Grand Funk Adams!

Neal Adams was an artist who penetrated not just the comics world, but having come from the world of advertising fit well into other formats such as movie posters and covers for music albums. 

They have a made a comeback in recent years, but for decades album covers were one of the coolest places to seek out interesting artwork. Adams made perhaps his splash with his artwork for Grand Funk Railroad's All The Girls in the World album cover. 

As seen above the art was used not for the album cover but for the concert posters as well. His MAD magazine approach to rendering the members of the band captures the over-the-top fun they exuded when at the top of their game. If perchance you're one of the unenlightened who have not yet sampled the Grand Funk goods, check out this link. 

It's a smoother sleeker sound found in Bill LaBounty. This album cover for Promised Love is an errant cover from a typical romance comic book of the time. To get a sample check out this link. 

The Mighty Groundhogs get a "superhero" styled cover for their album titled Who Will Save the World?  To sample these almost super-heroes, check out this link. 

And finally, we have Trixter in this self-titled album. This is a heavy-metal group with the usual combo of music and strut that typified these bands. Get a sample of their sound at this link. 

Sights and sounds are a great way to wrap up a wild and wooly month. If you know of a Neal Adams album cover I've overlooked, please let me know. 

Next stop is December. See you then. 

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Warp The Phantasmagorical!

I'm rather a fan of Warp. After reading the detailed article in Comic Book Creator from Twomorrows Publishing, I'm even more fascinated by this Broadway play which attempted to translate the excitement and philosophy of Marvel Comics to the live action stage. With so much attention these days on the cinematic Marvel Universe, it behooves us all to take a glance at what was the first attempt to translate the adventures of those kinds of heroes to a live setting.

The article interviews the creators of the play Stuart Gordon and Edmund St.Bury (pen name for Lenny Kleinfeld) among others who were involved in the earliest days. Chicago's Organic Theater was one more hippie experiment in 1971 trying to put on thought-provoking drama in a time when lots of pop culture seemed to be designed to be enjoyed while high. The play Warp falls into that category. Early attempts to get permission to adapt Marvel Comics outright were rebuffed and the creators took it upon themselves to write their own "Marvel" comic story.

A normal man, a humble bank teller turns out to be the cosmically super-powered Lord Cumulus and heir to Fen-Ra becomes a hero battling the dark forces of his brother Lord Chaos and along the way encounters beautiful babes such as the warrior-chick Sargon and the insect queen Valeria. Lots more happens and other characters abound, but you get the gist. We have the makings of a cosmic hero saga. The play's narrative was divided into three parts and produced and performed over the course of several nights. In the days of small theater, the physical requirements of the show proved too much for some of the actors and the costuming was at once quaint and daring, making full use of the handsome bodies of the young actors who occupied the roles.

After a few years on the low-rent stages of Chicago it was thought a good idea to bring the play to Broadway. The production was upscaled, and circumstances were such that it started right out on the Big White Way as opposed to spending some useful months off-Broadway to hone the show to its larger setting. It proved disastrous and the show closed quickly.

Part of moving the play to Broadway involved redesigning aspects of the production and for that the greatest artist of the time was brought in, Neal Adams. Adams was at the height of his powers and brought his considerable talent to give the production a flair and a polish it might have been  lacking. While his designs might've been better suited to a comic page than a live stage, they were evocative and memorable. Adams also did many promotional pieces for the production which did a great job of selling the play in advance. 

It was revived in Chicago some years later which led eventually to a comic book adaptation by First Comics, one of the early publishers of the 80's looking to find purchase in the new Direct Sales market. The series lasted less than twenty issues, but the first nine are some of my favorite comics, adapting the three plays. Featuring artwork by Frank Brunner and writing by Peter B. Gillis, they are delightful comics, though the creators of the play say the series strips out the humor which was a vital part of the plays themselves.

A Warp movie might be fun too while I'm thinking about it. Given moder special effects, it could be a wonder to behold. 

Here is a collection with the first nine issues. I don't have it, but I wish I did.

 This Post is a Revised Dojo Classic. 

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Jack H. Harris Presents Blobermouth!

Jack H. Harris was a slick operator who spent his life distributing other people's movies and reaping a good enough living from that to be part of the Malibu Colony. But on the creative side he was of creating The Blob starring Steve McQueen. And he leveraged the fame which came from that success all the rest of his life. John Carpenter says Harris referenced The Blob when he was trying to get a deal for Dark Star, suggesting that film alone was enough for a young guy like Carpenter to trust him. But as the years went by, the drive-in market dwindled and then the movie rentals which killed that off started to weaken as well. What to do? 

