Very Funny SNL video

Here is an odd video.

Want to get a real creepy feeling. Watch Supernatural while listening to the Brady Kids sing Keep on. Brrr! A chill just went up my spine.

Storm

Ororo Munroe known as Storm in the X-Men first appeared in 1975 in Giant Size X-Men #1. She was created by Len Wein and Dave Cockrum. She is one of the first black female superheroes. Storm is a mutant who has the power to control the weather and fly at high speeds. In an interview Cockrum said that they were going to have her called the Black Cat. However, before they did more cat like heroes like Tigra and The Cat were popping up. So he made some changes to her appearance and they called her Storm. While Len Wein created her it was the next writer of the X-Men, Chris Claremont who took her to the next level. It was his vision that made Storm an important member of the team. He started by telling us of her history before she joined the X-Men. Her mother was a princess of a tribe in Kenya. She fell in love with photojournalist David Munroe and moved to New York City with him when they married. While in New York she gave birth to Ororo. When she was 6 years old they moved to Egypt. It is there that both her parents were killed leaving her an orphan. In order to survive she becomes a thief. When her powers manifest themselves she is worshipped as a goddess. Professor X finds her and knows she is a mutant and recruits her for the X-Men. She has trouble adjusting to her new home but the soon become the family that she needs. In later stories it is shown that she and the Black Panther have been friends since childhood. In 1980 Storm is given a position of leadership in the X-Men and has pretty much held on to it ever since. As a result she is a respected woman in the superhero community. In 1996 Storm was given her own four part mini-series. Sadly this did not result in an on going series. Recently during the House of M storyline most of the mutants lost their powers. Storm was one of the few who kept her powers. Her story continues on a happy note as she and the Black Panther just got married. I have even heard rumors that in 2007 both will be in the line up of the Fantastic Four with the Human Torch and the Thing.

Cahty Lee Crosby as Wonder Woman

Just thought you may want to see what the color outfit of Wonder Woman looked like on Cathy Lee Crosby in 1974. Looks more like she is getting ready to warm up for the Olympics.

Cloak

Cloak of the team Cloak and Dagger is really Ty Johnson. They were created by Bill Mantlo and Ed Hannigan in 1982 and first appeared in Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #64. The team have had adventures together and separate but usually together. They have been members of super groups like the Runaways, New Warriors and the Secret Defenders. Ty is a black teenage boy from Massachusetts. Dagger, whose real name is Tandy Bowen is a white girl from Ohio. Both were runaways to New York City. They met when Ty returned Tandy’s purse that someone had stole from her. Agents of Silvermane gave the two kids an experimental drug against their will. The drug awakened their latent mutant abilities. Ty was able to access the Darkforce Domension. He could envelope people in his cloak to bring them into the Darkforce and they would be struck with fear and would become catatonic. Dagger had the power to generate a light that could heal and purge drugs from a persons body. She could throw daggers of light that would stun and burn its victims. Dagger also had a calming effect on Cloak when the Darkforce tried to overwhelm him.
In the 1980’s they gained a following that allowed them to have a four issue mini-series. The positive sales of that led to their own series but it only lasted 11 issues. They have been the stars of Strange Tales and other books but never found a break out series or storyline to give them mainstream success. That may change one day as Paramount Pictures is said to have optioned some of Marvel’s characters for movies. Cloak and Dagger were part of that deal.

You can go to Ed Hannigan's site if you click on the title above. Thanks to my MySpace.com pal Jim Salicrup for showing this site to us.

It Happens Every Summer

I saw this on You Tube and had to put it on. It is a trailer for a high school play called It Happens Every Summer. Now I did this partly for nostalgia as I had a small part in the play when I was in high school. However, you won't see me in this one as it is more recent. If you ever have a high school putting it on in your town you should go see it. It is well written and funny. If I can't mess it up then no one can. I is a throw back to the 50's and 60's plays and movies that would have starred Doris Day and Rock Hudson. Click on it and see how well these high school kids do some of the scenes.

Doorman

Doorman is really DeMarr Davis. He was created by John Byrne and first appeared in Avengers West Coast #46 as a member of the Great Lakes Avengers. He was just a normal African-American young man till one day he found out that he could link to the Darkforce dimension and allow himself and others with him to pass through objects. He took on the name Doorman and answered Mr. Immortals call to start a superhero team. Doorman is the most cynical of the group as the team is always making mistakes that the other groups would not so he is always comparing them to the real Avengers. Doorman went into a deep depression as he felt responsible for the death of their newest member Grasshopper. The GLA was fighting Batroc the Leaper and one of his henchmen threw a sai at Doorman. Not realizing Grasshopper was behind him he used his powers to let the sai pass through him. It hit and killed Grasshopper.

During a battle with the super villain Malestrom Doorman himself died. In the afterlife he saw Grasshopper who told Doorman he forgave him. He also met the cosmic force Oblivion and using Doormans conncetion to the Darkforce was able to use Doorman as the new Angel of Death.

