My World : The Scary Metal People

The Scary Metal People are one of the richest and most esteemed rock groups in history. Unsurprisingly, they are also a bunch of nutters.

Scary Metal People lead guitarist, vocalist, and de facto leader Arthur Crudlip first came into the public eye as "Arthur Shoe Leather", using the gimmick of a singing shoeshine boy. He scored a smash hit on the U.K. music charts with his debut record, "Shine Your Shoes (For Tupence)". Subsequent releases under the Shoe Leather moniker were unsuccessful, and Crudlip abandoned both it and the act itself, later calling that phase of his career "a giant cock-up".

Left to his own devices (a dangerous proposition if there ever was one), Crudlip recruited Smythe Niblett (rhythm guitar), Geoffrey Toober (bass), and Nigel Null (drums) to form a band. This quartet dubbed themselves "The Scary Metal People" for reasons which are lost in a drunken haze, and went on to perform in the sessions that led to the Scary Metal People's classic debut album Wampeter For Trouble. Among the favorites on this strong maiden effort are "The Bees That Sting Me (Ouch)" ("Beeeeeeees are upon me/And they're stiiiiiiiinging") "Big Ol' Brain" ("MY BRAIN!" x 6), and "Kill Them All And Fall Asleep" (unintelligible except for the chorus).

The line-up of the Scary Metal People (gleefully dubbed "The World's Most Obnoxious Band" by the rock press) has remained intact and unchanged since their formation, unusual for such a durable group and downright confounding considering their often peculiar life choices. They have recently been on tour promoting their latest album, Billion Pound Bootblack and its single, the fourth new version of "Shine Your Shoes (For Tunpence)" in the Scary Metal People's catalog. Crudlip insists that the album's title is a reference to all the money he has generated through his music career, and not to his burgeoning waistline.

During one particular stop of their tour, at the Indigo Mollusk in Major City, the Scary Metal People were attacked by one-time associate Zoragaza the Mystic. Fortunately, the Blue Behemoth was attending the show and subdued the mad magician with the aid of his allies in the Invincible Alliance. Grateful for the save, the Scary Metal People invited the Alliance to appear on-stage with them two months later at a benefit show organized by Paul Mann and Pat August at Miles Major Memorial Stadium. Blue Behemoth (playing guitar on his custom-made Fender Stratocaster), Drone Man (keyboards), Ultimate American (cowbell), Firegirl (tambourine), and Elektroid (triangle) accompanied the Scary Metal People on the brand-new song Crudlip wrote especially for the performance, "Wizards Are Wankers".


SELECTED DISCOGRAPHY
Wampeter For Trouble
Matzahs Moody
Hardcore Bragging
Wreckful
Beware The Bowered Blowfly
Sextain Tacit
Hyena Thwack!
Peskier
Dazzled By The Microdot
Billion Pound Bootblack


I first ran across the term "scary metal people" in the magazine Hero Special Edition : The 100 Most Important Comics of All Time! (Warrior Publications; May 1994). It appears in a write-up for Brain Boy #6, and if this confuses you, rest assured that comic is not on the list. No, it shows up in a feature on "The Doofiest Books of All". None of the individual pieces in this article are credited, which is a pity. An inquiry to Frank Kurtz, one-time editor of the main Hero Illustrated yielded the possibility that it may have been Special Edition editor Mike Stokes who penned the review that added "scary metal people", "wampeter for trouble", and "MY BRAIN!" to my personal in-joke lexicon.

Anyway, as you've certainly guessed, I found "scary metal people" inexplicably hilarious. I used it as part of the title of my old GreatestJournal account, and even filled out a "make a band with your friends" LiveJournal quiz where I utilized it as the name of my fake band. The latter supplied many of the album titles listed above, though I freely mixed and matched the words for my own devious purposes.

In coloring in the world of Captain Satellite, I thought it would be funny to take the plunge and make the Scary Metal People into a "real" band. After all, I had been saying for years prior to the LJ quiz that it would be a great name for a band. This profile incorporates a number of notions that I thought would be humorous and help the Scary Metal People better fit into the wild and wacky world of super-doings.

Invaders #41 Rarities by Alan Kupperberg

I've been remiss in discussing comics here lately, which is odd considering the fact that I'm certainly reading a lot of them. I have no doubt I'll be babbling about some of the stuff currently sitting on my shelf for months to come. I just haven't gotten around to it yet.

One book that I made it through in record time was Invaders Classic Vol. 4. Boy, did it take me back. Though my appreciation of Frank Robbins has skyrocketed in the last decade, I still consider those later 1970s issues of The Invaders drawn by Alan Kupperberg to be among my favorite Marvel Comics. It definitely helps to have both Roy Thomas and Don Glut, two writers I enjoy, masterminding the plotting and dialogue.

A story in this volume that holds particular sentimental value for me is the one from Invaders #41. That double-sized issue was the last of the series, and I still can tell you the exact location where I bought my first copy. I didn't know that the book was already dead, and that this issue was merely a special to wrap up dangling plot threads. In my innocence, I waited to find another one, until I learned there would be no more.

This particular stroll down memory lane is not meant as a review of either Invaders Classic Vol. 4 or Invaders #41. Rather, it is a set-up to links to original art from the latter comic. I am in awe of collectors of original comic art, as this is something I can probably never do for a variety of reasons. But I love to admire from afar, and the Comic Art Fans site affords me plenty of opportunities for that. Two such treasures that I discovered there are from Invaders #41, and so it means a lot to me to able to see the originals.

