Space Stars In A Galaxy Far Far Away!

Star Wars changed the world, at least the the world of pop culture. Space opera was in and new movies about space sought to present a somewhat more "realistic" veneer as the space ships and such suddenly abandoned the sleek aspirational designs of decades past and looked more and more like utiltarian floating housing projects. One place this utter aesthetic transformation can be seen in in Space Stars from the folks at Hanna-Barbera. Seeing that suddenly outer space was in vogue again, the produced snatched up a few of their vintage properties from the 60's who operated in space and we new adventures of Space Ghost and The Herculoids.

To fill out this hour-long show we also get a new feature  called Teen Force which had three handsome adolescents who streak out of a black hole to fight interstellar crime, often at the  side of the aforementioned Space Ghost and Herculoids. Their nemesis is Uglor, a winged B.E.M of outer space villain who was soundly defeated time and time again. Also on board this showis Astro and the Space Mutts which tagged Astro of Jetson's fame, gave him a rudimentary power of speech and made him part of a trio of dogs who fight for justice alongside Space Ace, who looks for all the world like the late Burt Reynolds, porn mustache and all.

It's a hodge-podge of a show to be certain, but  diverting in its way. As  said the sleek Alec Toth designs of the earlier time were cast  aside and suddenly the Phantom Cruiser looked like it was a brace of  awkward panels and other space ships were equally convoluted in their designs. The battles for justice reflected the then current era of sensitivity to violence and so often Space Ghost and the Herculoids  were about saving folks as opposed to battling some arch villain. None of the classic villains from either series are seen. The Teen Force is okay but the costume designs are overwrought (precursors to the days of Image Comics) and their powers are somewhat incomprehensible at times. They are joined by a duo of comedy mugging midgets dubbed Plutem and Glax. The villain Uglor is interesting to me because he looks for all the world like he was designed by Don Heck. Jack Kirby is credited with designs on this series, but there is no evidence of Heck that I could find.

Fans of   the classic Space Ghost and Herculoids will want this one, as did I. for completion's sake, but alas these adventures don't hold up well in the lens of history.

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Space Family Bestiary!

I don't know what it is exactly about The Herculoids that makes them so darn fascinating, but there's no doubt to my imagination, both nostalgic and modern, that this "family" of man and beasts is one of the great things wrought for the wonder that was Saturday morning television. Alex Toth designed them, gave the look which hovers between the real world and the cartoon world in which gravity doesn't work and humans have enormous heads. The standard material for Hanna-Barbera had been that kind of stuff, funny cartoons like The Flintstones and The Jetsons and then came Toth and Space Ghost and a new moment filled with superheroes. But 1967's The Herculoids at once taps into that superheroic zeitgeist and adds dashes of science fiction and family adventures which steep and give us something truly unique.

The Herculoids live on the planet Amzot. Their leader is man named Zandor who has a lovely wife named Tara and a doughty son named Dorno. These three humans are joined by a coterie of monsters to protect their home world from relentless invasions from the depths of space and the planet and more.

Zok is a flying dragon who can emit laser rays from his eyes and tail, Tundro is an enormous rhino-like beast with numerous legs and plated armor who can fire energy rocks from his horn, Igoo is a giant ape who appears to be made of stone and has the strength to prove it, and finally there is Gloop and  Gleep two shapeless creatures who ooze and wiggle into all sorts of shapes and forms to serve the moment. Weird don't cover it -- but somehow this illogical brew tastes exceedingly good.

Just watched the series once again and loved it all over again. The adventures are varied enough and the cast large enough to keep any of it from seeming stale, even after all these decades. I cannot recommend this cartoon highly enough.

Check it out.

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Planet Of The Space Ghosts!

The first three-issue story arc in the Future Quest Presents series is a nifty three-part tale starring Space Ghost, Jan and Jace and of course Blip. Along for the ride this time are the Herculoids, though only Igoo the Rock Ape gets a major role. The writer Rich Parker continues to develop the Hanna-Barbera continuity begun in the pages of the maxi-series Future Quest in which we have a universe of heroes who are forced to confront a genocidal menace called Omnikron. The "Ghost Planet" we learn is the remnants of a world Omnikron has descended upon and the Space Force of which Space Ghost was once a part was destroyed attempting to stop Omnikron's advance.

Now Space Ghost is working alone to police the spaceways and at the same time trying to rebuild that force by getting more ore from the neighboring planet Amzot (home of the Herculoids) which can be used to create more power bands. He hopes that Jan and Jace, two orphans he rescued from a black hole event will mature to become the nucleus for a new Space Force. To that end they go to Amzot and employ Igoo who is made of the ore they need and they enter a mine closed for many years since the arrival of Omnikron.

