THE WAR IN SPACE (1977) Promo Art & Posters

I really like Toho Studios' entry in the post-Star Wars space opera sweepstakes, The War In Space. While it owes much to earlier Toho sci-fi films of the 60s (like Battle In Outer Space and Atragon), it has a distinctly 70s look and flavor (not to mention the inexplicable horned Wookiee henchcreature, officially known as "Space Beastman").

Anyway, the main spaceship, The Gohten, follows that particular Japanese trend of interstellar vehicles that resemble Earthly naval vessels, with the addition of an Atragon-esque drill bit in the bow. I recently stumbled across this cool promotional poster with cutaway diagram of the distinctive spaceship. Enjoy.

If you haven't seen the movie, I'd suggest checking it out. It's not quite as much giddy, goofy fun as Toei's Message From Space, but it's an enjoyable space adventure film. Here are a few of the theatrical posters and other promo art:

SPACE: 1999 (1975) Look-In Cover Art By Arnaldo Putzu

This is the striking original art by Arnaldo Putzu for the cover of the September, 1975 issue (#38) of the British magazine, Look-In. Putzu was the artist of many cover paintings of TV stars and pop stars for the magazine in the 1970s ( In fact, I think he was the artist of the Logan's Run cover I ran here a while back). He was also a highly-regarded illustrator of movie poster paintings from the 1960s, including Get Carter, The Creatures The World Forgot, From Russia With Love and many of the Carry On comedies.

 The more I discover about this UK magazine, the more I wish I could get my hands on some issues. I'm especially eager to read the original comics stories based on all of my Space: 1970 favorites.

Captain's bLog: Supplemental

A few quick notes....

•  With a little luck, my new DVD of The Black Hole will arrive in the mail today or tomorrow. With the passing of co-star Ernest Borgnine over the weekend, I'm particularly eager to revisit the film. I've always felt that the cast was one of the genuine joys of the movie, and Borgnine's reporter, Harry Booth, was a somewhat unusual character for a space-based film. I always wondered how he was filing his articles...

•  We also saw the passing of actor Andy Griffith last week, which put me in mind of his Space: 1970-era genre television series, 1979's Salvage 1. Griffith played salvage expert Harry Broderick, who, with the aide of a couple of ex-NASA experts (Joel Higgins and Trish Stewart) built a spaceship (the Vulture) out of junkyard scraps and traveled to the moon to salvage all the equipment left there after the Apollo space missions.

I remember being really excited about the original TV movie/pilot that January, and forcing my cousins to watch it since I was staying over at their house that weekend. Once it went to series (a very short-lived series), I found it much less compelling as the subsequent stories were considerably more Earthbound. Still, it has stuck in my memory, and I probably should have mentioned it here earlier.

As for Griffith, he was as charming and amiable in Salvage 1 as he was in most of the other productions he appeared in. He wasn't the sort of actor generally cast in genre shows, but he did have a memorable role in the first season Bionic Woman episode, "Angel of Mercy."

• Well, a couple of days ago, I went ahead and ordered the Region 2 DVDs of the 1975 British-German series Star Maidens with some early birthday cash I received from my generous mother-in-law. I've only seen one episode - on YouTube - but it was enough to let me know that, aesthetically anyway, the show is right up my alley. Pure. Seventies. Style.

Hopefully, the DVDs will be here in a week or so. I'm looking forward to reviewing it here, too.

• Blu-ray.com has posted an advance review of Warners' forthcoming Outland Blu-ray disc. From the sound of it, it is a quantum leap in quality over the old, and sub-par even for its age, DVD. Apparently, there's a very informative audio commentary track by writer/director Peter Hyams, as well, who reportedly acknowledges the film's debt to Ridley Scott's Alien in its look and feel. I've always said that it didn't take much to pretend that Outland and Alien took place in the same universe...

•  I did recently get my hands on an affordable "previously-viewed" set of the Star Wars "Original Trilogy" Blu-rays. While I - like many first-generation SW fans - am more than a little annoyed at the fact that George Lucas didn't choose to make the original cuts of the films available on the discs alongside the Special Edition versions (and also made additional digital alterations to those!), I have to admit, that it's very nice to see those characters (and spaceships, etc.) in nigh-flawless high definition.

