Sunday, March 4, 2012

Ralph McQuarrie (June 13, 1929 - March 3, 2012)

From Star Wars to BattleStar Galactica to Star Trek, among many others...
Star Wars
 Ralph McQuarrie envisioned worlds beyond belief for two generations of movie and tv sf/fantasy fans.
BattleStar Galactica
Star Trek: Planet of the Titans (1976, unproduced)

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Reading Room: GULLIVAR JONES "What Price Victory?"

The John Carter movie is only a week away (March 9th)...
Art by Gil Kane
Meanwhile, we're continuing the adventures of his swashbuckling predecessor on Mars, Gullivar Jones, as we present, from Creatures on the Loose #20 (1972), the fifth chapter of the short-lived, never-reprinted, comic adaptation...
Has Gullivar been reunited with Heru only to die on the red Martian sands?
(Remember, there was only one Gullivar Jones book!
No sequel!)
When next we meet up with Gullivar...it's the fearsome finale of this story!
Note: Gray Morrow steps up to assume the art chores (pencils and inks) for the final two issues of Gullivar's Creatures on the Loose run.

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Friday, March 2, 2012

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Reading Room: GULLIVAR JONES "Long Road to Nowhere"

The John Carter movie is only a week away (March 9th)...
Art by Gil Kane and Frank Giacoia
Meanwhile, we're continuing the adventures of his swashbuckling predecessor on Mars, Gullivar Jones, as we present, from Creatures on the Loose #19 (1972), the fourth chapter of the short-lived, never-reprinted, comic adaptation...
To be continued HERE!
The artist round-robin continues as long-time Superman artist Wayne Boring steps in for an issue, inked by long-time Supergirl artist Jim Mooney!
At this time, Boring also did the first three issues (#22-24) of the 1972 revival of Captain Marvel.
George Alec Effinger goes solo on the scripting and continues to the end of the series in Creatures on the Loose #21.
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Wednesday, February 29, 2012

YouTube Wednesday: The John Carter Movies that Never Were...

You might have heard about a new John Carter of Mars movie...
...bud did you know about the movie versions that went as far as having test reels produced?
In 1931, legendary animator Bob Clampett worked with John Coleman Burroughs (Edgar Rice's son) to create the following piece...

No movie studio was interested in backing the project.
Most told Clampett that their audiences has no interest in "realistic" animation!
(The Fleischer Brothers proved them wrong with Superman in 1941...)

In 2004, Kerry Conran pitched a John Carter movie done in almost total CGI...

...like the movie he just completed, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow!
If Sky Captain had done better business at the box office, Kerry undoubtedly would have been given the green light.
But, it didn't, and he wasn't.

The film that finally was produced after years of delays, rewrites, and changes in writers, directors, and cast, opens March 9th...

Looks good, and I'm hopeful it'll begin a franchise...

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