Battle of the Sci Fi Flicks: the 80s

Karen: This is it, sci fi fans: my last entry on the best, most influential sci fi films from decades past. Today we look at the 80s, the post-Star Wars decade, which ushered in a lot of big budget science fiction extravaganzas. But that doesn't mean that many of them weren't pretty good films. Again, in no particular order, are my picks for the top contenders:



1. Robocop (1987): A high tech Frankenstein story, with cartoonish, over the top violence, satirical humor, and an excellent performance by Peter Weller. Set in a dystopian near-future, where crime is running rampant, police officer Alex Murphy is killed and brought back to life as a law enforcing cyborg. Gradually he begins to rediscover his past and become more human. A fun movie. The sequels were far below the original in every way.





2. Star Trek II:The Wrath of Khan (1982): I may have left Star Trek the Motion Picture off our 70s list, but I would never dream of leaving this film off. Not only the best Trek film of all, but a great movie, period. Captain-excuse me, Admiral Kirk struggles with growing older, and reconciling with the choices of his past. Ricardo Montalban creates an unforgettable villain in Khan. We finally get some terrific space battle scenes. And of course, we see Spock make the ultimate sacrifice. That was the first time I ever cried watching a film. An all around classic.





3. Aliens (1986): If Alien was a horror film in space, its sequel was a war film in space. Instead of just one incredibly lethal alien to deal with, Ripley and a group of marines are faced with perhaps hundreds of aliens. An exciting, action-packed film, which still had its share of thrills and chills. Sigourney Weaver as Ripley is probably still the greatest female action hero of the cinema. Stan Winston and crew gave us not only the humanoid alien like we had seen in the first film, but a gigantic queen alien that was a live effect -no CGI or animation! Truly an impressive sight.






4. Blade Runner (1982): A film noir with a science fiction setting. There's now several versions of the film floating around, but the essential look and feel of the film -probably the most significant qualities of the movie -remain unchanged. This is a bleak vision of the future, with people detached from their emotions, and only the androids seem truly human. All the themes we saw from the 70s are echoed here -the Los Angeles of Blade Runner is ecologically and socially devastated, despite all the shiny technological marvels. Definitely Rutger Hauer's best film, and he delivers one of my favorite lines of all time: "All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in the rain."




5. The Terminator (1984): Arnold's greatest role without a doubt. This film felt fresh and exciting when it came out. It crossed over science fiction, action, even horror boundaries, as the unstoppable cyborg carried out a relentless pursuit of young Sarah Conner. The Terminator itself (the exoskeleton) was a simple yet perfect design. Arnold is excellent as the emotionless machine sent from the future. I think I prefer him in a role with minimal talking!







6. The Empire Strikes Back (1980): Widely considered to be the best-made of the Star Wars films, and I won't argue with that. As a kid I left the theater stunned -what would happen to Han? How could Vader be Luke's father? What did it all mean?! There were so many great sequences -the search over Hoth, the battle on Hoth, the asteroid chase, training with Yoda, the duel between Vader and Luke, "I love you!" -"I know." It was agony to wait for the next film. But in retrospect, a perfect middle part to our story, as our heroes meet their darkest hours. A classic -big time.






7. The Road Warrior (aka Mad Max 2) (1981): I must have seen this about 6 times at the theater -often with only three or four other people sitting there in the dark -and maybe a couple of dozen times on video. This film just blew my mind; I had never seen anything like it. The sheer ferocity, and mayhem - it felt like something I shouldn't be watching. So of course I loved it. Set in yet another dystopian future, Road Warrior reset the bar for car chases - their amp went past 11 and up to 20! Of course, it was also appealing due to its young star, the pre-maniac Mel Gibson, who was beautiful even in all his dinged-up leather glory. Unfortunately it bred a multitude of poorly done imitations; but the original still holds up well -just forget about Thunderdome, though.




8. Predator (1987): Another action/sci fi film, where Arnold gets to be the hero this time, as a soldier taking on a deadly and cunning alien hunter. This movie might be the flimsiest of the lot here, but it succeeds at what it sets out to do: be an exciting action film. It also has a fun cast, with not only Arnold but Carl Weathers, Jesse Ventura, Bill Duke, and crazy-looking Sonny Landham. The Predator itself was a unique creation, another beauty from effects man Stan Winston. I re-watched this a few weeks ago and thoroughly enjoyed myself.






