Joseph Baneth Allen's Blog, page 53
September 22, 2023
They Live
Just finished watching "John Carpenter's They Live" released by Universal Studios back in 1988.
"They Live" is rather a curious movie that is based on the short story "Eight O'Clock In The Morning" by science-fiction writer and cartoonist Radell Faraday Nelson, who also created the iconic propeller beanie cap, and Carpenter's own disdain of authority - unless it's his own as a director and parent - and President Ronald Reagan. Watch the interview with Carpenter where he declares that he was inspired to write this movie over his hatred of Trickle Down Economics and President Reagan.
I can't help but wonder who Carpenter would incorporate Cancel Culture on Social Media if he made "They Live" today. I had previously seen bits and pieces of it on old fashioned cable television over the years.
To summarize "The Live": In the present Los Angeles, an unnamed drifter who goes by the name John Nada, goes looking for work at an employment agency without any success. He finally walks to a construction site and gets hired. After work on his first day, he meets Frank Armitage. Armitage invites him to join him at his shelter. Armitage has a family that he was forced to leave and now lives at an abandoned site that serves as a homeless shelter of sorts. The site's leader is a man named Gilbert. From time to time, the television set that the shelter occupants are watching has the signal broken into. The signal, that doesn't last long, seems to be a warning about the population being controlled. The next day, Nada follows Gilbert to a nearby church. He discovers a secret meeting and discretely listens to a meeting while a recording of church music plays. While in an unoccupied room, Nada discovers a batch of sunglasses that are being manufactured for an unknown reason. A blind preacher from the shelter walks in on him and Nada leaves. That evening the police raid the area. They cause a lot of destruction and beat on the locals. Nada gets away unharmed and returns the next morning. He goes back to the church and goes to a secret room he discovered by accident the day before. He takes a box of from the room. He goes downtown and walks down a deserted alley and opens the box to discover that it is filled with sunglasses. He takes one pair and hides the box in a garbage can. Once Nada gets to a major street he puts the glasses on and discovers that he can only see in black & white. He notices that every single sign as well books, magazines and even money, have a slogan in place of what is seen without the glasses. They are all messages that seem to be orders of some sort, such as 'obey', 'consume', 'submit', 'sleep', etc. Nada also notices that some people have a face that looks 'skeletal' or alien in appearance. Nada wanders around and becomes indignant toward what he is seeing An alien disguised as an old woman, alerts the police to Nada via her wristwatch. The police chase Nada but he disables a couple of cops and takes their guns. He goes to a bank and starts firing on aliens. He leaves the bank and is pursued by alien drones and cops. He meets a woman, Holly Thompson, in a car garage and takes her hostage. He has her drive them both to her home.At her home, Holly, tells Nada that she is a program director for a television studio. Nada is exhausted and wants to rest. He tries to get Holly to put on the glasses but she doesn't. She then hits him over the head with a bottle and pushes him out off her balcony and calls the cops. Nada dropped the glasses at Holly's home and he makes his way back to the construction site. Frank tells him to get lost and Nada works his way back to the alley where he left the box. Once there, he gets the glasses and Frank shows up. Frank is showing pity on Nada and gives him money and tells him to leave him alone. Nada unsuccessfully tries to convince Frank to put on the sunglasses. He refuses and a massive brawl takes place between the two. After it is over, Frank finally puts on the glasses and understands what is happening. Frank and Nada make their way to a hotel. While staying there, one day, Gilbert shows up. He tells them about a meeting that is taking place that evening. At the meeting of the human resistance, Frank and Nada are given contact lenses to replace their glasses. They learn that there are humans who have sided with the aliens for money. The aliens treat Earth as if it is a 'third world' country. They want the Earth to suffer from global warming in order to make the planet closer to the alien homeworld. While there, Nada meets Holly. Holly apologizes for her behavior at her home. The police raid the resistance safe house. Nada and Frank escape and Holly apparently gets away as well. While cornered in an alley, Frank and Nada use an alien wristwatch to open up a portal. They escape to an underground tunnel. There, they find a political dinner of sorts for the aliens. They encounter one of citizens of the homeless shelter who has gone over to the aliens. He shows them around the facility. Eventually he brings them to the television studio where the alien signal originates. Frank and Nada start blasting away and eventually come across Holly. The three continue battling their way up to the roof of the building they are in. While Nada isn't looking, Holly kills Frank. Nada reaches the transmitter on the roof. Nada takes his gun and aims at the transmitter and Holly stops him by pointing a gun at him. Nada drops his gun but pulls out a hidden gun and kills Hollly. He then destroys the transmitter as a group of helicopters gun him down. As he lies dying, Nada gives the aliens the finger. Now all over the world, the alien cover is gone. Everyone can now see the aliens.
And I'm probably going to get in trouble for these two observations - the musical theme and score, co-written by Carpenter, has a weird porn movie vibe to it and there is a rather strange homoerotic undertone between Nada and Armitage the runs throughout the movie. Oh yes, since "They Live" was released in 1988, don't expect to see blood splattering from bullet ridden bodies - the R-rating is more due to the last scene in the movie where a topless woman finds out that the "man" she's having sex with is an alien.
"They Live" is a bit dated, but it still holds up well.
Recommended.
Four Stars.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...
"They Live" is rather a curious movie that is based on the short story "Eight O'Clock In The Morning" by science-fiction writer and cartoonist Radell Faraday Nelson, who also created the iconic propeller beanie cap, and Carpenter's own disdain of authority - unless it's his own as a director and parent - and President Ronald Reagan. Watch the interview with Carpenter where he declares that he was inspired to write this movie over his hatred of Trickle Down Economics and President Reagan.
I can't help but wonder who Carpenter would incorporate Cancel Culture on Social Media if he made "They Live" today. I had previously seen bits and pieces of it on old fashioned cable television over the years.
