Gold Key King Kong!

I recently completed reading the King Kong novel again. It's been a long long time since I read it. I like the novelization a lot, it adds quite a bit to the saga drawing from the original screenplay. Some of the stuff cut from the final movie is present in the novel, most notably the mates Jimmy and Lumpy and the famous ravine sequence. The way Jack Driscoll and Ann Darrow escape from Kong's lair high atop Skull Mountain is different too and bit a more practical if not visually interesting.

I bring all this up because I just completed reading again the Gold Key adaptation of the story, and it's clear that this story is based on the novel. And it's in fact likely that Alberto Giolitti and his team never saw the original movie. The plot details have much more in common with the novelization, including Jimmy and the bombs and the Skull Mountain escape. And the character designs are completely different. No one looks like they do in the original movie. This is a complete reimagining of the story from original source material, an interesting approach.

This is an authorized adaptation, strange to come so long after the film. A little research shows that Merriam C. Cooper only owned the rights to the novel outright, so likley this was an attempt to glean some income from his creation. Reasonable. And really despite multiple re-releases over the decades, comics were merely a glimmmer when Kong was first opened in theaters. Still to wait until the 60's is strange. To use Gold Key isn't, but then for someone who seemingly never saw the movie to draw it is odd, but refreshing. Maybe they sought someone like that. Probably Giolitti got the nod because his studio had experience with dinosaurs from Turok, or at least I'd like to think so.

Oh and I hope I'm not spoiling anyone by saying that Kong still dies in the end.

And I just discovered on this nifty ad I found, that this comic came out on my birthday. No wonder I love it.

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King Kong 1976!

I've seen this movie in the theater and I've had it on VHS for a long time. But last year I got hold of it on widescreen in DVD format. This reviled remake was my first version of the 8th Wonder of the World (if you don't count King Kong Versus Godzilla and the Gold Key comic), and it would be a few years before I was able to see the 1933 original. That said, I've a nostalgic affection for the '76 Kong out of all proportion to its merits. That said though, it's not as bad a movie as some would suggest.

The Good:

It's a pretty decent cast. Jeff Bridges as "Jack Prescott" is worthy as the hero though I find his rooting for Kong in the finale to be crass. Charles Grodin is delightful as "Fred Wilson"a greedy man with few redeeming qualities. Jessica Lange as "Dwan" is a beautiful beautiful woman and when she's not talking she demands your attention. The locations for this movie are outstanding. Beautiful scenery, both in the jungle and city scenes. Rick Baker in the ape suit is pretty good in places, especially the early facial acting. There's a lot of personality in that mug. The movie has a solid supporting cast with visually interesting guys spread throughout the crew.

The Bad:

There is way too little of Skull Island to make Kong work. The snake just isn't a worthy opponent, and we need dinosaurs darn it! The giant robotic Kong is one of the most laughable creations in all of film, and it's a shame it gets top billing over Rick Baker at the film's end. Baker is on screen as Kong almost all through the film, with the giant hand doing good work too. But the giant Kong is just ludicrous and only gets a few seconds of screen time. Dwan's dialogue is hard to swallow, it's so tied to the 70's culture. I'm still puzzled by the end of the movie, is she supposed to be trapped by fame, or is Jack just being a pain by abandoning her?


The Curious:

The biggest problem with this movie is that there is too much up front sympathy for Kong. Both Dwan and Jack actively root for him against human beings who are shown as so much fodder for Kong's destruction. That is a problem I often have with Kong movies, and it's that he's only partly a sympathetic creature. He's more like a tornado, a destructive force of nature and despite our desires it's sometimes necessary to quell such potential threats. Like a mad dog, Kong does need to be "put down" after his NYC rampages in all the movies. It's not pleasant, but it's necessary. The first movie gets that tension, the '76 remake is too sentimental, and the most recent remake strikes something of a middle ground if tending towards too much sympathy.

It's also interesting to see the Twin Towers being celebrated, still so new and emblematic of a civilized world order. The context of the modern world gives a fresh poignancy to the movie it couldn't possibly achieve on its own.

I really enjoy this flick, if only to see Lange. It's a fun and diverting movie. I adore the original Kong, but that doesn't stop me from finding things to like about this sequel. It is possible to like them both, I'm proof of that. I give King Kong 1976 three monkeys out of five!


