BAB Two-In-One: Super Mischief and Strange Days

Doug: I had a nice collection of Silver and Bronze Age, pre-Legion Superboys at one time. As with much of my collection, it was exchanged for cash in order to complete my run of The Avengers. But I do have a few left, and today I'd like you to take a peek at a cute story from very early in our chosen timeframe. Superboy #167 was cover dated July 1970, was produced by writer Frank Robbins and artists Bob Brown and Mike Esposito, and was entitled "The Day Superbaby Blew Up the World!". As with most DCs from this era, the book has two stories -- we'll just look at the opener.

Our tale begins with Superboy and Ma and Pa Kent (the younger versions, after having taken a "youth potion") seated around the kitchen table. It's Clark's birthday, but he's all glum. Apparently there's the little matter of an exploratory satellite from an alien race, rocketing toward Earth. So what? A little super-deflection, and everything will be OK, right? Wrong -- the satellite has a nuclear power source and is programmed for a hard landing. Superboy makes the comment that in 24 hours, the craft will blow up the world.

That triggers a memory in Jonathan Kent's mind, and he proceeds to tell Clark a story from his days as Superbaby. I know -- you were thinking that maybe Ma should put the ice cream back in the freezer and send Clark downstairs to his lab to figure out a way to solve the problem using his robot dopplegangers. Nah -- storytime! When Clark must have been about 3, Ma and Pa took him shopping for his birthday. Little Clark spied a huge advertising prop of the Earth and just had to have it. Of course he couldn't, and he was most displeased. Ma improvised and bought him an inflatable globe. A comment here on the art: Bob Brown and Mike Esposito do a great job of drawing Superbaby -- he looks like he could have been on a Charmin package! Their work is almost Cardy-esque and really lends a charm to the story. Very cute!

Clark doesn't like how small the globe is, so he imitates his dad and blows it up -- to the point where it explodes. Back to being down in the dumps, he spies the moon while in his bedroom. Grabbing a water color set, he takes off toward it to color it as pretty as his globe. During this entire sequence Clark's carrying Jonathan's binoculars, and keeps looking at them through the wrong end. He perceives that the Earth (viewing it from the moon) is small, so he decides he will blow it up! Using his super-breath, Clark begins to exhale deeply into a volcanic chain of islands, setting off seismic activity around the world. As news alerts come from around the globe, and military intervention is planned, Clark becomes dismayed at the now-exploding volcanoes. So, he does what any youngster would do -- he fixes the problem by hurling boulders down the shafts and sealing off the lava. Problem solved!

Jonathan's moon story inspires Superboy to solve the runaway satellite problem. He crafts a magnetic-charged iron ball, flies it in to orbit and the satellite zeroes in on it, explodes, and thus ends the threat to Earth. It's a neat little story, with pretty pictures, and evocative of the better material DC put out in this period. And I should say, that as much as I detested Frank Robbins' art for Marvel on such titles as The Invaders, this work from his pen is well-crafted.

Karen: I've pulled yet another book from my swap meet collection (books I picked up on the cheap at a swap meet a few years ago and haven't read). This time the selection was Marvel Premiere # 14 (March 1973), featuring the master of the mystic arts, Dr. Strange. The winning combination of Steve Englehart and Frank Brunner (with Dick Giordano on inks) put this mind-blowing issue together. I've always wanted to read the Englehart-Brunner Dr. Strange, even though I've never been much of a Dr. Strange fan. But I had heard good things about their run on the character, so this issue was a chance to see for myself.

Karen: I've apparently come in at the conclusion of what appears to be a pretty cosmic storyl ine. Doc and his nemesis, Baron Mordo, are both following the wizard Sise-Neg (read it backwards), who is absorbing magical energy from different time periods and transcending into godhood. As Sise-Neg's power grows, the two rival wizards' power diminishes. Doc and the Baron are like the little angel and devil on Sise-Neg's shoulders - each trying to persuade him to their particulart point of view (good or evil).