At beginning of his film career Woody Allen had taken a Japanese spy thriller titled Secret Police: Key of Keys and totally redubbed it with comedic intent. He shifted scenes and added a few to create a brew which was entertaining under the title What's Up Tiger Lily?

Harris was no dummy. What had worked for Allen might well work for him many years later, so that in 1991 he allowed something similar to happen with his most famous effort -- The Blob. The result was a strange movie titled Blobermouth. And with a few animated tricks here and there and some manipulation of the original film elements, for the first time the Blob from the 1958 movie actually speaks. As it turns out, he's a smartass comedian in the style of Henny Youngman. 

The movie-in-a-movie is changed from Daughter of Horror (also known as Dementia) to The Mighty Peking Man. This adaptation is helped immensely by the rather overwrought acting of Steve McQueen in the original. The work on this new soundtrack was done by the L.A. Connection's Mad Movies outfit. Here's what they say about it. 

"LAC's improvision [sic] version of the 1958 Stever McQueen classic, one of the most well known [sic] of the many old sci-fi films. Teenager McQueen (in his first movie) and his friend struggle valiantly to keep a gelatinous glob from another galaxy from devouring their small town and its denizens. The new plot: A battle between Steve and the Blob to see who can get their act on The Tonight Show and be dicovered[sic]. In 1992, the All-Stars took improvisation one step farther, giving voice to The Blob via an animated mouth in a new film- BLOBERMOTH. BLOBERMOUTH brought internation acclaim to its LAC creators and the already famous film."

For proof of just how goofy a vintage flicker can get, watch the film below. I found the modified movie funnier than I expected, to be honest. 

And that wraps up my month-long look at the movies of Jack H. Harris. Harris was a creature of Hollywood, a guy always looking for that next hit, that next project which might win the day in the theaters. He felt like he was a creative guy and wanted input and felt genuinely that his changes often led to the success more than a few projects along the way. I'm not sure I actually admire a self-aggrandizing hustler like Harris, but I do respect the way he stayed in the fight. 

Have a Happy Thanksgiving (if you celebrate it) One and All! (Enjoy it, because next year we won't be able to afford it.)
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Jack H. Harris Presents The Blob 1988!

Thirty years after the success of The Blob in 1958, Jack Harris was involved in the remake. The first Blob was an alien entity which came to Earth as a meteor and then proceeded to gobble up as many lifeforms, including people as it could find. This new Blob came from a different source, perhaps an even more sinister source. Frank Darabont wrote the screenplay for this new and different Blob movie and Chuck Russell directed. Keving Dillon and Shawnee Smith are the young duo who are confronted with a menace not only to their own lives, the safety of their own town, but arguably to the soul of their nation. 

As in the first movie a meteor heralds the return of the menace of the Blob and again a poor man on the outskirts of town finds it. It's up to our young hero "Brian Flagg" (Dillon) to help. Flagg is a disaffected young man, a Huckleberry Finn type who is alienated from the people of his school and the town at large. "Meg Penny" (Smith) is a cheerleader who like most folks fails to understand Flagg. But she's not so smug as to not see him doing good when he brings the poor man into to town. He is fortunate not to be around when the Blob begins its terrifying reign and begins to dissolve and gobble up the town folk. As in the original it falls to two youngsters to shout the message and confront the creature. They both relieved when the United States military arrives. But what they don't know is that the menace is only just beginning. 

The 1988 movie reflects the cynicism of the time. Reagan was President and not Eisenhower, and while we've learned that all leaders sometimes have to hold back the truth from the people, the trust between the population and its government was especially strained in this era with scandals and the suggestion that the President might not have all his faculties. (Wait! That sounds familiar!) 

The special effects this time are truly gruesome and unlike the original Blob movie we get to see the absorption process. It's a pretty hideous process. The Blob of 1988 is like its predecessor of its time, and that realization saddens me. God only knows what another remake might have reason to comment on. It's well past time to find out. 

We wrap things up with the totally strange Blobermouth. 

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Jack H. Harris Presents Star Slammer - The Escape!

Man does this movie suck! The Adventures of Taura: Star Slammer - The Escape also known as Prison Ship among other things attempts to be a deep space adventure. This nitwit movie is all about a dame named Tara who is of all things, a miner on a planet named Arous. But the powers that be want whatever it is they are mining there and send their bully boys to push the miners out. It takes very little time and before you know it our heroine in in custody in space. Once there, this becomes a sci-fi version of every women's prison movie you've ever seen, but with less nudity. (Our heroine takes her shirt off twice.) The women act like bitchy cheerleaders more than actual prisoners. 

