Riding the Retro Metro: Monday August 6, 1979!

Redartz: Greetings once again; your ride is ready for another trip aboard the Retro Metro! This time, we aim for the year 1979.  Times were tough , as the headlines were filled with stories about the aftermath of the regime of dictator Pol Pot in Cambodia. Then there's the ongoing revolutionary turmoil in Iran. In the US, the economy is still struggling; Chrysler has asked the government for a billion dollar bailout to stay afloat. During such times, it helps to seek some diversion in the form of popular culture. Therefore, let's hear the top song on the US Billboard Hot 100:  Donna Summer, "Bad Girls"...

Donna's had a lock on the top spot since mid-July. A mammoth follow-up to her previous hit "Hot Stuff", another chart topper for disco's reigning diva.

Rounding out the top five:
2. Chic, "Good Times"
3.  Barbara Streisand, "The Main Event/ Fight"
4. The Knack, "My Sharona"
5.  John Stewart, "Gold"

To be honest,most of the top five this week leave me cold. I'm more tuned into the emerging New wave rather than the disco scene. But "My Sharona" seems to be garnering a lot of press for the Knack; some calling them the new Beatles (of course, we've heard that one before). And that John Stewart song is pretty good. 

Further down the chart, some other tunes deserve mention:  ELO, "Don't Bring Me Down";  a good solid rocker from Jeff Lynne and co. Charlie Daniels Band, "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" : a story song, with some cool fiddle work. I love a good story song. The Cars, "Let's Go": Off their new lp "Candy-O", the Cars give us a fine bit of New wave-tinged rock.  ABBA, "Does Your Mother Know": The foursome from Sweden just keep putting out phenomenal pop songs, one after another.  Supertramp, "Goodbye Stranger": Supertramp's album "Breakfast in America" is amazing, loaded with good songs. And this is a great one (although you want to hear the full version, not the trimmed single version).

The Cars, "Let's Go"

Tops in the UK:  The Boomtown Rats, "I Don't Like Mondays"


Having checked out the music world, let's see what's in store on the small screen tonight:

US Television Schedule:

ABC: Monday Night Baseball

Baseball fan that I am, I don't watch this very often. Generally because of the appeal of the strong CBS lineup.

 

CBS:  WKRP in Cincinnati, Flatbush, M*A*S*H, One Day at a Time, Lou Grant

Yes, this is quite a schedule. M*A*S*H remains great, One Day at a Time is entertaining, but WKRP is a blast! A brilliant comic cast; among them are Gary Sandy, Howard Hesseman, Gordon Jump, Loni Anderson and (my current crush) Jan Smithers. The show features embedded pop music, likeable characters and plenty of craziness. 

And at the end of the evening, Lou Grant is a great finish. Ed Asner is always a pleasure to watch. It's intriguing to see the turn from the comedic Grant of  "Mary Tyler Moore" to  the dramatic newsroom version we see here.

WKRP in Cincinnati Intro

NBC:  Little House on the Prairie, NBC Monday Night at the Movies

NBC Monday Night at the Movies Intro

BBC1:  Explorers of the Deep, Raintree County, World of Panorama

BBC2:  For Valour, The Waltons, T.J. Thorpe Sings Country, Inside Story, Best of Brass

That "Explorers of the Deep" sounds good; on this side of the pond we often see Jacques Cousteau featured on National Geographic specials.
Now then, we always love some good reading material. With that in mind, shall we investigate the offerings out now on the spinner racks?

As usual, there are plenty of temptations available. As summer is winding down, the Annuals still keep coming, and here's two good ones. The Avengers annual features a Bill Mantlo story with Don Newton artwork; a bit of a departure from the norm. Then there's the Amazing Spider-Man annual; a great Dr. Octopus tale with art by John Byrne! A favorite villain and a favorite penciller; that adds up to a must-buy. 

On the other hand, the new Howard the Duck magazine seems to have lost something. That something would be Steve Gerber, unfortunately...
Daredevil looks like another winner; Bullseye by Frank Miller. Can't beat that. 
DC has a big anniversary spectacular for Action Comics, telling Superman's life story as presented by Martin Pasko and Curt Swan. With a cool infinity cover, to boot. 
Also from DC, a new anthology called "Time Warp". Science fiction tales make up the content, appropriately enough, for this book. I'll definitely give this a try.
Speaking of time warps, it's time we wrap up this visit to the Bronze age. Thanks for joining us; and keep your eyes peeled for the next journey on the Retro; coming soon!

Chew the Fat: TV in Comics!

Redartz:  Every now and then, you may see comics appear on television. Not adaptations, but actual comics themselves. Conversely, sometimes you'll see television shows appear in comics.This is the root of our discussion today. 

