New Music Friday: Big Star; Pentangle

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Pop Culture Roundup: Michiyo Yasuda; Batman; Hot Wheels; Disneyland; Shatner

The BBC pays tribute to Studio Ghibli artist Michiyo Yasuda, who died this week.



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A new book collects animation art from the Walt Disney archives.


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Via the Batgirl Bat-Trap: Rare production art from the 1966 Batman TV series.


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Cool video: Hot Wheels stunts:


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Via Gorilla's Don't Blog: Vintage Disneyland matchbooks.


A Michigan priest is donating his impressive comics collection to help fund his local Catholic schools.
“This is the Holy Grail,” McCallum said, pointing specifically to “Tales of Suspense” #39, the first appearance of Iron Man. “This is the one that would create the most interest because it was the birth of a hero that has become very popular.”
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William Shatner will voice Two-Face in a 1966-style Batman animated film slated to follow-up the straight-to-video "Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders" out now.

Vintage movie poster: Dr. Strangelove


December comics solicitations - collected edition highlights

Collected editions of note out this December. Click the links to order discounted titles from Amazon.

Witness the terrifying future of the Incredible Hulk! Could our hero truly be destined to rule a ravaged world with a gamma fist as the despotic Maestro?! Or will a time-torn Bruce Banner be able to change his own nightmarish fate? One of the greatest Hulk tales ever told fully earns its Epic status! Plus, more adventures with Bruce, Rick Jones and the Pantheon! A monster at Loch Ness - but not the one Hulk went looking for! A showdown with Nick Fury! A royal rumble with Madman! Hulk and She-Hulk double-team the Bi-Beast! Silver Surfer and the Starjammers join the intergalactic Trojan War! And Rick is getting married...if he can survive his bachelor party! 
COLLECTING: VOLUME 20: INCREDIBLE HULK (1968) 407-419, ANNUAL 20; HULK: FUTURE IMPERFECT 1-2; INCREDIBLE HULK ASHCAN EDITION; MATERIAL FROM MARVEL HOLIDAY SPECIAL 3

A new world for the jungle lord! A hunt for his faithful four-legged friend Zabu takes Ka-Zar beyond the Savage Land...into the ancient paradise of Pangea! But from shining citadels to the lofty heights of the Aerie Shalahn, it's filled with newfound friends - and fresh dangers! Caught between bird-people and pterons, will Kevin Plunder plunge to his doom, or fi nd new love? One way or another, things are going to get complicated for him and Shanna. Because, just as Ka-Zar grapples with exactly what he wants, for some reason the so-called she-devil isn't quite herself. As Ka-Zar wrestles with his restlessness, the stakes become life and death! Savage tales from a series that is one of Marvel's hidden gems! 
COLLECTING: KA-ZAR THE SAVAGE 1-5

Captain America Masterworks Vol. 9
Englehart, Buscema and Robbins bring you one of the most influential Captain America sagas of all time in the latest Marvel Masterworks. Disillusioned by government corruption and the revelations behind the Secret Empire, Steve Rogers renounces his role as Captain America. The Falcon fights on while Rogers wrestles with his place in the world, becoming Nomad, a man without a country. In his new identity, he must overcome the power of Madame Hydra and the mystical Serpent Crown. Then, the return of the Red Skull forces our hero to make a choice, with the Falcon's life hanging in the balance. 
COLLECTING: CAPTAIN AMERICA (1968) 176-192, MATERIAL FROM FOOM (1973) 8

 
Green Lantern Silver Age Omnibus Vol. 1 
The first adventures of the greatest Green Lantern of all-time, Hal Jordan, are now collected in their entirety, starting with GREEN LANTERN: THE SILVER AGE OMNIBUS VOL. 1! These are the tales that introduced Hal Jordan and feature his induction into the Green Lantern Corps. Also included are the intros of the Guardians of the Universe, Star Sapphire, Sinestro and more! These classic stories from one of the greatest eras of comics are featured here in a gigantic omnibus edition, GREEN LANTERN: THE SILVER AGE OMNIBUS VOL. 1! Collects SHOWCASE #22-24 and GREEN LANTERN #1-45.