To summarize "The Live": In the present Los Angeles, an unnamed drifter who goes by the name John Nada, goes looking for work at an employment agency without any success. He finally walks to a construction site and gets hired. After work on his first day, he meets Frank Armitage. Armitage invites him to join him at his shelter. Armitage has a family that he was forced to leave and now lives at an abandoned site that serves as a homeless shelter of sorts. The site's leader is a man named Gilbert. From time to time, the television set that the shelter occupants are watching has the signal broken into. The signal, that doesn't last long, seems to be a warning about the population being controlled. The next day, Nada follows Gilbert to a nearby church. He discovers a secret meeting and discretely listens to a meeting while a recording of church music plays. While in an unoccupied room, Nada discovers a batch of sunglasses that are being manufactured for an unknown reason. A blind preacher from the shelter walks in on him and Nada leaves. That evening the police raid the area. They cause a lot of destruction and beat on the locals. Nada gets away unharmed and returns the next morning. He goes back to the church and goes to a secret room he discovered by accident the day before. He takes a box of from the room. He goes downtown and walks down a deserted alley and opens the box to discover that it is filled with sunglasses. He takes one pair and hides the box in a garbage can. Once Nada gets to a major street he puts the glasses on and discovers that he can only see in black & white. He notices that every single sign as well books, magazines and even money, have a slogan in place of what is seen without the glasses. They are all messages that seem to be orders of some sort, such as 'obey', 'consume', 'submit', 'sleep', etc. Nada also notices that some people have a face that looks 'skeletal' or alien in appearance. Nada wanders around and becomes indignant toward what he is seeing An alien disguised as an old woman, alerts the police to Nada via her wristwatch. The police chase Nada but he disables a couple of cops and takes their guns. He goes to a bank and starts firing on aliens. He leaves the bank and is pursued by alien drones and cops. He meets a woman, Holly Thompson, in a car garage and takes her hostage. He has her drive them both to her home.At her home, Holly, tells Nada that she is a program director for a television studio. Nada is exhausted and wants to rest. He tries to get Holly to put on the glasses but she doesn't. She then hits him over the head with a bottle and pushes him out off her balcony and calls the cops. Nada dropped the glasses at Holly's home and he makes his way back to the construction site. Frank tells him to get lost and Nada works his way back to the alley where he left the box. Once there, he gets the glasses and Frank shows up. Frank is showing pity on Nada and gives him money and tells him to leave him alone. Nada unsuccessfully tries to convince Frank to put on the sunglasses. He refuses and a massive brawl takes place between the two. After it is over, Frank finally puts on the glasses and understands what is happening. Frank and Nada make their way to a hotel. While staying there, one day, Gilbert shows up. He tells them about a meeting that is taking place that evening. At the meeting of the human resistance, Frank and Nada are given contact lenses to replace their glasses. They learn that there are humans who have sided with the aliens for money. The aliens treat Earth as if it is a 'third world' country. They want the Earth to suffer from global warming in order to make the planet closer to the alien homeworld. While there, Nada meets Holly. Holly apologizes for her behavior at her home. The police raid the resistance safe house. Nada and Frank escape and Holly apparently gets away as well. While cornered in an alley, Frank and Nada use an alien wristwatch to open up a portal. They escape to an underground tunnel. There, they find a political dinner of sorts for the aliens. They encounter one of citizens of the homeless shelter who has gone over to the aliens. He shows them around the facility. Eventually he brings them to the television studio where the alien signal originates. Frank and Nada start blasting away and eventually come across Holly. The three continue battling their way up to the roof of the building they are in. While Nada isn't looking, Holly kills Frank. Nada reaches the transmitter on the roof. Nada takes his gun and aims at the transmitter and Holly stops him by pointing a gun at him. Nada drops his gun but pulls out a hidden gun and kills Hollly. He then destroys the transmitter as a group of helicopters gun him down. As he lies dying, Nada gives the aliens the finger. Now all over the world, the alien cover is gone. Everyone can now see the aliens.
And I'm probably going to get in trouble for these two observations - the musical theme and score, co-written by Carpenter, has a weird porn movie vibe to it and there is a rather strange homoerotic undertone between Nada and Armitage the runs throughout the movie. Oh yes, since "They Live" was released in 1988, don't expect to see blood splattering from bullet ridden bodies - the R-rating is more due to the last scene in the movie where a topless woman finds out that the "man" she's having sex with is an alien.
"They Live" is a bit dated, but it still holds up well.
Recommended.
Four Stars.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...
September 18, 2023
The Deepest Map - The High-Stakes Race To Chart The World's Oceans
Just finished reading "The Deepest Map - The High-Stakes Race To Chart The World's Oceans" by Laura Trethewey, published by Harper Wave.
Mention the ocean and most people will automatically think of the copious amounts of waves that crash against the shoreline of a beach somewhere in the world without giving much thought to the landscape beneath the waves. So it shouldn't be surprising that only under slightly 20-percent of topography of the world's oceans has been mapped to any degree of reliable certainty , and even the deepest point measured, the Challenger Deep may not exactly be the deepest point on the planet. Humanity really does know less about the planet's oceans and we know more about the surfaces of the Moon, Mars, Venus, Titan, Ceres, and a few other asteroids and comets.
Even through there is a global goal of mapping the world's oceans by 2030, it's unlikely that particular goal will be met.
Yet, while Trethewey is a strong advocate for protecting and exploring oceans, she doesn't exactly provide the scope and excitement of those scientists and explorers who are trying to expand the frontiers of the last unexplored regions on the planet. But she is able to provide some insight into the "closed, not for public group" that is responsible for naming ocean features that ironically is funded by governments, who are in turn funded by the public.
A good, solid, but too short accounting of the mapping the deep.
Recommended.
Four Stars.
https://www.amazon.com/Deepest-Map-Hi...
Mention the ocean and most people will automatically think of the copious amounts of waves that crash against the shoreline of a beach somewhere in the world without giving much thought to the landscape beneath the waves. So it shouldn't be surprising that only under slightly 20-percent of topography of the world's oceans has been mapped to any degree of reliable certainty , and even the deepest point measured, the Challenger Deep may not exactly be the deepest point on the planet. Humanity really does know less about the planet's oceans and we know more about the surfaces of the Moon, Mars, Venus, Titan, Ceres, and a few other asteroids and comets.
Even through there is a global goal of mapping the world's oceans by 2030, it's unlikely that particular goal will be met.