Karen: Sise-Neg goes back to the time of King Arthur and steals Merlin's energy. There's a nice scene here where Doc meets Lancelot, who mistakes him for Merlin! Then they travel back further, encountering a city full of sinful people. When the locals attack the trio, Sise-Neg rains destruction upon them, destroying their twin cities of - Sodom and Gomorrah! On his last step to wards complete omnipotence, Sise-Neg goes back to prehistoric times. There, the trio sees a group of pre-humans under the assault of a gigantic, tentacled entity - Shuma Gorath, an extradimensional creature Strange has fought before. Strange, now nearly powerless, pleads with the god-like Sise-Neg to save the prehumans. "Those are your ancestors down there! Whatever their weakness - however you have transcended them - they are responsible for your existence! When all is said and done, you and they are one! Can you abandon them to something inhuman?"

Karen: Strange finally gets through to Sise-Neg, and being all-powerful, he transports Shuma Gorath away, and creates a paradise for the two remaining prehumans. I suppose you can see where this is going now.

Karen: Sise-Neg reaches the very beginnings of the solar system, and goes beyond, the the birth of the universe itself. Brunner's art here is really strong - although you could say that about the whole issue! Now, Strange and Mordo witness the re-birth of the universe, as Sise-Neg - or Genesis, as he now calls himself - tells the two of them that his quest for godhood has been in vain, as he cannot improve upon the universe -all is as it should be! Therefore he recreates the universe exactly as it was.

Karen: As Strange and Mordo are returned to the present, Strange ponders whether they saw the second creation of the universe, or the first? It's all been too much for pudgy Baron Mordo - he is left in a daze.

Karen: This is about as trippy a 70s comic as you could ask for. It reinforces the belief that I have that Marvel in the early 70s, under Roy Thomas, was at its peak creatively. Sure, you got some lemons here and there. But for the most part, creators were trying new and unusual stories and succeeding for the most part. This was a very entertaining book, and now I want to pick up the issues preceding it.

Avengers 166 - Uru & Diamond!

Avengers 166 (December 1977)
"Day of the Godslayer!"
writer: Jim Shooter
pencils: John Byrne
inks: Pablo Marcos

Karen: OK folks, are you ready for the thrilling conclusion of this superb Avengers story?

Doug: I know I am! And how about that cover? Perez is of course the gold standard for the Avengers in the Bronze Age, but how 'bout Ernie Chan's (Chua's) inks on this cover? While I sometimes thought he overpowered John Buscema on the Conans on which they collaborated, his inks here provide some real depth to the illustration. Not to mention the fact that we've watched Nefaria just bulldoze the team -- but apparently not here, as two of the heavy-hitters are now on the scene!

Karen: We start right in the middle of the action, as Thor appears out of nowhere to take on the super-powered Count Nefaria! At first it would appear that the Thunder God has the situation in hand, but as Nefaria begins to realize that he's taken Thor's best and is still standing, he gains confidence. He then repeats himself, and drops a building on Thor! This doesn't stop Goldilocks and the two continue to go at it. Shooter and Byrne do a good job in showing Thor in all his glory and power - which makes Nefaria seem even more impressive.

Doug: I liked this splash page's flip-flop perspective to the ending panel from #165. Whereas before we got to see the Thunder God's anger, here we see the look of "Oh, crap..." on Nefaria's face. Thor's soliloquy about the Avengers being mere mortals, I am Thor!, yada yada yada, reminded me of the exchange he and Moondragon had had some issues previously -- when she was telling him that he was too good for the Avengers; in effect, attempting to compare herself to Thor, as she certainly felt that she was too good for the Avengers. Thor is letting Nefaria know in no uncertain terms that the varsity has arrived!
Karen: As the battle rages, Pym finds a way to revive the Vision, who attacks Nefaria and discovers his powers of intangibility do not work against him. I liked that panel of the Vision on the ground, about half-phased through the sidewalk!

