Pop Culture Roundup: So long, James Bama; Blue Beetle Salutes Spidey; Live Action Hot Wheels

ITEM! James Bama, painter of Doc Savage paperback covers, Aurora model boxes and more, has died at age 93.

ITEM! A Radio Times poll shows that fans want a new "Doctor Who," not David Tennant (although they do want him back as a guest on the series).

ITEM! J.J. Abramas is producing a live action Hot Wheels film.

ITEM! An animated Blue Beetle short from DC features an homage to the 1960s Spider-Man cartoon.

ITEM! Bob Dylan is re-recording classic tracks to demonstrate a new audio disk format that's said to improve on CD and vinyl.

Ads '72: Gremlin - "It Takes Something Pretty Strong to Make People Trade in Their VWs"

 

New on Video: "Grand Slam" — A Classic Heist Flick with Janet Leigh, Edward G. Robinson and Klaus Kinski

Order now from Amazon.

Details:

Often imitated but never surpassed, Grand Slam is a classic heist thriller starring screen greats Janet Leigh (Touch of Evil), Edward G. Robinson (Night Has a Thousand Eyes) and Klaus Kinski (For a Few Dollars More).

A quiet yet cunning schoolteacher (Robinson) recruits an elite team of international criminals for the ultimate caper: robbing $10 million in diamonds from an impenetrable Rio de Janeiro vault at the frenzied peak of the city’s Carnival.

The planning is meticulous. The crime must run like clockwork. But even if they can pull off the most daring theft in history, are the wildest surprises of all yet to come?

Hailed by Roger Ebert as “one of the best heist movies” with a slam-bang twist ending, Grand Slam co-stars Robert Hoffmann (Wake Up and Die), Riccardo Cucciolla (Un Flic), George Rigaud (All the Colors of the Dark) and Adolfo Celi (Thunderball) with taut direction by Giuliano Montaldo (Sacco & Vanzetti) and an ultra-swinging score by the legendary Ennio Morricone (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly).

Special Features:

• NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historians Howard S. Berger, Steve Mitchell and Nathaniel Thompson
• Theatrical Trailer
• Optional English Subtitles

Watch a Trailer for "The Essex Serpent"

Coming to Apple TV+ on May 13.

Details:

Set in Victorian England featuring a star studded cast led by Claire Danes, Tom Hiddleston, Frank Dillane, Clémence Poésy and Hayley Squires, The Essex Serpent follows London widow Cora Seaborne (Danes) who moves to Essex to investigate reports of a mythical serpent. She forms an unlikely bond with the village vicar (Hiddleston), but when tragedy strikes, locals accuse her of attracting the creature.

Watch John Kay Perform "I'm Movin' On"

Ads '72: Budweiser - Some Things Make a Man Feel Right at Home

 

Check Out this MAFEX Thor Action Figure

Straight out of a John Buscema comic. More info.

Best New Comic Book Covers of the Week - April 27

In shops this Wednesday.

Watch Bill Withers Perform "Lean On Me," 1972

Ads '72: All in the Family

 

Watch David Gates of Bread Perform "Diary," 1972

Ads '72: Adidas - Ready For You

 

Video: How Jane Foster Becomes Thor

Check Out Marvel Legends 60th Anniversary Spider-Man Figures

Click the links to order from Amazon.

Marvel Legends Series 60th Anniversary Amazing Fantasy Spider-Man

NA at Amazon

Marvel Legends Series 60th Anniversary Peter Parker and Ned Leeds 2-Pack

Check Out a Super-Size Charlie Brown Figure from Super7

More info here. 

Hot Trax '72: Jackson 5! Bill Withers! Little Jimmy Osmond!

New songs on the charts 50 years ago this week.

Jackson 5 - Little Bitty Pretty One

T. Rex - Telegram Sam

Sly and the Family Stone - Smilin'

Bread - Diary

Bill Withers - Lean on Me

John Kay - I'm Movin' On

The New Seekers - Beg, Steal or Borrow

The Moody Blues - Isn't Life Strange

Nino Rota - Love Theme from "The Godfather"

Little Jimmy Osmond with the Mike Curb Congregation

 - Long Haired Lover from Liverpool

Bang - Questions

Wayne Newton - Daddy Don't You Walk So Fast

Watch T. Rex Perform "Telegram Sam," 1972

Pop Culture Roundup: Secret Empire! Martha and Doctor Return! Korg 7,000 B.C.! More!

