Reign of the Supermen #420: Waxworks Superman

Source: New York World's Fair waxworks (1964)
Type: ObjectThis ad appeared in a number of 1964's DC Comics, and it wasn't until I found Devlin Thompson's site that I saw a picture of the real exhibit it was based on, reproduced here:
Pretty cool, even if the Cyclops has little to do with Superman. "Hey, what do we have that our Superman dummy could fight?" "Well, I'm taking down that Odyssey display..." It's even imaginable that Superman and Lois used to be other people as they don't really look like any of the actors that portrayed them, except vaguely. And yet, I like it a lot better than other waxworks dummies I've seen because there's ACTION! Frequently, waxworks Supermen are just posed figures you can take your picture with, three-dimensional cardboard cut-outs, really.

If you're looking to find out more, I recommend the Superman Super Site's page on the subject, with additional photos of the wax Supermen based on George Reeves, Christopher Reeve and Brendan Routh.

Doctor Who #144: The Highlanders Part 2

"I've never seen a silent lawyer before."TECHNICAL SPECS: Missing entirely from the archives, I've had to go to a reconstruction for help. First aired Dec.24 1966.

IN THIS ONE... Polly blackmails Ffinch. The Doctor commits malpractice on Grey and Perkins. And later puts on a drag show to get aboard a slave ship.

REVIEW: A very entertaining episode thanks to the cleverness exhibited by the main cast, Part 2 features a Doctor who fluidly moves from one identity to the next like a living piece of psychic paper. One minute he's a hilarious German doctor, teaching the natives about "germs" (Jamie naturally deduces that germs and Germans have something in common) and using astrology, and the next he's an old woman, putting the guards of the slave ship to sleep with a special broth. Troughton's abilities as a character are brought to bear in his incarnation of the Doctor, turning him into something of a chameleon, and it's all rather funny too. His best moment in the episode is his use of ridiculous diagnoses to trick Grey and Perkins. "Print blindness" indeed. Even when he is himself, this Doctor is a load of fun, enjoying himself only when there is danger, thriving on the challenge. It's a trait that future Doctors will exhibit a lot, and it may well be that Troughton's performance was the most influential of all the Doctors. Care to disagree?

Polly's story is great fun too, luring Ffinch into a pit trap and flirtingly blackmailing him by threatening to reveal he was disarmed and captures by a couple of girls (one of them a crybaby at that). Polly is at her best here, taking control and taking that cheeky tone that served her so well in The War Machines. And of course it works on Ffinch because he's a bit of a dandy and a poser. When his men find him in the pit, he has to bribe them just so they'll pull him out in what sounds like a disingenuous union negotiation. The balance is definitely more on the side of comedy this time around, though you still have a man thrown overboard to drown in the cliffhanger to remind you of the stakes.

If I have complaints, they're relatively minor. The music, for example, could really do with more period atmosphere, taking off from the title card cue. But that's always the last we hear of the bagpipes, sadly. And then there's Trask, the slave ship captain, who's come out of a clichéed pirate movie, going "Arrrh" all over the place. Even The Smugglers, which was ABOUT pirates, didn't go to such over-acting extremes. I suppose it adds to the comedy that surrounds the otherwise serious character of Grey, but it's still well over the top.

REWATCHABILITY: Medium-High - A very funny episode, even without the benefits of the video.

Movie Marquee Friday: Dark Addendum

The training grounds are not for such as you...
He puts a lot of himself in his branding...

Out of the shadows, something new comes...

Waking from a dream of scarred concrete...

The hooting Shaft of the martial arts set...

The streets will pay in bloody gunshots...

Over watered-down drinks served by Delilah...

Titters of gossip ruin the piece's elegance...

Doctor Who #143: The Highlanders Part 1

"The clans are broken. Shot to pieces by the English guns. Never had the chance to get to within claymore's length of them."TECHNICAL SPECS: Aside from a few brief clips, the episode is story is missing from the archives. Though I've listened to the Frazer Hines-narrated CD release fairly recently, in this case, I've opted for a reconstruction. First aired Dec.17 1966.

