Showing posts with label Superman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Superman. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 14, 2018

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY or HAPPY SINGLE PEOPLE"S AWARENESS DAY!!!

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You get a choice from me this year: a sexy 80s Valentine's Day pinup of Sex In the City & Porkys star Kim Catrell (above) or vintage Superman Valentines cards (below).

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge


Monday, July 4, 2016

R. I. P NOEL NEIL




This is a great clip of Noel Neil as Lois. You can kill Jimmy Olsen, but making "goo-goo eyes" at Lois Lane will make Superman very angry.

Sunday, June 19, 2016

HAPPY FATHERS DAY!


I present you on Father's Day with a cute retro card and a kinky panel from a Superman comic, where Jor-El spanks his son and Superman enjoys it.

Sunday, June 14, 2015

WHEN LOCAL TV STATIONS PREEMPTED NETWORK SHOWS FOR SYNDICATED SHOWS

CLICK TO ENLARGE

CLICK TO ENLARGE
The great thing about the retro blogs are that another blogger's post can be a springboard for another post. Pam at Go Retro! mentioned that the early interactive, (and cheesy) 50s TV show, The Continental, was in first run syndication after its failed run on CBS. Also Gilligan, over at Retrospace, has posted some scanned TV Guides from the 70s. These post got me to thinking about a problem that seems to be nonexistent in today's TV world.

Younger people believe that in the good old days, everyone watched the same TV shows, because there were not as many choices. They have heard that there were only four major networks (CBS, NBC, ABC & PBS) and only a smattering of cable channels. Their parents and grandparents all had to see the same TV shows. Right? Nope!

First off, not every area had access to television.  Until the 80s, there were some areas that were served by dual affiliates or multi affilates. If there was one TV station in small market that was not served by another community with a TV station, that TV station might run The Today Show (NBC), followed by Sesame Street (PBS), followed by The Price Is Right (CBS), followed by General Hospital (ABC), etc. etc. Here in Springfield, Missouri, until the late 60s, there were only two TV stations. One was NBC and the other was CBS. They shared ABC's programming, until an ABC affiliate came along in the late 60s.

The other problem was local TV stations, especially in the early days of TV, would preempt the network shows for a first run syndicated program. Up until the mid 70s, a network show might still get plastered over by another program. Why? There were two reasons. According to a August 29, 1959 issue of TV Guide (posted above), it was the old standby excuse in broadcasting of money. Networks didn't offer very network avails for local ads, but at that time syndicated shows were all local avail slots just waiting for local sponsors to fill. I've seen large ads in old editions of the Springfield Daily News and Springfield Leader & Press advertising the syndicated series, State Trooper, on a local TV station with a local sponsor mentioned.

The second, can be explained in a modern analogy. These were the "hip cable shows" of their day. There was no network censors to dictate what could be shown. They also gathered buzz among the media and viewers alike to become more popular than the network fare they were replacing. This was in the early days of TV when the networks were scrambling for anything to fill the schedule (ABC was showing military training films weekly during the early 50s). You could say that Highway Patrol, Sea Hunt, COronado 9, Shotgun Slade, Science Fiction Theater, Case of the Curious Robin and The Liberace Show, were the Mad Men, Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, Walking Dead and Keeping Up With the Kardashians of their day.

There were some companies that specialized in syndication such a ZIV, the company behind Highway Patrol, Sea Hunt, and several others. ITC was a British company that sold British shows to American TV. Many of the early ITC programs were based on popular literary characters, such as Robin Hood, William Tell, Sir Lancelot, and The Invisible Man. One ITC program, The Saint starring Roger Moore, was so successful in syndication that NBC picked it up later in its run. One of ITC's biggest hits would be The Muppet Show in the 70s. The Adventures of Superman (produced by a company called Motion Pictures for Television) was picked up for Saturday mornings by ABC. In the 80s, NBC picked up SCTV for late night (locally it was preempted for Saturday Night Live reruns).

Desilu also syndicated some shows such as Sheriff of Cochise and The Whirlybirds. Universal TV was behind Shotgun Slade, the only Western to feature a jazz score.