•  Oh, and I finally finished watching The Invisible Man DVDs! Look for a review here later this week.

Obit: Ernest Borgnine, R.I.P.

The familiar character actor Ernest Borgnine, has passed away at age 95. Borgnine's career spanned five decades and countless films and television episodes in every genre imaginable. For aficionados of 70s and 80s sci-fi films, he's remembered for his portrayal of opportunistic journalist Harry Booth in Disney's 1979 space epic, The Black Hole, and his recurring role on the 1976-77 series, Future Cop. Among his many other credits were roles in 1973's The Neptune Factor and 1981's Escape From New York.

R.I.P. Harry.

THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN Tie-In Paperbacks

Somehow I missed these Six Million Dollar Man tie-in paperbacks from Warner Books back in the 1970s. I don't even know, for sure, how many of these were published. I knew that creator Martin Caidin (whose original novel, Cyborg, was the basis for the television series) wrote several novels about Steve Austin (including the third of these), but I was unaware that any novelizations of TV scripts were published. I'm especially curious about the first book pictured above, Wine Women And War, based on the Glen Larson-produced TV movie, because the character of Austin was so different in that pilot film than the way he was portrayed in Caidin's own novels or the popular weekly TV series.

Does anyone have these books? Are they any good?

DC Comics' STAR HUNTERS (1977-78)

"Exiled from Earth by the all-powerful corporation now ruling that planet, they scour the galaxy for the one secret that will enable them to return-- the origin of man in the universe! Led by the roguish soldier of fortune, Donovan Flint, they sail the fabulous starship Sunrider on a cosmic quest of danger, discovery, and unparalleled adventure." 

Cover Art by Don Newton & Bob Layton

I was looking through a stack of old comics recently, and came across a couple lone issues of DC Comics 1977-78 space opera series, Star Hunters. The book was the company's attempt to ride the Star Wars comet, premiering in the Fall of 1977. Written by David Micheline, it chronicled the adventures of an Errol Flynn-inspired space rogue named Donovan Flint and his crew of renegades as they battled an oppressive regime.

Like the Ron Goulart/Gil Kane/Archie Goodwin newspaper strip of the same era, Star Hawks, DC's Star Hunters tried to emulate the high adventure and cosmic scope of George Lucas' blockbuster film, hoping that Star Wars fans would find Donovan Flint's adventures a worthy substitute while waiting for the big screen sequels. Apparently those fans just bought the licensed Star Wars adventures from Marvel Comics instead, because Hunters lasted a mere 7 issues before cancellation.

 The characters were first seen in issue #16 of the company's catch-all title, DC Super Stars, which alternated as a reprint book and a showcase vehicle. That first appearance benefited from the classically-styled adventure art of Don Newton, who also drew the first issue of the subsequent bi-monthly series. Other issues were illustrated by a variety of pencilers, including Larry Hama, Mike Netzer, and Rich Buckler, who penciled four of the seven issues - and all of the regular series covers.  I liked Rich Buckler's art on the series okay, but it lacked the gracefulness of Newton's work. Bob Layton was the regular inker on the series, and maintained artistic continuity throughout the title's short run.

DC's "Who's Who" Entry - Click to Enlarge

As far as I know, the story material hasn't ever been reprinted/collected... and I don't even think that the characters ever showed up again in the DC "universe" (though I could be wrong - I may have missed it. A lot of DC comics have been published since '78). As a Star Kid with a voracious appetite for space adventure - in any medium - I was a big fan of this book back in the day, and would like to someday re-assemble the run.

BUCK ROGERS (1979) Planet Of The Slave Girls

As we go into the weekend, I thought you Star Kids might enjoy this 1979 NBC promo for the 2-hour Buck Rogers In The 25th Century episode, "Planet of the Slave Girls," with Jack Palance (The Shape Of Things To Come), Roddy McDowell (Planet Of The Apes) and the legendary Buster Crabbe as Brigadier (Flash?) Gordon.