Of Mice and Magic: The Cartoons #13

In 1933, Disney released a Silly Symphony that, more than any prior entry in the series, stressed character animation. It starred three characters that looked alike, but didn't act alike at all. Veteran Disney animator Albert Hurter designed the lead characters and the villain, and story man Ted Sears wrote the lyrics to a song that would become Disney's first song hit, with Pinto Colvig (best known as the original voice of Goofy) helping compose the song. All of Disney's "stars" of animation had specific tasks in this one, which at first cause no excitement at all when premiered at Radio City, but when it hit the neighborhood theaters, its popularity increased tremendously. Maybe it was the Depression and the need for something "happy" to lift the spirits, but whatever the reason, "The Three Little Pigs" was definitely an animation classic!


Disney wasn't going to sit on his laurels after this, though. He continued pushing his crew to make his cartoons even more sophisticated, and in 1934 (just one year later), he released "The Flying Mouse," which is notable for many things, but pay particular attention to the lighting of each scene!


Lastly today, here's "The Grasshopper and the Ants," which not only showed that Disney wasn't afraid to raid old Aesop's Fables, but also that he could adapt and succeed!


But Disney wasn't satisfied with just making great cartoon shorts, which were costing him more and more to make (and taking longer and longer to make money from). He had this eye on making a feature-length animated movie!

Geek TV #9.2: Batman (1966), Part 2!

Geek Guest-Stars (Continued From Last Installment):

Elisha Cook Jr. played Professor Isaacson in two Mr. Freeze episodes, but his best-known part is probably playing Wiler Cook in The Maltese Falcon, although he also guest-starred on The Adventures of Superman, The Man from UNCLE, Wild Wild West, Star Trek (playing Samuel T. Cogley in “Court Martial”), I Spy, The Ghost & Mrs. Muir, The Night Stalker, The Bionic Woman, Salem's Lot, and Rosemary's Baby.

Pussycat

Calamity Jan

The Siren

I'm sure you recall Lesley Gore appeared as Pussycat in two Catwoman episodes, and is best known for “It's My Party” and “Judy's Turn to Cry,” if you're an oldies music fan!

Dina Merrill appeared as Calamity Jan on two Shame episodes, and also guested on The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Mission: Impossible, Night Gallery, Tales of the Unexpected, and also appeared in the remake of Mighty Joe Young.

Joan Collins played the Siren in two episodes, and also guest-starred on The Man From UNCLE, Star Trek (as Edith Keeler in “The City on the Edge of Forever”), Mission: Impossible, Tales from the Crypt, Space: 1999, Future Cop, The Fantastic Journey, Empire of the Ants, and Tales of the Unexpected.

The Clock King

Royal Apothecary and King Tut

Michael Pate played the Clock King in two episodes, and also appeared in The Black Castle and Tower of London, guested on Zorro (in four episodes as Salvador Quintana), Thriller, Get Smart, The Man From UNCLE, Honey West, The Wild Wild West, The Time Tunnel, and the 1989 Mission: Impossible TV series.

Roger C. Carmel played Colonel Gumm in two episodes, is probably better known for playing Harry Mudd on Star Trek, and also guested on My Living Doll, The Munsters, The Man From UNCLE, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, I Spy, the TV series The Invisible Man, and provided voices for Jonny Quest, The Transformers, and some other cartoons.

Sid Haig played the Royal Apothecary in two King Tut episodes, but also appeared in Star Trek (as the First Lawgiver in “The Return of the Archons”), The Man From UNCLE, Get Smart, Mission: Impossible, Diamonds Are Forever, THX 1138, The Six Million Dollar Man, Monster Squad, Wonderbug, Electra Woman and Dyna Girl, Tarzan and the Super 7 (playing Dragos on the Jason of Star Command segments, as well as in the separate series), Buck Rogers in the 25^th Century, Misfits of Science, Werewolf, Wizards of the Lost Kingdom II, House of 1000 Corpses, House of the Dead 2, Night of the Living Dead 3D, Boris and Natasha, and The Haunted World of El Superbeasto, as well as other roles.

