Tagged: sequel

Robot Chicken Season Five

Reviews
November 5, 2011

As is the new habit in basic cable, the Cartoon Network split the current season of its hilarious Robot Chicken into two halves, airing the first part of the fifth season late last year and then, a few weeks ago kicking off the second season. Where they didn’t follow the script was releasing Robot Chicken Season 5 on DVD just days after the second half debuted October 23.

All 20 episodes are included and I am late in bringing this to your attention because I have been savoring the installments, catching up on what has aired, and working ahead. The show, from co-creators Seth Green and Matthew Senreich, available on Blu-ray and standard DVD in separate packages. And as has become their wont, there are hours of bonus features, some exclusive to the Blu-ray edition, which was not sent for review.

Last year, the show won a much-deserved Emmy Award for Outstanding Short-Format Animated Program and will likely be nominated again based on how much belly-laughing I did with the antics skewering pop culture celebrities, music, television and movies. You can watch mashups like Saving Private Gigli, Schindler’s Bucket List, and Casablankman (and its sequel, airing later this month), although my favorite title was Major League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

Extras include seven deleted scenes, over 50 deleted animatics with video introductions (always worth watching), selected episode commentary with the celebrity guests, an assortment of Behind the scenes featurettes and the funny On-air promotions. The Blu-ray also offers alternate audio takes from various sketches throughout the fifth season. DVD purchasers get an exclusive of their own: the ability to download an exclusive, uncensored version of the “Blue Rabbits” song.

Among the more amusing segments: Skeletor watches in horror when Snake Mountain is foreclosed on; Gargamel disguises himself as a Smurf; Major Nelson has Jeannie exactly delicious revenge when NASA fires him, NASA’s Lego people have a very bad launch day. One of my favorites was the war between the Keebler Elves and the Cookie Monster. Given my own recent roast, I can also appreciate the GI Joes’ attempt to spoil one for Cobra Commander.

You want guest stars in on the fun? How about, to name only some: Mila Kunis, Macaulay Culkin, Seth MacFarlane, Clare Grant, Michael Ian Black, Katee Sackhoff, Christian Slater, Michelle Trachtenberg, Abraham Benrubi, Alyson Hannigan, Skeet Ulrich, Olivia Munn, Alan Tudyk, the great Frank Welker, Lea Thompson, Emma Stone, Diablo Cody, Josh Groban, Mark Hamill, Sean Astin, Donald Faison, Amy Smart, the wondrous Adrianne Palicki, Jennifer Lawrence, January Jones, Kevin Bacon, Naomi Watts, Andy Serkis, and, in his final role before an untimely death, Gary Coleman.

ComicMix readers will definitely want to see Geoff Johns’ take on the DC Universe in an extended segment that has yet to air. Additionally, there’s the issue of who’s faster: Superman or Santa Claus and more recently a pretty funny bit between Green Lantern and Sinestro.

While most of the Adult Swim is not aimed at me (or I find particularly entertaining or funny), this is brilliant, knowing humor that I adore and so should you.

Juxtaposition: Two Books for Younger Readers with Words & Pictures

Reviews
October 20, 2011

Sometimes words and pictures come together in the same story. There’s more than one way of accomplishing this — comics is the most obvious, with the story told in a sequence of pictures and text (captions and/or dialogue), but there are other options — and books for pre-adults have typically made more use of pictures than those in the more adult portions of the library.

Remember: adults are dull and staid, and must not be upset or disconcerted by mere pictures in their very, very serious books. Children are more mentally flexible, and can handle the shock of the pictorial.

Teens are somewhere in between: they usually want to be adults, but they’re still young enough to question that dull stolidity, and still, sometimes, will gravitate to books with pictures in them. The two books I have in front of me today were published to be read by pre-adults of various ages — though I think the first had an older expected reader-age than the latter — and they’re chock-full of pictures. In fact, both of them are stories told through and about their pictures, in different ways — and, more interestingly from my point of view, neither of these books use the language and techniques of comics. They both use pictures as part of their storytelling, but come at it from different traditions, and don’t tell their stories from image-to-image the way that comics do.

