1970’s | Magazines and Monsters!

Marvel’s Unsung Heroes! -Sal Buscema!

Posted on April 7, 2014 by billyd75

When people hear the name ‘Buscema’, they just about always gravitate to John. Sometimes just at first, and sometimes only, but I’m here to tell you that the other Buscema brother has chops too! Sal Buscema is a gifted artist that never seems to get his due. Well, he’s going to get it today, as I spotlight some of his work right here and now! It doesn’t matter if it was The Avengers, The Defenders, Rom, or even Spider-Man, Sal Buscema put his heart and soul into his work, and that cannot be denied! He and J. M. Dematteis crafted one of the most emotional death scenes in the history of comic books. So, here’s to you, Sal Buscema, as we go forth and spread the word of your awesome work!

Marvel’s Unsung Heroes! -Ron Wilson!

Posted on April 4, 2014 by billyd75

Of course everyone knows names like Kirby, Buscema, Romita, and Colan, but there is a plethora of other guys (and girls), that need to be given a great deal of credit for the success of Marvel Comics. These others helped forge a new pathway, and their number needs to be counted. So, for the month of April, I’ll be spotlighting some of the work that these unsung heroes gave us all to enjoy over the years!

I’ll be presenting these in no specific order, but rest assured, we’ll get a peek at a few names that you should recognize! First up is Ron Wilson, because his pencils have always been a favorite of mine, and I think he deserves more respect than he’s gotten over the years. From his great run on titles like Marvel Two-in-One, to more obscure titles like Chamber of Chills, you’ll see it all in this post! Enjoy!

Super-Spectacular Birthday Post- Werewolf by Night!

Posted on April 1, 2014 by billyd75

It’s no secret to anyone that follows me on Twitter, or is friends with me on Facebook, that I love horror comics. Mostly old school, Bronze Age stuff, but even some of the more recent books as well. So, listen, today is my birthday, and that means I’m going to post some random images of one of my favorite horror characters, Werewolf by Night (Jack Russell)! There have been many artists who’ve lent their talents to this great character, and I’ll try to be as diverse as I can using only my collection as material (as always but yes, I own a lot of black & white reprints, and do search out color shots on the web from time to time for my blog). So here’s to you Jack, may the fleas stay away and the dog biscuits be scrumptious! Enjoy!

Cover by Neal Adams

artist- Leonardo Manco

artist- Juan Doe

cover by Patch Zircher

artist- Mico Suayan

cover by- Greg Land

artist- Don Perlin

artist- Mike Ploog

Cinema Sunday: Superman: The Movie (1978)

Posted on March 30, 2014 by billyd75

Title: Superman: The Movie

Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures

Writers: Mario Puzo, David Newman, Leslie Newman, Robert Benton, Tom Mankiewicz (created by Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster)

Director: Richard Donner

Producers: Alexander Salkind, Ilya Salkind, Pierre Spengler

Starring: Marlon Brando, Gene Hackman, Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, Ned Beatty, Jackie Cooper

Released: December 10th, 1978

MPAA: PG

After recently seeing the sequel to this movie on television, I felt compelled to review this landmark film. First off, I have a question. How many great comic book films came before this one? How many came after until the fairly recent surge of movies? That’s one way to measure how great this movie is (and its sequel), but you can also just sit back and watch it, as well. There’s no denying the magnitude, the depth, and the overall quality put forth in Superman: The Movie!

The first time I saw this movie was when it debuted on network television (around 1981/82?), and I can remember being glued to the set. Christopher Reeve was larger than life, and made me want to be a superhero, and a better person. Were the scenes with Clark a bit hokey? For sure, but they also made you, as the viewer, feel the pain and agony Kal-El felt, as he trudges thru his everyday life as a reporter, and not just telling the world who he was, and reaping the benefits. This film made me want to be a better person and help others less fortunate , because that’s what Superman would do. Thank you, Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster, for making me want to be a better person.

