Building a Spy

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo152/MarkAAlfred/Solo1.jpg

Here is proof positive that I owned Aurora's Napoleon Solo model. Robert Vaughn was served pretty well by the artist on this directions sheet, I think.

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo152/MarkAAlfred/Solo2.jpg

However, no parts seemed to have survived.

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I vaguely remember putting Solo's assembled figure on high, dangerous places -- like the edge of my dresser -- and shooting him off with rubber bands.

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But other than that, I really don't recall even buying these kits. Which is strange, considering my memories of other model assemblies.

I think I used to use Solo's gun as a toothpick, too.

Worlds in Conflict!

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo152/MarkAAlfred/Comic%20Ads/CivilWarSoldiersSboy86.jpg

Boy there's something about being in command of opposing forces.

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Whether it was the Civil War, or ships at sea, or the reaches of outer space, the American Way was to take that territory and MILITARIZE it!

While Tommy Hefner (my best friend) and I DID play Civil war, that was because somewhere I had acquired a Union Forces cap (blue not gray). Tommy just wore his cowboy hat and we were just fine.

However, in our youthful excitement we would say that we were playing SILVER War, not "Civil War."

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo152/MarkAAlfred/Comic%20Ads/AstroforceWF142.jpg

When I was growing up in the 1960s I had lots of Army Men and Cowboys and Indians, but they were all bought at TG&Y or Kresge's. Very few items came in the mail to the Alfred house, except for bills.

The Final Affair by David McDaniel

Well, here it is, the Holy Grail of Man from U.N.C.L.E. fandom.

David McDaniel wrote several of the Ace paperback U.N.C.L.E. novels. He was also a fan of the show, as you can tell by his characterizations, and several "guest appearances" of other fictional creations in his U.N.C.L.E. books, including a certain world's first consulting detective, if my memory serves.

Well, before his death, McDaniel wrote an MS called The Final Affair, which summed up his thoughts on the United Network Command for Law and Enforcement and its agents.

The MS was never published, and has been passed around, even copies sold on eBay, I've heard.

Well, several friends in the Man from U.N.C.L.E. Yahoo! group got together and decided to share The Final Affair with all interested cousins.

So, with thanks to Kathy E., Cindy Walker, Paula Smith, Greenwoman, and Bob Short. . .

Submitted for your approval is David McDaniel's "long lost" The Final Affair.

Here's the Megaupload link: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=6UD13C7V

Let me know what you think!

We would like to also thank the United Network Command for Law and Enforcement, without whose cooperation this blog post would not be possible.

More Fun Things I Never Ordered

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I was too timid a lad (or maybe too smart) to be willing to fork over a whole five bucks or so for a real tank or a real Polaris Sub.

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo152/MarkAAlfred/Comic%20Ads/PolarisSub1968Adv369.jpg

Besides, when I was three I'd used an ice pick to poke the family swimming pool full of holes, so I wouldn't have anywhere to float the submarine, anyway.

X-Ray Specs, now -- that would have been something!

Come With Me Now to Those Thrilling Days of Comic Book Ads!

One great thing about being a kid in the 1960s was reading the ads in between the stories.

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The "Comic Pack" had four 12-cent comics for 47 cents. Nearly always, there was a great comic like Superman or Flash on the top of the stack, while inside the pack were some losers like Binky or Young Love. Bleahh!

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo152/MarkAAlfred/Comic%20Ads/SmanAnnual2Sboy86.jpg

Then there were the house ads, like this one for the Second Superman Annual. I very seldom had the cash (a whole quarter) for one of these 80-Page-Giants when they were "new." But I caould afford to buy 'em second-hand at that downtown grocery-store/used-book-store, or swap for them with my friends.

Part Two of This All-Luthor Issue!

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Here we have the second part of Superman 168, a “Special All-Luthor Issue,” “Lex Luthor, Daily Planet Editor!”

Only a month after Superman had left Lexor and destroyed those pesky mind-numbing crystals, Luthor has come up with yet another scheme to best the Man of Steel.

How convenient that the super-scientists of Lexor’s past had created an “inventing machine” – because Luthor has used it to create some Red Kryptonite to short-circuit Superman’s great powers.