Yet, while Trethewey is a strong advocate for protecting and exploring oceans, she doesn't exactly provide the scope and excitement of those scientists and explorers who are trying to expand the frontiers of the last unexplored regions on the planet. But she is able to provide some insight into the "closed, not for public group" that is responsible for naming ocean features that ironically is funded by governments, who are in turn funded by the public.
A good, solid, but too short accounting of the mapping the deep.
Recommended.
Four Stars.
https://www.amazon.com/Deepest-Map-Hi...
The Case of the Horrible Swamp Monster
Just finished reading "The Case of the Horrible Swamp Monster" by Drew Steven, published by Dodd, Mead, & Company back in 1984.
I stumbled across "The Case of the Horrible Swamp Monster" at the unnamed bookstore at the Pecan Park Flea Market a while back ago and it looked like it would be an enjoyable read.
I am not a snob who believe in only reading "age" appropriate books.
"The Case of the Horrible Swamp Monster" is the first book in Stevenson's Monster Hunters series - which sadly only includes two other books in the series.
Raymond Almond knows that his class project isn't going to go well when he finds out that bossy Verna Wilkes is in his group. Verna convinces the group that their project should be a movie because her father recently gave her a movie camera. What makes it bad is that she insists that it should be a monster movie and that Raymond should play the part of the monster. Raymond is embarrassed about having to stumble around the spooky Lost Swamp in the ridiculous monster costume, but he puts aside his embarrassment when what looks like a real swamp monster appears in the background of the footage. Fortunately, Raymond's best friend is J. Huntley English, an intelligent boy and amateur cryptozoologist (or Monster Hunter, as he likes to put it). When Raymond and Verna tell Huntley what they've seen, he's quick to join in the investigation, eager to discover proof of a real monster. The course of their investigation takes a strange turn when friendly Mr. Walton, who works as a janitor at the same bank where Huntley and Verna's mothers work, is arrested for stealing money. The kids refuse to believe that he's guilty and soon learn that there is a connection between the thefts and the mysterious monster and possibly the strange fisherman who has also been lurking around the swamp.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS!
https://www.amazon.com/Case-Horrible-...
I stumbled across "The Case of the Horrible Swamp Monster" at the unnamed bookstore at the Pecan Park Flea Market a while back ago and it looked like it would be an enjoyable read.
I am not a snob who believe in only reading "age" appropriate books.
"The Case of the Horrible Swamp Monster" is the first book in Stevenson's Monster Hunters series - which sadly only includes two other books in the series.
Raymond Almond knows that his class project isn't going to go well when he finds out that bossy Verna Wilkes is in his group. Verna convinces the group that their project should be a movie because her father recently gave her a movie camera. What makes it bad is that she insists that it should be a monster movie and that Raymond should play the part of the monster. Raymond is embarrassed about having to stumble around the spooky Lost Swamp in the ridiculous monster costume, but he puts aside his embarrassment when what looks like a real swamp monster appears in the background of the footage. Fortunately, Raymond's best friend is J. Huntley English, an intelligent boy and amateur cryptozoologist (or Monster Hunter, as he likes to put it). When Raymond and Verna tell Huntley what they've seen, he's quick to join in the investigation, eager to discover proof of a real monster. The course of their investigation takes a strange turn when friendly Mr. Walton, who works as a janitor at the same bank where Huntley and Verna's mothers work, is arrested for stealing money. The kids refuse to believe that he's guilty and soon learn that there is a connection between the thefts and the mysterious monster and possibly the strange fisherman who has also been lurking around the swamp.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS!
https://www.amazon.com/Case-Horrible-...
The Spider #92 - The Devil's Paymaster
Just finished listening to "The Spider #92 - The Devil's Paymaster" by Norvell W. Page writing as Grant Stockbridge, released by Radio Archives.
Now as frequent readers of my reviews here on Facebook, Goodreads, and other social media platforms know, I always admit when I have a connection to the book, movie, music CD, and/or audio drama that I am reviewing. I have previously written some end-notes for Radio Archives on a few of the collections that they have released; and while we have never met and/or talked in person, I am friends with Nick Santa Maria here on Facebook an I think we may have exchanged a few messages over the past 20-some odd years. I am a firm believer in full transparency when applicable.
Grant Stockbridge was the corporate owned pen name for Norvell W. Page and the other writers who chronicled the adventures of The Spider during the Golden Age of Pulp - though it was page who wrote a majority of The Spider's adventures before and after his "breakdown."
There is no doubt that The Spider, a.k.a. Richard Wentworth, is a psychotic serial killer who only kills those criminals who threaten humanity. Think of him as Dexter and the Punisher rolled into one neat disturbing package. His only "superpowers," if you want to call them that, is his overwhelming will which drives him to destroy criminal activity and his commanding voice, which makes him "The Master of Men." Interestingly enough, Wentworth began his crusade against crime when he killed the man who was blacking mailing his mentor Professor Brownlee, though what the professor was being blackmailed for is never discussed and after his death, his son is introduced and has a few adventures with The Spider before presumably settling down to marry a princess. It was Professor Brownlee who created the Seal of The Spider out of his gratitude to Wentworth, along with creating The Spider's Web.
The Spider does not have a Trophy Room of mementos from the criminals he's killed "for the good of humanity." He does mark his victims with the Crimson Seal of The Spider as a warning to other criminals.
What is curious about this outing of The Spider is that it rather accurately predicts and predates the use of directed radioactivity for targeted assassinations. When nine people mysteriously die from unknown causes in New York City, it catches the attention of Richard Wentworth who soon finds himself racing to find the link between the victims and the unknown person who is delivering death in the guise of a man who supposedly drowned at sea. But is it revenge against a wrongful death or is it something more sinister?
Another tense, taunt tale of The Spider.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS!
https://www.radioarchives.com/The_Spi...
Now as frequent readers of my reviews here on Facebook, Goodreads, and other social media platforms know, I always admit when I have a connection to the book, movie, music CD, and/or audio drama that I am reviewing. I have previously written some end-notes for Radio Archives on a few of the collections that they have released; and while we have never met and/or talked in person, I am friends with Nick Santa Maria here on Facebook an I think we may have exchanged a few messages over the past 20-some odd years. I am a firm believer in full transparency when applicable.