I might talk about who is in this one, but I've never heard of any of them. John Carradine makes one of the shortest cameos ever, appearing as a ghostly judge handing down the sentence. If he's on screen ten seconds, I'd be surprised. Aldo Ray is in it a wee bit longer, though he's nearly unrecognizable under extremely heavy make-up. Fred Olen Ray is the director, and this movie is rather typical for him, though usually the women in his movies have bigger boobs. (Am I obsessing about breasts in the post -- maybe.) Ray made the movie in only a few days at the ramshackle Roger Corman studio and Jack H. Harris fronted him some cash to finish the movie. The movie is mostly just a bunch of cliches from prison movies. 

This is not a movie you should waste your time on, unless like me you are craven little snit who has to see every appearance or film by a given actor or director or in this case producer. Be better. Do something with your life before it's too late. 

Believe it or not, next it's The Blob yet again!

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Jack H. Harris Presents Eyes Of Laura Mars!

Eyes of Laura Mars is an interesting movie in many ways. Watching this slow-burning 1978 thriller I was struck by the location shooting in New York City. The streets and architecture of the city in those days was rife with character. The city was run down at the time, and movies of the era capture that decline. This movie does so as well. Jack Harris became involved with this project when John Carpenter shared an eleven-page treatment for a potential film. Harris saw potential in the story and later so did Jon Peters who came to a deal with both Harris and Carpenter and put it into production with Faye Dunaway starring. She'd just won an Oscar for Network and her name carried a lot of weight at the time. Tommy Lee Jones was an up-and-coming actor at the time and puts in a remarkable performance. 

The movie earns its "R" rating with some small upper-frontal nudity. I'd forgotten how models of the era were prized for their slender frames. The girls who share their fetching looks in this one look malnourished to me, but that's probably just a matter of personal taste. The movie is helped to no end by strong performances from both Rene Auberjounos and Brad Dourif. In a movie with a mysterious killer both are well chosen to fill a roster of possible perpetrators. Raul Julia shows up just enough for you not to forget that he too might be the one. 

I'm not a particular fan of Barbara Streisand, but her performance of "Prisoner" the theme song for the movie was quite nice. Harris said that when Peters first saw Carpenter's treatment, he first thought of Streisand for the lead. Personally, I'm glad the part was handed to the superior Dunaway. This is pretty good movie, not a great one by any means, but good enough for what it is. 

Next time things get really strange when The Adventures of Taura: Star Slammer - The Escape takes the center ring. 

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The Horse And The Boy!

The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis from 1954 was the fifth book published in The Chronicles of Narnia, but it is the third one to read in the chronological order. It is the story of Shasta, a young orphan who is raised as a slave in the kingdom of Calormen. He longs to escape his situation and when he meets Bree, a talking warhorse, he gets his chance. Bree is a talking horse from the land of Narnia and was taken while still quite young and trained for the battlefield. The two team up and head for Narnia. 

The duo soon meets Aravis and Hwin. The former is a princess longing to escape an arranged marriage. The latter is another talking horse, also longing for Narnia. The four join forces and we follow their adventures. They are forced get disguises to travel through the bustling city of Tashban where they get separated. Shasta is mistaken for a prince named Corin when he meets up with King Edmund and Queen Susan from Narnia. The latter two are the adults who we are told ruled Narnia for many years before heading back through the wardrobe in the previous novel. 

There is more adventuring when Shasta at last gets out and heads to a massive graveyard where they quartet had arranged to meet if things got out of hand. Eventually all four are reunited and they head quickly to Narnia, because Aravis has become aware that Prince Rabadash is bent on attacking the magical territory because Queen Susan rebuffed his offers of marriage and had successfully escaped by ship from Tashban. In this quest across a desert the quartet encounters a lion who proves to be quite important their individual stories. 

This volume read more like a traditional fantasy or fairy tale adventure. A young boy finds a bit of a magic who begins to take advantage to change his circumstances. There's quite a bit of violence in this story, but the bloodshed is hardly front and center, nor the point of the novel. Bree the warhorse is a dandy character, who is confronted with some true dilemmas. We do get a sense of what Narnia is, and how it is perceived in the grander universe that Lewis has concocted. Pauline Baynes illustrations are particularly effective in the volume that I read. 

Next time, which will be in December, we will get around to Prince Caspian. 

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The Justice League Of Adams!

I don't want to forget some of my favorite Neal Adams covers in my year-long look back at the great artist -- the ones he created for the Justice League of America.  My absolute favorite of them is above. What a masterful composition, it's a fab cover that screamed at me from the spinner rack. Here are some more from the Master's hand. 

A few years past and then Adams returned to offer up a few more blockbuster cover efforts. 

These covers have potency and drama, the very stuff that Adams excelled at. 

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