9. The Thing (1982): One of the few remakes that acquits itself very well. John Carpenter's version of the Thing is radically different from Howard Hawks' version (also on our 1950s list), as it goes back more to the John Campbell story, "Who Goes There?" The invading creature is capable of actually taking over and assuming the form of any biological entity. The film overwhelms with both the sense of paranoia and the horrific,almost nauseating forms the thing takes on. Rob Bottin created some of the most bizarre creatures ever seen in this movie. This is a film that will stick with you once you've seen it.

Honorable mentions: Star Trek IV, Return of the Jedi, The Abyss.

OK: let the debate begin!

They Should've Stopped While They Were Ahead

Karen: I'm gonna say upfront here, that this post is pretty negative. In fact, it might be considered cruel. But the truth will out - and the truth is (in my humble opinion), some bands or artists would be better off if they had just stopped producing new albums at some point. By better off, I mean their musical legacy would have been more secure, more impressive if they had just stopped at a high point, before they drifted off into mediocrity. My example is the Rolling Stones. I feel they've become a mockery of themselves. Think of all the crap they've put out in the last few decades - Undercover, Dirty Work, Bridges to Babylon -heck, I bought Tattoo You when it came out and I thought they had pretty much hit bottom then. Have they done anything truly memorable since Some Girls? I mean, this was the band that put out classics like Let It Bleed, Exile on Main Street, and Sticky Fingers. That was incredible work. Those albums still have a power and resonance today. Now I don't expect an artist to always hit a home run, but when it's obvious that they're really not even trying any more, well, then they should just pack it up and enjoy their wealth. But not the Stones. They just keep traipsing out on stage, diluting their greatness year after year. A band that was once rebellious and considered dangerous has transformed into a nostalgia act. They haven't made any attempt to reinvent themselves like many other 60s rockers; instead, they are riding on the coat-tails of their youthful selfs. Thankfully they haven't turned out too many albums recently, but it's almost too late, the damage has been done. To a lesser extent, I feel the same way about Aerosmith. They were a great hard rock band that arose from the ashes of their own self-destruction to become an over-produced, ballad band? Ugh. Do you think I'm being too harsh? Or do you have another example you want to discuss?

Marvel and DC: Side-by-Side in 1979

1979

Doug: The year 1979 saw this blogger enter the 8th grade and begin the process of leaving the comics buying hobby for a period of five years. Yep -- from some time in the spring of 1980 until 1985 (specifically, the month The Dark Knight Returns was released (EDIT: Nope, I'm wrong. First off, DKR didn't come out until 1986, and having looked ahead in the DC book I know I bought several offerings in 1985. So my DKR memory is faulty)), I was out of comics. So for me, many of things that will be covered in this post will be the last I have first-hand, "current" knowledge of until we are at the end of our series. Even though some of the books in the next six installments were eventually bought by me as back issues, I'll be coming to them as will some of you -- a tabula rasa. What else was happening in '79, you ask? Philips publicly demonstrated the compact disc, Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister of Great Britain, the government of Iran became an Islamic Republic, Pope John Paul II visited his native Poland; he was the first pope to enter a communist nation. Michael Jackson released Off the Wall (going 7x platinum in the USA), Alien was at the movies, ESPN debuted on American airwaves, and the Iran Hostage Crisis began in November (as did ABC's Nightline).

Karen: I was still going strong on comics at this point, and wouldn't drop out until around 1986 or so. Boy, what a year. I clearly recall seeing Alien, and I remember the frustration and angst the whole country seemed to feel over the Iranian hostages. I also remember 1979 as the year John Wayne died. It was a depressing time in many ways.

Doug: DC was still reeling from the DC Implosion of the previous summer. In January, Hanna-Barbera created a live-action version of the Super Friends comic called Legends of the Super-Heroes, starring Adam West and Burt Ward in their most famous roles. I recall seeing this on the telly -- do any of you recall it, too? Back Issue ran a feature on this many months ago, and the recollections were truly as bad as I recall. Campy, campy. In March, DC attempted to capitalize on the success of Superman: The Movie with the final issue of All New Collectors' Edition C-62. Rather than a treasury-sized comic, this was instead a magazine that tied directly into the film, with actor bios, comic-to-film comparisons, etc.

Karen: I recall tuning in to both those live action specials, knowing in my heart they would be terrible -and they were -but it was all we had back then! So good or bad, I was going to watch it.

Doug: Somehow I missed both of the superhero shows, but you know the previous year I was tuned in to KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park! Ugh -- was that bad telly...

