The Super Paunch

For Thanksgiving, let's look at a column about Our Hero ... specifically, a portrayer who might not have been in trim super shape, but was just perfect for his 1950s-60s audience.

This is from the May 1990 issue of Amazing Heroes, #179.

I hope you are of the age to recognize that George Reeves's Superman was a classic.  See you Monday!

  

No Surgery Required

Emerson Lake & Palmer's Brain Salad Surgery came out at the end of 1973 and thanks to an upperclassman, I was clued in.

This is the LP front, with art by the creepy genius HR Giger.

In June of 1974, around my graduation from high school, I got out my rulers and felt-tip pens and made my own draft of the cover.

Above is a 600 dpi scan.

Fifty years later, I'm glad I put dates on things!  But check it out .... 

I also used BLACK LIGHT PAINTS.  Above is a phone photo of the thing.

And ABOVE is the thing under black light, baby!  Are you PSYCHED!  I'm PSYCHED!

See you Thursday.

  

A Super Gallery, Part 2

Here are the rest of the depictions of Our Hero from the February 29, 1988 issue of Amazing Heroes.

(That issue's date was Superman's 50th birthday, you will recall.)

Ya just can't beat Truth, Justice, and the American Way!  See you Monday.

  

A Super Gallery, Part 1

Part of the fun in celebrating Superman's 50th birthday was seeing other people's take on Big Blue.

This spread is from the February 29, 1988 Amazing Heroes.

I really really love this cover, don't you?

You DO remember that Superman's traditional birthday is celebrated on Leap Day, don't you?  

We'll see the rest of the images on Thursday.  TTFN!

 

Wore Them Suckers Out!

One of the greatest Christmas gifts my parents gave me (and there were about a zillion) was a stereo turntable (with a built-in amp) and two speakers, at Christmas 1968.

Robert and Susan (big brother and sis) had a stereo (of earlier vintage), and before this I had a kid's all-plastic kid's record player.  But this was the big leagues, baby!

It looked a lot like the above.  (I often wonder if Mom and Dad regretted the loud choice!)

I had somebody take me to Wards and in the record department I bought two LPs, soundtracks to that summer's big sci-fi epic 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Above are the front and rear LP jacket.  Note the wear patterns!

But see the label wear around the hole in the record?  I played this sucker A LOT!

Likewise, this "music inspired by" album.

As you can see, THIS record didn't get as much wear as the first one.  But still, I know every note of these eclectic collections.  When I re-found the pieces online or on CD, my memory notices the LACK of surface noise or ticks in the originals.

You can buy a re-released version of the 2001 soundtrack all over the place,  My post on the Record Round-Up concerning the "music inspired by" is here.

Have YOU got any similar worn-down treasures?

  

Government Can Do Good, Really!

Being a proud American does not mean that I endorse everything done in our nation's past, nor especially a lot of things done recently.

It's just stupid to run around cutting research willy-nilly.  This article from the June 29, 2025 Tulsa World has an example of the good kind of things government can do!

See you Thursday.

  

You'll Be Gripped!

If that happens, tell those mean ole aliens to keep their hands to themselves.

Until then, check out this article:

These breathless whispers of freakiness are from the June 9, 1987 Globe.  And before you ask, I do not have the previous two parts of this world-shattering series.

The theories of the distinguished Rev Theodore Peters don't hold theological water, because his Lutheran faith (and Protestantism) maintains that God revealed himself through his son and the Bible, and that's all that's necessary to know what you need to know to learn God's ways.

You are free to make up your mind and/or heart about whether space beings (or other beings) are messengers of God.  You might even meet one on Sunday at church!  But don't hold your breath.

See you Monday!

  

Two-Faced Rorshach!

 

           Among his many astounding, amazing, stupefying, and wow-istic accomplishments, Dave Gibbons came up with approximately seventy zillion different mirror-image faces for Rorschach.

       

            In 1987 I encountered Rorschach at OKC’s Southside Comics.  I tried to catch up with him, but he departed over a nearby fence into the rough of the adjacent golf course.

            This in-the-flesh near run-in inspired me to scour the series in search of places in which the same Rorschach facial pattern appears on separate occasions.

            I’m NOT counting page 20 of Chapter 12.  This is a “dolly-in” shot that keeps the focus on Rorschach the whole time, and the pattern remains the same intentionally.  Still, I’ve made note of two Rorschach face-patterns which repeat.

