The Men Who Would Be Superman-Part 1

Hi!  Welcome to a new series of three articles on people who were almost Superman—kind of.

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You may not remember HOMER PRICE, but if you ever saw it in elementary school, you most likely remember the DOUGHNUTS.

In the 1940's, children's author and illustrator ROBERT MC CLOSKEY wrote several tales with a "Mayberry" like flavor about a young boy named Homer Price, who lived in a small Ohio town.  Homer's best known adventure was entitled: THE DOUGHNUTS, and was printed in many elementary literature books.  Homer's Uncle Ulysses owns a coffee shop and buys an automatic doughnut making machine - which goes haywire one evening.  "Meanwhile, the rings of batter kept right on dropping into the hot fat, another automatic device kept on turning them over, and another automatic gadget gave them a little push, and the doughnuts kept on rolling down the little chute, just as regular as a clock can tick."  This repeats several times during the course of the story.   I can recall reading that story in class and that every kid there wanted doughnuts avidly by the end.

McCloskey also wrote a Homer Price tale called, "THE CASE OF THE COSMIC COMIC."  Basically, Homer and his friends were caught up in reading the adventures of THE SUPER DUPER in comic books and daily newspaper strips.  The Super Duper can fly, is super strong and super tough, and throws battleships around like toys, meanwhile the Super Duper changes into his red tights where no one can see "because he is so modest."

One day, Homer and his friends learn that the local theater will be showing a movie about the Super Duper and that he will be there in person! 

They take the horse and wagon to meet their hero, and enjoy his adventures on the screen.  I won't tell any more of the story, but you can read it in HOMER PRICE, the first collection by McCloskey.  His second collection is known as: CENTERBERG TALES or MORE HOMER PRICE.

I believe that Homer would have been great on Disney's Wonderful World of Color, but no one ever thought of putting Homer on film for years.  

However, the people who placed Homer in school literature books had the right idea.  Enter WESTON WOODS -- owned by Scholastic, they had been producing short films and filmstrips for schools for years.  Since Scholastic reprinted the two HOMER volumes, it was a natural fit. In 1963, they filmed THE DOUGHNUTS, giving it that Mayberry flavor.  Unfortunately, they waited 13 years before filming their second and last Homer Price epic, THE CASE OF THE COSMIC COMIC.  By now videotape was the thing, and the production value was much cheaper. 

Still....the film lets us in on some things the story didn't.

In the original story, there's not much told about the Super Duper film Homer and his friend Freddy see.  But in the WESTON WOODS production... 

First we're treated to the sight of RALPH RUTA JR. (no other film credits to my knowledge), resplendent in his red tights and blue cape meeting children in the lobby.  He's standing by a film poster that takes an image from the first Fleischer Superman cartoon (known as the ELECTRIC RAY).  Once inside the theater, we get to view parts of the film, which is basically a live remake of the first Fleischer cartoon!  On the cheap, of course.  The Mad Scientist (Doctor X in this film) has a female hostage, and the Super Duper flies to rescue her.  My favorite moment in the film is when Doctor X sees his doom approaching through the air, and mutters to the camera:  "Super Duper!"   Our hero triumphs and saves the girl, while Doctor X escapes. "So the Super Duper can chase him next week!" explains Freddy.

 

December 2008

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THE HAUNTED HOUSE

Anyone here remember Hans Holzer- the GHOST HUNTER?

In 1963, he had a new book out by that name, and the Sunday supplement magazine, FAMILY WEEKLY, had an article on his experiences with ghosts.

I was ten years old and read it avidly.  As it turned out, the newspaper my uncle and aunt read in Blue Mountain, Mississippi also carried the magazine.  So on my next visit to my grandparents, my cousins and I talked about and decided to form a club.  The Ghost Hunter Club, of course.

That was a nice idea, but of course, we had to hunt ghosts.  Where could we do so?

As it turns out, the small country road my grandparents lived on (with my uncle and aunt next door) petered out to dirt and then woods just a little piece down the way.  And at the end of that was an old abandoned house...

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Of course, you have to remember these were very spooky days. 

Jumpin' Gene Simmons had a minor hit with  Haunted House

At drug stores and gas stations, kids were loading up on all types of MONSTER LAFFS cards, and for those with nerves of steel there was MARS ATTACKS.  FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND was inspiring many imitators.  My cousins and I watched FANTASTIC FEATURES every Saturday night on WHBQ TV.   I also recall getting penny MONSTER TATOOS and finding a batch of used ones I had left on a later visit to "our" haunted house.

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This particular haunted house that the Ghost Hunter Club claimed had everything we needed.  It was falling down, had a beached boat in the front yard, and was falling victim to time and the elements.  On the front porch (if you were brave enough to stand there) there were two screen doors.  In the South we had what were known as "shotgun" houses, meaning three or four rooms in a straight line with doors so situated that one could fire a shotgun from the front door and shoot through all the rooms and out the back door.  There was also had a variation on that floor plan, where you had six rooms side by side with the same arrangement, yet no doors between them. Many of these had a double fireplace in the middle room(s), so it could heat the entire house. That was our haunted house.

It took several visits for us to get as close as the front porch. We contented ourselves by looking long-distance at torn curtains or window shades and telling ourselves that those were a ghost.  We each saw ghosts and I recall mine was named Maria. We never did have the courage to walk AROUND the house to see what was there. As time went on, we would come closer. The front room on each side was deserted. The middle room on the left was totally dark. On the right side of the house the room was well lit from the windows and we could see that a kitchen was the back room there.

Finally one day, we decided we would enter the house. On the "well-lighted" side, of course. We would walk through the front door into the living room, through the fireplace middle room and then explore the kitchen.

The old boards creaked and gave on the front porch as we pulled open the ratty screen door, taking small steps in case the rotted wood broke under us.  In the front room, there was an overturned cane chair and one of those ancient crumbling religious pictures so common to the South. We crept into the middle of the house. Absolutely nothing in that room. But we could see drawers and counters in the next room. We slowly walked past the fireplace.

Now what we didn't know...

In the "dark room" opposite to the middle "light" room, there was a large set of metal head and footboards for a bed leaning against a wall.  Years later when I revisited the house I found them lying on the floor.

As to how they got there...

As we walked through the middle room, the boards creaked...and there was a reaction on the other side of the house.

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I don't really know a good sound effect to put here as the large heavy metal bed frames left the wall they had been balanced against and hit the floor. It was loud and it was metallic sounding and since there was no furniture or curtains in the old house to absorb the noise...well, it was loud. So loud you could feel it through your feet. Or maybe that was just the impact on the floor boards.

I don't remember if we screamed or hollered or cried...

I DO remember that we were instantaneously through that front screen door and I remember running the fastest I had ever run in my life through the front yard toward my grandparent's house. 

I don't think even PF Flyers could have made me run that fast, although the commercials said you would run faster and jump higher wearing them.

It was a month or so before we returned to Blue Mountain, and my cousins and I did not return to the old house that particular weekend. 

Nowadays, Hans Holzer is mostly a forgotten name, though you can research him on Wikipedia. That old house is long gone. 

Blue Mountain is still there…still small.

I wonder if Maria is still around?

 

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I SAW WHERE THE ROCKET LANDED

by Mike Curtis

Time it was
and what a time it was
it was a time of innocence
a time of confidences

"Bookends" By Simon and Garfunkel

I first learned of Superman's origins in Smallville. Or, as I knew it, Blue Mountain, Mississippi.

You see, when I started watching THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN, they were first-run shows, airing one afternoon a week in Memphis, Tennessee where I lived. My mother sat me in front of the TV when I was very young, since I was 4 when she got me the belt and buckle from Kellogg's Corn Flakes. That was the first Superman item I owned. She later bought me comics of this Superman, and I can recall "reading" the pictures and trying to follow the story, since I couldn't read the word balloons. 

Occasionally there might be a reference to Superman's origin, but it was always a brief cutaway. The last time it had been told in length in the comics was 1948, and the famous Silver Age retelling wouldn't happen until 1961. So I knew Superman was from another planet, but not much more. In fact, I can recall arguing with some kid in first grade that Superman was real, but he came from Pluto instead of Krypton (since the kid said Krypton was made up). The only reason I knew that Pluto was a planet was that it was also a code in the SUPERMEN OF AMERICA secret code booklet.

