Early Cell Phones

Here are a couple of scenes that showed what RCA was looking into back in 1945. They eventually became the cell phone and the directional finder that you can now get in your cars.

The Monkees on DVD

I’m in a Monkees kind of mood this week. Now I never saw the Monkees on TV till they hit the rerun circuit on Saturday mornings. As result of only seeing them on reruns I never saw the original opening or the commercials that they made for there sponsors. Also, I never got to really know which ones were season one or season two episodes. With this DVD I can see that season one was really the best yet more traditional season. While the records surpassed the TV show in popularity, the Monkees were designed to first and foremost be a TV show. Produced in 1965, years before the Monterey Pop Festival and the summer of love, the show was made more like Leave it to Beaver or at least it seemed compared to season Two.
Season one had more structure and guidance. As a result the production and writing were better. Sure the guys were off doing appearances and concerts as the band they were slowly becoming but they were living the life of television stars. It was during the summer hiatus from the show that things changed. Suddenly they were free to do what they wanted to do. All they had to do was show up on time at the recording studio or at the concert. When they got back season two started the same but quickly the chain of command changed and you had to wonder who was in control. The guys even said that they were uncontrollable. A special room was created for them with four lights. One light for each Monkee. If Davy was wanted on the set then his light would come on and so on for the others. The show was still funny but the structure was gone. Another more visual way that showed the change in attidude to the audience was there apperance. Look at the two photos above. In season one in the promo shot for the series they are dressed in suits and ties. While they rarely if ever dressed this way on the show this image was more presentable to parents who were in charge of what their children could watch. During their second season they were dressing more like the bottom photo. They were trying to keep up with the times and look more mod. Also the change in clothes for me undermind any belivability that the show had. The were still playing a struggling band but wearing what then were expensive cloths. Well not Micky as you can see his wardrobe of choice was a tablecloth worn as a poncho. Between the show, concerts and recording for the albums there was chaos. In interviews they even said that they were starting doing scripts for the show that they originally turned down as not good enough for season one. The Monkees had some of their friends come on the show so that they may transition the series into a variety show. However, NBC didn’t want that they still wanted a sit-com. Unable to agree the series was canceled. They did have plans to do a series of specials for NBC but only one, Thirty Three and a Third Revolutions Per Monkee, was produced. It was so bad that NBC scheduled it against the Oscar awards. When Nesmith was asked what he watched on TV that night he said like everyone else I watched the Oscars. It is included as an extra on one of these sets with commentary by Micky Dolenz. I remember at one point Micky asked the viewer if anyone was bored besides him. It did give at least one beautiful song. A soulful rendition of I’m A Believer by Micky. The music had changed so much that I almost didn’t know the song. Anyway this set was a wonderful buy for season one and a wonderful Christmas gift from my wife when she gave me season two. Even if you have only heard their music and never saw the show you should get this DVD collection.

In the end the series gave its fans good memories of innocent fun. It also created a family. The stars became like brothers off screen as well as on. David once said that when he was cast on the show he found 3 brothers he never knew he had. In a commentary on one of the episodes Mike laughs as he says "There's Micky and that tablecloth of his." He sounded like a brother or very close cousin watching a home movie and not a former co-worker. From what I remember Peter was harshly fired from the group by Micky and David during their last tour. However, when Micky was a DJ in New York they aired a conversation between Peter and Micky. Peter and some of his friends drove a car to New York just to hear Micky's show. Micky seemed happy to hear from Pete. He said to Peter "You mean you drove up here just to drive around town to listen to my show?" Peter replied "Well actually we're parked."

It doesn't sound like they can stay mad at each other does it? I have recently heard they are all mad at each other again and refused to ever work together again. Don't bet on it. Family members have fueds but over time wounds heal and you do get back together again. You have to because underneath it all you really do love each other.

Bottles

I love these old MGM cartoons. It is rare to see animation done as well as they did it back in the 1930's.

