Kayleigh

"Kayleigh" by Marillion is a pretty famous and influential song, considering it completely slipped by me in the 1980s. One of its influences beyond the fact that it's a fine piece of music is that it led to the popularity of the name "Kayleigh." And that actually is important.

Today is the birthday of someone who has been part of my inner circle for over ten years (!!). We've known her as Kabuki Katze, and now she is Wandering Kotka - with a new website coming soon. However, in the end, she's Kayleigh, and she's my friend.

Kayleigh, you have opened a lot of doors for me, both directly and indirectly. Things like BOC and the art are important, but really, they only scratch the surface. I honestly cannot imagine my life now without you and your friendship having been a part of it. It would be a lot poorer, that's for sure.

Ten years? At once, it feels like yesterday and forever. It's been an honor and a privilege to share your journey with you. I hope you, hubby Boyan, and your family have a wonderful day celebrating the anniversary of your birth!!!

Naomi Morinaga Makes A Comeback!

I'd like to think this will put an end once and for all to all the searches about her being dead.

It was birthday boy Igadevil (hope it was a great one!) who broke the news to me on Twitter: Naomi Morinaga is making a comeback in Toei's new V-Cinema Space Sheriff projects! Yes, "Annie" will be returning and also returning will be Den Iga, the original Sharivan. This means we're getting both Naomi Morinaga and Hiroshi Watari, her co-star on the series SPIELBAN.

This is very exciting news for me, and probably for a lot of people who wind up on this blog. If you'd like to keep updated, Toei has uchukeiji.com for that purpose. There are also links to Twitter and Facebook pages for the project. You bet I'm following both of them!

Sorry Lexi

The other night, Lexi and I were discussing the fact that she finds dolls frightening. I offered that ventriloquist dummies are way worse. I can say this because I own one. In searching for pictures of good ol' Charlie McCarthy, I discovered this terrifying image.

Yes, that is Charlie McCarthy in bed with Mae West. Gives a whole new meaning to "morning wood," eh?

Image sourced from Spectacular Attractions, where you can learn the full traumatic details of this meeting of the titans.

Is This How The Blog Ends?!?

No.

Yeah, I don't know what's been going on either. I've got a couple of movies under my belt that I should probably review. Got some cool reading material, too. Even have pretty mammoth music post I'd like to do. But I've been distracted by both the usual culprits and new ones, too. You know the drill.

Anyway. I'll try to do better the rest of the month. I'd like to pick up the story I started at the end of April. And no, I haven't forgotten that Owariverse story either. Though it's been long enough I expect some of you might have. One day...

Mama Weer All Crazee Now

Happy Mother's Day from the boys in Slade!

A Sobering Perspective On Time, Via DC Comics

Showcase #4 (the debut of the Barry Allen Flash and commonly acknowledged as the launchpad for the so-called "Silver Age of Comics") was dated Sept.-Oct. 1956 (Oct. on the cover). It went on sale approximately July 5, 1956.

Crisis on Infinite Earths #1 (the beginning of "the end" for the Silver Age DC Universe) was dated April 1985. It went on sale approximately January 3, 1985.

This week's DC Comics are dated July 2014. They went on sale today, May 7, 2014.

Crisis on Infinite Earths is older today than the entire Silver Age DC Universe was when Crisis on Infinite Earths began.

Teen Titans #46 (February 1977)

(Via GCD)
This one's kind of interesting, as I owned this comic as a wee lad. Did I pick it out for myself at the age of 4? Or was it purchased for me without my input? I mean, surely any hip child in 1976 (when it was originally on sale) would have gravitated immediately to the grandeur of the Fiddler. But, you know, I always had some strange and inexplicable comics in my fledgling collection, so the world may never know.

The comic is a very curious artifact from the period when DC was throwing everything at the wall and seeing what would stick. Not much, as it turned out, and the revival of Teen Titans was no different. It had begun with #44 and would only last until #53 (a wild "untold" origin I should try to reacquire someday). The Titans are still trying to find their footing both as a group and a book here, so it's rather odd.

For one thing, the villain of this comic is the Fiddler, a longtime villain of the Flash and the Justice Society...on Earth-Two. Sure, it's briefly explained and no harm, no foul as far as I'm concerned, but this is the sort of nonsense that convinced people that the Crisis on Infinite Earths was needed to make things "less confusing." I swear, if there was ever a worse rationalization for doing something, it was the "less confusing and more streamlined" mantra. Tell me, does anyone find mainstream superhero comics less confusing now than they were in 1984?

...That got away from me, didn't it? Sorry, pet peeve of mine. Anyway, the Fiddler's presence as the villain is because the plot is musically-themed in the most 1970s way possible that doesn't involve disco. But more on this shortly.

This issue also marks the TT debut of another thorn in the side of continuity addicts - the Joker's Daughter. Already having appeared in the pages of Batman Family as an adversary, this is Duela Dent's first foray into being a do-gooder. Hmmm, I wonder if SHE is why I got this comic back in the day? It wouldn't surprise me.

Oh yes, the plot. It involves shenanigans and hijinks in a battle of the bands involving two groups who are most assuredly not based on Paul McCartney and Wings and the Carpenters. I'm honestly not sure where Bob Rozakis got this particular idea, but it blew my tiny mind as a child. I'm not going to spoil it, even though it's a very old comic. Suffice to say, PLOT TWIST!

The art is by Irv Novick and Joe Giella, two solid professionals who probably had less than zero interest in the rock music aspect of the story. Novick is underrated in the grand scheme of things, and Giella is one of the more distinctive inkers of his generation for me. Seriously, I didn't even need the credits to peg this as a Giella job. It just is.

I sometimes like to talk about the ads in my comics, and this is a good time. I noticed that, even in 1976, DC still had a slightly better grade of advertiser than Marvel. I see Monogram, Ideal, and Peter Pan Records alongside Honor House and Charles Atlas. It's a subtle distinction, but DC's comics do still seem slightly "classier" and more geared toward kids as a result.