Anyway in 1960 (I believe) TAOS began a new syndication push and lots of stations ran it 5 times a week. But not Channel 3 in Memphis. George Reeves protected Saturday mornings in the Mid South viewing area (with his friends SKY KING and FURY), and a better champion could not have been found. At 6 a.m. on Saturdays, after the test pattern went off and after Channel 3 ran its slide of the Hotel Peabody, came either RAMAR OF THE JUNGLE or JUNGLE JIM. Then THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN would flash across the screen. Later in the day, they ran another episode at noon before the kids had lunch or went out to play for the afternoon.

My grandparents lived in Blue Mountain, Mississippi. We visited at least once a month when I was growing up.  I spent every Christmas there until I was 20. They were farmers originally, while he was a carpenter as well, having built their house (and the small guest house, the "Little House"). Their main room had their bed, a couch and rocker and the TV. You get up early on a farm (as I do at 4 a.m.) so by six everyone had eaten breakfast, and my brother and I sat on the floor as Channel 3 began their broadcasting day.

I first saw SUPERMAN ON EARTH there in Blue Mountain as dawn was breaking. I thought it was very interesting watching the Council on Krypton, but I wondered when Superman would come into the story  (Told you I didn't know the origin!). The scientist "Jor-El Speaks!" looked very heroic, and then he went home to his wife and a laboratory. Lara brought a baby into the room, and there was a great looking rocket ship ready to launch. Suddenly everything shook; they put the baby into the rocket and shot it off into the sky. Scenes of destruction followed and I wondered why Superman was not stopping this, or at least saving the baby. Then seconds later, the rocket approached Earth. An old farm couple was shown driving in the country as the rocket ship crashed. The old man ran to it, risking his life to save the crying infant inside. As the flames shot out, he kicked the burning rocket ship open and pulled out the wrapped bundle. Ma and Pa Kent beheld their new son.

I glanced out the window behind the TV; because, the scene where the rocket landed looked just like…my grandparent's farm.

The couple brought home the baby to a house with a front room...that looked very similar to where I was sitting. There were cattle on the Kent farm, just as there were—20 feet away from where I sat. Ma Kent sounded like my grandmother. Pa wore bib overalls just like my grandfather.

You all know the rest of the story, but a connection was made in my mind that day. I was in Smallville watching the origin of my hero. I believed I was actually where it had happened.

Maybe that's why my first full-time job was for a Great Metropolitan Newspaper.

As time went on (and I read SUPERBOY comics), I associated Blue Mountain with Smallville more and more. It was certainly "small" enough. A web search tells me around 500 people live there now. Up until the 1970's you could send mail there to any resident by just writing their name and Blue Mountain, Mississippi on an envelope. I didn't know my grandparent's street address until the 1970's, either. They never used it on anything. It turned out to be Roosevelt Road. And FDR showed up from time to time as the President in the SUPERBOY comics. I never understood why Superboy faced such challenges in Smallville though. Nothing much happened in Blue Mountain.

Another early Saturday morning, later that same year, I first saw THE UNKNOWN PEOPLE at my grandparent's. The first part aired at 6:30, and I couldn't wait for noon to see the conclusion. I was thrilled...and also rather shocked.

When Luke Benson set the hounds after the Mole Man in Part Two, and the poor little creature ran for his life...it made me think of my relatives and their hunting dogs belling as they chased raccoon or possum. I still cannot see the Mole Man panting and holding his chest without it bothering me.  I have never gone hunting. I'm sure I never will.

The years passed, just as they did for young Clark Kent.

As a teenager visiting there, I would daily walk a mile from the home place, down the railroad tracks to the city itself. This consisted of just one block, with a grocery store, barbershop (my uncle’s) and a drugstore where I discovered DOC SAVAGE paperbacks one day. Across the street from the drug store, my aunt worked at the bank. And the Mobilgas Red Horse reigned at the only gas station. Once I could drive, I would often spend a week each summer there, staying in the front room, and looking out the window at 3 a.m. at the quiet country road. Thinking...

As I grew up, I saw less and less of my grandparents and Blue Mountain. But I always thought of it in a special sense, as my "other home."  I still do.

In 1978, I did my second exhibition in a Memphis library of my Superman collection, the first had been at Memphis State University. I contacted Channel 3 because I knew they were about to begin re-running TAOS, after many years, and I thought a story about the exhibit might be a good plug for the show. So did they. I did ask a favor. VCRs weren't very common then, so one afternoon, they let me run their 16mm print of SUPERMAN ON EARTH in a small office. I hadn't seen it since that time at my grandparent's home many years ago. For 30 minutes, I was back in Blue Mountain again.

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My grandparents passed away over 25 years ago. Someone else lives in the house he built now. It was sold long ago, just like the Kent farm. 

I do have a nail keg he made into a seat for his children, as well as my grandparent's chiffarobe from the '20's.

I have a picture of my grandparents on the wall. It's not a formal portrait. It's just a picture enlarged from a small snapshot. 

It's how I remember them best.

I haven't been back to Smallville in years.

I do miss it.

long ago it must be
I have a photograph
preserve your memories
they're all that's left you

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August 2008

 

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REVIEW OF DARWYN COOKE'S

JUSTICE LEAGUE:

THE NEW FRONTIER

The 1950's.  Happy Days?  Hardly.

To most people now, the middle decade of the 20th century seemed to be filled with Howdy Doody, I Love Lucy and everyone liked Ike.  But that was just the candy coating over a very nasty center.  It was also the time of the McCarthy Communist witch hunts, radiation drills in schools - "Duck and Cover!", WHITE ONLY water fountains, as well as most people seeing any type of nonconformity as a menace.

It was a world ill-suited to brightly colored superheroes.  In the DC comics of that era, such aspects of daily life were largely ignored.  But animator and comic artist/writer Darwyn Cooke has taken a fresh look at the times and what the baseless fear of "difference" led to.

NEW FRONTIER was originally a 6-issue miniseries from Cooke, examining the 1950's and what led up to the formation of the Justice League of America.  Thankfully, Cooke has exemplery animation credits (MEN IN BLACK and BATMAN BEYOND), so he could assist in bringing this epic to the home screen.  Also, a stellar cast of new voices bring life to these iconic characters.  How good are they?  How about Lucy (XENA) Lawless as Wonder Woman?

These people are not the Super Friends, or even the Justice League Unlimited.  This Superman is obviously the Fleischer Paramount version, complete down to the black chest emblem.  He exists in a world where the government tries to exterminate or capture what is different or non-conformist.  The Justice Society disbands, Hourman dies, while only Superman and Wonder Woman will aid the powers that be.  There are still other costumed rogues or vigilantes, but they are hunted down by the government and lynch mobs.

Into this world of paranoia, comes a visitor from Mars.  Acclimimating himself via the awesome power of the cathode ray tube, J'onn J'onzz enters human society as a police detective with unusual hunches.  He begins to follow a path paralleling that of Batman, as both encounter a mysterious entity or force called THE CENTER.

Meanwhile, fighting America's enemies, Wonder Woman's eyes are opened first to the dichotomy between what the government says it wants & what it is actually doing.  Flying above the earth, Superman takes a bit longer to see the ugly truth.  But eventually, even his super senses cannot deny what is happening.  People are seeing each other as the enemy while the real menace is gaining strength and eventually attacks the world.

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This movie is a comic geek's dream, as obscure charcters like Larry Trainor (the future NEGATIVE MAN), Ted "WILDCAT" Grant and others make walk-on appearances, while 1950's headliners like King Faraday and Rick Flagg enjoy the largest comicbook roles they've had in 50 years.

Darwyn Cooke doesn't forget that the Justice League was originally formed to handle menaces beyond the powers of one or two superhumans.  He delivers up a convincing menace that takes the joint efforts of all Earth's superheroes to defeat.

Also bear in mind that if you originally read the comic, you will still be in for some surprises.  In addition to writing the comic books, Cooke worked on the film script.  He adds even more interest by introducing new sequences and explanations not seen in the print version.