We Don't Need No Stinking Ads

I was looking through this book recently and I noticed something that was different about it compared to other comic books of its time. There are almost no ads in the book. In the entire book there were only two ads. One was a half page ad for coins and the other was on the back cover selling 3 complete fishing outfits, which you can see above. If this was published by Marvel, DC or Archie every third page would have been an ad for some one or at least an in house ad. No wonder Dell stopped publishing comic books and started making computers. No one was wanting to advertise in their books, including themselves.

contest

I am going to hold a contest for a new header logo that I will put up in September. The only thing is that it must be about the Monkees and of course have the title of this site on it. The winner will get this copy of their comic book from the 1960's. I cannot guarantee what the condition it will be in when it arrives. The book that you see above is the one that you will get. So send me your designs if you have my address or put the site where I can find it in the comments on this site. Thanks and good luck.

"Hey Hey We're The Megos! I Mean Monkees"

I was searching the net for custom made figures and found this site by artist Al Bigley. You have to take a look. He has to be one of the biggest Monkees and comic book fans I have ever seen and I have seen alot of them. I love how he took the lid off a CD box set and made it look like part of the package for the figures.

The Human Bomb

One character that I have liked since DC brought him back in the 1970's is the Human Bomb. Yes I said the Human Bomb. A character who was received so poorly that I once heard that DC said they would never publish him again. So far they seem to have kept that promise. Too bad because he has a lot going for him as a character.

His name is Roy Lincoln. He is a scientist who discovered a very powerful explosive formula. In a hurry so that it would not fall into the wrong hands Roy drank the formula and his whole body became a human bomb. Most of the formula settled in his hands so that anything he touched would explode. Still the same could happen if anyone touched any part of him. So he had to wear a protective suit in order to not accidentally kill anyone. When the time came that he had to get into some place where he normally could not off came the gloves. Usually he punched the door and it would esplode but the same could have happened at a mere touch.

Just as Ben Grimm became a sentimental character because he would never be human again the same could have happened for Roy Lincoln. True he was still human but he was trapped inside this suit and could never know the touch of another human being.

If you look at the cover of Freedom Fighters #1 Roy is up front and seems to be the star of the book. I think DC had there hopes high for him and were bitterly dissapointed. Perhaps a few changes in the costume would have helped. First is that the costume has only one color. White. As you look at the fan based custom figure above it doesn't look finished. Perhaps if it was a red suit or any other color it would jump out more. Second is we can only see his eyes. If he had a clear hard plastic opening that showed his face more then the readers would feel more connected. They could see the range of emotions on his face as he always seems close to curing his self-inflicted curse and then to see it all taken away as he has to run off to save the world. Part of me hopes that one day DC will use him again. Another part of me hopes they don't as they may change what I like about him. At least for now I have some happy memory of the Human Bomb and his Freedom Fighters.
You can see more custom action figures if you go to this site.

This Day In Music History: Elvis and I Want You, I Need You, I Love You

On this day in music history, July 28,1956, Elvis Presley had the #1 song in the country on the Billboard charts with I Want You, I Need You, I Love You. It was recorded on April 11, 1956 and was the only song he recorded that day. The song was released in May and on June 5th Elvis made an apperance on the Milton Berle Show. This is the song that he sang on the show as well as Hound Dog. At the time Ed Sullivan said that he would never have Elvis on his show. Others had no problem with Elvis appearing on their show and Steve Allen paid him $7,500 to appear on his show July 1st and sing the same songs he did on the Milton Berle Show.

Elvis gave us an early example of how television can help sell records. In 1976 an alternate take of I Want You, I Need You, I Love You was released. In it Elvis got the words wrong and sang I Need You, I Want You, I Love You.
If you want to buy the sheet music you see above you can buy it here on E-Bay.

Spider-Man in The Trap

It's Saturday morning so get yourself a Hostess Fruit Pie and enjoy reading Spider-Man in The Trap.

New logo

Hope you like the new logo. I thought I would give their necks a break from looking up. However, Mike's arm might get tired from holding up the title for so long.

Is this man the Green Hornet?

With Seth Rogan signed to write and star in the new Green Hornet movie it looks like it will be a bad comedy like Knocked Up. Hopefully he will try to show his range and write a good Action movie.

This site quoted Wow!

Here is something I didn't know. One of my favorite unsung superheros is the Illuminator from Thomas Nelson and Marvel comics. I was searching the net for info on him and came across some earlier sayings that I had post at On My Mind but they were quoted on the religion of the Illuminator site. This was a big surprise to me but if you go to that site you can scroll down and read it. Thanks to whoever put it on there.