The Bookworm

Roddy McDowell played The Bookworm in two episodes, and is best known for playing Cornelius and Caesar in The Planet of the Apes movies, as well as Galen on the Planet of the Apes TV series, and also guest-starred in The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Journey to the Unknown, The Invaders, The Legend of Robin Hood, Journey to the Unknown, A Taste of Evil, Night Gallery, Mission: Impossible, Topper Returns, The Fantastic Journey, The New Adventures of Wonder Woman, Supertrain, Buck Rogers in the 25^th Century, Mork & Mindy, The Martian Chronicles, The Return of the King, Tales of the Gold Monkey, Alice in Wonderland, The Wizard, The Pirates of Dark Water, Quantum Leap, 2 Stupid Dogs, Red Planet, and voicing the Mad Hatter on Batman: The Animated Series and appearing in many other shows, as well as appearing in That Darn Cat, It!, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, The Legend of Hell House, The Black Hole (he was the voice of VINCENT), Fright Night and Fright Night Part 2, and he provided a voice for A Bug's Life.

Alex Rocco appeared in two episodes, and also guested on Get Smart, Mission: Impossible, and Sabrina the Teenage Witch, has done voices for Pinky and the Brain, The Simpsons, Family Guy, A Bug's Life, and Batman: Year 1, and appeared in Return to Horror High, Boris & Natasha, and Dudley Do-Right.

Mr. Freeze (George Sanders)

Lisa and Robin the Boy Wonder

George Sanders was one of three men to play Mr. Freeze, and he also guested on Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Man From UNCLE, and Mission: Impossible, provided the voice for Shere Khan in The Jungle Book, and appeared in The House of the Seven Gables, The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, and From the Earth to the Moon, and starred as The Saint in that movie series.

Lee Meriwether played Lisa in two King Tut episodes, and prior to that played Catwoman in the 1966 Batman movie, but is also known for playing Dr. Ann MacGregor in The Time Tunnel, also guest-starring on The Man From UNCLE, Star Trek (playing Losira in “That Which Survives”), Land of the Giants, Tracey on Mission: Impossible, Nanny and the Professor, playing Lily Munster in The Munsters Today, and cameoing in Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt.

J. Pat O'Malley played Pat Pending in two Catwoman episodes, played the Bartender in Lights Out, played Mr. Harry Burns on My Favorite Martian, and also guested on Thriller, Twilight Zone, Bewitched, The Man From UNCLE, The Flying Nun, The Wild Wild West, The Ghost & Mrs. Muir, I Dream of Jeannie, Nanny and the Professor, and Kolchak: The Night Stalker, provided voices for an episode of Jonny Quest as well as Hey There, It's Yogi Bear, and the Disney animated films The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, The Wind in the Willows, Alice in Wonderland, The Jungle Book, Robin Hood, and One Hundred and One Dalmatians, and had several uncredited appearances and a voice in Mary Poppins.

Seymour Cassell appeared as Cancelled in two episodes, and also guested in The Invaders, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, and other shows.

Mr. Freeze (Otto Preminger)

Minerva

Nora Clavicle

Otto Preminger, another Mr. Freeze, also did the voice of the Elven King in the 1977 version of The Hobbit.

Zsa Zsa Gabor played Minerva in two episodes, and also guested on Night Gallery, played the Queen of Hearts in the 1966 Alice in Wonderland or What's A Nice Kid Like You Doing in a Place Like This?, and of course played Talleah in Queen of Outer Space.

Barbara Rush played Nora Clavicle in two episodes, and also appeared in When Worlds Collide and It Came From Outer Space, guest-starred on The Outer Limits, Night Gallery, The Bionic Woman, Knight Rider, and the 1998 version of The Outer Limits.

Howard Duff appeared in two episodes (in different parts) and also guest-starred in I Spy and Night Gallery. Dick Curtis played The Inebriate in two Joker episodes, and also provided the voice for Motormouse in Motormouse and Autocat and those segments of The Cattanooga Cats, as well as guesting on Captain Nice.