Grant Stockbridge was the corporate owned pen name for Norvell W. Page and the other writers who chronicled the adventures of The Spider during the Golden Age of Pulp - though it was page who wrote a majority of The Spider's adventures before and after his "breakdown."
There is no doubt that The Spider, a.k.a. Richard Wentworth, is a psychotic serial killer who only kills those criminals who threaten humanity. Think of him as Dexter and the Punisher rolled into one neat disturbing package. His only "superpowers," if you want to call them that, is his overwhelming will which drives him to destroy criminal activity and his commanding voice, which makes him "The Master of Men." Interestingly enough, Wentworth began his crusade against crime when he killed the man who was blacking mailing his mentor Professor Brownlee, though what the professor was being blackmailed for is never discussed and after his death, his son is introduced and has a few adventures with The Spider before presumably settling down to marry a princess. It was Professor Brownlee who created the Seal of The Spider out of his gratitude to Wentworth, along with creating The Spider's Web.
The Spider does not have a Trophy Room of mementos from the criminals he's killed "for the good of humanity." He does mark his victims with the Crimson Seal of The Spider as a warning to other criminals.
What is curious about this outing of The Spider is that it rather accurately predicts and predates the use of directed radioactivity for targeted assassinations. When nine people mysteriously die from unknown causes in New York City, it catches the attention of Richard Wentworth who soon finds himself racing to find the link between the victims and the unknown person who is delivering death in the guise of a man who supposedly drowned at sea. But is it revenge against a wrongful death or is it something more sinister?
Another tense, taunt tale of The Spider.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS!
https://www.radioarchives.com/The_Spi...
The Spider #92 - The Devil's Paymaster
Just finished listening to "The Spider #92 - The Devil's Paymaster" by Norvell W. Page writing as Grant Stockbridge, released by Radio Archives.
Now as frequent readers of my reviews here on Facebook, Goodreads, and other social media platforms know, I always admit when I have a connection to the book, movie, music CD, and/or audio drama that I am reviewing. I have previously written some end-notes for Radio Archives on a few of the collections that they have released; and while we have never met and/or talked in person, I am friends with Nick Santa Maria here on Facebook an I think we may have exchanged a few messages over the past 20-some odd years. I am a firm believer in full transparency when applicable.
Grant Stockbridge was the corporate owned pen name for Norvell W. Page and the other writers who chronicled the adventures of The Spider during the Golden Age of Pulp - though it was page who wrote a majority of The Spider's adventures before and after his "breakdown."
There is no doubt that The Spider, a.k.a. Richard Wentworth, is a psychotic serial killer who only kills those criminals who threaten humanity. Think of him as Dexter and the Punisher rolled into one neat disturbing package. His only "superpowers," if you want to call them that, is his overwhelming will which drives him to destroy criminal activity and his commanding voice, which makes him "The Master of Men." Interestingly enough, Wentworth began his crusade against crime when he killed the man who was blacking mailing his mentor Professor Brownlee, though what the professor was being blackmailed for is never discussed and after his death, his son is introduced and has a few adventures with The Spider before presumably settling down to marry a princess. It was Professor Brownlee who created the Seal of The Spider out of his gratitude to Wentworth, along with creating The Spider's Web.
The Spider does not have a Trophy Room of mementos from the criminals he's killed "for the good of humanity." He does mark his victims with the Crimson Seal of The Spider as a warning to other criminals.
What is curious about this outing of The Spider is that it rather accurately predicts and predates the use of directed radioactivity for targeted assassinations. When nine people mysteriously die from unknown causes in New York City, it catches the attention of Richard Wentworth who soon finds himself racing to find the link between the victims and the unknown person who is delivering death in the guise of a man who supposedly drowned at sea. But is it revenge against a wrongful death or is it something more sinister?
Another tense, taunt tale of The Spider.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS!
https://www.radioarchives.com/The_Spi...
Now as frequent readers of my reviews here on Facebook, Goodreads, and other social media platforms know, I always admit when I have a connection to the book, movie, music CD, and/or audio drama that I am reviewing. I have previously written some end-notes for Radio Archives on a few of the collections that they have released; and while we have never met and/or talked in person, I am friends with Nick Santa Maria here on Facebook an I think we may have exchanged a few messages over the past 20-some odd years. I am a firm believer in full transparency when applicable.
Grant Stockbridge was the corporate owned pen name for Norvell W. Page and the other writers who chronicled the adventures of The Spider during the Golden Age of Pulp - though it was page who wrote a majority of The Spider's adventures before and after his "breakdown."
There is no doubt that The Spider, a.k.a. Richard Wentworth, is a psychotic serial killer who only kills those criminals who threaten humanity. Think of him as Dexter and the Punisher rolled into one neat disturbing package. His only "superpowers," if you want to call them that, is his overwhelming will which drives him to destroy criminal activity and his commanding voice, which makes him "The Master of Men." Interestingly enough, Wentworth began his crusade against crime when he killed the man who was blacking mailing his mentor Professor Brownlee, though what the professor was being blackmailed for is never discussed and after his death, his son is introduced and has a few adventures with The Spider before presumably settling down to marry a princess. It was Professor Brownlee who created the Seal of The Spider out of his gratitude to Wentworth, along with creating The Spider's Web.
The Spider does not have a Trophy Room of mementos from the criminals he's killed "for the good of humanity." He does mark his victims with the Crimson Seal of The Spider as a warning to other criminals.
What is curious about this outing of The Spider is that it rather accurately predicts and predates the use of directed radioactivity for targeted assassinations. When nine people mysteriously die from unknown causes in New York City, it catches the attention of Richard Wentworth who soon finds himself racing to find the link between the victims and the unknown person who is delivering death in the guise of a man who supposedly drowned at sea. But is it revenge against a wrongful death or is it something more sinister?
Another tense, taunt tale of The Spider.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS!
https://www.radioarchives.com/The_Spi...
Marvel - Avengers vs X-Men
Just finished listening to "Marvel - Avengers vs X-Men," adapted by Richard Rohan, and released by Graphic Audio back in 2018.