The networks themselves got involved and almost cut their own throats in doing so. In 1954, NBC began syndicating reruns of Dragnet under the name Badge 714, while Dragnet was still on the air. In Springfield, it aired on BOTH TV stations. Later, CBS did the same with Gunsmoke and The Andy Griffith Show. They were changed into Marshal Dillon and Andy of Mayberry. The FCC put a stop to the networks syndicating their own shows in the early 70s.

By the 70s, only ITC was producing first run shows exclusively for syndication. What ultimately lead to the end of TV stations preempting network programs was the rise of independent TV stations and cable stations, which could show these syndicated programs. Also  TV stations broadcast 24 hours, so they had room to stick programs anywhere they wanted.

These days if you want to see a TV program, you can get it. You are not at the mercy of your local TV station.


Thursday, November 20, 2014

DID NICHOLS & MAY RECORD A SUPERMAN ROUTINE?


Every media outlet has mentioned the passing of Mike Nichols. Most focused on his work as a movie director, but only mentioned his comedy LPs with Elaine May. In their time, they were extremely popular, even appearing in commercials for General Electric. Above is a cover from a Lois Lane comic book from that era. I'm wondering if there was in fact a Nichols & May comedy record featuring a Superman routine. Several comedians did Superman routines, notably Bob Newhart and Bill Cosby. I cannot find a verification of this existing. Maybe someone at DC comics thought this would be a funny idea for a story (For some of the crazy stories in Lois Lane comics, check out this post on Flashbak by Yeoman Lowbrow).


Sunday, July 20, 2014

WHAT THE NEWS MEDIA DOES NOT UNDERSTAND ABOUT COMIC BOOKS

SUPERMAN & BATMAN HAD SONS
I have been thinking about writing a post about this subject for quite some time. As a person who has worked in journalism and the news media, I feel I can make and accurate constructive criticism, unlike some people have unfortunately been forced to work with (i.e, scummy talk radio people).
This has to due with the coverage of a subject I have loved all my life: comic books.

The news media coverage of the comic books has improved since the dark days of the 50s comic book controversy, when the newspapers and radio commentators were calling comic books "trash." There is a generation that grew up reading many of the older characters, so when a story comes along about a "shocking storyline." The biggest news recently has been "Archie Andrews will die taking a bullet for his gay friend, Kevin." Next came the story "Captain America is being replaced by a African-American." Even stranger is some outlets reporting "Thor gets sex change."

This leads idiots on Facebook to whine that the evil media is corrupting our kids and it is the end of America (Or as they say Murica).

The truth complicated on both sides. First off, these stories are usually used as filler, at the end of a newscast or filler for the entertainment section of a newspaper. These are written quickly without very much research into the subject. The story is also simplified to just give the idea, so the details of the story are left out.

The main thing that is left out of these stories is that comic books have what are called alternate universes. This has been going on since the early days of Superman and Batman. Archie is no exception. Archie has cashed in on popular trends over the years. He was a Man from UNCLE-like  secret agent, a superhero and X-Files-like paranormal investigator. In the 70s, Betty was a soap opera heroine in a alternative storyline called Betty Cooper, Betty Cooper, and Jughead has even taken up time travel like Dr. Who. The Life with Archie title was revamped as an adult themed storyline about a grown Archie married to Veronica after apparently divorcing Betty. It is this older Archie Andrews who bites the dust in the current issue of Life of Archie. My guess is this wasn't a big success, so this will be the last issue. However, in the regular Archie titles, he will still be in high school, drinking malts with Betty and Veronica.

The Captain America and Thor stories make more sense to the long time fans of the characters, when more details are given. Captain America is injured and his long time sidekick, the Falcon, dons the famous red, white and blue outfit while Cap recuperates. This wouldn't be the first time Cap was replaced. While he was frozen in ice, there was another Captain America in the 50s. They wound up fighting it out in 1972.

After Watergate, Steve Rogers decided quit being Captain America and became a superhero called Nomad. Several people tried to be Captain America and failed tragically.