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo152/MarkAAlfred/Superman%20168-2/S1682-1.jpg

Now, also thanks to the inventing machine, Luthor will head to Earth to nullify his nemesis’s powers and return him as a prisoner to the world where Lex’s word is law.

However, perhaps that inventing machine had a few bugs after all. Because Luthor makes it to Earth, all right – but to San Francisco, in 1906! A chance encounter with an out-of-towner who has a fatal accident leads Luthor to take on the man’s identity – as the new Editor of the San Francisco Daily Planet!

Meanwhile, nowadays, Superman decides to check up on Luthor’s whereabouts, and discovers that he is no longer on Lexor – or on Earth, either! Earth NOW, that is …

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So, it’s off through the time barrier to California and 1906. When he can’t immediately track down his enemy, Superman decides to take a civilian job whole searching. World, meet Clark Kent, Daily Planet reporter!

For some reason, Luthor recognizes Superman, but merely assumes that the Kryptonian has “adopted the name of his friend Clark Kent while he hunts for me in this era!”

Similarly, it seems a bit fishy to me that Supes doesn’t recognize his arch-enemy, even under bushy sideburns.

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After a few tough story assignments by his draconian boss (aka his sworn enemy), Superman/Kent is finally maneuvered into exposure to Luthor’s Red K.

Whoops, the inventing machine screwed up again! Sure, Superman’s strength and flight powers are gone, but this pseudo-Kryptonite has left him all his vision powers. Testing
this, Superman sees a ship in the bay on fire .

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Using his heat vision on the burning ship’s cargo, voila! Fire-retardant foam is invented!
Plus, in a strange twist of fate, take a gander at the young whippersnapper whose life Superman has just saved! Why, it’s Perry White himself!

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Before long, though, the jig is up, and Luthor captures Superman, forcing him to row them to an island in the middle of San Francisco bay. On this island, the criminal genius has used some of the machinery from his wrecked rocket to create a teleportation ray. Soon both captor and captive will be on Lexor, back in the present day.

That darn inventing machine! Once again, the fates are not kind to Mrs Luthor’s pride and joy. He disappears, leaving Superman behind – and causes the Great 1906 Earthquake to boot!

Superman has a high old time cooking soup in a relief kitchen until his powers return and he can come home. But, upon a quick view of Lexor, Supes discovers that Luthor once again didn’t reach his intended target.

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A little historical deduction leads the Man of Tomorrow to deduce that the island from which Luthor disappeared has another name – Alcatraz! And, by golly, that’s where the Greatest Criminal Mind of Our Time is discovered. How embarrassing!

A Shameless Plug for SoonerCon

If any of you, my friends, lives close to the Oklahoma City area, please consider visiting us at SoonerCon 2010 the beginning of June.

For more info, click the SoonerCon 2010 link on the sidebar.

Soon, I promise, we'll share the second half of the Superman 168 "All-Luthor Issue!"

Return to Lexor!

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo152/MarkAAlfred/Superman%20168/S168Cover.jpg

In Superman 164, we witnessed “The Showdown Between Luthor and Superman.”

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo152/MarkAAlfred/Superman%20168/S168Splash1.jpg

Now, in Superman 168, we return to that red-sun planet whose inhabitants were saved from drought and starvation by “the noble Luthor,” as they call him.

As you can read, the inhabitants have renamed their planet Lexor, in honor of their savior. And before our story opens, Brainiac has sprung the wily criminal, who has fled to this faraway world to marshal defenses against Superman’s inevitable pursuit.

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo152/MarkAAlfred/Superman%20168/S1681-1.jpg


May be he can use the lost Lexorian science to give himself super-powers, hmm.

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Meanwhile, Supes has landed and is trying to sneak in. Uhh, wise guy, ever think about a change of clothes? But then the wise guy couldn’t take the place of his own statue …

When the live statue has been re-parked at a big celebration set up to honor the Great Luthor, Superman waits until he’s alone, and … wait! What are these weird crystals? And why do they have a strange attraction for the now-human Man of Steel?

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Drat! just as Supes decides to scoop these crystals into a convenient satchel, Ardora, Luthor’s would-be squeeze, shows up.