Confession time. While I have read a few issues of Marvel Comics over the decades, I haven't read any Marvel comic books - ironically back in the late 1960s and 1970s, Marvel comic books weren't really sold at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina and the surrounding communities in Onslow County. Gold Key, Harvey, DC, and oddly enough Vamperilla, Rook, Hunter, and Eerie Comics were the "acceptable" comics back then for that area.
Now GraphicAudio's previous adaptations of DC and Marvel graphic novels are long out-of-print. I originally purchased "Marvel - Avengers vs X-Men" when it was originally released by GraphicAudio back in 2013 - so yes, this was sitting in my anitlibrary, my tsundoku if you will of my audio CDs that I have yet to listen to.
Now while I haven't really read any Marvel Comics, I am familiar with the various mythologies in the Marvel Comic Universe so I could easily figure out what is gong on in a Marvel story.
Following the events of the House of M story line where the Scarlet Witch voiced the dreadful words "No more mutants" and caused a vast majority of mutants to loose their powers, Hope Summers, the granddaughter of Scott Summers is a mutant who was born in the future and sent to the past to be the mutant messiah - only she's not sure of her place and she's tired of people not listening to her. She is a prisoner in the island refuge of Utopia by her grandfather Scott Summers and the rest of her fellow mutants who expect her to contain and use the Phoenix Force which is cutting a deadly path through the universe on it's way to Earth.
As Hope struggles to find her place and voice in the scheme of things, her presence and the impending destruction heralded by the Phoenix Force ignites a desperate war between the Avengers and X-Me who want to use Hope and the Phoenix for their own purposes.
Perhaps one of the most annoying things is that this graphic novel was adapted in a bizarre combination of first person present singular tense and third person present tense. Once you can get past this odd choice of storytelling, it's an epic tale with awesome sound effects.
While it's unlikely that Disney will adapt the Avengers vs X-Men graphic novel to the big screen, this is a pretty good audio dramatization, despite the odd switching back and forth between tenses.
Strongly Recommended.
Four Stars.
https://www.amazon.com/Marvel-Avenger...
Confession time. While I have read a few issues of Marvel Comics over the decades, I haven't read any Marvel comic books - ironically back in the late 1960s and 1970s, Marvel comic books weren't really sold at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina and the surrounding communities in Onslow County. Gold Key, Harvey, DC, and oddly enough Vamperilla, Rook, Hunter, and Eerie Comics were the "acceptable" comics back then for that area.
Now GraphicAudio's previous adaptations of DC and Marvel graphic novels are long out-of-print. I originally purchased "Marvel - Avengers vs X-Men" when it was originally released by GraphicAudio back in 2013 - so yes, this was sitting in my anitlibrary, my tsundoku if you will of my audio CDs that I have yet to listen to.
Now while I haven't really read any Marvel Comics, I am familiar with the various mythologies in the Marvel Comic Universe so I could easily figure out what is gong on in a Marvel story.
Following the events of the House of M story line where the Scarlet Witch voiced the dreadful words "No more mutants" and caused a vast majority of mutants to loose their powers, Hope Summers, the granddaughter of Scott Summers is a mutant who was born in the future and sent to the past to be the mutant messiah - only she's not sure of her place and she's tired of people not listening to her. She is a prisoner in the island refuge of Utopia by her grandfather Scott Summers and the rest of her fellow mutants who expect her to contain and use the Phoenix Force which is cutting a deadly path through the universe on it's way to Earth.
As Hope struggles to find her place and voice in the scheme of things, her presence and the impending destruction heralded by the Phoenix Force ignites a desperate war between the Avengers and X-Me who want to use Hope and the Phoenix for their own purposes.
Perhaps one of the most annoying things is that this graphic novel was adapted in a bizarre combination of first person present singular tense and third person present tense. Once you can get past this odd choice of storytelling, it's an epic tale with awesome sound effects.
While it's unlikely that Disney will adapt the Avengers vs X-Men graphic novel to the big screen, this is a pretty good audio dramatization, despite the odd switching back and forth between tenses.
Strongly Recommended.
Four Stars.
https://www.amazon.com/Marvel-Avenger...
September 12, 2023
Dan Dare - The Audio Adventures - Volume One
Just finished listening to "Dan Dare - The Audio Adventures - Volume One" by B7 Media and released by Big Finish Productions.
I'm probably gong to cause somebody to go into a meltdown over this comparison, but Dan Dare, England's greatest space hero is about as well known here across the pond in the States as Germany's greatest space hero, the American astronaut Perry Rhodan.
While the nearly 3,000 book Perry Rhodan series is the longest running science fiction saga in history; and if I'm not mistaken, the longest continuous work of fiction in existence, it is known by science fiction fans here in the States thanks to the English translation of the first 118 books in the series published by ACE books in paperback in the late 1960s and early 1970s. There was an brief English language revival of the series in magazine format that lasted for a total of four issues in the early 2000s that picked up "The Bridge to Eternity" story arc.
Dan Dare is not as well known as Perry Rhodan.
Dan Dare has been described as "Biggles in Space" and as the British equivalent of Buck Rogers. His adventures - set in that distant futuristic decade of the 1990s.
Colonel Daniel McGregor Dare was chief pilot of the Interplanet Space Fleet. According to his fictional biography, he was born in Manchester, England, in 1967 and educated at Rossall School. Although not a super-hero, he sometimes pulled off exceptional piloting and often proved extraordinarily lucky. He excelled at jujitsu, but he most often found non-violent solutions to predicaments. He was bound by a sense of honor, never lied, and would rather die than break his word.
It was my cousin Hannah who mentioned Dan Dare once to me - she had tried to get me a Dan Dare annual, but settled on getting me a Doctor Who annual - my first British annual from World Distributors. Dan Dare's adventures were serialized in Eagle Magazine, which is/was a British comic magazine aimed primarily at young boys - GASP, oh that misogynistic decade of the 1950s!
Dan Dare's space adventures, based on the planetary science of that era, were extremely popular and took off including a radio series that lasted for five years on Radio Luxembourg.
For it's six episode series, "Dan Dare - The Audio Adventures - Volume One", B7 Media modernized Dan Dare and brought him and the science of his classic universe into the 21st Century - which can be a good or bad thing, depending on your point of view.