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children is the more conventional of the two books; it’s a novel by Ransom Riggs (his first), illustrated by a sequence of real, mostly unaltered vintage photographs. (Riggs is clear about the “mostly unaltered” stipulation, since some of these are quite odd photographs, as with the cover shot, showing a hard-faced girl standing rigidly still a foot off the ground.) Those photos are part of the story in the most basic, literal way — every so often, a character talks about looking at a photograph, and then, lo! the actual photo appears on the next page.

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“Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides”

Reviews
October 18, 2011

There have been few original characters created for the screen in the last decade that have been memorable enough to be welcomed back for at least an encore. The exception could well be Captain Jack Sparrow, with Johnny Depp taking the stereotypical pirate imagery and turning it on its head with a madcap performance that is brilliant. I still delight in the first film which had yet to be crusted with barnacles of backstory, mythology, and larger-than-life special effects. Its unexpected success required those to be affixed to the Black Pearl for the sequel and then it became a trilogy. Screenwriters Terry Rossio and Ted Elliott were required to go back and fill in the gaps they unwittingly created, resulting in a somewhat convoluted mess.

The third film in the [[[Pirates of the Caribbean]]] series, At World’s End, nicely tied off several threads and gave Elizabeth Swann and Will Turner a bittersweet ending to their story. Freed from complications created in the bloated trilogy, Rossio and Elliott could have told us a nice new pirate story in On Stranger Tides, showing us new sides to Sparrow or the world of pirates in which he is but one of many such plunderers. After all, it was largely taken from a far stronger novel by Tim Powers. Instead, we get more magic and mythology robbing the fourth installment of any sense of fresh beginnings. And while I adore Geoffrey Rush’s Captain Barbossa, he was not required for the film.

Instead, the story could easily have been King George II dispatching Sparrow in search of the Fountain of Youth while encountering the feared Blackbeard and see what happens when legends confront one another. That core notion is lost within layers of other events (the missionary and the mermaid for example) and the screenwriters are mostly at fault, although producer Jerry Bruckheimer never knows when to leave well enough alone. Director Rob Marshall, joining the franchise for this film, brought none of the dazzle he used in adapting Chicago to the screen. (more…)

FORTIER TAKES ON SPILLANE AND COLLINS’ LATEST!

News
September 24, 2011

ALL PULP REVIEWS-Book Reviews by Ron Fortier

THE CONSUMMATA

By Mickey Spillane & Max Allan Collins

Hard Case Crime

247 pages

Release date 4 Oct 2011

In 1967 popular mystery writer, Mickey Spillane, sought to cash in the James Bond spy craze sweeping the world of literary fiction. He created a Florida based government agent named Morgan the Raider; obviously referencing the famous pirate with the same name. The book was titled THE DELTA FACTOR and the plot revolved around Morgan and a beautiful female agent, Kim Stacy, going to a South American island to rescue a scientist being held by terrorists. Spillane had begun work on a sequel when THE DELTA FACTOR was made into a rather bland, lackluster movie in 1971 and disheartened by that film; he shelved the new book and never completed it.

Forty-four years later, thanks to Spillane’s good friend and protégé, crime novelist, Max Allan Collins, fans can now enjoy that sequel, THE CONSUMMATA. The story takes places only a few months after the events in the first book, with Morgan now a felon having been framed for an armored car hold up that netted the thieves forty million dollars. Although innocent, the only way he can prove his innocent is to find the stolen loot and return it, all the while eluding both local and government agents.

As if that isn’t trouble enough, he finds himself entangled with a group of Cuban exile patriots living in Miami who have become victims of a lowlife named Jamie Halaquez; a spy for dictator, Fidel Castro. Halaquez has stolen the rebels’ war chest containing seventy-five thousand dollars; money intended to fund the group’s activities and help other refugees flee Cuba. Owing them a debt of honor, Morgan volunteers to find Halaquez and return their money.

Less than twenty four hours later, a bomb destroys the hotel room in which Morgan was to have set up his base of operations. Only through a sixth sense honed through years of espionage work does Morgan avoid being killed but at the same time is made aware that there is another spy in his new circle of friends. Now things are really complicated, in a very deadly way. At the same time he is playing detective in the seamy world of Miami’s sex clubs, unknown killers are dogging his trail.

