Friday Fun: Before X-MEN '97! Before X-MEN the Animated Series! There was X-MEN "Pryde of the X-Men"!!!

When you watch X-Men '97 on Disney+...

...ask yourself what do you know about what led to it...even before the now-legendary animated TV series aired in the mid-1990s...

Did you know about the then-heavily-promoted pilot by Marvel Animation, New World Studios, and Toei Entertainment that aired in syndication during September 1989?

Marvel Comics devoted much of their monthly "prozine" Marvel Age's 63rd issue to the project (including a new cover by the pilot's primary character designer Russ Heath which was also used for the first VHS release of the cartoon)!

Here's the main article...

(Note the panels running along the bottom of the pages are actually from a storyboard used during production)

In addition, there was an animators' size-comparison chart...

...and the issues's back cover was an illustration showing the characters'...backsides!

Two special treats for you...

First, the centerfold from this issue of Marvel Age by ever-amazing fan-turned-pro writer/artist Fred Hembeck about the fan anticipation for the pilot...

...and here's the pilot itself!

Note, it's from an EP (6-hour speed) VHS release.

(The slower the speed, the poorer the quality!

But a studio could fit more shows and/or movies on a single video cassette at a bargain price!)

Note: There is an SP (2 Hour Speed) VHS from New World Video...

...released to comics stores and Tower Video (remember them)?
All the others are EP (6 Hour Speed)!

Try to find this version in used video bins!

Don't Miss X-Men '97!

Please Support Atomic Kommie Comics

Visit Amazon and Buy...

Marvel Animation Special

X-Men

(A trade paperback "photonovel" graphic novel taken from screengrabs of the "Pryde of the X-Men" pilot!)

Paid Link

Dick Tracy Revives a Dead Villain...

The current Dick Tracy continuity (aka storyline) features a familiar...yet unfamiliar...face...

...who's likely based on a villain most CrimeStoppers (as some Tracy fans call themselves) have never seen!

In the spring of1966, due to the success of midseason replacement Batman, producer William Dozier was asked to try out other comic properties as TV series for the 1966-67 season.

He considered three...

Wonder Woman

(which resulted in a test reel featuring gorgeous future Planet of the Apes starlet Linda (Nova) Harrison as Wonder Woman...(actually a delusional Diana Prince's self-image of herself) which you can see HERE.)

The Green Hornet

(which had a half-hour pilot, then a one-season series that (damn it) still isn't available on DVD/BluRay or streaming!

and

Dick Tracy

(in a half-hour pilot starring future soap opera fixture Ray MacDonnell as the square-jawed hero!)

The villain of the episode was Victor Buono as Mr Memory, a villain who used computers linked directly to his brain...

.....does he look...familiar?

In reference to the "henchmen" the as yet-unnamed character mentions, Tracy made short work of them using karate!
(He was a serious kick-ass in this version!)
There's a kool blog entry about the pilot HERE with a link to the pilot on YouTube!

Is the character in the strip, in fact, Mr Memory?
Keep reading in your local paper or HERE to find out!

(Trivia: there was a Dick Tracy novel by William Johnston issued in 1970 featuring a villain named "Mr Computer".
Since Johnston was primarily a novelization writer doing books based on TV series and movies ranging from Get Smart to Room 222 to Klute to Caligula, I suspect this was based on unused plots for the TV series featuring Mr Memory.)

Adam West (1928-2017)

This is a post I hoped I'd never write...

Batman is dead.

Actually, Adam West, the actor who personified the character for a generation of fans (and many since) has passed away.

Many will discuss his portrayal of the Caped Crusader, but, I'd like you fans to see a project that, had it sold, could've gotten him back to the level of William Shatner in terms of overcoming the heroic stereotyping and re-establishing him as a full-time working performer.

Lookwell, created and written by Robert Smigel and Conan O'Brien in 1991.
Forgive me, but my eyes are too clouded with tears to continue...