New Comics Collected Editions: Batman '89! Crime Patrol!
Our picks this week. Click the links to order from Amazon.
Continuing the adventures of the Dark Knight from Tim Burton's classic movie Batman, Batman '89 pulls on a number of threads left dangling by that film while continuing in the tradition of DC's very successful Batman '66 series.In 1989 moviegoers were amazed at the new vision of the Dark Knight brought to the screen by filmmaker Tim Burton, starring Michael Keaton as Batman and Jack Nicholson as The Joker. Now, in the tradition of DC's very successful Batman '66 series, Batman '89 is set in a truly gothic Gotham City and features colorful villains including The Joker, Two-Face, and many more.
Collects the first 12 chapters of the Batman '89 digital comics series.
Pop Culture Roundup: Monkees Take on the FBI! "Nope" Sequel! "Orphan Black" Spin-off!
ITEM! Mickey Dolenz is seeking FBI records pertaining to the Monkees.
ITEM! Jordan Peele is teasing a sequel to "Nope."
ITEM! Krysten Ritter and Keeley Hawes will appear in an "Orphan Black" spin-off.
New on Video: BELLE - Collector's Edition 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray [4K UHD]
Out now from Amazon.
Details:
From the celebrated Academy Award®-nominated director Mamoru Hosoda and Studio Chizu, creators of Mirai, Wolf Children, and Summer Wars, comes a fantastical, heartfelt story of growing up in the age of social media.
Suzu is a shy, everyday high school student living in a rural village. For years, she has only been a shadow of herself. But when she enters "U," a massive virtual world, she escapes into the online persona of Belle, a gorgeous and globally-beloved singer. One day, her concert is interrupted by a monstrous creature chased by vigilantes. As their hunt escalates, Suzu embarks on an emotional and epic quest to uncover the identity of this mysterious "beast" and to discover her true self in a world where you can be anyone.
Bonus Content:
- Promo Events with Hosoda and Cast
- Behind the Japanese Dub
- Cast Interviews
- The Making of BELLE
- A Conversation with Director Mamoru Hosoda
- The Music of BELLE
- Hosoda Draws Belle
- Scene Breakdowns
- Finding The Voices of BELLE
New on Video: "Cat People" 1982 4K Ultra HD 4K UHD
Order now from Amazon.
- 4K Scan from the Original Camera Negative
- Audio Commentary with Director Paul Schrader
- Audio Commentary with Paul Schrader
- Interview with Actors Malcolm McDowell, Nastassja Kinski, Annette O'Toole, John Heard, and Lynn Lowry, Composer Giorgio Moroder and Paul Schrader
- Cat People: An Intimate Portrait
- On the Set with Paul Schrader
- Special Makeup Effects by Tom Burman
- Matte Paintings
- Filmmaker Robert Wise On the Producer of the Original Cat People, Val Lewton
- TV Spot
- Theatrical Trailer
- Photo Gallery
Coming Up: "Wrap It Up - The Isaac Hayes And David Porter Songbook"
Out Oct. 7 from Ace Records. Available for $12.59 from Import CDs.
Details:
Their partnership lasted barely four years and just over 50 songs - but between 1965 and 1969 Isaac Hayes and David Porter penned some of soul’s most enduring anthems of their era, many of which are still being regularly performed and recorded to this day.
Ace are delighted to welcome them into our ever-popular Songwriter Series this month with “Wrap It Up”, a fantastic collection featuring almost half of the total number of songs they wrote together in versions you would expect, and versions you wouldn’t!
Hayes and Porter wrote for almost every major act on the Stax roster, but the commercial appeal of their songs gave them appeal to artists operating outside of the perimeters of soul music. ZZ Top, Peter Frampton, the (Count) Bishops and Charlie Rich are just some of the fine turns you will find here essaying Hayes and Porter copyrights alongside Stax stalwarts such as Johnnie Taylor, Mable John, the Emotions, the Soul Children, Otis Redding and Carla Thomas, and, of course, Sam and Dave whose recordings of their songs were what established Hayes and Porter as a peerless songwriting force in the first place.
As lovingly curated and expertly annotated as you would expect any Ace project in the Songwriter Series to be, “Wrap It Up” is another valuable piece in the great American songwriting jigsaw, and very much a collection where the songs that were not necessarily big hits are easily on a par with those that were. It is a fitting audio tribute to two men who have between them won just about every major award going, from Grammys to election to the Songwriters’ Hall of Fame.