THE CONSUMMATA is a typical pedal-to-metal Spillane thriller that zips along at a fast, gut tightening pace filled with lots of sexy and dangerous women and a true exotic mix of colorful supporting characters from both sides of the law. There are always a few critics who will claim they can discern where Spillane left off and where Collins took over the yarn. This reviewer is happy to say he is not one of those. This is a seamless adventure that moves smoothly from chapter to chapter with one clear and exciting voice, echoing the bullet-blasting tales of a true Mystery Grandmaster.

Derrick Ferguson Listens To The Tales Of the GRIOTS!

News
September 22, 2011

· Paperback: 294 pages

· Publisher: MVmedia, LLC (August 7, 2011)

· Language: English

· ISBN-10: 0980084288

· ISBN-13: 978-0980084283

Before we get into the meat-n-potatoes of this review, it’s necessary that Sherman set the Wayback Machine for 1970’s so we can indulge in a brief history lesson for context: Charles R. Saunders is a writer who like most of you reading this review fell in love with the work of Robert E. Howard, the creator of Conan, King Kull and Solomon Kane. REH is credited with being the creator of “sword and sorcery” a sub-genre of epic fantasy. Sword and sorcery concerns itself with stories driven by action, healthy doses of sex and violence and strong supernatural/magical elements.

So in love with sword and sorcery is he that Mr. Saunders sets about writing his own stories. And in doing so he determines to expand the genre by creating a black heroic fantasy character and set his adventures in a mythical Africa just as fabulous and dangerous as Howard’s Hyborian Age. And with his stories of Imaro, Charles Saunders gives birth to what is now known as “sword and soul” which are fantasy stories with an African connection or featuring African characters

I’ve been a fan of Mr. Saunders and his work ever since I was a high school student back in the 70’s and devouring heroic fiction at an appalling rate. And as the Wayback Machine brings us back to the present we can begin this review proper with the good news that sword-and-soul is not only thriving here and now, it is giving voice to a new generation of African American fantasy writers eager to explore the genre and continue to nourish it with their talents.

GRIOTS is an anthology of sword and soul stories co-edited by Mr. Saunders and Milton J. Davis who himself has long carved out his own territory in the genre. The fourteen stories in the book are:

“Captured Beauty” by Milton Davis. It’s a great action story to lead off the book with. It’s a simple plot having to do with rescuing a beautiful damsel in distress from the clutches of a vile villain. But what made this story stand out for me were the characterizations of the protagonist Changa and his employer, the merchant Belay and their relationship.

“Awakening” by Valjeanne Jeffers. It starts out with a little girl who has no desire to spend her adult days sitting around being ladylike and raising squalling brats while the men have all the fun being warriors. The girl, Nandi, grows up and finds out that there’s a supernatural force in her life who also thinks that yeah, her being a warrior is a pretty good idea.

“Lost Son” by Maurice Broaddus is a story I wanted to like a lot more than I do as I like Mr. Broaddus’ style of writing. But the story just seemed to end without resolution or even much of a point.

“In The Wake of Mist” by Kirk A. Johnson is another story I didn’t get. Although I liked the imagery the writer evokes, that’s all the impression the story made on me. A series of wonderfully described images that really didn’t seem to go anywhere or evoke any sort of feeling in me.

“Skin Magic” by Djeli A. Clark kicks the anthology back into action mode with a story that has a healthy heap of horror. The main character is a thief on the run who has living tattoos on his skin that are portals to a nightmarish limbo through which Cthulhuian creatures can emerge into our world. The thief, barely able to control this horrible ability is pursued by the fearsome minions of a consortium of dark magicians who desire this power for their own purposes. As soon as I finished this story, I wanted to read a sequel right away.

“The Demon In The Wall” by Stafford L. Battle is one of my favorite stories in this anthology. Equal parts high adventure and comedy, it’s an entertaining near parody of the genre. The sorceress Makhulu and her grandson, the warrior Zende are characters I’d love to see more of. The banter between them alone is worth reading the story for.

“The Belly of The Crocodile” by Minister Faust is a tale of sibling rivalry. And that’s all I’ll say about it because it’s not a long story and its emotional punch is best served by reading it yourself.