Linda Harrison played a cheerleader in two episodes, and is best known for playing Nova in Planet of the Apes and Beneath the Planet of the Apes (she also did a cameo in the remake movie), also appearing in the unaired Wonder Woman pilot from 1967 (playing the mirror reflection of Diana Prince... and if you haven't seen this short pilot, you'll never understand that reference), and also appeared in Cocoon and Cocoon: The Return.

Jack Carter played Hot Rod Harry in two of the Shame episodes, and his geek roles included parts or voices in The Wild Wild West, I Dream of Jeannie, Beyond Westworld, Tales From the Darkside, They Came From Outer Space, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, Time Trax, The Ren & Stimpy Show, Duckman: Private Dick/Family Man, Superman: The Animated Series, 3^rd Rock From the Sun, King of the Hill, Justice League, and a few other programs.

Paul Revere, Drake Levin, and Mark Lindsay, better known as Paul Revere & The Raiders, appeared as themselves in at least one episode of the show.

Joe Flynn (best known from McHale's Navy) played Benton Belgoody in two Catwoman episodes, and has also appeared in Twilight Zone, Son of Flubber, Captain Nice, Blondie (1968 version), The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes, The Ghost & Mrs. Muir, Million Dollar Duck, Night Gallery, Now You See Him Now You Don't, The Magician, The Love Bug, and The Rescuers.

Geek Pedigree: 

Mayor Adam West of "Family Guy"

Burt Ward today

Prior to playing Batman in both the TV series and the 1966 movie, Adam West appeared in Voodoo Island, an episode of Bewitched and The Outer Limits, and played Col. Dan McReady in Robinson Crusoe on Mars (credited with being the role that attracted the producers to him). During and after Batman, he did a voice on Off to See the Wizard, guested on Night Galleryand Shazam! (doing the voice of Hercules in one episode), provided the voice for Batman in The New Adventures of Batman, reprised his role as Batman for Legends of the Superheroes, provided the voice for Batman again in Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show and The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians, appeared in Zombie Nightmare and Doin' Time on Planet Earth, placed Dr. Henry Wayne in an episode of the 1990 Zorro, voiced the Gray Ghost in Batman: The Animated Series, appeared in Tales From the Crypt and Space Ghost Coast to Coast, Weird Science (TV series), and has done voices for Animaniacs, The Secret Files of the SpyDogs, The Simpsons (playing himself), Johnny Bravo (again, playing himself), Family Guy (playing Mayor Adam West), The Batman (playing Major Grange), and voicing Nighthawk on Super Hero Squad, and of course playing himself in Back to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt.

Costar Burt Ward also followed up Batman by providing the voice to his animated counterpart on The New Adventures of Batman, playing Robin again in Legends of the Superheroes, and appeared in Homeboys in Outer Space, voiced Robin in an episode of The Simpsons, and playing Young Barnacle Boy in an episode of Spongebob Squarepants.

An early Neil Hamilton role, film unidentified

Alan Napier as Sherlock Holmes

Neil Hamilton, before Batman, played Dr. Jack Petrie in The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu and The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu, appeared in the 1932 version of Tarzan the Ape Man, guest-starred in an episode of Zorro, two episodes of The Outer Limits, an episode of The Munsters, and three episodes of Mister Ed (playing different parts in each one).

Prior to playing Chief O'Hara, Stafford Repp had appeared in episodes of My Favorite Martian and The Twilight Zone.

William Dozier, executive producer, was also executive producer of The Green Hornet and produced unaired pilots for Dick Tracy and Wonder Woman: Who's Afraid of Diana Prince? He also executive produced Rod Brown of the Rocket Rangers in the 1950s.

Along with playing Alfred on Batman, Alan Napier also appeared in six episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, three episodes of Thriller, two episodes of Night Gallery and The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, guested in a Twilight Zone, provided uncredited voices for Mary Poppins, and voiced Sir Pelinore in The Sword in the Stone, and appeared in The Mole People as Elinu, the High Priest, in The Invisible Man Returns, The House of the Seven Gables, and Cat People.