Hold on, they’re coming…
Tracklist:
- Sixty Minutes Of Your Love - Homer Banks
- As Long As I've Got You - The Emotions
- B-A-B-Y - Rachel Sweet
- Can't Trust Your Neighbour - Freddie King
- May I Baby - Peter Frampton
- You're Taking Up Another Man's Place - Aretha Franklin
- Hold On I'm Comin' (single version) - The Righteous Brothers
- I've Got To Love Somebody's Baby - Peter Gallagher
- I'll Understand - Edwin Starr & Blinky
- I Take What I Want - The Bishops
- I Thank You - Z Z Top
- My Baby Specializes - Delaney & Bonnie
- Never Like This Before - Marcia Ball
- Soul Man - Sam & Dave
- Left Over Love - Ruby Johnson
- The Sweeter He Is (Parts 1 & 2) - The Soul Children
- Toe Hold (unedited version) - Johnnie Taylor
- When Something Is Wrong With My Baby - Otis Redding & Carla Thomas
- Wrap It Up - Archie Bell & The Drells
- You Don't Know Like I Know - Keith Powell & Billie Davis
- You Got Me Hummin' - The Hassles
- Your Good Thing (Is About To End) - Mable John
- Love Is After Me - Charlie Rich
- I'm Dedicating My Life - Danny White
Pop Culture Roundup: Caped Crusader! Chase and Ackroyd Reunite! Jann of the Jungle!
ITEM! While HBO has abandoned plans to air "Batman: Caped Crusader," a new animated series from Bruce Timm, the show may still find life on another streaming service.
ITEM! SNL vets Chevy Chase and Dan Ackroyd will appear in a new film based on a R.L. Stine YA novel.
ITEM! Al Williamson draws Jann of the Jungle!Coming Up: "Trip On Me - Soft Psych & Sunshine 1966-1969"
Out Oct. 7 from Ace/Big Beat Records. Available for $11.99 from Import CDs.
Details:
Summer’s here and the time is right . . . for a carefully-curated compendium of late 1960s California sunshine from the vaults of several hallowed West Coast indie labels and production houses.
Big Beat’s Trip On Me: Soft Psych & Sunshine 1966-69 features 24 pop-psych nuggets replete with a healthy dose of dulcet harmony, jazz-tinged charts and studio freakery. All were recorded in Hollywood or the San Francisco Bay Area for collectable labels like Mira and Era or maverick outfits such as producer Gary S Paxton and SF’s Trident Productions.
The legendary Curt Boettcher appears not only as producer but also as backing vocalist on several cuts, as well as featured artist on a fascinating demo. Collectable obscurities such JP Rags, the Pretty People and A Thousand Faces are joined by sunshine pop staples The Forum, Primrose Circus and Filipino female quintet The Third Wave, who are represented by two rare early recordings.
Drawn from unreleased masters and session tapes with top-notch sound quality, and detailed liner notes revealing the facts behind such unheralded acts as the Lollipop Fantasy, Candy Company and A Small World, Trip On Me is an essential purchase for 60s pop fanciers of all persuasions.
Tracklist:
- Soul Sunrise - JP Rags
- Trip On Me - The Forum
- Niki - The Third Wave
- Going To San Diego - The Pretty People
- The Life You Lead - A Small World
- A Thousand Faces - The Thousand Faces
- Sugar Stone - The Candy Company
- Lazy Bones - The Tricycle
- PS Call Me Lulu - The Primrose Circus
- Out In The Open - The Justice League
- Meadows And Flowers - Curt Boettcher
- Song Rider - The Pretty People
- Someday Sunday - The Gettysbyrg Address
- Roamin' - The High
- Three Kingfishers-Ferris Wheel - The Third Wave
- Go To Try And Put Out The Sun - The Forum
- Bells Of Saint Barbara - JP Rags
- Richard And Me - Evergreen Tangerine
- Tinkling Glasses - Tomorrow's World
- Somewhere - The Tricycle
- Little Balloon Lady - The Gallery
- Summer Flower (She's On My Mind) - The Crystal Set
- It's A Groovy World - The Lollipop Fantasy
- Until Now - Augie Moreno
Check Out the Batman '66 Lunchbox - Plus Action Figures - from McFarlane Toys
Details:
DC Comics Retro Batman 66 with Lunchbox set. The set is released as an NYCC Exclusive and will consist of Batman, Robin, Joker, and Penguin figures bundled all together. New retro cards are included along with punching sound effects and placed in a themed Batman 1966 metal lunch box.
Coming Up: Doctor Who "Celestial Toymaker" Soundtrack on Red and Blue Vinyl
Out Sept. 30. Order now from Amazon.
Details:
"We shall play endless games together, your brain against mine." Demon Records presents the narrated TV soundtrack of a 'lost' Doctor Who TV serial, starring William Hartnell as the Doctor.
