Pop Culture Safari!

Star Trek publicity photos

Today's Google doodle celebrates Star Trek's 46th anniversary

This is pretty fun.

Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore publicity photos

Pop culture roundup: Neil Gaimin scripts Doctor Who again; Kaluta's Carson of Venus; More stop-motion Johnny Quest; painting by the Beatles up for auction

Neil Gaimin is writing another episode of "Doctor Who." His story will air later this season or during season 8. His season six story, "The Doctor's Wife," has become a fan favorite.

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Oh yeah, I remember these great M.W. Kaluta-illustrated "Carson of Venus" adaptations in DC Comics' Korak series. Can we get a reprint in book form? Does Dark Horse have the rights these days?

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Remember this cool stop-motion recreation of the "Johnny Quest" series opening sequence? Now the makers want to do a complete remake of a "Johnny Quest" episode, and have launched a Kickstarter initiative to raise money. A worthy cause!

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A painting created and signed by all four Beatles back in 1966 is once again up for auction.

The painting originates from the Beatles' only trip to Japan, where they stayed for just 100 hours in 1966. Evading fans in the Tokyo Hilton Hotel, the band were unable to escape from their room and were given the 30 inch by 40 inch canvas and paints to cure their boredom.

Placing a lamp at the centre, the band separated the canvas into four sections with each member left to design his own corner. After removing the lamp, they then signed the canvas in the hole that it left and presented the work, entitled Images of a Woman, to Tetsuaburo Shimoyama, president of the Japanese Beatles fan club.

An estimate for the piece has not been set, with the auction house commenting: "It's anybody's guess how much this rare, one-of-a-kind piece will bring, it is a Holy Grail of Beatles collectibles."

The work was sold to a dealer in Osaka for approximately $191,000 in the mid-1990s and appeared again in 2002 on eBay, though it is not certain the exact amount it sold for. A Liverpool Echo report before the sale suggested that the painting might achieve as much as £350,000.

New Elfquest comics series debuts online next week

After a five-year hiatus, a new Elfquest comics story by Wendy and Richard Pini is set to debut. This time, it will premiere online, shared one page at a time on the popular Boing Boing site. The first installment will appear on Monday.

More info:

“Elfquest‘s World of Two Moons—its landscapes, inhabitants, dangers—is familiar yet always unpredictable territory,” Wendy Pini said. “After five years’ hiatus, I’ve come home to the Holt and to my main characters, Cutter and the Wolfriders, only to wreak storytelling havoc on them as never before. In Elfquest: The Final Quest sturdy, stable characters will react in totally unexpected ways as they face devastating, unavoidable change. I’m scared and exhilarated by what’s going to happen!”

BBC radio this week - stream drama, comedy, music documentaries

Click the links to hear the following programs.

Aldous Huxley - Brave New World
Anton Lesser reads Aldous Huxley's nightmare vision of the future

Doctor Who
Time-travelling adventure series

E Nesbit - The Railway Children
Adaptation of the author's classic 1906 children's novel

Ghost Stories by MR James
Ghostly tales from the pen of Victorian writer MR James

The Goon Show
Classic material from one of the all-time radio comedy greats

J Meade Falkner - Moonfleet
In search of Blackbeard's diamond, young John Trenchard is drawn into a dangerous world.

Sherlock Holmes with Carleton Hobbs
Short stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle featuring the Baker street detective

The Elvis Presley Story
Wink Martindale tells the story of Elvis Presley.

Joe Strummer's London Calling
In 2000, Joe Strummer became a DJ for BBC World Service - this is how he sounded.

Purple Reign - The Story of Prince
The story of the singer, songwriter and musician.

Vintage comic book ad: Trix bike safety flag!

Jerry Ordway provides cover for Shazam! DVD release

The long-awaited release of the 1970s Captain Marvel series "Shazam" takes place Oct. 23 and comics artist Jerry Ordway is providing cover art for the three-disk set. That's a nice touch, given Ordway's affinity with the show and Captain Marvel character. The set is being released by Warner Bros. on a made-to-order basis and is available for pre-order here.