“Changeling” by Carole McDonnell is a story that works just the way it is but if it were twice as long I wouldn’t kick. This is about three sisters destined to marry and become queens of their own kingdoms. But the real prize is their native kingdom only one of them will inherit when their mother dies. It’s got that ‘Once Upon A Time” feeling as it unfolds it’s ultimately sorrowful tale. It’s a story of Shakespearean tragedy that has a lot to say about human nature and the ugly power of jealousy.

“The General’s Daughter” by Anthony Nana Kwamu is a good choice to follow “Changeling” as they have something in common. Both of them have more than their share of action but they also dig deeper into the emotional core of their characters to reveal who these people really are and why we should care about what happens to them. I really liked the emotional resonance I felt in both these stories after I finished them.

“Sekadi’s Koan” by Geoffrey Thorne is another story I immediately wanted a sequel to as soon as I finished reading it. I got a very strong Roger Zelazny vibe in this tale of a gifted martial artist studying her deadly art at a school located…well, I’m not sure where it’s located but I was so entertained I didn’t care. And unlike some other stories where I got the impression that the writers themselves weren’t sure of where their stories were happening, I didn’t get that impression from Mr. Thorne. I got the feeling he knew exactly where and when his story was taking place but is saving that for what I hope will be future stories about Sekadi.

“The Queen, The Demon and The Mercenary” is by Ronald T. Jones and like “The Demon In The Wall” is a story that seems designed for nothing but the reader to have as much fun reading it as I’m sure the writer had writing it. The swaggering warrior Toulou sets out to rescue a suffering kingdom from the demon-wizard terrorizing the people and does it in style. Highly recommended.

“Icewitch” by Rebecca McFarland Kyle proves that you don’t necessarily have to set a sword and soul story in an African setting. This story takes place in a frigid realm where a dark-skinned youth struggles to find acceptance among his mother’s people who are lighter-skinned.

The only real problem I have with Melvin Carter’s “The Leopard Walks Alone” is the ugliness of the names in the story. I tried saying them aloud and I swear I bruised my tongue. I realize it’s a somewhat petty quibble but naming is important in fantasy stories. Difficult and harsh sounding names should be used sparingly.

And The Master himself, Charles Saunders finishes up the anthology with a tale of Imaro: “The Three Faced One” If you’ve never read an Imaro story or anything by Charles Saunders, this is an excellent introduction to both.

GRIOTS also boasts fourteen interior black and white illustrations by fourteen separate artists as well as biographical information about the writers and artists and introductory essays by the editors. The cover by Natiq Jalil is simply wonderful to look at.

So should you read GRIOTS? Absolutely. True, a few of the stories didn’t turn my crank but most of them did. If you’re a sword and sorcery fan looking for some heroic fantasy that takes place in realms other than the Medieval or ancient settings most sword-and-sorcery stories take place in then you most certainly should check this anthology out.

Aaron Rosenberg has No Small Bills

News
September 15, 2011

ComicMix contributor Aaron Rosenberg is a prolific writer, editor, and graphic designer who has written role playing games, comic books, fiction, and non-fiction. As a member of Crazy 8 Press, he has the honor of being the second author to launch an original work through the ePublishing site, a seriocomic work called No Small Bills, which goes on sale later this week (UPDATE: Already available now at Barnes & Noble). We sat down with Aaron to get some background on the project.

ComicMix: Aaron, you’re a writer of fiction and non-fiction. Where does No Small Bills fall?

Aaron Rosenberg: Gosh, I really hope it’s fiction! If that story’s real, we could all be in a lot of trouble!

CMix: Seriously, you’ve written fiction and non-fiction in a variety of genres, but you’re not known for comedy. Was this a stretch as a writer?

Rosenberg: It was, yes—and it wasn’t. It’s not what I normally write, but anyone who knows me in person knows that I can get a bit silly at times, so this was a chance to actually write that side of myself. As one friend commented, it was the first book of mine he’d read where he saw my actual voice instead of my “authorial” one. I also went about it much more freeform than usual—I’m normally an obsessive outliner but with No Small Bills I actually started with a basic notion and just let DuckBob lead me along on his merry little journey for a while, so in a way it was very freeing.