The Monkees Unplugged

In the early days of the Monkees careers Peter Tork did not get to sing much. I always thought that meant that he was the worst singer of the four. Over time I have heard a song here and there from Mr. Tork, and while I have to say the others usually are better singers, he really shold have been given more to showcase his singing ability.
The two songs here that they did during a concert on their reunion tour are When Love Comes Knocking at Your Door and Take a Giant Step. Micky is known for singing the 2nd song but Peter sings it here and he is amazing with wonderful harmonizing by Jones and Dolenz. Take a listen and you will be glad you did.

Everything I Need To Know I Learned From The Monkees

Some of these I really did learn from the show.

I Dream of Jeannie Season One

A few weeks ago I bought season one of I Dream of Jeannie. I bought it in its original black and white as I didn't think I had any other choice. I have since found out that they did release a colorized version. This was a wonderful DVD set as I never saw the first season of this show. It was fun to see how Major Nelson, well Captain Nelson during this season, first met Jeannie. His space capsule went off course and he landed on an uncharted island. It was while gathering debris that Tony Nelson came across Jeannie's bottle. When he opened her bottle it was love at first sight for Jeannie who Tony could not understand as she didn't speak english. He wished for her to speak english and then he wished for a helicopter and one arrived for his rescue. As a way to thank her he gave Jeannie her freedom. This part esplained the rest of the series to me. When she would get mad she would always leave but would come back by the end of the episode. I always wondered how she could do that as once the bottle is open the genie is suppose to always be with you. Now it was clear that she stayed by choice. So everything that she did. No matter if it was using her magic to help Tony and his friends or if it was just calling him Master it was always because she wanted to do it. I loved hearing Barbara Eden, Larry Hagman and Bill Daily comment on the first episode. It was not just 3 former co-workers but 3 old friends who were remembering old times and joking around. Another surprise was to see that Bill Dailey's character of Roger didn't know about the existance of Jeannie when the series started. Like everyone else he thought Tony was going crazy. The one constant in the series was Haydon Rourke as Dr. Bellows. He always suspected that Major Nelson was up to something but he couldn't figure it out. By the end of the series he was still trying but not nearly as hard as he had before.

The stars of this series had been knocking around for a few years in movies and other TV series. Barbara Eden holds another place in TV history even before I Dream of Jeannie. The movie How to Marry a Millionare that starred Marilyn Monroe as Loco Jones was made into a TV sit-com in 1958 and Barbara played Loco Jones on TV. This was the first time that a movie was made into a TV series.

Hogan's Heroes Seasons One and Two

Another show that I enjoyed watching in the 1960's was Hogan's Heroes. I even enjoyed the reruns but at some point, like on most childhood favorites, I started wondering why I liked this and stoped watching it. Years later when they started bringing it out on DVD I really wanted the first two seasons. Well I actually only wanted the first season. For some reason I had this memory of William Christopher, who played Father Mulcahy on M*A*S*H, as Carter in the pilot episode. Of course everyone knows Larry Hovis played the part but I really believed that William Christopher played the part. Well he didn't. He did play on the show as a allied solider that they helped to escape but never as part of Hogan's gang. Hovis was in the first episode but not as Carter. He too was an allied officer that Hogan's men helped escape. Then in the second episode he was back as Carter. I guess someone on the show liked him. The first episode was filmed in black and white. Back then it saved money to film in black and white as color was expensive. You didn't want to spend that money unless you had a show that was going to be a series and not just a failed pilot. As I mentioned with Bewitched they should colorize the pilot so it can be included in a better syndication package for the series.

I later bought the second season as it was full of extras. For some reason it was left off of the first season. Perhaps it was because of the extra cost to get them as season two cost more. It had variety show apperances that the cast memebers made and and apperance that Bob Crane and John Banner did on the Lucy Show. It also had the audio of Bob Cranes old LA radio show where his guest was Dickie Dawson and they talked about the TV pilot they had just filmed. That was of course Hogan's Heroes.

What surprised me most was that Sgt. Schultz and Colonel Klink were usually in on what they were doing. Mostly Schultz. I remembered them as not knowing anything but Schultz did know. He just didn't care. All he wanted to do was his job and then go home at the end of the day. Klink helped him out but he was in the dark more often then Schultz. I had to wonder how dumb Klink could be. Hogan was always listening in on what was going on in Klink's office or apartment without Klink knowing. Suddenly Hogan would burst in and practically tell that he heard everything and soon Klink was volunteering to help Hogan and never asking how Hogan knew what was going on. How dumb can you be Colonel Klink?

