Wednesday, July 20, 2016

A Wednesday at the movies with Gil Kane

Because I do not want to have three DC - centric blog posts in a row I am doing another Gil Kane cover post before the next FLASH FRIDAY post.


For this post I have selected all covers that fall into the category movies which means I have also put covers here for comics based on tv series or classic books that have been adapted as movies - once or several times.


So a lot of the Gil Kane covers are from Marvel´s CLASSICS COMICS line. But there is also the odd tv series in here you may or may not know.


Anyway, let´s get right to it because there is a truckload of backlogged celebrity birthdays I have to cover in Today´s entertainment section.


There are quite a few birthdays I haven´t mentioned yet because I was busy preparing everything to get caught up on Sleepy Hollow and The Blacklist. A lot of them have to do with movies so they fit right into the post. Since the next to last post was on Friday there are three celebs who got one year older on Saturday I want to mention. Corey Feldman turned 45 and I can´t possibly mention all the movies he´s been involved in - good or bad. chances are every third movie I mention on this blog, he´s in it. I wouldn´t mention him at all but one of the movies he was in is Blown Away with Nicole Eggert from Baywatch fame in the lead role co starring Kathleen Robertson whom I mentioned two FLASH FRIDAYs ago. 


Movie cult siren Phoebe Cates celebrated her 53rd birthday and she proved that you can immortalize a movie with a short topless scene as it´s the only reason why Fast Times At Ridgemont High has a place in movie history. It´s also a reminder for actresses to do topless or nude scenes while they are young - or at least still in peak physical condition - because any short scene can be what you will always be remembered for. 


Now science fiction author Robert Scheckley wrote the short story that was turned into the movie Freejack which a lot of people didn´t like but you have to overlook that because he also wrote the greatest comic book artist turns super hero movie of all times Condorman. It hasn´t aged that well but it is funnier than most spoofs from that time and I still have to watch it every time it is on. But it has to be in german because I have memorized all the lines. The only downside is that the picture quality of the german DVD is really bad and if it wasn´t enough that you get black borders on the top and bottom of most movies here you also get them on the left and right side so that there is not much left of the tv screen.


We start the birthday round up of Sunday, the 17th of July with PLAYBOY´s Miss November 1998 Tiffany Taylor who turned 39. This really reminded me how much of my old babe pictures I have deleted because I actually had to look for new ones that are safe to post. I still have too many. 


Santiago Segura celebrated his 51st anniversary and while he´s only known for his cameo in Hellboy in America he´s an institution in Spain. He´s produced dozens of movies besides his mega successful Torrente franchise that has already spawned the fourth sequel - with none other than Alec Baldwin in the last one - and El Dia De La Bestia was even remade as End Of Days with Arnold Schwarzenegger. He even won Tu Cara Me Suena with his flawless impersonation of Psy´s Gungam Style. This guy can do it all. Here is his opening laudatio to the 2012 Goya Awards.



And speaking of cult movies Heather Langenkamp turned 52 who is best known from A Nightmare On Elm Street. Apparently she is in the new remake which is another reason to see it besides Jackie Earle Haley.


Sunday was also the 62nd birthday of J. Michael Straczynski who is best known to the wider public for the science fiction series Babylon 5 which at least gave us the opportunity to see MILF Tracy Scoggins in underwear.


We didn´t have as much luck with Claudia Christian who also was on the show but we can always enjoy her fantastic striptease from The Hidden.


Since this is still a comic blog - who´d have thunk, eh ? - I wanted to do a post about his top series but I was too exhausted. Anyway, here are the four series by him you have to read: first, Amazing Spider - Man. While it fizzled out a bit at the end and was bogged down by too much crossover chaos and terrible storylines like Norman Osborn giving it to Gwen Stacy when he came on to the book he practically saved it and his brilliant idea concerning the origin of Spider - Man´s powers turned the whole franchise on its ear. Plus he was the first writer who had the balls to let Aunt May find out that her nephew is Spider - Man. Number two is Rising Stars.

Don´t read just the first trade as there are a few things that sound wrong but are explained in the second one. There are complete collections available that have all the series and spin offs so get one of those. Our close second to best series is Supreme Power, his new take on Marvel´s Squadron Supreme which lost a bit of momentum when it was turned from a MAX title into a regular Marvel title. What ? You thought that would have no impact ? Then why not keep it as a Marvel MAX title ? Anyway, a great modernization with beautiful artwork by Gary Frank. At least in the first installments. Later on there are other artists - and possibly other writers as I never followed it all the way through - but the beginning is golden.


Even though I have all the issues I thought about getting the first three hardcovers which are offered by black Dog Comics at a real bargain price but I have to wait until my money for this month arrives. Okay, this is the big one. THE best comic series by J. Michael Straczynski EVER is the 12 issue mini series Midnight Nation that has been collected into one single volume in english as well as in german so you have no excuse not to read it. This is one of those comics you find on the list what you have to read before you die and if you only read one comic by Straczynski this is it. You can forget everything else he ever did as long as you read this. Trust me.


Now with David Hasselhoff who turned 64 I have no other choice but to take it back a bit because listing all the hot babes that were on Baywatch would take a post of its own. In fact I had already started writing one but I came only to the first paragraph before wrestling was on and afterwards it was too late to start a post. Now people always ask why he is so popular in Germany but you must keep in mind that when Baywatch was broadcast here episodes of Knight Rider ( the show that forced Marvel to change the name of the original Ghost Rider a second time ) were still in reruns.