IN THIS ONE... The TARDIS lands in 18th-century Scotland and it's the first appearance of Jamie McCrimmon.

REVIEW: Some call it the last true historical adventure, and I'm one of them (sorry, but Black Orchid is a genre piece that just happens to be set a few decades in the past), and it's got what it takes to be exciting, dramatic and funny too. And of course, it's the story that first introduces uber-companion Jamie McCrimmon, not that you'd think he was companion material here. No, he's a bloodthirsty sort, loyal to his Laird, putting a gun to the Doctor's head and talking about killing the English. Nor is the role particularly important - he's just one of three Scots attending the wounded Laird, albeit one of only two that survives, though if you were to ask anyone by the end of this episode, they'd say Kirsty, the Laird's daughter, was more of a companion (at least, to Polly). So it's pretty obvious Jamie wasn't meant to join the TARDIS crew all along. From humble beginnings...

Of the actual companions, Polly has the better role, bravely creating a diversion to save the men from a hanging, and generally playing the "modern woman" to Kirstie's easily defeated "primitive". Of course, she's got a lot to learn about respecting other cultures, attempting to strip Kirstie's of her jewelry for money, including an all-important signet ring. It's not very nice of her to call the Scots girl a "peasant", but it's a realistic character flaw for a city girl to look down on country folk (and in the past, isn't everyone country folk?). Ben is a bit of a bumbler, meanwhile, misreading every situation, attracting the attention of the Redcoats with an accidental gunshot, and generally showing his lack of historical knowledge. And then there's the Doctor who frequently defies expectations with his reactions. I like how when he's asked if he's want to people to think him scared, he answers "Why not?", for example. At this point in the series, it seems the production team really do think he's called "Doctor Who", leading to a bit of levity when he passes himself off as a German called Doctor von Wer (again, an impostor). And he finds yet another hat he'd like to wear, thankfully ditching the weird high hat he started wearing in his first appearance.

As with many historical adventures, The Highlanders mixes the drama inherent in the savagery and war of the past, and the sort of comedy we associate with adventure serials. So our heroes are about to be hanged when they are saved by Gray (the only actually historical character), a corrupt solicitor who sells captured rebels as slaves to the colonies. Serious stuff, but writer Gerry Davis relieves some of the tension by making Gray tut at the declining quality of English strategy, strolls onto the battlefield with a bottle of wine, and has a comedy adjutant in Perkins he can abuse. Ffinch's Sergeant gets a black comedy moment when he makes fun of his squeamish officer who always finds an excuse to leave when there's killing to be done. It's a story that's a lot like its Doctor. Deadly serious with a veneer of madcap comedy.

REWATCHABILITY: Medium - A good start to the last historical, with action and comedy in equal measure and as usual, a great performance from Troughton. Fans of Jamie may feel frustrated at how he was initially written though.

Doctor Who #142: The Power of the Daleks Part 6

"They're the new species, you see. Taking over from homo sapiens. Man's had his day. Finished now."TECHNICAL SPECS: Aside from a few brief clips, the episode is gone from the archives. I've used a reconstruction (Part 1, Part 2). First aired Dec.10 1966.

IN THIS ONE... The Daleks decimate the colony and the Doctor blows them up with a power surge.

REVIEW: It's been some time waiting, but in the end, the Daleks act exactly as they've always done and start exterminating everyone. One by one, guest characters and extras alike are mowed down in what is actually the program's first on screen Dalek massacre. It's a prolonged affair, and even when we're not seeing it, we can hear a blend of screams and gunfire in the background, made all the more tangible by the use of straightforward firearms in the colonists' hands. The humans are no less bloodthirsty, as Bragen orders the execution of the rebels he just encouraged to revolt to get himself on the throne. But here's the thing. Daleks may have been bred to kill, but humans have different ethical thresholds. Janley dares question this order and almost gets summarily shot, and it will be Valmar who will shoot Bragen rather than see those orders carried out. As an audience, we're asked to compare human action to Dalek action - which murders are justifiable? Any of them?