Doug: So you got that output from DC. Harumph, I say! How about a tale of Professor X in the years before he lost his legs, in X-Men #117, or the return of Sunfire and the introduction of Wolverine's love Mariko in X-Men #118? James Rhodes taking a bow in Iron Man #118 by Michelinie, Byrne, and Layton? No? Well what of a couple of more licensed comics with Bill Mantlo and Michael Golden on Micronauts and Doug Moench and Herb Trimpe on Shogun Warriors? Oh, yeah, and speaking of Shellhead, makes me think of Justin Hammer -- Iron Man #120, March 1979. But DC put out that Superman treasury, mind you...

Karen: I know we're big Marvel fans, but I don't think we're being biased on this. If you look at the two books and see what they have to say, Marvel is really coming out ahead. At least for the 70s!

Doug: Yes, for the '70's. I've worked ahead a bit on these posts, and I can tell you that DC will have their share of glory as we move into the '80's. It may, however, be short-lived.

Doug: In April the Batman of Earth-2 died in the pages of Adventure Comics #462, at the pen of Paul Levitz and the pencils of Joe Staton. After the JSA had been canceled in All-Star Comics, they moved into Adventure. Levitz's and Staton's creation the Huntress witnessed the demise of her father. May saw the celebration of the 40th anniversary of Detective Comics with a giant Batman Family issue. April at Marvel gave us the premiere of Alpha Flight in X-Men #120. In May Frank Miller's pencils debuted in Daredevil #158 (which was a welcome relief from Gene Colan's second major stint on the book -- at this point I wasn't as much a fan of Colan's work as I am now) and in June Thor met the Eternals in Thor #284; yep, Roy Thomas began to integrate Kirby's last major creation into the Marvel Universe.

Karen: Levitz was doing some good stuff over at DC, which I've mostly become aware of in recent years. I absolutely loved what Roy Thomas was doing with Kirby's Eternals in Thor- until it veered off into a comics version of Wagner's Ring of the Nibelung for something like 8 issues. Man, that was just weird.

Doug: In the summer months, DC released its first mini-series in July with World of Krypton #1. Again, hoping to capitalize on the movie, DC rushed out a number of Superman-related projects. The story was written by Paul Kupperberg with art by Howard Chaykin. In The Flash #275, Iris West Allen was murdered by Professor Zoom, the Reverse-Flash. And Superman #338 liberated the bottle city of Kandor and restored its denizens to their normal height.

Karen: I have a question. Where did Superman put all those Kandorians? I'm assuming he found an uninhabited planet for them somewhere? Anybody know?

Doug: I know nothing of it, but I did wonder where they went, too -- wouldn't there have been a whole bunch of super-powered Kryptonians running around on Earth?

Doug: Over at Marvel, the Black Cat made her first appearance as a Spidey villainess in Amazing Spider-Man #194. Wendell Vaughn changed his name from Marvel Man to Quasar in Marvel Two-In-One #53, which was also the first chapter in the quite-nice "Project Pegasus" storyline. As the summer closed, we got a new origin for Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch in the pages of Avengers #186. Even though this tied the Avengers together with the X-Men, I think I preferred the tie to the Golden Age Whizzer and Miss America better. Love 'im or hate 'im (and I understand he's back these days), H.E.R.B.I.E. the robot saw four-color love in Fantastic Four #209. Originally created by Lee and Kirby for the FF cartoon airing at the same time (the Human Torch was allegedly unavailable due to being in feature film development), the little obnoxious robot nonetheless hung around for several issues. Not one of Reed's finer moments.

Karen: That's funny, I had read that Herbie replaced the Torch because the network was afraid of kids setting themselves on fire! As for Wanda and Pietro, it seemed like their origin has gotten so convoluted over the years. It was interesting for them to have a tie to the High Evolutionary, although probably unnecessary.

Doug: As we headed into winter, DC released the first of many digest-sized comics when Best of DC Blue Ribbon Digest #1 showed up at the supermarket check-outs. The annual JLA/JSA team-up found both teams hunting amongst themselves for the murderer of Mr. Terrific in Justice League of America #171. Maybe the two biggest events from National Periodical Publications were the "untold tale" of the JSA's demise in the 1950's. In Adventure Comics #466 the Huntress revealed to Power Girl how the Golden Age heroes had fallen victim to the U.S. government's Joint Congressional Un-American Activities Committee. Unwilling to reveal their secret identities to the panel, the JSA were teleported form the room as Hawkman promised they'd not hear from the heroes again. In Green Lantern #123 Hal Jordan took over solo billing of his own book as the magazine moved to a more space-adventure approach that ill-suited Oliver Queen.