At one point in the 90s, Captain America was replaced by the government and he had to take on another identity. In a graphic novel called The Truth: Red, White and Black, Steve Rogers found out the super-soldier serum was tested on an African-American soldier before him. So really, nothing new for Captain America.
THUNDER THIGHS (Sorry I had to do it)

Thor is a woman??? Nothing new there either. The idea that someone else picks up the hammer isn't new. In the 70s and 80s Marvel series, What If, both Thor's girlfriend, Jane Foster, and X-Men's Rogue have picked up Thor's hammer.


Of course, this is not the first time the news media have left out details about a "shocking development" in a popular comic book.  In 1988, DC Comics had readers call a toll free number to vote if they wanted the Joker to killer Robin in a story arc called Death In the Family. Fans voted to have him killed. What wasn't reported in the media, what was neglected by the media was the fact that this was not Dick Grayson, but a new (and very unpopular) Robin named Jason Todd. Dick Grayson had become Nightwing in 1984 (and like Falcon, he was Batman for a few issues when Bruce Wayne was hurt).

Also this wasn't the first time Robin had died. He was killed in 1964 (above).


Then again, Batman died, but that was after he replaced Commissioner Gordon and he married Catwoman. Confused yet? This was my first exposure to the alternate universe concept. I received several comics books one Christmas. One of them was the issue above with Batman in a coffin.



Truth is this had happened before too.


In DC Comics Earth-1 featured the modern superheroes and Earth-2 featured the Golden Age versions. Some may remember a few months ago, there was a story about a upcoming "gay" Green Lantern. It was the son of the Earth-2 Green Lantern, which you wouldn't have known from any of the mainstream news media stories.


In 1992, the big news was the death of Superman, but that had happened before too.


After Superman's return to life, the news media was a buzz with his marriage to Lois Lane, which DC had already done to death (an early story of this scenario was turned into an episode of the 50s TV show). They even conceived several Super-babies.


DC also had Lois dying after marrying Superman and committing suicide.


Then again, Superman killed Lois once.



Also, the recently media mangling of the Captain America storyline isn't all that shocking considering that in one early 70s story, Lois Lane had Superman use a machine to turn her into an African American woman.

Now, you are probably saying, "Why didn't the news media cover those stories?" It all goes back to my earlier points. Before the late 80s, comic books were seen either as stupid kids stuff or trash that will corrupt kids. In the late 80s, there was a boom among Baby Boomers that collecting comic books were a great investment. They were not just something on a newsstand, they were big business. Also, many people in the media were of the Baby Boom generation and had grown up with these comics. It was apart of their lives. These characters are icons that are old enough to be our grandparents.

At the time, these other stories were done, it was simply to grab the attention of a kid at the supermarket newsstand. Essentially, that has been the complaint of the death of Superman and death of Robin stories. DC issued commemorative issues and they sold so well that they are pretty worthless now. 

Yet, going back to what I stated earlier, much of the confusion goes back to a lack of research on this subject. To many reporters, there is just one Archie, one Superman, one Batman, one Green Lantern. There is also no knowledge of comic book history and it's alternate universes. That is part of the real world.  It isn't as important as political bickering or plane crashes. Why bother?

Because you can still end up with egg on your face if you screw the story up. Us comic book geeks will nail you for your mistakes. Also, the people who hate any form of entertainment media will want to use it as an excuse to censor the industry much like Dr. Frederic Wertham did in the 50s. Even if it wouldn't come to that, you still have cranky adults who would forbid their kids from any enjoyment of comic books because of what they heard in a badly researched news report on comic book. Even if it is about comic books, we in the news media need to get the facts straight.