ITEM! Remembering Steve Englehart's "Secret Empire Saga" for Marvel Comics. 

ITEM! Martha Jones and the 10th Doctor return in a new comic book special.

ITEM! The Guardian explores the history and tribulations of the Mills College music program, which helped nurture Steve Reich, Laurie Anderson, John Cage, Terry Riley and more.

ITEM! Rip remembers Hanna-Barbera's "Korg 7,000 B.C.," which I'd forgotten about.

Listen to Pop Culture Safari's New Music Friday Playlist

Thirteen tracks that caught my ear this week:

Comics Greats Honor the Work of George Pérez

A roster of star comics artists including Alex Ross, Nicola Scott, Joëlle Jones, Jerry Ordway, and José Luis García-López have contributed to a double-page spread in honor of the great George Pérez, which will appear in all of DC Comics' June titles. Pérez, who has pancreatic cancer, announced his retirement from comics work late last year.

Details:

DC will celebrate the 68th birthday of George Pérez, one of the titans of the comic industry, with a two-page spread featuring some of his most beloved characters in each of its June periodical releases. Working from a layout designed by Dan Jurgens, some of the industry’s biggest names including Jim Lee, Walter Simonson, Alex Ross, Dave Gibbons, Todd McFarlane, Daniel Sampere, Jerry Ordway, Nicola Scott and many more, collaborated on the colorful spread.

“When I was asked to come up with a design and layout that would honor George Pérez and his many incredible contributions to DC Comics over the years, I was truly honored,” said Dan Jurgens. “I have admired George’s work since I first saw it and have had the good fortune to work with him in different capacities, on a number of projects. More importantly, I’ve been able to see the way George treats fans and readers, always smiling, gregarious and approachable. It was a joy to watch this cover come together and I’m sure everyone who contributed feels the same way.”

The tribute features the following DC characters that Pérez is most known for, as well as the man himself, drawn by a number of the top artists in the industry and colored by Hi-Fi:

• The Monitor & Anti-Monitor - Jim Lee & Scott Williams
• Trigon - Todd McFarlane
• ​The Spectre - Alex Ross
• Darkseid - Walter Simonson
• Firestorm & The Justice League Satellite - Scott Kolins
• Ares & Hippolyta - Phil Jimenez
• Cheetah & The Amazons - Colleen Doran
• Lady H.I.V.E. & H.I.V.E. Agents - Scott Koblish
• Vigilante - Dave Gibbons
• Cheshire - Joëlle Jones
• Brother Blood - Darryl Banks
• Blackfire - Mike McKone
• Gizmo & Mammoth - Klaus Janson
• Shimmer - Bruno Redondo 
• Psimon - Mikel Janín
• Neutron & Jinx - Dan Mora
• The Legion of Super-Heroes - Francis Manapul
• The Justice Society of America - Jerry Ordway
• Power Girl & Huntress - Kevin Maguire
• The Justice League of America (and the background) - Dan Jurgens & Norm Rapmund
• Superboy-Prime & Alexander Luthor - Ivan Reis
• Supergirl - Gary Frank
• Harbinger - Adam Hughes
• Pariah - Daniel Sampere
• Jericho & Kole - Nicola Scott
• The New Teen Titans, Deathstroke & George Pérez - José Luis García-López

Accompanying the spread on a separate page will be a key highlighting the characters and artists that participated.

In addition to being included in all of DC’s June issues, the tribute will also be featured as a variant cover for Dark Crisis #7. Each issue of the event series will feature a cover highlighting a previous crisis event from DC’s history, starting with the genre defining Crisis on Infinite Earths by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez for issue #1. Artwork and additional details on each of the covers will be announced at a later date.

"George Pérez is one of my favorite comic storytellers of all time. To say he’s a ‘great artist’ is a massive understatement,” said Dark Crisis Writer Joshua Williamson. “His work on the original Crisis of Infinite Earths inspired so much of my love for DC Comics. When I saw DC editors pull together this incredible piece with so many amazing legendary artists celebrating George, I won't lie, it was emotional.  And now it's an honor to have this tribute be a cover to Dark Crisis." 

A special version of the Dark Crisis #7 variant cover will be available for sale by The Hero Initiative to raise funds for one of Pérez’s favorite charities. Pérez is a founding member of Hero Initiative’s board of directors and has served as chair of its Disbursement Committee.