Many years ago, I heard a parable about how a sword was forged.  Pieces of metal were heated white hot in a fire and then beaten together.  The process was repeated countless times, until a beautiful weapon was formed.

Like a sword, from the harrowing confusion and paranoia of the 1950's, Superman and his compatriots come through the fire - ready to face the NEW FRONTIER.

JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE NEW FRONTIER is a WARNER BROS. VIDEO DVD and is rated PG13.

March 2008

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THE LAST DAYS OF KRYPTON

by KEVIN J. ANDERSON

Harper Collins, Publisher

There are some books that are called "ahead of their time." This book would have been described that way ten years ago because of the way it presents Krypton. Ten years ago, this book would have been a failure. Only in the face of the chaos and turmoil of today's world is this story of Krypton believable.

I've read that Anderson did a lot of research on the comic history of Superman's home planet in order to write this work. I can believe it. There are still a few minor inconsistencies with the four-color version of Krypton's history; but many events have been made much more real. This tale combines the comic and movie versions of Krypton almost seamlessly.

This isn't an 8-page ten-cent comic book story. This is a novel of 400 plus pages. Anderson has and needs this space to make such events as the kidnapping of the city of Kandor more immediate and real. But, oddly enough, this history of Krypton reads much more like a recent history of Earth.

This takes some explaining. The original story of Krypton was summed up in one panel in ACTION COMICS 1. "As a distant planet was destroyed by old age, a scientist placed his son into a rocket ship and sent him to Earth." Since then, especially during the reign of Mort Weisinger at DC, Krypton became a real place, with real people.  But there were unanswered questions and problems, many of which were not thought about by the writers. For instance: In the movie, Jor-El talks about 28 known galaxies. How did Krypton know about those galaxies?  If they did know about these galaxies and the planets they contained, why wasn't the populace evacuated and resettled? At the very least, why didn't the Council of Krypton call for help?  If Jor-El was so eminent on Krypton and trusted by the ruling council, why weren't his warnings taken more seriously? Another question, what crime did General Zod commit that called for his banishment into the Phantom Zone?

Anderson took a good look at how things are currently here on Earth and found the answers. On Krypton, long ago, the tyrant Jax-Ur traded with aliens and obtained a number of "Nova Javelins" (read:  Atomic Missiles) with which he destroyed one of Krypton's inhabited moons. This is straight out of the comics, actually. In this book though, the backlash has led to an almost religious fear of technology and enforced a supreme isolationism from the rest of civilized space. Working against this, we have a pair of geniuses on Krypton, Jor-El and his brother Zor-El, who have discovered that the planet is unstable. The only person who will listen to them is the Council's Commissioner—Zod. All newly developed technology must be presented to him, and then he studies and presents the technology and his conclusions about it for the Council to decide whether or not it is harmful. Unfortunately, their decision is almost always negative.

When Brainiac descends on the planet, shrinks the city of Kandor, and then leaves with it for outer space, the book's narrative could have read as the then-current news reports simply by substituting Katrina for Brainiac and New Orleans for Kandor. We also see reflected the 9-1-1 attack on the Twin Towers. The elderly, almost moribund Council, long ago divorced from reality, reads much like what actions are taking place in Congress since 2001. Make no mistake, this is also a political book, with aliens standing in for those who only wish to keep their power and care nothing for the fate of the world. So when the Council is taken away with the capital city of Kandor, it's time for someone to seize power.

 

But there are lighter moments also:  Jor-El meets a young artist named Lara and they fall in love—just as Zod also meets a young rebel named Aether and they become one. (Note: DC does not own the characters of Non and Ursa from SUPERMAN THE MOVIE, yet here they are, just under new names. There's even a passage where you root for Non (Nam-Ek in this version) as he takes vengeance against an aberrant Kryptonian who slaughtered many of the endangered animals in the Krypton Zoo.

Even minute mysteries are given a raison d'etre in Anderson's work. He explains things, while staying true to the comic and movie history, like how that dome got over Argo City among many others. However, the largest mystery of all is never given an explanation—How could such an intelligent people overlook their own impending doom?

That's one question we should ask ourselves at times, and that's why this is such a good read.

January 2008

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"LOOK! UP IN THE SKY..."

CHAPTER 4 OF THE ADVENTURE OF BUD COLLYER

Bud Collyer, wearing the World's Fair Superman costume, and 8-year-old Prince Aaron of Kassandra stood atop the office building roof, pushed by the fierce winds buffeting the city.  Brutish Hugo Donner, a Kassandran in exile, braced some lumber & metal discards against the roof door leading down into the apartment building. On the other side trying to break through were Nazi spies determined to use the young Prince to influence his father to support Germany in it's European war. 

"Dat shudt holt for a bit, I tink." Hugo muttered.  He motioned for Collyer to join him by the door. "Prince Aaron, I need to check with Hugo on something. Will you be all right for a moment?" The prince sat down by the parapet, and nodded. "Of course. Who wouldn't be safe with Superman?  I still think we should fly over to that theater to get away, though."

Across the street was the Paramount Theater.  A Cartoon Carnival was taking place there, and hundreds of children were gathered in front awaiting, the ticket booth's opening.  On the marquee in large letters was the announcement of a new Paramount Cartoon—SUPERMAN!

Bud bent low to better hear as the short, stout Hugo said,  "I tink we shoudt do as de Prinze suggests."

Bud's face showed alarm. "Are you crazy? This shirt may say SUPERMAN but that's not who I am. There's at least 30 feet of nothing between our building and the theater roof."

Hugo nodded. "Yez, but this builtink iz 8 stories tall, I tink de teeater is only 6. I have made jumps that far in mine native Kassandra. But here iz vhy ve shoult do it." He pointed to the roof door.  Just then, both of them heard far-off police sirens. The pounding on the door doubled in response. "De Boche svine cannot let us get avay. I am sure dat deir orders were to capture us if possible, but to kill us if they coult not accomplish their mission. None of us vill live to be rescued.  I would rather chooze my death. Ant I vill not let de Prinze die or be captured."

Bud swallowed. He knew in his heart that their number was up, but with the Prince's idea, they at least had a chance. "You've sold me. How do we do it?"

Hugo picked up a length of strong rope from under some scrap on the roof. "Tie de Prince to your back. Then tie de rope arount your vaist.  Make szhure you give de endt to me, vichi I will tie around mine waist. If I am still de jumper I remember, I will pull you two wit me to de top of dat roof. If not, maybe I can grab a flagpole, vindow sill or something on my vay down andt save us."

Bud turned and called to the Prince. "How would you like to fly with me?" The Prince was excited. "Remember, the radio show says I can jump over tall buildings? I'm going to tie you to my back just in case you lose your grip when we jump." The Prince's face turned to dismay.  "But Superman, what about Hugo?  We can't leave him!"

Hugo's freckled face split in a grin. "Fear not, Prinze Aaron. Superman is letting me tie a rope to him, so he vill save me too.  He vill trow me to dat building as he jumps for it."

Very soon the preparations were made and the three escapees walked to the far edge of the roof away from the theater. Hugo had placed planks to give them a ramp to the edge. The roof door was now visibly edging open a little farther with each assault. They didn't have much time left.

Bud checked that the Prince was snug against his back with his head under the red cape—because he didn't want the Prince to see if they fell. Hugo took off his broad leather shoes, tied the laces together and through his belt. Bud noticed that he wore bright orange argyle socks to match his bright green suit. "Dey mite keep me from jumping!"  he said. With a nod, both dropped into a sprinter's crouch.  Bud counted out loud "one—two—THREE!" and both men sprang up and began running with all the speed they possessed. As they passed the roof entrance, they saw the door spring open and men in trench coats fall outward.

Now the planks looked very frail as they approached the roof edge. The wood gave under their powerful legs, and then both sprang off the roof and into the air.

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Down on the street, the police cars had to stop short because of all the children in the street.  They got out of their cars and began trying to herd the kids onto the sidewalks, meanwhile asking what was going on.