I really enjoyed these two seasons of the show but I doubt I will get the rest. Unless some one wants to send me a free copy to review. The series was a one joke show but it was fun to watch and see how they could make the same plot seem new and fresh all the time. They kept this going for 6 or 7 years so they must have been good at it. The cast members were all severly typecast. Bob Crane tried for a movie career but that never took and he spent the rest of his life doing dinner theater. John Banner was cast in a new TV show the Chicago Teddy Bears but the show didn't do well and Banner died a couple of years later. Werner Klemperer became a guest conductor. Ivan Dixon became a respected TV director and we all know that Richard Dawson made a TV career out of getting families to feud.

Bewitched Season One in Color

Well I have lately been watching Season one of Bewitched on DVD. I have not seen season one before. When I was old enough to know what I was watching on TV they were already into the color episodes and I believe it was the last two years that Dick York was playing Darren. So to see this season was watching a new series.

Now I use to be an oppenant of colorization. I was reminded of this when I was having a conversation with my cousin Steve. I had just watche these new colorized episodes and while I had not seen them before I was over taken by a wave of nostalgiza as they looked like I remembered seeing Bewitched. I voiced how come they don't do this more often and he said something like "it ruins the beauty of the black and white film and destroys the effort that the lighting director made to try and get it just right." That reminded me of something that I would have said years ago. However, I have now see from the other side. With the exception of when they sequed from one scene to another you could not tell this had ever been in black and white. It looked like it was in the old technicolor and I know this would help get the series in more markets when in syndication. So why not do this with more of the older series? Half the episodes of F-Troop were in black and white. I think the series would be seen more if the whole series was colorized. The only series I don't think it would work with is the Munsters. Too many people have seen Herman with a pale white face for years. Seeing the green face may have a bad effect and turn viewers off. Also, fans of I Love Lucy may not like it as that is an iconic series. Still if you don't like seeing your favorite old series or movie in color you can always turn down the color on your TV set.

When I do get to see the color episodes I hope one of the extras are the short introductions that they had just before the show would come on. It was usually Elizabeth Montgomery in front of a plain background. She would say "Stay tuned for Bewitched. Next! In color!" This was a turning point in pop culture as it shows what point that TV went from all black and white to all color. It was also a way to sell the new color TV sets. I know a man who as a child would see those and he would tell his family to hurry into the living room to watch this show because it was in color. Then seeing how disappointed he was when seeing that it was still in black and white they had to get a new color TV.

If anyone reading this knows if those are used as extras on any of the sets please let me know and which one it is on so I can get it.

Thor and Hostess In the storm meets its Master

It's Saturday and time for Hostess commercial starring Thor!

Super Stan?

By the late 1960's Stan Lee had become a celebrity and was being asked for personal apperances and his autograph. By 1976 he was starting to surpass himself as he was on his way to becoming a Marvel icon as Super Stan. Take a look at this 1976 ad for cups from Superhero Merchandise. The cup on the far left is that of Stan the Man Lee as Super Stan. I tried to find another photo of it close up but this is the only one I could find. When was Dr. Stranges sidekick Cela so big that she could get her own cup?

Patrick Owsley

For those of you who love comic and cartoon art here is a wonderful site by artist Patrick Owsley. The above art of the Monkees is one of his. I love the Monkees too Partrick. You can go to it by click here and get the art above if you click here to go to E-bay.

Logo submissions

If you want to become a member of S.O.M.E. and like to make logos then here is how. Submit a logo for this site and I will use it for a month if I like it. However it must contain the Monkees. After all this is for Society Of Monkees Enthusiasts . So e-mail your submissions and I will look at them. Thanks.

Star Wars Mad Magazine Cover From 1978

I recently found this and forgot I had it. As this year is the 30th anniversary of the release of the first Star Wars film I thought you might like to see the cover of this 1978 issue of Mad. As you can see on the inside they have fun with Three's Company. Usually the artist of this magazine are able to do wonderful caricatures of celebrities but for some reason they can't seem to get John Ritter right. At times he looked ok but usually it didn't look like John Ritter to me. One that they did get right was Henry Winkler who they used as their Mad interviewer of a ghost writer. I always loved Mad but I don't see it for sale much these days.