My opinions are why I'm considered the Super-Villain of the Ozarks!!! Mwu-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Sunday, April 20, 2014

BUNNIES AND SUPERHEROES

SUPERMAN (George Reeves) & EASTER BUNNY

HOPPY THE MARVEL BUNNY
DOLLY PARTON AS EASTER BUNNY
ELVIRA, EASTER BUNNY OF THE DARK


I HOPE THIS BUNNY COMES TO MY HOUSE

Thursday, January 16, 2014

DESDINOVA'S BIG MOVE

For those of you wondering about the lack of post on this blog, I will give you (grainy smart phone) photographic proof of my activities. I moved to a different apartment. Some of you may remember that on the old blog I sometimes gave my address as 666 Park Central Square in Springfield, Missouri. That was a joke aimed at a local talk radio host and part of a persona I created as a evil super-villain/mad scientist bent on taking over the country.

Truth is I had lived in a third floor apartment since 2002. Sadly, my health has declined to a point I cannot climb three flights of stairs like I once did. Part of that was due to a fall on ice on the sidewalk at my apartment complex four years ago. I fell again before Christmas. Maybe fearing a lawsuit, they decided I could move to a ground floor apartment. Now comes the job of unpacking everything. Here is what I have ahead of me.
Notice the Phantom of the Opera still I posted Halloween

A reprint of a poster for the Superman serial

Velvet Underground's Loaded has been my moving soundtrack


CDs, their shelves and some Christmas candy

While I'm at it, I want to give a shout out to My Movers Moving and Storage and the U.S. Post Office.

My Movers moved my huge collection of CD, DVDs, VHS tapes and books along with my furniture with out any trouble. The movers dismantled my futon to remove it from my old apartment and took the time to reassembled it in the new apartment. I won't go into details but they are very honest in their pricing.

Do not let certain people out there tell you that the United States Post Office is inefficient and useless. I filled out a change of address on December 31 and they had already starting forwarding my mail to my new apartment on January 2nd. Remember how UPS and Fed-Ex screwed up during Christmas?

  

Sunday, June 30, 2013

FRUSTRATIONS OF A SUPERHERO FAN IN THE OZARKS

Before I begin this post, I want to point you in the direction of two great post on other retro blogs. Plaid Stallions has a podcast about being a young superhero fan in the 70s. Also, Retrospace has a great post about The Incredible Hulk TV series of the late 70s/early 80s.

The Plaid Stallions podcast brought back some memories for me, both good and bad. One point they make is, for must of the early to mid 70s, live-action and animated superheroes in movies and TV was few and far between. Today, we have two or three superhero movies released each summer, but until the late 70s you didn't get any superhero movies. Even after the success of Superman the Movie and the Incredible Hulk TV show, there wasn't very much produced in that vain.

There was older stuff that you read about in an article in Starlog, TV Guide or some other magazine, but there wasn't home video and you were at the mercy of local TV or the networks. This was also at a time where cable systems stopped at the city limits.

I was (and still am) a hard core superhero fan, which has made me a pariah here in the Ozarks. From the time I was about six or seven, adults told me that "superheroes are not real." Other kids (also about six or seven) would tell me "superheroes are for babies," they told me they were dating, which explains why they married early and now are bitter adults post that "kids-today-are-stupid" crap on Facebook.

In many areas of the country, children came home from school to watch reruns of Batman, The Adventures of Superman, Tarzan, or possibly, the Japanese superhero TV show, Ultraman. We had none of that here in the Ozarks. The closest TV market for Batman in this area was Joplin (Okay, I realize some syndication contracts at that time were written so there were non-compete clauses - so maybe Joplin conflicted with Springfield).

If we got a superhero TV show or cartoon on local TV, it was for a brief time. When I was in the second grade, KYTV began running The Lone Ranger series everyday at 4 p.m. Not sure how long they ran it, but I watched it every afternoon.      


At some point, while I was in fourth grade, KOLR began showing the 60s Spider-Man cartoons, but his too was brief.




The only superhero that was on Springfield TV on a very regular basis was Underdog, which was a on-again-off-again afternoon staple on KOLR for many years. Occasionally, Young Sampson would turn up during the summer.

Also, channel 27 (Then known as KMTC) would air The Mighty Hercules at 6 a.m on Saturday and Sunday mornings.

