The Last Starfighter Part One

The Last Starfighter
Part One
Marvel Super Special No. 31, 1984

What with all the renewed interest in 80s pop culture, as exemplified by the Netflix series Stranger Things, I thought I'd post the Marvel Comics adaptation of the 1984 movie The Last Starfighter.

I remember seeing the movie around the time it first came out; I haven't viewed it since then. More so than Star Wars, it was aimed at an audience of kids and 'tweeners', and took advantage of the arcade video game craze then going on.

I'm guessing that, like most of the feature film adaptations that Marvel did, the creative team received an early draft script in order to have the book finished in time to coincide with the film's debut. That said, the plotting in this Marvel Super Special pretty much stays true to the film, although teen love interest 'Maggie' certainly gets some enhanced cheesecake treatment in this comic.

Despite having two artists, Brett Blevins and Tony Salmons, the art in this adaptation often looked rushed and incomplete. Throw in the awful color separations common to 80s comics, and there's no way this Super Special can be called among the best. But the story is fun in its own way, and I've read many contemporary sci-fi comics that come in a poor second to this one.

In any event, Part One is below; Part Two will be my second post.

The Power of Gold

The Power of Gold
by Dan Fogelberg and Tim Weisberg
from the album Twin Sons of Different Mothers
1978

Fall, 1978, and on the Album Oriented Rock station in my hometown, 'The Power of Gold' by Dan Fogelberg and Tim Weisberg is getting airplay.

'Power' was the single from the duo's album Twin Sons of Different Mothers, released in August of that year. Don Henley of the Eagles contributed backing vocals. Fogelberg's political and environmental activism made him a member of the circle of 70s rock stars that the Eagles moved in, and other members of the band also served as contributors to his songs; for example, Glen Frey does backing vocals on Hard to Say (1981).

posing with Jerry Brown in 1976, left to right: Don Henley, Don Felder, Linda Ronstadt, Glenn Frey, Brown, Randy Meisner, Dan Fogelberg, Joe Walsh, and Jackson Browne

'Power' is a great example of 70s guitar-driven rock. I picked up the album back in November of '78 based on the strength of that single, but in fact the remainder of the tracks on the album are primarily instrumentals  - prefiguring in many ways what nowadays is called 'chill' music.

Fogelberg and Weisberg teamed up again in 1995 to release the album No Resemblance Whatsoever. 

Fogelberg died from prostate cancer at age 56 in December 2007.


The story is told of the power of gold
And its lure on the unsuspecting
It glitters and shines, it badgers and blinds
And constantly needs protecting

Balance the cost of the soul you lost
With the dreams you lightly sold
Are you under the power of gold?

The letters and calls got you climbing the walls
And everyone wants a favor
They beg to remind you of times left behind you
But you know the past is a loser

The face you're wearing is different now
And the days run hot and cold
Are you under the power of gold?
The power of gold

You're a creature of habit, run like a rabbit
Scared of a fear you can't name
You own paranoia is looming before you
But nobody thinks that it's a game

Balance the cost of the soul you lost
With the dreams you lightly sold
Then tell me that you're free of the power of gold

The power of gold

The women are lovely, the wine is superb
But there's something about the song that disturbs you

Book Review: Quatermass

Book Review: 'Quatermass' by Nigel Kneale

2 / 5 Stars

In October and November of 1979 the UK channel ITV ran the fourth, and final, installment of the long-running British sci-fi series featuring the dedicated scientist Bernard Quatermass. The series (simply titled Quatermass), had a modest budget, but talented actors (like most, if not all, British sci-fi TV shows).

The series can be obtained on DVD, and on YouTube, in the U.S.

Nigel Kneale, who wrote the screenplays for the three previous Quatermass serials, also wrote the screenplay for this fourth installment, as well as the tie-in novel (271 pp), published in 1979 by Arrow Books.

The novel maintains continuity with the series in that it takes place in the near future; i.e., the 1980s. Quatermass is a man in his 80s as well.

In this near future, the world is in the grip of economic and social collapse, and conditions are particularly severe in the UK. Civilization no longer exists, save for isolated government outposts; London is a wasteland ruled by vicious street gangs who vie with South African mercenaries for whatever food and goods remain in the empty shops. The population is left to fend for themselves, and in the countryside, life has regressed to a subsistence level.

As the novel opens, Quatermass is apprehensive over the whereabouts of his estranged granddaughter Hettie; she is all that remains of his immediate family. Despite his age, he endeavors to leave his home in Scotland to begin his search for Hettie. Having been sheltered to some extent, once out and about he is shocked and appalled at the anarchy gripping the landscape. Of particular concern are the mobs of young people who refer to themselves as 'Planet People'. Wandering the landscape in rags and tatters while chanting children's schoolyard rhymes, the Planet People appear to be in the grip of some kind of apocalyptic fervor.