Doug: One of the best lines ever: Beast - "Careful, Vish! He's dangerous!" Vision - "As am I"

Doug: I, too, liked that panel. Pretty wild that Nefaria could punch the Vision while he was intangible.
Karen: Professor Sturdy, the German scientist who helped Nefaria become a super-man, arrives on the scene and tells Nefaria that he is aging at an accelerated rate, and will die in two days time. This drives Nefaria over the edge, and he jumps off in a rage. Meanwhile, the Avengers try to re-group. One of my favorite scenes in this whole storyline occurs here, as an injured Captain America hands his invincible shield to Wonder Man, telling him to take it for protection against Nefaria's laser vision. A clearly stunned Wondy says, "It's an honor I don't feel I deserve! I - I don't know what to say, Cap...I....Thanks!"

Doug: To a degree, Perez would repeat that scene in the Avengers/JLA crossover, with Superman the beneficiary.
Karen: As Nefaria continues to rampage, jumping and blasting buildings, the Vision realizes that he cannot fly and so, if his momentum is halted, he has to fall. He brings the Count down and the other Avengers move in to take him on. This time, they act as a team, much more successfully. Still, although they stagger Nefaria, they don't bring him down. There's a terrific shot here of Thor punching the heck out of Nefaria!

Doug: You know, with all the junk that's being passed off as "The Avengers" these days, it's refreshing to read a story with a truly classic line-up. Thor, Iron Man, Cap, Vision, Wanda, Wonder Man, Beast, Black Panther, YJ, and the Wasp -- ten of the all-time greats. It would be interesting to see if the real Superman, and not a juiced-up Nefaria, could have held out so long against this sort of firepower.

Karen: The Vision comes up with his own personal solution: he increases his mass and density to their most extreme and drops like a bomb on Nefaria! This finally put the Count down for the count, so to speak.

Doug: This era was a high-point for the Vision in terms of storylines, characterization, and general facetime in the magazine. The scene you allude to is a real showcase for his "density as hard as a diamond" power. This big save, coming only months after his quite aggressive battle against Wonder Man in Avengers #158, cemented the Vision as a superstar among superstars.
Karen: On the final page, as Cap and Iron Man bicker over how the team has been performing, we find out that Sturdy's comments to Nefaria were a ruse: his rapid aging was a temporary side-effect; in reality, his super-energized cells had made him immortal!

Karen: I read this when it first hit the stands and I loved it then. It hasn't lost a thing in 33 years! It's a rousing battle with lots of great characterization, and great art. I highly recommend getting these books.

Doug: It's a very neatly-packaged story. There are the small subplots of Gyrich (who we don't know yet) and the old man on the steamer coming to America to meet his "children" -- who look an awful lot like Wanda and Pietro. But other than that, this is just good ol' fashioned superheroing, in the Mighty Marvel Manner!!

Avengers 165 - When Superman Comes a'Calling

Avengers 165 (November 1977)
"Hammer of Vengeance!"
Writer: Jim Shooter
Penciller: John Byrne
Inker: Pablo Marcos

Karen: Here in the second part of our three-part story, the Avengers are face-to-face with a tremendously powerful Count Nefaria, who has decided to kill them apparently just to prove he can. He pretty much toys with them, finally dropping a building on top of them! They are rescued by Iron Man, regroup and attack again, but have little success. When all looks lost though, who should appear but - the God of Thunder!

Doug: And as Captain America and others will point out in our next issue, Thor's popping in like he's the cavalry is getting stale. Not that the Avengers mind having their bacon saved, but where is the Thunder God in the more mundane tasks? The day-to-day crises?

Karen: Yes, it would be a little while before the reason for that was revealed.

Doug: I felt the opening sequence was really strong in terms of Byrne's storytelling. It's obvious that he "gets" the Avengers, their powers, and the interplay between their abilities and Nefaria's newfound powers works. In effect, each of the Avengers strikes solo, giving Byrne a chance to show us just what Nefaria can do.

Doug: I also thought it was nice to toss in the line from the Beast about Nefaria's role in the demise of Thunderbird back in X-Men #95; as we've just finished an examination of continuity here on the BAB blog, this is an example of the tangled web that was the Marvel Universe in days gone by.

