the future of comics.

He will be sorely missed. Our condolences to his family, friends, and fans.

All Pulp Interviews – Will Meugniot

will-will_pic-3840354

Prolific artist Will Meugniot has worked in comic book, animation, picture books, and more. All Pulp recently sat down with Will to talk about his career, his artistic influences, the differences between working in animation and comics, plus his pulp interests.

Click on the art for a larger view.

AP: Tell us a little about yourself and your pulp interests.

WM: I grew up in the 60s. It was a great time to be a kid interested in adventure fiction. Marvel and DC’s superhero revivals spurred many other publishers to enter the field, so you never knew what great comics you’d find when they finally opened the bales at the grocery store.

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N.E.D.O.R. Agents

A similar thing happened in paperback books. Ace discovered that some editions of certain Edgar Rice Burroughs books had fallen out of copyright, published them, and triggered a pulp revival, which brought everything from Otis Adelbert Kline to Doc Savage back into print.

Doc was my favorite of the pulp heroes, though I bought as many reprints of The Shadow, The Spider, Phantom Detective and Dusty Ayres as I could find and afford. Related to this, I’m also a big fan of the sound serials and have a collection of most of the non-westerns on DVD.

AP: What does pulp mean to you?

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Spider-Man Unlimited Vulture

WM: It means stories which focus on fast paced action in exotic locales and feature larger than life heroes and villains. On a personal note, I grew up in a small farming town and yearned for a larger life full of adventure. The pulp heroes pointed the way, and while I’ve never taken down a globe conquering miscreant, I have had a few interesting overseas experiences in my travels as a producer/director.
AP: When I think of Will Meugniot comics, I think of DNAgents (I’m proud to say I have the entire run) and FemForce. How did you get your start in comics and what is it that excites you about working in comics?
WM: First, thanks for thinking of my comics! So much of my time has been tied up doing animation that I really haven’t done as many comics as I intended.

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Tarzan. Dave Stevens inks

I first broke into the comics in the 1970s doing strips for undergrounds like The OK Comics tabloid and ‘ground level’ early direct sales books like Faeiry Star. My big break came when I sent Marvel a batch of sample pages featuring characters which didn’t have their own strips at the time: Guardians of the Galaxy, Ka-Zar, Nick Fury, and the one that paid off, Tigra. I did a couple of issues of that, then Marvel imploded and I was out, but fortunately, Tony Isabella showed Mark Evanier some of my uninked pencils. Based on them, Mark gave me work on the Tarzan and Korak comics he was editing for Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. That lasted for almost a year, but Marvel took the Tarzan license and the ERB line was cancelled, which was what sent me into animation.

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DNAgents

A few years later, my friend Dave Stevens came by the Marvel animation offices to score some free Xeroxes of his as yet unpublished Rocketeer. (Which was OK with the company, BTW – it was very ‘family’ oriented and Dave had worked for its previous incarnation, DePatie Freleng.) Dave told Rick Hoberg, Russ Heath and me about the new creator-owned comics movement, and got us excited by it. I phoned up Mark to see if he was interested, and that’s how DNAgents and the second phase of my comics career began.
The things I love most about comics are the creative freedom, and the ability to do a piece of art which is identifiably your own. Animation requires you to blend into the style of the series, and by its nature results in work which is largely anonymous by design. I’m thankful and surprised that so many people recognize my work in that field.

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Golden Girl

AP: I assume you get this question from time to time, but has there been any consideration of you and Mark Evanier doing more DNAgents stories?

WM: We’ve come close a few times, and I suspect we’ll do something with them in the next few years. Mark and I have stayed friends, but our careers have gone down different paths and it’s rare for us to have a big block of time free simultaneously.

I’m tightly booked for the next year or so with the N.E.D.O.R. Agents, a graphic novel of The Land That Time Forgot, Caspak (written by the great Martin Powell), and it looks like the pilot for an animated series I directed this summer clicked and the show will be in production as well.

The Land That Time Forgot: Caspak. The Step-By-Step Process
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Zombie Monkey Monster Jamboree

AP: The Zombie Monkey Monster Jamboree book by you and J. J. Hart looks to be a pulpy fun ride. Tell us a bit about the book and what inspired it.

WM: My friends Shannon Denton and Patrick Coyle started a line of picture books under their Actionopolis imprint and invited me to do one. Zombie Monkey was already written, and I loved the subject matter of boy scouts versus zombified monkies, so of course I said yes! I’ve also illustrated a couple of other children’s books for Actionopolis, Pandora, and my favorite, The Boy Who Cried Wolf. I think you can still get all of them on Amazon.

AP: Where do you, or would you like to, see the comic book industry in 5 or 10 years?

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Zombie Monkey Monster Jamboree

WM: I’d like to see it alive! This is a moment of incredible danger and opportunity for the industry. There is a clear shift in the way the medium will be distributed and that is going to ultimately affect its form. I don’t think print is going away, but I suspect we’re going to see a lot more print on demand and print to preorder books with the bulk of the distribution going electronic. Luddite that I am, I’m focusing on print at the moment, just because I love the feel of the physical product.

AP: With the advent of digital comics, the way many read comics has changed. What are your thoughts on digital comics and their impact on the industry and readers?

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Pyro-Girl Animation Promo Art

WM: There is a need to adapt to the market, and it’s clear many younger readers prefer reading on a screen. The upside is that distribution costs should be less in the long run. The downside is that many publishers seem to be ignoring their responsibility and need to help the current and very important to the industry’s long term health distribution system with the shift.