While I mentioned The Lone Ranger (Calling him a superhero might be debatable), I skipped some of the sci-fi shows like Star Trek, Six Million Dollar Man and Buck Rogers, since I wanted to focus on the concept of the superhero ideal not fitting into the Ozarks' mentality.

Some would say, "Why complain about this? You saw them at some point. Get over it!" I wouldn't be as upset if there had been more variety in the mix, but you must understand that M*A*S*H has played on local TV in Springfield since it entered syndication in 1979 and Little House On the Prairie was shown several years in this market from the time it entered syndication. I should also note that these shows were still in production and airing on network television when they turned up in reruns on Springfield TV stations.  

One of the common things I heard growing up and even after I got involved in the media was that "older people don't like that stuff." Does everything in Springfield and the Ozarks have to be approved by old people? I assume old people like infomercials and those bad shows where a white judge yells at a young African-American guy about being "irresponsible." I'm sure in the future we can look forward to reruns of Duck Dynasty.

After growing up and working among people in the Springfield and Ozarks, I realized why so many in this area frown on superheroes. The superhero believes in helping the weak and oppressed for free. Consider the Lone Ranger's creed, which features the passages:
"That all men are created equal and that everyone has within himself the power to make this a better world." 
"That men should live by the rule of what is best for the greatest number."
Neither of these would be uttered by any of my classmates from Lebanon High School or any Springfield businessman. In a Lone Ranger episode entitled "The Law Lady," the Lone Ranger tells Tonto that Wyoming recently passed a law granting women the right to vote. Tonto says that he thinks that is a good idea. "It is a good idea, Tonto. Someday every woman in the Untied States will have that right," the Lone Ranger states. Of course, some local talk radio show host of the past said that only wealthy male land owners should be allowed to vote. I'm going to side with the Lone Ranger on this subject. I was shocked to see on You Tube some comments under some of the Lone Ranger episodes that people think the Lone Ranger killed and even lynched "troublemakers." If you go back to the origin story, the Lone Ranger tells Tonto he will not kill anyone. In several episodes, the Lone Ranger and Tonto stop lynchings, because everyone deserves a fair trial. I think these people commenting on You Tube (Mainly bigots comment on You Tube) are thinking of another group of masked riders...the Klu Klux Klan.

I guess Ozarkers would accept superheroes if they were more like business people and talk radio host. If someone was to create a superhero, who charged an exorbinant fee for his services, only helped white, wealthy, Republican heterosexuals and frequently lectured young people, while dressed in bib overalls, a John Deer cap and a Confederate flag for a cape, then Ozarkers would support the idea of a superhero.

I feel that my love of superheroes has made me the person I am today. I also have never been arrested or had a brush with the law of any kind. I believe in equality, fairness and helping others. Of course, that is why I'm considered the SUPER-VILLAIN of the Ozarks!!! mwu-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! 


Wednesday, February 29, 2012

FACSIMILES AND COPY CATS


They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Copying something or someone who is s successful doesn't always mean success. Some of the biggest failures in pop culture have been copies or facsimiles of a more successful comic book, movie, TV show or personality. While not a scientific approach, I have decided to list my Top 10 list of pop culture copy cats and facsimiles that stand out as flops. I thought of this idea after reading about the possible cancellation of the Mad Men-inspired TV series Pan Am and the already cancelled Mad Men-inspired Playboy Club.

I should point out that I weeded out some famous copy cats and facsimiles because they manage to hang out briefly and survive on their own merit. So I left Webster, Apple's Way, Matt Houston, Northern Exposure and Hee Haw off the list (Northern Exposure outlasted Twin Peaks and Hee Haw, technically, outlasted Laugh-In thanks to first run syndication). Some of these resulted in lawsuits. I want to note, that I wanted to point these out as a historical look at how powerful an effect the originals had on pop culture. This is not like some many other websites which use the word "fail" as a noun in big capital letters.

These are in chronological order (sort of).


1. Billy West - Charlie Chaplin clone: I mention Billy west, but to be fair he was not the only Charlie Chaplin imitator to make movies. West is the only one who I could find on You Tube (Notice the Eric Campbell-like protagonist in this is played by a young Oliver Hardy). Another imitator named Charlie Aplin got sued by Chaplin himself. There is a whole blog dedicated to Chaplin imitations past and present.