One of the kids shot back an answer, "SUPERMAN'S ON THAT ROOF!" Another policeman laughed. "Go on!  There's no such thing as Superman!" Just then, a little girl pointed and said,  "Look! UP IN THE SKY!" All the children stared upwards, their jaws dropping. The police did likewise.

Eight stories above the crowd, a man dressed in tight fitting blue clothing was leaping through the air, his red cloak billowing. A rope connected him to a larger man slightly ahead of him.

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High above the street, Bud tried not to look down. He was astounded at how strong the winds were. Time felt as if it had slowed down.  He could even hear his heart beating slower in his chest. He kept his eyes focused on the tarpaper roof of the theater, hoping they would make it.

From under his cape, Prince Aaron looked down at the crowds in the street far below. He had wanted to meet his hero Superman, but had never believed he would get to fly with him!

Ahead of them, Hugo straightened out his body for the plunge toward the roof. He took a diver's pose and prepared to cushion the impact with his powerful arms.

Bud focused on their descent now. Momentum could only carry them so far. He hoped their leap and the difference between the eight-story building and the six-story theater would enable them to make the rooftop.

The theater loomed closer. He could see the stone ledge and the tarpaper roof, with various objects scattered about. Their descent accelerated. It looked as though the momentum would carry them close, but not all the way.

Suddenly Bud felt powerful winds and a tugging at his waist. All three of them cleared the roof ledge and hit the building roughly, rolling and tumbling. Bud slid and cartwheeled on his stomach so that the Prince would not take any of the impact.

During all of this, it seemed that the world had become a silent place. Now Bud began to hear sounds again. He looked back at the building they had escaped and saw trench coated Nazis gathering at the edge. Several began firing pistols. There were answering shots from the police, forcing the Nazis to crouch behind the parapet. From the roof entrance, one brought up a Thompson submachine gun.

Before he could bring it into play, he was shot down by a .44 bullet, fired from behind. On the office roof, Secret Service Agents Black and White led the charge of New York's Finest as they took the Nazi's into custody. Agent White yelled across to the three now standing at the edge of the roof, telling them he would come over and get them.

Bud, Prince Aaron and Hugo all watched from safety atop the theater roof  and smiled broadly.

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Prince Aaron shook hands with his hero. "Thank you, Superman, for saving my life and letting me take part in one of your adventures. Will we hear about it on the radio?"

Bus shook his head. "I'm sorry, Prince Aaron. National Security. Maybe it can be told after you're safely back home. Your life is too exciting for even Superman!"

The young Prince walked away with Special Agent White. Hugo remained behind, to talk with Bud. "Hugo, I really appreciate all you did. Without you, I couldn't have made that leap."

Hugo smiled. "Nonsense, Mr. Collyer. You had the ability, I just suggested it." His Kassandran accent had vanished entirely.

Bud stared at him, as Hugo swept his eyes up and down the entertainer. ”I wish I could have played the part. You look so magnificent in the uniform, so like a hero, a real champion. ”He looked down and held out his short arms and massive hands. "But where I came from the gravity was so intense—it shaped my people like this. None of us could ever look like the American ideal, even if there were more survivors."

Bud's face showed the question. "Where are you from,  Hugo?"

Hugo grinned his large, freckled smile. "Your scientists saw it last around 1910. They called it Vulcan. After that pass around the sun, they didn't see it anymore. I was the only survivor."

Bud pointed. "You're Superman?"

Hugo grinned. "I've been known to answer to that, to my friends in government service. When they heard of this threat to Prince Aaron and decided to ask you to play the part, I insisted on accompanying you. Remember that tug you felt through your rope, just before we cleared the parapet & landed on the roof?  I told you I was quite a jumper."

Bud thrust out his hand. "Hugo, if that's your real name, it's been an honor."

Hugo took the hand in his huge fist. "No, Mr. Collyer, it is an honor for me. You are the hero for a new age of children. My people would be proud to be remembered this way."

Bud wiped his brow..."I guess they'll have a car waiting for us downstairs?" Hugo replied. "I think so. Bur before we leave, I think you should go to the edge and look down.  our public is still calling for you." Hugo smiled broadly, his wide grin sparkling in the afternoon sun.

Bud Collyer strode to the roof edge, and then stood atop it. After what he had just done, he would never be afraid of heights again.

Down below, hundreds of children waved and yelled. He could see some pointing and telling their friends they had seen him fly.

A large smile brightened the face of Bud Collyer, the voice of the Man of Tomorrow, as he waved to the children below. He might never wear a Superman costume again, but for today, he felt he was entitled. And it had all happened here—up in the sky. 

THE END 

STARRING:

Bud Collyer as Himself.

Hugo played by Micheal Miller

World's Fair Superman played by Ray Middleton

Written by Mike Curtis

Edited by Carole Curtis

Photoshop effect by Bernard Doove

January 2008

---

POWERS AND ABILITIES FAR BEYOND THOSE OF MORTAL MEN--

CHAPTER 3

The ticket window at the Paramount Theater was crowded. Kids were packed like cigarettes on the sidewalk in front.  The marquee told the reason why. The Paramount was having a Popeye Club Cartoon Jamboree and there was a special new entry emblazoned on the lighted sign. In letters a foot and a half high was the word—SUPERMAN.

From a building across the street, the real Superman looked glumly out the window. If he could go to the show, Bud could hear his own voice coming from the Fleischer cartoon on the screen.

The day had started out so well.  Bud Collyer had come to work to rehearse THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN radio drama. Two Secret Service agents and one lone Kassandran—Hugo Donner—had been waiting for him. It seemed 8-year-old Prince Aaron of Kassandra was visiting the United States and wanted to meet the real Superman. After much arguing, Collyer had shaved his moustache and agreed to don the costume worn by Ray Middleton on Superman Day at the World's Fair. Along with Donner, Bud had gone to visit with young Prince Aaron in an office suite for an hour. Just before the hour was up, Nazi agents had taken the three of them prisoner.

 The short, burly Hugo had seemed ready to fight, but Bud had taken him aside. They could not risk any harm coming to the Prince. It was best to cooperate and hope that the Secret Service could track and rescue them.

The Boche agents had taken them down a freight elevator to a truck waiting behind the office building. Now they were on the 5th floor of an rather rundown building across from the Paramount Theater. Apparently it wasn't enough to just lock them in a room. This building had been used as part of the municipal jail at one point. Old cell bars marked the 5' x 8' dimensions of their prison. The small window was barred as well. 

Prince Aaron was napping on the small cot inside the cell. Bud Collyer, still in his Superman uniform paced. Hugo, standing near the cell door, stared intensely at its bars. 

Once the Nazis had left them locked away, the young Prince had urged "Superman" to bend the bars for their escape. Bud had explained that he had a plan, and they would have to wait a bit.  But it was only a stall. Bud hoped that somehow agents Black and White could somehow track them down for a rescue.

Bud shook his head. It would be so easy to just tell the Prince the truth, that he was a radio voice actor, dressed up as Superman. But he hoped he wouldn't have to destroy the young boy's faith.  Hugo had urged the Prince to lead the way for them, by resting for their escape. Now young Aaron lightly snored, confident in his hero's ability to overcome any evil.

Bud heard a hiss and turned to see Hugo motioning with a crooked finger for him to come toward the cell door. He strode to the door and knelt alongside the bulky Kassandran.

"Look, Meester Collyer. Here at deez bars." Hugo whispered. Bud saw red flakes coating the  welds where two bars were attached to the frame.Below, on the wooden floor, were small drifts of the reddish dust. "Is that rust?"  Bud said quietly. Hugo wetted a fingertip and tasted it. "I tink so. Dot utter hinge above is de same. Dere is rust on most of de utters, but deez two are de vurst of de lot."

Hugo looked behind him at the sleeping prince then back at Bud. "I tink we can loosen deez bars ant mebbe squeeze troo, if ve do it togetter." Bud nodded. It was worth a try. Hugo placed his large hands above and below those of Collyer and they began to lean backward. To Bud's surprise, he felt the metal slide just a bit. Both men took a new grip and doubled their efforts, encouraged by the start. In less than five minutes, the bottom of one bar was loose. They slid their hands to its top, then using their weight to slide it out of place.