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Not Quite Kong!

The covers above all feature giant apes, giant gorillas that are almost but not quite the ultimate giant--the mighty Kong!

King Kong is the ultimate monster movie, the source. It's seen often as an artifact of its time today, its power lost somewhat as technology and the sophistication of the audience have made it seem quaint. But the clarity of the storytelling and the purity of the characterization make it ring clearly even today.

I'm hoping to spend a few days on King Kong.

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IT! The Living Colossus!

I have real affection for this Tony Isabella and Dick Ayers Marvel monster classic. The concept is pretty clever. A special effects expert finds himself being able to animate IT, the Living Colossus. The monster showed up in two early Atlas monster comics, and was revived again in this series. IT found itself fighting other vintage Atlas monsters like the Giant Gargoyles from space, and the utlimate Marvel monster Fin Fang Foom.




The artwork was typical sturdy Ayers. The way the blended old story elements, actual pages and panels from the old comics, struck me as clever then. I'm sure some would attack the technique as cheesy and cheapjack. I liked it then, and I still do. The stories were plots merely meant to offer some excuse to have big monsters fight, but that was adequate and actually part of the genre.



I have a fondness for these. The Gil Kane covers for two issues are superb and the other covers are pretty good too, though I've often wished the final battle with Fin Fang Foom had a bit more oomph.

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The Demon!

I recently wrapped up the omnibus collection of Jack Kirby's The Demon. While I did collect up the run many years ago, The Demon was not one of the Kirby DC projects I followed much while it ran originally. I picked up a few later issues but only a sample. I later learned how good it was when I filled in that set. But I never really got it until I read it this time.

I've come to really appreciate the classic Universal horror flicks a great deal, in fact all old horror movies are of keen interest to me right now. I'm discovering new "old" movies all the time. And reading The Demon by Kirby really put me in the mind of those classics.

Kirby had revealed his affection for the old Universal monsters with his adorable Jimmy Olsen story about the odd folks from Transilvane. But in his Demon run, we get in addition to the stories about Morganne Le Fay and Merlin to establish the background, a story featuring a Werewolf (called a "Howler"), a Frankenstein-like monster built by a guy who dubbed himself "Evilstein", a Phantom of the Sewers who liked organ music a lot in addition to terrorizing young beautiful women, and other witches and zombies and such. There are even the obligatory villagers with torches. Each storyline reminded me of some old movie.

Kirby's Demon is a fast-paced adventure series, colorful and vivid. It's chock full of all sorts of weird spins on classic creatures of the cinema as well as a slam-bang action series. Good reading--again!

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Webb Wilder Weekend!

I'm going to be out of town for a few days. I'm off to"Webb Fan Fest", an annual celebration of the music of rock 'n roll detective Webb Wilder, the Last of the Full-Grown Men!

I've been a Webb Wilder fan since stumbling across his video Private Eye on USA Network's Night Flight way back in the 80's. The band named "The Beatnecks" has been touring again recently for several years now, and I've managed to see them a couple of times. Once at Webb Fest 2007 and later at a little bar in Huntington, West Virginia where for all intents and purposes we got a private show. The crowd was small but the entertainment was large. It's always a great show, and this one should be no different.

If you don't know about Webb Wilder, then check out this link.

So see you on the other side and until then remember...



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The Face!

A while back I picked up What Is The Face back issues, specifically #2 and #3. I got #1 as a premium with a Charlton Spotlight issue a few years ago and I've long wanted the others, especially #3 with that great Alex Toth cover.

All three issues are B&W and feature in the lead story new material featuring the old character The Face. Joe Gill does the honors on script and Steve Ditko draws all three new stories superbly inked by Frank McLaughlin. These are some striking and dramatic looking Ditko stories.

Each issue also has a vintage reprint. The debut offers up two--one a Face story. The later issues all have one--crime tales. One features George Tuska artwork and the other offers up Fred Guardineer. They look great, even in B&W.

The letters pages offer up a lot of raw stuff, especially a vivid conversation about speculation and retailers gouging consumers. Interesting glimpse into the market from 1986.

These are products of the B&W glut of the late 80's, but they are pretty interesting comics nonetheless.

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