Somehow, Superman gets away, necessitating the cover image of a Super-Luthor using X-ray vision to track down “the evil Superman.”

Well, all is well on Lexor now. Superman is in the pokey, and the Great Luthor has saved the day under his new secret identity, the super-powered Defender.

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But what’s this!?! The wily Kryptonian makes a jailbreak! Once again he shows his science smarts by reprogramming his robot guard to snag back those mysterious crystals. And when the robot gives Superman the crystals at his spaceship, the Defender arrives to nab him again!

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And finally, at gunpoint, Superman tries to explain why he stole the crystals in the first place.

It seems the crystals are pretty, but emanate a power that dumbs down the brain after long contact (kind of like a chick flick). Luthor examines the crystals himself with his super-vision powers and *gasp* is forced to agree.

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So he lets Superman go, for now …

Next week: Part Two of this wild tale (or should we say, Wild West Tale?)

In Memoriam, JFK

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This text page appeared in Superman 168. Somehow when I read the Times headline, I hear the word pronounced "viggah."

Have a Monstrous New Year!

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OK, here is one cool monkey man. This is one of my older brother's models, of which nothing remains but the instruction sheet.

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo152/MarkAAlfred/Kong2.jpg
If you read the text legend of the model sheet, there are a couple of interesting things to notice. One is that none of the (human) characters is named. Only Kong seems to deserve a moniker.

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Another thing that's a little odd is how the text seems to say that Kong himself is millions of years old! Say what?!?


http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo152/MarkAAlfred/Kong4.jpg
Well, in the new year I hope to share lots of old Super-Tales and be no more silly than in the past (good luck with that one!).
And please to comment with your own memories, if you wish!

The Good News: The Beatles Boxed Set!

What a wonderful Christmas present from my wife and kids!

I'm halfway through the White Album and have heard several things that *maybe* I hadn't heard before -- or maybe hadn't been paying attention! But it all sounds "pretty darn good."

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo152/MarkAAlfred/misspelledbeatle.jpg

The bad news: somebody at Apple can't spell! The song is called "For You Blue." I don't think Harrison was playing golf when he wrote it.



More in a few days ...

Have Yourself a Super Little Christmas

Our Star Trek Will Go for ... about 77 Minutes

Well, here is the latest in obsessively anthologizing music.

Definitely no soundtracks here -- except for James Horner's "The Search for Spock" which was originally featured as Side Three of the ST III soundtrack LP (with a blank Side 4).

TREKonometry has 24 tracks. Some versions of Trek themes are OK and even -- um, fascinating, like the Phil Woods Quintet's long jazz riff on the TV theme.

There's plenty of disco represented here, from The Galactic Force Band to Gene Page. There're odd arrangements, like the fuzz guitar by Chris Holland or the cheesy roller-skate-rink organics of the Schnauzer Radio Orchestra.

And just for fun, the last couple of tracks are kinda silly.

Let me know what you think!

Here's the link:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=VP35S3QA

Breathless with Excitement and Horror!

I just finished this jewel of a book. It's a 1970 paperback original full of brief (one-to-two pages) accounts of scary critters that are hairy and smelly.

I don't know what's more fun -- the absolutely smashing (that's a pun) cover art, or the blurb on the back cover.

I think I know at least a FEW of the World's Weirdest Sub-Humans ....

Another music download at the end of the week, with a Sci-Fi slant this time..."Fascinating."

David McCallum Conducted

Yes, it was sort of a vanity project. But instead of hollering for a Tambourine Man, U.N.C.L.E. agent David McCallum put his fame to use by commandeering a recording studio, an arranger, and an orchestra, so that he might conduct some of the pop hits of the day.

So here we have instrumental versions of songs like "Michelle," "I Can't Get No Satisfaction," and many more, along with a few originals.

Yes, for many of you, this stuff is the musical equivalent of the creme filling in a Twinkie, but the selections are also inoffensive and make fine background music for reading or conversation.

Here's the link, including the music, CD disc art, and CD inserts:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=PRVC5DNL

Let me know if you like it!

More Model Monster Memories: The Forgotten Prisoner of Castelmare!

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I had this model and never noticed until now that evidently this poor lug was forgotten in a FRENCH jail.