I have assembled four examples for you today; four instances in which an actual  'real world' television program was an integral part of a comic story. All, incidentally, are very fun, lighthearted stories, and serve as a bit of a departure from the title's regular fare. So, let's turn on our four color screen and see what's on.


 
Action Comics 345- "The Day Candid Camera Unmasked Clark Kent's Identity"
This is an amusing story, a bit far-fetched (it is, after all, a Weisinger era Superman story). In brief, the popular 60's CBS show "Candid Camera" is doing prank stunts on the Daily Planet staff. Host Allen Funt inadvertently catches Clark Kent in mid-switch to his Superman costume, and fears he's exposed the Big Secret. But never fear, Supes had overheard the plans with his super hearing, and at superspeed went to a costume shop and added a pair of Batman pants to his costume. He then gave a rather lame explanation of how he was turning the tables on Funt and the show. Silly, yes, but a charming bit of 60's pop.






 





Josie and the Pussycats 50: "  Quiet on the Set"
You all know Josie and her band from the classic 70's Saturday morning cartoon. Well, they first appeared in comics. In this issue, the group travels to California to visit Hanna Barbera studios, to see how they're about to become tv stars. In the course of their visit, they tour the studio, Alexandra causes her usual mischief, and the band actually meet Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera. And of course the girls make a point of concluding the tale with a plug for the show...

Marvel Team-Up 74:  "Live From New York...It's Saturday Night"
In which Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson  score tickets to NBC's "Saturday Night Live". The truly brilliant original cast of the show make appearances, as do Stan Lee (invited) and the Silver Samurai (uninvited). And, you get Garrett Morris as Thor. Run, do not walk, to your nearest back issue dealer.









 



Avengers 239:  "Late Night of the Super Stars"
Former Avenger Simon (Wonder Man) Williams calls upon the Avengers to help his acting career with an appearance on "Light Night With David Letterman". Most of the team are unavailable, though, so Hawkeye, Beast, Black Panther and Black Widow join Simon on the show. Unfortunately, Avengers nuisance Fabian Stankowitz crashes the show. Oh, and David Letterman helps save
 the day. 









Four comics, four shows, four fun crossovers. Can you think of some others? These were all comedies, as well- have there been any dramatic tv/comic mixups? Perhaps you have a great idea for one of these stories. What character or characters would make an interesting appearance on what program? Pull out all the stops and give us your wildest concepts...

 

Riding the Retro Metro: Thursday November 9, 1972!

Redartz:  Greetings, and welcome once again to another excursion back in time on the Retro Metro! For today's trip we are returning back to the earlier Bronze age, back to November 1972. We woke up this morning to news that Richard Nixon was re-elected to the U.S. Presidency in a landslide. We note that East and West Germany have signed a treaty to normalize relations. But time for looking over the morning newspaper is over (although we do skim the comics quickly); the school bus is almost here.

Climbing on a grabbing a seat, we hear the current top song on the American Billboard Hot 100:  Johnny Nash, "I Can See Clearly Now". A great, optimistic tune that seems to be playing everywhere.

Rounding out the top five:

2. The Moody Blues, "Nights in White Satin"
3. Lobo, "I'd Love You to Want Me"
4. Curtis Mayfield, "Freddie's Dead (Theme from Superfly)"
5. The Spinners, "I'll Be Around"
 

The Spinners, "I'll Be Around"

I love that Moody Blues epic, some incredible symphonic rock there. Of course we usually only hear the short version on the radio. And that Spinners song is very cool, always good to hear it come on. Of course there are some other notable tunes on the top 40 right now:  Alice Cooper's "Elected" (amusingly timed with the US elections this week). America's "Ventura Highway" (another great tune from that new group).  Seals and Crofts "Summer Breeze" and The Temptations "Papa Was a Rolling Stone"- two more favorites; "Breeze" is mellow, and "Papa"packs a soulful wallop.

Tops in the UK:  Gilbert O'Sullivan, "Clair" 

Oh, but hey; it's Thursday, some great stuff on tv tonight! Let's check the listings...

U.S. Television Schedule:

 
ABC:  The Mod Squad, Kung Fu, The Streets of San Francisco

Kung Fu is a highlight of my week! Watching David Carradine as Kwai Chang Caine, wandering the West and spreading wisdom? Count me in. That show is unlike any other I've ever seen. It's hugely popular among those at our school.

 CBS:  The Waltons, CBS Thursday Night Movie

My folks never miss The Waltons, nor do many other folks. But my tastes at that hour run to NBC.