When the TARDIS lands in the Celestial Toyroom, it's occupants meet a new and deadly opponent. The Toymaker rules this ethereal kingdom, and he desires the Doctor, Steven and Dodo to become his perpetual playthings.
While Steven and Dodo face a series of challenges posed by clowns, ballerinas and living playing cards, the Doctor is challenged to play the fiendish Trilogic Game against the Toymaker himself. His only hope of escape is to beat the powerful entity at his own game...
Presented across 2 x 140g 'King & Queen' red & blue coloured vinyl discs, this 1966 TV adventure is narrated by Peter Purves, who also plays Steven. It stars Michael Gough as the Toymaker, with Jackie Lane as Dodo and a supporting cast including Carmen Silvera, Campbell Singer and Peter Stephens. Incidental music is composed by Dudley Simpson, and the familiar strains of the Doctor Who theme are courtesy of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop.
The LPs are presented in a fully illustrated gatefold sleeve showing cast and credits, and inner bags featuring complete episode billings.
Coming Up: "A Snapshot in Time: Society, Scandal and the First Stirrings of Modernism 1960-1963"
Out Oct. 7 from Ace Records. Available for $12.59 from Import CDs.
Details:
Back in September 1962, the only Beatles records in the shops saw them backing Tony Sheridan on a goosed-up version of My Bonnie, Their debut single Love Me Do would be released in October 1962 and the seismic change they brought to music worldwide would occur once the band achieved light speed in 1963. There was, however, before Beatlemania a thriving music culture that dropped anchor in a number of ports. Proto pop charts might be dominated by the likes of Cliff and his Shadows, crooners and sweet looking pop idols who brushed their teeth but R&B was gently finding its way into record racks either through imports or a growing number of home grown cover versions. The Motown sound was taking root in Detroit, America and already filtering into the UK on poor selling 7” singles on London and Fontana.
The twist might be considered an old dance but in political circles no one twisted in the wind harder than John Profumo undone in 1961 for a triangular relationship where the other two parties were Christine Keeler and a Russian spy. Politicians and the establishment lived by the dictum of do what I say rather than what I do. Until they got caught with their pants down. This was a situation Patrick McGoohan in Danger Man always avoided although after 1963 part of James Bond's appeal on the big screen was his ability to drop his pants and bed Russian spies.
To say that before the Beatles, before the Stones, before the Who, before the blues explosion there was no good music being recorded in the UK is untrue. There was plenty of great records put out in 1960, 1961 and 1962. You simply had to find the gems.
The problem with the Beatles, and the coverage of their music, was that it built a musical dam that formed a reservoir that covered previous audio hills that were submerged by time and history. Why care about Otillie Patterson singing the blues when you had Please Please Me? Why care about Chris Farlowe’s Air Travel when you had I Want To Hold Your Hand? Whereas 50 years later Beatles music is endlessly recycled, much of the music recorded between 1960 and 1963 remains ignored and submerged under water. But, as you will discover on A Snapshot in Time there were some cracking gems like the Blue Flames R&B swagger of Orange Street, Lynne Cornell’s Moanin’ and Sounds Inc Sounds Like Locomotion. Better still, they sound fresh and invigorating showing that the 60s swung earlier than everybody would have you believe.
Tracklist:
- Sugar Baby Part 1 - Jimmy Powell
- Sugar Baby Part 2 - Jimmy Powell
- When You Walked Out - Alex Murray with The Tony Crombie Quartet
- Baby Please Don't Go - Ottilie Patterson accompanied by Sonny Boy Williamson
- Why Should We Not - Manfred Mann
- Chicago Calling - Cyril Davies & His Rhythm & Blues All Stars
- King Of Kings - Jimmy Cliff
- Air Travel - Chris Farlowe
- It Ain't Necessarily So (From "Porgy and Bess") - Duffy Power
- Sounds Like Locomotion - Sounds Inc.
- Dance Her By Me - Jimmy Powell
- Gurney Slade (from "The Strange World of Gurney Slade) - Max Harris & His Group
- Moanin' - Lynn Cornell
- Tom Hark - Jimmy Powell
- Christine - Miss X
- A New Kind of Lovin' - Eden Kane
- I'm Just A Baby - Louise Cordet
- Orange Street - The Blue Flames
- I'm Built For Comfort - Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated vocal Cyril Davies
- Angi (aka Anji) - Davy Graham
- Strawberry Fair - Anthony Newley
- Country Line Special - Cyril Davies & His Rhythm & Blues All Stars
- Wicked Woman - Don Lang & His Boulder Rollers
- Theme From Danger Man' - The Red Price Combo with Orchestra
Coming Up: "Clowns Exit Laughing - The Jimmy Webb Songbook"
Out in Sept. 2 from Ace Records.