"Bravo, Superman!"  Bud turned and saw the Prince watching them intently.  Your majesty, we must keep quiet." Collyer whispered. "I understand, Superman. But why is Hugo helping you?"

Hugo bowed to the Prince. "Your majestee, I asked de Man ov Tomorrow to please let me take some small part in your rescue unt so he honored mine request." The two men returned to work on the bars and within ten minutes, they had two more bars displaced and had all squeezed through the opening. Bud had worried that Hugo might not make it and that they would have to leave him behind. But at last he had inched free of the cold steel.

Inside the room was an old desk. Bud looked through the drawers quietly and found what he was looking for—a small hand mirror. Standing at the door, he opened it slightly and moved the mirror into position, shilding it from the Prince's view with his cape. The hallway was clear.  Jimmy Olsen had used this trick on an episode of SUPERMAN, and Bud thought it would suffice for his missing X-ray vision. 

"Hugo, I think we might do best to make our way to the roof. From there, I can use my cape to attract attention and possibly summon the police." The short giant nodded. "Yez, it is a goot plan."  The trio quietly crept out of the room and kept to the walls in the hallway, moving toward the door marked STAIRS. In a minute they had made it to the stairway and began to steathily make their way upward. On the 8th floor, they spied a roof exit. Opening the door, Bud almost had the doorknob torn from his hand by the powerful high winds.

Down below on the street, crowds of children were still gathered, waiting for the ticket office to open. Suddenly one of them glanced upwards. "Lookit on dat roof!" A dozen heads turned.

On the edge of the 8-story building across the street, the red cloaked figure of SUPERMAN could be seen, his cape flapping violently in the updraft. Kids began yelling and pointing upwards. Inside the older building, men in trench coats saw the commotion and walked out onto the sidewalk. Looking upwards, they became alarmed and ran back inside the building.

"Drat, we were spotted but not the way I planned it. Hugo, we need to bar that door so they can't get up here." Collyer and Hugo began grabbing whatever heavy objects they could to block the oncoming attack by the Nazi agents. There wasn't much available. 

Hugo drew closer to Collyer. "Meester Collyer, if necezzary, I will block de door wit mine own body." Bud shook his head. "You can't do that, Hugo. They'll shoot through the door if they have to."  The young Prince cried out, “Superman! Over here."

Collyer and Hugo made their way to the front of the building. "Couldn't you fly us across to the theater roof? I would be safe there, among all those American children." 

 Bud looked at the distance. They were 8 stories up, and the theater roof stretched to only six.  But there was at least thirty feet of open space between the two structures.

He and Hugo looked at the other three sides of the roof. The situation was even worse there. On two sides were vacant lots, the third housed a one story flat.

The trio turned as they heard pounding on the roof entrance. Time was running out.

CAN OUR HEROES ESCAPE? WILL THEY BE RECAPTURED BY THE NAZIS?  CAN HELP COME IN TIME? 

DON'T MISS THE EXCITING CONCLUSION OF THE ADVENTURE OF BUD COLLYER - "LOOK! UP IN THE SKY!" 

NEXT WEEK ONLY ON—GLASS HOUSE PRESENTS!

January 2008

---

THIS LOOKS LIKE A JOB FOR---

Chapter Two

Jackson Beck entered the room.  "Guys, looks like we'll be doing a fill in script.  Bud's got something  he has to do, so our characters will have to work around him.  Joan, your scenes with Clark have been rewritten so you'll be talking to him on the phone.  Julian, Bud's part will be changed to Jimmy Olsen talking to Perry."  He handed out some hastily written script pages. 

Jackie Kelk opined, "I wonder if this has something to do with those two odd guys in suits that had to meet with Bud?"  Just then the door opened and Bud Collyer entered.  Joan exclaimed "Bud, what happened to your moustache?" 

Collyer rubbed his hand across his upper lip.  "I had to shave because of a job I have this afternoon.  But I'll be on time and unshaven for rehearsal tomorrow.  See you then." 

Bud took the elevator down to the lobby where Secret Service Agents "Black" and "White" waited for him.  To his surprise, the stranger from the outer office was with them. 

"Mister Collyer, this gentleman will be accompanying you on this job.  His name is Hugo Donner.  He's a native of Kassandra, who's emigrated to our country." 

The stout, short fellow stretched out an long arm, the coat and shirt sleeve not reaching his wrist.  "I yam berry glat to meet you, Meester Collyer.  I luff mine new country but alvays remember Kassandra and will do anyting to help mine Prinze."   

Collyer shook his hand, and found  his own was dwarfed by the short Kassandran.  But one couldn't be frightened by the jolly red hair and freckles across the broad face.  

White interrupted.  "We've got a car waiting, Mr. Collyer.  The Prince is arriving across town, and there's a room for you to change into your uniform."  As they climbed into the car, Bud noticed it sagging as Hugo entered.  He was apparently heavier than he looked. 

---

In a small office building, an 8-year-old boy sat on a couch, reading SUPERMAN comic books.  He was dressed in a shirt with an "S" emblem, something he had purchased at Macy's.  On a table next to him sat a small wooden doll of his hero and a Krypto Ray Gun which projected pictures on the wall. 

Secret Service Agent White entered the room through a small door and made a slight bow.  "I hope we haven't kept you waiting very long, Prince Aaron."  Aaron had a flawless yet precise English accent (due to boarding schools) and said "Of course not, sir.  I've been having a wonderful time."  White stood aside and introduced the next visitor.  "This gentleman is a native of your own Kassandra and has asked to be present should you require anything."  Hugo lumbered in and made a low bow, placing his forehead on the floor.  "Your majestee, I am honored to be in yur presenz."  Price Aaron walked over and tapped him on the shoulder.  "Now, now, sir.  We are in America.  I'm just a visitor here." 

Then a tall slender man entered the room.   The first thing Prince Aaron noticed were his tall, red, lace-up boots.  They ran from his soles to just below the knee.  Sky blue pants, were tucked into the tops.  He wore dark red trunks and had a sparkling golden belt acround his waist.  The man's muscular chest and arms stretched the blue fabric of his shirt, where a red and black shield was emblazoned upon his chest.  The shield's center was the letter S with the name SUPERMAN written above the triangular symbol. A scarlet cape hung from his shoulders down to his boottops, completing the picture. His thick, shiny brown hair was combed back, and his face reflected both courage and kindness. 

Prince Aaron took a deep breath and said in a low voice, "Superman!" 

The tall man broke into a grin and made a low bow from the waist, holding his cape to the side.  "Your majesty, welcome to America!" 

---

Downstairs,  Secret Service Agent Black looked down at his watch.  In a few short minutes, he would interrupt the meeting upstairs to tell "Superman" he was needed for a special mission.  Prince Aaron would have had his hour with the Man of Tomorrow.  A car was waiting to take the prince to Idlewild Airport and Kassandra.   

Suddenly, a damp cloth was pressed against his mouth and nose.  The sweet smell of ether filled his senses before he lost consciousness.

---

Late afternoon sun came in through the windows.  The Prince's comic books were now inscribed with a bold "Superman" signature.  The Man of Tomorrow had been answering questions and chatting with his young host for over almost an hour.   

Of course, the Prince had asked "Superman" to demonstrate his powers, like flying.  Bud's radio writers had come up with one for that.  "You see, I'm here doing a job for the Secret Service, and they don't want anyone to see me flying in the area and let the crooks know I am here."  The Secret Service had also provided Collyer with a lead bar that looked like steel, which he could bend and break. 

For most of the other questions, Collyer had simply transferred his thoughts on the fictional cast to his real co-workers on the show.  "Yes, I do think Lois is a lovely girl,  But being Superman is a full time job." 

Hugo made a motion to Bud, pointing to his watch.  Outside the door, Secret Service Agent White stared out the window.  He, too, caught a faint whiff of ether before a cloth was placed over his mouth.

---

Bud made another sweeping bow with his cape and told Prince Aaron.  "I'm sorry our visit must come to a close, but I think it's time I returned to the Daily Planet." and winked. 

Prince Aaron nodded to return the bow and said, "Thank you so much, Superman, for agreeing to meet me." 