Flip Wilson

 


NBC:  The Flip Wilson Show, Ironside, The Dean Martin Show

Comedian Flip Wilson's variety show is cool, hilarious, and oriented a bit more towards younger folk than, say, Dean Martin's show. And Wilson often features big current musical guests. 









BBC1:  Tomorrow's World in Israel, Top of the  Pops, Sykes Ankle, One Man's China, Colditz, Monty Python's Flying Circus, Midweek

BBC2:  Europa, War and Peace, Backstage, Horizon, Thirty Minute Theatre, Paul Williams

A big "thank you" to the UK, and to public television (PBS) here in the states for 'Monty Python". My cousin turned me on to the show, and now I devour each wild episode. Eric Idle, John Cleese, Michael Palin and the whole crew faithfully deliver a half hour of sheer madness. It's great for the soul and spirit!

Turning our attention now to the printed element of our pop cultural triumvirate, let's see what's out on the spinner racks:

 At this point, I'm pretty much buying humor books, but I got that Archie at Riverdale High issue, and Barney and Betty Rubble. I notice the cool photo cover on Action comics, and that Marvel Team-up features two eternally popular characters. But for now I pass on them (but in about two more years, I'll be frantically hunting them down- oh, if I'd only had the foresight). 

But what about you? How many of these did you grab up? Were you a Kung Fu-natic, or did other shows get your patronage? What were your memories of '72; and if you were too young, what looks (looked?) good to you now?  Let us all in on it; and be sure to 'stay tuned' for the next episode of "Retro Metro"; coming soon!


closing

Chew the Fat: The Greatest Two-part Stories...

Redartz:  Some time back, we ran a post asking for suggested topics. Many of you gave us some great ideas, some of which have appeared, some are still upcoming. Today's post is a result of the great suggestion from frequent commenter William, who put forth "Two Part Stories". An excellent topic; thank you William! Two part stories are much less common in comics today, but once were pretty common. They were appealing because they gave you a cliffhanger to get you back next month, but didn't require a six-month investment of time and fortune. And you can fit both parts of the story in one comic bag!

Now let's consider some of those two issue epics. For my part in today's discussion, I'll stick with Bronze age books, but don't feel you have to do so. Additionally, I'll leave aside some obvious choices ("Death of Gwen Stacy", "Joker's Laughing Fish"). Instead, here are a few personal favorites that might be less commonly mentioned. My choices:

 


Avengers 127 -  Fantastic Four 150, the wedding of Crystal and Quicksilver. Steve Englehart, Sal Buscema and Joe Staton started it; Gerry Conway, Rich Buckler and Joe Sinnott finished it. Featuring Ultron , the Inhumans and loads of heroes, it's a showcase for crossover cooperation. Great art in both books, and the story moves beautifully from one team to the other.

 

Conan the Barbarian 43 - 44, "Tower of Blood". Roy Thomas, John Buscema, Ernie Chan and the Crusty Bunkers give us a great Conan/Red Sonja team up. A creepy story which actually features Conan put to stud service. Don't ask; just read it. 








 






Detective Comics 478 - 479, " The Coming of Clayface III". Immediately following the classic Joker story , Steve Englehart, Marshall Rogers and Dick Giordano produce another fine tale. We meet the new Clayface, in  a story both horrific and tragic.

Avengers 170 - 171, The Bride of Ultron. An easy pick, with Jim Shooter, George Perez and Pablo Marcos at the top of their game. A dynamite story, fantastic art, excellent covers, it doesn't get much better than this.

Amazing Spider-Man 145 - 146, featuring the Scorpion and the Jackal. Served up by Gerry Conway, Ross Andru, Frank Giacoia, Dave Hunt and John Romita Sr. It takes place right in the middle of the first Spidey clone saga, and has all the elements that make the web-slinger so great: cool villains, supporting cast drama, and some humor- we get to see Aunt May lecture the Scorpion! Plus issue 146 had some guest inks by Romita, always a special treat.

Action Comics 545 -546, with the new Braniac. Marv Wolfman and Gil Kane were nicely handling the Man of Steel, with a solid, character-driven approach and good Kane artwork. This story had Superman faced with the threat of the recently updated Braniac, and calling in some help from the Justice League and the Teen Titans. 

Fantastic Four 280-281, inroducing Malice. John Byrne and Jerry Ordway give us a whole new look at Susan Storm Richards. Some may not be fond of this story, but I found it fascinating; and helped bring a welcome new strength (and new name) to the Invisible Woman. Loved She-Hulk's dawning realization of Malice's actual identity, and Sue's use of new applications of her force field.












There you have it, a few choice tales from my stack of faves. Now you get to pick your fondly remembered twin tellings. Come on, don't leave us hanging...