CMix: Where did the notion for NSB come from?

Rosenberg: It started as a joke, years back. I honestly don’t remember the circumstances, but I made some comment about a guy with a duck head, and that led to my slapping together a very silly picture of a duck-headed surfer with the label “DuckBob Surfs the Ion Storm!” And then I thought he’d be a fun character to write about, so I copied that line into my “Notions” folder, along with the second line “A fun-filled story of a man-duck’s quest for the perfect galactic wave.” And it sat there for a long, long time, until I decided to try my hand at writing something silly for once. Then it seemed like the perfect time to trot DuckBob back out and let him get some air.

CMix: Many writers are their character’s alter ego; can that be said for you and DuckBob?

Rosenberg: Well, DuckBob certainly bears some similarity to my snarky side. I don’t know about the rest of him, though. I hope I’m not that lazy! Or loud! We do have similar taste in shirts, though. (more…)

Derrick Ferguson Hunts Down The EXILES OF THE DIRE PLANET!

News
August 24, 2011

· Paperback: 256 pages

· Publisher: PulpWork Press; 1ST edition (September 15, 2009)

· Language: English

· ISBN-10: 0979732921

· ISBN-13: 978-0979732928

When last we saw Garvey Dire, he was doing pretty well for himself. Oh sure, his mission to Mars had gone wrong, leaving him near death. But then he was miraculously transported 47,000 years into the past. And in that past, Mars is not a dying planet. Indeed, it thrives with life including the Muvari tribe which is mostly populated by warrior women. The males of the tribe are few and are guarded as they assure the continued survival of the tribe.

Garvey survives a number of harrowing adventures to rise to a level of prominence in the Muvari tribe as well as marrying the gorgeous and deadly Ntashia, the finest swordswoman of Mars. Garvey even managed to prevent World War III back on Earth in his native time period and save the life of his best friend. Salt-N-Pepa could very well have been talking about Garvey in their song “Whatta Man”

When we catch up again with Garvey Dire he’s facing an army of Galbran. They’re a rival tribe of cannibals who have an old score to settle with Garvey and an older one to settle with the Muvari. And while he’s trying to hold off this army in a remote outpost with but a handful of Muvari warrior women, he’s also trying to figure out how to handle the Muvari custom of a man having more than one wife. It’s not as hard one might think since his first wife Ntashia has made the arraignments for the marriage and is actively encouraging it. It’s custom, y’know and when on Mars, do as the Martians do.

It’s almost a relief for Garvey to discover that his old rival and fellow Earthman Arnold Stechter survived the events of “Dire Planet” and is alive and well. He’s lost his memory of his life on Earth and doesn’t recall that he and Garvey are bitter enemies. But Stechter hasn’t forgotten his ambition and desire for power. He has gathered together outcast warrior women from a dozen different tribes and forged them into a savage, bloodthirsty army. And with these EXILES OF THE DIRE PLANET he intends to conquer and rule Mars. But it’s a plan that has to begin with the overthrow of Ledgrim, the hidden Muvari capital city. And it’s Garvey Dire who will unwittingly help Stechter achieve that goal…

If you’ve read and enjoyed “Dire Planet” then you’ll certainly want to read the sequel. Not only does Joel continue to explore and reveal new layers of his Martian culture but he also gives us new layers of his protagonist. Garvey’s naturally hesitant about entering into another marriage when he’s already got a wife he’s perfectly happy with. Garvey Dire exhibits more maturity in this multiple marriage thing than you would expect from a hero in this genre. Garvey’s still learning his role and place in this world and he sometimes wishes things would go a little slower.

One thing he’s not slow at is facing down the hoards of enemies thirsting for his blood in this one. If this book doesn’t have the highest body count of any of Joel’s books, its right up there in the top three. Just the first fifty pages of the book has a higher death rate than most complete novels. And this is before Garvey finds out about Stechter and his army of exiles.

