Magna-Slide Video Feature!

This time around, it's Pluto, Chip 'n' Dale, and Ludwig Von Drake!

Comic Reading Library: Kona, Monarch of Monster Isle #3!

Christmas Comics Countdown Day 15: Walt Disney's Christmas Parade #5, Part 5!

The Fleischer Popeyes: The Man On The Flying Trapeze!

This cartoon opens with Popeye singing a variation on his theme song as he pilots a ship through high waves, missing each wave... and then he steers the ship onto land and down the street, parking it in front of Olive Oyl's house! He disembarks and knocks on the door, and it's answered by (I believe) Nana Oyl, Olive's mother, who tells Popeye that Olive's run off with the man on the flying trapeze (she sings "The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze," with Popeye singing the last line, "And my love he has taken away.").

Dejected, Popeye walks down the porch to the sidewalk, and what's across the street but the circus, and three boys are dancing and singing the theme song of this episode, with Popeye again singing the last line. Popeye tells the boys in song how he used to be happy, but isn't now that Olive's run off with the acrobat (when he hands the boys a framed photo of Olive from inside his shirt, they turn it around and see her from behind!).

Nearby, the circus barker is singing about Popeye's rival, which causes Popeye to punch out the picture of the man on the flying trapeze from the billboard he was sitting nearby, and then Popeye and the boys walk into the circus through the hole he's made. When they get into the grandstand, all the seats are taken, so Popeye merely lifts up the entire section of seats and raises them up one, so there's room at the front!

Wimpy, the ringmaster, blows his whistle and (between bites of hamburger) announces the star of the show, The Man on the Flying Trapeze! Once he starts singing, however, it seems obvious it's Bluto in a different form, so I'll just say "Bluto" through the rest of this. Bluto has somehow roped Olive into his act, and she seems less enamored of him how... but Popeye's unaware of this. When Olive waves and calls to him, Popeye ignores her. Then, Bluto swings over to her and grabs her around the head with his ankles, swinging back and forth!  Olive's not happy about this, but Popeye doesn't seem to notice.

Then, Bluto tosses her to a trapeze that breaks, and when Olive grabs the ropes, Bluto uses her as the trapeze bar, swinging back and forth! Then, Bluto puts a stick in his mouth, and puts the other and in Olive's mouth as the sole means of supporting her as he swings back and forth! Popeye suddenly decides he's had enough of this, and climbs up to the high platform. Getting on another trapeze, Bluto and Popeye start "trapeze fighting," each trying to take Olive away. When Olive's tossed aside and is in danger, Popeye tries to get to her rescue, but Bluto punches him away.

Finally, Popeye reaches into his shirt and pulls out a can of Spinach! Eating it, we hear a bit of a fanfare (but not the Theme fanfare we've come to expect of these cartoons, but have yet to find), and then we get a rousing rendition of the "Flying Trapeze" song as Popeye steps easily from one trapeze to another, getting to Bluto. He then proceeds to punch at Bluto as their trapezes swing closer to each other. Finally, Popeye knocks Bluto out of his shoes, and then punches him from trapeze to trapeze across the big top.

As the boys start singing the song, Popeye delivers the final blow to Bluto, and it's a Transformation Punch, turning Bluto into a ceiling lamp! Laughing, Popeye slides down the pole to the ground, and then calls Olive to jump down at him... but when the boys rush him and say "Hooray for Popeye!" Popeye's distracted long enough to shake their hands just as Olive hits the ground (serves her right, if you ask me!). Popeye sings the last line of his song, and we iris out.

So... this was a decent Popeye, but not one of the Fleischers' best. Indeed, the best gag was probably Popeye sailing the ship onto the land and down the street, and that was early in the cartoon! This is the first cartoon where Olive's jilted Popeye while he was at sea, but she's already changed her mind by the time Popeye shows up. Still waiting for the spinach-eating fanfare, and I'm kind of disappointed that once Popeye's eaten the spinach, Bluto still manages to get some blows in.  With all the above, I have to give this one Two Cans of Spinach out of Five.

