|
Post by codystarbuck on Nov 10, 2021 17:20:11 GMT -5
Jonny Quest #6This is about to give Quigley Down Under a whole new meaning! (Yeah, yeah; different spelling...shut up!) Creative Team: William Messner-Loebs-writer, Adam Kubert-everything else, Diana Schutz-what was left over Synopsis: Dr Quest is examining the object that Jonny, Hadji and Jezebel Jade brought back from Hong Kong. It cannot be marked or cut and defies examination. Dr Quest tries concentrated cosmic rays and turns everyone into the Fantastic Four. No, wait....he is able to see something inside. The outer casing explodes in a bright light, but no heat, revealing what was inside. We don't get to see, because Dr Quest sends Jonny to find Race and Jade, in the library, conducting "research." Dr Quest tells them to knock first. Hadji asks why and Jonny says they might catch them kissing. Blech! The pair join them and Dr Quest shows them the object inside, a smooth, curved shape, with no marks on it. All of this is being observed by a man with a mustache, named Stark, and a squirrly little guy, named Quiggly, who seems to be a hypochondriac. They debate the origin of it and Dr Quest has Hadji levitate it and it points to magnetic north. Dr Quest theorizes it is a marker for the repository of knowledge for the ancient civilization, somewhere at the North Pole. He decides to take the Quest-1 up there, along with Stark & Quiggly. They go out to the tarmac, where the Quest-1 sits. It is a modified SR-71 Blackbird, capable of VSTOL flight (sounds familiar). They are interrupted by a skywriter, in a jetpack... 3 hours later, they take off, after Washington has approved the trip. Stark is carrying a hand cannon and Race tells him to be careful with it or they will find themselves sucked out into the atmosphere. Stark mocks Race and is lucky that Race is a cool dude, or he'd need a proctologist to remove that barrel from an orifice. Dr Quest suggests the object might be the fabled Philosopher's Stone (or Sorcerer's Stone, for the dumb American audience...right Harry?). Stark poo-poos this and whines about Jade's presence and she verbally takes him down a peg. In the cargo area, Mr Quiggly is airsick and Jonny tries to help him sleep by giving him bandit, but he is allergic to dogs. His sniffling is interrupted by explosions. Outside the aircraft, we see men in jetpacks, firing grenades.... Dr Quest tries to climb, but can't shake the guys in jetpacks. He realizes they must be androids, created by Dr Zin. He uses radio jammers to interfere with their control circuits and causes them to crash into each other, while someone asks if Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Or not. They land at an Arctic base and refuel (gonna need to refuel again, when they take off). Quiggly has plotted out their course and demonstrates his new mastery of Bandit, to keep him at a distance... Stark grouses some more about Jade and race flips him the bird and they load up, while Quiggly lists the possibilities of what they may find. Once they are airborn, they receive a message from Dr Zin. Stark seems to be in love with him, the way he compliments his aura of power and decision. Dr Quest orders Jade (who is flying) to take them above cloud level. They have to keep climbing and don oxygen mask. Finally, they break cloud cover and the spot Dr Zin... ...in his Sky Fortress. He gives orders to his bosun, Smee. He fires sonic cannons, which bombard Quest-1 with sound waves. Stark tells Jade to ram Zin's solar panels, to cut the power to the cannons and she does. It works and they escape and Dr Quest compliments Stark's strategy, as he compliments Jade's flying. They land and Dr Quest outlines the problem to Jonny: they are targeting magnetic north, not True North and the magnetic poles shift, which means that the location the stone indicates may not be where the civilization hid their relics. They will have to search. They get a surprise though, as the stone has turned into a jewel. They examine the jewel and Dr Quest theorizes it is a storage device for the knowledge of the past. Jonny alerts them to Dr Zin, inbound. Quiggly is holding the jewel and he flips it into the air and swallows it. he tells Dr Quest that the decoding must be done by bodily functions, then goes into a trance. Dr Zin issues an ultimatum as his forces attack. Stark fires his pistol, but it is Quiggly who destroys them, by imagining a square intersecting a cone, in 4 dimensions and then inverting. The point of the cone becomes anti-matter and Bob's your uncle! Quiggly explains that the ancient technology was mental. He imagines Dr Zin's sonic cannon turning upon themselves and they destroy each other,. They return to Washington and Quiggly is examined. Stark tells Quest that Quiggly is too dangerous and they are going to subdue him. Dr Quest objects, as soldiers point weapons at Quiggly. he smiles and makes them disappear, then says goodbye to the Quests as he disappears, speaking of changing the world. Jonny asks if he is really dangerous and Dr Quest says he is powerful, but has human emotions and wants to transform himself by transforming the world. They just to have faith that he will change it for the better... The letters page has more praise and a request for a Steve Rude Space Ghost series, leading to the announcement of the Space Ghost Special, with Rude and Mark Evanier and another asks for a JQ graphic novel, from Doug and Diana announces the 3-issue Jonny Quest Classics, to be drawn by Doug Wildey. TM Maple speaks glowingly of issue 2 and how it reminded him of the death of his own father. Then, there is a letter from the notorious David Malcolm Porta, who proves the existence of trolls before the internet. Porta was a letter hack who plagued Dian Schutz, at Comico, particularly on Grendel. He was of a conservative political bent and a very dogmatic religious persuasion and tended to have a condescending and downright insulting tone to his letters. He proceeds to profess ignorance of the JQ cartoon, because animation was inferior to Stan & Jack (and his family had black & white tv, which never stopped me from watching cartoons, for years). He picked up the comic due to CBG reviews and hype. he wanted to read William Messner-Loebs, then dismisses Loeb's Journey as "not a real comic." He also refuses to read Elfquest until it is published in a format he is willing to but, while praising Wendy Pini's art on issue 2. What an ass! He then insults Canada and TM Maple, who suggested that social services might come into conflict with Dr Quest, but Porta is a self-professed expert on the subject, because America knows better than Canada. he also says Dr Quest (and science) is wrong about The Law Of Conservation of Energy and that the soul was leaving the body. Diana Schutz cuts him to pieces for xenophobia and nationalism, the possibility that Dr Quest might have been too busy to fill out the proper forms, which might lead to social services becoming interested in things and that history is filled with scientist, philosophers and theologians who debated what happens upon death, with less surety than he professes. As you can imagine, his letters to Grendel were more incendiary, though it gave Dian Schutz fodder to shoot down, which is why she kept printing his poisonous letters, in the name of free discussion (except that she picked the letters). Thoughts: Great little mystery and adventure, with plenty of action and plenty of contemplating an advanced, ancient and lost civilization. The concept that their ultimate technology was mental is an old sci-f trope, seen endlessly, especially in Star Trek. Just once I wanted an ancient civilization to have developed velcro. Bill Loebs does his usual fantastic job, but the issue really belongs to