Hostess saves the day

Here is an ad for Hostess fruit pies. Hulk against the Phoomie Goonies? Even with the name the Phoomie Goonies you know even Irving Forbush could beat them. Perhaps this was a dig at the old Marvel club FOOM.

Religious Affiliation of Comic Book Characters

I have linked to this site before but I didn't see the photos that they now have on the site. It is called The Religious Affiliation of Comic Book Characters. This is there group of Baptist superheroes. Near the center of the group is one of my favorites, drawn by the great Jim Apro, Black Lightning. I found it hard to believe that Ghost Rider was any religion other then Atheist. Apprently Johnny Blaze said he was Baptist in one story. If you have your body possessed by a demon it is pretty good sign you aren't a Christian. However, just cause you are born into a religion doesn't make you a Christian unless you accept Jesus Christ into your heart.
Anyway if you have ever wondered what faith your favorites were you can get a hint by looking at this site. Who knew Jimmy Olsen was Lutheran?

Two societies of friends

Ok I am still taking time off to work on a project but I keep seeing on Aquaman Shrine that Rob has friends that are members of F.O.A.M. I believe that it stands for Friends Of Aquaman. Well I would to start something like that for my sites Black Lightning Limited and On My Mind. So for Black Lightning Limited I am starting B.lack L.ightning A.ppreciation S.ociety T.eam (BLAST) and for On My Mind, since I am a big Monkees fan, I am starting S.ociety O.f M.onkees E.nthusiasts (SOME.) The rules are that you have to submit to me something interesting for either Black Lightning or the Monkees that I can post on my site. In return I will give a link to your site. However, there is one rule, your site must be G rated. Free of curse words and naked drawings & photos of people. So e-mail me any Monkees or Black Lightning items that you have and maybe it will appear on my site.

Time Off

Well it is really fun to do these bolgs but I have to take some time off for a project that I am involved in. I don't know any exact date that I will be back on but I will be checking in from time to time and when I have something worthy to post I will. If you have anything that you want to have me add to this blog or promote on this blog then please e-mail me and I will do my best to do so. If you ever see the book posted above then you can be assured that I am taking some time off. So as long as you see this book above then you know I am still busy on my project. Why am I showing this book cover for It's That Time Again? Well for those who don't know I have a short story in here and it is my first published story. It also has a story in there that my cousin Steve wrote. You can buy the book below if you so wish.

A Marvel Doc Savage In House Ad

Now this is what I call an in house ad! Most books just show you a cover of the book but this makes you see what the story is like. Now Marvel doesn't own the rights to Doc Savage anymore. Don't look for the Essential Doc Savage to read the story. The only way you will be able to read it is to find a back issue.

Another Tribute to Peter Tork

The song featured in this tribute to Peter is Come On In also produced by Mike as was yesterdays song. If either of these songs were released Peter's musical future with and without the Monkees may have been a little bit different. He had a better voice then Your Auntie Grizelda ever led us to believe.

A Tribute to Peter Tork

Here is a video tribute to Peter Tork that I found on You Tube. The song is called I Don't Think You Know Me At All and was produced by Mike Nesmith. It sounds pretty good but needs to have a few things fixed. If they had fixed them and released this song I am positive this would have been a hit for Peter or at least a popular album cut. Come back tomorrow to see another video tribute to Peter Tork.

The Monkees and I Didn't Know You Had It In You Sally, You're A Real Ball Of Fire

Well I finally got to listen to the new Monkees song. Now these days it is a real treat to listen to any new and previously unreleased Monkees song as Rhino seems to be near empty on that material. I couldn't wait to listen to it and went to the turn table on my stero and to my shock found that the 45 adapter was gone. It was a long time since I had listen to a 45 so I don't know how long it had been missing. I tried going to stores to get a new one and was prepared for stunned and shocked looks that a person in the 21st century would still need one. Of all the store I went to only one person gave me an odd look and had to think for a moment of what a 45 adapter was. Another kid of around 15 or 16 had never heard of a 45 adapter. Anyway none of the stores had one. When I got home my wife had found the adapter in the basement. In just a few seconds I listened to this 38 year old song that had not been released until now. Since I had read that the insturmental part had been finished in 1966 (the vocals were done in 1969) I was expecting it to sound like Teardrop City or I'm a Believer. Instead it sounded more like Tapioca Tundra only not as good. Micky's vocals were so nasal that I had to listen very close to tell it was him. The sound was so completely different that my wife had to ask me if it really was the Monkees. There were certain vocal inflections that assured me it was Micky. So I told her it was the Monkees and I had not been taken. The filp side was an alternate mix of Daydream Believer. I have heard that so many times that I thought I wouldn't like it but in comparison to the newest find in the Monkees vault the new Daydream Believer was a pleasant listening experience.