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Notice the accent over the last "e" in "Castel-Mare"?

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I just always said "Castlemare" like "Hassle Jar."

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If you'll notice the tagline below the name, this character was copyrighted 1966 by Famous Monsters of Filmland. Actually, he never was a character! He was just invented to sell cool models of skeletons chained to walls.

That's also why, instead of the little "legend" or story about the critter the model was based on (like Creature from the Black lagoon or King King), there's just another snapshot of an assembled model.

Overall, somehow this guy struck me as pretty cool with his whole situation. I always wondered what the story was about the single forearm bolted to the wall at the Prisoner's feet, though!

Adventures of Superman TV Music

If you’re a good Super-fan, you know about the release on CD, a few years ago, of some of the background music from the George Reeves Adventures of Superman TV series.

This music came from a company called MUTEL ( from Music for TELevision), which adapted several scores from obscure B movies and other sources, and re-packaged them as background music for the then-new technology of television.

Well, the commercial CD was only SOME of the music. I have more for you!

Maybe twenty years ago or more, Starlog magazine ran a feature about this music, including an address in NYC. I wrote to that address and bought two cassettes of music that had been featured on Adventures of Superman.

When the commercial CD came out, I bought it, and then I dug out my cassettes from long ago. After some comparative listening, I came up with just over an hour of music that I had, that was NOT on the commercial CD. (I can’t guarantee NO duplications, but I’m pretty sure.)

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo152/MarkAAlfred/AdvSTVCDfrontcover.jpg

So, being the “psycho completist” that I am, I just had to assemble a CD of these “missing” cues. And here it is, for you to share!

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=WY1HVYIY

Also included are front and back CD covers and CD disc art.
Let me know what you think!

Thankful Thoughts

Seeing Song
(song lyric)

I sit beside the window and like many before me
I watch the people passing by.
And I wonder how I let this old world bore me
When there’s so much I haven’t seen.

Around each corner there stands a new door
And a different moon for every night,
Each bird is one I’ve never seen before,
And every sun rise brings another new light.

And each time I feel the world hang heavy on my shoulders
I merely gaze at the wonders all about me.
And I’m thankful that in me the embre of life still smoulders
For it would all still be here without me.

And around each new corner there waits a new door,
And each day new clouds to see;
Every second has its treasure in store,
And for me a new discovery.

If you can name some things you can be thankful for, you will be happier.

The Super Duel!

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When we last left our hero, he was struggling through a sandstorm on this desolate red-sun planet, while his arch-enemy Lex Luthor was holed up snug as a creep in a rug.

How doe we get from that scene to the splash panel above? Read on, dear reader!

The sandstorm has passed, and Kal-El of Krypton stumbles upon a deserted city. Weak and dehydrated, he finds a way to get water, and sacks out in the ruins of an empty building.

Meanwhile, Luthor has set off in a different direction, and finds … people! Amidst the ruins of their once-great civilization, they appear to have reverted to near-savagery. Amongst abandoned irrigation machines, they water their meager crops by hand and are unable to chase away marauding birds.

Until Luthor quickly analyzes the mechanism of one of the machines and uses a burst of water to drive the pests away.

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Lionized by the grateful populace, Luthor is led to an old museum and there finds a way to communicate with the people. He promises to try and help their plight, all the while convincing himself that in this way their gratitude will drive them to seek out Superman for him.

Or is there a bit of altruism there? These desperate near-barbarians need a technological savior, and that’s just the role Lex Luthor craves.

Still, inside Luthor is gnawed by the knowledge that this has become truly a desert world. No amount of digging will find enough water to save these people in the long run. They have hailed him as their great savior, but it rings hollow in Luthor’s ears.

Suddenly, Superman appears, having tracked down Luthor. The people quickly move to destroy the enemy of their great hero, but Luthor squelches that, agreeing to honor the original single-combat pact made with Superman.

However, they will now meet in an arena, surrounded by the populace of this great wreck of a city, and will each have an arsenal of super-weapons rescued by Luthor from the museum of science.

Soon whirlwinds and miniature suns collide, but – as we all knew it would – it all boils down to man against man. Remember that robot hound seen on the splash page of chapter one of this tale? Out it comes, sicced onto Superman.

