Sunday, March 24, 2024

It's Palm Sunday! Did You Know the Very First Captain of the USS Enterprise...

...was Jesus Christ?
Jeffrey Hunter as Jesus Christ in King of Kings (1961)
 Jeffrey Hunter as Captain Christopher Pike with Leonard Nimoy as Mr Spock in Star Trek "The Cage" (1964)
Here's"six degrees of separation" trivia in only five degrees:
  • John Huston, who later did a prequel movie, The Bible: In the Beginning, directed Moby Dick, using a screenplay adapted by Ray Bradbury from the Herman Melville novel.
  • Ray Bradbury wrote the voiceovers in King of Kings spoken by Orson Welles.
  • Welles' The Shadow and Mercury Theatre radio series co-star Agnes Moorehead served as dialogue coach to  Jeffrey Hunter (Jesus Christ) in King of Kings.
  • Jeffrey Hunter later played Christopher Pike, the first captain of the Starship Enterprise in the pilot episode of Star Trek, "The Cage".
  • Star Trek did an episode, "Bread and Circuses", about a planet where parallel evolution produced a society that resembled a 20th Century version of the Roman Empire, complete with it's own "Christians" and Jesus Christ (who doesn't appear on-camera, but is mentioned in dialogue)!

Saturday, March 23, 2024

Space-Hero Saturdays CAPTAIN MIDNIGHT "...Finds the Lunar Lair!"

Place Your Bets, Ladies and Gentlemen!
Note: they still haven't fixed Jagga's chameleon-like coloring!
Judging from the cover, that trial is going to be a killer!
The unknown writer and artist Leonard Frank bring back long-time aides Joyce Ryan and Chuck Ramsey for a brief visit in this tale from Fawcett's Captain Midnight #55 (1947), though they don't actually participate in the adventure!
It's also their final appearance in the series.

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Friday, March 22, 2024

Friday Fun! MAY THE FOURTH BE WITH YOU...All Day and All Night!

All nine films...in chronological order!
Not since the legendary "Go Ape for a Day" marathon...
...featuring the complete, original, five-film Planet of the Apes saga in the early 1970s has such an event been staged!
Note: that marathon was in release order, as shown on the poster, not chronological order, which would've been Escape, Conquest, Battle, Planet, and finally, Beneath!
And, while I was up for that, I'm not sure my now-senior citizen's body is prepared for nine flicks in, I presume, 24 (or more) hours!
But perhaps the Force will be with me!
I'll let you know on May 5th!

Thursday, March 21, 2024

Easter Reading Room EASTER WITH MOTHER GOOSE "Mr Dumpty Gets Mended" and "Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater"

More holiday fun with Walk Kelly's adaptations of nursery rhymes...
...starting with a never-reprinted revisionist short from Dell's Four Color Comics #140: Easter with Mother Goose (1947), showing the Easter Bunny succeeding where All the King's Horses and All the King's Men failed!
Revisionism continues the next year, with another never-reprinted short (with guest-stars Jack and Jill), this time from Dell's Four Color Comics #185: Easter with Mother Goose (1948)...
Should we ask why Peter isn't actually living with his wife?
Trivia: this issue features the now-repaired Humpty Dumpty on the cover!
All script and art by Walt (Pogo) Kelly!

Wednesday, March 20, 2024

Wednesday Worlds of Wonder WOLFF "City in the Clouds" and "Return of Sadya"

We Have Already Seen...

...Wolff rescues Katerina, who brings him to her sorcerer father's kingdom...in the sky!
Will Wolff and Katerina survive Sadya's attack?
Let's See...

Where's the conveniently-placed synopsis to explain everything going on in this post-apocalyptic world where magic rules and technology is all but forgotten?
Oh, it's at the top of Page 2!
Carry on...
Now the story makes sense!
Interestingly, this concludes the major plotline in the Wolff strip, with Wolff's final adventure beginning...
NEXT WEDNESDAY