Ultimately, though there was a lot of ambiguity in the preceding chapters, the Whoniverse's innate morality wins out in the end. Every "name" character who dies in this episode was guilty of something, even Lesterson whose scientific hubris opened this particular can of worms. Robert James once again gives an interesting performance as the pitiable Lesterson sacrifices his life by approaching the Daleks are repeating their line back to them, "I am you servant!". He gave them life, and they give him death. No daddy issues here, eh Daleks? (Has anyone ever done a psychoanalytical study of the Daleks and their relationship to Davros?) Among the dead, we of course number the Dalek army, which the Doctor manages to blow up quite spectacularly (we have some clips of it, thankfully) by sending a power surge down their static electricity generator. When the heroes return to the TARDIS, there's a melted Dalek only a few feet from it, and we wonder just how close we came to the Daleks' final victory. As the police box dematerializes, its eyestalk manages to pathetically go up, but I doubt the future of the race lies in this one specimen. Other fugitives from Skaro's civil war though...

I realize I didn't mention the Doctor much (or Ben and Polly at all), but like the Daleks themselves, the story lets the guest cast sort things out. It's all action, running and shooting, and final confrontations. Rather than be caught in the crossfire, the cast might as well keep its head down and let things resolve themselves as if this were a historical adventure with a well-known and unavoidable end. Except the Doctor does act as the agent of good that destroys the Daleks, and then acts coy about it, the scamp. Have you accepted this new Doctor yet? I know you have. And it looks like Ben and Polly are well on their way as well.

VERSIONS: The novelization - one of the rare few published by Virgin rather than Target - features a few notable differences. Sgt. Benton and Sarah Jane Smith are mentioned in the prologue. The Interplanetary Mining Corporation (from Colony in Space) is said to be the driving force behind the colony. And the events of The Tenth Planet are set in the 1990s.

REWATCHABILITY: Medium-High - There's little time for clever dialog with all the shooting going on, but it's an exciting ending to a tense Dalek thriller. Satisfying across the board.

STORY REWATCHABILITY: High - I've said this before, but the fact that they wiped Patrick Troughton's first story, a Dalek story that outdoes Terry Nation's to boot, is perhaps the greatest crime against the program ever committed (albeit without malice). Even on audio, Troughton's performance shines through and wins us over. There's lots of intrigue and the Daleks are particularly devious. And if you're a fan of the new series, you'll recognize its influence on its writers.

Siskoid's Zine of Geekery #2 - Early January 2007

Take the way-back machine and go back more than 5 years to the start of this blog with the Outdated Zine version! Just a fun way to spend the time, attempting archives in pdf form. I wrote one new piece of text for the thing, reproduced here for completeness' sake.

Bob Haney - Mad Genius
There are certain comic book writers who have a particular appeal to comic book bloggers. Obviously, we like great story telling and quality comics, but everyone does (or should). What separates a chosen few, however, is that their stories - especially their vintage stories - are, to put it simply, COMPLETELY INSANE! And for some of us, that is what comics is all about.

Think about it. Comics is the one medium that’s visual enough to include the ideas that would cost too much elsewhere, and disposable enough that anything can be tried within their pages. For many comic book bloggers, the crazier the better, and some writers definitely embraced that philosophy as well. Robert Kanigher, Bill Mantlo, Jack Kirby, and Bob Haney. Most definitely Bob Haney.

Haney’s is a special brand of craziness because though he was middle aged (born 1926) when he started the Teen Titans (1964), he still insisted on giving his heroes their own brand of teen-speak, which provides the modern reader with an extra layer of surrealism. Not to same the plots didn’t do that by themselves. Filled with wacky villains as disposable as the books themselves, Haney’s work had an “anything goes” quality that borders on the naive, or “outsider art”. In his Brave and the Bold, he was notorious for ignoring DC continuity to tell the stories he wanted to tell, whether that meant giving the modern Batman a career during World War II or turning Black Canary into Bruce Wayne’s secretary. Metamorpho, the Super-Sons, the House of Mystery’s Cain... His contribution to the DC Universe are as varied as they are memorable.