Invaders #41 p23 does not look like this in the published comic. This is how the page was originally drawn, when it was meant to be the splash page for the never-to-be-published Invaders #42. When I figured out that the comic was really two issues merged into one, I decided that this page must have been the original splash. It's really cool to see it in its intended form at last.

Invaders #41 p46 & 47 DPS just kills me, and is one of those pieces that I sort of envy a little. This double-page spread concluded that final issue, and absolutely knocked my socks off as a proto-superhero fan. I knew many of those characters from my earlier issues, but I had never seen a few before. And just why were some of the "modern" Avengers depicted with all those 1940s-era types?

Gradually, I learned the answers to my questions. But this mini-poster has never left my memory, and remains one of my favorite images from one of my favorite comics.

What's Alan Kupperberg up to these days? Well, check out www.alankupperberg.com to find out!

What I Learned From Thunder Prince

As someone out there might recall, I mentioned in December that I intended to write about Korean cartoon DVDs I own this year. Well, I did manage to sit through DEFENDERS OF SPACE in March. Since then, I weep softly every time I contemplate making a stab at the copy of RAIDERS OF GALAXY that has been sitting on my player for months. So I think it is safe to say that I am waving the white flag on this goal, at least for the near future. Which isn't to say I won't inflict more reviews of them on you - you just won't see it coming.

However, this post isn't entirely about me wussing out on watching terrible animated movies for your voyeuristic amusement. No no, when I first bought these back in 2006, I took some screenshots of the martial arts one entitled THUNDER PRINCE to better illustrate the "lesson" which it taught me. Today, we shall review that lesson.

Johnny Lee VS. The Grass Roots

The Grass Roots are a band that I discovered relatively recently, and I still find that a little odd. They put out a number of enjoyable pop songs, such as "Temptation Eyes", "Midnight Confessions" and "Two Divided By One", that really hold up well all these years later. And yet? They are largely forgotten by the public at large. This is despite the fact that they were reasonably successful and popular in their time. I don't get it.

Perhaps my favorite Grass Roots song is "Sooner or Later", which you can hear in this homemade video. It's a great little tune, but it struck me as a curio the first time I heard it, and I still think that every time I hear it. Check out at approximately 1:17 in that video, when the tempo changes and these lyrics are heard :

You've been looking for love
In all the wrong places
You've been looking for love
All the wrong faces

Is it just me, or does that sound kind of familiar?

Yes, the Grass Roots song "Sooner or Later" anticipates Johnny Lee's "Looking For Love" (most famous from URBAN COWBOY) by something like 9 years. And while I don't doubt the veracity of the story Johnny Lee tells of the origin of his signature song, I really REALLY wonder if those two schoolteachers from Gulfport, Mississippi who wrote "Looking For Love" had ever heard the Grass Roots.

It's just one of those interesting little things I've noticed over time. And for the record, if I'm looking for some Johnny Lee, I usually prefer "Cherokee Fiddle" myself.

JR's Titan Khan Commission

I have known JR The Monsterboy since 2005, and he has done a number of awesome pictures for me for the Return of Jetman site. Not too terribly long ago, he made a post over on Ye Olde deviantArt seeking potential commissions to offset some unexpected expenses. Well, I had been considering hiring JR for a little thing I had in mind anyway, so that sealed the issue.

This is JR's interpretation of Titan Khan. I have a pretty good handle on subjects JR likes to draw, and I though this guy would be right up his alley. As you can see, I totally called that one. JR brought his "A" game and created a powerful image that I think will really serve the character well.

Thank you, JR! Interested parties can also check out the dA page for this picture.

Denjin Zaboga

DENJIN ZABOGA opening

I've seen the name of the show 電人ザボーガー transliterated a number of ways, but we'll stick with the literal "Denjin Zaboga" for our purposes. It can't confuse people anymore than usual!

I've only seen the first episode of DENJIN ZABOGA, so I won't pretend I can offer a critique on the show as a whole. That first episode was quite good, and even features a baddie that looks unsettlingly like Silvar from THE SPACE GIANTS gone wrong. It's just I've never taken the time to track down and/or watch further episodes. One day, I may have to remedy that. (And yes, I am aware of their presence on Youtube.)

Zaboga itself is a marvelously illogical robot that is at once extremely toy-friendly and functionally impossible. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking it. No, if anything I'm impressed that they got away with it so flagrantly. The robot into motorcycle conceit is one thing, but how does that helicopter in the head contraption even work? Ah, as Jack Kirby once said, "Don't ask, just buy it!"

Akira Yamaguchi toplines as hero Yutaka Daimon. Yamaguchi is primarily revered in tokusatsu fandom for his relatively few but quite memorable appearances as Riderman in the KAMEN RIDER franchise. He's a guy who would probably still be in demand to this day, but his life was cut far too short by lung cancer.

If you click over to this video, you'll see the opening for the later episodes of the series, when the whole thing got revamped. By then, Zaboga merged(?) with another motorcycle(?) to become something I am told is called "Strong Zaboga". This bit is all I've seen of that incarnation.

How Adorable Is This?

Recently, my esteemed colleague and bestower of art goodness Kabuki Katze delivered to me a pair of slightly belated but extremely wonderful birthday gifts. What were they?