Favorite Songs: "Scarlet” by Lush

“Gala” was the first album I ever owned from 4AD shoegazer band Lush, and though I would go on to love anything and everything the band would subsequently put out(see my blog rantings here), my heart will always hold a special place for that first album.

   Because Gala was more a collection of their EPs Mad Love, Scar and Sweetness and Light than an “album” proper, several songs appeared more than once on the tracklisting, among them two versions of Thoughtforms and two of SCARLET.

 While the “newer” version of Thoughtforms became (to me) the ‘real” version of said song, Scarlet’s two version both had different things to offer for me. The newer version was more polished and dreamy (and bears a slight resemblace to “Monochrome”) while the ealier one was more “raw” in sound, almost live.It was THIS version that I slowly found myself attatched to, especially during the choruses where Emma’s Guitar chords sound positively sonic follwing the lines “But What’d you Say” and “When nothing’s meant ”, “What’d You Do” and “When all is Spent”.The tone of the guitars have this “british” feel to it and I for some reason, it reminds me of “Instant Party” by The Who on their “My Generation” album.

  In fact, the huge, dreamy guitar washes during the lines “No one to fall…in love” and the subsequent spirally guitar picking behind the lines “Faceless, faithless night…vanity’s delight” all have decidedly Townshend-ish flavouring, at least in my opinion, and that’s a major Who fan talking here!

Super-Vixens: Aleta

The next two entries into my personal “Super-Heroine Hall Of Fame”

I’ve dubbed “Super-Vixens are the two leading ladies of the original 1970’s  futuristic heroes, THE GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY.

  When Gene Colan and Arnold Drake created The Team in Marvel Super-Heroes, the group was strictly a boy’s club, it wasn’t until the Guardians got updated in the hands of Steve Gerber in titles like DEFENDERS and MARVEL PRESENTS.

Seeing an obvious void in femininity in the team, Steve a couple of heroines to join the team, first with Aleta along with her  counterpart Stakar in the pages of DEFENDERS, the duo of course would unite to become the Guardian member Starhawk.

Aleta is one charcter who has been revamped in recent years so far from her original look as to be unrecognizable! Nowadays she sports the modern “pin-up” look of most heroines in the biz, but back then she was portrayed as a more serious character, only occasionally appearing to chew out Starhawk and confuse Vance! I’m not sure if she was supposed to be a “sexy” heroine, but she definitely had that appeal to me, although she always seemed to remind me of Cathy Lee Crosby! And that’s whether Al Milgrom OR George Perez was drawin’ her! Ahahaha

Aleta

First appearance Defenders #29

by Steve Gerber and Sal Buscema

Super-Vixens: Nikki

Nikki was created by Steve and Al just one issue after debuting the Guardians of the Galaxy in MARVEL PRESENTS, a Mercurian who became sort of the “juvenile Sidekick” kind of charcter, the voice of laughter and playfulness in a gang of somber grumps! There was (at the time) even a sort of side-story of Nikki and Vance growing closer, but that storyline seemed to have been phased out.

 Nonetheless, she remained the sole firecracker in the group, and one of my favorite portrayals of her is in an issue of MARVEL TEAM-UP , where Nikki , Martinex and Yondu team up with Spider-Man in New York. The Pencils are done by Bob Mcleod, and His rendition of Nikki ranks up there with his “Ororo as White Queen” cover in X-Men!

Nikki

First appearance Marvel Presents #4

by Steve Gerber and Al Milgrom

Favorite Actresses: Katharine Ross

Although The Graduate is one of my favorite movies of all time, this was NOT the movie in which Katharine Ross stole my heart (though she IS so pretty here).. and it wasn’t her OTHER blockbuster hit movie, Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid that did it for me, either! (Though I’d certainly pack her on MY bicycle anywhere she’d like to go…)

No, strange as it may seem, the movie that I first fell for lovely Ms. Ross was in the 1978 horror movie, THE LEGACY! Yes, that sinister movie where Roger Daltrey, lead vocallist for The Who. dies by choking on a chcken bone! For some reason, this movie was on TV an awful lot, and each time it was on, I watched it for the pretty “Natalie Wood-ish”actress with the heavy fake eyelashes, whom I later found out was named Katherine Ross!

Then came the aforementioned movie like The Graduate, Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid, and her OTHER famous Horror movie, THE STEPFORD WIVES, all featuring Katharine at her best!

