Pop Culture Safari!

Pop Culture Roundup: Stately Wayne Manor, John Cleese, Asterix and more!

ITEM! Check out this new Wayne Manor Batman playset! My inner 8-year-old is putting this on his Christmas list...

ITEM! John Cleese, who's always teetering on the edge himself, is doing a TV series about cancel culture.

ITEM! Speaking of inappropriate behavior - season 11 of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" premieres on HBO in October.

ITEM! Disney+ plans a "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" prequel series.

ITEM! "Asterix & Obelix: Slap Them All," featuring everyone's favorite Gauls, is a video game out in November.

Coming up: "Box Of Pin-Ups: The British Sounds Of 1965"

A 3-CD set out Oct. 15 from Grapefruit.

Details:

While ‘A Slight Disturbance In My Mind’ examined the proto-psychedelic sounds of 1966, Grapefruit now reverses into 1965 with ‘Box Of Pin-Ups’, named after David Bailey’s epoch-defining publication chronicling the nascent Swinging London scene.
Boasting 92 tracks, ‘Box Of Pin-Ups’ takes in the market leaders as well as the year’s hard-up heroes and nowhere men. Established Top Ten acts like Manfred Mann, The Hollies and The Yardbirds are joined by cult names and such glorious one-shot unknowns as Glenn Athens & The Trojans and Irish band The Spectres, both now legally included on CD for the first time.
Presented in a striking clamshell box that houses a 48-page booklet crammed with rare facts and photos, ‘Box Of Pin-Ups’ also includes formative efforts from young hopefuls Elton John, Jimmy Page, Rod Stewart and Marc Bolan, all of whom would eventually shake off their status as minor players on the mid-60s London club scene to become pin- ups in their own right.
Track Listing:
DISC ONE:
1 MIDNIGHT TO SIX MAN – The Pretty Things
2 WHAT’CHA GONNA DO ABOUT IT (alternative version) – Small Faces
3 I’M ROWED OUT – The Eyes
4 HEART OF STONE – The Hi-Numbers
5 HEY GYP (DIG THE SLOWNESS) – Donovan
6 SURPRISE SURPRISE – Lulu & The Luvers
7 THE FACTS OF LIFE – The Spectres
8 GLORIA – The Wheels
9 I WANT CANDY – Brian Poole & The Tremeloes
10 THAT’S THE WAY IT’S GOT TO BE – The Poets
11 UNTO US – The New Breed 12 NEXT IN LINE – The Birds
13 TIRED OF TRYING, BORED WITH LYING, SCARED OF DYING – Manfred Mann
14 THIS STRANGE EFFECT – Dave Berry
15 COME BACK BABY – Bluesology
16 WHY DOES IT GO ON – Rod Stewart
17 FOOL KILLER – The Brian Auger Trinity
18 EV’RYBODY’S TALKING ‘BOUT MY BABY – The Beatstalkers
19 GOTTA KEEP ON MOVING BABY – The Game
20 KEEP A HOLD OF WHAT YOU GOT – The Shots
21 SOME THINGS JUST STICK IN YOUR MIND – Vashti
22 I’LL BE DOGGONE – The Searchers
23 ‘COS MY BABY’S GONE – The Kirkbys
24 DAY TRIPPER (live) – The Baskervilles
25 DONE ME WRONG – The Couriers
26 KEEP ME COVERED – The Frays
27 LONG BLACK TRAIN – Alexis Korner’s Blues Incorporated (featuring Duffy Power)
28 LET ME SHOW YOU HOW – Glenn Athens & The Trojans
29 I’M LEAVING – The Mark Four
30 CRAWDADDY SIMONE – The Syndicats
DISC TWO:
1 EVIL HEARTED YOU – The Yardbirds
2 NO, NO, NO, NO – The Sorrows
3 SHE AIN’T NO GOOD – The Clique
4 LAND OF ONE THOUSAND DANCES – The Action
5 I CAN’T GET ANY JOY – The End
6 BAD TOUGH LUCK GIRL (live) – The Iveys 7 PUT YOURSELF IN MY PLACE – The Hollies
8 I STAND ACCUSED – The Merseybeats 9 LOVE POTION NO.
9 – Tony Jackson & The Vibrations
10 TOO MANY THINGS – The Afex
11 YOU GOT WHAT I WANT – Boys Blue
12 SHE JUST SATISFIES – Jimmy Page
13 SHE KNOWS WHAT TO DO – The Artwoods
14 NEIGHBOUR NEIGHBOUR – The Graham Bond Organisation
15 MERCY MERCY – The Athenians
16 LEADER OF THE SECT – Downliners Sect
17 ZING! WENT THE STRINGS OF MY HEART – Rev. Black & The Rocking Vickers
18 HEY LITTLE GIRL – The Chasers
19 THE ‘IN’ CROWD – First Gear
20 LONG LIVE LOVE – Phillip Goodhand- Tait & The Stormsville Shakers
21 I’LL GO CRAZY – Zoot Money’s Big Roll Band
22 THE SPORTING LIFE – Mickey Finn
23 GET OUT OF MY WAY – Bo Street Runners
24 THE WIZARD – Marc Bolan
25 IT’S JUST YOU – The Uprooted
26 DIAMOND GIRL – The Kingpins
27 MY LITTLE GIRL – The Lemmings
28 IT’S ALRIGHT – The Ugly’s
29 THAT’S MY STORY – The Nightshift
30 DON’T LIE TO ME – Four + One
31 AND MY BABY’S GONE – The Moody Blues
32 REELIN’ AND ROCKIN’ – The In-Sect
33 THERE YOU GO! – Thee
DISC THREE:
1 IT’S MY LIFE – The Animals
2 JUMP AND DANCE – The Carnaby
3 BRING IT TO JEROME – David John & The Mood
4 GET A BUZZ – The Pretty Things
5 YOU SAID – The Primitives
6 THE LONG CIGARETTE – The Roulettes
7 WHY MUST THEY CRITICISE – George Bean
8 TELL ME WHAT YOU SEE – John Bryant
9 WHERE IS MY GIRL? – Robb Storme & The Whispers
10 TELL HER NO – The Zombies
11 BABY MINE – Five Steps Beyond
12 I’VE GOT A WAY OF MY OWN – The Hollies
13 SHE’S ABOUT A MOVER – James Royal & The Hawks
14 WHAT YOU GOT – The Eccentrics
15 YOU’RE ON YOUR OWN – The In Crowd
16 I FOUND OUT – The Cops ‘N Robbers
17 I WISH YOU WOULD (live) – The Yardbirds
18 COPS AND ROBBERS – The Richmond Group
19 FORGIVE ME IF I’M WRONG – The Silence
20 YOU DON’T KNOW – Arthur Brown with The Diamonds
21 WAIT FOR ME – Les Fleur De Lys
22 I’LL GIVE YOU LOVE – Miki Dallon
23 FANNIE MAE – The Wild Oats
24 PLENTY OF LOVE – The Sheffields
25 HONEY WHAT’S WRONG – The Betterdays
26 STUPIDITY – Guy Darrell
27 AND TEARS FELL – The Clayton Squares
28 GET OFF OF MY CLOUD – The Tomcats
29 WHERE HAVE ALL THE GOOD TIMES GONE – The Kinks

