Martinex1: Back in September of 1967 (50 years ago - wow!), The Superman / Aquaman Hour of Adventure aired on the CBS television network on Saturday mornings. The hour-long Filmation produced show was a reverent take on the classic DC characters.
It may seem strange to us today that Aquaman was a co-headliner for DC's premiere comic book cartoon, but he was quite popular back in the day. Aquaman, Mera, and Aqualad starred in 36 episodes including "Menace of the Black Manta," "The Crimson Monster from the Pink Pool," and "The War of the Quatix and the Bimphars."
While those titles are enough to get me interested, what I find even more fascinating is that the series had back-up features that starred some of my favorite DC characters. - Teen Titans, Hawkman, Flash and Kid Flash, the Atom, Green Lantern, as well as the Justice League of America. Batman and Robin, however, were nowhere to be seen as the characters were under contractual control with a rival network because of the ongoing live-action classic Batman.
These rarely discussed gems, feature the voice talent of Bud Collyer, who voiced Superman on the radio serial and continued here, Ted Knight who would later become famous on The Mary Tyler Moore Show as a consistent and strong voiced narrator, and Paul Frees the cartoon voice legend taking on the Guardians of the Universe and Evil Star. Pat Harrington, Jr. who would much later play Schneider on One Day at a Time voiced the Atom and Speedy.
Some of the episodes were penned by Bob Haney and George Kashdan, who added some kooky stories and twists to the tales. Mort Weisinger, the famed Superman editor, also edited some scripts featuring the man of steel.
It was great to see the premiere heroic team actually referred to as the Justice League of America rather than the Super-Friends as I had known them in the 1970s. Check out the Justice League intro below, but be aware that the flashing lights and changing colors can be a bit irritating. The animation while still simple was a step above the Marvel Super-Hero concept that first appeared on TV a year earlier.
It was great to see the premiere heroic team actually referred to as the Justice League of America rather than the Super-Friends as I had known them in the 1970s. Check out the Justice League intro below, but be aware that the flashing lights and changing colors can be a bit irritating. The animation while still simple was a step above the Marvel Super-Hero concept that first appeared on TV a year earlier.
I honestly did not know that some of these shorts existed until recently but I really enjoy their nostalgic air and faithfulness to the concepts despite their wackiness, so let me share a few with you here. Enjoy the late 1960's sentimentality and action, and please share your comments.
