Sharp Cards!

Say, you guys still remember those Personal Sketch Cards that were done for me by Sean Moore, right?

This is famed super robot Mazinger Z. Obviously, this isn't my character, but when I saw this card, I had to have it. I figured it would go nicely with the latest batch of sketch cards he was doing of my characters.

What? Even more? Yes!

UFO Daisenso: Tatakae! Red Tiger

NOTE: I am experimenting with embedding a video player from a Japanese site today. If you have trouble displaying the video, the link to it is right here.

UFO大戦争 戦え! レッドタイガー (UFO DAISENSO: TATAKAE! RED TIGER; "UFO War: Fight! Red Tiger") is one of those 1970s Japanese superhero shows that nobody talks about that much. Even its entry on the Japanese Wikipedia is pretty light. For instance, I sat down to write this entry, and until I looked at Wikipedia, I didn't even know exactly when in the decade it aired! By the way, it was 1978, if you don't feel like wading through the Japanese yourself.

RED TIGER is another one of those shows that certainly sounds interesting, but you wonder if you'll ever find the time to check it out more fully. When I finally dug up the above clip (and believe it, it took some work!), I admit that I was intrigued. It sure looks like it might be fun!

You will notice that Red Tiger is wearing a football helmet. I don't think there is any particular reason for this, but I could very well be wrong. American football was not unknown in Japan, but I highly doubt they had any particular affinity for it. From what I've seen, it's just something that they incorporate into designs from time to time to make it look different and perhaps a touch exotic. Kind of like our treatment of samurai paraphernalia in the West, when you think about it.

One thing I did learn from this brief clip is that Red Tiger is apparently one of the earliest heroes to have a distinct "power up" alternate form to complement his regular form. As far as I know, the first hero that actively changed forms during his series was Kamen Rider Stronger with his "Charge Up". This is after that series, but maybe even more distinctive than Stronger. After all, Red Tiger's entire suit changes in his power up form. An interesting precursor to what would be one of the trademarks of the more recent iterations of the Rider franchise.

Oh, and Jerry Ito appears in RED TIGER as "Dr. Yano". It sure looks to me as if this is a kindly scientist role. There is no way that can't be awesome.

Frankenstein Und Die Monster Aus Dem All

This title screen from the trailer for FRANKENSTEIN UND DIE MONSTER AUS DEM ALL ("Frankenstein And The Monster From Space"; a.k.a. the German title for DESTROY ALL MONSTERS) was the first screenshot I ever made. That was only a test, but it is sort of appropriate to include it with this entry. Why? Because David McRobie over at Xenorama posted both the American and German trailers for DESTROY ALL MONSTERS on Halloween Sunday. So now you can go see the classic American trailer and the German trailer that is the source of this screenshot!

As I pointed out in the comments over there, the German trailer is the Japanese trailer translated. It was probably originally dubbed into English for the international market by William Ross and company at the same time as the movie itself. David mentions that the monsters are even given on-screen names. This is a carryover from the Japanese trailer, except they are written out here in a comical "monster" font. I love it!

One thing I did not mention over at the Xeno-blog is how intrigued I am that the title logo for FRANKENSTEIN UND DIE MONSTER AUS DEM ALL is rendered almost exactly like the English title font supplied by Toho for the DESTROY ALL MONSTERS prints. That had to take some effort.

Firegirl and Company by Sara Duffield (2007)

On our last stroll down Captain Satellite memory lane, we took a look at fanart by my friend Sara that really started the ball rolling with those characters. Today, we shine the spotlight on subsequent pieces that helped shape some characterizations, and even led to some really neat things further along the way.

Here we see Firegirl as interpreted by Sara back in 2007, along with how she pictured her secret identity. This was doubly cool, because not only had there been precious little art of these characters by this point, but the thought of depicting alter egos had not even occurred to me. So Sara's vision of Roxanne Prize (was she even aware of that name at this time?) definitely served as a foundation for the later attempts at the character.

Sara also did similar pics for my childhood heroines Amazing Girl and Muscle Woman, though interestingly, not for Shelly Ericson. Perhaps because Shelly didn't have a secret identity? The one picture that likely had the most impact, however, was this one depicting Firegirl as a bit of a party girl.

Ignore the fact that the versions of Blue Behemoth and Drone Man you see in that picture are now apocryphal; Sara had very little info on them when she drew it. Instead, focus on the Firegirl you see there. I had literally never let my mind go in this direction before, but I had to admit, it had a lot of potential for making her a distinctive character. I really think this sketch played a big role in building Firegirl as she stands in 2010.

Sara did other drawings featuring my characters, including this delightful color picture named "Car Man's Wish". However, there was one additional piece from this period that looms large as a factor in how I wrote my female characters. I can't link you to it, because it was never uploaded to the Internet! Until now, that is.

Marvel, You Have Got To Be Kidding Me

It has been noted by folks wiser than your humble blogger that Marvel has reached the point where they are releasing collected editions because they can, not because there is any great demand for them. I think I have run across a fine example of this phenomenon in their latest batch of solicitations.

Observe if you will Avengers: Citizen Kang on the Marvel site. This book caught my eye because I bought all four of the Annuals it reprints back in 1992. I enjoyed them for what they were, but haven't thought much about this "event" since then. Except now someone at Marvel thinks we need a collection of it.

Don't get me wrong here. I liked those Annuals, and I wouldn't be opposed to reading them again. It'd also be nice for all the creators involved to get royalties for that work. I'm assuming Marvel is paying royalties for these, right? It's just that there is no way on Earth I can justify buying this book.

