Comic Art: Jack Kirby's New Gods



Coming up: Planet Beat - From The Shel Talmy Vaults


Out July 6. Order from Amazon now.

Details:

Big Beat is proud to announce that we have recently accessed one of the most worthy vaults known to UK 1960s rock history: the archives of producer Shel Talmy, the man behind 'You Really Got Me,' 'My Generation' and dozens of other signature records of Swinging Britain's mid-60s glory days. Planet Beat' gathers two-dozen nuggets from the unlocked Talmy vault to present an unprecedented overview of his achievement in the beat group category. There are alternative versions of classics like the Breadcrumbs' 'Everybody Knows' and the First Gear's 'Leave My Kitten Alone,' with a young Jimmy Page tearing it up on the fuzz. Rare items from the Rising Sons and Untamed join choice gems from the Planet discography along with unreleased excitement from the likes of the Liberators, Johnny B Great and Imp-Acts. Everything on 'Planet Beat' is drawn from the first generation master tapes and comes with copious illustrations and notes by compiler Alec Palao. A feast for anyone interested in the golden era of British beat. 
 
Tracks:
1. My Baby Is Gone - the Untamed
  2. Leave My Kitten Alone - the First Gear
  3. Why - the Pathfinders
  4. There's Something About You - the Zephyrs
  5. Lucy (You Sure Did It This Time) - the Dennisons
  6. Everybody Knows - Sean Buckley & the Breadcrumbs
  7. Lonely Man - the Lancastrians
  8. It's Superman - the Imp-Acts
  9. She Said Yeah - the Presidents
  10. See You Later Alligator - Wayne Gibson
  11. I'm Leaving - the Tribe
  12. Gotta Have You - the Liberators
  13. Casting My Spell - the Talismen
  14. How Do They Know - the League of Gentlemen
  15. Black Eyes - the Hearts
  16. Our Love Is Gone - the Imp-Acts
  17. What'd I Say - Johnny B Great & the Orchids
  18. Please Go - the Trekkas
  19. Was She Tall - the Lancastrians
  20. Love Love Love - the Pathfinders
  21. Talk to Me Baby - the Rising Sons
  22. The Children Take Over - the Untamed
  23. Ding Dong! the Witch Is Dead - Wayne Gibson
  24. Just Can't Keep a Good Man Down - the Talismen
 

Video Find: Author Ray Bradbury with Groucho Marx on "You Bet Your Life"


Video: How Ida Lupino became the only woman to direct an ep of TV's "The Twilight Zone"

Background:

By the late 1940s British-born Ida Lupino had built herself a successful career as a Hollywood actor when - tired of being offered shallow female roles - she started rejecting scripts and was suspended by her studio. Jon Spira tells the story of how, through her company, The Filmakers, the remarkable star developed a career as the industry's only female producer and director, then found an unlikely home as the only woman to direct an episode of a 1950s TV classic, The Twilight Zone.


"Time's Up" anti-harrassment video narrated by Donald Glover and Rashida Jones


Wonder Woman 1984: First pic of Kristen Wiig as Barbara Minerva, aka the Cheetah

Tweeted by director Patty Jenkins today:


"Wonder Woman 1984" is due out Nov. 1, 2019.

Here are other pics shared so far from the production:






New trailer for George RR Martin-based Syfy series "Nightflyers"


New comics collected editions June 27, 2018

Highlights this week.






Vintage "Buck Rogers" 1970s TV show ads

Time Capsule: Marshall amps ad, 1968

A Kinks reunion?

Ray Davies says he, brother Dave and drummer Mick Avory are working on a new LP, their first since 1996. I suppose he and Dave could always come to blows before it's completed, but it appears as if it really may be happening this time.

See Ray's interview with Britain's Channel 4:


Review: RetroFan #1


Oh great. As if Alter-Ego, The Jack Kirby Collector and Back Issue weren't enough - the folks at TwoMorrows Publishing have come up with yet another mag seemingly targeted to just me.

From the looks of this first issue (thanks for the review copy, guys!), I imagine I'll be a regular reader.  And I'd imagine RetroFan will be of interest to most folks who happen across this blog, too.

Issue one has the original Hulk, Lou Ferrigno, on the cover and a short interview with him about his days on that beloved series. This feature is coupled with a photo-packed article about the Mego's rare Stretch Hulk, an elastic, corn syrup-filled knock-off of Kenner's famed Stretch Armstrong toy.

But the mag doesn't just scratch the 70s nostalgia itch - it hits pop culture from other decades, too. Martin Pasko (remember him from his DC Comics days?) charts the history, and lackluster film and TV career of the Phantom from the 1940s serials to the present decade. 

Andy Mangels, meanwhile, provides an in-depth history of the late 1960s "Star Trek"cartoon series, which featured voice work by the original series' cast and adult-focused scripts (including one by sci-fi great Larry Niven), even though it aired on Saturday mornings.

Ernest Farino recounts his youth as a horror movie fan and Ray Harryhausen enthusiast, while Scott Shaw profiles Gold Key's Zody the Mod Rob in the first entry of his "Oddball Comics" column. Collector extraordinaire Tom Stewart, meanwhile, details his various obsessions (comics, movie posters, action figures and guitars) accompanied by tantalizing pics.

And, finally, the mag's editor, Michael Eury (who also produces Back Issue, TwoMorrow's mag focused on comics from the 1970s and 80s) takes on us a trip to the original Mayberry, Andy Griffith's real-life hometown, Mount Airy, in North Carolina. He takes us to the town's Andy Griffith Museum and shares an interview with actress Betty Lynn, who portrayed Barney Fife's girlfriend, Thelma Lou, on the Griffith's classic series.

RetroFan is a quarterly, available at Barnes and Noble, from Amazon and direct from TwoMorrows. I'm definitely ready for more.

Video Find: Fonzie by Mego TV ad,1976

Time Capsule: Comics from June 1968