She was recently credited in the cult classic “Donnie Darko’, I say “credited” because I have to say the morose psychiatrist lady in the movie didn’t look ANYTHING like the adorably girly Katharine Ross I knew and loved!

Oh Elaine Robinson, won’t you please come home?

Super-Vixens: Shrinking Violet

From Wikipedia: Shrinking Violet is a fictional character, a superheroine and Legion of Super-Heroes member in the DC Universe's 30th and 31st centuries. Her real name is Salu Digby and she comes from the planet Imsk. She has the power to shrink to tiny size, as do all Imsk natives.

 Growing Up, Shrinking Violet (or  “Vi” as the kids called her) wwas never one of my favorite characters, and I really didn’t much care for her Cockrum-designed costume (This one that looks like Marvel Comics’ Polaris’s Shi’ar oufit), but I did like how he drew her features, and boy, when Mike Grell was pencilling the Legion Of Super-Heroes, she sure was pretty! Plus, she seemed to be one of the more “serious” characters, and when the 1993 Legion portrayed a grown-up Salu working for the military, that really seemed to fit, for me!

Shrinking Violet

First Appearance:Action Comics # 276

by Jerry Siegel and Jim Mooney

Favorite Songs: "Funeral In His Heart" by October Project

I fell in love with October Project from the first time I heard the strains of their first single “Bury My Lovely” all the way back in 1993, and have been a rabid, manic fan ever since! The vocals, the music, the lyrics… all of it blended together so well to create a whole canvas of dreamlike music that defied categorizing!

In 1995, the group released their second album Falling Further In, and to promote it, they appeared on a few radio programs and talk shows, and one fo the songs they chose to sing at these events was the awesome Funeral in His Heart. It was an “unplugged” version of  that really caught my ear and made me really start appreciating the song- Mary’s powerful voice, Marina’s crystal harmonies, Emil’s piano and harmony vocal…throw in David’s guitarwork and Urbano’s toms, and you had a tight-knit combo that really kicked butt!

   Later I was to acquire a performance they did for a Sony Records expo while promoting their first album, and was surprised to find they’d done “Funeral In His Heart” even back then…I guess the song wasn’t as new as I thougth It was! This live version, however, had a different ending to it than the album version- at the last chorus, the music ceased, and all four vocallists (Mary, Emil, Marina and David) all harmonized accapella:

“The World is falling apart…

He’s getting older

and there’s a funeral in his heart”

 They repeat the lines as Mary adlibs around the refrain, and the song comes crashing to its end- to the overwhelming applause of the audience! Awesome!

Super-Vixens: Kari Limbo

There was this Green Lantern issue where (at least judging by the cover ), Hal Jordan was going to die when his Power battery exploded as he recharged it. But in DC Comics’ tradition of “faking us out with a misleading cover”, it ended up being not Hal himself, but rather a gent named Guy Gardner, a substitute GL filling in for Hal at the time.

 With Guy Gardner’s body presumably vaporized by the exploding lantern, it was up to Hal Jordan to inform Guy’s fiance about the accidental death, and she turned out to be this gypsy girl named Kari Limbo who was not only drop dead gorgeous, but was also gifted with Psychic powers!

 This was around 1978, and I have to say that me and my friends really fell for the Kari Limbo character. First off, she was a character that was introduced in the stories we were reading, so maybe we connected to her more readily. Second, as I ‘d already mentioned, she was sultry and sooo exotic (she’s a GYPSY, for chrissakes!),  and third, everything Kari did seemed to emanate “SEXY”, at least to our 6th grade minds.  Every issue would find her kissing Hal for whatever reason, she appeared (quite innocently enough) in her nightgown to  greet him (see pic above), and most importantly: She rocked some seriously low-plunging blouses! Take a look at that pic in the lower left hand corner. It may not seem like much in the world of Image Comics and the like, but back then, that was some SERIOUS cleavage! Totally rocked our worlds, I tell you.

 In later issues, she would join Green Lantern, Green Arrow and Black Canary in tracking down villains, and soon fate found Hal and Kari falling for each other (all in three issues! MAN that is fast!) and planning to get married!

 Well, as we all know now, Guy Gardner did NOT die in the explosion, he’d been taken to the Phantom Zone, and was none too happy about finding his Cherry Poptart about to marry his “business associate”! So much for those plans!

Years later, Guy Gardner would have a new life (so to speak) in Justice League and his own solo stuff, catapulting him to fame and BIG popularity! But I never did read those issues, and am not sure if Kari Limbo EVER made another appearance after the wedding disaster of GL/GA #120.