And thanks to the Showcase Presents series, the SBG got very interested in Haney’s work and featured it frequently. We hope you’ll enjoy the blog’s look at the early issues of the Teen Titans, which started last issue (all the appearances before they got their own series) and will continue in the next few (up through the first volume of Showcase Presents Teen Titans).

Mister Haney, we send our thanks from this world to the next.

Oh No! It's My Annual RPGs I'd Like to Play Post!

It's that time of year again when I muse about what game I might run for the summer. Last year turned out to be a bust, and it was completely my fault. We wound up choosing Savage Worlds/Slipstream and one player even made a character, and then I withdrew from society for personal reasons (exhaustion, really). Other players didn't really push me, so it was probably a general feeling. So this year, we have to make up for it! Of course now I've got different things to worry about. One of these is a larger pool of players, not all of which I trust to attend regular role-playing sessions. I want to be there for everyone who's asked to play (including those I've promised to initiate into the mysteries), but anything above 5 players around the table isn't practical. I used to run the perfect game for ins and outs - Dream Park - but ran it for so long that I just want to do something different now, preferably something that doesn't involve multi-genring which I've done to death. Another factor is tone, because I have players who definitely prefer comedy over drama. Any hopes of seriously running something like Call of Cthulhu goes out the window.

Now, I've done these kinds of posts before, mostly notably in 2011 and 2007, and there are some good ideas in there I could be convinced to run (if I haven't already). Taking a look at my collection, what do I have ideas for?

Hong Kong Action Theater! Most of my group is into Hong Kong cinema and watches an Asian film with me once a week, on Kung Fu Friday. HKAT plays on that, has reasonably light rules, I have copies of both the core rules (mostly for modern day gun play) and Blue Dragon, White Tiger (the historical and wuxia stuff). I might run this Dream Park style, with continuing characters in a "franchise" that sometimes skip movie tracks to tell stories in other eras (like the famous Venoms). That might be a way to "Dream Park" it and involve different players from session to session, even newbies. I've got to go to bed with the rules tonight because on paper, it's the front runner.

Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space. With all the work I'm doing on Doctor Who reviews and Doctor Who RPG elements, you KNEW this game was going to make an appearance. Maybe it could be a little side-game, 70s-style with only a Time Lord and a companion, with occasional guest stars. Might allow me to get my feet wet without necessarily taking the plunge (and dragging many people in the pool with me). Or will that be too much Doctor Who for one summer?

Savage Worlds: Slipstream. It was all ready to go last summer and then petered out. The materials are there. One character's already made. And it's nice to have a finite campaign you know can drive the schedule all for an entire season and end just when vacations are over and it's time to crank work up to 11 again (which for me is September). Slipstream is one option among several Savage World campaigns, of course, but since my group singled it out last year, still a contender.

Trekjammer. Someone in my group recently said he'd be up for some Star Trek RPG. I am too, but then again I'm not. Trek's given me problems in the past because there are too many deus ex machinae built in, from large crews under players' command to the various technologies available. What I'd be inspired to do, though, is take AD&D 2nd's Spelljammer and turn it into Trek. Make it all sword & sorcery, but give it the political set-up of the show. The good races are the Federation, the Romulans are dark elves, the Klingons are orcs or something. And the ships have magical equivalents of transporters, holodecks, et al. I think this would be a hoot, and replacing the Spelljammer setting, which was never that interesting beyond the premise, will actually make it more familiar. At least, to Trekkies.

Top Secret. I still have never run an espionage game of any length above the one-shot, and I'd like to give it a go. On my shelf, I've got the original Top Secret, James Bond 007, GURPS Espionage, and Mercenaries, Spies and Private Eyes. Pretty old school, so I'm willing to grab another system, so long as I get to run some cool impossible missions. This would me the biggest challenge, because it's a genre I've barely dabbled with, but the mission set-up creates an easy motivation for players to get in the game, and M:I in particular is friendly to guest players.

Ultimately, not all of these will be everyone's cup of tea. I've just got to make my peace with the fact that whatever choice I make, it make lock a few players out for the summer.