Hugo turned as the door opened.  Three men in trenchcoats with their hats pulled low entered.  One of them held a Luger, pointing it at the Prince.  "We have been following you for some time, Prince Aaron.  Now you and your friends will come with us." 

Bud recognized the German accents, as Hugo spat, "Boche svine!"  

WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO PRINCE AARON AND BUD COLLYER? 

WHAT PART WILL HUGO PLAY IN THE NAZI'S SCHEME? 

DON'T MISS THE NEXT EXCITING CHAPTER 

“POWERS BEYOND THOSE OF MORTAL MEN" 

NEXT WEEK ONLY ON GLASS HOUSE PRESENTS!

January 2008

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CHAPTER ONE 

"AND WHO, DISGUISED AS MILD MANNERED REPORTER CLARK KENT…"

It was a brisk March 1940 morning, the winds strong and gusty as Bud walked down the street toward the RCA Studios at Radio City. He had several shows to perform today, and wanted to get a head start on rehearsal.

 Near the entrance, Bud stopped at the newsstand just outside. Boyce, the newsboy, handed him the latest VARIETY. 

"—And I put something extra inside, Mr. Collyer!" Bud thanked him, then headed inside. 

Entering the studio, Bud passed through the receptionist area and paused to say hello to his co-workers, Jackie Kelk and Joan Alexander. Jane resembled the Lois Lane character in the SUPERMAN comic book. Something fell from the pages of his VARIETY.  "I think you dropped this, Bud." Jackie handed him a thin, brightly colored book.

It was the new issue of SUPERMAN COMICS. Bud laughed along with everyone else in the room.  "Boyce did it to me again!"

Joan Alexander remarked, "How long has he known your 'secret identity', Bud?"  Bud Collyer picked up the comic and made a face.

He had no idea where Boyce had learned that he was the secret voice of SUPERMAN on the popular radio program. By agreement with the producers, his name was never given out as playing the part. The comic publishers wanted the kids to believe that Superman played himself on the show. Collyer agreed with that, as he felt it might interfere with his other radio work. The soap operas he also worked on might not play as well with the Man from Krypton in them.

Jackson Beck entered the room. "Did anyone see that fellow in the receptionist's room? His hands made Jimmy Rogan's look small!" Bud startled. Jimmy was the sound effects man on ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN and had the largest hands the cast had ever seen on a human being.  In fact he had once broken off the triggers of two prop guns with his thumbs.

Bud and Jackie Kelk decided to check out the visitor. They tiptoed to the door and looked outside.

Sitting in a wooden chair was a blocky man in bright orange pinstripes. His billious green bowtie didn't just clash with the outfit—it positively exploded. To top it off, the man had a short red buzz-cut haircut, with a spread of freckles across his face. To describe him as stout didn't mean he was fat, rather that he was built like a barrel, with stocky arms and legs. He had enormous hands and feet.  It was hard to say how tall he was since he was sitting, but Bud estimated he couldn't be over four foot six or so.

Jackie and Bud returned to the conference room. "Jeepers, Bud! That guy could close a door by just standing in it!" It wasn't much of a stretch for Jackie to play the irrepressible Jimmy Olsen character on the show. 

Julian Noa, the voice of Daily Planet editor Perry White, entered the room. "Bud, there're some fellows waiting to see you in the next room. I think it's important." Bud groaned. "Not someone from Kellogg's, I hope. I may be sponsored by PEP, but there's nothing in the job description that says I have to eat it!"

Amid laughter, Bud got up and went into the adjoining room. Two men in dark suits looked up and gave him a long glance, then turned to speak softly with each other.

Bud could overhear some of their speech. "—I think he'll do."

The taller of the two stood up. "Mr. Collyer, my name is Mister Black. My associate is Mister White." A small smile crept over Bud's face. "I think our writers could make up better names than that, if you need them." White grunted. "They do well enough for our needs. Have a seat."

Black took a leather billfold out of his jacket and laid it in front of Collyer. A silver Secret Service badge showed. "Now you know who we work for. Your country has need of your services, Mr. Collyer." 

"Sounds like a draft notice to me, but I thought you got those in the mail." Bud quipped.

"Nothing so ordinary as that, I assure you the job we need you for will be a lot more dull." White answered.  From a folder, he removed a 8 x 10 photo showing a young boy in a crown and robe.  "This is a picture of Prince Aaron, of the Principality of Kassandra. He's been visiting our country, although it's been kept quiet. His father is one of those opposed to Hitler and his Nazi thugs, and we're trying to give him all the support we can, unofficially of course."

Bud studied the photo. "He looks like a bright young kid.  How old is he?"

Black replied. "Only 8, but he's very taken with America so far. Particularly one show on the Mutual Network."

Bud smiled.  "I don't suppose I could hope it is THE LONE RANGER?"

Absolutely nothing could crack a smile on these two, Bud thought. "No sir. It's THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN. In particular, he wants to meet Superman in person.  We would like to give him that opportunity."

Bud relaxed. "Sure, why not bring him up and let him watch us perform a dress rehearsal?  I'm sure the rest of the cast would go along with that."

White shook his head. "No, it's not that simple. He doesn't want to meet the actors who perform SUPERMAN.  He wants to meet the REAL Superman."

Bud grew more serious. "That won't work. The comic publishers tried that at the World's Fair.  They hired an actor to wear a costume, and the kids there gave him Bronx cheers. That's one reason I've never worn a costume for a publicity picture.But if you have to have a Superman, I think that fellow is still around. His name is Ray Middleton...."

Black now shook his head.  "No, he's out in Hollywood filming a movie—GANGS OF CHICAGO. We only need Superman for about an hour, so he's not cost-efficient. Even the government has a budget."

Bud then asked, "How about that guy at the Macy's event?" Black said "He's no actor, and anyway he doesn't sound like you."

Bud sighed. "Well, I don't have a costume. I suppose I could put on glasses and be Clark Kent.  Most of the rest of the cast can pass for their parts—"

White reached down and brought up a long flat box. "The staff of the DAILY PLANET won't be necessary. All we need is a brief appearance by Superman." He slid the box across the table to Collyer.

Bud swallowed, afraid to open the box, sure of what it contained. Raising the lid, he spied a sky blue shirt with a triangular emblem. Inside that was a red S and at the top, the name SUPERMAN.

WHO IS THE MYSTERIOUS STRANGER IN THE OUTER OFFICE AND WHAT DOES HE MEAN TO OUR HERO? 

WILL BUD COLLYER DON THE RED AND BLUE UNIFORM OF SUPERMAN?

DON'T MISS CHAPTER TWO—“IT'S A BIRD! IT'S A PLANE!"

COMING TO THIS WEBSITE NEXT WEEK!

 December 2007

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HI, THERE BOYS AND GIRLS!

AMERICA'S LOCAL CHILDREN'S TV PROGRAMS

BY TIM HOLLIS

Reviewed by Mike Curtis

University Press of Mississippi

www.upress.state.ms.us

I recommend this book! Most of the people visiting this website are familiar with the phenomenon of local kiddie-show hosts in years past.  If not, here's what it was like where I grew up, in Jackson Tennessee. There we got four TV stations from Memphis and one local station. 

We were lucky enough to get FIVE hosted kid shows in the 1950's and '60's. Over at Channel 5 was Loony Zoo, with Trent Wood in a candy stripe jacket with Tiny the Clown. This series always had a kiddie gallery of 20 or more children visiting the show.  There were puppets like Ima the Emu and Poindexter Fox. I was once in the kid gallery, and vividly recall when Trent had to go on vacation. The show took a page from Howdy Doody and did some filming at Overton Park of Trent hunting the elusive 23 SKIDOO. Trent and Tiny as they were known, were immensely popular in West Tennessee. Strangely enough, for many years they also hosted a Thanksgiving special with cartoons sponsored by DixieMart/Carondolet stores as Captain Corondolet and the Dixie Martian, with their Loony Zoo appearances unchanged. Trent tended to show Mr. Magoo, Dick Tracy and Warner Brothers cartoons, as well as lesser Hanna Barbera.