But, don’t forget, Superman is a scientist and the son of a scientist. while wrestling with the robot beast, he manages to dislodge some control wires and disable it.

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That’s when Luthor decides to get his hands dirty again, and he dives onto Superman. Around they roll, and Superman thinks Luthor might prevail, until suddenly the Earthman weakens. He folds. He agrees to return to prison.

Once again in outer space, Luthor explains the plight of the natives of the planet they have just left. Only Superman’s great powers, now returned, can bring water, and new life, to the desert world.

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And so it comes to pass. The Man of Steel hurls great masses of ice towards the planet, and the giant digging machines reactivated by Luthor begin to dig a series of Mars-like canals to carry the water throughout the lands.

And as the waters rise and bring new life to this once-dying planet, the people give thanks for their savior, Lex Luthor, who has brought this to pass.

Wait a minute, you say. Superman saved the people. I ask you, did he do it alone? If Luthor hadn’t suddenly given up the battle and surrendered, would there be water on this dry world? If Luthor hadn’t explained the people’s plight to Superman and intervened to have the hero send that water, would life be blooming there?

Luthor! you old softie!

The Showdown Between Luthor and Superman!

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This is from Superman 164, dated October 1963. I was seven years old when it came out.

This cover tells it all, to anybody familiar with the Superman family. In the left background is a space-travel bubble. In the right background sets a red sun. Across the rails of a makeshift prize ring hang a white prison shirt and a red cape. Inside, shirtless, two titans rage. A fighting-trim Lex Luthor seems to be knocking the stuffings out of Superman, who already sports a shiner across his left eye.

The dialog confirms what we’ve guessed, what was suggested by both the red sun and the glowing boots Luthor is wearing: This is a giant planet, orbiting a red sun. Superman’s powers are annulled, and in this “fair fight” he seems to be on the losing end!

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo152/MarkAAlfred/Superman%20164/S164Ch1Splash.jpg

And the splash page for Part I makes things look even worse. Now Luthor not only has some kind of robot dog after superman, there’s an arena of spectators waiting for the thing to rip Superman’s throat out!

Our story begins, as do many in the 1960s, with Lex Luthor, criminal mastermind, in prison. But not for long! As many crimes as there are to lock him up for, Luthor seems to have as many escape schemes.

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo152/MarkAAlfred/Superman%20164/S164Ch1-1.jpg

Once free and in one of his many lead-lined hideouts, Luthor announces to the world his challenge:

Let Superman meet him man-to-man, without the advantage of superpowers, and let the best man win!

The Man of Steel, being the honorable hero he is, decided to take on this challenge fair and square. He arranges a parole meeting with his foe and they lay out the grounds: They will travel to an oversized planet orbiting a red sun, thereby negating superpowers. Ever the scientist (like his father), Superman has crafted a pair of gravity-defying boots for Luthor to wear, to counteract his heaviness on this new world.

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo152/MarkAAlfred/Superman%20164/S164Ch1-2.jpg

The stage is set, the “prize ring” is assembled, and the punches start flying, bringing about the scene depicted on the cover. Superman, who for decades has trained himself to restrain his strength less he kill an opponent, is driven back, back, back by Luthor’s pile-driving fists.

Until, thank Rao, a little thing called self-preservation kicks in, and in desperation our hero kayos his opponent with a lucky undercut.

Superman staggers away to the space bubble for a drink of water; and when he returns, Luthor is gone. The criminal woke up and recovered enough to stagger away, so our hero sets out after him.

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo152/MarkAAlfred/Superman%20164/S164Ch1-3.jpg

Little does Superman know how ignoble Luthor’s challenge to “a fair fight” really was! Smuggles into his clothes, Luthor has brought all sorts of miniaturized inventions, which he uses to bedevil Superman several times, while staying ahead in the chase.



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Before long a sandstorm blows in, and Superman is reduced to crawling along slowly, trying to breathe through his cape. Meanwhile, Lex Luthor is cozily holed up in a cave, waiting for the storm to break, so he can finish off Superman once and for all.

END PART ONE
Soon, Part Two of this epic tale!