Where are you , Kari? Can SOMEBODY please revamp her character for the new millennium? C’mon, she’s got the Psychic Powers and the good looks- who could ask for anything more to work with?!

Kari Limbo

First Appearance:Green Lantern / Green Arrow #117

by Denny O’Neil and Joe Staton with Dave Hunt

Favorite Artist: Alex Savuik

Favorite Songs: "Vanilla" by Tanya Donelly

Granted, I've loved everything Tanya has done since her days back in the Muses, from Green through Not Too Soon, her work with Kim Deal in both Breeders and This Mortal Coil, and her own projects including Belly and her self-titled albums,

but 'Vanilla" is really a rare gem, one of those hard-to-find songs that are worth every minute and penny of your searching, because the reward of getting your hands on the tune is SO heart warming, catchy, full of Tanya Donelly goodness.

  Just the other day I was telling my friend Gerg that I consider Tanya one of the finest songwriters out of that whole Alt/Rock movement, in MY opinion , anyway!

The pic on the side isn't the cover for Vanilla, by the way, as most fans will recognize it as the cover to "The Bright Light", but the blurry cover of the Pretty Deep 7" isn't so great, and Tanya looks just fantastic on this cover, so I opted for this one instead!

Tanya Donelly / Vanilla

Favorite Comics: Captain America #253-254

“Should Old Acquaintance be Forgot…"

Roger Stern and John Byrne pay respect to the Legacy of Marvel Comics' Golden Age featuring Captain America and the Invaders in this awesome story that appeared in the pages of Captain America 253 and 254.

In England, a series of terrible slasher murders are being committed. People are being killed and having the blood drained out of them. Everyone believes it to be the work of some insane serial killer, but elderly Lord Crichton of Falsworth Manor suspects something a bit more sinister. He believes the culprit to be a VAMPIRE named Baron Blood, and he has good reason to suspect it, because Lord Crichton was once UNION JACK, the heroic leader of the Invaders, who battled Baron Blood countless times during the war.

   His accusations fall upon deaf ears, however, because he is old and unwell, and everyone believes him to be getting senile. But Lord Crichton feels in his heart that he is correct, and calls upon the only person whom he knows will believe him: Captain America.

  

 I love this scene where Captain America reunites with his former team mate Spitfire, Miss Jacqueline Crichton. During the war, she was the teenage girl who had a crush on Cap, but to her sad realization, she sees that because of his years in suspended animation, he has remained young, while she has aged many years.

   I love this passage because the story reflects so much about time, how it steals strength and energy from people who were larger than life in their youth. More than this, though is the story’s underlying message of respect and friendship. It’s never clearer that when Cap has a chance to talk to Lord Crichton alone..…

Unlike everyone else in the house, Captain America is the only one who still gives  Lord Crichton the respect and dignity the former leader of The Invaders deserves. Both men are true heroes here.

Lord Crichton tells Cap that his half brother is back from he dead and will be coming to take his life. He states that his brother will continue to return from the grave until he is killed the only way to properly kill a vampire: beheading.

All suspicions are laid to rest that night, however, when Baron Blood descends upon Falsworth Manor to take out meddling Captain America.

But The Vampire is in for a surprise, when he finds Captain America wide awake and waiting! Ouch! That’s gotta hurt!

The Vampire flees as morning breaks, and thus the manhunt begins to locate the body of Baron Blood before he can strike again. All paths come up dry, however, and the group is forced to change their tactics. They must bait Baron Blood and draw him to THEM!

   They use the bait they know Baron Blood cannot resist: Having old Lord Crichton dress up again as his old foe Union Jack will be too much for the vampire to take.

  When the Baron arrives as expected at sunset, however, it is Lord Crichton’s nephew’s friend who is waiting in the suit. Together with Captain America  the two battle Baron Blood to a standstill! Time is running short for them though, because as the sun goes down, the Baron gets stronger. Quick action MUST be taken while they have the vampire against the ropes, and Cap remembers the advice Lord Crichton gave him a few days ago:

The story ends with the group destroying all the remains of Baron Blood. After the ceremony, they find that Lord Crichton has also passed on. They are satisfied though, knowing that Lord Crichton died with the knowledge that his evil half brother’s reign was over.

A terrific story full of history and respect for the legacy of the Golden Age of Marvel Comics.