Karen: Yes, a perfectly appropriate reference for the Beast to make. This issue is another fine example of how a story that is basically one long fight after another can incorporate plenty of characterization. We see the rift growing between Captain America and Iron Man - Cap thinks the Golden Avenger is taking his job as leader too lightly; we see Wonder Man battling against his own fears; and, the much-despised Henry Gyrich makes his first appearance.

Doug: And when discussing characterization, let's not forget Jarvis. He has a nice moment in the scene right after Nefaria knocks Wonder Man back into the mansion. And Gyrich was such a scum!

Karen: Nefaria really is very Superman-like here - except for not being able to fly, although he can "leap tall buildings in a single bound"!! Nefaria's heat vision looks devastating.
Doug: Yep -- again, to the first few pages: super strength, heat vision, super speed, invulnerability, super reflexes... The bad version of Kal-el, if you ask me. I thought it was cool, yet curious, in the scene you mentioned earlier where Nefaria dumps a building on our heroes. In the panels just prior, he attempts to mangle Cap's shield and can't even dent it. In my mind, I had a tough time juxtaposing that idea with the fact that he could lift a building weighing hundreds of tons. And about that building... defies logic that Nefaria could pick it up clean. You don't think there'd be pipes, etc. all over, an exposed foundation? I'm no architect, but I'm just saying...

Karen: Yes, ripping the building out of the ground seems over the top, and unrealistic -even for a comic! Funny too because a few years later Byrne re-visits this scene in Fantastic Four, this time using Gladiator, and implies that he does it through a form of telekinesis. But there's no implication of that there.

Karen: We get some foreshadowing that the Vision, who lies comatose in a stasis cylinder, will come into play before the story's over.
Doug: Karen, we long ago discussed the Vision's humanity or lack thereof. A scene like this just solidifies my point of view back then that he's more machine than man. But I don't want to dredge up old arguments!

Karen:Oh boy, let's not go through that again! To me, it was no different than seeing a person comatose on a hospital bed, attached to machines keeping them alive. But Vizh will get his turn next time. Even the Whizzer gets a good scene, reminding Nefaria that he is only mortal, and his reign will come to an end in 20 years or so.
Doug: I really appreciated Bob Frank's wilfulness to jump in and help. I thought this was a nice time in Avengers history when he'd come back. I was a little sad when the "true origin" of Wanda and Pietro played out a short time after this.

Karen: I know; on some level I liked the idea of Wanda and Pietro being the second generation of super-heroes, children of the World War II vets. Byrne's art really gets across the raw power of being thrown around, although I do agree with you Doug, that Pablo Marcos is not the best inker for him.
Doug: John Byrne is an artist who excels at both the lithe figures and those muscle-bound power guys. His pencils really have some depth in these issues. A stellar job!

Karen: The last page with Thor surrounded by Kirby Krackle, throwing his hammer straight at Nefaria, is a knock-out!

Avengers 164 - Count Me Deadly!

Avengers # 164 (Oct. 1977)
"To Fall By Treachery!"
writer: Jim Shooter
penciller: John Byrne
inker: Pablo Marcos

Karen: Welcome to the first of a three-part Avengers extravaganza! These issues - 164 through 166- show an Avengers team at both their worst and best. Despite a solid line-up of veterans, this team was having difficulty coming together, which would eventually lead to a serious confrontation between Captain America and Iron Man. But this very sense of disorder allowed for some excellent tales to be told.

Karen: This is old-style comics at their best: besides the main story, which involves Count Nefaria beefing up the powers of three has-been villains, Power Man, Whirlwind, and Living Laser, we get a ton of sub-plots that move the Avengers forward. We see the team's scientific minds trying to figure out how Wonder Man's body works, and the Beast feeling like a fifth wheel as they ignore his input; Wanda visits her 'father', the Whizzer; Cap expresses frustration with how the Avengers are operating; and Wonder Man shows a lack of confidence in battle. Shooter really gave the reader a lot of character moments - and a couple of great slug-fests, too!