I went to a well-known comic book retail site and checked the current base prices (not sale prices) of the four books reprinted in Avengers: Citizen Kang. This is what I found for them in Near Mint condition:

Captain America Annual #11 - $1.30

Thor Annual #17 - $1.10

Fantastic Four Annual #25 - $1.30

Avengers Annual #21 - $1.10

No, your eyes do not deceive you. The entire crossover can be had for $4.80. Granted, you would have to pay postage too, unless you made a large enough order to qualify for free shipping. Still, that's peanuts to own those comics in a day where one new comic costs almost that much.

How much is Avengers: Citizen Kang? $24.99. And it is entirely possible that it will not reprint all the extra stories and bonus features that are in the Annuals. But even if it does, that's twenty extra dollars for a reprint! Twenty dollars just for the privilege of saying you own a "book" instead of a pile of old comics.

I'm sorry, Marvel, but I'm just not going for it.

History, Revised : The Clinton Presidency

No one quite knew what to expect when George Clinton was elected the 42nd President of the United States on the newly-formed P-Funk ticket. In fact, his campaign promises mainly centered on two goals : 1) "tearing the roof off the sucker" and 2) "giving up the funk". However, during his two terms, Clinton is credited with truly turning the country into one nation under a groove.

Perhaps the most challenging times during the Clinton years were the attacks by America's enemies. Yes, it was very, very frightening when the forces of Sir Nose D’Voidoffunk launched an assault on the country's interests. However, Secretary of Defense Starchild, working with newly-appointed Surgeon General Dr. Funkenstein, "brought the noise" with the Pentagon's newest and deadliest weapon, the Bop Gun. As a related matter, the flashlight industry's stock prices went through the roof.

After overcoming what he termed the maggot brain of his political foes, Clinton achieved the much sought-after Mothership Connection that brought peace and harmony via Funkentelechy to all. Upon completing his second term, he retired to Florida with his dog Atomic and his staff of P-Funk All-Stars. They perform music as Parliament, Funkadelic, and whatever other names they want, baby.

Vice-President Bootsy Collins was asked for comment on this article, but protested that he and his Rubber Band were too busy conducting a search for the fabled monster Bootzilla.

My World : The Astro-Giants

From the far reaches of outer space, they come to planet Earth. They are...THE ASTRO-GIANTS!

The Astro-Giants are a race of phenomenally powerful cosmic beings who have, for reasons unknown, taken an interest in our world. They seem above the humanoid concepts of "good" and "evil", and carry out their masterplan without regard to either. The Astro-Giants have been known to prevent natural disasters, but were also responsible for threatening the existence of Thunder Man's parallel Earth. They do not tarry on our planet regardless of how their operations turn out, but whether this is simple preference or out of necessity is uncertain.

Captain Satellite and others have speculated that there is a connection between the Astro-Giants and the Mystery Spaceman. Though the faceless stranger clearly does not serve the cosmic colossi, the question remains whether these two separate enigmas from beyond our solar system are somehow intertwined.


I realize I'm stating the obvious here, but Jack Kirby was an amazing creative force. Why do I bring this up here? Keep reading!

I've wanted to include some "cosmic" characters in the Captain Satellite continuity for months, but had some trouble working out precisely what they should be. An early result of that process was the Mystery Spaceman, but he wasn't the original goal. I did manage to dream up a suitable name - the Astro-Giants - and included a few references to it in a handful of profiles that I was either writing or rewriting. But as far as who the Astro-Giants were, I was stymied.

I decided that my Astro-Giants would draw inspiration from a few sources. I looked to such Marvel characters as the Stranger, Galactus, and the Elders of the Universe, but there was one group in particular that struck a chord with me. That was the Celestials as featured in Jack Kirby's The Eternals. I'd always been taken with their designs and their air of mystery, and wanted to emulate that while still allowing the Astro-Giants the opportunity to develop into characters distinct from the Celestials.

I spent a month or two trying to design the Astro-Giants and working up a backstory for them. I won't go into details, but I expended a fair amount of effort crafting separate "looks" for each member of the race that I intended to include. I even gave them names that mixed mythology with foreign languages in an attempt to sound exotic. But at the end of the day, I had to be honest with myself and admit that it was all lacking the oomph I wanted.

The break-through came one morning while I was reading old Captain America stories from the 1960s. In one tale (pencilled by Jack Kirby, of course), Cap encountered this group of criminals that didn't even merit a special name to go with their colorful outfits. I don't think these guys have appeared since, which is unusual for a Marvel comic. Anyway, as I sat looking at these generic bad guys, I couldn't help but marvel (pun intended) at Kirby's ability to make even them look interesting.

That was where the lightbulb went off. I had been trying to create character designs riffing on Kirby, but let's face it, I'm no Jack Kirby. Then again, neither is anyone else. I studied these bad guys and began sketching. I didn't copy exactly, mostly because I don't have the kind of talent to pull that off. Instead, I tried to copy Kirby's use of shapes to make a visually appealing character.

The final result was the Astro-Giant look seen here. Figuring I shouldn't press my luck beyond one good design, I elected to make them distinct through color-coded armor. I'm sure they all have separate names and identities, but that will come out when/if a story featuring them happens. I'm just impressed I managed to generate even ONE design that looks passably Kirbyish!

If you are wondering, yes, that's the same drawing three times. Beyond the colors, I varied their heights in an attempt to create the illusion of perspective. I don't know how well that's pulled off, but I gave it the old college try.

Oh, and as a "P.S." for those of you who are fans of it, the opening of this profile is indeed a tribute to THE SPACE GIANTS TV series. It seemed appropriate, given the name.