At the same time his version of I´ve Been Looking For Freedom was in the charts with a video that used images from Knight Rider and Germany is one of the biggest music markets in the world after Japan and the US. So the whole marketing industry had him constantly in magazines like Bravo which all adolescent kids who were not old enough to read the PLAYBOY bought. The Hoff has always been big in Germany which is the only reason something like Ring Of The Musketeers was ever produced. I know you want more of this series ... okay, you don´t but you have no choice in that matter. I´m posting this and you can watch it or not.



Donald Sutherland celebrated his 81st birthday and like Corey Feldman it would take too long to list all the cult movies he has been in. Also why bother when he is still very active on Crossing Lines and The Hunger Games. Of which I have only seen the first one when they showed it on tv. I know I should watch the other two before my brother has to return them again but I don´t want to watch a movie that is only the first part. I know this decision will probably come back to bite me in the rear very soon.

Now I did have a video for argentinian born spanish cartoonist Quino who turned 84 from Continuara all lined up but if it was not enough that it´s not in english YouTube went and muted the video. And what sense does it make to post a video you can´t hear ? In any case, I found another video with some animated cartoons from the creator of the Mafalda strip.



Speaking about animated newspaper strips Sunday would have been the 88th anniversary of jazz musician Vince Guaraldi who did the soundtrack for all the classic Peanuts movies. Since I already posted the title song Linus and Lucy as well as a few Peanuts videos here is another episode of Kids Reacts, this time to the trailer for the new Peanuts movie. I´m not that big a fan of 3D animated cartoons of series I know as 2D but I guess you have to make concessions to Today´s tastes. And it´s nice to see that the basic concepts of Charles M Schulz are still appreciated by youngsters.



And with that we´re coming to the birthdays of Monday. First up is Kristen Bell from Veronica Mars who turned 36. I know that she is in House Of Lies but I´m more a crime guy instead of a corporate manager, cheating, lying, backstabbing kind of guy. One of the cast members of Veronica Mars was the very voluptuous Charisma Carpenter who celebrates her 46th birthday on Saturday so I will probably mention her again - if I manage to do a post in the meantime - and add another GIF to the blog.


Speaking about GIFs and voluptuous tv vixens I finally found one of  Chloe Bennet´s best scene from the first season of Marvel´s Agents of S. H. I. E. L. D. With Ming - Na Wen, Adrienne Palicki and Elisabeth Henstridge they have really assembled a cast with a high babe factor that leaves you reeling which one to choose. Okay, I´m kidding. I choose Chloe any day.


Anyway, Jed Whedon turned 42 and being a writer on the show I don´t know how much influence he had on the casting but even if he hadn´t anything to do with it I want to say thanks for all the great character moments and plot twists. I´m a bit behind with watching but I have all the episodes of season three lined up and I will binge watch them soon.


Apropos binge watching and favorite tv series, Grant Bowler celebrated his 48th birthday on Monday and while the name may not be that familiar you probably know him as reluctant lawkeeper Joshua Nolan on Defiance.


Last month I finished the second season and I´m a bit sad that there is only one more left. Somebody recently told me that the second season was too crazy for his taste so he stopped watching but once I´m invested in a series I want to finish it. Usually I decide with the first episode if I´m going to invest the time or not. If I don´t like what I see like with Game Of Thrones I give it a pass. With Defiance I knew from the scene where Nolan and Risa start singing Jackson that I would like this series. Add all the weird aliens, the grand world building and the uncomplicated attitude with sex and I didn´t need to know it was based on a computer game.

Speaking about computer games there are of course a whole slew of games about The Fast & The Furious and just last Tuesday Michelle Rodriguez turned 38, Today it´s Vin Diesel who has a reason to celebrate with his 49th anniversary. I´m guessing they´ll have more than just pie.


Speaking about fast and furious sexbombs Audrey Landers celebrated her 60th birthday and while she is best known for Dallas she also appears on Burn Notice - where I´m finishing up on the second season - and she looks terrific for her age. I guess it must be the genes and I remember back in the 80s she and her sister Judy were the hottest blonde double d combo that everybody was fantasizing about as two thirds of a love sandwich.


Since I did the birthdays of July the 19th in my last post we have only Today´s to do starting with Omar Epps who turns 43 and who is best known for his role of Doctor Mandingo, okay, Doctor Eric Foreman on the television show House with Hugh Laurie and sexbomb Lisa Edelstein.


Lately we have had quite a few cast members from Lost celebrating a birthday and Today is no exception with Josh Holloway´s 47th anniversary. He played Sawyer and is the main character on Intelligence which my Mom always watches. He is the only actor who could make Gambit cool.

Diana Rigg celebrates her 78th birthday, another tv cult siren from my youth that is still active although I have to confess not watching Game Of Thrones. Normally I don´t like it when people color black and white stuff but this is the longest video from the famous episode A Touch Of Brimstone that was the inspiration for the X - Men´s Hellfire Club.



And finally we have one last comic related birthday with the great late Dick Giordano. As an inker and editor he has had a hand in most comics I enjoyed as a kid and still enjoy doing everything from Marv Wolfman and George Perez´ New Teen Titans to the Superman relaunch by John Byrne. 


Since Today my Avengers by John Byrne Omnibus hardcover finally arrives I will probably be busy with that until the FLASH FRIDAY post. In any case I hope I can post more regularly so that I can do shorter video sections.

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