Saturday Morning Ad for ABC 1971

Here is an ad that was shown to tell kids what to expect on ABC on Saturday Mornings.

Showcase Presents Aquaman

Well I have just about finished reading Showcase presents Aquaman. I have always liked Aquaman. However, for my generation he was always used if you only needed to communicate to fish. If no fish were around then he was useless. These stories were first published before my time so it was fun to read them for the first time. The stories were educational and adventurious. I never knew that giant puffer fish floated upside down on the surface of the water. Aquaman and Aqualad could get those fish to do some amazing things like having the electric eels to attach to the ignition of a boat and lime up so the can shock the crook to drop his gun and not shoot a person. The favorite of mine was Topo one of Aquamans pet Octopi. With the big soulful eyes that Nick Cardy gave him you could not say no to him. If Aquaman had his own cartoon today Topo would be a high selling action figure.
Whenever I read any stories that Aquaman was in with any of the JLA he just seemed to be there. They tried to give him more to work with by having him take hard water and throw it at the crooks but that was later and not in any of these stories. While many of the stories had him fighting monsters from the deep and a few from deep space my favorites are the slice of life stories. They usually had Aquaman befriending a lighthouse keeper or helping an honest politican of local seaside town get elected so he can run the crime boss out. These I am sure are the stories that helped him get the reputation of being a good neighbor that has stayed with him till a few years ago. At that time they had him loose one of his hands and grow a beard. He came off as being angry and in need of mental and emotional help. That is not the way I want to see Aruther Curry. This book shows how to portray him. I hope anyone who handles his new adventures gets him back to his roots.
Now to put in an unabashed plug (as opposed to an abashed plug.) If you like DC superheros then you may want to read about Black Lightning. You can find out more about him and the books and merchandise that is available on him by going to Black Lightning Limited. It is a sister site to this one here. Check it out and I hope you like what you see. Maybe one day DC will see they have enough pages with his first 2 series and the many backup and team up stories that they can put out a 500 page Showcase of his adventures. I think it should be put out now as it would be a great introduction to the new mini-series they have coming out.

Filmation's Green Lantern

Captain America Dead!!! I Don't Believe It.

I really don't believe it. With issue #333 of Captain America they tried to replace him with Super Patriot and we know how well that went over. DC Comics killed off Superman and a few months later he was back. It turned out that was a publicity stunt and this will too. Steve Rogers always has been and always will be Captain America. The hero is more then just the uniform. Marvel I think just wanted to get headlines in the papers and they got them. This time next year Steve Rogers will be Captain America again.

Plastic Man Ad

This Day in Music History: Olivia Newton-John and Have You Never Been Mellow

On March 8, 1975 Olivia Newton John had the #1 song in the country with “Have You Never Been Mellow.” Many of her early hits started out on the country charts and she seemed to be on her way to becoming a big country artist. This was a surprise to Olivia. “Appalachia? I’ve never heard of it. I sing easy listening, middle of the road music…I sing new songs, old songs, country songs. I didn’t think I would be considered a country singer. I was hoping for a hit record, no matter what it was.” This is what she was telling interviewers back then. It was quotes like this that angered some members of the Country Music Association who had just voted her the 1974 Female Vocalist of the Year over Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, Tammy Wynette and Tanya Tucker. Johnny Paycheck said “We don’t want someone out of another field coming in and taking away what we’ve worked so hard for.” He and some others left the CMA over this to form the Association of Country Entertainers.
This upset Olivia but she continued on by opening shows for Charlie Rich and playing livestock and rodeo shows. It was later that she concluded she was really a scapegoat. Dolly Parton told Olivia that the press blew the whole thing out of proportion.
Her next album really started out as a single. She was going to Nashville to record 4 songs and one of them would be the single. However, on the way she and her producer found 3 more great songs and the single turned into the album ‘Don’t Stop Believin.’ The title track was the single and a top 40 hit. The album was her 6th gold record.
Olivia had wanted to do a TV special and ABC helped make the dream come true. When she had one broadcast on November 17, 1976. She had lots of singing and dancing and her guest were big stars of the day such as Elliot Gould, Lee Majors, Rona Barrett, Ron Howard, Tom Bosley and Lynda Carter.

Click on the video below and see her preform the song live back in the 70's.

The Voices of Marvel circa 1965

Take a look at this if you want to see the faces of those behind the 1960's Marvel Comics. You can see and hear Dick Ayers, Wally Wood, Don Heck etc. Also, you can see Steve Ditko but not hear him.

Mark Evanier on Jack Kirby

Here is one for all the Jack Kirby fans out there.

Justice League Promo

Great promo for a Justice League movie that will never be.