Madge Blake on "The Man From UNCLE"

Yvonne Craig on "Star Trek"

Before playing Aunt Harriet, Madge Blake appeared in The Man From UNCLE, My Favorite Martian, and The Addams Family in guest spots.

The lovely Yvonne Craig, in addition to playing Batgirl, guested on The Man From UNCLE, My Favorite Martian, Mars Needs Women (TV movie), In Like Flint, The Wild Wild West, The Ghost & Mrs. Muir, Star Trek (she played the green-skinned Marta in “Whom Gods Destroy”), Land of the Giants, The Magician, Holmes & Yo-Yo, and The Six Million Dollar Man, and does the voice of Grandma in the animated series Olivia.

Cesar Romero as the Cisco Kid

Burgess Meredith on "The Twilight Zone"

Before playing the Joker, Cesar Romero was probably best known for playing the Cisco Kid in a series of films, and also played Esteban de la Cruz in four episodes of Zorro, guested on The Man From UNCLE, Get Smart, Bewitched, Nanny and the Professor, Night Gallery, and Buck Rogers in the 25^th Century, and appeared in The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes and Now You See Him Now You Don't.

Master Penguin portrayer Burgess Meredith appeared in Freaks in an uncredited role, four episodes of The Twilight Zone including the classic “Time Enough at Last,” an episode of The Wild Wild West, appeared in Beware! The Blob!, did two episodes of Night Gallery, narrated Korg: 70,000 B.C. and Twilight Zone: The Movie, and did a voice in G.I. Joe: The Movie (1987).

Julie Newmar as Stupefyin' Jones ("Li'l Abner")

Frank Gorshin on "Star Trek"

The sexiest Catwoman ever, Julie Newmar, (go ahead and argue if you want, I'm right and I know it, you can't prove any differently) rightfully played Stupifyin' Jones in Li'l Abner, appeared in a Twilight Zone, played Rhoda in the short-lived My Living Doll, guested on The Monkees, Star Trek (Eleen in “Friday's Child”), Get Smart, The Bionic Woman, Jason of Star command, Buck Rogers in the 25^th Century, The Powers of Matthew Star, played Miss Kitty in Oblivion and Oblivion 2: Backlash, and many other cameos and so forth, and voiced Martha Wayne in Batman: The Brave and the Bold.

Mayor Linseed portrayer Byron Keith also appeared in Beware! The Blob, guest-starred on Mission: Impossible, The Invaders, Bewitched, and The Alfred Hitchcock Hour.

Frank Gorshin, who really made the Riddler role his own, also voiced Professor Hugo Strange on The Batman, did a few voices for Johnny Bravo, voiced Daffy Duck and Foghorn Leghorn for the 1996 cartoon Superior Duck, playing Foghorn again in the 1997 cartoon Pullet Surprise and playing Yosemite Sam in From Hare to Eternity. Appeared in Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, two episodes of Buck Rogers in the 25^th Century, played the Riddler again in Buck Rogers in the 25^th Century, guested in Star Trek and The New Adventures of Wonder Woman, and both he and Julie Newmar played themselves in Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt.

Victor Buono in "Beneath the Planet of the Apes"

Vincent Price

Think of Victor Buono, and the villainous King Tut comes to mind, but among his other roles were two guest parts in Thriller, guest spots in Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Man From UNCLE, and I Spy, he played Mr. Memory in the Dick Tracy unaired pilot of 1967, he was in three episodes of The Wild Wild West (twice playing Count Carlos Mario Vincenzo Robespierre Manzeppi – he was also in the TV movie More Wild Wild West playing Dr. Henry Messinger), also guest spots on The Girl from UNCLE, The Legend of Robin Hood, The Flying Nun, two episodes of Night Gallery, he played the “fat man” mutant in Beneath the Planet of the Apes, and was the arch-enemy of Mark Harris, The Man From Atlantis, in five episodes of that series.