Inside they find a deadly menace and we learn the secret origin of longtime Space Ghost foe Metallus. I won't spoil it anymore, but this is a humdinger of an adventure by Parker and Ariel Olivetti, the artist who drew Space Ghost's origin many years ago for DC Comics. The comic looks outstanding and reads with the deftness of understanding that Parker brings without fail to his projects. Get this series.

Here are the alternate covers. The Steve Rude one is stellar! No artist gets Space Ghost better than Rude.

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Apes Rule!

It's been a great month for Apes here at the Dojo. Last month featured a month-long look at many things related to the Planet of the Apes and this month I find on the stands waiting for me, two new comics which both showcase other famous apes quite prominently.

Boom Studios has released Kong of Skull Island, a comic which seems to pick up on the threads of a proposed King Kong back story first established by Joe DeVito in his expansive work Kong: King of Skull Island. This story seems to be the until now secret origin of the Kong, as the species first arrives on Skull Island along with some of the humans who will play an important role in their early development. This is the story of Skull Island before the great wall.

The debut issue features a bombastically illustrated story which delivers on impact with several full-page and double-page spreads to accommodate the larger than life cast which includes a number of "Kongs" as well as some giant dinosaurs. I found the story itself, the writing spare, so much so that I had a difficult time deciphering just exactly what was going on at all times. Modern comic book writers seem to want to not bore a reader with too much explanation and that's admirable to a point, but you cannot excise so much exposition that a situation comes across as vague. At least this debut issue needed a bit more verbage to help my get the players straight.

But I'll learn more as I go as I'm sure to stick with the remainder of this six-issue limited series.

Also on the stands this month is the second issue of the highly entertaining revival of the Hanna-Barbera hero universe in Future Quest. This book's conceit is that nearly all of H-B's action heroes are gathered together to combat a threat to life on Earth and beyond.

This time we learn more about how Space Ghost and more importantly his allies Jan and Jayce arrive on Earth only to be discovered and assisted by Jonny Quest and Hadji. We also see Birdman and the Herculoids in action with lots of neat hints about what comes next.

Featured on the cover are some of the "Beasts" of the various teams with Bandit leading the way for Herculoids Gloop and Gleep, Zok the Dragon, and the twin ape terrors Blip the Monkey and the awesome Igoo the Rock Age.

Igoo is probably my favorite of the various Herculoids, though I confess having a very hard time picking one. They are an amazing and varied group of heroic critters, all of whom are distinctive and charming.

But overall  the Apes rule!

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Future Quest Begins!

The debut issue of Future Quest was just about what I expected, and that's a good thing. The story was intriguing with key character moments spread out among what appears to be a large cast with some tasty and appropriate artwork. There's an easy assumption built into the story that all of the Hanna-Barbera heroes co-exist in the same universe and that as this story unfolds we will meet most if not all of them.

SPOILERS AHEAD.

The premise is that from time to time holes appear around the world and particularly on Palm Key which provide glimpses of other times and places throughout the universe, and that potent material will sometimes be deposited. Something wants to get to Earth and is pushing its way in making these ruptures. That something is suggested to be quite dangerous and was the object of a deadly attack by a powerful outer space force in the story's prologue (which might be another origin for Space Ghost). This weird activity has drawn the interest of F.E.A.R. who have enlisted Dr.Zin to help acquire the materials which come through the gaps. (In the gaps Jonny and Hadji see outlines of Shazzan, the Galaxy Trio, the Heruloids, and more) To combat that potential Inter-Nation Security sends two of its agents (one of whom is Birdman) to consult with Dr. Benton Quest and Race Bannon. Among the things which fall from the sky are Tundro of the Herculoids and as the story's last page shows -- Space Ghost himself.

END OF SPOILERS.

One of the surprises for me were eight or so pages of the comic drawn by Steve Rude. These pages frankly look like they might could be lifted out of the main story with little effect, but then you'd lose the fantastic splash page above and that would be a shame indeed. Eric Shaner's artwork overall is delightful, grace and precise and he offers up convincing translations of the classic characters.

The late Darwyn Cooke apparently did much of the redesign of some of the key characters and his contribution is felt throughout.

The book landed with a cavalcade of handsome alternate covers, which I will wait for the trade to collect (hopefully). Here they are.

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Let The Quest Begin!

I ran across this stellar image by Evan Shaner on the solicitation of DC's new Future Quest series due out in May of this year. Several things jumped out at me looking at this mighty assembly of freshly redesigned Hanna-Barbera heroes. Frankenstein Jr. looks downright awesome and for the first time rather scary. There seems to be a fourth member of the Impossibles, a girl who has a "C" on her costume -- "Coilgirl" perhaps. Mighty Mightor seems to have found some actual cloth since those prehistoric times and Birdman seems to have gotten a sprucing up as well. They look great!