Doormans former teamates are still searching for their identity. They have potential to be a good team but so far are seen as jokes in the superhero community. The Avengers didn't want to be associated with them and since all the members are mutants they became the Great Lakes X-Men. They too requested the group change their name. They are now known as the Great Lakes Champions much to the ire of former Champions member and leader Hercules.

Recently Deadpool has been defeated by the Great Lakes Champions when he went after them for not registering with the Federal Government under the new Super-human Registration Act. Once he was stopped he was informed it was a mistake and they had already registered.

Also there was another character named Doorman who had his own book for Cult Press. It was really and anthology series with Doorman introducing stories of the macabre. You can get a look at the book and buy it if you click here. The link will take you to Mile High Comics.

Response to Paperback Believer (I'm A Writer) Video

Please don't take the little comment I have with the video seriously. I know it is an amatuer video that was put together. I hoped the :) would indicate that. Sorry if I have led anyone the wrong way.

The Beatles and the Monkees...Paperback Believer (I'm A Writer)

In 1967 it can finally be told that The Beatles and The Monkees went into the studios to record a single together. It was Paperback Believer. It was never released as it infringed on a copyright with Neil Diamonds song and he was going to sue if it was released. Here is the video that was made and would have been used on the Ed Sullivan show if it had been released. :)

Ghost Busters opening

Here is the opening to the Saturday mourning TV show Ghost Busters. If you liked F-Troop you may have liked this show. Both will soon be available on DVD.

Captain Marvel/Monica Rambeau

The name Captain Marvel for a breif time was used by and African-American woman named Monica Rambeau. She was created by Roger Stern and John Romita Jr. in 1982 and first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #16. Monica was an officer in the New Orleans Harbor Patrol. A family friend came to her for help. He was Professor Andre LeClare. He had just invented an dimensional energy tapping device. However, he found out that his backers were planning on using it for dangerous weapons and not to help humanity like he had planned. So he and Monica decided to destroy the prototype weapon. In the process Monica was bathed in the energy and gained the power to change her body to pure energy and back. The Professor urged her to use her powers to become a super powered cirmefighter. Monica took the advice and quit the Harbor Patrol to be a full time superhero. In her first outing the media named her Captain Marvel. In a short time Captain Marvel was asked to join the Avengers. She served them well and rose to the top when the Wasp stepped down from the leader position. With the backing of Captain America Monica was elected to the chairperson position. She did a good job in that position until she was gravely wounded during an adventure. Marrina, a reserve member of the Avengers, grew into a giant sea monster. While still in her energy form Captain Marvel hit the sea water. Her atoms were spread across the entire ocean floor and she was barely able to get her form back together. Her powers were gone and she had to leave the Avengers. She rested and her powers came back. She only joined the Avengers as a reserve member but has not come back full time. When Captain Mar-vell's son showed up she gave the name Captain Marvel to him and since then she has been known as Photon and Pulsar. Monica has recently been a member of the Highest Anti-Terrorism Effort (H.A.T.E.) in the book Nextwave. Just as recently Monica has joined Captain America's Secret Avengers in his battle in the Civil War series.

John Stewart Green Lantern

There have been many who have had the name Green Lantern but only one was African America. He is John Stewart and was created by Dennis O’Neil and Neal Adams and first appeared in Green Lantern #87 in 1971. At the time Hal Jordan was the main Green Lantern and he was one of the replacements that would take his place if Hal was not able to perform his duties. He was never as popular as the other Lanterns but he was added to the Justice League cartoon series to make the team more diverse and that has increased his characters popularity.
In the 1980’s Hal Jordan gave up being GL and the Guardians of the Universe, who are the founders of the Green Lantern Corps, made John Green Lantern full time. He did a good job but his life suffered as a close friend was killed and he was falsely accused of murder. In the end he made two mistakes when he accidentally set free a serial killer and a terrorist. Hal Jordan came back as Green Lantern and came to blows with John. John had a hard time forgiving himself of his mistakes but eventually did and became the first mortal Guardian of the Universe when he was given charge of Mosaic world and called Master Builder.
For a time the Green Lanterns Corp was disbanded and those that remained acted on their own. Since then the Corp and the Guardians have refor med and now each space sector has two Lanterns. Our sector is guarded by Hal and John. Kyle Rayner who was seen for a few years as the last Green Lantern has since become the superhero Ion.

Ghost Busters Cover

Just wanted to show you what the cover to Ghost Busters may look like when it arrives on DVD. It will be available in stores April 17th.

I Read It All In Black and White.

