Pop Culture Safari!

Out Now: Lavish Avengers Anthology from Taschen Collects first 20 Issues of Classic Comics Series

Order "Marvel Comics Library: Avengers. Vol. 1 1963–1965" now from Amazon.

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Super-hero teams had been around since the 1940s, but Thor, Ant Man, the Wasp, Hulk, and Iron Man broke new ground when they joined forces to form the Avengers in 1963. They not only fought together, they occasionally fought each other! The first 20 stories from the Avengers are collected in this Hulk‑sized volume and have been meticulously photographed from the most pristine copies of these rare comic books—a fine art celebration worthy of Tony Stark’s library.

At the Movies '72: "Frenzy"

Watch the Move Perform "California Man" on Top of the Pops, June 22, 1972

Pop Pic: Gonzo Clouseau

Coming Up: Miles Davis "The Bootleg Series Vol. 7: That’s What Happened 1982-1985"

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That’s What Happened 1982-1985: Bootleg Volume 7 is the next installment in the celebrated, award-winning archival series that began in 2011, shining an in-depth light onto different eras of the legendary career of Miles Davis. In the 1980s, popular music had moved to a smoother, electronic-based sound that traded the steam of previous years for subdued arrangements meant to elicit peace and deep reflection.

Miles Davis embraced this era, pulling inspiration from FM radio and an upstart music video channel called MTV. He was searching for the next frontier, letting his creativity roam. This music on The Bootleg Series Vol. 7 captures that exploration, and finds Miles beginning to re-emerge in a creative landscape far different than the one he left in 1975.

He’s touched every inch of pop culture while keeping true to his iconoclastic vision of jazz as amorphous art that’s supposed to bend and flow and mutate to something else. On That’s What Happened, we get to play in the rubble of what would become yet another period of unprecedented innovation. Beauty resides in evolution.

The set collects nearly 4 hours of unreleased music including 2 CDs of studio material from 1982 to 1985 plus another CD containing a complete, blistering show of one of Miles’ last amazing bands captured live at the Festival International De Jazz De Montreal in July 1983. Side men include a multi-generational who’s who of jazz talent from JJ Johnson, John McLaughlin, Al Foster and John Scofield to Mike Stern, Marcus Miller, Daryl Jones and Vince Wilburn.

Watch Gilbert O'Sullivan Perform "Alone Again (Naturally)"

At the Movies '72: "Beware! The Blob!"

Pop Culture Roundup: Conan! Elvis! Doctor Who! More!

ITEM! Titan Comics is taking over for Marvel as the licensee for Conan comics.

ITEM! Epix will air a multi-part documentary on the Rolling Stones.

ITEM! Writer Alan Moore is narrating a BBC radio comedy.

ITEM! Can you imagine Elvis Presley in "The Godfather," "Midnight Cowboy" or "Willy Wonka"? He was considered for roles in each.

ITEM! Read about a third planned, but unmade, 1960s Doctor Who film starring Peter Cushing.

Watch a New "Thor: Love and Thunder" TV Spot

Pop Pics: Fred MacMurray

Coming Up: Rolling Stones "Beggar's Banquet" 180-gram Vinyl

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The Rolling Stones returned to their blues roots on 1968's Beggars Banquet, which was immediately acclaimed as one of their landmark achievements. A strong, acoustic Delta Blues flavor colors much of the album, particularly "Prodigal Son" and Jagger/Richards' "No Expectations." Basic rock `n' roll is not forgotten with "Street Fighting Man" and "Sympathy for the Devil." The lyrical bite of the material ensured its place as one of the best blues-based rock albums of all time. 180-gram black LP.

New on Video: "The Brain From Planet Arous" Special Edition

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Get ready for planet Earth to be overtaken by a criminal brain from outer space!
When Gor, an evil brain from planet Arous, inhabits the body of scientist Steve March, his intention is nothing less than world domination.

Lucky for Earth, another intergalactic brain, Val, offers to assist March's wife, Sally, in stopping the madness. How does Val intend to help? By inhabiting Sally's dog!

A great example of cut-rate sci-fi from the 1950s, this independently produced feature stars B movie favorite John Agar (The Mole People, Revenge of the Creature), and was directed by Nathan Juran, a master of the genre who helmed such classics as The Deadly Mantis, Attack of the 50 Foot Woman, and The 7th Voyage of Sinbad.

Bonus features include: The film will also be included in a full frame format, 1.33:1, Full Commentary track with Author/ Historian Tom Weaver, An Original Ballyhoo Motion Pictures production, Full Color Booklet with original essay by Author/ Historian Tom Weaver