As mentioned here before, a three-DVD set of material from the first seasons of "Sesame Street" is due out Oct. 24. The name of the set, originally dubbed the "Sesame Street Nostalgia Box," is now "Sesame Street: Old School Vol. 1."
The set will include five complete episodes from the series from 1969-74, including appearances by James Earl Jones, Jesse Jackson, Johnny Cash, and Jackie Robinson, plus such segments as "Rubber Duckie" and "C Is for Cookie."
You can pre-order the set now from Amazon.
Pop Culture Roundup Sept. 5, 2006
Are romance comics staging a return?
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Stan Lee writes "The Watchmen."
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From Booksteve: A 1948 letter from the editors of Timely (Marvel) Comics defending the industry from some of the attacks then being launched at it. More Marvel Comics.
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Bubblegumfink presents a Johnny West toy TV commercial. More Johnny West.
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Hear a mashup of the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds with the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper.
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TV Guide interviews Charisma Carpenter, quizzing her about a couple recent reunions with fellow "Buffy" cast members. More Buffy.
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Stan Lee writes "The Watchmen."
---------------------
From Booksteve: A 1948 letter from the editors of Timely (Marvel) Comics defending the industry from some of the attacks then being launched at it. More Marvel Comics.
---------------------
Bubblegumfink presents a Johnny West toy TV commercial. More Johnny West.
---------------------
Hear a mashup of the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds with the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper.
---------------------
TV Guide interviews Charisma Carpenter, quizzing her about a couple recent reunions with fellow "Buffy" cast members. More Buffy.
Review: "Justice Society Vol. 1"
The Justice Society of America, in DC Comics' "JSA" title, is enjoying a very long and successful run. But it wasn't always that way.
Before "JSA" there had been numerous attempts to bring back the JSA, which debuted in the Golden Age of the 1940s and then vanished in the early 1950s when superheroes fell out of favor. The "Justice League of America" (the JLA was itself and updated version of the JSA) reintroduced the Golden Age characters in annual crossovers starting in 1963. But, outside of those appearances, the team never really caught on with readers in their own adventures.
This new trade paperback collects the first 10 issues of a failed 1976 attempt to revive the JSA, plus a 1977 issue of "DC Special" featuring the team.
The scripts for these stories, by Gerry Conway and Paul Levitz, are pretty much by-the-numbers superteam stuff, not much different from anything you'd find in Justice League stories from the same period. A crisis brings the heroes together, they split up to tackle individual aspects of the problem, then they come together to put the big kibosh on things. Gardner Fox should've put a patent on it.
And, because this was the mid 70s and because this was DC, none of the characters really has much of an individual personality. Not that Conway or Levitz had much to work with. Back in the 1940s, when the JSA was introduced, superheroes didn't have personalities, not other than being heroic and super and occasionally quippy. Superheroes with varying moods and personal crises were introduced by Marvel Comics in the early 60s.
Levitz and Conway do the best they can, giving the Golden Age Green Lantern a financial crisis to cope with and turning Power Girl (first introduced in this series) into sort of a "Maude"-style feminist. With a huge in her costume to display her cleavage. None of it is really enough to make the stories compelling in the same way as, for example, an issue of the "Fantastic Four" or "Avengers" from the same time might've been.
What makes the reprint worthwhile, however, is the art. Much of the work is by a young Keith Giffen and the wonderful Joe Staton (these days working on "Scooby Doo" comics, but a great superhero artist with a real flair for character and action scenes). But the big draw (no pun intended. Really!) is Wally Wood, featured in seven of the issues, sometimes on his own, others assisted by Giffen. Those issues are beautiful to look at, with nice examples of Wood's sci-fi machinary backgrounds and figure work. If it's just to see Wood drawing Superman (not Superduperman, like he did for "Mad" back in the 1950s) the book is worth picking up. And, no doubt, some folks will pick it up because it's Wood drawing Powergirl, who seems to become more buxom with every issue he turned in.
The reproduction of said art is great. The color reconstruction by Drew R. Moore is nice and bright and loyal to the originals.
The only thing that's a problem is that, for some lamebrained reason, all the credits from each issue's splash page has digitally disappeared. So, while we get lump artist, writer, inker credits (letterers don't count, I guess) at the front of the book, we can't easily determine who wrote and drew each individual issue. Since the stories, I'd guess, are being republished mainly out of historical interest, this maneuver was just plain dumb. Plus, it's an offense to the original creators. I'm morbidly curious about what sort of inexcusable reason the editors would give for doing this. Oh well.