Vincent Price has, probably, the most extensive geek credits of anyone on Batman, having appeared in Tower of London, The Invisible Man Returns, Green Hell, The House of the Seven Gables, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (as the voice of the Invisible Man at the end), House of Wax, The Mad Magician, Son of Sinbad, Science Fiction Theatre, The Fly, Return of the Fly, The Bat, The Tingler, The Pit and the Pendulum, Master of the World, House of Usher, Tales of Terror, The Raven, The Haunted Palace, The Comedy of Terrors, The Mask of the Red Death, Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine, The Wild Weird World of Dr. Goldfoot, Dr. Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs, The Abominable Dr. Phibes, Dr. Phibes Rises Again, and a great many other movies, as well as TV appearances.

DVD Release: Sadly, none, due to licensing issues between Warner Brothers and Fox, although the 1966 Batman movie is out on DVD.

Website: There are a lot of great sites devoted to this show, among them are http://www.batfriend.com/incolor.swf (one of the coolest sites out there) http://www.thebatsite.co.uk/, http://www.1966batmobile.com/, and http://www.adamwest.com/

Notes: One thing I've noticed is that comics fans tend to either love or hate this series... and a lot of us go through both emotions at times! As a kid, I loved the heck out of this show, naturally... and then, in my early 20s, I started getting too serious about my superheroes, and decided I didn't like the show, but then that changed again around my mid-20s... went back to not liking it again... and these days, I've decided it was the right show for its time, and I enjoy watching the occasional episode here and there. Of course, it was this show that was responsible for what is (in my opinion) the absolute coolest car ever, the 1966 Batmobile!

Toy of the Week #13: AHI Planet of the Apes Toys!

AHI made a fair amount of Planet of the Apes toys, although not nearly as many as they did for Batman or Spider-Man. Oddly enough, they decided to make POTA versions of some of the same toys that they made for Batman and Spidey! But we'll overlook those, and focus instead on the really cool POTA toys AHI made!



As you can see from the above photos, AHI made two different kind of Planet of the Apes Horse and Riders, with two variations between them (although you don't see both variations). There were wind-up and remote-controlled versions, and from what I've been able to tell, both had Galen and Dr. Zaius versions... no Gorilla Soldier or Ursus/Urko versions though, oddly enough!


Dr. Zaius must've been considered a popular character, because here we see him on the POTA Prison Wagon toy, which was either a wind-up or friction powered.



Speaking of wind-ups, here's the Wind-Up walking Galen and Dr. Zaius figures!

Like I said, it seems odd that there were no soldier ape or Urko/Ursus toys in this line... It would've allowed them 50% more toys on the shelves at a time, you know! Well, okay, I think there was a soldier ape version of one toy... the Planet of the Apes Paratrooper! Yeah, you remember that scene in one of the movies where the apes go parachuting, right? I didn't think so... because it didn't exist! That didn't stop AHI from making paratroopers... or for that matter, stunt cycles, helicopters, or even a rocket ship, all branded as Planet of the Apes!

Trying to find these toys on eBay is always a challenge... you can search for "Planet of the Apes" in Toys and Hobbies, and get a list like this one... which had 770 results the day I wrote this entry! You could try clicking on "vintage and antique," but the day I wrote this, there were no AHI items there. Clicking on "battery powered and wind-up" did give me a Galen Walker with one leg missing, and the seller was asking $50.99 for it! So unless you've go a lot of ready cash handy, I would advise against clicking on that link unless you just want to browse!

Give-A-Show Fridays: 1974 Kenner Charlotte's Web and The Hair Bear Bunch!

A VERY condensed version of the Hanna-Barbera animated movie based on the E.B. White classic!

Cool Stuff!

First up in this week's parade of cool stuff is this whole mess of Mighty Crusaders figures from Remco, based on the then-current revival by Archie Comics! As you might've guessed, the musculature and style of these was much more influenced by He-Man than, say, the Super Powers or Secret Wars toy lines, and that's kind of a shame... I think if they'd followed the Super Powers influence, the entire line would've looked much cooler! Of course, one of the big problems with this toy line also was that the Crusaders never really had that great a rogues' gallery to work with... I mean, the Brain Emperor was the best one, and that name is just too goofy! He's the top photo, by the way, followed by the Buzzard and the Eraser, with the Sting being the last photo -- all these are the villains!