Karen: I like the fact that the HUAC debacle was worked into the history of the JSA.

Doug: Marvel closed 1979 with the "Terror of Terrax" storyline in Fantastic Four #211, an epic featuring Galactus during Byrne's first run on the FF. In an odd marriage, Marvel Premiere #50 featured none other than Alice Cooper -- I had it and was weirded out by it, in case anyone cares. Fans of Omega the Unknown saw a sort-of end to the series (that Steve Gerber originally wrote) in Defenders #77 by Steven Grant. "Project Pegasus" wrapped in December, and Mantlo and artist Sal Buscema began a 75-issue series based on the hit toy -- ROM: Spaceknight.

Karen: I liked the work Byrne did as an artist of the FF. Didn't always care for his stint as writer/artist. But he knew how to draw the Thing well! Omega was one of those series/characters that seemed to get no chance to catch on. I do recall reading those Defenders issues but it would have been nice if Steve Gerber had been allowed to end the story. I know he wasn't happy about Steven Grant doing it.

Doug: Looking at this, I find no wonder at all to the query, "So Doug, why were you a Marvel Zombie?" I mean, c'mon -- and maybe it's because I had a bunch of these issues (as I said above, this is the last year I'll be able to say that) and hardly any of the DCs, but the DCs just weren't attractive to me! The Marvel Chronicle makes the claim that Claremont and Byrne were Marvel's second classic teaming, right after Stan and Jack. And I don't think that's just bluster. Their work on Power Man and Iron Fist and Marvel Team-Up is good, but their run on X-Men could probably fall somewhere among the all-time greats: Lee/Kirby on FF and Thor/Tales of Asgard, Thomas/Adams on X-Men, Thomas/Buscema on Avengers... What sayest thou?

Karen: I think I would have to put the Claremont/Byrne run right up there, somewhere below Lee/Kirby but ahead of pretty much everyone else in terms of sheer creativity and excitement. The Avengers may be my all-time favorite team, but when the new X-Men came out, it was the book that I looked forward to like no other. I could relate to that title and those characters in ways I never did with others. Again, it was soap opera, but it was on an epic scale!

Tales of Asgard Tuesday: Journey Into Mystery #99

Tales of Asgard -- Journey Into Mystery #99 (from the Tales of Asgard tpb)
"Surtur the Fire Demon!"
Stan Lee-Jack Kirby

Karen: Our third entry in the early days of Asgard deals with Odin facing yet another foe of his people -the fire giant Surtur. We also see a whole lot of trolls in this story, and they are depicted here far differently than they later would be. They are more like fairy-tale trolls, the kind who dwell under bridges, spindly and frightening, with iron grips. Their grips are so strong in fact, that we are told only Odin has the strength to break them.

Doug: The trolls are creepy little fellows, and very reminiscent of Gollum from Lord of the Rings. Odin is one bad dude, isn't he? Makes one wonder why there was ever really a threat to Asgard. He's strong, smart, and has an indelible fighting spirit. And still all of the goons try to invade the Realm Eternal...

Karen: When Odin reaches Surtur, he finds him in a sea of flame. As I mentioned before, the coloring is especially vivid and you can almost feel the heat radiating off the page. Odin hauls down ice chunks from space and beats Surtur back.

Doug: Stan and Jack gave us a nice dichotomy with the Ice Giants last issue and now Surtur. This truly is mythology -- as we go through the tpb, we see all of Stan's hyperbole about the series. But I'm thinking that to have read this as it originally appeared, it must have been an eye-opening departure from the superhero yarns that ran in the front of Journey Into Mystery. I'm not always a fan of the split books with two shorter stories, but I'm thinking this must have been quite a bit of fun!

Karen: We get a little bit of science in the story too; when Surtur flees to the center of Earth, he casts out "A huge chunk of matter...a chunk which flies into the sky where it will spin around the Earth...and forever be known as...the Moon!" If you replaced Surtur with a giant asteroid hitting the Earth, that's pretty much what modern theory say for the origin of the moon.

Doug: As I said, this is just fun. I think back to the reading books I used in the 4th and 5th grades that had some mythology in them... Shoot, this was as good as Classics Illustrated!

