Pop Culture Safari!

Fab Friday: Vintage Beatles pics

Pop culture roundup: Secret Agent X-9; Walt Disney; Comic Book Creator magazine; Frank Frazetta; Jack Kirby

Atomic Pulp traces the history of comic strip and movie serial hero Secret Agent X-9.

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Dangerous Minds shares a sad 1938 rejection letter penned by Walt Disney Productions to a woman who had the nerve to apply for a "man's job." (Neat letterhead, though).

....Women do not do any of the creative work in connection with preparing the cartoons for the screen, as that work is performed entirely by young men. For this reason girls are not considered for the training school.

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Jon B. Cooke talks to the Providence Phoenix about his new Comic Book Creator mag, the first issue of which spotlights the great Jack Kirby.

"See that Fighting American right there?" Cooke says, pointing to rows of plastic-sleeved comics displayed on shelves behind the counter. He ticks off other titles on display: The Avengers, Fantastic Four, X-Men. Jack Kirby had a hand in all of them, he says.

He walks to a wall rack and pulls down a comic. "Unquestionably this is a Jack Kirby co-creation: Thor, the mighty Thor," he says, opening the book to the credits page. "And as we can see right there, there is no co creator credit."

"The parasites in their shiny suits control much of Jack Kirby's life's work now," Cooke writes in the story's explosive finale. "The Marvel/Disney empire is raking in billions of dollars from the fruit of his imagination and they aren't leaving scraps for his children and grandchildren."

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Speaking of Jack Kirby (as we so often do): Blogger Pat Barrett rightfully chastises the New Yorker for not properly crediting an Iron Man illustration by the artist in the mag's latest issue.

When every other week your back pages feature an “illustration” or two that’s nothing more than some Photoshop fun with stock photos, the person doing the shopping gets credited as well as the people who snapped the pictures and the syndicate who bought them. Why couldn’t the same respect be extended to one of pop culture’s most tragically under respected creators?

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Golden Age Comic Books shares another great batch of Frank Frazetta art.

Today's best thing ever: Batman car seat!

BBC Radio this week: Goon Show; Vincent Price; Sherlock Holmes; Terry Pratchett; Radiohead

Click the links to hear the following programs.

The Goon Show: The Silver Dubloons Neddie Seagoon must plunder a sunken Spanish galleon. Stars Spike Milligan.

The Price of Fear: Guy Fawkes Night Vincent Price remembers a bonfire party when a bullying father disappears.

Robert Louis Stevenson: Kidnapped Robert Louis Stevenson's historical Scottish adventure, starring David Rintoul.

Sherlock Holmes: The Beekeepers Apprentice Fifteen-year-old Mary Russell encounters the legendary detective in retirement, leading to a collaboration between the two. Laurie King's homage stars James Fox.

Only You Can Save Mankind Sci-fi drama from Terry Pratchett, based on the first novel in the Johnny Maxwell trilogy.

The Radiohead Story Steve Lamacq presents an in-depth profile of the influential band.

Pictures from Doctor Who: The Crimson Horror

Some pics from the upcoming Doctor Who episode, co-starring Dame Diana Rigg and daughter Rachel Stirling.

Today's best picture ever: Brian Wilson

New pictures of Henry Cavill as Superman in Man of Steel

Carson of Venus online comic strip added to official Edgar Rice Burroughs site

The official Edgar Rice Burroughs site recently started publishing a weekly Tarzan strip by longtime comics scribe Roy Thomas and artist Roy Grindberg. For $1.99 monthly, you can keep track of the jungle lord's adventures.

Now, there's an additional bonus strip added on for subscribers: the adventures of Carson of Venus, written by Martin Powell and illustrated by Tom Floyd and Diana Leto.

You can subscribe to the strips here.

Order Mattel 1966 Batman figures from Amazon now!

Mattel's new line of action figures based on the 1966 "Batman" TV show are now available for pre-order, just click the links.

DC Comics Classic TV Series Batman and Robin Action Figure, 2-Pack

Batman Classic TV Series Batman Collector Action Figure

Batman Classic TV Series The Penguin Collector Action Figure

Batman Classic TV Series The Riddler Collector Action Figure

Batman Classic TV Series Catwoman Collector Action Figure

Batman Classic TV Series Surfs Up Batman Collector Action Figure

New comics May 1, 2013: Korak Son of Tarzan Archives; Jack Kirby Omnibus 2!

Click the links to order discounted items from Amazon.

Korak, Son of Tarzan Archives Volume 1

The Jack Kirby Omnibus Vol. 2

Complete list of this week's releases

Hear new She and Him album

NPR has a "first listen" of the new LP from Zooey Deschanel and Matt Ward here.

Dark Horse plans to publish Elfquest epic

Looks like Wendy and Richard Pini's beloved series is coming back to print in a new adventure.

From the press release:

ELFQUEST: THE FINAL QUEST

For generations, the Wolfriders sought a safe haven. Now, in the Palace of the High Ones, they have found it. But with security, the elves lose the skills that made them superb survivors in a harsh world. Elfquest: The Final Quest poses dire questions: Who stays? Who goes back to the forest? And what grim price will the Wolfriders pay?

“Dark Horse is a company I’ve admired ever since it sprang on the scene in the 1980s. Somehow, as large as they’ve grown, they’ve retained an independent spirit that Richard and I totally identify with. The quality of their offerings is legendary, and I’m extremely happy that Elfquest is part of their lineup,” said Elfquest cocreator Wendy Pini.

“Mike Richardson and Dark Horse come from the same publishing DNA as our own company, Warp Graphics, and he retains that gut-deep love of getting comics out into the world. We’re jazzed at all the plans, both traditional and new, they have for Elfquest,” added Elfquest editor and co-creator Richard Pini.

“I’ve known Richard from our very first year and read Elfquest from its inception. I’ve also pursued him and Wendy for nearly as long as Dark Horse has existed. Elfquest has been a lifetime project for Wendy, and it is one of comics’ great epics. I am extremely proud to bring their wonderful book to Dark Horse and particularly excited to see what is in store for us over the next three years,” Dark Horse President Mike Richardson continued.

In celebration of the thirty-fifth anniversary of Wendy and Richard Pini’s cult comics classic, Dark Horse proudly welcomes the Wolfriders, the Sun Folk, the Gliders, the Go-Backs, and the High Ones to its own rich history. The first release will be the prologue to an all-new fantasy epic, Elfquest: The Final Quest, arriving in the fall of 2013. Following that, Dark Horse will release this new story alongside all-new editions of the previously published material from this best-loved series.