The back cover of the collection says this is the first of two "JSA" collections, so I guess we'll see the remaining five issues of the run and perhaps some other 70s JSA appearance in a second book soon.
Disappearing credits. Now you see 'em:
Now you don't:
Before "JSA" there had been numerous attempts to bring back the JSA, which debuted in the Golden Age of the 1940s and then vanished in the early 1950s when superheroes fell out of favor. The "Justice League of America" (the JLA was itself and updated version of the JSA) reintroduced the Golden Age characters in annual crossovers starting in 1963. But, outside of those appearances, the team never really caught on with readers in their own adventures.
This new trade paperback collects the first 10 issues of a failed 1976 attempt to revive the JSA, plus a 1977 issue of "DC Special" featuring the team.
The scripts for these stories, by Gerry Conway and Paul Levitz, are pretty much by-the-numbers superteam stuff, not much different from anything you'd find in Justice League stories from the same period. A crisis brings the heroes together, they split up to tackle individual aspects of the problem, then they come together to put the big kibosh on things. Gardner Fox should've put a patent on it.
And, because this was the mid 70s and because this was DC, none of the characters really has much of an individual personality. Not that Conway or Levitz had much to work with. Back in the 1940s, when the JSA was introduced, superheroes didn't have personalities, not other than being heroic and super and occasionally quippy. Superheroes with varying moods and personal crises were introduced by Marvel Comics in the early 60s.
Levitz and Conway do the best they can, giving the Golden Age Green Lantern a financial crisis to cope with and turning Power Girl (first introduced in this series) into sort of a "Maude"-style feminist. With a huge in her costume to display her cleavage. None of it is really enough to make the stories compelling in the same way as, for example, an issue of the "Fantastic Four" or "Avengers" from the same time might've been.
What makes the reprint worthwhile, however, is the art. Much of the work is by a young Keith Giffen and the wonderful Joe Staton (these days working on "Scooby Doo" comics, but a great superhero artist with a real flair for character and action scenes). But the big draw (no pun intended. Really!) is Wally Wood, featured in seven of the issues, sometimes on his own, others assisted by Giffen. Those issues are beautiful to look at, with nice examples of Wood's sci-fi machinary backgrounds and figure work. If it's just to see Wood drawing Superman (not Superduperman, like he did for "Mad" back in the 1950s) the book is worth picking up. And, no doubt, some folks will pick it up because it's Wood drawing Powergirl, who seems to become more buxom with every issue he turned in.
The reproduction of said art is great. The color reconstruction by Drew R. Moore is nice and bright and loyal to the originals.
The only thing that's a problem is that, for some lamebrained reason, all the credits from each issue's splash page has digitally disappeared. So, while we get lump artist, writer, inker credits (letterers don't count, I guess) at the front of the book, we can't easily determine who wrote and drew each individual issue. Since the stories, I'd guess, are being republished mainly out of historical interest, this maneuver was just plain dumb. Plus, it's an offense to the original creators. I'm morbidly curious about what sort of inexcusable reason the editors would give for doing this. Oh well.
The back cover of the collection says this is the first of two "JSA" collections, so I guess we'll see the remaining five issues of the run and perhaps some other 70s JSA appearance in a second book soon.
Disappearing credits. Now you see 'em:
Now you don't:
CD new releases Sept. 5, 2006
Willie Nelson ~ 54 Songs: The Songwriter Sessions [Box set]
Smokey Wilson ~ Round Like An Apple-Big Town Sessions 1977-78
Everly Brothers ~ They're Off & Rollin'
Smokey Wilson ~ Round Like An Apple-Big Town Sessions 1977-78
Everly Brothers ~ They're Off & Rollin'
DVD new releases Sept. 5, 2006
The Abbott & Costello Show: 100th Anniversary Collection Season 1
Brazil - Criterion Collection - 3-disc boxed set
Brazil - Criterion Collection - single disc editon
Complete Toxic Avenger (7pc) (Ltd Dol Box)
Escape to Witch Mountain / Return From Witch Mountain
Family - The Complete First and Second Seasons
The Flintstones - The Complete Sixth Season
Fraggle Rock: Complete Second Season
Godzilla - Gojira Deluxe Collector's Edition (2 DVD set)
Jim Henson Fantasy Film Collection (W/Book)
Oz - The Complete Sixth Season
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