MOVIES & TV | 13th Dimension, Comics, Creators, Culture

Jan20

INSIDE LOOK — KOLCHAK: THE NIGHT STALKER 50th Anniversary Graphic Novel

Posted by Dan Greenfield on Jan 20, 2022

INSIDE LOOK — KOLCHAK: THE NIGHT STALKER 50th Anniversary Graphic Novel

An EXCLUSIVE SNEAK PEEK at one of the most exciting projects of 2022… Hey, if you dig Darren McGavin’s Kolchak: The Night Stalker — and who doesn’t? — then boy are you in for a treat this year. Moonstone Books has corralled a coterie of top-notch creators for the crowdfunded Kolchak: The Night Stalker 50th Anniversary Graphic Novel. Dig this official description of the Kickstarter project — as well as an EXCLUSIVE FIRST LOOK at four pages of lettered art (farther below): In 2022, Moonstone Books will celebrate this pop culture milestone with a Kickstarter campaign for Kolchak: The Night Stalker 50th Anniversary Graphic Novel, edited by James Aquilone (Classic Monsters Unleashed). This all-new, 100+ page, full-color graphic novel will feature 10 startling stories chronicling the life of monster-hunting reporter Carl Kolchak. The stories are written by such master storytellers as David Avallone (Elvira: Mistress of the Dark), Rodney Barnes (Killadelphia), James Chambers (Kolchak the Night Stalker: The Forgotten Lore of Edgar Allan Poe), Nancy Collins (Swamp Thing), Peter David (The Incredible Hulk), Kim Newman (Anno Dracula), Jonathan Maberry (V-Wars), Richard Christian Matheson (Scars and Other Distinguishing Marks), Tim Waggoner (Temple of the Dragonslayer), and Aquilone, and illustrated by such amazing artists as Jonathan Marks Barravecchia (Scarlet Witch), Marco Finnegan (Lizard in a Zoot Suit), Warwick Johnson-Cadwell (Mr. Higgins Comes Home), Paul McCaffrey (Anno Dracula), Clara Meath (Midnight Vista), Julius Ohta (Iron Man), Tom Rogers (Herald: Lovecraft & Tesla), J.K. Woodward (Star Trek), and Colton Worley (The Shadow). — The OGN also features covers by Jerry Ordway, Worley and Woodward; an introduction by Richard Christian Matheson, the bestselling writer and son of The Night Stalker and The Night Strangler writer Richard Matheson; plus the usual bonuses and fancy extras, including a Kolchak statue diorama and a special, 40-page standalone comic. The project is already funded, which is great news, but it’s stretch-goal time, so click here for more info and to order your own copy. In the meantime, dig this EXCLUSIVE FIRST LOOK at four lettered pages — two from Peter David and J.K. Woodward’s The Enemy Within and two from James Aquilone and Colton Worley’s Satanic Panic ’88, which will be in the standalone comic: — — But, wait there’s more! Here’s an EXCLUSIVE FIRST LOOK at artist John Jennings’ Kolchak print, which will be available as an...

Jan19

TV’s 1979 CAPTAIN AMERICA Movie: A Big Heart and a Small Budget

Posted by Dan Greenfield on Jan 19, 2022

TV’s 1979 CAPTAIN AMERICA Movie: A Big Heart and a Small Budget

REEL RETRO CINEMA: Reb Brown’s Captain America movie aired for the first time Jan. 19, 1979, on CBS… — UPDATED 1/19/22: REEL RETRO CINEMA’s Rob Kelly gives you an UP-CLOSE LOOK at the Star-Spangled Avenger’s first standalone movie, which 43 years ago followed his ‘60s cartoon and ‘40s serial. This first ran in 2021 but it holds up just as well today. Dig it. — Dan — By ROB KELLY Over the years in REEL RETRO CINEMA, we’ve discussed the various Marvel superheroes that made their way onto the small screen: Spider-Man, Dr. Strange, and The Incredible Hulk. But there’s one name missing from that fantastic four: the Sentinel of Liberty, Captain America. Considering how relatively budget-friendly Cap as a character is when it comes to live action, it seems strange that he would have made it to TV after his fellow members of the Marvel Universe. Perhaps TV producers wanted to get as far away from the Watergate Era as possible before trying such an unapologetically patriotic character. Or, with Star Wars exploding onto the pop culture scene with its upbeat, optimistic flavor – not to mention the continued popularity of Evel Knievel — they sensed the tide was turning, and people would really go for a super-powered guy dressed in red, white, and blue punching out baddies. Directed by TV veteran Rod Holcomb (ER, The Six Million Dollar Man), 1979’s Captain America takes some of the basic elements of the comic book legend but updates them to modern day. Ex-Marine Steve Rogers, played by massive hunk of beef Reb Brown (Yor, Hunter From The Future, The Sword and the Sorcerer) is not a soldier in World War II era-America; rather, he’s a van-driving, soft-spoken, rather sensitive soul that belies his massive frame. Steve keeps getting letters from a Dr. Simon Mills (Len Birman, who voiced Hercules in the 1960s Thor cartoon), but ignores them. Finally, he goes to see Mills, who explains that Steve’s father developed an experimental formula called FLAG (Full Latent Ability Gain — “S.H.I.E.L.D” it ain’t), which gives people accelerated, almost super-human, abilities. Steve’s Dad had a reputation for always fighting for the Little Guy, so much so that he was known as “Captain America.” Now Steve understands why, when his Dad died, he got a letter of condolence from the President himself! After...

Home » MOVIES & TV