EXILES OF THE DIRE PLANET is an enjoyable book but a demanding one. Joel seems determined to give readers more bang for their buck and while he certainly does that it also means that there’s a lot more you to pay attention to attention to and keep track of. The only complaint I have with the book is that in order to get in as much information as he can, Joel will occasionally have characters explain some aspect of Martian life and culture to Garvey, even during scenes where it seemed to me that concerning themselves with surviving whatever is trying to kill them should be of paramount importance. Also there’s the character of Naegrik the Galbran. While he provides Garvey with a sidekick who’s just as much of an outsider as he is, Garvey’s acceptance of his conversion from full-blown cannibalism to bosom buddy and lifelong pal is a bit too quick for my taste. I liked how the other characters kept an eye on Naegrik when he was around and constantly reminded Garvey that hey, this guy grew up eating people.

But the main thing here is the adventure and Joel delivers it with great style and tight control over the half dozen subplots he’s got going. And EXILES OF THE DIRE PLANET ends with a cliffhanger that will demand that you get the third book in the series; “Into The Dire Planet” to find out what happens next. And for my money that’s exactly what Pulp, whether Classic or New is supposed to do. Enjoy.

For more information about Joel Jenkins please visit:

The Vaults of Caladrex http://www.joeljenkins.com/

Pulpwork Press http://www.pulpwork.com/

And Joel has kindly provided a Dire Planet Compendium that you can find at The Vaults of Caladrex if you go to the right side of the blog and scroll down until you hit the keyword ‘Dire Planet Compendium’

Marvel Movie Round-Up UPDATED

News
August 8, 2011

As this summer season winds down, Sony is looking three years ahead. According to Deadline, they have already staked out May 2, 2014 for the sequel to 2012’s Amazing Spider-Man. James Vanderbilt, who penned the first script, has already been tapped for the sequel although it’s way too soon to know anything about the content. The first film continues production although footage shown at Comic-Con International wowed skeptical audiences. Additionally, fans were stunned when star Andrew Garfield took the mike, dressed in a store-bought Spidey suit and read from notes about what the character means to him, apparently truly heartfelt words.

UPDATE: The Hollywood Reporter says that Marvel has staked out two weekends in 2014 for two unnamed films. Two weeks after the Spider-Man sequel, May will see Marvel To Come #1. The second Marvel movie will open June 27, and since that’s around July 4 we’re willing to bet this will be eventually be called Captain America 2 .

Meanwhile, Naturi Naughton, about to be seen weekly in NBC’s The Playboy Club, has been signed to portray Cecilia Reyes in 20^th Century-Fox’s The Wolverine. The sequel, starring Hugh Jackman, is in production for a 2012 release. Directed by James Mangold, the story is largely based on the classic Wolverine miniseries written by Chris Claremont and illustrated by Frank Miller and is set in Japan. Reyes was not a character in that story, introduced decades later.

In the Marvel Film Universe proper, 2013’s Thor 2 may see Brian Kirk in the director’s chair. Kirk, who gained acclaim for his work on HBO’s Game of Thrones, would replace Kenneth Branagh, who bowed out recently.

In a decision seeming out of left field, Twitchfilm reports that Marvel Studios has placed the futuristic Guardians of the Galaxy into active development. First introduced in Marvel Super-Heroes #18, released in 1969, the quartet of freedom fighters from the 27^th Century. The team has grown and evolved through the years with more than a few ties to the modern day Marvel Universe. Whether those connections would remain on screen is unknown. It joins Black Panther, Ant-Man, Doctor Strange, and Iron Fist in the second tier of characters being readied.

While an early announcement, Amazing Spider-Man 2 is not the first major property to stake out 2014 dates. Already on the schedule are DreamWorks’ Mr. Peabody & Sherman, due out March 21 and their How to Train Your Dragon 2 is expected June 20. In the same THR report, Pixar has claimed Memorial Day weekend for an untilted film as well.

As for Marvel’s rival, DC Entertainment has announced no super-heroics beyond 2013’s Supeman: Man of Steel although The Flash, Green Lantern 2, and Justice League of America were all recently mentioned by Wanrer Bros. President Jeff Robinov as being developed

LET THERE BE PULP-NEW COLUMN LOOKING AT EARLY CAP FILM ATTEMPT!

News
August 7, 2011

LET THERE BE PULP- Examining where Pulp Classics Start- by Frank Schildiner

Millions, including your humble narrator, await the opening of the new CAPTAIN AMERICA feature film, one that promises to bring the character back to his Simon and Kirby roots. But old Cap has a troubled history with Hollywood that has this writer shuddering at the thought of a return to the bad old days of horrific Captain America films.