Justice League of America Bronze Age Omnibus Vol. 1
In these adventures of the Justice League from the early 1970s, classic members of the League including Superman, Batman, the Flash, Green Arrow, the Atom and Black Canary meet the JSA, the Seven Soldiers of Victory, and take on the most ruthless villains in the DCU! These stories ushered in the Bronze Age of comics and were written by one of the masters of the form, Dennis O'Neil.
Collects JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #77-113.

Superman/Batman: Saga of the Super Sons
The epic story featuring the sons of the Man of Steel and the Dark Knight is finally back in print in SUPERMAN/BATMAN: SAGA OF THE SUPER SONS!
Superman, Jr. and Batman, Jr. grew up in the shadows of their fathers, two of the greatest heroes that ever lived! With burgeoning abilities as well as a super-powered pedigree, how can these two Super Sons learn how to be the same fighters of justice as Superman and Batman? When the daughter of Lex Luthor strikes, they'll have to grow up in a hurry.
These classic tales, penned by legendary writers Bob Haney and Denny O'Neill and illustrated by Dick Dillin and Curt Swan are now available in one complete volume. Features stories from the pages of WORLD'S FINEST COMICS #215-216, #221-222, #224, #228, #230, #231, #233, #238, #242, #263 and ELSEWORLDS 80-PAGE GIANT #1!

Eerie Archives Vol. 23
Unnatural creatures, Satanic horrors, and Alien revelations stalk our nightmares in Cousin Eerie's latest collection of spooky suspense and sci-fi thrills! The epic Beastworld series continues, along with Samurai and Mac Tavish! Collecting Eerie issues #109 to #113, this volume features stories by Bruce Jones, Larry Hama, Pablo Marcos, Paul Gulacy, Doug Moench, Val Meyerik, Jose Ortiz, and more!

Tarzan: The Jesse March Years Omnibus Vol. 1
The legendary Tarzan work of artist Jesse Marsh remains an enduring, singular vision, captivating generations of comics readers and earning the acclaim of artists from Russ Manning to Alex Toth to Los Bros Hernandez. Marsh's nineteen-year collaboration with writer Gaylord DuBois defined Edgar Rice Burroughs' jungle lord, and these iconic adventures live again in the pages of Tarzan: The Jesse Marsh Years Omnibus, meticulously restored and value priced.


Silly Symphonies: The Complete Disney Classic Vol. 2
This second of four volumes presents the spectacular Sunday pages from 1935 to 1939, featuring the first comic strip adaptation of a feature-length film―Snow White…the original Donald Duck series, plus the Three Little Pigs (and the Big Bad Wolf, of course), Elmer the Elephant, Pluto, Goofy, and the Three Little Kittens. The artwork for these rare strips has come straight from the Disney vaults, each page meticulously colored using as a guide the original file copies that belonged to Walt Disney himself!

EC Library: The Million Year Picnic and Other Stories
This collection includes all 15 of Elder’s humorous Panic stories (The Night Before Christmas” got the first issue banned in the entire state of Massachusetts); all seven of his science fiction tales from the pages of Weird Science and Weird Fantasy (including two Ray Bradbury adaptations, "The King of the Grey Spaces!” and “The Million-Year Picnic"); and a special horror story that hasn’t been seen since its original publication more than 60 years ago. Black & white illustrations throughout.

Four-Color Fear: Forgotten Horror Comics of the 1950s
Although EC is the comic book company most fans associate with horror, during the genre's peak (1951-54) more than fifty titles appeared each month. Four Color Fear collects the finest of these into a single robust and affordable volume. Jack Cole, Steve Ditko, George Evans, Frank Frazetta, Alex Toth, Al Williamson, Basil Wolverton, and Wallace Wood contribute both stories and covers, with many of the forty full-sized covers created by specialists Bernard Baily, L.B. Cole, William Eckgren, and Matt Fox. 304 pages of color comics.

Deal Alert: "Planet of the Apes" Blu-ray bundle

Today on Amazon.

Includes:
  • Planet of the Apes
  • Beneath the Planet of the Apes
  • Escape from the Planet of the Apes
  • Conquest of the Planet of the Apes
  • Battle for the Planet of the Apes
  • Planet of the Apes (2001)
  • Rise of the Planet of the Apes
  • Dawn of the Planet of the Apes 

New "Star Wars: Rogue One" trailer


Vintage movie poster: "Double Wedding"


New "Doctor Strange" cover for Entertainment Weekly


New "Star Wars: Rogue One" poster


Trippy: "Doctor Strange" blacklight poster

Info.