Doug: This was indeed a fantastic issue. As we've said, with today's trend of decompression, this book was such a treat. Action, characterization, set-ups -- books like this take around 20 minutes to read! I really wish today's authors were made to take a course in writing based on the work of Lee, Thomas, Shooter, Englehart, Conway, etc.

Doug: I thought the way the Beast was ignored at the beginning of the story, when the scientific-types were doing the diagnostic work on Wonder Man that you mentioned, was an interesting plot twist. It had only been a few adventures ago (issue #140, actually) when the Beast had saved Hank Pym from basically exploding due to out-of-control growth. As Hank was now in the lab (along with T'Challa and Tony Stark), it seemed odd that he'd not acknowledge McCoy's biochemist-skills. T'Challa especially seemed to "big time" him. But this scene really paved the way for the fun-loving, free-wheeling Hank who'd later spend many an evening on the town with Wondy... that would be the Beast that I think many readers our age remember. So, for a lasting characterization, kudos to Shooter (even if it seemed odd at the time this transpired).

Karen: Count Nefaria is in pretty dire straits - he's so broke he can't even afford a chauffeur! But he's decided upon a plan of action that will change all that. The first part involves getting a ton of cash by having the 'Lethal Legion' (three bad guys is a Legion?) rob some banks. Unfortunately, despite a great line-up of Captain America, Black Panther, Yellowjacket, the Wasp, and Scarlet Witch, the Avengers are unable to catch stop the villains and they escape. Shooter makes it clear that the team is not firing on all cylinders, and this is bugging Cap. We'll see more of this in the issues to come.

Doug: You know what's cool about those three crooks? They're always nostalgiac when they show up, they really do have dangerous powers, but in the end you just know they're going to be had by the good guys! As we go through these old stories, the Silver Age mentality of having the good guys lose their heads, attack the baddies one-by-one, and get beat down does start to get a little tired. I mean, come on -- you have Captain America and the Black Panther around and everyone just jumps in without a plan? Same thing in the FF and the X-Men of this time. You'd think after all of that time spent training they'd have a maneuver for any possible nasty who might show up. But, I guess stories that finished in three pages wouldn't be any good, either.

Doug: I also really like the line-up here -- classic feel to it. Not the most powerful group ever, but a time-tested winner in many respects. Once Thor shows up in a couple of issues (sorry -- should have given a spoiler warning!), it'll really feel nice!

Karen: At the end of our tale, the three baddies decide to bring the action back to Avengers mansion, with Power Man announcing their arrival by throwing a car through a window! I love Beast's line here: "Couldn't find the bell, guys?"

Doug: I always liked the wise-cracking characters when I was a kid!

Karen: This time Wonder Man is with the team, and he flies off right after Power Man, only to get a fast fist to the gut. Wondy is stunned, not expecting his foe to be so powerful, and he freezes up in battle. I have to say, I really enjoyed what Shooter did with Wonder Man in this time period. Here's a guy almost as tough as Thor, yet he is plagued by self-doubt and fear. This was something quite different, and very interesting.

Doug: Wondy was played as that "man out of time" to a small extent, but you're right -- most of his issues stem from not knowing what he's made of and how his powers work (or don't work, as the case was from time-to-time). I think here in the first year or so of his revival, there was a lot of tinkering with him so far as how he'd fit in without duplicating what some of the other "power guys" did.

Karen: The fight goes on, when suddenly the villains find themselves so weak they cannot fight back. All of a sudden, the ground rumbles with a huge shockwave- Yellowjacket thinks, "Not even the Hulk could make one like this!" - and bursting from the ground is Nefaria, now wearing a costume, and proclaiming that he can now do anything, including killing the Avengers!

Doug: Yeah, definitely not looking good for our heroes!

Karen: What a fantastic issue. The pacing is great, we get a lot of nice character bits throughout, and Byrne's art is energetic. This is a real standout issue of Avengers, with the best yet to come!