Karen: Odin loves Earth -wait a minute, he loves Earth? Seems like he was always willing to sacrifice it, or mess with it...OK, I guess when he was younger he loved Earth. Anyway, he loves Earth so in order to protect it from Surtur, he causes it to spin rapidly, and the resulting centrifugal force keeps the fire giant trapped within, supplying heat and energy to the planet.

Doug: Yeah, Odin loving the Earth was funny. I guess that's where Thor got it, huh?

Karen: I suspect it was from his mother! Another fun creation myth explaining how the moon was formed and why our planet rotates. But buckle your seat belts: next time up, we get lil' Thor and lil' Loki!

Spidey's Zoo: The Grizzly, part 2!

Amazing Spider-Man #140 (January 1975)
"...and One Will Fall!"
Gerry Conway-Ross Andru/Frank Giacoia/Dave Hunt

Doug: We're back for the wind-up of not only our 5-week series of Spider-Man reviews, but for this nifty 2-parter. Tune in next Monday for a two-week look at the departure of Dave Cockrum and the arrival of John Byrne -- yep, it's X-Men #'s 107 and 108, kids! But on to today's business at hand...
Doug: When last we saw our hero, he'd been kayoed by the Jackal, who apparently has been bossing the Grizzly around. Pete's still groggy as the furry behemoth carries him through the townhouse in Washington Square. The Jackal has the Grizzly bearhug (yep) Pete into submission and put him on a lab table. Pete drifts in and out of consciousness, which author Gerry Conway uses to recap the last issue. But when Pete awakens, it's Ned Leeds and Betty Brant he sees. Pete was dumped in the lobby of the Daily Bugle and is really out of it. Taking him across the street to a coffee shop, Ned and Betty try to figure out what the heck's been going on.
Karen: Don't you just love how unconcerned Ned is? "Betty wanted to call a doctor but you only looked like you'd been stunned"! Geez, if I get knocked out, I think I want to see a doctor, not just grab a cup of coffee.
Doug: Pete's suddenly aware of a strange sensation on his right arm and excuses himself to the restroom. Pulling up his sleeve, there's a large device affixed to his forearm. As he tries to force it, the Jackal's voice suddenly speaks from the brace -- he warns Peter that if it comes off, so will his arm! It's a homing device, with the purpose of bringing the Jackal to Spider-Man. We cut back to Pete's new apartment, where Flash is helping him move in. Conway introduces us to Glory Grant, a model who lives down the hall. She would be somewhat of a major character in the Spider-verse of titles in this era. After the work is done, Pete heads over to the ESU campus labs and begins work on the removal of the Jackal's mechanism. Wouldn't you know it -- he's successful on the first try. Did you think this added much drama to the story?

Karen: Yeah, this was a fairly pointless plot device. It gave us what? -5 pages or so of drama? And what happened to the microphone that was in that harness earlier -you know, the one where the Jackal could hear what Pete was saying?! We've seen this frequently now in our bronze age reviews (silver age too) where the writer starts off with something and it winds up being a big fat zero. I often wonder if some of that was due to guys writing three or more books a month. It had to be difficult to keep coming up with stuff.
Karen: I thought the more interesting development was the introduction of Glory Grant, who was not only a new cast member for Spidey but an African-American as well. And considering it was just 1975, I thought it was pretty cool to have Flash going a little ga-ga over Glory.
Doug: Once free, Pete's free to get back into costume. A few things he picked up "in conversation" with the Grizzly in the previous issue lead Spidey to believe that ol' Grizz was once a boxer. So, needing information Spidey heads to the Bugle to see what JJJ knows about it. In another funny scene, Spider-Man sneaks into his office and, finding Jonah asleep on a couch in his office, tickles his foot to wake him up! Then, in a scene that really reminded me of the vignette at the end of Planet of the Apes, where Taylor is grilling Zaius and the good doctor keeps saying all of these derogatory things to him in the course of the conversation, Jameson tells Spidey what he knows of the man who calls himself the Grizzly. Seems ol' Grizz was once a professional wrestler named Maxwell Markham who played a little too rough. Jameson, moral crusader that he is, got an investigation started that put Markham out of business and led to the vendetta against JJJ.
Doug: Armed with this information, Spidey heads back to the Jackal's townhouse. Nope - empty. So he heads to the nearest open gym -- nope again. But, he does find out the name of the training gym Markham used to work out of. So, web-slinging it over there, our hero finds our villain busting up the place (wrestlers included). Spidey rightly assumes that Markham's strength has to be augmented somehow, so begins to web-and-pull his bear suit apart. Yep -- exoskeleton underneath! The costume gets shredded, the exoskeleton gets broken, and then Markham gets punched out. End of story.

