IDW lost Dr. Who--is DE interested?

[Blinky McQuade]

And that's what "suspension of disbelief" is all about. You're a willing collaborator is your own hoodwinking, because (like Agent Mulder) you "WANT to believe". The same applies to men in rubber suits tearing up balsa wood model cites in Japan. Some of the acting in those movies is decent, too. Harder to tell sometimes when the dubbing isn't great. Part of the problem there is with the compromise between trying to do a decent translation, while at the same time making the words fit the original actor's lip movements. At other times, you just have to try to appreciate the 'psychotronic' qualities of those old Japanese films. The wild designs and colors, the frantic action, the 'anything-goes' craziness of it. And your open-ness to these things often depends on the age you first encounter them. I loved all those crazy Gerry Anderson 'Supermarionation' shows as a kid, and even fell in love with the 'swinging' (and highly improbable) purple-wigged moon babes in Anderson's U.F.O. But when it came to Space: 1999 I had to draw the line. Martin Landau and Barbara Bain were good enough for Mission Impossible and in character parts, but didn't have the charisma to be the lead heroes. Beige pants suits?? And having seen the original Star Trek, I knew enough about science by that time to question a shaky premise. "So let me get this straight, the moon is blasted out of earth's orbit and goes zooming off into space?" Right. "At warp speed? ...but somehow, it slows down just enough when it approaches a new planet, for this week's episode to take place?" Pretty much. "Sorry, Gerry, no sale." So there eventually comes a point for each of us where we aren't willing to suspend that disbelief. Today's kids weaned on CGI will look at one of the (to me) great old Ray Harryhausen stop-motion animated movies and say "it looks so fake". I missed seeing Dr. Who as a kid, which is why it's much harder for me to buy into it as an adult - a certain 'window of opportunity' had passed. Another turn-off to me was a hero that was somewhat goofy and eccentric, some might even say flamboyant (this varies in large degree from Dr. to Dr., but I think is a fair generalization). But just when you get used to one, they replace him with another you might like less.



Amen, brother. Nick Barrucci was quoted as saying he loved the magazine version of Doc Savage and would like to reprint it. (In fact, DC already did a trade paperback reprint a few years ago when they had the license.)

When I taught ancient world history for 17 years, there was an annual showing of Ray Harryhausen's Jason and the Argonauts!!! What sold my students on the movie was the build up of tension introducing the special effects. Like the scene where Hercules and Halas were at Talos' treasure tomb. Seeing Talos the iron giant mesh with the mists of the island was epic in nature. Yes, I could of shown the remake Hallmark tv mini series with "updated" special effects where the action is fast-and-furious but there is something about great story telling when you do not have an unlimited computer special effects. The miniseries told more of the myth but lost the tension of the classic movie. Plus, Jason and his Argonauts was a great hero story with a loyal crew in a fantasy story. My captivated students had to answer questions on a worksheet about ancient Greek culture not plot points in the movie. I would show this film after my ancient Greece unit.

The Marvel and Warren Magazine era of the 1970s hold a special place for me. I really became a Doc Savage fan after reading those great Doug Moench written Doc Savage epics each month. Let Nick Barrucci know that a Doc Savage reprint trade would be highly welcome (I already own the Showcase Presents volume and bought one for my middle school library). Maybe a hard cover?

I posted elsewhere that the self-contained epic adventures of the magazine era might be a way for companies like DE to keep up with deadlines and publish great stories that can eventually gain audiences with regularity. Imagine a Rook or a Doc Savage 48 to 64 page monthly with alternating art teams (maybe quarterly for the artist's sanity) published by DE. Supplement that with series of mini series on a regular basis (Green Hornet mini set in the 40s, followed by a Green Hornet mini set in the 1960s, followed by a mini series of Green Hornet in the present, and back to the original). Dark Horse has been putting out a King Conan mini, followed this with a Conan and the People of the Black Circle mini, and is following this with another King Conan mini--never missing a month! DE has had some publishing challenges (I am a loyal follower of Warlord of Mars that solicits issues far in advance of actually seeing the issue). They have been getting better with the Dejah Thoris and Lords of Mars frequencies of publications. Perhaps the age of on-going titles is on the waning path in today's marketplace? New #1s and specials seem to be the path of success in today's non traditional comic company market.

Keep up the quality work DE!!!

[tony ingram]

Actually, what I'd like to see (curiosity more than anything else) is a reprint of the DALEKS comic strip (a one-pager) that ran in the first year or two of the British weekly TV Century 21 comic. Cohabitating with the likes of Fireball XL5, Stingray, Supercar, The Munsters, and Lady Penelope (for the first year, before Thunderbirds debuted). Yes, you heard right, a strip based solely on the Daleks, that didn't have Dr. Who or any of his supporting cast in it. Just Daleks. Apparently in 1965, Dalekmania ranked just slightly below Beatlemania in England.

A great series, well worth seeing again, I agree.