Available for $12.59 at Import CDs. (I don't get a commission for plugging them. I have had good experience ordering items personally and find their prices much lower than elsewhere).
Details:
Ace’s highly regarded and highly popular Songwriter Series continues apace, with several exciting projects in place for release in the second half of 2022 and beyond. This month we welcome Jimmy Webb onto our expanding list with “Clowns Exit Laughing”, a deep dip into this prolific tunesmith’s extensive catalogue of the past six decades.
After a period of establishing his credentials as a writer with Motown’s West Coast office, Jimmy really came into his own in the mid-60s with classic songs like ‘By The Time I Get To Phoenix’, ‘Wichita Lineman’ and ‘Up Up And Away’. Everyone wanted to record a Jimmy Webb copyright, and a great many people did as this CD demonstrates.
Although Jimmy has never stopped writing, “Clowns Exit Laughing” naturally concentrates on a time when a new Jimmy Webb classic seemed to appear every other week. As is always Ace’s policy with the Songwriter Series, each featured artist performs only one song but we are sure that inclusions by the likes of Tony Joe White, Dionne Warwick, Dusty Springfield and other major names will disappoint nobody.
Also included for collectors are several rare, seldom heard original versions of songs primarily associated with other artists, such as Don Ho’s original of ‘Galveston’ and James Darren’s first recording of ‘Didn’t We’.
As ever, comprehensive annotation and copious illustration are part and parcel of the CD package. We are delighted to bring this magical collection to you, and equally delighted to add this stellar songwriter to our ever-growing series.
Track list:
- By The Time I Get To Phoenix - Glen Campbell
- Up, Up And Away - Dionne Warwick
- Carpet Man - The Nocturnes
- When Eddie Comes Home - The Everly Brothers
- I Need You - Shane Martin
- Honey Come Back - Chuck Jackson
- Where's The Playground, Susie? - Everything But The Girl
- Midnight Mail - Joey Scarbury
- The Moon's A Harsh Mistress - The Walker Brothers
- Wichita Lineman - Tony Joe White
- Didn't We - James Darren
- Macarthur Park - Waylon Jennings & The Kimberlys
- I Keep It Hid - The Supremes
- Do What You Gotta Do - Nina Simone
- Galveston - Don Ho
- The Worst That Could Happen - B.J. Thomas
- Requiem: 820 Latham - Mel Tormé
- Magic Garden - Dusty Springfield
- Rosecrans Blvd. - The 5th Dimension
- Which Way To Nowhere - The Brooklyn Bridge
- Clowns Exit Laughing - The Fortunes
- P.F. Sloan - Rumer
- Highwayman - Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson
- If This Was The Last Song - Dee Dee Warwick With The Dixie Flyers
Check Out the New Golden Age Batman Action Figure from Mezco
More info here.
Details:
Gotham City’s Caped Crusader springs into action as the criminals of Gotham City run rampant! A burglary at the Gotham City Museum, a hostage situation at the courthouse, and an explosion at the chemical processing plant. Can Batman keep the people of Gotham safe?
Batman wears a Golden Age-inspired Bat Suit with a bat insignia, integrated posing wire in his cape, and utility belt that houses his two-way Bat-radio. Five head portraits are included with one unmasked ‘Bruce Wayne’ portrait, as well as a mask that he can hold in his hands or over his shoulders.
The Dark Knight comes equipped with loads of crime fighting equipment including two Bat bolas, a variety of Batarangs, two-way Bat-radio belt buckle that attaches to his belt, a Rebreather breathing apparatus, and more.
THE ONE:12 COLLECTIVE BATMAN FEATURES:
- One:12 Collective body with over 28 points of articulation
- Five (5) head portraits
- Hand painted authentic detailing
- Approximately 17cm tall
- Ten (10) interchangeable hands
- One (1) pair of fists (L&R)
- Two (2) pairs of posing hands (L&R)
- One (1) pair of holding hands (L&R)
- One (1) pair of karate chop hands (L&R)
COSTUME:
- Cowled head
- Chest insignia
- Leather-like cape with integrated posing wire
- Fitted Bat Suit
- Utility belt with two-way Bat-radio belt buckle
- Boots
ACCESSORIES:
- One (1) Bat mask (can be held)
- One (1) Rebreather breathing apparatus
- One (1) two-way Bat-radio (connects to utility belt)
- Two (2) Bat bolas
- Four (4) different style Batarangs
- One (1) One:12 Collective display base with logo
- One (1) One:12 Collective adjustable display post
Hot Trax '72: Donny Osmond! Rod Stewart! Leon Russell! More!
New songs on the charts 50 years ago this week.
New Music Out Today: Blondie! Great Pumpkin! Yard Act! More!
Our picks this week. Click the links to order from Amazon.