Karen: I wasn't real clear on how he could use his webbing to tear the suit apart. It seemed a little too easy. Then again, I never really felt like ol' Grizz should have been a threat to Spidey.
Doug: I thought this one was a little anticlimactic. It certainly seems to serve as a bridge for what's coming -- the clone saga. The Jackal has a role in this story, but he's in no way the player that he'll become. I felt that Conway's script was solid -- all of the good stuff that we commented on last issue was prevalent here, but perhaps in smaller doses. And Andru's art was solid, although I always think he is best served when inked by his longtime partner Mike Esposito.

Karen: It was OK, but as you said, more of a bridge to the future. All in all a fairly forgettable issue.

Enter... Bullseye!

Daredevil #131 (March 1976)
"Watch Out for Bullseye, He Never Misses!"
Marv Wolfman-Bob Brown/Klaus Janson

Doug: I figure since we spotlighted Frank Miller a few days ago, we might as well make an effort to get a little more Daredevil here on the BAB! Who could have known back at the beginning of the bicentennial that Bullseye would go on to become one of Daredevil's most important foes? Coming to this story for the first time as a 9 1/2 year old, I was just wide-eyed with the thought that a guy could throw anything -- anything -- and be so accurate with it. So when I read Daredevil #131, I was pretty tuned in to this new bad guy.

Doug: The story opens up innocuous enough. DD has rounded up the Rocketeers, a gang of bank robbers in matching suits and with a suped-up getaway car. Why New York's Finest couldn't have taken these bozos down is a mystery to me, because they didn't seem particularly menacing. Shoot, DD took them down in only 2 1/2 pages by himself. And that easy victory earned him an audience with another guy who'd just tasted victory -- the new district attorney, Blake Tower. Tower, who had defeated the incumbent, Foggy Nelson, tells DD how grateful that he is to have heroes like DD helping out. This is quite a departure from what we'd see in a Spidey mag around the same time. We then cut to The Storefront Legal Services, where Nelson and Matt Murdock have set up shop in an altruistic venture to help the down-trodden. In fact, Matt's about to take on a case against a slum lord. As he leaves to meet other tenants, we get our next scene change.

Doug: There's a brief interlude of a scientist-type chained to some sort of control panel. We learn that Foggy's campaign was apparently derailed by some commercials that swung the election to Tower. After the guy complains, he gets a very large fist upside the noggin. Could it be the Kingpin? We'll have to wait. We then see an executive in his highrise office, and a paper airplane floating on the winds. Suddenly the plane penetrates one of the windows (say what?) and lands on a plant beside the man's desk. Unfolding the plane, he is alarmed at a note demanding $100,000, or his life! Man, how times have changed! One hundred grand on a ransom note? Shoot, that would be $10 million today! Before the guy can do much more than complain, he is joined in the room by Bullseye, who draws a pen from the desk caddy. Asking only if the money is in the office, at the denial he whips the pen straight at our doomed executive's throat. End of scene.

Doug: While at the tenement, Matt is listening to the testimonies of some of the residents when he catches a radio broadcast about some strange goings-on in a murder investigation. Leaving quickly, he dons the devil-suit and heads to the address they'd mentioned. Alighting on the window ledge outside the office, he picks up on the police conversation. I know it became cliche', but I always liked those panels that show us what things would look like to DD -- heat patterns, pulse rates, outlines, etc. That helped me to become a part of his situation, to a degree. DD decides to enter the office and is confronted by the very gruff Lt. Bert Rose (interestingly, if you go all the way back to DD #1, it's been said that Rose made his 1st appearance investigating the death of Battlin' Murdock - this is his 2nd appearance). DD states what is basically the obvious, and I'll be honest -- he is really condescending toward the cops. Rose lets him know how he feels about the longjohn crowd. Before leaving, DD is stopped by the Bugle's Jacob Conover, who asks DD to stop by his desk at the paper.

Doug: Once at the Daily Bugle, DD hears Conover relate an origin for the murderer -- the man called Bullseye. While we never learn his name, we do find out that he was a soldier in Vietnam, and a master of aiming and throwing. In fact, Conover knows that the guy had a major league baseball contract prior to his service. Conover continued to stress that "war changes people", and it changed this guy. Daredevil thanks him for the information, and leaves. It's only a short time later, however, when a hand grenade is thrown right in front of DD's momentum, and explodes!