Orion Publishing did release a full cast audio adaptation of "Dan Dare - Pilot Of The Future - Voyage To Venus - Part 1" which stayed true to the original story by creator Frank Hampson, but sadly, part two was never produced by Orion Publishing.
B7 Media's first Dan Dare episode, "Voyage to Venus" introduces us to our hero and the other lead characters, sets up central conflicts and introduces Dare's iconic villain the Mekon. Dare is put through his paces as he has to prove himself to his three person crew. As he says, he's being put in command of two other people who believe they're on charge. And there are reasons to argue that Digby or Professor Peabody should be in charge. Dare's bouts of impulsiveness and lack of foresight can lead to problems, but by the end of the story, Dare is able to really earn the respect of his colleagues. It did irk me a bit that The Anastasia was not the product of human technical achievement.
In the second episode, "The Red Moon Mystery," Dan Dare and the crew of the Anastasia investigate a corporate operation on the moon that appears to have gone horribly wrong with Dan's estranged uncle at the forefront.
Finally, in "Marooned on Mercury," The Anastasia is forced down on Mercury by the forces of the Mekon and after receiving a distress call from their Venusian friend Sondar.
All episodes have a cinematic feel and there is a cliffhanger that will gets resolved hopefully in the next box set.
Purists are not gong to like the changes made to Dan Dare and his universe, and I do understand why B7 Media made the changes to the original Dan Dare stories in order to make them more believable to today's audience. Still, while I'm not a die-hard purists, sometimes updating comics and stories takes away what makes them special.
Highly Recommended!
Five Stars!
https://www.amazon.com/Dan-Dare-1-Ric...
I'm probably gong to cause somebody to go into a meltdown over this comparison, but Dan Dare, England's greatest space hero is about as well known here across the pond in the States as Germany's greatest space hero, the American astronaut Perry Rhodan.
While the nearly 3,000 book Perry Rhodan series is the longest running science fiction saga in history; and if I'm not mistaken, the longest continuous work of fiction in existence, it is known by science fiction fans here in the States thanks to the English translation of the first 118 books in the series published by ACE books in paperback in the late 1960s and early 1970s. There was an brief English language revival of the series in magazine format that lasted for a total of four issues in the early 2000s that picked up "The Bridge to Eternity" story arc.
Dan Dare is not as well known as Perry Rhodan.
Dan Dare has been described as "Biggles in Space" and as the British equivalent of Buck Rogers. His adventures - set in that distant futuristic decade of the 1990s.
Colonel Daniel McGregor Dare was chief pilot of the Interplanet Space Fleet. According to his fictional biography, he was born in Manchester, England, in 1967 and educated at Rossall School. Although not a super-hero, he sometimes pulled off exceptional piloting and often proved extraordinarily lucky. He excelled at jujitsu, but he most often found non-violent solutions to predicaments. He was bound by a sense of honor, never lied, and would rather die than break his word.
It was my cousin Hannah who mentioned Dan Dare once to me - she had tried to get me a Dan Dare annual, but settled on getting me a Doctor Who annual - my first British annual from World Distributors. Dan Dare's adventures were serialized in Eagle Magazine, which is/was a British comic magazine aimed primarily at young boys - GASP, oh that misogynistic decade of the 1950s!
Dan Dare's space adventures, based on the planetary science of that era, were extremely popular and took off including a radio series that lasted for five years on Radio Luxembourg.
For it's six episode series, "Dan Dare - The Audio Adventures - Volume One", B7 Media modernized Dan Dare and brought him and the science of his classic universe into the 21st Century - which can be a good or bad thing, depending on your point of view.
Orion Publishing did release a full cast audio adaptation of "Dan Dare - Pilot Of The Future - Voyage To Venus - Part 1" which stayed true to the original story by creator Frank Hampson, but sadly, part two was never produced by Orion Publishing.
B7 Media's first Dan Dare episode, "Voyage to Venus" introduces us to our hero and the other lead characters, sets up central conflicts and introduces Dare's iconic villain the Mekon. Dare is put through his paces as he has to prove himself to his three person crew. As he says, he's being put in command of two other people who believe they're on charge. And there are reasons to argue that Digby or Professor Peabody should be in charge. Dare's bouts of impulsiveness and lack of foresight can lead to problems, but by the end of the story, Dare is able to really earn the respect of his colleagues. It did irk me a bit that The Anastasia was not the product of human technical achievement.
In the second episode, "The Red Moon Mystery," Dan Dare and the crew of the Anastasia investigate a corporate operation on the moon that appears to have gone horribly wrong with Dan's estranged uncle at the forefront.
Finally, in "Marooned on Mercury," The Anastasia is forced down on Mercury by the forces of the Mekon and after receiving a distress call from their Venusian friend Sondar.
All episodes have a cinematic feel and there is a cliffhanger that will gets resolved hopefully in the next box set.
Purists are not gong to like the changes made to Dan Dare and his universe, and I do understand why B7 Media made the changes to the original Dan Dare stories in order to make them more believable to today's audience. Still, while I'm not a die-hard purists, sometimes updating comics and stories takes away what makes them special.
Highly Recommended!
Five Stars!
https://www.amazon.com/Dan-Dare-1-Ric...
September 10, 2023
Frankenstein, Jr. - The Menace Of The Heartless Monster
Just finished reading "Frankenstein, Jr. - The Menace Of The Heartless Monster" by Carl Fallberg, published by Whitman Books back in 1968 as part of their 2000-series of Big Little Books.
Whitman's 2000-series of Big Little Books was the last hardcover Big Little Books published by Whitman in the late 1960s.
While I don't recall if Mom every bought this Big Little Book for me, if she had, she would have bought it from the Roses Department Store in the New River Shopping Center in Jacksonville, North Carolina.
Big Little Books were usually sold in department stores, and not in regular bookstores, because they were marketed to department stores with large toy sections devoted to children that contained books and coloring books for children.