Doug: This is shaping up to be a fun story! One comment about the art, though. You are spot on in your compliment of Byrne's pencils; I'd like to express that I've never warmed to the inks of Pablo Marcos. He's a bit heavy, and it's my feeling that books he worked on always tended to have a bit of a "muddy" feel to them. I know the printing techniques weren't as good then as they are now, but I just never cared for Marcos' work...

BAB Two-In-One: Bionic Betrayals and the Sons of the Tiger!

Karen: After a brief hiatus, I'm back to the wonderful world of Deathlok, with issue 31 of Astonishing Tales. This issue has a memorable cover by Ed Hannigan to start it off. Doug Moench is back as writer, and Rich Buckler and Keith Pollard are credited as artists, with the inimitable Klaus Janson beginning his turn on the title as inker (although unfortunately he's not the inker on the next issue!). I have to say, the Janson-inked issues are the ones that really stand out in my memory. He brought a really smooth, solid look to the book -it looks more professional, more polished, when Janson is the inker.


Karen: We only get a 10 page story this time around, as the last half of the book contains a Watcher reprint. I'm assuming that Buckler and company had some sort of problem cranking out a full story, and rather than letting the 'dreaded deadline doom' force a full issue of reprints, maybe they just went with a shortened version? Whatever the case might be, this brief story has a couple of nice points to it, chief among them, the Janson finishes. After defeating Ryker's cyber-tank, Deathlok runs into best friend Mike Travers, a soldier buddy who once saved Luther's (Deathlok's) life. Unfortunately in the five years that passed since Luther's 'death', Mike and Luther's wife Janice have now become a couple, and this naturally sends our cyborg pal into a rage. He'd been hoping, probably foolishly, that he could find someone to 'fix' him, to give him back his humanity. Then of course he would return to his wife and son. Now, that option is gone. He pummels Mike a bit until he reminds him that he did save his life. With that, the disconsolate cyborg lets Travers go and wanders off.

Karen: When Deathlok sees a helicopter on a roof, he decides to take it. But he stumbles into a deal going down between some gangster-types, and overhears them say that they're going to kidnap the surgeon who created Deathlok! He manages to take out three of the four goons, but the fourth runs to the chopper and starts to take off. Despite his internal computer's protests, Deathlok decides that he's going to jump after it - "Cuz Mr. Briefcase up there knows where to find Mr. Surgeon. If it's a choice between livin' in this putrid body and missin' the jump to go splat on the sidewalk - then I'd rather die!!"

Karen: Moench and Buckler probably do as much as they can with ten pages, although it still feels far too brief. But we see a definite goal now forming for Deathlok, to find a way to regain his humanity, his identity. Travers' revelation is brutal -how far down can Deathlok go? - but brings another layer to the story. So the plot thickens.

Doug: Today's picture story hearkens back to December 1975 in a hero- and villain-packed extravaganza. Marvel Team-Up #40 featured Spider-Man (natch!), the Human Torch, the Sons of the Tiger, the Sandman, the Enforcers (sans the Ox), the Big Man, and the Crime Master. I had this one as a wee lad, and loved it to death. Bill Mantlo provided the words and Sal Buscema and Mike Esposito handled the graphics.

This one starts like a downhill rollercoaster, apparently continued from the previous issue (although it's hardly referenced) -- all-out combat between Spidey and the Torch and all of the above-named do-badders. Seems the Big Man and the Crime Master are trying to be the one to kill Spider-Man; curious, however, that both of these would-be crime lords met their ends much earlier. Sandman is just sort of in this story as a heavy, with no clear allegiance to either "boss"; same for the Enforcers. The Torch is eventually captured, as is Spider-Man, and it ain't lookin' good for the longjohn crowd.

But, lo and behold if the Sons of the Tiger aren't in the adjacent building, a run-down and abandoned martial arts school. While training, our young kung fu fighters (a veritable United Nations of heroes!) are alerted to loud noises coming from not-too-far. Heading next door to investigate, Tiger Lin Sun and Tigress Lotus break up the assembled gang and free our heroes. You guessed it -- more melee as Bob and Abe, the remaining Sons of the Tiger, join the fracas. Crime Master eventually launches a gas grenade, giving the villains a cover under which to escape. The Torch cuts out because he has a date over in FF #165 with Frankie Raye, and Spidey and the Sons of the Tiger split up as well.

