Captain America Lives!

I just noticed that according to the 1977 Marvel calendar, this weekend marks the anniversary of the Avengers re-discovery of Captain America in 1963. Not sure if that's supposed to be the date it happened, the date that AVENGERS # 4 hit the stands or just some thoroughly arbitrary date made up by Roy Thomas, Gerry Conway and/or Archie Goodwin, the chief authors of said calendar. The whole thing may well have been just an excuse to run this cool (if poorly colored) Kirby/Sinnott illustration (with what looks to me like a Romita-retouched face on Cap). Still, one can't deny that Cap's revival was the single most successful super hero revival of them all and changed the Marvel universe as we knew it. I don't really know the guy running around in Cap's togs in the comics these days, Ultimate or otherwise, but the original Cap, the REAL Cap, with his acrobatics, strong management skills and long windedness will always be a favorite! We salute you Captain! (and I don't care what anybody says, Bucky is STILL dead!! I mean seriously, what's next? "Uncle Ben's Revenge.")

The Hot Wheels Club

There was a point where my interest in Hot Wheels cars may well have supplanted my interest in comic books…until my mother threw the cars out, too. To be more accurate, she asked if I could maybe give some of my cars to a little boy she knew whose mom couldn’t afford any. Thinking big, I gave him all of my cars, track, etc. and made him very happy. Me? I was so traumatized that I didn’t learn to drive until I was 32 years old! True story! Well, the 32 years old part is true…the reasons might have been different. Anyway…the one thing I did keep was this 1970 Hot Wheels Club Magazine (and my membership certificate). Here are a few pages for your Friday enjoyment. If you enjoy this type of thing, please remember the new tip jar to your right. Thanx! Gotta VRRRRROOOOMMMM off to work now!

Rare Jay Ward Ad!

Bullwinkle J. Moose appeared in a long-running series of ads for Cheerios back in the early sixties that were similar to the later Hostess ads featuring super-heroes and other comic characters. This funny ad, however, dates from early 1971 and originally appeared in (of all places) CASPER'S GHOST LAND # 59. If you read the ultra-fine print, this is not some licensed product but directly from Jay Ward Productions. It even says "Bullwinkle and Dudley watches are not sold in stores because Jay Ward loves to get letters with money in them."

The Many Faces of Eric Clapton

I was watching THE CONCERT FOR BANGLADESH in its recent re-release when I was struck by just how bizarre it was that Eric Clapton in the new documentary looks completely unlike Eric at the concert! In fact, as you look at photos of Eric throughout his career, there are times when it’s tough to believe these are all the same man. Photos seen here are from the 1994 book, THE ERIC CLAPTON ALBUM by Marc Roberty.
My 14 year old cat Chauncey, by the way, is a big fan of Clapton. We discovered many years ago that if we're taking him to the Vet we need to keep Clapton music on the stereo to keep him calm. It isn't just guitar music, you understand? It's Clapton! Just recently, VH1 Classic was running the Tears in Heaven video and Chaunce came walking quietly into the living room and settled into a sphinx position directly in front of the television. When the song ended, he rose, stretched and went about his cat business.

Tip Your Waiter

If you’ll notice, I’ve added a PayPal tip box underneath the Links at right at the suggestion of several folks. If you appreciate at all the images and anecdotes I dole out daily, I would be much obliged if you might click on it and toss a little into the metaphorical hat on your way out to help cover expenses. Thank ya kindly!

The Family Plot

Last weekend I had the opportunity to watch Alfred Hitchcock’s swansong, THE FAMILY PLOT, for the first time since its original 1976 release. I found it to have aged quite well. In fact, if I recall correctly, one of the chief criticisms of the film in its initial run was that it was hopelessly old-fashioned. That’s still there only now it seems to give the picture a rather "timeless" feeling. After all, Hitch had certainly demonstrated that he could make a modern day thriller with his previous movie, FRENZY. Perhaps the master director actually intended for this one to be old-fashioned. If so, he succeeded admirably.
Based on the little-known but better-titled novel, THE RAINBIRD PATTERN, the story here introduces us to two couples. Bruce Dern and Barbara Harris are lower middle class con artists. They’re also the heroes. The other couple consists of handsome, charming, rich William Devane and his girlfriend, Karen Black, both kidnappers! Harris is an absolute delight as a phony medium bilking aging rich widows. Dern is here cast against type as a cab driver cum private eye who smokes a pipe to lend class to his deceit. Supposedly Hitchcock wanted Jack Nicholson for the role but that may be apocryphal as Devane seems to be channeling Nicholson for his role. Coming off of a TV success as JFK, Devane (himself replacing Roy Thinnes a ways into the shooting) got his one real big chance at movie stardom here and…well, kinda blows it by seemingly trying to be Jack. He’s worked steadily ever since (including recently on 24) and he’s always a pleasure to watch but he coulda been somebody! Cross-eyed Karen Black, near the peak of her somewhat unfathomable seventies popularity, could have been anyone here. She’s in disguise much of the time and her character is never really developed. By contrast, the consistently under-rated Dern is a joy to watch in a rare sympathetic lead as his bungling attempts at investigations to find a missing heir for one of Harris’ clients unwittingly bring the two couples closer and closer to an inevitable meeting.
Is it a serious thriller with maybe a little too much comedy or a light-hearted send-up of all things Hitchcockian? Don’t judge by me. I consider PSYCHO to be a comedy! Rent it or catch it on cable and judge for yourself. They didn’t call Alfred Hitchcock the Master for nothing! Even lesser Hitch is better than nearly anything else. I liked THE FAMILY PLOT in 1976 but I REALLY liked THE FAMILY PLOT thirty years later!

Rare Captain Marvel Strip

I always enjoyed this little one-pager from the back cover of THE AMAZING WORLD OF DC COMICS # 17 in 1978. Don't know, though, if it was done for that purpose or if it ended up there after being left unused from some other intended publication. Artist John Workman has an amazingly neat line and is one of the few letterers who I can identify through his work but to the best of my knowledge, he never drew Cap anywhere other than this one quick gag strip.