I got my reading copy of "Frankenstein, Jr. - The Menace Of The Heartless Monster" from eBay. As frequent readers of my reviews here on Facebook, Goodreads, and other social media platforms know, I believe that I was kicked out of the Big Little Book Club of America when I first reviewed a reading copy of a 2000-series Big Little Book. The reason why I think this is because I as blocked from the Big Little Book Club's Facebook page and I received a refund of the unused portion of my annual membership - keep in mind that this was several years ago.
I inherited my ability to remember every little wrong doing from both my Grandpa Allen and Grandfather Baneth - LOL! I'm not holding a grudge against the Big Little Book Club of America, but I'm still puzzled as to why reading a "reading" copy of a Big Little Book got me kicked out - as far as I know it didn't violate any membership rules.
Moving on, "Frankenstein, Jr." was an animated cartoon by animation powerhouse Hanna-Barbera in the late 1960s. It was aired as part of "The Impossibles/Frankenstein, Jr." show. There were several Big Little Books in the 2000 series that featured Hanna-Barbera characters like Space Ghost, Shazzan, and The Flintstones.
After a successful demonstration of their latest invention that allows matter to pass through a solid object, Professor Conroy and his son Buzz discover that their laboratory was robbed by the evil Dr. Spyopolis who stole all of Professor Conroy's plans - including the plans for Frankenstein, Jr. - the super robot who helps Buzz protect Central City. Soon Dr. Spyopolis has created another version of Frankenstein, Jr. that is evil and sets out to rob all the cash and hot dogs in Central City.
Great fun and what struck me most about this Big Little Book, along with all the other Big Little Books in the 2000 series that I have reviewed so far, is that the reading level is far, far above what I suspect is deemed the "acceptable" - sadly - grade/age reading level of many young children today.
GREAT FUN!
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS!
https://www.amazon.com/Hanna-Barberas...
Whitman's 2000-series of Big Little Books was the last hardcover Big Little Books published by Whitman in the late 1960s.
While I don't recall if Mom every bought this Big Little Book for me, if she had, she would have bought it from the Roses Department Store in the New River Shopping Center in Jacksonville, North Carolina.
Big Little Books were usually sold in department stores, and not in regular bookstores, because they were marketed to department stores with large toy sections devoted to children that contained books and coloring books for children.
I got my reading copy of "Frankenstein, Jr. - The Menace Of The Heartless Monster" from eBay. As frequent readers of my reviews here on Facebook, Goodreads, and other social media platforms know, I believe that I was kicked out of the Big Little Book Club of America when I first reviewed a reading copy of a 2000-series Big Little Book. The reason why I think this is because I as blocked from the Big Little Book Club's Facebook page and I received a refund of the unused portion of my annual membership - keep in mind that this was several years ago.
I inherited my ability to remember every little wrong doing from both my Grandpa Allen and Grandfather Baneth - LOL! I'm not holding a grudge against the Big Little Book Club of America, but I'm still puzzled as to why reading a "reading" copy of a Big Little Book got me kicked out - as far as I know it didn't violate any membership rules.
Moving on, "Frankenstein, Jr." was an animated cartoon by animation powerhouse Hanna-Barbera in the late 1960s. It was aired as part of "The Impossibles/Frankenstein, Jr." show. There were several Big Little Books in the 2000 series that featured Hanna-Barbera characters like Space Ghost, Shazzan, and The Flintstones.
After a successful demonstration of their latest invention that allows matter to pass through a solid object, Professor Conroy and his son Buzz discover that their laboratory was robbed by the evil Dr. Spyopolis who stole all of Professor Conroy's plans - including the plans for Frankenstein, Jr. - the super robot who helps Buzz protect Central City. Soon Dr. Spyopolis has created another version of Frankenstein, Jr. that is evil and sets out to rob all the cash and hot dogs in Central City.
Great fun and what struck me most about this Big Little Book, along with all the other Big Little Books in the 2000 series that I have reviewed so far, is that the reading level is far, far above what I suspect is deemed the "acceptable" - sadly - grade/age reading level of many young children today.
GREAT FUN!
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS!
https://www.amazon.com/Hanna-Barberas...
Many Things Under A Rock - The Mysteries of Octopuses
Just finished reading "Many Things Under A Rock - The Mysteries of Octopuses" by David Scheel, published by Norton.
Octopuses are fascinating denizens of the ocean deeps. They are primarily solitary creatures who build and who are capable of dreaming. Octopuses in captivity are also great escape artists. There are even some line of thoughts that octopuses represent a divergent line in evolution of life on Earth - even going as far to say that octopuses are examples of a life-form evolving extraterrestrial life brought to Earth from meteors.
Behavioral ecologist and marine biologist David Scheel guides readers through the underwater world of octopuses. He delves into topics as various as octopus anatomy, where to find different species, what they eat, behaviors, reproduction, and how current and future ocean conditions affect octopus populations. Scheel also explores about how octopuses sleep, their learning behaviors, and the rare octopus communities like Octopolis and Octlantis.
A great read about a fascinating ocean dweller.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS!
https://www.amazon.com/Many-Things-Un...
Octopuses are fascinating denizens of the ocean deeps. They are primarily solitary creatures who build and who are capable of dreaming. Octopuses in captivity are also great escape artists. There are even some line of thoughts that octopuses represent a divergent line in evolution of life on Earth - even going as far to say that octopuses are examples of a life-form evolving extraterrestrial life brought to Earth from meteors.
Behavioral ecologist and marine biologist David Scheel guides readers through the underwater world of octopuses. He delves into topics as various as octopus anatomy, where to find different species, what they eat, behaviors, reproduction, and how current and future ocean conditions affect octopus populations. Scheel also explores about how octopuses sleep, their learning behaviors, and the rare octopus communities like Octopolis and Octlantis.
A great read about a fascinating ocean dweller.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS!
https://www.amazon.com/Many-Things-Un...
September 8, 2023
The Spider #91 - Slaves of the Burning Blade
Just finished listening to "The Spider #91 - Slaves of the Burning Blade" by Grant Stockbridge, released by Radio Archives.
Now as frequent readers of my reviews here on Facebook, Goodreads, and other social media platforms know, I always admit when I have a connection to the book, movie, music CD, and/or audio drama that I am reviewing. I have previously written some end-notes for Radio Archives on a few of the collections that they have released; and while we have never met and/or talked in person, I am friends with Nick Santa Maria here on Facebook an I think we may have exchanged a few messages over the past 20-some odd years. I am a firm believer in full transparency when applicable.