The Indexible Hulk #13

Issue: Avengers #5

Title: “The Invasion of the Lava Men!”

Credits: Written by Stan Lee, Pencilled by Jack Kirby, Inked by Paul Reinman, Lettered by Sam Rosen

Supporting Cast: Betty Ross, Thunderbolt Ross, Teen Brigade

Villain: The Lava Men

Hulk Intelligence: Angry Brute

Guest-Stars: Technically speaking, the Hulk is the guest-star in this issue!

Plot: After the battle of the FF and Avengers Vs. the Hulk, the Avengers return to Avengers Mansion to inspect the damage the Hulk caused there, and decide to disband for the nonce to take care of personal matters. A few days later, at Tony Stark's weapons factory, a new artillery computer is being tested when a piercing sound fills the factory, causing the computer to fall apart. Stark is called and alerted to the damage. Meanwhile, Ant-Man and the Wasp are engaged in research in an ant hill when the same sound appears, causing vibrations that cause the ant hill to cave in. Later, at Dr. Don Blake's office, Dr. Blake reads a newspaper report about a train accident caused when a strange sound made the engineer lose control. Blake turns to Thor and plans to call in the Avengers to investigate. Shortly, Captain America is giving an acrobatic exhibition to Rick Jones and the Teen Brigade when Thor arrives to call on Cap. Suddenly, there are shock waves and the strange sound, causing a nearby tree to shatter. Thor, Cap and Rick head to Avengers Mansion. In the Southwest, at a missile installation commanded by General Ross, a strange hill is coming up through the ground. Bruce Banner suddenly returns to the base, and Ross starts laying into Bruce until he realizes the hill is more important to worry about. Bruce has a flashback to how he became the Hulk and what happened with the Avengers, but is interrupted when Ross demands that Banner figure out what's up with that hill. Below the earth's surface, we find that the hill is just a part of a huge living rock which the Lava Men (previously seen in Journey into Mystery #97) are pushing through the Earth's crust by way of a massive machine. We also learn that one of the Lava Men, Molto, opposes the witch doctor's plan to invade. On the surface, Ross orders the hill sounded by missile launchers, and then the Avengers arrive. Iron Man tries to blast into the hill to see what's below, and the impact is felt by the lava men, who decide to come to the surface and attack! They're driven off, and Thor decides to meet with the ruler of the Lava Men, who shortly recognize him from their previous defeat by him. Thor sees the machine being used to drive the massive living stone (the cause of the mysterious noises) to the surface, and Thor is about to destroy it when he's warned it would destroy all of them. Thor also learns that the living stone is threatening the lava men, and the only solution they could come up with is to drive it to the surface and let the surface people suffer. The Lava Men attack again, and are met by Iron Man and Captain America, who hold them back while Ant-Man and the Wasp examine the living stone, finding the one spot that can be struck that would destroy the rock without causing it to explode, but only Thor's hammer has the power to do so. The Avengers go to search for Thor and find him, but on the surface, Bruce Banner has also figured out the situation with the living ston, and the stress causes him to change into the Incredible Hulk! The Hulk hears the Avengers' voices and moves in to attack. The Avengers try to hold him while Thor deals with the lava men. Oddly enough, the combination of Thor's hammer and the witch doctor's radioactive rod cause Thor to change into Don Blake, who's too exhausted to change back to Thor immediately. Meanwhile, the remaining Avengers have a plan to use the Hulk to destroy the living stone, and they lure the Hulk to just the right spot, tricking him into hitting it there with all his might, destroying the rock in an implosion. Below the surface, Blake, changes back to Thor, and warns the lava men never to attack again, and they slink away. On the surface, Ross orders the missiles relocated, while Betty Ross goes to look for Bruce. On the site where the living stone had been, the ground's been transformed to glass, and there's no sign of the Hulk. Betty finds Bruce a short distance away, fortunately transformed back rom the Hulk, and Betty helps him back to the base. At the Avengers, they get a “condition red” emergency call, and leave immediately.

