The Case for DVD and Blu-Ray!

 

 

Shout! Factory, the DVD producer and distributor responsible for a great many wonderful things in my DVD collection…

Like this…
 

And THIS (complete with link)…

 

And THIS (also complete with link)...

And even this…

 

…made the case for DVD and Blu-Ray, over streaming, at their website -- HERE.   It's a MUST-READ!

I agree with every word, and wish to share it with all of you. 

There's a great quote therein:   "When I die, they'll be able to open up my movie cabinets and say "THIS is WHO he was." ...Scary as that may be.

Consider, in my case, that’s a collection that contains material as diverse as (You can take links for ALL FOUR of them!)...

THIS…

 

And THIS…

 

And a healthy dose of THIS!

 

And THIS!

 

…And I’d agree with that “scary part”. 

 

What say you all?  

Atomic Batteries to Power! Turbines to Speed!

In keeping with our last two posts on Lorenzo Semple, Jr. and the current BATMAN ’66 comic book, I’ll throw out this quick item.

Lorenzo Semple, Jr. had Robin the Boy Wonder utter this now classic pair of lines, when the Batmobile  took off on its first “14 Mile” trip to Gotham City, in the pilot episode – and (one would imagine, via stock footage) often thereafter.   

“Atomic Batteries to Power!  Turbines to Speed!”

“Roger!  Ready to move out!”, would come the grim reply from Batman! 

The iconic scene from BATMAN '66 # 8 (2014)

 But, did this ever take place in the original comic books? 

I certainly haven’t read every Batman comic ever done, but I have read a fair number of them and would tend to think not.  However, this iconic scene WAS recreated in the pages of BATMAN ’66, Issue # 8.  A wonderful "tribute comic book" to the TV series

Now, I may never know if “Atomic Batteries to Power!  Turbines to Speed!” was uttered in a BATMAN comic book before BATMAN ’66 # 8… but I CAN say with absolute certainty that it WAS part of the dialogue of another comic story. 

Why?  Because I wrote that dialogue myself! 

Check out this panel from “Moldfinger” or “The Spy Who Ducked-Out On Me”, from Boom! Studios' 2010 hardcover collection “Walt Disney’s Donald Duck Classics Quack Up”.  (Click to Enlarge)

Oddly, I didn’t know it at the time I was writing the script, but this story dated back to that wonderful year of 1966, making it more appropriate than even I realized for me to include that iconic bit from the BATMAN 1966 TV series. 

 

Bonus 1966 reference:  In the same panel, my use of the word “Nucleonic” originates with the 1966 LOST IN SPACE episode “The Sky Pirate” – and my favorite line:
 

“Why don’t you just blast him with your Nucleonic Planet Buster?” says young Will Robinson to Space Pirate Alonzo P. Tucker.  

After all this… My name might not be “Roger”, but I’m clearly “Ready to move out!”. 

Bat-Backsliding and Some Other Titles, Too!

Those who spend any appreciable time around here (…and I thank you for doing so), will recall that fateful day in 2012 when New Comic Books and I parted company. 

You can read about it HERE – and, in particular, enjoy JoeCab’s initial comment, that was responsible for one of my best laugh-out-loud moments in the nearly six years of this Blog’s existence. 

Steadfastly new-comic-less I remained, making an exception only for the now-departed IDW POPEYE series. 

But, sometimes things happen to derail even the most resolute of… um, “resolutions”… Like commenter “Rusty” – in THIS POST – bringing to my attention the KING TUT appearance in Issue # 8 of DC Comics’ new BATMAN ’66 series! 

Tut-tut... It's Tut!

I actually picked-up the first three issues of BATMAN ’66 – a comic book series that reflects the look and sensibilities of the 1966 Adam West and Burt Ward television series – as a bagged set, at NEW YORK COMIC CON 2013, and figured on reading them eventually. 

The First Issue of BATMAN '66

But, when Rusty’s comment linked to the Tut-Centric cover of # 8, I KNEW I had to have that one (and begin reading the ones I had), because Victor Buono, as King Tut, was my favorite villain created for the TV series – and Victor Buono has always been one of my favorite “villain-actors” in general. 

Live Action...

Animated...

...And, at long last - COMICS!

The issue does NOT let us down in its depiction of both iconic TV series imagery – and its depiction of Buono’s Tut!  (Click on images to enlarge)

And there’s a second story featuring Cliff Robertson’s western-themed villain “Shame”!  Just look how great this stuff is!   Makes you feel like a fanboy again! 

Here’s a Bouns Image, from Issue # 2,  of The Penguin and Mister Freeze – Otto Preminger variety!  (…Though I always preferred George Sanders!) 

And, even William Dozier's "Omniscient Yet Unseen Narrator" gets into the act!  "OmYUN"? How's that for a catchy name?

So, on the cold and rainy Saturday afternoon of March 29, 2014, I journeyed to Manhattan to find BATMAN ’66 # 8 – and any of the other ones I missed.   Recalling that Jim Hanley’s Universe indulges in the very welcome practice of leaving several months’ worth of back issues on the racks at cover price, I headed there first, to round-up the outstanding issues of BATMAN ’66 from # 4 - on. 

Can we now call him "The Comic-Bookworm"?

While I was there, thought to pick up the first issue of IDW’s ROCKY AND BULLWINKLE series, as it was written by Mark Evanier. 

I like THIS COVER better than the "standard" one.

Needless to say, Evanier does not let us down, with the clever and delightful sort of PUNS that were the TV series hallmark – and a wonderful gag concerning the two ubiquitous, event-observing bystanders “Edgar and Chauncey”. 

So, with a stack of copies of BATMAN ’66, and the lone issue of ROCKY AND BULLWINKLE, I was ready to approach the checkout counter… AND THEN I SPOTTED THIS!

Admit it… Your heart stopped too! 

Scooby-Doo AND Bat-Mite from BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD?  Astounding!  What did I say about becoming a fanboy again? 

"AGAIN?  I never STOPPED!"

"We've TEAMED-UP before!"

...And so have they!

As a courtesy to a fellow Blogger, I present this "Bat-Mite-a-riffic" (Yes, I actually SAID that!) sequence from that very issue: SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP # 3.

Funny, Bat-Mite never leaves comments on MY Blog!

And check out this priceless sequence from Issue # 1 where the characters reference both THE NEW SCOOBY-DOO MOVIES and BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD! 

There are three issues of SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP released to date, each one offering a Batman-related team-up (# 1 Batman and Robin, # 2 Ace the Bat-Hound, and # 3 Bat-Mite), but the friendly and helpful salesperson at Jim Hanley’s Universe believed that future team-ups would include characters from all over Hanna-Barbera, Warner Bros., and DC Comics! 

If so, I can’t wait for THIS team-up!  THAT'LL make me a fanboy for sure!  

"Hi, I'm Freakazoid!  Wanna team-up?"

And, I’ll probably continue with these titles, for as long as they last… darn it all!  :-)

"When do I get MY OWN TITLE?  Bat-Mite Team-Up!  Awesome Sauce!"

"Ya know... Maybe teaming-up wasn't such a HOT IDEA. after all!"

Good night, Folks!

Yes, that last gag was from 1939's "Daffy Duck and the Dinosaur", directed by Chuck Jones!  Extra points, if you got that!