Captain America first hit the big screen as a 1944 Republic Pictures serial and has the distinction of being that studio’s last superhero film. But the studio that created such incredible hero serials as THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MARVEL, a film renown for some of the best stunts in history, and the spectacular cliffhangers of SPY SMASHER, seriously dropped the ball on this film. To call this film a disaster for all Captain America fans is a mild statement, this serial is just painful.

Let’s start with some basics about Captain America, the very basis of the character. Every fan knows Captain America is Steve Rogers, a weakling turned into the perfect man through the legendary super-soldier formula. Throughout World War Two he fought evil Nazis in the frontline of battle, dressed in star spangled chain mail and carrying a red, white and blue shield. Sounds like an easy setup for a film shot during WWII, right?

Not so for Republic Pictures! No, suddenly Captain

America

is District Attorney Grant Gardner who fights crime with his fists and a pistol. Steve Rogers does not exist in this world and this hero is an unimpressive type who appeared slightly overweight. This was not a mere perception of a disgruntled fan, the actor who played the part, Dick Purcell, died of a heart attack prior to release. The cause of death being the stunts weas too much of a strain on the poor miscast actor’s heart. And yes, Cap’s signature weapon is replaced by a pistol. Oh and his costume was transformed from chain mail to cloth with the signature eagle wings on his mask also removed. Any connection to the Captain America created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby appears accidental by the time this film in completed.

The villain of the piece was legendary Universal Films horror star, Lionel Atwill as a villain called The Scarab. Atwill adds an eerie menace to the role and was considered one of the bright lights in this production.

The reason for these bizarre changes to the character was, in the opinion of writer/film historian Don Glut, this film was originally a script meant as a sequel to THE MYSTERIOUS DOCTOR SATAN. That famed serial had a hero named Copperhead who did use a pistol and fought crime. This appears to be as good an explanation as any about this terrible serial, though it did keep Cap from appearing in any feature films until an unauthorized appearance in a Turkish action film called 3 DEV ADAM. Should you wish a truly bizarre film experience, view this one…one hint, the villain is a potbellied Spider-Man with huge green eyebrows who regenerates himself once being killed…poor Cap…

DENNIS O’NEIL: Green Is The Color Of My Lantern

Columns
August 4, 2011

Now let’s see – where were we? Last time we decided that parallel evolution caused a duplicate David Niven… well, almost duplicate; there is the matter of that magenta complexion… a duplicate David Niven to evolve on the planet Korugar, because parallel evolution will have its way and Sinestro’s mom was so smitten with the magenta Dave’s moustache that she insisted her son grow a similar one. Or something like that. (And from here, Freudians can have their field day.)

Let’s call the moustache question settled, even if it isn’t.

Just two more items on the Green Lantern movie agenda and we can tuck it into our memory banks, at least until the sequel appears.

First, the Guardians. I dimly remember that when I was writing the Green Lantern comic book, I had the tiniest bit of a niggle over the Guardians. I mean, these aren’t just any lower case-g guardians…these are the big, honkin’ Guardians Of The Universe. The wisest, smartest, most advanced beings in the…well – in the Universe! And yet – look at them! Little blue fellas in red night shirts. Stately? Majestic? Not a bit of it. They look like first cousins to Smurfs.

Okay, I know, I know…maybe the most powerful being in the universe, if such exists, is the size of a microbe and looks like Elmer Fudd. I’m a fan of Mr. Mind, the criminal genius who bedeviled Captain Marvel and who, when his identity was finally revealed, proved to be a worm. But aren’t we allowed a bit of imagination here? Can’t our Guardians resemble something we can relate to when we’re thinking ageless galactic savants?

Here, we must offer kudos to the Green Lantern film makers. Without changing the basic design of the Guardians – still little blue guys in red gowns – they art-directed a certain gloominess and gravitas into the fellas and, if my aging eyes did their job properly, at least one gal, and these worked for the characters and the narrative. Watching the film Guardians, I had one of those uncomfortable why didn’t we think of this moments.