Here's the official solicitation - one filled with info.

FUTURE QUEST #1
Written by JEFF PARKER
Art and cover by EVAN “DOC” SHANER
Blank variant cover
Coloring book cover by EVAN “DOC” SHANER
Jonny Quest variant cover by STEVE RUDE
Space Ghost variant cover by BILL SIENKIEWICZ
Action Heroes variant cover by JOE QUINONES
Herculoids cover variant by AARON LOPRESTI
On sale MAY 18 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T
Retailers: This issue will ship with seven covers. Please see the order form for details.
When the adventurous and inquisitive Jonny Quest and his adoptive brother Hadji make a startling discovery in the swamplands of Florida, they are pulled into an epic struggle between the Space Rangers and a dangerous villain who threatens the galaxy. Now it’s up to the combined forces of Team Quest, Inter-Nation Security, Space Ghost, and a host of Hanna-Barbera’s greatest action heroes to stop him and save their universe! Don’t miss the start of this new, monthly series that features character designs by comics superstar Darwyn Cooke and kicks off with an extra-sized story and a wraparound cover!

I'm very much looking forward to this. Should be great fun.

Here are two of the alternate covers. I don't usually get these things, but I might this time.

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Future Quest!

Just learned about this intriguing project here. Many Hanna-Barbera projects were mentioned (a Flintstones reboot, another Scooby-Doo variation, etc.) but the only one I'll be getting is Future Quest which re-imagines (I hope not too much) the great Hanna-Barbera superheroes from TV all those many decades ago.

The Phantom Cruiser, The Herculoids and The Quest Team by Eric Shaner

If this artwork is any indication, they are cleaving relatively close to the originals which being designed by Alex Toth were always exceedingly sleek and modern.

Space Ghost, Meteor Man and Coil-Man battle a Rogues Gallery by Shaner

I will happily add one new comic to my list if it promises stories as handsome as these glimpses from artist Evan Shaner suggest.

Jonny and Hadji See a Ghost by Shaner

The article linked above mentions Jeff Parker as the writer and that's a solid choice as he's someone who's done some smart things with classic and nigh-forgotten heroes in the past. (Agents of Atlas was one of the last Marvel Comics I thought got it right.)

Darwyn Cooke (Love the darker Frankenstein Jr.)

This will be a great reason to dig out those dvd collections and give those Hanna-Barbera greats another viewing (as if I needed a reason). 

Looking forward to this one...in the future (as Criswell once said).

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Stars In Space!

This dandy little collection arrived several days ago and I immediately started sampling the cartoons. Space Stars is a show of early 80's cartoons which tried (as did so many) to capitalize on the enormous success of Star Wars. The folks at the Hanna-Barbera studios reached into their sizable cache of characters and pulled out some of their 60's wonders, specifically the Herculoids and Space Ghost, dusting them off and giving them a then-modern makeover.

It's easy to spot material post-Star Wars since the space ships and other equipment have the now-vintage overly detailed designs which the movie popularized. Before Star Wars spaceships were sleek and smooth similar to racing cars. The most notable example of this change is the redesigned Phantom Cruiser which exhibits all manner of louvers and random small details it didn't need to show off before.

1960's Phantom Cruiser

1980's Phantom Cruiser

This cartoon as a whole is a really mixed bag. Alongside the revived 60's stars are some new folks too. The Teen Force, comprised of Kid Comet, Moleclulad, and Elektra, is a trio of young handsome heroes similar in some ways to a mini-Legion of Super-Heroes who battle the villainy of a winged ape-alien named Uglor.

The Astromites - Plutem and Glax

The obligatory comedy relief for them are the "Astromites", a duo of alien goofballs named Plutem and Glax.

The Space Mutts

Also from The Jetsons, Astro becomes part of a group called the Space Mutts alongside his two pals Cosmo and Dipper. Their leader is a Burt Reynolds lookalike named Space Ace. This one is played for laughs and as such isn't as terrible as it might sound.

It's neat to have all the Space Ghost and Herculoids cartoons handy at long last, even if it comes with some other somewhat less desirable material.

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Hanna-Barbera's House Of Ideas!

Gil Kane and Dan Adkins

Sal Buscema

Jack Kirby and Joe Sinnott
Here's a wonderful trio of faux covers which pay tribute both to the classic Hanna-Barbera 1960's superheroes and to the great "House of Ideas" itself, Mighty Marvel. This great original artwork by Karl Heitmueller Jr. was discovered here and was originally featured in an issue of Twomorrow's Back Issue magazine. These kinds of flights of fancy are always a joy to behold, and these are especially good, smothered as they are in double doses of warm sweet nostalgic magic.

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