2. Milton and Rita Mouse - Mickey and Minnie Mouse cartoons: Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse was such a phenomenon in the early days of sound cartoons that every other animation studio had a Mickey like character. Van Beuren Studios were sued by Disney because they actually used mice. Warner Brothers had Foxy, who was a fox and Universal had Oswald the Rabbit that looked and sounded like Mickey Mouse, but Van Beuren was stupid enough to make cartoons featuring Milton Mouse and his girlfriend, Rita. Another thing about these Milton and Rita cartoons is they are pre-Hayes Code, so they contain sexual humor. Here are is one called Office Boy.


3. Wonder Man - Superman's first imitator: Everyone knows about Superman and his court room battle with Captain Marvel. Captain Marvel eventually conceded in the early 1950's, due more to a falling sales. By the early 1970's, Captain Marvel returned as a DC Comics stable mate of Superman. Fox Publications Wonder Man on the other was a one hit wonder. DC sued Fox and they only produced one Wonder Man story. You can see it on this blog. A lawsuit really wasn't needed for this character. I don't think he had much going for him.

4. Turn On - The computerized version of Laugh-In: I decided to put Turn On under Wonder Man because like Superman, Laugh-In produced a successful copy and a copy that has went down in history as one of the biggest failures in history. CBS took the concept and production style of Laugh-In, changed the hip satire and psychedelia for hillbilly humor and country music and called it Hee Haw. CBS cancelled it after about two years, but it came back in first run syndication and ultimately ran longer than Laugh-In. On the other hand, ABC tried to copy Laugh-In with Turn On, which was supposed to be hosted by a computer. It only lasted one episode. It was cancelled because some complained of subliminal sexual humor. The odd part is one of the people behind it was George Schlatter, who created Laugh-In. Wonder if he didn't sabotage it a little. I couldn't find footage of it on You Tube but here is a bit of a documentary mentioning it and Schlatter telling about one irate TV station GM's reaction.


5. Strange Paradise - Canadian produced Dark Shadows: This knock-off of Dark Shadows was syndicated by Krantz Media, who produced the Marvel Super Heroes, Spider-Man, and Rocket Robin Hood cartoons. This show took place in the Caribbean and involved a rich guy posessed by an evil ancestor. Unlike Dark Shadows, there are no real monsters, just ghost who look like everyday people. Not exciting. Several episodes are on You Tube.


6. Jobriath - America's David Bowie: Jobriath became the most over-hyped rock star ever. He was signed to Elektra records and promoted as America's David Bowie. Here is his debut on The Midnight Special.

7. Streethawk - A motorcycle version of Knight Rider: Teen idol singer Rex Smith plays an injured cop, who has a computerized super-smart bike. This came along after Knight Rider and really seems to have been rushed into production. Here is a sample from You Tube.

8. Charlie and Company - The Cosby Show clone: This actually might have worked if the network hadn't moved it around on the schedule. It featured Flip Wilson, a Pip-less Gladys Knight and soon-to-be Urkel, Jaleel White. Many people figured out right a way that this was a knockoff and pointed out that the actor who played the oldest son, Kristopher St. John, had played Denise's smart-assed boyfriend in an episode of The Cosby Show. Here is the opening sequence from You Tube.

9. The Insider - Miami Vice with reporters: Once upon a time it was considered cool to be in the media, especially a reporter. This show copied the look, music and clothes of Miami Vice, but made the characters newspaper reporters rather than cops. Even used the Genesis song "I've Got a Job To Do" as its theme song. It didn't take off.

10. Mac & Me - Sort of an E.T. copy and very long McDonalds commercial: There was actually a good intention behind this, because a portion of the ticket sales went to Ronald McDonald House. The problem is it is an blatant E.T. ripoff only with lame special effects (kind of a stop-motion alien). Mac also prefers McDonalds food to Reese's Pieces. Here is the trailer introduced by Ronald McDonald himself.    
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