So I am happy to have this rare song in the Monkees history. However, it was an expensive record to buy since I had it purchase the two new CD's to get it. Still I probably would have wound up getting those anyway later on. If anyone else got this please leave a comment and let me know what you thought about it.

This Day In Music History: The Beach Boys and I Get Around

July 4th 1964, on this day in music history, the Billboard chart was topped by America's Band, the Beach Boys with I Get Around. The Beach Boys lived and promoted the American dream and often preformed on theFourth of July.

As many people know the Band was from California and originally consisted of the Wilson Brothers, Brian, Carl and Dennis, their cousin Mike Love and Brian Wilson's high school frined Al Jardine. When the Wilson boys parents were on vacation in Mexico the boys went to see music publishers Hite and Doreen Morgan about recording a song. The five boys had formed a group and were always singing on weekends at the Wilson house and felt ready to record.

Now here is where I have heard two versions of the story. The Morgans only wanted original material so the boys sat down right there and wrote the song Surfin' in their office and recorded it two days later. However, another story I read was that the song lyrics were written by Brian as a poem in his English class and later the song was finished in the Morgans office. I don't know which one is true but I am guessing it was the second one.

The group needed a new name. They were currently called the Pendletones but a promotion man, Russ Regan, for Candix records suggested the name the Beach Boys. The name stuck and Surfin' became a local hit.

Later, with the Wilson brothers father, Murray, acting as their manager they were signed to Capitol records. They had many hits for Capitol but never a #1. Brian had co-written a #1 hit for their friends Jan and Dean with the song Surf City but the Beach Boys always came up short. Until they recorded I Get Around.

I believe the beginning of the end of the group actually started duing the recording session for I Get Around. Sure the group lasted for decades and had many hits over the years but this was a family band. It was during these recording sessions where Brain and his Dad got into an arguement in the recording studio. Brian shoved his Dad and Murray left the recording studio never to return. Later, in tears, Brian apologized to Murray saying he only wanted to make I Get Around sound perfect.

The song was also the first of many hits overseas. When Mick Jagger returned to England he bragged about the Beach Boys on a British TV show. This helped push I Get Around to the top ten in England. It was the first time the Beach Boys had a top ten hit there.
If you want the 45 pictured above you can buy it here.

Happy 4th of July from On My Mind

I know it isn't the bicentennial but these, espically the Captain America one, were two of my favorite comic books to come out of 1976. Back then it was a happy ocassion of the 200th birthday of our country that reminded us to be patriotic and not a sad reminder like 9/11. So happy 231st America. Long may our flag of freedom wave.

New Monkees 45

Just wanted any Monkees fans who ordered the new CD's being released from Rhino and hoped to get their unreleased 45 "I Didn't Know You Had It In You Sally, You're A Real Ball of Fire" that I got the 45 in the mail today. Whew! Talk about a run on sentence. Anyway I haven't had time to listen to it yet but wanted to let you know if you haven't gotten it yet that it is on its way. The above photo is of the one I got today. It was a bit bent but I can live with that to hear a new Monkees song.

Charlton Comics in house ad

Here is a 1973 in house ad from Charlton Comics. Hmmm! I wonder what books were selling well for them in 1973?