Over at Channel 13, HAPPY HAL began his long career with a lunchtime show featuring POPEYE.  Later on, he had Fun House for 2 hours after school. Hal Miller owned Happy Hal's Toy Town and spinner racks all over the south had banners with him and his puppet LITTLE BO.  Miller was on air for around 20 years and showed every imaginable cartoon in existence from Mighty Hercules to Dodo—the Kid from Outer Space. From start to finish though, it was Popeye and The Three Stooges that were his mainstays. Following his show was the 15 minute Captain Bill Killebrew, starting with QT HUSH and then moving on to serials for the rest of his run.  One of my favorite bloopers came from this series. Cap'n Bill was showing Robinson Crusoe of Clipper Island, a dog of a serial, with Mala. One Friday, the last chapter was playing, and apparently the show ran long.  Mala escaped certain death, the crooks ran around a corner and Cap'n Bill appeared. 'HEY-KIDS-LOOKS-LIKE-THE-BAD-GUYS-GET-AWAY-THIS-WEEK! See you Monday!" You know I had to wait 20 years to see the end of that serial?  Talk about a cliffhanger! 

After Loony Zoo closed its doors, Dick Williams began Magicland on Sunday mornings, again with the Warner cartoons, and a LARGE kid audience.  This aired on Sunday mornings, so I never got to see it.  Dick was a professional magician, and did tricks rather than converse with puppets.  From 1966 to 1989 magic reigned supreme on WMCTV. Williams also did the weather and occasionally would perform magic tricks on the news. 

Over in Jackson, we had one host, and she's still busy today. Doris Freeman is a legend in anyone's book, and is recognized as one of the few females on radio before 1920 (she was singing with a big band).  For TV she became COUSIN TUNY and still answers to Cuz. She showed Bugs Bunny and others, as well as Deputy Dawg, sponsored by BOSCO, of course.  Since it's inception, she has been one of the big wheels with the Cerebal Palsy Telethon in Jackson, and one of the more surreal moments happened in the 1960's when she co-hosted it with Johnathan Frid, then playing Barnabas Collins on Dark Shadows. 

Yes, I went a little long there.  But if you didn't grow up in those days, you really missed the most unsung creative talents in the world. As soon as I heard of this tome, I could not wait to read it.  I cannot imagine how difficult it was to research and put together.  Tim Hollis lists every state in the Union, then each town.  From there we read about each station that had a kid show, the years it ran, the cast, sponsors and cartoon fare, as well as behind-the-scenes stories.  At over 300 DENSELY INFORMATIVE pages, this is an encyclopedia, not a novel.  Plus, let's not forget the many pictures. 

And by kid shows, he also includes the many Romper Room and SANTA CLAUS shows throughout the nation, as well as lesser lights like MR. BINGLE.   

Here's just a few nuggets from the book: 

What host had part of the Atlantic shoreline named for his character?  

What nautical host was the most convincing since he had a wooden peg leg? 

Is it true that Young Frankenstein star Peter Boyle was the son of a Host?   

What longtime host credited his TV character as saving him from alcoholism? 

What happened when Mister Do-Bee visited a Maine ROMPER ROOM? 

Is it true that Jay Ward visited a show and led the kiddies in a different version of the Mickey Mouse Club theme?

Which children's host was murdered by a jealous husband?

Which nine TV hosts were picked to star in the Three Stooges' last theatrical film?

Is it true that one western host fired his six shooters at a special guest, the then Presidential candidate, JFK? 

What TV drunk was originally a space ace host? 

Is it true that captain video became a cartoon host after Dumont faded?  

Which host was good friends with the Three Stooges and often had them visit his show live? 

Who was the first TV Bozo and why would he be famous without his makeup? 

What former Bozo became the first Hamburger clown? 

And there are so many more!  In addition to detailing the exploits of the children's friends, Hollis goes into great detail about the many series (cartoon and live) that filled the hours of these shows (from THE FUNNY COMPANY to JOT).  You'll read about Bonomo Turkish Taffy, Tastykake, Bosco, Mickey's Devil Dogs and the many other sponsors of your favorite afternoon pal.   And everyone should know about the 1972 act that doomed many of their series, as well as HUNDREDS of BOZOS! 

There're laughs (the host who hated chocolate milk and faded to a slide when he had to drink it, so he could hand the glass to a co-worker, who drank it and handed him the empty glass) and tragedy (the host who went to a mental hospital and then took his own life by jumping out a window) to the touching (one long retired host with Alzheimers who could only perk up when his puppet co-hosts were brought to him, and then he would interact with them).  

This isn't a light read.  This is a book to savor and share with your many holiday visitors this Christmas.  "Hey Bobby!  Did you know that the Uncle Wowzer you watched as a kid was also a State Senator?" (True Story—read it inside)  

Highly recommended reading!

December 2007

---

A COMIC STRIP YOU'LL NEVER SEE

Artist Joe Staton has been a friend of mine for many years, we met at a convention with Kirk long ago.   

He and wife Hilarie and friend Libby Singleton visited our farm a couple of years ago. While eating breakfast before the visit, we told Joe we were going to dress him in a costume and take pictures of him at our house, but we wouldn't tell him the costume. 

When they arrived, I asked Joe what his dream art job would be. Without any hesitation, he said "Drawing DICK TRACY with Max Allen Collins scripting." Joe has worked for possibly every comic company in existence and drawn everyone but Tracy, except for a publicity piece. But he and I both grew up in the same area, and read TRACY in the Jackson Sun newspaper in our youth. Later on during the visit, I brought out a Tracy yellow trench coat and hat, and we made pix of him to his delight. 

Now, if you don't follow it online, the TRACY strip has been losing papers the past few years.  Collins left long ago, and it is continued by two Tribune staffers.  Or it was, until writer Mike Kilian died last year. I read the news and immediately contacted Joe. "I'm not Collins, but you want to make a try at it?" 

I scripted six dailies and Joe did the art. Shanda Fantasy Arts staffer Charles Gray lettered them.  The sequence is the start of a new adventure with an old villain—kind of.   

And we had one rule that was hard and fast—Tracy wears a hat. 

Tribune likes the old villains to return every so often, and one of my favorite 1950's TRACY sagas lasted almost a year, the one this is a sequel to.  The background is given in the scripts, but also, we wished to show we could depict violence without depicting it, as one cannot do that nowadays in the funny papers. 

Since you won't get to see how the adventure progresses, I'll give the story away. 

A passing stranger walked by the demolished old hideout of Mr. Crime, and found a locked metal box. Inside were blackmail secrets and records from long ago, including the key to a safety deposit box crammed with cash for a quick getaway. Now, since everyone seems to have a computer now, he decides to become the new "Mr. Crime." (Note: his face is never shown in the strip, nor his real name given) 

When Panda (the bald headed man in the last strip) gets paroled, he is contacted by Mr. Crime to start work anew. He never sees the new criminal (just as some of the artists who work on our comics have never been seen by us.)  He takes on the identity of Mr. Crime more and more.  The band mentioned in the first strip?  Bankrolled by him. He gets eccentric with it, and even steals the Muerte vine from the City Botanical Gardens. The original Mr. Crime used it to dispose of corpses. 

In the conclusion and chase, Panda flees to the location he has picked up packages at, and finds the computer criminal.  Not believing he is Mr. Crime, he kills him while trying to locate his boss in vain. 

We had plans to update other criminals from Tracy's past and resurrect them. I wanted to bring back Flyface and the Fifth and had a unique storyline for them. Last seen around 1959, they were wiped out by a tidal wave in Hawaii. The only traces left were a pile of sand with a swarm of flies and the Fifth's swim trunks. 

When they returned, they would explain their deaths had been faked by the US Government as they were undercover rooting out terrorists and now raise money to do so in a new racket. 

Heck, I even had a method to bring back BB EYES!  And since he was a tire bootlegger then, now he bootlegs videos! 

There are still a lot of things that have never been done with Tracy. His family has never been mentioned in the strip) other than Tess, Junior and son William.) For our purposes, Tracy would be been around 40, and his WWII adventures would have been a few years ago. Gould did the same thing in 1949 when BB Eyes widow teamed up with Itchy. She refers to her husband dying six years ago rather than the 9 it really was. 