Doug: Finding his wits, DD is able to launch his billy club's line in order to break his fall. Landing, he comes face-to-face with Bullseye, who issues a challenge. DD lunges forward, only to be met with a face full of garbage from some cans Bullseye kicks at him. Now with the upper hand, Bullseye announces that he is going to leave, but at a pace where he can be easily followed. DD is encouraged to take the bait. We get one more scene change back to The Storefront, where of course Foggy and Heather Glenn are fretting about Matt's absence. Foggy tells Heather that he wants information on Glenn Industries, when Heather tells him that the company is owned by her father! More to follow.

Doug: DD follows Bullseye to some sort of arena, where he is informed that despite a large police presence, Bullseye has agents with machine guns scattered throughout the crowd with orders to kill civilians. DD basically stands by, bewildered, as his senses become overwhelmed by all of the heartbeats, breathing, and other background noise. Figuring he'd better strike preemptively, Daredevil moves on Bullseye, only to be horse-collared by a heavy rope. AS DD is stopped cold, Bullseye orders the house lights be brought up and Daredevil and the reader find out that Bullseye is going to kill DD under the Big Top -- they are at a circus in Madison Square Garden!

Doug: This is one I bought off the shelf back when, and I have to say it reads pretty much as it did then. Marv Wolfman spins a decent story -- I'm not sure we get the amount of characterization you'd find in a Gerry Conway Spider-Man yarn, but it's decent enough. This story wouldn't be the best jumping-on point for new readers, but it's fine as DD stories go. The art by Bob Brown and Klaus Janson is really good -- there are some great faces in this story. Some of the issues that we've seen from Brown in the Avengers reviews we've done simply aren't here. I'd add that Bullseye looked better once Frank Miller got ahold of him, but for the first time out it's OK. Be back next Sunday for the conclusion! Oh, hey -- one more thing: I was pleasantly surprised at the condition of the book when I took it out of the bag. The interior pages were really white, and although the back cover was a little dirty from the years before I had bags/boards, this was a darn good-looking key issue! I got to the letters page and the Marvel Value Stamp (series 2) was still there... Yes! All was swell in collectorland until I got to the checklist and darned if little Doug hadn't taken a black marker and made note of the December comics he already owned. Doh!!

Face-Off: Dave, or Sammy?

Doug: Beatles or Stones? Betty or Veronica? Ginger or Mary Ann? Cockrum or Byrne? Such are some of the ages old questions that plague our pop-culture minds. But here's one we've yet to broach on this blog... In the arena of Bronze Age pop/rock, do you prefer your Van Halen fronted by David Lee Roth or Sammy Hagar?

Doug: I won't even get into the convoluted history (shoot -- we talk about Spidey as a soap opera; you should check this out if you want a soap opera!) of the band. I'm more interested in discussing their music. My faves from the "Dave era" include Jamie's Crying, Hot for Teacher, Feel Your Love Tonight, and their cover of the Kinks' smash You Really Got Me, of course with Eruption as the intro. They had a lot of fun with songs like Ice Cream Man and Big Bad Bill (is Sweet William Now), and I did, too. For the Sammy Hagar years, you can't go wrong with Dreams, Why Can't This Be Love, Finish What Ya Started, Right Now, or Poundcake. One could argue that in spite of three of the band members staying consistent through these two lead singers that the sound is so different that it's almost like two different bands. Of course Eddie's guitars and Michael Anthony's backing vocals hold it all together.

Doug: So, which Van Halen era do you like best?

Battle of the Sci Fi Flicks: the 70s

Karen: Here we are, already in the 70s. Just like the 50s, this was a great decade for science fiction. The 70s start out with a lot of very cerebral, socially aware films. However, after Star Wars, we would see a ton of rip-offs all in the space opera-vein. Don't get me wrong, I love Star Wars, but it could be argued that its success resulted in the juvenilization of the genre. On the other hand, it also opened a lot of doors for more sci fi films to get made. Two sides of the same coin, really.
But regardless, there were so many good films in this span of years that I couldn't limit myself to just five. Again, I'm trying to pick out the best films, ones that hold up and are still influential today. I'm sure I'll be leaving someone's favorite out, so let's hear about it in the comments. Once more, in no real order, here are my picks.
1. A Clockwork Orange (1971): I'd have to say this is one disturbing film. Is it about the evils of behavior control? The need for change to come from within and not be forced upon one? The dangers of a totalitarian society? I don't know exactly, but I do know I could never hear "Singin' in the Rain" without thinking of this movie. It's a film that I'm glad I've seen, but not one I really want to watch again. Still, it had a real impact.