First look at Amber Heard as Aquaman's Queen Mera in "Justice League" film


Cool: Original "Jonny Quest" and "Space 1999" soundtracks on the way

Here are two upcoming soundtracks releases of interest to pop culture fans:

Due out Oct. 19 from La La Land Records, Jonny Quest includes two CDS filled with music from the cult 1960s cartoon series:
La-La Land Records and Warner Bros. present the world premiere release of the original television score to the 1964-65 classic animated Hanna-Barbera adventure series JONNY QUEST, with music by William Hanna, Joseph Barbera and Hoyt Curtin and musical direction by Hoyt Curtin and Ted Nichols. Requested by fans for decades, the thrilling and groundbreaking original music from one of the most beloved 60’s animated shows of all time finally makes its official debut with this deluxe, knockout 2-CD presentation. The musical genius of Hoyt Curtin (THE FLINTSTONES, TOP CAT, SCOOBY DOO) is on full display here – thrilling, jazz-infused action scoring, brimming with excitement and drama! Produced by Lukas Kendall, Taylor White and Nik Ranieri, and mastered by Doug Schwartz, this 2-CD limited release of 3000 units includes bonus tracks and features fascinating, in depth liner notes by film music journalist Jon Burlingame and writer Jeff Bond. Adventurous art design by Joe Sikoryak compliments this celebratory release that will thrill fans of all ages!
Space: 1999 on Penta Records, meanwhile, collects music the legendary Ennio Morricone composed for theatrical film derived from episodes of the 1970s sci-fi series:

Penta Music is proud to present the world premiere CD release of SPACE:1999, featuring the original motion picture soundtrack of the Italian theatrical version composed by two-time Oscar-winner Ennio Morricone.
SPACE: 1999 premiered in Italian theatres on January 14, 1975, and was created through the process of editing together three episodes from season one of the TV series: “Breakaway,” “Ring Around the Moon” and “Another Time, Another Place.”
The theatrical release of SPACE: 1999 predated the series’ debut on Italian television by a year, with the first six episodes being broadcast from January 31, 1976. Six more episodes followed in July and the remaining twelve episodes in the fall of the same year.
The series’ original iconic score was not used for the Italian theatrical version (the series originally premiered on British television on September 4, 1975), instead being replaced with a fascinating score by Ennio Morricone, who composed original material featuring frantic jazz themes and futuristic electronic sequences reminiscent of Barry Gray’s work on UFO.
This release also includes avant-garde material by Morricone that was carefully selected as background music for various scenes in the movie, taken directly from the RCA promotional series of library vinyl LPs titled “Dimensioni Sonore,” performed by symphonic orchestra and presented here in full stereo. Also included is the final large orchestral theme heard over the end credits, featuring vocals by Edda Dell’Orso and I Cantori Moderni di Alessandroni. This theme was reused for the 1979 mini-series Orient Express, again scored by Ennio Morricone.
The CD has a running time of 70:11 and comes with a full-color, 20-page booklet containing archive stills, a foreword from Fanderson chairman Nick Williams (the official Fanderson UK fan club) and plot synopses and credits for the three original episodes.

Teaser: "Doctor Who: The Power of the Daleks" coming to BBC America Nov. 19

Details:
The Power of the Daleks is one of the most celebrated Doctor Who adventures, and yet no complete film recordings are known to have survived. The master negatives were destroyed in an archive purge in 1974. This brand new animation, being released 50 years after its only UK broadcast, is based on the program’s original audio recordings, surviving photographs, and film clips. The six-part adventure features the regeneration – or as it was then called “renewal” – of First Doctor, William Hartnell, into Second Doctor, Patrick Troughton, and follows the Time Lord and his companions Polly (Anneke Wills) and Ben (Michael Craze) as they do battle with the Daleks on the planet Vulcan.

Vintage movie poster: "Cleopatra"


New comics Oct. 12, 2016: Hembeck; Wonder Woman Omnibus; Neil Gaiman

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