Coming up: "Captain Action - The Classic Collection" features 60s art from Wally Wood, Gil Kane and more

A Silver Age treat out next May from DC. Order now from Amazon.

Details:

A Classic from the Silver Age of Comics, unavailable for more than 50 years with art and stories by three legends! Completely re-mastered with all-new coloring that faithfully mimics the look of the original comics!

Captain Action is back in Action! The world’s first action figure, Captain Action burst onto the scene just as the ‘60s super hero craze was heating up. This volume lovingly celebrates the timeless tales from the Silver Age by top talents like Gil Kane, Wally Wood, and Jim Shooter, re-presented for the first time ever since they were first published nearly half a century ago. Also featuring Action Boy, Khem, The Silver Streak, and the fearsome Doctor Evil. All five of the original issues are here, along with some unexpected treasures!

See the first trailer for Marvel's "Spider-Man: No Way Home"

A first look at the new Spidey film, out Dec. 17.

Comic art: Original Fantastic Four pages by Jack Kirby

Coming up: John Buscema's Marvel Heroes Artist's Edition

New book out in Nov. 2. Order now from Amazon.

Details:

The artistic mastery of John Buscema is apparent on every page of this book—an incredible selection of stories, covers, splashes, and interior pages. Viewing these pages, it’s easy to see why Buscema has been called the Michelangelo of comics.
Like all Artist’s Editions, each page in this book has been scanned from the original art, allowing the reader a rare glimpse of a true "artist's artist" work. As you peruse this book you will see editorial notations, white out, blue pencils, and so much more--all the subtle nuances that make original art so unique. The only way to better view these pages is if you were in John Buscema’s art studio as he was drawing them!

Pop Pics: Bing, Grace and Ol' Blue Eyes

Pop Pic: Freddie and the Dreamers

Best new comic book covers of the week

Our weekly roundup of new covers that caught our eye. These should be available in shops this Wednesday.

Video find: Sonny and Cher, Aug. 22, 1971

Sad to hear about the passing of Don Everly at age 84 yesterday (Aug. 21, 2021). I'm a great fan of the music he recorded with his brother Phil (who died 2014) as the Everly Brothers from the late 1950s up through he 1980s.

Here's a beautiful tune the brothers recorded on a comeback album in 1984 that more people should know: "On the Wings of a Nightingale" by Paul McCartney.