Adam Kubert, who was a chip off the old drawing board. When I was leaving the Navy, I applied to the Kubert School and drove up from Charleston, SC to Dover, NJ, to have an interview, at the school, with Mike Chen. When I arrived at the school and checked in, I waited in the lobby and looked up at the art lining the walls, which included one or two Jonny Quest originals, by Adam, as well some art from Andy and other alumni, which was intimidating. Now, just imagine how intimidating it was to have your work evaluated while you stared up at a painting of Tarzan fighting a crocodile, by the master, himself! Adam just really gives life to the story. He handles the wonder of technology, the action of the jetpack-propelled androids, the conflict between Stark and the others, and the humor of Bandit and Quiggly. The man drew the hell out of the SR-71 which always did look like a time traveler from the future. I would say it is the perfect update for the Dragonfly, had Dave Cockrum not beat them to the idea a decade before. The SR-71 became so identified with the X-Men that no one else could use it, except Mike Grell, who drew it a bit more accurately, when he introduced the Warlord. Of course, he crashed it in that debut! Funny thing is, the refueling scene. The SR-71 leaks fuel like a sieve, on the ground. They are fully fueled for take off, then immediately rendezvous with a tanker for in-flight refueling, because they expend so much fuel getting airborn. Once they are in flight, their seals fit tightly to maintain integrity; so, they are good, once they refuel. Having the craft land and refuel kind of ignores the reality of the plane; but, I assume all involved were ignorant of that. Cockrum and Grell would know, though. next issue, Dian Schutz rubs irony in David Malcom Porta, as we see a social worker come to investigate the education of jonny and Hadji, as well as their welfare, with constant dangers from pteranodons, cave men, lizard men, invisible monsters, werewolves, murderous gargoyles, and walking mummies. Why, even board games are not safe... Just one criticism: Bandit would be able to smell the real gargoyle! Er, well, the real Fake Gargoyle. Episode Review: "The Robot Spy" A mysterious flying craft zooms right at the observer and we watch it move at high speed. it is picked up on radar, at a military base and they scramble interceptors to locate it. They are vectored to it; but, it detects their approach and hovers for a moment and then disappears below the surface of the ocean. After the jets depart, it rises back above the water and continues its journey. Later, over land, the ship flies directly at and over a motorist, long before Steven Spielberg shot a minute of Night Gallery. The craft passes over a government research facility and then lands in the hills beyond, giving off a strange glow. A sentry notices it an alerts Dr Quest, who heads the research lab. Dr Quest is working on what looks like a large electric cannon, when the call comes in. he says he will have Race check into it and moves the cannon into a holding area and seals it in. Then he and Race drive outside the gates to investigate the glow. Before Dr Quest and Race arrive, the dome on the ship opens, revealing a black orb, which then opens a portal, revealing a red "eye" it then spouts struts, which unfold to form what look like a spider's legs and the raise the orb and it walks around the immediate area, before returning to the ship and sealing the dome back up. As Dr Quest & Race approach the area, the glowing light disappears and they come across the ship. Dr Quest sends Race back to bring a mobile crane and some flood lights. Meanwhile, Jonny and Hadji are tired of studying and decide to take a break and notice the activity at the motor pool. They hitch a ride with Race to see the ship. At the site, Jonny and Hadji watch from a distance, as Race & Dr Quest examine the ship. Race hears a hum and then the dome opens, to reveal the black orb. It opens its eye and surveys them. Race remarks that it looks like an eye. We then cut to a remote castle, where we learn who controls the orb and flying craft: Dr Zin! He observes Dr Quest & Race on a monitor, as th eye broadcasts images. He says Dr Quest has taken the bait. He closes the eye and Dr Quest and Race decide to bring it back to the lab. It is brought to a warehouse, to be examined in the morning. A guard is posted as the Quests go to bed. The sentry hears a noise and goes inside to check things out and the spider orb fires out a tentacle, which impacts the guard and he falls down, unconscious, with a red circle on his forehead. The spider moves off and searches. bandit senses something and barks out the window, but Jonny does not see the orb, off to the side. it slips away and comes to Dr Quest's lab, where it extends two tentacles which act like stethoscopes, carrying Dr Quest and Race's conversation to it, through the wall. They are discussing the electric cannon, Dr Quest's Para-Power Ray, which can disable electronic devices (must emit an EMP!), creating a non-lethal weapon. this is Dr Zin's target. Dr Zin sends the spider to the lab, where it disables the sentry with another tentacle sting. It then surveys the lab and locates the chamber where the Para-Power Ray is stored. It examines it with its tentacles. Dr Quest and Race locate the fallen sentry, at the warehouse, then head to the lab. They find the spider examining the Para-Power Ray. Dr Zin sends a message to them, bragging about stealing their secrets. He then sends the spider off to return with the secrets. Race fires at it, but bullets do no harm and it smashes through the wall. Dr Quests orders the guards to set up a roadblock, with tanks and flame throwers. They set up a line of defense and wait for the spider to approach, then the tanks open fire, causing the spider to hesitate, but not stop. Flame throwers do not set it on fire, machine guns don't penetrate the hull. The spider smashes through the electrified fence and returns to its craft. Dr Quest pulls out the Para-Power Ray and sets up a mobile generator. He targets the fleeing craft and brings it down with a burst of energy. The crash destroys the ship and the robot, leaving nothing but debris. Bandit locates the eyepiece and Dr Zin transmits a message (despite the wires leading into the eye being severed). he vows to meet the Quests again and the eyepiece explodes. Here's quick look at key scenes.... Thoughts: This is one of the best episodes of the series and many people's favorite. It's certainly one of the most memorable, so memorable that it provides a good chunk of the footage seen in the show's opening sequence, with Race firing a machine gun at it, the tanks firing and heavy machine gunners firing on it. The image of the one-eyed spider was haunting and stayed with you. The stinging tentacles made it even scarier, especially when the first victim lets out a scream. This show could furnish a kid with all the nightmares he'd ever need, if it weren't so cool you had to sit through the scary stuff. I always loved it for all of the advanced technology, the military equipment and battle scenes, the creepy music that accompanies the spy's movements, the horrific images of its attacks, and Dr Zin, controlling everything from some spooky castle. It also featured my favorite hidden rooms and weapons, as I was always a sucker for that kind of thing in adventure films and tv. Ken Adam is a god to me, with his hidden lair designs and Jonny Quest is right there with Bond for awesome villain lairs and weapons. Th robot spy design ends up inspiring the Omnidroid, in the Incredibles. This is a nice mix of James Bond, sci-fi and Fu Manchu, coupled with the best music on television, in the 60s. Brrrrrr.............