As the film begins, we see the council on the planet Krypton, convening, as three criminals are on trial for treason. These three attempted to overthrow the council, and bring themselves to the throne of leadership. The council sentences them to banishment in the Phantom Zone, and then General Zod, Non, and Ursa, threaten Jor-El (Marlon Brando) as they are whisked away to a punishment fitting their actions. The next scene shows us that Jor-El also has some information, but not about criminals. He’s the leading scientific mind on the planet, and he tells the other council members that the planet is great danger, and could implode within a month. The others don’t believe him, and threaten to punish him, if he arouses the populace with his theories. He promises to keep quiet, and to not leave the planet.

Jor-El returns home, and tells his wife, Lara (Susannah York), that the council has forbidden them to leave, but that he’ll use an experimental rocket ship to send their son, Kal-El, to a far away planet, Earth, where he can be the savior for this weaker species. As they load baby Kal-El into the ship, the planet begins to break apart. Just as Jor-El predicted, the planet explodes into millions of pieces, as the ship rockets toward Earth. The ship eventually lands, and Kal-El is a toddler by now. A passing pickup truck sees the landing, and two elderly people get out to investigate. Jonathan and Martha Kent find the boy, and debate whether or not to take him in to their home. While this conversation is going on, Jonathan is changing a flat tire. Suddenly, the jack slips out from under the truck, and almost crushes him. They both are stunned to see that the reason it didn’t, is because this boy is holding up the back-end of the truck by himself.

Fast forward approximately fifteen years, and Clark (Kal-El), is cleaning up the football equipment after a game. He races home and talks with Pa Kent about his frustrations with school and life in general. As Clark is beginning to understand that his parents have raised him to be ready for some kind of sign that will show him why he was sent to this planet. The two share a laugh, and run up the driveway, but half way there, Jonathan collapses, and dies of a heart attack. The burial doesn’t make his death any easier, and he and Ma Kent are left feeling a huge void in their lives.

During the night, Clark wakes up to some unforeseen calling. He leaves the house, and goes into the barn. Under the ground, Ma & Pa Kent had hidden away his rocket ship, and the contents of it as well. Clark finds that a green crystal is the artifact that’s been calling to him, and he realizes he must leave the farm. The next morning, he tells Ma Kent that he’s leaving and heading North. We watch, as young Clark travels to the North (somewhere extremely cold), and uses the green crystal to build his new home or “Fortress of Solitude”. Once inside, there is a machine of alien origin, and using crystals, the device produces a hologram, of Jor-El, and he explains everything to Clark. Fast forward again a few years, and we see a caped figure fly out of the fortress, and to an unknown destination.

Cut to the city of Metropolis, and the Daily Planet. We see Lois Lane (Margot Kidder), Jimmy Olsen (Marc McClure), and Perry White (Jackie Cooper), as they are knee deep in their work day. Enter Clark Kent (Christopher Reeve), as he’s all grown up, and recently hired by Perry to work the city beat. This ticks off Lois, as that’s her beat to cover, but Perry explains to her that Clark is ready for the challenge. Lois and Clark couldn’t be more opposite, as far as…well, everything, but there is a definite connection from day one. After a long first day, the two leave together, but get mugged in an alleyway. The mugger actually shoots Clark in the confusion, but while Lois has her back turned, he catches the bullet. She’s stunned that he’s OK, but also let down when he tells her that he fainted.

Meanwhile, we get to see the local police, as they are in pursuit of a stooge, named Otis (Ned Beatty). It really isn’t the stooge they’re after though, but his boss, Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman). One of the cops follows Otis down a subway tunnel, but ends up getting pushed on to the tracks.

The next day, Lois and Clark are back at the Daily Planet, and later, as they finish the day’s work, Lois tells Clark that she’s got a busy night, as she’s going to be a passenger on Air Force One. Clark asks her out on a date, but she tells him she’s too busy. Clark heads home, and Lois heads to the rooftop to catch a ride to the airport on a chopper. As she boards the chopper, a cable gets wrapped around the landing gear of the chopper, and as it takes off, it gets hung up and crashes. Lois is dangling from the seat-belt of the chopper, but loses her grip, and plummets to the ground! Just as she’s about to hit the ground though, Superman swoops in and saves her. She’s stunned and then completely smitten with him, and he seems to like her as well.