When the deranged hippies congregate on an ancient site known as Ringstone Round, they trigger the appearance of a strange phenomenon, one likely of alien origin.

It quickly becomes clear that the planet is being subjected to an investigation by an entity of tremendous power. As what is left of society further erodes into confusion and chaos, it is up to Quatermass to learn the machinations of the entity.........and whether its intentions are for good or evil...........

Given its origin as a screenplay for a TV series, and the attendant limitations on budget, I was willing to allow for the novelization to have some limitations. 

It is not without its strengths, particularly its depiction of a decayed and violent England, which does not seem so outlandish or far-fetched in terms of an extrapolation from the state of the country in the late 70s.

Unfortunately, author Kneale is not an overly skilled writer. Probably because of his background as a writer of screenplays, his prose style is choppy and awkward; segments of the novel dealing with apocalyptic events often are related in a cursory manner, while the plentiful passages of dialogue suffer from being overly lengthy and stilted. 

It doesn't help matters that the rationale for the existence of the alien entity, and its actions upon the earth, are never fully disclosed, leaving me with the impression that author Neale simply wanted something Enigmatic to drive his storyline.

Summing up, one can argue that 'Quatermass', despite its faults, is much more sophisticated and less campy than the shows appearing at the same time in the US, like Buck Rogers in the 25th Century and Battlestar Galactica. While this may be true, 'Quatermass' is something of a missed opportunity in terms or providing a story that captures, and holds, the reader's attention. This one can be safely passed by. 

At the library sale Fall 2018

At the Library Sale

Fall 2018

The other evening I went to the used book sale held at the local library (the sales are held twice each year). I usually expect to pick up three or four worthy titles, but this time I was pleasantly surprised to see quite a collection of sc-fi paperbacks, all only for a dollar and all in very good / nearly new condition (these are not library books being put up for sale, but donations from library patrons). 

Most of the attendees are elderly people, as well as moms looking to pick up books for their kids. 

Then there are the Professionals, who arrive toting boxes and smart phones so they can do on-the-spot price calculations and then grab literally pounds of hardback books, which they sell online.

Then there are the eccentrics, who smell like disused closets, and wear clothes (usually flannel shirts) covered with pet hair and food and beverage stains. They walk around hunched over, and avoid eye contact. These people often are Hoarders, and they leave with piles and piles of books with which to clutter their houses.

Anyways, aside from making supercilious judgments about the other customers, this visit proved to me that sometimes these library book sales can be well worth visiting.

Mel Ramos RIP

Mel Ramos RIP
July 24, 1935 - October 14, 2018

Mel Ramos died at age 83 on October 14.

If you grew up during the 60s and 70s Ramos was a mainstay of pop culture, with his pinups appearing in magazines like Playboy. His juxtapositioning of beautiful women with consumer products had just the right note of satire for an era in which political correctness didn't really exist.

However cheesy Ramos's works may have been, there no was denying his technical skill, which was superior to many of those also regarded as 'Pop Art' figures. Check his rendering of the wrinkles and folds of the sheets and curtains in the portrait below.

Although the pinup era began to decline by the end of the 70s, Ramos remained productive, and in recent years his art was the subject of exhibitions in the US and abroad.

There are a number of books devoted to Ramos's art available at your usual online vendors, although all are out of print, and some have steep asking prices. 

Book Review: The Skin Trade

Book Review: 'The Skin Trade', edited by Douglas E. Winter

4 / 5 Stars

‘The Skin Trade’ first was published in hardcover in 1988 as Night Visions 5; this Berkley Books paperback (330 pp) was published in March 1990.

My capsule summaries of the contents:

Steven King’s name on the cover of a horror book was a major marketing plus throughout the 1980s, so it’s no surprise that his entries were showcased in ‘The Skin Trade’.

‘The Reploids’ reads like a sci-fi episode from the old Twilight Zone TV show. It’s not particularly memorable.

‘Sneakers’, about a ghost who haunts a stall in the men’s room of a building housing a recording studio, is one of those King stories built around an idea that might have sounded good in theory, but turned out to be underwhelming in the execution. So there’s a ghost sitting on the toilet seat……….how scary is that ?

‘Dedication’ is about Martha Rosewall, a black woman who works as a maid in a high-class hotel; she finds herself in a strange kinship with the drunk, but talented, white novelist whose rooms she cleans.

This story is less a horror tale than an effort by King to demonstrate that, even though he was white, and raised in an environment almost exclusively occupied by white people, he recognized the inherent Nobility and Dignity of Black People and Their Struggle against Bigotry and Racism. The Magic Negro – a stock character in much of King’s fiction – is here represented by Mama Delorme, a Conjur Woman who operates out of her apartment in the ghetto (!).