2. The Andromeda Strain (1971): I wasn't sure about including this flick, because I don't know that it's truly been influential or that popular. But it's always stuck with me -maybe because I went on to a career in science. The threat of the space virus, the race against the clock, it was all very exciting stuff, and certainly seemed plausible.






3. Soylent Green (1973): Charlton Heston's fourth science fiction features him as a detective in an over-populated dystopian near-future. As he tries to solve a murder, he discovers the secret of the little crackers the government provides the masses for food. In case the one person in the world who doesn't know the ending is reading this, I won't spoil it for them. This was Edward G. Robinson's final film, and he does a wonderful job in it. The scene with him at the euthanasia center, watching the surround-screen showing how beautiful Earth once was, and Heston crying, saying, "I didn't know" -that's a heart-breaker.



4. Rollerball (1975): In the future, corporations have taken over the world and Rollerball serves as a gladiatorial-style blood sport to appease the masses. Player Jonathan E. (James Caan) has become too popular however, and his unwillingness to retire drives the corporations to make the game increasingly more dangerous, in an effort to kill him. But rugged individualism is not so easily defeated. I don't think this film has attained classic status (although it was very badly remade a few years ago), but it still has something to say about the dangers of corporate power - or any totalitarian society for that matter.


5. The Omega Man (1971): Charlton Heston's third sci fi film is a rootin' tootin' action flick. I know, many people would say this film has its problems. And it does -the vampire-like Luddite bad guys are fairly ridiculous looking. The obsession with Christ allegories doesn't help either. But dang it, this is a very watchable and fun sci fi film! Based only slightly on Richard Matheson's I Am Legend, Heston's plight of loneliness comes across very strongly ("There is no phone ringing!!"). In some ways I prefer Vincent Price's Last Man On Earth, but that is really more of a horror film. Don't get me started on the Will Smith version.


6. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977): I really like the first 3/4 or so of this film. Watching Roy Neary (Richard Dreyfus) become completely obsessed with UFOs after an encounter is fascinating. His journey to Devil's Tower, and the parallel journey of investigator Lacombe (Francois Truffaut) is exciting stuff. It's when we get to the happy aliens and people bouncing out of the gigantic UFO that I feel a bit let down. But still, a heck of a film. Far better than Spielberg's E.T., which nauseated me to no end.



7. Alien (1979): It's really a horror movie set in outer space. The Nostromo is like a gigantic haunted mansion with nasty surprises springing out at us. The design of the Alien was terrifying and unique. It's been imitated (usually poorly) so many times now, that it might be easy to forget just how suspenseful and frightening it truly was when it came out. But this is a classic, no doubt about it.







8. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978): This film has a nice slow burn until it hits full on paranoia and keeps that level high until the very end. There are some indelible images from this movie -the garbage trucks with the mysterious gray 'stuff' in the back, the pods and the pod people in their early stages, and of course, the final scene, with Donald Sutherland emitting a frightful wail. This is a film that stays with you.






9. Logan's Run (1976): I figured if I included Omega Man, I might as well include this film. Again, it has its problems. But it was big and bright and certainly captured my 12 year old imagination. We don't get a lot of background about how this strange, population-controlled society evolved, but then, this is really an action film. Although skinny Michael York would have to work with a personal trainer nowadays to be believable! The film had some great visuals, my favorite being the interrogation scene towards the end -"There_is_no_Sanctuary!" There's talk this is going to be remade, but I can't see why -it is such a product of the 70s, like disco. Who needs a remake.


10. Star Wars (1977): And here we are, to the big enchilada: the film that either made sci fi a popular, important genre or ruined it forever, depending on your mindset. But I love the film. There's no denying the enormous impact it's had. The visuals are still fantastic -I still get a shiver when that Star Destroyer passes overhead -and it's a classic tale of coming of age. Am I glad it exists? You bet!

Okay, I expect to hear an earful this time. Where's Star Trek the Motion Picture? What about the Apes sequels? Some of the films I considered and left off: Westworld, Silent Running, and the previously mentioned Star Trek. Some of my guilty pleasures made it, like Omega Man and Logan's Run, while I just couldn't bring myself to put Zardoz on the list, no matter how much I enjoy seeing Sean Connery in a red diaper. So let's hear it from you!