And I wanted to also do the occasional "fanservice" gag.  One day might find Sam and Lizz discussing the vanishing comic strips in their daily newspaper (like SAWDUST) and Tracy would remark his favorite was Fearless Fosdick.  One visit to Diet Smith's place might find the Space Coupe with a dusty tarp over it. Tracy would stand there and remark he was "just remembering..." 

Alas, these plans may never happen. 

Tribune signed a contract with longtime artist Dick Locher to write and draw TRACY. You can look in on it here. http://www.gocomics.com/dicktracy/ 

But Joe and I still hold out hope that one day, we can show our stuff with a hero we both grew up reading.

Mike Curtis

Curtis Farm

September 2007

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Review

CURT SWAN:  A LIFE IN COMICS

BY EDDY ZENO

I've known Eddy Zeno for a long time.  I respect him as a knowledgeable and erudite Superman collector and expert.  So I wasn't surprised when he wrote a book on an iconic Superman artist, CURT SWAN.  I expected the book to be well researched, informative and comprehensive.

I did not expect the book to be GREAT, but it is.

Surely, everyone visiting this site is familiar with the artwork of Curt Swan, but just in case:

Curt Swan was one of the "defining" artists on Superman. He began his long career with JIMMY OLSEN in the 1950's, then moved on to SUPERMAN almost immediately.  He continued to draw the Man of Steel (as well as the LEGION OF SUPER HEROES) through the 1960's, '70's, '80's and well into the 1990's.

I have a small amount of fame as a longtime Superman expert, but Eddy brings out things I never knew about the Man of Steel and Curt Swan.  It helps tremendously that he was able to get interviews with such luminaries as Alan Moore, Mark Waid, Kurt Schaffenberger, Julie Schwartz, and even Curt Swan himself.

Of course, since Curt is so defined by his artwork, this book is loaded with art, in both black & white and color.

There are examples of his early work on NEWSBOY LEGION, BOY COMMANDOS, GANGBUSTERS, and even pre-comic material from his WWII days. There is even a MIGHTY MOUSE cover.

I didn't realize that the first team up of Superman and Batman was drawn by Swan, or that he did some of the SUPERMAN daily comic strips.  That era of Superman's career is largely unavailable, so I was unaware that such treasured 1950's tales as THE UGLY SUPERMAN and the first appearance of BRAINIAC also took place in the daily pages drawn by Swan.

There are also seldom-seen sketches and promotional art by the master.

In my opinion, by itself, the color section in the center alone is worth the price of the book.  Set amongst familiar covers and poses from Swan's voluminous work on the Man of Steel, Eddy Zeno gives insightful commentary and analysis of Swan's approaches, strengths and distinctive touches.

Truly, Curt Swan was an artist "with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men!" Eddy Zeno makes that point clear, both in color and black and white.

This book needs to be on every Superman fan's bookshelf, and I am proud to have it on mine.

Eddy did a really good job on this book.

CURT SWAN: A LIFE IN COMICS, by Eddy Zeno, Vanguard Productions.  Available in both regular hardcover ($34.95) and deluxe signed edition ($49.95)

creativemix.com/vanguard

August 2007

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DICK TRACY: AMERICA'S BABYSITTER

 

Strange title, huh?  But there's a reason for it.

 

I was a lucky kid in the late 1950's.  I had a mother who grew up reading comic books, particularly FLASH, GREEN LANTERN and WONDER WOMAN.  So when the anti-comic hysteria hit, she ignored it.  She knew I would take a comic book and be quiet for hours, even before I had learned to read and .

 

My mother was divorced and raising two kids alone when she met my dad in the mid-1950's.  They married and he adopted us children in 1959.  Around that time, he got a job transfer to Jackson, Tennessee.  He had been a manager of the Wonder Bread Bakery in Memphis, and now would run the depot in Jackson.  At this depot, trucks brought in fresh bread from Memphis and then the route trucks took it to all the local stores.  In addition, day old bread and cakes were sold in the thrift store up front. (That's why I grew up on Hostess Cupcakes.)

 

Dad ran the depot, and my mother worked for a while in the thrift store.  So each morning they'd get my older brother off to school and we would go to work.  I was 6 and not in school yet.  So how did they keep this kid quiet? 

 

GIVE HIM A COMIC BOOK.

 

Of course, in those days there were all kinds of comics.  A thick one would keep me in a corner most of the day quietly reading.  And I would reread it the next day usually.  About this time, Harvey Comics, which I worked for later in life, decided to make all their DICK TRACY comics 80-page Giants for a quarter.  This lasted 5 issues and then the title ended.  I fondly recall Mother buying me some of them.  I spent many hours being enthralled by Tracy, who also ran in the Sunday paper.  I was already familiar with him because, at the time, he was battling The Brush, a character who had hair all over his face, supposedly from atomic radiation.

 

What I WASN'T familiar with was the violence - and how Harvey "changed" the art to conform to the comics code.  Remember, I could read, but didn't have a college education yet.  Some of this was way over my head and Mother was too busy to sit and explain it to me.

 

Here's the comic I remember best:  DICK TRACY 143, December 1960, although most likely it came out much earlier than that.  This issue is particularly hard to get, as it is referred to in Overstreet and by collectors as "Measles, the teenage dope fiend."  I recall wondering what "dope" was.  The 1960's were just starting, and hadn't been very good to anyone yet.

 

In the story, Gravel Gertie is in prison, and serenades the convicts.  The prison matron, who is Measles' mother, and a guard use Gertie's mandolin to pass dope to the inmates.  She tries to stop them, while at the same time that Tracy disguises himself as a con and intervenes.

 

In the excerpt, the guard and matron have decided to kill Gertie by throwing her into some machinery and making it look like an accident.

The matron slips on some floor wax and falls in.  The last panel shows the guard watching, horrified and with his hair standing on end.  The panel shows the word balloon "Help! ---ulp!" and sound effects CRACK CRUNCH SNAP. 

 

Not exactly Rice Krispies, is it?  But what bothered me as a child was the panel before that.  Obviously in the original art that ran in newspapers back in the 1940's, the matron falls in the machinery.  But what we have here was a blur and a smudge and a color.  I can make out a hand - I think.

 

THAT scared me.  On the following page, Tracy takes the guard to identify the matron. 

 

There's the machinery, and a blank area colored PINK.

 

Brrr.

 

And then it got worse.

 

Later on in the story, Tracy ambushes Measles.  Measles drives away, leaving two of his hoods who Tracy shot.  Gertie runs out with an AX and calls for help.  (Why?  You'll learn in a minute.)  She then stands guard over the crooks, one of whom is trying to get up.

 

One panel shows Gertie with ax raised "KEEP DOWN OR I'LL--" and the hood is visibly crying.  His outstretched arm is darkened and speckled with the marks of violence.  (I hadn't noticed when I read this as a child, but Tracy shot him there.)  In the next panel he's crying about his arm.  I thought Gertie hit his arm with the ax every time he moved.  DAMN, what a tough broad!  Who needs Tracy when you've got old women with axes?

 

Meanwhile Tracy has his coat caught in Measles' bumper and is being dragged down the road at 40 miles an hour.  As if that wasn't enough, gas leaks on the coat and then sparks set it afire!

 

I imagine if my mom had looked at me reading DICK TRACY at the time, she would have thought my eyes were as big as basketballs.

 

The rest of the issue was tame compared to this.  Next month though, there was another Giant issue of DICK TRACY.  In this one he got married at Christmastime to Tess Trueheart.  On their honeymoon, he found a dead body in a storage closet after accidentally getting someone else's luggage containing a bloody rug.  The villain?  WORMY.

 

You know, until I saw FLYFACE in Tracy, I didn't think they came any more disgusting than Wormy.  Reading about this guy really made me hungry for hamburgers from Jolly Cholly's down the street. Yum Yum!

 

Luckily school soon started for me, and my encounters with DICK TRACY were relegated to Moon Maid adventures and Jo Jitsu on TV.

 

But for a brief time -- Dick Tracy was my babysitter!

 

Mike Curtis

June 2007