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.