Perry exclaims that someone needs to get an interview with him, and Lois is up for the task. Superman visits her apartment, and she conducts the interview. Not too far into it though, he offers to show her what it like when he flies through the air, and the two go on a semi-romantic flight above the city skies. He returns her home after while, and she’s so flustered, she gets her words mixed up when Clark shows up to take her out on a date.

Next, Luthor has figured out a way to stop Superman, and how to steal to missiles for his nefarious plans. During that same time, Lois is out west, by the Hoover Dam, investigating some real estate scam (Luthor, buying up desert near California). Clark is at the Daily Planet, listening to Perry talk about how to make it in the newspaper biz, and suddenly, a supersonic noise alerts Clark that something is wrong. He then hears the voice of Lex Luthor, and he explains that if he doesn’t meet him immediately, a poison gas will infect the entire city, killing millions.

Can Superman stop Luthor’s plans, and more importantly, can he save Lois and Jimmy from certain death out West? All of these questions can be answered by watching this incredible adaptation from DC Comics greatest superhero (OK, that’s really Batman, but lets not argue semantics)!

OK, here are my thoughts:

This movie took the superhero genre and vaulted it into outer space. The budget was $55 million, and it grossed over $300 million worldwide! And not because it was a bunch of fluff either, this movie was a top-notch film for all ages, and everyone can find something they love about it! Christopher Reeve was the absolute perfect actor to play Clark/Superman. Many actors tried out for the part, but were either turned away or had other commitments (Robert Redford, Sylvester Stallone, Burt Reynolds, Paul Newman-just to name a few). From a directing standpoint, Francis Ford Coppola, Steven Spielberg, and George Lucas, were all contacted but had other projects going on or turned it down.

When you sit back and watch this film, try to imagine these other directors, or actors involved. It wouldn’t have been this good. Not enough can be said about the acting of Reeve, Kidder, and Hackman. Those three were beyond great in their roles, and elevated this film from good to great. You can’t find a better fit for those roles, and why would you even want to try? From the music score, to the acting, the action scenes/special effects, this movie is a winner!

Click here for the trailer!

Cinema Sunday: The Beast Must Die (1974)

Posted on March 2, 2014 by billyd75

Title: The Beast Must Die

Distributor: Amicus Productions (British Lion Films)

Writers: James Blish (short story), Michael Winder (screenplay)

Director: Paul Annett

Producers: Max Rosenberg, John Dark, Robert Greenberg, Milton Subotsky

Starring: Peter Cushing, Calvin Lockhart, Marlene Clark, Charles Gray

Released: April 1974

MPAA: PG

OK, I know this isn’t a film most will recognize, but it was one (maybe THE one) that got me interested in werewolves! I remember seeing it on T.V. when I was a little kid, and it scared the crap out of me! Yeah, the “werewolf” doesn’t hold up really well as an adult viewing it, but it still has a good cast, including the horror icon, Peter Cushing, and a couple of unique things about it that no other werewolf movie has that I’ve personally ever seen! So, without further interruption, let’s get to it!

The opening scene shows a man, Tom Newcliffe (Calvin Lockhart), as he’s running through a wooded area, and being tracked by not only a helicopter, but also soldiers. They are all being directed by another man, Pavel, who is using advanced equipment to track Tom. Twice they catch him, but are directed to let him go. As Tom finally makes his way to an open area near a mansion, we see a few people sitting at a table outside, having a meal. As Tom gets closer to the people, the soldiers emerge from the woods, and shoot him in the back! A scream from one of the guests rings out, and they all come running to see if Tom can be saved. We quickly realize that the bullets were blanks, and Tom laughs at the situation. His wife, Caroline (Marlene Clark) is not amused.