Cool Stuff!

More Bat-stuff, as promised! However, this time around, there'll be quite a few photos less than usual, as I've discovered I'm fast running through my Cool Stuff files, so these posts will be getting shorter than you're accustomed to!

First up, this cool 1960s Batmobile from Argentina!

Christmas Comics Countdown Day 14: Walt Disney's Christmas Parade #5, Part 4!

Another two-fer this time, but at least the second story has a Christmas theme to it!

Puzzle Time!

Answers after the jump!

Fandom Library: Batmania #10!

Christmas Comics Countdown Day 13: Walt Disney's Christmas Parade #5, Part 3!

Another pair of stories that don't have a Christmas theme to them today! In fact, I think one was a reprint from an earlier issue in this series!

Famous Monsters #39!

CBT: Wonderbug Down Mexico Way Coloring Book!

Christmas Comics Countdown Day 12: Walt Disney's Christmas Parade #5, Part 2!

The next two stories have no Christmas theme, so I figured I'd do two of them today!

The Monkees, Season 1, Episode 9: "The Chaperone"!

This episode was written by Gerald Gardner and Dee Caruso, and was directed by Bruce Kessler. The songs featured in this episode are "This Just Doesn't Seem To Be My Day" by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, and "Take a Giant Step," by Carole King and Gerry Goffin; both songs are from the Monkees' self-titled first album, although this version of "Take a Giant Step" has a different mix from that on the single and album. Also featured in this episode is "You Just May Be the One," by Michael Nesmith, which wouldn't appear on the initial Monkees albums, but would have to wait for Rhino Records to include it on Missing Links Vol. 2. The guests in this episode are Henry Corden as Mr. Babbitt the landlord, Diana Chesey as Mrs. Weefers, Sherry Alberoni as Leslie Vandenburg, Judy Murdock as Cynthia, and Arch Johnson as General Vandenburg.

Character Collectible Spotlight: The Legion of Super-Heroes!

Admittedly, there's not a lot of Legion memorabilia from the 1970s and earlier... so we'll hit the Slurpee cups, then a few other items, and finish with some art pages!

Christmas Comics Countdown Day 11: Walt Disney's Christmas Parade #5, Part 1!

Comic Reading Library: Kona, Monarch of Monster Isle #2!

So, whenever the mood strikes me, I'll be posting multiple issues of the same title in the Comic Reading Library posts... maybe I should've mentioned this five days ago?

Cliffhanger! The Vanishing Shadow, Chapter 6!

Christmas Comics Countdown Day 10: Bugs Bunny's Xmas Funnies #8, Part 10!

My Toys: Hulk Figure!

One of the cool things about going to Archie McPhee's in Seattle is that you never quite know what you're going to find there! For the uninitiated, Archie McPhee's is kind of the store version of the old Johnson-Smith ads in the comics, plus lots and lots more. There's novelties of all sorts, plastic figures beyond imagining... you really have to go there if you're in the Seattle area!

So, a few years back, my wife, the kids and I were in Seattle and we stopped at Archie's, and that's where I found this Hulk figure for a buck! He came with this two-piece brick wall, and you could pull his arm back and let it go to smash the wall in half. I didn't get it for that reason, of course... I just got it because hey, it's the Hulk, and it was a buck! He's been on my bookshelf since then, along with this Superman: The Animated Series figure on an S-shield base. I think this may have been intended to be used as a cake decoration, but I could well be wrong. This photo's actually just a bit bigger than the actual figure, so you can really see just how much detail the manufacturer put into this! I like it, and it's the only Hulk toy of any kind on my shelves these days.

Cover Redux!

First up this time around, it's Sgt. Fury #48, and the reprint in issue #143! OK, is it just me, or does this look like it's been retouched a bit for the reprint? I mean, sure, there's coloring variations, and it did get shrunken down a bit to accommodate the new logo... but some of the details -- thickened lines and so forth -- aren't so easily accounted for by that.

Christmas Comics Countdown Day 9: Bugs Bunny's Xmas Funnies #8, Part 9!