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on Nov 16, 2021 1:04:21 GMT -5
Jonny Quest #7Dr Quest taking one for the team. You have to see the entire wrap-around cover to appreciate Doug Wildey's scene... Note the triceratops skull, behind which the Quest team are hiding. Creative Team: William Messner-Loebs-writer, Dan Spiegle-art, Carrie Spiegle-letters, Tom Reilly-colors, Diana Schutz-editor The awesome Dan Spiegle is the artist on this, with Doug doing cover duties. We've had Doug, Steve Rude, Dave Stevens (cover only, sadly) and now Dan; if only they could entice Toth to do a story! Better yet; a three-parter with Doug, Dan and Alex do an issue each! Synopsis: We begin our adventure in a government office, where Dept of Social Services (Florida, presumably) caseworker Kathleen Martin is typing out a letter to benton Quest, demanding unfiled paperwork regarding the progress of Jonny and Hadji's schooling, plus Race's teaching credentials. Why that's easy; he graduated summa cum laude from the School of Hard Nocks and has a Masters Degree from Black & Blue U. He was also a member of Phi Beata Crappa (Outta U) fraternity. Kathleen was about to head home, when she is called into the boss' office. Meanwhile, Dr Zin is up to no good, in his Sky Fortress. he is trying to capture some kind of animal specimens, but has only gotten one. he says it will suit his purpose; but, he needs Dr Quest to convince the world to obey him. he orders Smee to capture Dr Quest, and then bring in Tiger Lilly. So, does Dr Zin's Sky Fortress have its own fighter squadron, like Spectrum's Angels? Meanwhile Kathleen Martin's incompetent boss is demanding she go out and see Dr Quest in person and bring him to heel on complying with the law for reports on the boys or place them in school. He threatens her with bad reviews, in light of an incident which was his fault, when he lost the reports in a case. However, he writes her review. Nice to see government is no better than the corporate world for performance review BS. Elsewhere, Dr Quest is looking over coded messages that Race "intercepted" (with his fist, no doubt) from Dr Zin's courier. He has kidnapped a scientist who is experimenting with potential time travel. He has contacted what sounds like Emma Peel's more successful cousin, for help... Lady Agatha always wears grey, which just happens to be the color of the outfit that Kathleen martin is wearing (a present, from her mother). Kathleen is walking, after her car ran out of gas and she hasn't found a gas station or pay phone, for the last 2 miles. She does find an injured man who mutters something about an auto accident and "she" is in hospital and to warn "them." She comes upon the Quest compound and starts to tell Jonny about the injured man and he can't stop. Hadji is also abrupt and running somewhere with blankets and a first aid kit. Bandit also rushes past. She nearly gets run over by a flying android. The Quest compound is under aerial attack and Kathleen heads for the main house. She finds Dr Quest, who thinks she is Lady Agatha Fitzhugh and Race tells them that Dr Zin's forces are unloading mines. Dr Quest hands her a disc and says he is sure she can manage it, since she invented the device. She takes ahold of it and is whisked into the sky, through a skylight and Dr Quest compliments her brilliant strategy. The Quest team hop on their flying discs and Dr Quest and Race blast a path to the hanger, to get to the Quest-1. "Lady Agatha" leads the androids away (because Kathleen doesn't know how to steer the damn thing!). The Quests board the Quest-1 and take off, while Dr Quest regales Jonny with Lady Agatha's prowess.... They take off vertically, then get caught in some kind of wave and vanish. Kathleen finally figures out how to work the flying disc, after seeing the Quests use them and experimenting and gets it under her feet and finds she can maneuver, but almost slams into a pterodactyl... ...dogfighting with a WW1 biplane and Leondardo Da Vinci's helicopter! She comes in for a landing and finds Dr Zin and his forces, plus a chimp. Zin also thinks she is Lady Agatha, who he sent a small army to stop. he demands she join him or die and she swipes his control module. Not bad, for a social worker! The Quests find a spot to set the Quest-1 down, in a primordial jungle, where they find the triceratops skeleton, which makes no sense, based on where they are at. Dr Quest says it has begin, then is hit by an arrow, possibly fired by Turok or Andar! They run into the ancestors of the modern Native Americans, and then Jonny and Hadji disappear, and a hologram of Dr Zin cackles at them. He has time displaced them and threatens to destroy mankind unless Dr Quest convinces the world's governments to submit to him, lest he eliminate the common ancestor of man and ape and all human evolution... Inside the Sky Fortress, Kathleen's disc runs out of power, but she stumbles upon the captive scientist and whacks his guard upside the head, with the disc. She frees him and he also believes she is Lady Agatha. he offers to lead her to the other kidnapped scientists. She tries to use the communicator she stole from Zin, to listen in on his orders, and finds herself and the scientist in ancient Britain, where Jonny has been grabbed by a viking raider. Kathleen monkey flips Bjorn and then fades out with Jonny and Dr Van der Tork, from what Jonny identifies as the Danish invasion of England, in 963 AD. They end up in Herculaneum, where they find Hadji and get him out, as Vesuvius erupts, as Jonny explains. They end up back on the Sky Fortress, where Jonny & Hadji explain that Dr Zin's threat makes no sense, biologically... Kathleen is impressed with the boys' education and they credits Race and Dr Quest. They stumble into guards and Kathleen tells them to run while she distracts them. Elsewhere, Race, Dr Quest and Bandit sit in a cell, worried about Jonny and Hadji. Zin's goons show up and throw a bound and gagged "Lady Agatha" into their cell. Dr Quest tells Race to watch as she slips out of her bonds, like Houdini.... "Lady Agatha can't get free and Dr Quest removes her gag and she yells out that she is Kathleen Martin, social worker, and they are in big trouble! She berates Dr Quest for not sending in simple forms that led her there and he retorts he did fill them out and her office must have lost them (I smell her boss' hand in this). Then, they start having time echoes, as ghost images of themselves repeat their own words. Dr Quest warns that it is the start of bad juju! Dr Van der Tork turns up, at a vent and opens it up and brings a key from a guard, plus Jonny and Hadji. he releases "Lady Agatha" and praises her ingenuity in defeating the guards. dr Quest is tickled by this. They get out of the cell and head for the Quest-1. "Lady Agatha" loiters back to intercept another guard and find out where Zin is, bluffing him with the "Elbow of Doom. Is that like Dusty Rhodes' Bionic Elbow? Kathleen finds the chimp (actually the Aegyptopithecus) and tries to figure out how to send the time displacement machine to the beginning of time, where it will do no harm and Dr Zin turns up. Jonny rescues her, returning the earlier favor. Outside the Sky Fortress, we see the Quest-1 escape, as well as another craft with Van der Tork and the other scientists. The Sky Fortress trembles and disappears, but then Dr Quest learns Jonny and Kathleen aren't onboard. He starts to fret, when they turn up on a flying disc, along with grampa (the man-ape). On Monday, Kathleen is back at the office, gushing about her great weekend and crushing on Dr Quest.... She sees a memo from the boss and then kicks in the door. She then reads him the riot act and threatens do a "Race Bannon" on his keister if he doesn't shape up. She then takes charge of the department and Dr Zin should count himself lucky he escaped from this woman. For $5.95, you could have this sweet Doug Wildey-drawn Jonny Quest poster... Where's my time displacement machine...... Next issue has Ken Steacy! The hits just keep on comin'! Hempel & Whetley provide a pin-up, that looks like it would be a cool