Dan Simmons was a prominent practitioner of the genre of ‘quiet’ horror during the 80s. He has three contributions to 'The Skin Trade':

‘Metastasis’: after Louis Steig suffers a head injury, he is able to see extradimensional creatures that no one else can see. And when Louis discovers what these creatures are capable of doing, his sanity is endangered………this story’s offbeat premise and creepy overtones make it one of the better entries in the anthology.

‘Vanni Fucci is Alive and Well and Living in Hell’: throughout the 80s mocking evangelical Christians was a favorite pastime for many writers. Here, Simmons targets a televangelist whose studio is invaded by a damned soul straight from Dante’s Inferno.

‘Vanni’ is too filled with righteous anger on Simmons’s part to be an effective satire. And it is  thoroughly eclipsed by David J. Schow’s markedly superior short story ‘Jerry’s Kids Meet Wormboy’, which came out just one year later.

‘Iverson’s Pits’: a Civil War ghost story set in Gettysburg during the 50th anniversary celebration held in 1913. This novelette relies heavily on atmosphere, but it’s done in a competent manner, and thus stands as another of the better entries in ‘The Skin Trade’.

In 1988 George R. R. Martin was perhaps better known as an executive producer of the TV show Beauty and the Beast, with Game of Thrones far, far in the future.

‘The Skin Trade’ is a novelette set in a decaying northeastern industrial town. Willie Flambeaux, a debt collector, asks stylish private eye Randi Wade to investigate the death of an acquaintance. Wade soon discovers that a clan of werewolves inhabits the city, and they don’t like strangers poking into their affairs………..

Part horror story and part detective story, ‘Skin’ has a fast-paced narrative, and plentiful helpings of  grue and gore. The denouement suffers from the failing too common to mystery tales: the machinations of Whodunit were so complicated I couldn’t understand them. That said, ‘Skin’ is much better than any of King’s entries.

The verdict ? The contributions from Simmons and Martin make ‘The Skin Trade’ one of the better horror anthologies from the 80s. Fans of Martin's works certainly will want to have a copy.

Burton and Cyb: In Search of the Lost Daughter

Burton and Cyb
'In Search of the Lost Daughter'
(En busca de la hija perdida)
by Jose Ortiz (art) and Antonio Segura (story)
from Heavy Metal magazine, May 1990

Dracula.........the 'mecca for degenerates'...........and a dominatrix with an electrified whip........?

Yet another laugh-out-loud adventure for Burton and Cyb.......... !

Road in Autumn by Santiago Rusinol

Road in Autumn
by Santiago Rusinol
1888
from the Art Contrarian blog

Book Review: New Blood

Book Review: 'New Blood' by Richard Salem

2 / 5 Stars

'New Blood' (187 pp) was published in the UK by Futura paperbacks in 1981; this US version was published by Signet in July, 1982. The artist who provided the striking cover illustration is uncredited.

The 'About the Author' note at the end of the book states that 'Richard Salem' is the pseudonym of 'a successful writer of historical fiction' and that 'New Blood' is his first entry in the 'modern horror' genre.

As the novel opens, it's 1985, and yuppie couple Clay and Holly Ryan are fast becoming fed up with life in New York City.

An acquaintance recommends Credence, a small town in West Virginia, as the perfect place for a young couple eager to leave the rat race behind. Clay and Holly decide to make the trip to see Credence and find it a charming village that could well be the showpiece of a tourism magazine. In short order, Clay and Holly take up residence in Credence and find themselves warmly accepted by the townspeople.

As the sultry Summer days unfold, the Ryans settle into a placid routine; Richard works on designing a community center for the town, while Holly works on her abstract paintings.

But Clay and Holly can't ignore the strange little quirks that are gradually coming to light about life in Credence. 

For example, why is it that no one looks like they are older than 50 ?

And why are there only six children in the town ?

And why are the townspeople so exquisitely careful around sharp objects ?

As Summer drifts into Fall, Clay and Holly Ryan are going to discover the deep, dark secret that governs life in the idyllic confines of Credence, West Virginia.......

The plot of 'New Blood' will be very recognizable to anyone who has ever read Thomas Tryon's 1973 novel 'Harvest Home'. Like Tryon's novel, 'New Blood' moves at a slow pace, doling out its revelations sparingly, with brief little episodes of mayhem carefully inserted into the narrative to keep it from becoming too indolent.

The action picks up considerably in the closing chapters, but this is enabled by having the lead characters do stupid things designed to get them into trouble. The same characters also are gifted with the kind of superhuman strength and conditioning that are possessed by the heroes in action films. As a result, the closing chapters of 'New Blood' have a contrived quality. 

It doesn't help matters that the Big Revelations that accompany the denouement are overly complicated and unconvincing.

Toss in passages of dialogue that frequently qualify as being stilted, and the overall impact of 'New Blood' is further lessened.

The verdict ? I can't recommend 'New Blood' for anyone except those who are ardent collectors of Paperbacks from Hell. This one is best left on the shelf.