RORSCHACH FACE DUPLICATES:

            Both of these are “reaction” shots.  The first is on page 8 of Chapter One, in Blake’s apartment, as Rorschach discovers Blake’s hidden costume closet.  The second is on page 24 of Chapter 5, Rorschach’s face as he realizes Jacobi is dead.

            It may not be coincidental that both of the above views take place in Happy Harry’s bar.  The first appears on page 15 of Chapter One, the second on page 14 of Chapter Ten.  In fact, each face is seen as Rorschach responds to something Happy Harry says.

            At a later date, I entered Southside Comics to find Rorschach checking out the new arrivals.  When I asked him about his face’s repeating patterns, he said, “Hurrm.”

 

            Make of these what you will.  Are there more duplicate Rorschach face-patterns in Watchmen?

Halloween Is Here, and It's Retro

 Yup, my friends, this is the wonderful day at last!

To celebrate, here's a bunch of songs in an old-fashioned vein.

01 - A Haunting We Will Go - The McGuire Sisters - 1956  (1:56)

02 - Zombie - The Salmas Brothers - 1959  (2:20)

03 - Gravedigger's Rock - Clyde Scott with the Zanyopolis - 1959  (1:57)

04 - Danse Macabre - Georges Mantalba - 1959  (6:12)

05 - Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde - The Versatones - 1963  (2:41)

06 - (Oooh I'm Scared) of the Horrors of the Black Museum - Nightmares - 1959  (1:51)

07 - Mystery - Harry A Yerkes Dance Orchestra - 1920  (2:46)

08 - Beware of the 4-D Witch - Joe Bisko - 1973  (2:42)

09 - Lost Ride - The Phantom - 1953  (2:28)

10 - Halloween Party - Jack Starr - 1959  (1:33)

11 - What Can It Be - The Alvans - 1961  (2:31)

12 - This Way Frankie - Lord Chatterley & the Transylvania Septet - 1959  (2:21)

13 - Shock Party - Amery Lynn - 1959  (2:20)

14 - Movin' Outa This Haunted House - Bill “Butterbean” Flippo - 1961  (1:37)

15 - Spooky - Sal and the Watchers - 1962  (2:16)

16 - Celery Stalks at Midnight - Doris Day with Les Brown - 1941  (2:59)

17 - Monster Gonzales - Tommy Bruce - 1966  (2:53)

18 - Rock-a-Boogie - Andy Quinn - 1957  (1:53)

19 - The Walls Keep Talking - Anita O'Day - 1941  (3:10)

20 - Albino Bat - The Regents - 1964  (1:46)

21 - Terrorvision Time - Brian & Garry and the Chain Rattlers - 1965  (2:39)

22 - Shiverin' and Shakin' - Edwin & Alvin - 1959  (2:20)

23 - The Little Man Who Wasn't There - The Glenn Miller Orchestra - 1939  (3:03)

24 - The House in the Alley - The Brassett's - 1959  (2:11)

25 - Monster in Love - The Von Vons - 1961  (2:34)

26 - Monsters of the World Unite - Homer and Jethro - 1964  (2:54)

27 - Chiller Limbo - The Vic Plati Quintet - 1965  (3:14)

28 - King Kong Song - ABBA - 1974  (3:28)

THIS LINK GOOD FOR SEVEN DAYS.

PERMANENT LINK.

Note that these songs are sourced from vinyl, tape, acetate, and the interwebs. A few are less pristine than others. None newer than 50 years!

Have a joyous evening of spooks and silliness, of frights and fun. See ya Monday, my fiends!

  

The End of the Munsters!

Yup, we've shared every page of the Whitman Munsters coloring book!  Except for the covers.  Here they are!

To refresh your memories, here's the front cover.

Above is the inside of the rear cover ... evidently it was a test scratchpad to see what the crayons looked like on paper!

Here's the rear cover.  I can tell you that as far as I know, I NEVER IN MY LIFE ever saw "Whitman crayons" in the real world.

See you on Friday, Halloween, for a new compilation of Halloween music!

  

A True Story, Sure Enough!

That's what NBC promised us in 1973. Well, you know how trustworthy TV networks are!

This spread is from the November 24, 1973 TV Guide.

The article's author, Samuel Rosenberg, is easily mentioned in the interwebs as the author of a LIFE magazine essay about Frankenstein.  Sadly, I don't have a copy.  Do you?

See you on Wednesday!