adventure and then the letters page. Much praise and a request from Uncle Elvis Orten to extend beyond the originally contracted 12 issues. Diana answers that it has been done, as it is now an on-going series. She also speaks of Jonny Quest Classics, where Doug will retell "Calcutta Adventure," where Hadji joined the team. Thoughts: Love this issue! It's not only a great adventure and just plays to Dan Spiegle's strengths (Like he has weaknesses!), it's a boatload of fun and introduces a fun new character, in Kathleen Martin, and a potential love interest for Dr Quest (Race has Jade). She proves to be a bit like Judith, in that she goes along with things, reacts well under pressure, and can hold her own with the villains and goons that plague the Quest Team. It gets even more fun when she starts to bluff Zin's goons. Loebs excels at this kind of stuff, as witnessed in his and Sam Kieth's Epicurus the Sage, which is a hoot (all of the stories). it also gives Loebs a chance to have Jonny and Hadji show off what they have picked up from Dr Quest and Race, proving that they are in more than capable hands. Leave it to Bill Loeb's to address the idea of social services checking into Jonny and Hadji's welfare and come away impressed, after an improbably, yet exciting adventure. Kathleen looked a little "matronly" in her grey outfit, which was kind of the point; but, after the adventure, she is in more stylish gear, suggesting it helped her come out of her shell and take charge. I forsee that she will become a great addition to the team, from time to time. Kathleen will return, though she will not be a regular. As I said, next issue brings us the awesome art of Ken Steacy, who is another perfect match for Jonny Quest (check out his Tempus Fugitive sometime, or his Iron Man stories, in Marvel Fanfare, or Sacred and the Profane, or Night and The Enemy). Episode Review: "Double Danger" The Quest Team head for Thailand, as part of Dr Quest's work for NASA, to help with long endurance space travel. Dr Quest is looking into distilling hallucinogenic plants into pills that would allow crews to remain alert on space voyages that might last for years, even decades. In other words, Dr Quest is gonna be doin' some trippin'! Little do they know that Dr Zin is aware of their presence in Thailand and he has a plan to steal his research, which involves a double for Race Bannon: Korchek. he has been surgically altered to look like Race and Dr Zin schools him to act like him. Race, Jonny and Hadji are taken by a guide to see a large statue of the Buddha, though he is actually an agent of Dr Zin. After nearly killing them on mountain roads, Race tells the boys to stay with the jeep, while he goes with the guide to get photos of the Buddha. It turns out to be a trap and Korchek replaces Race. Jonny and Hadji notice that Race is acting strange, as he thinks Koko is the name of the dog, not a monkey that the boys befriended. Koko is wary of Korchek/Race. Later, Hadji tells Jonny that Race has been acting strangely, since returning from the Buddha. They are interrupted by a commotion, as a king cobra turns up. Race shoots at it and drives it off, but the guide says be wary of its mate. Dr Quest finds it unusual that the serpent would come into a clearing like that and tells the boys to sleep with their shutters closed. Later, Jonny tells Hadji he is coming around to his thinking. He saw pleasure in race's face, when he shot at the cobra. Hadji notes that he wasn't surprised by its appearance. They hit upon the idea of checking Race's camera, to see if it can tell them anything about Race's visit to the Buddha statue. They go over to the lab and develop the film, but are interrupted by Race, who turns on the light and spoils the print they were developing. They head off to bed and Race conspires with the guide to arrange an accident for the boys, as they may jeopardize his mission. Jonny and Hadji sneak off and look at the print and see a figure that looks like Race, plus Dr Zin's goon (a confederate, who subdued Race, at the temple). They are nearly attacked by a leopard, but a shot rings out and drives it off. it is Jezebel Jade! She is there to see race and the bots tell her about their suspicions. She decides to check it out. the guide overhears. Race is looking around in Dr Quest' s lab, when Dr Quest turns up. He claims he was cleaning up after the boys. Dr Quest can't sleep and decides to work and dismisses Race. Outside, he meets Jade and acts strangely. He tries to throw her off by kissing her. The next morning, Jade takes Jonny and Hadji to check out the Buddha statue and says the man in camp is not Race and says their are some things that a woman can tell, like whose tongue is in her mouth! They arrive at the statue and Koko finds Race's pen. Jade pulls out her pistol, but is grabbed by Dr Zin's muscled goon. he disarms her and forces them to move along and brings them to Race. Back at camp, Race gives up the subtle approach and holds a gun on Dr Quest, telling him he is Korchek. He threatens Dr Quest, who calls his bluff, since the formula isn't written down. At the statue, Hadji uses slight of hand to trick the guard into a position, where Race takes him out, while his hands are tied behind his back! Jade gets all gooey eyed and they escape ahead of the timed explosives, thanks to jade's helicopter, which conveniently arrives. They make it out and Race arrives in camp to deck his doppelganger and rescue Dr Quest. Koko grabs the wig off the unconscious Korchek and all laugh. Thoughts: Nice scheme by Dr Zin and a surprising subject for experiments. Dr Quest remarks about how man has altered his mind and body with plants, in history, without noting the less beneficial aspects. The CIA was experimenting with LSD and other hallucinogens, as possible interrogation drugs and also experiments in suggestion, though conspiracy theories will take you into La-La Land in relation to those experiments, known as MK-Ultra. Some of the project was publicly revealed in the mid-70s, by the Church Commission and the Rockefeller Commission, plus FOIA suits, in 2001. There were illegal and unethical experiments; but, the conspiracy theories will have you believing in mind-controlled assassins, pointing fingers at people like Sirhan Sirhan. A healthy dose of skepticism is recommended for reading any materials related to that, as many references are from pretty questionable sources, much like other alleged conspiracies. Korchek, as Race, is depicted in a red t-shirt, instead of the bib-style shirt that race usually wears. No one notices that, but Jade figures it out from a kiss. Think the Quest team should visit an optometrist. Koko is a monkey that the boys find, who teases Bandit, reminding me of how our kitten is tormenting the older cat. This is the first appearance by Jezebel Jade and she will return, towards the end of the series. Cathy Lewis gives her an incredibly sexy voice. She also demonstrates she is an expert shot, as you would expect from any woman who caught Race Bannon's eye! Much of the footage is repurposed from other episodes. The early shot of Dr Quest watching a rocket launch is taken from "Arctic Splashdown" and the footage of the Dragonfly over the jungle and coming in for a landing was used in "Pursuit of the Po-Ho." That same cabin footage appears in the opening titles and will be used again, in "Shadow of the Condor." This featured John Stephenson as Dr Quest and was his last turn as the character. Don Messick voices the scientist who briefs Dr Quest, at the beginning. Vic Perrin is there to handle Dr Zin and Tol Avery voices Tabak, the muscle-bound goon, while Messick handles the guide (and Bandit). This gets kind of violent, as Korchek grabs Dr Quest by the throat and pushes his gun in his face, before Dr Quest calls his bluff. Tabak subdues Race physically and there is an elephant stampede that Hadji maneuvers out of the way, though Korchek is grabbed and thumped by an elephant. Then, there is the gunplay and the guide's dangerous driving, that nearly sends their jeep off a cliff. Even for prime time, that's pretty violent.
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on Nov 21, 2021 16:19:51 GMT -5
Jonny Quest #8Here's the full cover, with the more gruesome elements hidden on the back side... Creative Team: William Messner-Loebs-writer, Ken Steacy-art & colors, L Lois Buhalis-letters, Diana Schutz-editor pin-up by Tom Grindberg and Joe Matt. Synopsis: In the futuristic world of 2016, Dr Quest is now Jonathan Quest (with a mustache), teaching a college class while Bandit makes like most college students... He is developing a vast network of solar collectors to create free energy for the planet, replacing fossil fuels and dangerous nuclear energy. Dr Benton Quest video-phones into the class, to announce the impending launch of the orbital collectors and a warning about a terrorist, code named X-&, out to stop them. Suddenly, some orange dude (as in costume, not spray tan) sneaks up and garottes Dr B Quest, with an audio cable, while Dr J Quest watches helplessly, alongside brother Hadji Singh. Then Jonny discovers that Bandit is dead.... Awwwwwww.................... Jonny and Hadji race to get to their father and arrive at the Quest Labs, where they find security dead, strangled, as well as the head of security, Race Bannon! They smash their way into the lab, to find X-& battling with Dr Quest, while holding a grenade, which he drops. Dr Quest throws himself on it,. Jonny suddenly wakes up out of the nightmare. The year is 2027 and it has been a decade since Dr Quest and race's murder. Jonny is obsessed with finding and stopping X-7. Hadji worries about his sanity. he confers with Wakefield, head of security, about Jonny's undermining the police with his special security forces and a secret society, built around the image of Race Bannon... (love the bust of Doug Wildey!) Jonny overhears and confronts Hadji and they argue and Jonny ultimately kicks out his brother. In the year 2047, a balding Jonny records a log entry, stating he hasn't seen Hadji since. The world is on the brink, as solar didn't quite work out the way envisioned and Earth's resources are spent. Jonny plans on building large space arks (I've come across that somewhere, before) to take humanity to the stars. He transports in to talk to Wakefield, who says they are preparing the construction stations for the space ark, and Jonny picks up a welding droid, which looks like a spider, with one eye, in a rather familiar design. His Race Bannon Societies are feared as a secret police and X-7 has become a folk hero. Hadji turns up and reveals that he has been investigating X-7 and unmasks Wakefield as the terrorist.... He tries to blast Hadji; but, he is in the astral plane and cannot be touched. X-7 then targets Jonny and Hadji materializes his physical form to save Jonny and is killed by the blast, as X-7 runs away. Jonny awakes even further in the future, in orbit around Jupiter, on the construction station. he is awakened from cryo-sleep by Jade, and reunited with an unfrozen bandit. Jonny blames himself for the deaths of family and friends and Jade reminds him it was X-&. She then reveals the Benton Quest 1, a massive ship, carrying the whole of humanity, about to embark on a journey towards the future of the human race... Jonny transfers aboard from the Hadji-1 shuttle and is greeted with an artifact that carries a message from Benton. Then, his greeters start choking and collapse. Inside, Jonny finds the crew dead, strangled. He replays the message from Benton. It is his original warning from 2016. then, X-7 turns up. They battle and X-7 throttles Jonny, as a loop of Dr Quest repeats that they "must awake..." and Jonny does just that, as himself, in the present, with a cannister leaking gas and his family and friends unconscious, nearby. He remembers that Dr Quest was going to test a miracle insecticide, when Bandit accidentally knocked it out of his hands and the hose connections broke open, releasing the toxic fumes. Jonny tries to move everyone away, but the adults are too heavy. he finally scoops up the cannister and hurls it through a window, to the outside and hits an emergency ventilation button, on a control pad. The group recovers and Dr Quest reports the danger to the manufacturers, who are bent on ignoring him, as it wasn't an actual test of the product. Dr Quest vows to fight the company. Jonny tells of his nightmare. Hadji reminds him it wasn't all bad, as they remained friends until the end, which cheers Jonny up, while Bandit growls at the now safe cannister of X-7. Thoughts: This was pretty dark, but a really good, emotional story. We see the deaths of Jonny's father, Bandit, Race, and then Hadji, in horrible fashion, with Race and Dr Quest, and others, involving strangulation or suffocation. As Dr Quest says, at the end, the nightmare was Jonny's brain trying to communicate a survival message to wake up, before he suffocates. Meanwhile, Bill slips in a message about the state of the world's resources and the need to embrace renewable energy now, before it is too late. This was 1987, when the current administration had cut funding or outright eliminated government-backed alternative energy research programs and instituted very industry-friendly people at the EPA, reversing the trend of the 70s towards strict management of emissions, recycling and waste management. Subsequent administrations from both parties continued to ignore the threat or downplay it, while coming up with empty PR measures, like carbon offsets, which are just promises to do something in the future, for tax credits. As the recent climate summit emphasized, the situation has grown far worse in the past 35+ years. Sadly, politics undermined that summit, just as it did the Kyoto Accords and other global efforts to significantly reduce carbon emissions and other greenhouse gases. The time jumps allow for technological change, plus increased guilt and/or obsession, as solar isn't the miracle cure and Jonny is now working on taking humanity away from a dying world. It's all a dream, so the time span doesn't have to make sense, in terms of terrestrial change. We see Jonny grow from young man to old man, as he turns into his father and beyond. At first, he has a blond mustache, styled like dr Quest's. 20 years later, he has his beard, as well, though his hair is white. We also see his hairline is receding, so that a further 20 years along, he is mostly bald. Hadji grows taller, but also thinner, as he moves more and more into the spiritual realm. However, he is depicted in a stereotypical fashion of wearing nothing but a loincloth and his turban. Now, you can pass that off as the dream, as Jonny imagines Hadji as when they first met, as a child on the streets of Calcutta. However, in 2016, we see Hadji in an adult version of his Nehru Jacket and trousers. All of this looks spectacular under the pen and brush of Ken Steacy. Steacy excels at depicting technology, mixing both the cartoonists eye for storytelling with a industrial designers eye for adapting technology to the needs of the future. He is a long time aircraft junkie (if memory serves, he grew up around air bases, in Canada) and his planes are always functional, yet fantastic. he gets to dabble in a similar world as his seminal work with Dean Motter, on The Sacred and the Profane, featured in Star*Reach, Epic Illustrated and collected into the Eclipse graphic novel. Steacy had also been working on some of the Robotech adaptations for Comico. He is another fan of JQ and Doug Wildey and his appreciation is demonstrated throughout, with the bust of DW and a dedication, at the end. Everyone is on model, yet totally within Steacy's own style. On top of it, Steacy is a master colorist and his work stands with the best in the industry, as he achieves effects that few comics manage, outside of the covers of Heavy Metal (which are often airbrushed). Tremendous issue and one of the best of the series. Episode Review: "Skull and Double Crossbones" Dr Quest is somewhere in the tropics (likely off the coast of Mexico or Latin America), conducting research on deep sea diving techniques. he is using a mini-sub and breathing rig to explore the bottom of the ocean, while Jonny, Hadji and Bandit do a bit of scuba diving. The group is called back to their research ship for Lunch and Dr Quest recklessly allows Jonny to swim back alone, in clear violation of all rules of scuba diving (always swim with a partner). Jonny discovers a sunken galleon, complete with gold doubloons. The ship's cook, Jose, radios his boss. he was placed aboard to watch the Quests, in case they located the rumored Spanish treasure ship, during their explorations. The boss and his group of pirates fake an emergency and come alongside the Quest ship and then take them all prisoner. Jonny is forced to recover the treasure chest, while the rest are held hostage, on the ship. He locates the chest and signals the pirates to haul it aboard. During the search, a police patrol boat comes through the area and Dr Quest, at gunpoint, lets them know that everything is fine. Everyone is locked up and Dr Quest doesn't believe that they will be allowed to go free. Hadji slips through the port hole, but gets caught on deck and a guard is posted. When the guard brings Hadji back, Bandit threatens him. The guard picks him up by his collar to drop him over the side. He does so, but Jonny and Hadji are able to toss out Bandit's diving gear and he slips into it. They tell him to head for Supt. Owens, the head of the police, in the area. bandit starts swimming for shore, then gets an assist from a friendly porpoise, who had given him a ride, before. Bandit makes it to the patrol boat and is pulled aboard. He draws their attention to the Quest ship and they decide to go check things out, again. They approach the ship and turn on their search light and one of the pirates panics and fires on them. They cut the light and hit the siren and move in. The chief yells at the panicky pirate and they decide to make a run for it, in their boat. They get into a running gun battle, but the police boat's deck gun has better range and the gunner hits them in the boiler room and the ship explodes, returning the treasure to the bottom of the sea. They release the Quests, who relate the story. The next day, they relax, as Jonny, Hadji and Bandit do some more swimming and Bandit gets more dolphin rides.... Thoughts: Not exactly one of my favorite episodes, though it is a pretty decent adventure. Locale is kept vague, except the pirates are all Latin, though Supt Ownes and his crew are English, suggesting British Honduras, now know as Belize. It had just gained self-governance, in 1964, when the series premiered, but remained a British colony until full independence, in 1973. That would explain British coast guard officer and crew, though it would have likely been a mixed crew. Henry Corden (The Chief) and Doug Young (Jose) both use stereotyped Mexican accents, especially Young. He almost sounds like he is doing a Speedy Gonzales cartoon. The basic plot is fine, but too many elements are played cute for me to fully embrace this one. Bandit scuba diving is enough of a fantasy, but getting rides from friendly porpoises is too much. Also, Jonny and Hadji getting rides from sea turtles just adds to the fantasy. The huge fish Dr Quest examines is drawn like a far smaller species and it's structure would not support it's greater size. It smacks a little too much of the comedy side of Hanna-Barbera. One part that always struck me as ridiculous, aside from dolphin rides and such was Hadji scuba diving, with his turban on. Now, Sikh's are not supposed to bare their heads in public; but, that doesn't necessarily mean they have to have it covered in a turban. Hadj could have worn a diving skullcap to honor his tradition, while being practical about it; or, even, a swimming cap! In the next episode, "The Dreadfull Doll," a portion of which is seen in the end credits, Hadji scuba dives with his hair uncovered. This is where we trip over the ignorance of those at H-B, as to whether Hadji was Hindu or Sikh and which culture had which rules. I suspect that H-B thought that all Indians were Hindus and wore turbans ("Calcutta Adventure" suggests as much) and Hadji should always have the turban, except those two instances (he bares his head, to distract the villains, in "Calcutta Adventure," with a magic trick and while swimming, in "The Dreadful Doll"). I'm not as wild about the more mundane adventures as the fantastic ones. The basic plot has been done to death, in all storytelling media. The wilder plots were much more fun. Which would you rather see, the Quests dealing with modern pirates, looking for a sunken treasure ship; or, investigating sightings of a pteranodon? I'll take battling pteranodons, with bazookas, while flying with jetpacks?
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on Nov 28, 2021 23:38:15 GMT -5
Jonny Quest #9Full cover...... Jade is back and Tim Truman's got her! Bandit looks a little wonky; but, that is one might fine cougar! The mountain lion isn't bad, either! Creative Team: William Messner-Loebs-writer, Murphy Anderson-character art, Dan Zolnerowich-background art, Bob Pinaha-letters, Murphy Anderson III-colors, Diana Schutz-editor Zolnerowich was a colleague of Murphy Anderson, who worked with him on PS Magazine and at DC. Murph 3 was the son of the legend and worked with hi doing color separation work for Anderson's Visual Concepts company, which did color separations on all of Comico's titles. Synopsis: Jade gets off a bus (!!) at some place called Green Meadows, MI, where she has a new identity and plans to make her fortune, or die trying. It doesn't exactly look like the kind of place where you can make a fast fortune, or somewhere with much work for a mercenary... Jade, or Jessie Greenstreet, as she is now know, picks up a waitressing job, since the previous waitress was scared off by the panther! Those cartoons weren't that scary. A baseball flies through the restaurant window and the owner goes out to yell at some kids, who blame the new kid, who is Jonny Quest, with red hair. he denies it and says it was hit by the bigger kid, Finn Sawyer (seriously? Whose the kid with him, Huckleberry Thomas?) Finn tries to beat up Jonny, for ratting him out, but gets seio nague-ed The fight is interrupted by an elderly man, in a wheelchair; Judge Varly, who calls Jonny, "Jimmy Seek." "Jimmy" tells him what happened and he holds all of the boys accountable and sentences them each to work one hour in the restaurant, next week, except Finn Sawyer, who has to work two. He also tells Finn he would come down harder on him; but, he knows Finn's father beats him (if this kid hops on a raft, with a black kid named Jim, I'm outta here!) Judge Varly is introduced to Jade, who says she is an international spy, out to steal secrets and the Judge tells her not to sass him or he will put her over his knee! Pop (the owner of the store/restaurant) mentions she is taking over from the waitress who fled because of the panther and the judge dismisses the stories as "poppycock." He rolls off, but Pop swears he saw it last week. Jade decides to see what is going on and asks "Jimmy" if his father might have a room to rent. He says they will have to ask him and calls his dog, "Patches," to follow. Jimmy acts like he doesn't know Jade and sticks to his character. He introduces Jade to his father, Barton Seek, inventor. He shows her his workshop, but says they don't have a spare room. then, Jade meets Mrs Seek (Is her name Heidi?) and is surprised. She doesn't know her but is sure that Barton Seek is Benton Quest. She tells Jade she thinks the Judge might have a room to rent and Jade leaves. Jimmy follows his mom down into the root cellar, telling her about Patches nearly getting sprayed by a skunk and that he might get a new job, to earn money for a bike, and then Barton flashes a light over them and says they are clean. Mrs Seek is actually Dr Helen Collins, an organic chemist, who is researching a formula for a new enzyme that will break down waste products into component elements and make them available for new use. There have been attempts on her life; so, they are masquerading, in her home town. We also learn that when Helen was a child, a bank robber, named "Squint" Markham, robbed the local bank and took her hostage, going on a wild car chase, before she got away as the car was riddled with bullets and destroyed in an explosion at a gas station. The loot was never found. They get a call from Hadji. He and Race are in a city, making it seem like Dr Collins is still working in her lab. Dr Quest says they have seen Jade, but don't know who she is working for, so they kept up the pretense. Turns out, Jade bugged "Patches'" (Bandit) collar and hears all of this. Jade visits Judge Varly and he does have a room available and continues to dismiss the panther tale as "balderdash," "Tommyrot," and possibly even "horse hockey!" He warns her that Pop, aka Peter Morris, is a dangerous man, but doesn't elaborate on that cryptic warning. Jade starts work and overhears stories about the panther, then gets harassed by a patron. She threatens to hurt him in ways that will not show, but will make him beg for death. They guy backs off and goes to find a new pair of shorts. pop asks her not to threaten the customers, as it spoils their appetite. Outside, Jonny runs into Finn, who says he will fix him and tries to attack him with a broom and Jonny/Jimmy karate chops it in half. Pop sees the broken broom and asks if they were fighting again and Jonny covers for Finn and takes the blame. Dr Quest receives a note from Jade, threatening to expose him, if he doesn't meet her, at night. They meet up and Dr Quest mentions the bug on bandit's collar. Jade is after Collins' enzyme, but Dr Quest tells her to pound sand. They are interrupted by a scream and the find Pop, torn up by a wild animal. Later, Jade and the Judge talk about their questioning by the police. Then, Jade tools up to go over to Quest's house to steal the enzyme, but she gets whacked over the head, by a cane. Elsewhere, "Jimmy" and "Patches" are out tracking the panther and run into Finn, who says he owes Jimmy and wants to help. They find the panther, which is real, but not exactly a maneater... At the Quest house, Dr Collins is successful and the enzyme works. She goes upstairs and runs into a gun-wielding and upright Judge Varly, who says she ruined his life and he has had to hide among the locals. He is actually Squint Markham, who survived the explosion. Back in the woods, we learn that the panther's owner is Mr Stark, from issue 6, who works for the government but is lucky that Race Bannon didn't show him his own colon, from the inside out. he admits he used the panther to try to scare Dr Collins into seeking protection from the government. Jonny gives him a Glaswegian greeting (headbutt) and tells Finn to run for help. Finn takes off and Stark's men (and it isn't Rhodey) subdue Jonny. Finn finds Judge Varly holding a gun on Dr Collins. He doesn't know what to do. Stark has his men tie Jonny to a tree, while they go find Dr Collins. Jonny tries to call bandit to chew the ropes, like in the movies and it works, except it is the panther who chewed them. Take that, Rin-Tin-Tin! Finn shows up, tells him about Judge Varly. They run back to the house (Finn still believes Dr Collins is "Jimmy's" mother. Jonny sends Finn to find Barton Seek, while he tries to help "mom." He quickly decides that it was a dumb idea, especially when the Judge catches him and tosses him into the sitting room, where "mom" and Jade are tied up. Stark and his men catch Finn, and then try to threaten Benton, who reveals he knew Stark was behind the panther and then Finn tells them about Judge Varly. Quest runs to the house, trailed by Stark. Varly/Markham is nuts and thinks Collins is after him and Jade is a policewoman.... Why, she doesn't look a thing like Angie Dickinson.... He killed Pop. Jade cons him into drinking the enzyme (just as Benton shows up) and it reduces him to his base components. The process reveals gold underneath the floorboards. Jade faints. We cut to the hospital, where Jade is recovering and we learn she received a mild concussion from the blow to the head. She is given the 10% reward for the stolen lot, but is miffed about being a hero. Jonny turns up and says Bandit is playing with his new friend, inside the hospital. Nobody felt like stopping them! Thoughts: Well, this was different. Most of the characters and the basic situation is an homage to mark Twain's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, with Jonny (sort of) in the role of Tom. Judge Varly appears to be modeled on Judge Thatcher (also with elements of Judge Hardy, from the Andy Hardy film series), but turns out to be more like Injun Joe, the disguised criminal who returns to the scene of the crime, only to be undone by Tom & Huck. It's not a total homage, as Jade doesn't really fit into a character, nor does Dr Quest; but, it's enough for the general plot. We even have hidden gold, revealed in Injun Joe's cave (Varly/Markham's house, with gold hidden under the floorboards). Murphy Anderson is perfect for this, as his classic illustrator style gives the story a classic appearance. Funny enough, when the letters page catches up to this issue (in issue #14) no one seemed to have spotted the whole Tom Sawyer homage, despite the name Finn Sawyer and the more obvious bits. That's just sad! I suppose if Jonny had tricked other kids into whitewashing a fence, readers might have twigged to it more. The letters page says that Hempel and Wheatley will be the regular art team, starting with issue #14. The original concept of a rotating art crew was made when the plan was for this to be a 12-issue limted project and not a regular series. Sam Kieth provides a two-page pin-up... The editorial page (The Comico Blimp) includes a bit about how their comics are colored, remarking the need for different color percentages with their white paper, vs the standard newsprint, of the period. Murphy Anderson's company even created a color guide for colorists to use, for truer color representation. This was fairly innovative; but, quickly became obsolete, within the next few years, as computers changed the coloring game. However, computer coloring wasn't industry standard until late in the 90s, as Valiant was one of the early users of computer coloring systems, as well as Malibu. Image picked it up from Malibu and Marvel and DC were quickly following suit. Episode Review: "The Dreadfull Doll" Dr Quest is busy carrying out research into communication with sea life. he is in a bathysphere, transmitting sounds to the ship above. Jonny and Hadji swim down to mess with him... Jonny & Hadji continue exploring, while dr Quest is winched back onto the ship. They play with a dolphin, the spot a submarine, towing a sled, loaded with supplies. They see it pause near an undersea cave, then flash a light several times, before entering the cave. They surface and tells Race and Dr Quest, but they think it was a whale or some other sea life, distorted by the filtered light, underwater. They are interrupted by a fast moving boat that comes alongside. The man asks after Dr Quest and Benton goes with im in the boat. he is the foreman for Philippe Lor, a plantation owner, whose daughter is under a "voodoo spell." Lor tells Dr Quest that they first received a doll, as a warning, then the spell. He says Kobay, a local witch doctor, who suddenly gained power, is behind it. Dr Quest examines her and diagnoses that she has been drugged. Someone frightened off the other planters and only Lor, his daughter, and Alvero, the foreman, remain. Another doll, of Alvaro appeared, today and we see Kobay shoot Alvaro with a blowdart, laced with a drug. he goes into a catatonic state, like Denise, the girl. Dr Quest goes to return to the ship to research an antidote, for the drug and is told about the drums they hear, that play every night. The natives go missing into the jungle, when they play. They find Alvero, drugged. Dr Quest finds the dart and takes it to analyze, for an antidote. Dr Quest returns to the ship and we see Kobay row out to the ship. He leaves a doll of Dr Quest, to try to scare him off. He pulls out the blow gun, but Dr Quest hears something and Kobay dives over the side. The next morning, Dr Quest returns to the plantation house to administer the antidote, which brings Denise out of her trance. meanwhile, Race goes scuba diving to investigate where Jonny saw the sub, believing it might be related. Alvero is also awakened. He and Dr Quest go to see Kobay and call him out. Under the water, race finds the cave and proceeds up the underground tunnel. he emerges inside a large