Invention Exchange: Stark's new artillery computer,

Reprinted In: Avengers Annual #4, Marvel Masterworks #4, Avengers Classic #3.

Notes: In hindsight, reading these stories today, it's obvious that Stan did not want to let anyone forget about the Hulk or his supporting cast, given the appearances in four out of the first five issues of the Avengers, as well as the appearances in Fantastic Four. The Hulk next appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man.

Comic Book Advertisements!

Aaaand this week, we start with another entry in the ever-popular category of "ads that nobody in their right mind would try to run in a comic book these days," main subsection "guns!" I trust I need say no more? By the way, this ad ran in Dell's Thirteen (Going on Eighteen) #24.

Famous Monsters #28

CBT: 1961 Lassie Coloring Book, Part 1!

Yeah, I know... Lassie (aside from being a "Dog of the Geek" entry and included in a 10 of a Kind Filmation post) doesn't get much time here... well, this should help make up for it!

Cover to the contrary, there's nothing in this coloring book that has to do with playing the bugle!

Kirby Kovers #12

First up this time around on Kirby Kovers is Boy Explorers Comics #1! As you can see, there's not really a shape around which this cover is designed (at least, none that I can immediately spot). It is an effective cover, though, if you ask me, because it serves to present the lead characters all very clearly, and tells you what it's about... there's a treasure map in the hands of one of them, and below, a treasure with a skull wearing a pirate's hat! Can't get much clearer than that, eh?

Dog of the Geek: Rin Tin Tin!

Breed: German Shepherd

Original Appearances: The Man from Hell's River (1922), Where the North Begins (1923) and many, many other films.

Other Appearances: Radio and television, including Rin Tin Tin: K9 Cop, a rebranding of the Canadian TV series Katts and Dog, at least one issue of a Dell comic book.

Biography: The first Rin Tin Tin was a shell-shocked pup found by American serviceman Lee Duncan in a bombed-out dog kennel in Lorrain France. Duncan named the dog after a puppet that French children gave to the American soldiers for good luck. Rinty's first screen role was playing a wolf in The Man from Hell's River (1922), the first of many parts in which he played a dog-wolf hybrid. His first starring role was Where the North Begins, and went on to a succession of other silent movies. Rinty also appeared in four sound movies, including a serial. He's often been credited as saving Warner Brothers from bankruptcy! Rinty appeared in radio (with several dogs portraying him) between 1930 and 1955, with Rinty playing himself until 1932, when he died in Los Angeles. According to Hollywood legend, Rinty doed in the arms of Jean Harlow. Rinty was buried in Paris, and honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Rin Tin Tin Jr. took over the radio program in 1932, and appeared in several short films in the 1930s. Rin Tin Tin III starred in the film The Return of Rin Tin Tin in 1947, and Rin Tin Tin IV was featured in the TV show The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, on ABC from 1954 to 1959. All these Rintys were bred from the original Rinty's bloodline, and this continues today, with the dogs being bred at El Rancho Rin Tin Tin in Latexo, Texas. The current Rinty is Rin Tin Tin X, while other line dogs are trained as service dogs for special needs children.

Powers: None

Group Affiliation: None

Miscellaneous: Check out the Rin Tin Tin website at http://www.rintintin.com/ for more details about Rinty, although when I wrote this entry in July, it was down for repairs. Rin Tin Tin was parodied in the film Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood.

Monster Monday!

Here's an odd item, some kind of promotional thing for King Features movies, including the latest Gamera!

Fandom Library: The Mighty Marvel Superheroes' Cookbook!

Yes, I am actually running this for Fandom Library this week! Not only that, I'm running it as spreads (mainly because that's how the scans were provided, and it would take way too long to break them all down). If there's any recipe you just are dying to try, but can't read, try clicking on the page in question, and you may be able to get it to pop up in Flickr... otherwise, shoot me a comment with your email address and I'll get it to ya!

Puzzle Sunday!

Last week's solution:


This week's puzzle: