STAR WARS (1977) Marvel Comics Art By Howard Chaykin

I'm up to my ears in a comic script this week, and as I am neither a prolific nor speedy scribe, it isn't leaving me much time for writing blog posts... thus, my heavy leaning on image-centric posts again. Having space comics on the brain ('cause that's what I'm working on at the moment), I thought I'd share this gorgeous original art by penciler Howard Chaykin and inker Tom Palmer for the first issue of Marvel's Star Wars comic.

The printed version altered the art slightly (most notably in the addition of various spaceships) and was clearly colored by someone without access to any color reference material (a green Darth Vader? A ginger Leia?), but the B&W line art original is really beautiful.

The LOGAN Trilogy

Despite the fact that the world portrayed in William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson's original Logan's Run novel bore little resemblance to that realized in the 1976 MGM motion picture adaptation, the film's iconography - specifically the costuming and hardware - was certainly pervasive.

Not only were they used in the 1977 CBS television series (although that was probably more a case of budget-conscious recycling by MGM than any deliberate aesthetic choice) but the two sequel novels written by Nolan - Logan's World (1977) and Logan's Search (1980) - both had initial paperback printings fronted with artwork clearly and undeniably based on the movie's designs.

Of course, none of this really means much - I just wanted an excuse to post scans of these books from my childhood library.

The Logan's Run paperback at top is one of two variant movie tie-ins that I have. The other was a book club edition I picked up in school; the cover was nearly identical but for a few minor changes to the main figures of Logan and Jessica. Logan's shirt was no longer ripped and Jessica wore the silver dress with art lifted directly from the film poster.

I've read all three novels several times, and while I'm a fan of Nolan's writing - and even corresponded with him for a while in the 90's when he penned a couple articles for a magazine I edited - I have to say that I actually prefer the movie (and even the TV series) over the books. The books are undeniably more original and imaginative, but I saw the movie & TV show before I ever read any of the books, and that's the Logan's Run that fixed itself in my head.

THE HUMANOID (1979) Lobby Cards

The one European Star Wars rip-off that continues to elude me is 1979's The Humanoid, starring Richard Kiel (The Spy Who Loved Me, Moonraker), Barbara Bach (The Spy Who Loved Me), and Corinne Clery (Moonraker).

I've read a lot about the movie over the years, and while I'm sure it's pretty cheap-looking and shamelessly derivative (just look at that Darth Vader clone!), I also suspect that it might have an eccentric 70's, Starcrash/Message from Space-type charm that would appeal to my arrested adolescent tastes. C'mon - it's got a robot dog! And Jaws! And a couple of Bond girls! In any case, it's a flick that I still want to see for myself one of these days.

I've occasionally come across gray market DVDs of the film being sold online, but I'm hesitant to spend money on something when I have no idea how it's going to look and no legal recourse if I'm dissatisfied. So... I guess I'll just have to keep hoping that some niche DVD outfit picks it up and releases a good quality, authorized version one day (preferably in English!).

In the meantime, I can keep looking at these mysterious lobby cards and keep wondering what I'm missing...

CUE Magazine (1975) - SPACE: 1999 vs STAR TREK

This made me smile. New York area entertainment magazine, Cue ("Seven Leisure Magazines in One"), from December of 1975. Artist unknown (to me, anyway). I particularly like Barbara Bain with the space bazooka....

PLANET OF THE APES (1975) Fortress Playset

Here's another great Space: 1970 holiday "wishlist" gift - the Mego Planet Of The Apes Fortress Playset! Who wouldn't have loved to find that under the tree? Personally, I had a couple of the POTA figures, but I never had any of the cool accessories. Usually, I would just concoct backyard scenarios where Captain Kirk somehow ended up on the Ape-dominated world and would get chased by (and fight with) my gorilla soldier.

On a related note, has anyone else ever wondered why Mego (or their ad agency) decided to score most of the Apes toy spots with that weird version of Also sprach Zarathustra...?

Behind-The-Scenes Pix #32: THE BLACK HOLE

With the help of a pair of technicians, professional mime Tommy McLoughlin is encased in the black fiberglass body of the Cygnus' gunslinging Sentry robot S.T.A.R., for Disney's 1979 interstellar epic, The Black Hole. His mouth and chin are blackened as a precaution against his skin showing through breathing holes/slits in the mask.

STAR TREK - THE MOTION PICTURE (1979) Coca-Cola Premium Poster

It only just occurred to me that it was 33 years ago today that the only new, live-action Star Trek of the 1970s premiered in U.S. cinemas. A glorious, big screen reunion of the original television crew in a then-unprecedented, big-budgeted theatrical feature film.

My own opinion of The Motion Picture has evolved over the years - from my initial awestruck experience 33 years ago, to my vague dissatisfaction with it during the 80s and pan & scan TV/VHS home viewings, to a more positive re-evaluation as both I and the film grew older. I still think The Wrath Of Khan is the best of the Trek films, but I really love this first widescreen adventure as well, and appreciate it much more now than I used to.

I honestly don't know much about this poster; I don't know the artist, nor exactly where/how it was available. I only know that it was some sort of premium offered by the Coca-Cola company. I'd welcome any information about its provenance - if you know something about it, post in the comments below.

ADDENDUM: According to a commenter below, this poster was actually an in-theater concession stand premium that you could acquire with the appropriate purchase of a Coca-Cola soft drink. Cool! Thanks!

Happy Anniversary, ST-TMP!