Later that day, Tom is introducing everyone to each other, and we see his intentions on throwing this dinner party. He tells Arthur Bennington (Charles Gray), Jan and Davina Gilmore (Michael Gambon & Ciaran Madden), Paul Foote (Tom Chadbon), and Professor Lundgren (Peter Cushing), that death seems to follow all the guests, and that he believes one of them is a werewolf. He also states that the estate has been electronically bugged, so he can track and kill the animal for sport. Most of the guests don’t believe they even exist, but Professor Lundgren does, and has some expertise on the subject.

Tom then meets with Pavel, who, coincidentally doesn’t believe him either, and tells him that he needs him to watch the estate, while he sleeps. Not long into the night, the sensors fire off that there is activity on the estate. Pavel wakes Tom, and then directs him to the nearby wooded area to track it. Tom eventually gets a quick look at it, but it evades him, then heads back to the house. Tom urges Pavel to get something silver to fight off the creature, but Pavel grabs a pistol instead. Before you know what’s happening, a large wolf is on the rooftop by a skylight, and Pavel attempts to shoot the animal. It either evades the shots or they have no effect, and then it dives through the glass, and Tom hears Pavel scream. By the time Tom returns to the mansion, he finds Pavel dead in his chair (nice shot of that scene below).

The next day, Tom tells his chopper pilot that they’ll be on the hunt tonight, so be ready. He told the rest of the staff to go home for a few days, so that no one else will be in jeopardy. Tom then removes the rotary arm from each vehicle on the estate, so he wont have to worry about anyone leaving. As Tom is walking around the estate, he’s nearly shot with an arrow by Paul Foote. Foote tells him that he’s been “hunting the hunter”, and plays it off as a drunken joke. Tome berates him, and then shows him what he’s done to the cars. At dinner, Tom announces what he’s done, and that it’s twelve miles to the nearest neighbor. Bennington gets furious about this, but Tom doesn’t care. Foote also gets grumpy, and the rest of the crowd is growing aggravated as well. Caroline then grabs a candlestick and smashes a mirror with it, cutting herself.

In the evening, Tom and his chopper pilot find the werewolf running around the property. After trying to shoot it from the chopper doesn’t work, Tom decides he’s going to get up close and personal with the beast. He follows it into a dark barn, but unbeknownst to him, Davina, Caroline, and Professor Lundgren have also followed out to the barn. Caroline’s dog rushes in and begins to fight with the werewolf. It loses that battle, and the werewolf bolts out the door before Tom can do anything to stop the beast. It then mauls the chopper pilot, and heads back towards the mansion. Meanwhile, Caroline is distraught about her dog. Tom steps in, and tells Professor Lundgren to take the two ladies back to the mansion. Tom then euthanized the dog. Tom then comes back to the house, and all are accounted for except Bennington. As Tom enters the room, he sees blood everywhere, and Bennington on the floor, dead from various wounds.

As the next day begins, the body count will rise even higher, and the question arises, can anyone stop the beast from killing again?

OK, here are my thoughts:

Are the “special effects” cheesy? Yes. Do some of the actors over act? Yes. BUT, listen to me when I tell you this the movie is still pretty good! If you can get past the wolf-dog, you can get through this movie, and enjoy it in the meantime too! Calvin Lockhart is a great protagonist, and when you throw in Peter Cushing (certainly a smaller role than we’re used to seeing him in), you get two solid actors that know how to play their parts. One of the things I alluded to earlier, is that this film has a couple of cool things that are a surprise. First off, with 3/4 of the movie in the can, you get the voice of the narrator telling you “it’s time for the werewolf break”. You get exactly thirty seconds to try to use the clues that were given to guess who you think is the culprit (pic above). Now, granted there are only five people left at this stage of the game, but it’s still a cool concept. Secondly, the story also has a unique twist ending, for Tom, and Caroline. I wont spoil it, but believe me, you wont see this one coming.

Overall, I’d give this movie a solid rating, because of Lockhart and Cushing, plus the twists I spoke of above. Again, the werewolf looks like a coked up dog running around, but it was 1974, and I’m sure half of the budget was blown on Peter Cushing and a few explosions. I’ll freely admit to giving this movie a higher score than most out of pure nostalgia as well. See you next Sunday for more movie madness!

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