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Ultimate Avengers 2

AP: You’ve produced and directed several animation projects from The Real Ghostbusters, G.I. Joe, X-Men, EXOsquad, Jem and the Holograms, Conan, Captain Planet, Spider-man, Stargate, and more. How did you make the transition from comics to animation and what are the similarities and differences between them?

WM: The shift was an economic necessity for me at the time, and was achieved by dumb luck.
It started when Mark Evanier ran into Don Jurwich, producer of the Super-Friends cartoons. Don knew Mark had done comics and mentioned that Hanna Barbera was looking for artists with comics experience to help on the new action shows they’d sold for the 1978 TV season. Mark suggested I cold call HB and ask about it, so I did. The girl at the switchboard asked me whom I’d like to talk to and I said, “The producer doing the action shows.”

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FemForce 158

She hooked me up with Doug Wildey (creator of Jonny Quest), which resulted in my being hired as a layout artist on his Godzilla series. Doug was a huge influence and a great teacher. I started drawing storyboards on the side for him, and we both realized that doing boards came naturally to me, so Doug brought me in house as his assistant, handing out and editing boards on Godzilla and Jana of the Jungle. He even let me do the retakes and meet with the clients on some episodes, which was a rare and generous thing. My next boss after Doug was Tex Avery who was the storyboard supervisor on The Thing, a comedy cartoon about Marvel’s Thing. I had great basic training.

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Zombie Monkey Monster Jamboree

While they are similar in some respects, film and comics are two different beasts. One of the things I’m really enjoying about my current strips is going back to form with them and using all of the classic devices which are unique to the comic book: varying panel sizes (the aspect ratio is constant in film, but it doesn’t have to be in comics), internalized dialogue via thought balloons (much more fluid that doing a voiceover to convey thought in a film), and even visualized sound effects via display lettering.

AP: Who are some of your artistic/creative influences?

WM: Kirby, Wood, Ditko, Williamson, Colan and Frazetta are the main ones. I particularly admire Wood as an artist/writer.

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X-Men Storyboards

AP: What does Will Meugniot do when not making comic books?

WM: Professionally a lot of cartoons, either storyboarding or directing. Privately, I love old movies and non-fiction books about comics, movie serials and biographies. I also like just hanging out with my wife of 40 years, Jo.

AP: Where can readers find learn more about you and your work?

WM: I have a website: http://www.storyboardpro.com of which I’ve been very negligent, but features a lot of my art. My blog is www.maskedmayhem.blogspot.com I write about my interests there.

AP: Any upcoming projects you would like to mention?

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Zombie Monkey Monster Jamboree

WM: N.E.D.O.R. Agents is the big one at the moment. It has a 3 page preview in FemForce 156, a 26 page story in FemForce 157, and its own cover and 20 pages of story in FemForce 158. PREVIEWSworld is doing a Facebook promotion with me for the strip. If you ‘like’ their page, you’ll be able to follow the strip there and enter some contests to win original art, too.

AP: Are there any upcoming convention appearances or signings coming up where fans can meet you?

WM: I’m sorting that out now as part of the PREVIEWSworld promotion. Follow them on Facebook for updates about my appearances.

AP: You have served as a writer, artist, producer, and director. Are there any creative areas you’ve not been worked in that you would like to try your hand at doing?

WM: At some point, I’m going to do some low budget live action work as a director. It’s been offered me in the past, but I’ve just been too busy to take it on.

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Meet Vanity

AP: And finally, what advice would you give to anyone wanting to work in comics, animation, and/or art?
WM: The main thing is to DO IT. You’re not a writer unless you write. You’re not an artist if you don’t create art. Don’t let your fear of rejection stand in your way of doing.

AP: Thanks, Will.

Dragon’s Lair

Once upon a time I edited a magazine called Comics Scene and early on, I had the opportunity to be in Ireland where I was invited to visit animator Don Bluth and his operation. At the time, he had left Disney and was busily working on The Secret of NIMH but also interactive animated arcade games. In 1983, he was poised to unleash Dragon’s Lair. After explaining the premise, Bluth let me play the latter for a while.

Boy was it fun.

While it and the subsequent Space Ace made a splash, they didn’t ignite a new generation of gaming, largely I suspect because these were expensive to create and manufacture and were limited by the technology of the day. Still, Dragon’s Lair proved popular enough for it to be licensed for Saturday morning television. Rather than use Bluth’s studio, the weekly work was turned over to Ruby-Spears. They produced thirteen half-hour episodes and as we approached each commercial break, a choice had to be made, emulating the arcade version. After the break, we saw what would happen with either choice and then the adventure would continue. Nice idea, even if it wound up flawed, and the show endured for one season on ABC during the 1984-1985 season.

Warner Archive has just released the complete series as a two disc set so those who recall the game and show fondly, can relive the adventures of Dirk the Daring (Bob Sarlatte). Despite being somewhat goofy, he was the best knight in King Ethelred’s (Fred Travalena) kingdom. Such feats earned him the love of Princess Daphne (Ellen Gerstell), who of course needed rescuing from the likes of the Lizard King, the Phantom Knight, the Giddy Goons, and the Mudmen with regularity.

A faithful adaptation, it is far from the best of Ruby-Spears or Bluth and is strictly for those the nostalgics.