This Day In Music History: Barbra Streisand and Love Theme From 'A Star Is Born' (Evergreen)

On this day in music history March 5, 1977 Barbra Streisand had the #1 one in the country with Love Theme from ‘A Star Is Born’ (Evergreen). It was at the top of the charts for 3 weeks. Barbra co-wrote the song with Paul Williams but it had a rough beginning. She was getting a little depressed as many singers had started writing their own songs and all she did was sing. One day Jon Peters, one of the films producers, found her crying about it and he told her that if she put her mind to it she could write a song. At the time Barbra was taking guitar lessons so she could play the guitar in the film. She was getting bored and started fooling around with the chords. What came out eventually became the song for the movie. So Evergreen was, as Barbra put it, born out of absolute impatience.
The movie was even harder to make. It was the third time this story had been told. The e second time with James Mason and Judy Garland was so well thought of that many didn’t think it should be filmed a third time. Fights on the set and over the script added fuel to the fire. Barbra and Jon Peters pressed on with their version of the story.
Whereas Mason and Garland’s story took place in the movie industry, Kristofferson and Streisand’s story was in the music industry. Kris Kristofferson is a rock star on the way down and Barbra Streisand is a rock star on the way up. A concert scene was filmed on a very hot day at a real Peter Frampton concert. After doing many takes and several hours in the sun the over 70’000 crowd of people were getting very hot. They started asking for the film production to stop.
Barbra calmed them down and preformed her songs “People” and “The Way We Were.” Then she told them “Now I’ll sing a song for you that I wrote myself. I hope you’ll like it.” Uneasily she launched into the world premiere of the song “Evergreen.” The crowd gave their approval of the song and boosted her confidence. She told them “I’m glad you like it because that’s the first time I ever sang that song in front of people.”
At Oscar time the film was snubbed in almost every category. It was only nominated for best song. The Grammys were kinder. The song won the award for Song of the Year and Barbra won for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Female.

You can click on the video above and see Barbra and Kris sing the song from a scene in the movie.

Things Kids Teach You Even Though You Would Rather Not Know

A king size waterbed holds enough water to fill a 2000 sq. foot house 4 inches deep.
If you spray hair spray on dust bunnies and run over them with roller blades, they can ignite.
A 3 year old's voice is louder than 200 adults in a crowded restaurant.
If you hook a dog leash over a ceiling fan, the motor is not strong enough to rotate a 42 pound boy wearing Batman underwear and a superman cape. It is strong enough, however, to spread paint on all four walls of a 20 by 20 foot room.
You should not throw baseballs up when the ceiling fan is on.
When using the ceiling fan as a bat, you have to throw the ball up a few times before you get a hit.
A ceiling fan can hit a baseball a long way.
The glass in windows (even double pane) doesn't stop a baseball hit by a ceiling fan.
When you hear the toilet flush and the words "Uh-oh", it's already too late.
Brake fluid mixed with Clorox makes smoke, and lots of it.
A six year old can start a fire with a flint rock even though a 36 year old man says they can only do it in the movies.
A magnifying glass can start fire even on an overcast day.
Certain Lego's will pass through the digestive tract of a four year old.
Play Dough and Microwave should never be used in the same sentence.
Super glue is forever.
No matter how much Jell-O you put in a swimming pool you still can't walk on water.
Pool filters do not like Jell-O.
VCR's do not eject PB&J sandwiches even though TV commercials show they do.
Garbage bags do not make good parachutes.
Marbles in gas tanks make lots of noise when driving.
You probably do not want to know what that odor is.
Always look in the oven before you turn it on. Plastic toys do not like ovens.
The fire department has a 5 minute response time.

Spider-Man Opening

Here is show that I hope comes to DVD soon. Maybe it will with the release of the movie Spider-Man 3!

Black Lightning Limited

Just letting you readers and Black Lightning fans know that I have started a new site. It is called Black Lightning Limited and dedicated to Black Lightning the DC Comic book hero. I searched the internet and didn't see any sites for him and some others so I decided to fill the hole that was left. There isn't much there yet as I only started it yesterday but please check it out and let me know what you think. Just as On My Mind is a G to PG rated site the same will go for BLL so it will be family friendly.

Far Out Space Nuts Opening

Who could forget this other Gilligan Island version with Bob Denver and Chuck McCann in the Skipper role?

Shazam! Intro

For those of you who remember Saturday morning TV in the 1970's here is the opening of the TV show Shazam!

The Many Looks of Supergirl

The recent posting of Wonder Woman in her Mod stage seems to have been a favorite with some readers. So I have decided to show that DC felt that a fashion change was needed for Supergirl in the late 60's and early 70's.
Here in Adventure Comics #397 she is shown in her first costume and looking over possible new outfits. One of them is close to what she decided on at first but none of those on the cover are the ones she accepted.







By the time this issue, Adventure Comics #399, came out you can see the costume that she chose. However, her search for a new look didn't stop.


She had this look for Adventure Comics #408.



By issue #410 she was wearing short-shorts and looking more like Mary Marvel then Supergirl.



When issue #412 of Adventure Comics came out she decided to dress more like her cousin Superman.



Then here in her own self titled book she seems to be back again to her short pants look. As if it wasn't enough to change her look they later tried to change who Supergirl was. First they killed off the original. Later an alien took over her role. Since then I lost interest but it seems that another Supergirl has taken her place. At least I still have some good memories of the first Supergirl.

Hawkman Video

Here is a really good video for Hawkman. Sheldon Moldoff should be proud.

This Day in Music History: Rhythm Heritage and the Theme from 'S.W.A.T.'