Vixen

How close was Vixen to getting her own series at DC in 1978? Close enough that they were advertising Vixen #1 on their Daily Planet page. This would have been another way to introduce more minority characters to the DC universe as they did with Black Lightning a couple of years earlier. Today she is a fairly popular character after having been a respected member of the Justice League but still does not have her own series. Maybe someday she will. What else was going on for DC characters in 1978? Well, according to Fred Hembeck, the Superman sereis of films was doing quite well and maiking Wonder Woman jealous. When will she get her own movie? Warner Brothers only seems to have faith in Superman and Batman. Marvel knows that movies about Daredevil, Ghost Rider and other minor characters can help boost sales of their books. The major characters will almost always be money makers. So DC lets see something like Hawkman, Atom, Creeper, Aquaman, Hawk and Dove, Vixen etc. at the local movie theaters.

Another Marvel In House Ad

Rest In Peace Sal DiTroia

I just found out from a friend of this site Laura that the guitarist Sal DiTroia passed away of a heart attack on June 22, 2007. He worked with many great artist of his day and can be heard on recordings from The Monkees and The Archies to Barbara Streisand and Burt Bacharach. Sal was the lead guitar player on The Monkess hit "I'm A Believer." You can visit his site if you click here.

Saturday Morning Shoe Store

Remember when you would order things from your comic book that you could sell to family and neighbors to make some extra spending money? Things like flower seeds, greeting cards, shoes. Shoes!!!??? Yes that is what this ad from a 1965 issue of the Amazing Spider-man is asking kids to do. Take your Saturday morning, the golden time to watch your cartoons, and sell shoes. Why would you buy your shoes from the kid next door who probably had to learn how to take your measurements and then mail them to a company and then mail him the shoes a few weeks later when you can get them at the store? Plus if something was wrong with the shoes who do you return it to? Well the kid who sold them to you who probably didn't know what do to and got stuck with a whole lot of shoes. Greeting cards and flower seeds I understand but I don't understand selling shoes in comic books.

Marvel In House Ad

Man from U.N.C.L.E. coming to DVD

Well Anchor Bay thought they had the rights to the Man from UNCLE but they didn't. Now Time Life does and they are releasing it the way they did there award winning Get Smart collection. It is to be every season in one boxed set and will only be available on line at Time Life and throught TV commercials. Later in the fall of 2008 it will be released through retail. Robert Vaughn, David McCallum, Richard Donner, Joseph Sargent and others are contributing to the extras. Mr. McCallum has even donated some of his home movies that he shot behind the scenes from the series. I hope they also include the made for TV reunion movie. The above cover is not what is to be used on the set. I just saw it at this site and had to show it. You will have to wait to get the DVD set from Time Life as it isn't on their site yet. If you want anything else from them you can click on the link at the right.

One More Day of What?

Ok Marvel I have had it up to here with what you are doing to one of the greatest superheros ever created. I am of course talking about Spider-Man. For the few who have not heard Marvel is coming out with a Spider-Man story line called One More Day. It seems that they don't want Peter to have a public identity or to be married and Aunt May will be well again. The only good thing to come out of this is that Aunt May will be well again. However, it wasn't that long ago that Peter and MJ got back together and more recently they had him go public with who he really was. Why the sudden change? I think the people who run Marvel are addicted to controversy but that is another story. I was looking forward to stories that showed how he now had to live with everyone knowing who he was. Suddenly Marvel changed its mind and now some cosmic force will have Peter and MJ single and no one knows who he is.

Years ago they killed off Aunt May. But NO! That was someone hired to act like her and spy on Peter. Then they killed his wife. But NO! She was still alive but wanted to be seperated for awhile then they got back together. Now for the good of the country and the world he revealed he was really Peter Parker. But NO! Now cosmic forces will now say that didn't happen and he isn't married. MARVEL COMICS MAKE UP YOUR MINDS!!!!! Why would Spidey want one more day with you? Does he want one more day of his life being treated like a yo-yo?

DC In House Ad for Batman and the Outsiders from 1983

Here is a DC in house ad for Batman and the Outsiders from 1983.

We Want a Black Lightning TPB!

Our good friend and Black Lightning's Dad, Tony Isabella, sent me an e-mail to tell me of this site where his friend Alex Ness mentions that DC should put out two volumes of Black Lightning's adventures in trade paperback. I mentioned it once here on this site so you know I completely agree. Maybe we can help get something started in that direction. Perhaps we can do a letter campaign to DC Comics like Rob at Aquaman Shrine has done.

Marvel In House Ad from 1965

Another Marvel in house ad from 1965. Wish I would hove bought those back then. You won't find any Marvel T-shirts for $1.50 anymore.