Sooner than later, the baddies show themselves, Spidey pursues, and discovers that the Sons of the Tiger were ambushed are have been taken captive. Of course Spidey jumps in, begins administering beatdowns, and it's game on! again. I'll tell you, this comic made me want to take a deep breath a few times. The ratio of action pages to inaction pages was seriously 15-3. What a great memory from my childhood -- Sal Buscema cutting loose in his own way, and everything a team-up book should be: lots of style and not much substance required. If I have one criticism, it's that scribe Mantlo doesn't quite have Spidey's "voice" down. But it's minor -- overall, the three primary creators move the story along well.

The "big pay-off" is the reveal that both the Crime Master and the Big Man were in fact the son and daughter (respectively) of their crooked fathers. However, in each other's crazed drive to kill Spider-Man in revenge of their father's death, Crime Master plugs the Big Man. Only thing is, neither had known the other's secret, and they'd fallen in love some years before. So in effect, Crime Master had killed the love of his life. A nice little twist, and a decent closing scene to what had been a fun Bronze Age comic book!

5 Ray Harryhausen Movies to Love

With the remake of that 80s Ray Harryhausen classic "Clash of the Titans" set to come out in a month, I thought I might rank some of my favorite Harryhausen flicks. Much like comics and Star Trek, Harryhausen was a huge influence on my childhood, particularly his films with a mythological theme. Those movies had everything - monsters, heroes, wizards, gods! For a kid who loved to read the ancient myths, they were thrilling beyond belief. My only wish is that Harryhausen had made a film based on Norse myths. That would have been fantastic to see Thor and Odin, storm giants, trolls, and dragons. Ah to dream...

I'm going to present these in sort of a reverse order. Actually, except for #1, on any given day of the week I might rank them differently! All of them are highly entertaining, as are most of Harryhausen's movies. My only exception/disappointment would be First Men in the Moon, mostly because it takes so long to get going, and secondly, because of the low budget, which forced them to use kids in costumes to supplement Ray's stop-motion work with the Selenites. But I digress. Without any further ado, and presented in the miracle of Dynarama, here they are:



#5: Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger (1977). This is a very solid Sinbad entry, except for one thing: the miscasting of Patrick Wayne as Sinbad. Yes, that's American Western hero John Wayne's son up there, fighting giant walruses and giving Jane Seymour the eye. Nothing against Wayne but he just doesn't have the right spirit for the role (come to think of it, neither did Kerwin Matthews!). But who cares - Harryhausen again gives us our money's worth with such creations as Trog, the Minoton, and that funky chess-playing baboon! I think this flick gets a lower rating from me not only for Wayne, but because many of the creatures in it are simply versions of actual animals: the baboon, the walrus, the giant wasp, the sabertooth tiger. Just not quite as exciting as some of the other creations seen in other Harryhausen films. Oh, and for those so inclined , there is the lovely Ms. Seymour and Taryn Powers, daughter of Tyrone Powers. A solid fantasy flick.





#4: Clash of the Titans (1981). A wonderful tale of Greek mythology with Harry Hamlin as the hero Perseus, Burgess Meredith (AKA the Penguin from TV's Batman) as his wise counselor, Ammon, and an assortment of well-known stars in the roles of the greek pantheon. Really, how did they get Laurence Olivier to play Zeus? Hamlin is rather bland but nice to look at. There are some great moments -and monsters - in this movie; Perseus' confrontation with Medusa is thrilling and suspenseful. I'll never forget that tail rattle! The appearance of the Kraken, rising hundreds of feet above the ocean waves, is just amazing. The remake has a lot to live up to.