TV has proven over and over again that it can produce big hits. From Ricky Nelson to the Monkees to American Idol. So it is no surprise that on this day in music history, February 28, 1976, the Theme from ‘S.W.A.T.’ by Rhythm Heritage was the #1 song on the Billborad charts for one week. The song was Written by Barry DeVorzon and produced by Steve Barri and Michael Omartian. The TV show had been on the air for one year when the song hit the #1 position. Steve Barri’s son was a huge fan of the show and asked his Dad if there was a record of the theme. He wanted to get a copy of it for his son but found no recording of the song. He thought if there was a dance version of the theme it might be a big hit. He got Michael Omartian to do the arrangement and got Rhythm Heritage, who also recorded “Baretta’s Theme (Keep Your Eye on the Sparrow)”, to record the song. He also used some studio musicians on the song. Two of them went on to have #1 hits. Jeff Porcaro had the hit Africa with the group Toto and Ray Parker Jr. had a #1 hit with a movie theme…Ghostbusters. Having a hit with TV theme songs was not new for Steve Barri. He and his songwriting partner P.F. Sloan had a #3 hit in 1966 with the song Secret Agent Man. It was the theme for the TV show of the same name and sung by Johnny Rivers. The TV show starred Steve Forrest and two other future TV stars. They were Robert Urich ofVegas and Spencer for Hire and Mark Shera who went to co-star in Barnaby Jones. The S.W.A.T. series was the focal point of the violence in TV controversy that heated up in the 1970’s and helped lead to its early cancellation. Years later the series would be the basis for a movie starring Colin Farrell. You can click on the video link above to view the opening of the show.

Joe "Robbie" Robertson

Joe “Robbie” Robertson was created by Stan Lee and John Romita Sr. in Amazing Spider-Man #52 in 1967. He was a reporter and editor at the Daily Bugle where Peter Parker was a photographer and was J. Jonah Jameson’s right hand man. IN the battle of wits between Peter and Jonah, Robbie was the person who helped them find the middle ground. Usually it was by showing Jonah how Spider-Man’s existence helped the city of New York and the Daily Bugle.
Robbie Robertson was also a break through in African-American supporting cast members of comic books. In the past they were either used as comic relief or, if they were not the comedian, they were just there. Nothing they said or did had any lasting effect. Even Gabe Jones, who was discussed yesterday, had very little effect on the Sgt. Furry book when he first started out. Ebony White, of the Spirit, was at times taken seriously but for the most part was really comic relief. With Joe Robertson we saw a man who took his job and his family seriously.
He was raised in Harlem and worked for the school newspaper. He wrote and article about the school bully Lonnie Lincoln. Lonnie threatened Joe and Joe dropped the article. Later when Joe Robertson moved to Philadelphia to work on a newspaper he saw someone killed by the hitman Tombstone. Tombstone was really Lonnie Lincoln. Again he threatened Joe if he told anyone what he saw. Joe never wrote about it or reported it. He moved back to New York and joined the staff of the Daily Bugle. Years later the Kingpin hired Tombstone to come to New York to kill some people. The killings started to make news. When Tombstone found out that Joe Robertson worked on a paper in the city he threatened him and his family again. This time Joe found the courage and testified against Tombstone. It helped put him in jail. However, when the Judge found out that Joe Robertson didn’t report that he witnessed one of the murders in Philadelphia he sentenced him to 3 years in prison. Somehow he wound up in the same cell block as Tombstone. Tombstone forced Joe to go along with a jail break. When Spider-Man showed up to stop it Tombstone tried to kill him but Joe saved his life. Later Tombstone tried to kill an Amish family but Joe stopped that too. Lonnie Lincoln saw that Joe “Robbie” Robertson was no longer afraid of him so he backed down. To this day Tombstone continued as a hitman to the end but was no longer a threat to Joe Robertson or his family.
Eventually Joe was made editor-in-chief of the Daily Bugle when J. Jonah Jameson decided to step down from that position. Over the years Jameson’s vendetta against Spider-Man and the sometimes out of focus pictures of him that they published of him gave the newspaper a yellow journalism image. Robertson decided to change that image. He started with Peter’s photos. Peter was forced to take pictures of the villains before Spider-man showed up and then set is camera on automatic to take pictures of the battle. Now over the years there were hints that Joe Robertson may know that Peter was Spider-man. It didn’t help that the new pictures started to look out of focus or taken from a bad angle with ever Spider-Man showed up but were almost perfect when he was gone.
The character of Joe Robertson has continued to have an important role in Spider-Man the animated series. In the Spider-Man films he has been portrayed by actor Bill Nunn. They really don’t give the character much to do in the movies and don’t develop a background for him to work with. However, the movies are called Spider-Man and not Joe Robertson so I guess we should just be happy that they show him in a positive light.

This concludes the character bolgs of African-American characters in comic books for Black History Month. I hope you enjoyed them.

The Four Seasons December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)

I have always loved this song. It brings back many fond memories and I remember seeing them preform it on the Grammy Awards. Does anyone know who the guy is on the drums? He has a great voice.