Ok they finally got me. For quite some time now Marvel and DC comics have been putting out reprints of classic material that was on cheap paper and in black and white. Having been raised on the originals that were in color I have never seen the wisdom nor the economics that would not allow them to publish them on the same paper but not in color. I would be willing to pay the few dollars more to have them in color. At present they are selling for around $17 a book in black and white. Wouldn’t most people be willing to spend $20 to $25 to see them in color? Recently I got tired of waiting. I bought one of the Essentials from Marvel and two of the Showcase from DC. Now those of you old enough to remember Marvel and some other companies did black and white magazines in the 1970’s. I had to keep this in mind while reading them and it helped me to enjoy them more. In some cases that was not necessary. Artist like Gene Colan and Wayne Boring actually looked better in black and white. Now with these reprints I still missed the same things that I missed in other paperback reprints. I miss the old advertisements and the letters pages as well as the color. However, I am hooked. The only other way to get every thing I miss is to buy the originals and most of the time I can’t afford that. So to help keep finances down I will buy these black and white books. I recently purchased the one you see above but have not yet read it. That is another thing that helped. The ones I have read so far are ones that I never read when they were first published. That way I was not reminded of what it looked like in color. Now I did read Aquaman in color but none of the stories that are published in this volume. Anyway for those of you who have resisted reading these books because they are in black and white you may want to keep some of this in mind. It may help you enjoy reading them more. For those of you who still want to wait till they are in color your wait may not be too long. Once I start joining the band wagon they usually start publishing exactly what I wanted in a few months. But for a different look at the classics I am starting to like the black and white editions.

Cyborg

Cyborg is really Victor Stone and a member of the Teen Titans at DC Comics. He was created by Marv Wolfman and George Perez in 1980 and first appeared in DC Comics Presents #26. At this writing he is occasionally played on the TV series Smallville by Lee Thompson Young who also was the star of the TV show The Famous Jett Jackson.
The characters history is that he was the son of two scientists. In the process of one of their experiments they accidentally brought a monster to Earth. The monster maimed Victor. While trying to save their sons life they turned him into Cyborg. He was now half-man and half-machine. It has given him super strength and advanced weapons and sensors. His relationship with his family has been troubled since then but he found a new family in the Titans. Cyborg was badly damaged in a plane crash. While his body was able to be repaired his mind wasn’t. However, a race of aliens was able to help his mind and in return he stayed with them for awhile to teach them about humanity.
When he came back he became the leader of the Titans. He has helped others in the Infinite Crisis adventure and in the mini-series 52. During those adventures he had to leave the leadership of the Titans in the hands of Beast Boy. While he did returned to them he was not their leader. He has since been offered membership in the Justice League.

Black Lightning

Ok I can't ignore the elephant in the room anymore. I have been holding back on this one but no more. To me the best black urban superhero is Black Lightning. The character was created by writer Tony Isabella and the first person to draw the characters adventures was artist Trevor Von Eden. What ever happened to Mr. Von Eden anyway? Black Lightning was first published in his own self-titled book in 1977. The first 10 issues were written by Tony then it was given to Denny O’Neil. After that the book was canceled and was part of what was infamously called the DC Implosion. Issue 12 and other books that were not published that year did see a limited run in the in office only of DC Comics in the Cancelled Comic Cavalcade.
DC kept Black Lightning around by having him make guest appearances in other books and giving him membership in the Justice League and the Outsiders. In 1995 he was given his own title again with Tony Isabella as the writer. Around the 8th issue Mr. Isabella left the series and another writer took over. After that the second series only last 5 more issues.
Black Lightning is really high school teacher Jefferson Pierce. He is a former Olympic athlete who is returning to the slums of Metropolis to give back to the community he was raised in. However, he sees that things have gotten worse since the criminal gang the 100 have moved in. With the help of a family friend, local tailor Peter Gambi, Jefferson was able to design a suit with an electrical power belt and he became Black Lightning. The belt originally gave him the power to control electricity and throw lightning bolts from his hands. After the belt was destroyed he found that the power from the belt had become injected into him and he no longer needed the belt. At one point he lost his powers but kept fighting crime without them. He got them back when he found out that it was a mental block that caused him to not use them for fear he would hurt innocent bystanders. In 2000 President Luthor appointed Jefferson to Secretary of Education. He had to resign when it was told that he was Black Lightning and as BL he had killed a CEO of a corporation who was up to criminal interest. Pete Ross later became President and pardoned Jefferson Pierce.
Black Lightning has had many adventures over the years on his own or with others and is an asset to the superhero and comic book community. I have never seen him on any animated series but I have heard he was in Static Shock and an episode of Justice League Unlimited. He was almost part of the SuperFriends. A contract dispute stopped this and a new character was created for the team named Black Vulcan who had similar electrical powers. However, Black Vulcan could fly and Black Lightning could not.
More may be in store for BL as I have heard rumors that a new mini-series is on the way and he has renewed his membership in the JLA.

This Day in Music History: Kay Starr and Rock and Roll Waltz

Kay Starr had been a popular singer since 1948 when she had a #1 hit with Rock and Roll Waltz on this day in music history February 18, 1956. Kay had just switched labels from Capitol to RCA when the asked her to record Rock and Roll Waltz. She usually sang loud, boisterous songs that when they gave her this, as she calls it, nursery rhyme song she thought it was a joke. When she found out they were serious she recorded it but felt it was an insult to her intelligence. While it is her best selling song as it was her only #1 hit, it is her least requested song when she performed live when it was #1. She said no one asked her to sing it on TV or anywhere when it was selling millions. They always asked her to sing one of her older hits called Wheel of Fortune.
Over time Kay has come to love the song and people do ask for her to sing it now. She said, “I see the response. When I see people reaching over and touching-if you can get people to touch and communicate I believe you’ve done your job.”