#3: The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1974). aka Groovy 70s Sinbad. That's John Phillip Law as the very cool Sinbad in this film - you might recall him from Barbarella (or maybe not). In any case, he's my favorite Sinbad and seems to have a good time with the role. The rest of the cast is pretty good too. I always dug the masked Vizier, who, not unlike Dr. Doom or Darth Vader, had a horribly-scarred face hidden beneath his mask of gold. However the Vizier was a good guy. Scream-queen Caroline Munroe plays a girl with a mysterious tattoo, and is Sinbad's love interest. And Tom Baker -that's right, Dr. Who himself - does a great turn here as the evil wizard Koura. But who cares, let's talk about monsters! The battle with the many-armed Kali is definitely a highlight of this film. Although Harryhausen comments that he was unhappy with the full-sized statue in the excellent book, Ray Harryhausen: An Animated Life, the sequence is still dazzling. We also get a terrific battle between a brutish, giant one -eyed centaur and a griffon near the end. Although it is not a Harryhausen effect, I always liked the Oracle that appears in a sheet of flames; that seemed conjured right out of my dreams. But that's the beauty of these films: they are like dreams come to life.



#2: The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958). I've got three words for you: Cyclops versus Dragon! Perhaps the most spectacular monster throw-down in any Harryhausen film, these two creatures elevate this film to a high position, despite the general blandness of Kerwin Matthews as Sinbad and Kathryn Grant as the princess. You also have to get past the kid genie, who becomes pretty grating after awhile. On the other hand, my favorite evil wizard of all time is here: the menacing Torin Thatcher as Sokura, who just dominates when he is on-screen. But let's talk creatures. This film is chock-full of 'em. We get the cyclops (actually there's two of them, they're just never shown together), one of Harryhausen's most dynamic and expressive beasts. I love the scenes where he's going to roast Sinbad and his crew! Next up is the Roc, a vicious, giant, two-headed bird, and its baby, who is so fluffy and cute, he should be in a toilet paper commercial. There's a sword-wielding skeleton, and a dancing snake-woman too. But the show-stealer is the dragon, huge, sinuous, and breathing flame. I recall as a kid being fascinated by watching the dragon's sides move in and out as it breathed. It almost made me think it was real!




#1: Jason and the Argonauts (1963). The king-daddy of fantasy flicks. I re-watched (for probably the 50th time) this film just recently to refresh my memory, and there wasn't a dull moment. This film is just a thrill to watch from beginning to end. Our hero Jason is caught in a game of the gods, as he tries to regain his father's throne by recovering the mythical Golden Fleece. Along the way, he encounters the colossal bronze warrior Talos, the vicious Harpies, a gigantic sea-god, the 8-headed hydra, and the famous skeleton warriors. To top it all off, there's a wonderful score by Bernard Herrmann. Seriously, go buy the soundtrack -it'll make you want to go out and fight monsters!

My two favorite parts of the film are the sequences with Talos and the skeleton fight at the end. When the giant Talos climbs slowly down from atop the stone store-room he has been guarding, you hear his metal body creaking. Even Hercules runs in fear from this titan. Talos chases after those who have stolen from the gods (Hercules steals a giant knitting needle, of all things) and in a spectacular scene, straddles the bay, grabbing Jason's ship the Argo as the sailors frantically try to row away from him! He tosses the ship like a toy, and the sailors go flying into the water. When they reach the shore, the giant greets them, and Jason manages to exploit his weak spot, a screw in his heel. When Jason springs this, Talos' molten blood comes gushing out, and the giant dies, pitifully clutching at his throat. This was Harryhausen at his finest, giving an emotional depth to a character of extremely limited facial expression. Towards the end of the film, as Jason and his men make off with the Fleece, he is confronted by a group of skeleton warriors conjured from the teeth of the Hydra. The scenes of Jason and his men sword-fighting with the skeletal terrors are fantastic examples of the high degree of skill that Harryhausen had to employ to make such scenes look real. Yet they do - for every stroke there is a parry, for every blow received, a reaction. It's a thrilling sequence, and probably inspired many a Dungeons and Dragons game.

Harryhausen not only made some classic films: he inspired entire generations of film-makers and special effects artists. He is truly one of the titans of film effects, and all modern fantasy films owe a great debt to his genius.