Grant Stockbridge was the corporate owned pen name for Norvell W. Page and the other writers who chronicled the adventures of The Spider during the Golden Age of Pulp - though it was page who wrote a majority of The Spider's adventures before and after his "breakdown."
There is no doubt that The Spider, a.k.a. Richard Wentworth, is a psychotic serial killer who only kills those criminals who threaten humanity. Think of him as Dexter and the Punisher rolled into one neat disturbing package. His only "superpowers," if you want to call them that, is his overwhelming will which drives him to destroy criminal activity and his commanding voice, which makes him "The Master of Men." Interestingly enough, Wentworth began his crusade against crime when he killed the man who was blacking mailing his mentor Professor Brownlee, though what the professor was being blackmailed for is never discussed and after his death, his son is introduced and has a few adventures with The Spider before presumably settling down to marry a princess. It was Professor Brownlee who created the Seal of The Spider out of his gratitude to Wentworth, along with creating The Spider's Web.
The Spider does not have a Trophy Room of mementos from the criminals he's killed "for the good of humanity." He does mark his victims with the Crimson Seal of The Spider as a warning to other criminals.
"Slaves of the Burning Blade" is a rare outing of The Spider in Upstate New York - specially Sperryville where a mysterious European assassin known only as "The Knife" has kidnapped a young boy and his teacher in a plot to gain control over a munitions plant. There is also an outlaw justice group known as the Knights of Liberty who run around in black robes dispensing lethal justice that both Wentworth and Nita run afoul with.
I don't know if Page actually traveled to Sperryville to research the town and surrounding area. Nor could I find any reaction Sperryville might have had to being featured in a "lurid" pulp adventure - granted, I didn't do a deep dive into any rabbit holes.
What made "The Spider" an "acceptable" magazine during the Pulp Magazine Era is that while he did kill, he only killed criminals and he had a rigid moral code - he never killed police officers and he never killed innocent bystanders, though he was often blamed for those crimes. In the 1930s, writers could be imprisoned, fined and tried in court for writing what was considered obscene material - Edgar Rice Burroughs was arrested and tried in court for writing and publishing "Tarzan of the Apes" but he wasn't convicted. To the best of my knowledge, Page was not arrested for writing the adventures of The Spider. And yes, Page did cross the line on more than one occasion in The Spider novels he wrote, but it was the gritty realism of The Spider that made him a popular and dare I say, cult, pulp hero.
What also set The Spider apart from other "masked" heroes of the Pulp Era, is that it was a rather open secret who The Spider was.
Mom and Dad always enjoyed listening to each adventure of The Spider when it was released. I still have 27 more adventures of The Spider to listen to.
Nick Santa Maria does his usual bang-up, outstanding job in bringing The Spider and his crew to life.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS!
https://www.radioarchives.com/The_Spi...
Now as frequent readers of my reviews here on Facebook, Goodreads, and other social media platforms know, I always admit when I have a connection to the book, movie, music CD, and/or audio drama that I am reviewing. I have previously written some end-notes for Radio Archives on a few of the collections that they have released; and while we have never met and/or talked in person, I am friends with Nick Santa Maria here on Facebook an I think we may have exchanged a few messages over the past 20-some odd years. I am a firm believer in full transparency when applicable.
Grant Stockbridge was the corporate owned pen name for Norvell W. Page and the other writers who chronicled the adventures of The Spider during the Golden Age of Pulp - though it was page who wrote a majority of The Spider's adventures before and after his "breakdown."
There is no doubt that The Spider, a.k.a. Richard Wentworth, is a psychotic serial killer who only kills those criminals who threaten humanity. Think of him as Dexter and the Punisher rolled into one neat disturbing package. His only "superpowers," if you want to call them that, is his overwhelming will which drives him to destroy criminal activity and his commanding voice, which makes him "The Master of Men." Interestingly enough, Wentworth began his crusade against crime when he killed the man who was blacking mailing his mentor Professor Brownlee, though what the professor was being blackmailed for is never discussed and after his death, his son is introduced and has a few adventures with The Spider before presumably settling down to marry a princess. It was Professor Brownlee who created the Seal of The Spider out of his gratitude to Wentworth, along with creating The Spider's Web.
The Spider does not have a Trophy Room of mementos from the criminals he's killed "for the good of humanity." He does mark his victims with the Crimson Seal of The Spider as a warning to other criminals.
"Slaves of the Burning Blade" is a rare outing of The Spider in Upstate New York - specially Sperryville where a mysterious European assassin known only as "The Knife" has kidnapped a young boy and his teacher in a plot to gain control over a munitions plant. There is also an outlaw justice group known as the Knights of Liberty who run around in black robes dispensing lethal justice that both Wentworth and Nita run afoul with.
I don't know if Page actually traveled to Sperryville to research the town and surrounding area. Nor could I find any reaction Sperryville might have had to being featured in a "lurid" pulp adventure - granted, I didn't do a deep dive into any rabbit holes.
What made "The Spider" an "acceptable" magazine during the Pulp Magazine Era is that while he did kill, he only killed criminals and he had a rigid moral code - he never killed police officers and he never killed innocent bystanders, though he was often blamed for those crimes. In the 1930s, writers could be imprisoned, fined and tried in court for writing what was considered obscene material - Edgar Rice Burroughs was arrested and tried in court for writing and publishing "Tarzan of the Apes" but he wasn't convicted. To the best of my knowledge, Page was not arrested for writing the adventures of The Spider. And yes, Page did cross the line on more than one occasion in The Spider novels he wrote, but it was the gritty realism of The Spider that made him a popular and dare I say, cult, pulp hero.
What also set The Spider apart from other "masked" heroes of the Pulp Era, is that it was a rather open secret who The Spider was.
Mom and Dad always enjoyed listening to each adventure of The Spider when it was released. I still have 27 more adventures of The Spider to listen to.
Nick Santa Maria does his usual bang-up, outstanding job in bringing The Spider and his crew to life.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS!
https://www.radioarchives.com/The_Spi...