cavern and sees the submarine, along with an entire hidden base. He gets caught by an armed thug. Dr Quest sees Kobay and calls him a fake. He threatens to expose him to all and see them take their revenge on Kobay (and mentions murder), unless he tells him what is behind it all. Kobay says he will consider and Quest gives him until sundown, as Alvero threatens Kobay with a knife. Kobay opens up a skull, resting nearby, which has a radio telephone and he contacts the thug, holding Race prisoner, in the hidden base. Jonny and Hadji go diving, searching for Race. We see the thug talk to Kobay and call him down to guard Race, while he goes after Dr Quest. The drums start and then work starts up on the base. The drums cover the jackhammer noises and the thug reveals he is being paid to build a secret sub pen and arms base. Jonny and Hadji see the thug leave the cave, in scuba gear and swim inside, finding the inner cavern. they spot Kobay guarding the shack where Race is being held. Meanwhile, the thug is on the Quest ship, where he has Bandit tied up, waiting for Dr Quest to return. Hadji distracts Koaby, while Jonny unlocks the shack. Hadji bangs his aqualung and Kobay spots him and takes aim with his carbine. Race shoves a board into the back of Kobay's skull, knocking him out. They hogtie Kobay and then Race pilots the sub out of the tunnel, to rescue Dr Quest. When they are out, Race fires a pair of torpedoes into the cave, sealing it up. The thug has Dr Quest and Alvero at spearpoint. he makes them put on scuba gear to accompany him. The shock of the torpedo explosion distracts the thug and Alvero clobbers him with an aqualung. The second torpedo finishes the hidden base. Later, Dr Quest explains things to Lor, while Denise thanks her brave heroes, Jonny and Hadji with kisses, then tells then that they may kiss her. Jonny and Hadji don't want to catch cooties and run off to hide on the bridge. Dr Quest says Denise will have to wait a decade before the boys are ready to kiss her. Thoughts: This is a good one. The voodoo angle adds a bit of terror; but, Dr Quest refuses to buy into that and we see that science dispels superstition and uncovers the truth, the construction of the hidden base. The location is never revealed, but it would seem to be the Caribbean, possibly Hispaniola, which would explain both the French and Spanish elements. The sub base is a bt of a Scooby Doo move (and that hadn't even been created, yet); but, it is a nice Cold War subplot. The rest of it is like a Hardy boys mystery, with explosives. Henry Corden does the heavy lifting, voicing Philippe Lor, Alvero, Kobay and Harden (the thug). Denise is voiced by sandy Wormser and it is her only credit listed on imdb. My guess she was related to someone at H-B or an employee there, or just someone who got cast for the part, but didn't go after any more jobs. A lot of the voice actors of this era were people who started in radio; so, maybe she was a radio actress who didn't do much tv or film work. imdb also wouldn't list commercials, so that is a possibility. This is the only other episode, aside from "Calcutta Adventure," where you see Hadji with his head bared (while scuba diving and in the cavern). He went diving in "Skull & Doublecross Bones" but wears his turban.. The footage you see in the end credits, of Jonny and Hadji swimming around the bathysphere, with Dr Quest, comes from this episode. The submarine does have a shape a bit like a bottlenosed whale and is smaller in size, though it looks fairly large, in the hidden base. How Race could operate it without anyone in the engine room is unexplained, though the sound effects make it seem like it is electrically powered (which a submerged conventional sub is, when it runs on batteries). Still, you need to have someone watching over the engines. It is too big for the smaller two or three-man electric subs, used in oceanographic and marine biology work. The torpedoes also require a larger sub structure. I assume they just didn't want to draw a whole crew. The ending, with Jonny and Hadji hiding from Denise, is rather ironic, as Tim Matheson was 16 when he did this and quite interested in girls, and Danny Bravo was 15. Jonny and Hadji are supposed to be around 11 years-old; so, Dr Quest's assertion that Denise may have to wait 10 years for the boys to be interested in her makes Jonny into a rather slow developer, as that would put him at 21. Guess they didn't want to admit that heterosexual teenage boys think about little else than girls! Seems a bit odd, given this was done for prime time, even with a younger audience. They sure weren't prudish about Alvero sticking a kinfe in Kobay's face and Dr Quest saying the families of those he drugged would come for him and kill him. You didn't get that on Scooby Doo! The Jonny Quest documentary, on Youtube, includes a segment showing off some of the background art, with the full scope shown, including the sub pen, in this one. It looked fantastic. Hempel and Wheatley handle next issue, titled "Winters of Discontent;" so, expect some Shakespeare references. I hope you are taking notes. There will be a quiz, later!
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on Dec 8, 2021 16:21:50 GMT -5
Jonny Quest #10Creative Team: William Messner-Loebs-writer, Marc Hempel-pencils & letters, Mark Wheatley-inks & colors, Diana Schutz-editor Assist from William Shakespeare Synopsis: The Quest team are attending a performance of Shakespeare's Richard III (The Horse Awakens), watching the villainy of Richard.... They are in the company of Marley Frost, the actress from the calamity of a movie they helped film for Dr Quest's old pal. She introduces them to Giles Montrose, the lead actor. He is a former engineer, whose company shut down and he fell into acting. There is an ulterior motive, as he has an invention to show Dr Quest and he takes Banton, Jonny and Hadji to the family castle to see it, while Race and Marley go off to a "dance." I suspect one of the dances will be a variation of the mambo.......possibly horizontal. Giles lives in the gatehouse and tells them that though the family has owned the land around by tradition, there is no documentation of ownership and they might soon lose it. He shows them the picture of their ancestor, Thomas Montrose, who was art of the rebellion against Richard III. He then shows them his invention, a receiver that can pick up light waves from the past, allowing them to see history as it occurred. He shows them Napoleon's army, in 1811 and then sets it for 1485, to see Thomas Montrose, when there is a huge flash of light and Jonny and Hadji are knocked back to the floor.... The machine is wrecked and Giles is downcast; but, Dr Quest says they might be able to repair it. They decide to leave it until morning and the Quest's stay the night. Giles gives Jonny a copy of the play to read and he falls asleep while perusing it. He gets to the part where Blackadder accidentally lops off Richard III's head and he pleads with Baldrick for help... Well, faster than you can say, "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court," Jonny wakes up in 1485, alongside Bandit, and overhears plotting to poison the king. He runs off to get help and gets a lift from a melon seller, on his wagon, as they head to London. He wants to warn the king, who the seller praises and then learns the king is the villain Richard III (This time, it's Personal!) In London, Jonny uses Bandit to distract a guard and climbs the ivy to get inside the Tower of London and he finds what appears to be a secretary and Jonny starts telling him of the plot against the king and discovers he is speaking to Richard III (The Final Conflict). Richard invites Jonny to be a playmate for his nephews, who are very much alive. He speaks of the rumor that he murdered them and blames Bishop Morton for that slander, as he fled to France, to join Henry Tudor and his plans to launch an invasion. Richard speaks of ending the war with the Scots and hoping for peace. Then, the co-conspirator turns up with the poisoned wine and Richard welcomes him and tells him to have some of it himself and stares into his eyes. The poisoner loses his nerve and pulls a dagger and the virile Richard fights, but Jonny gets held at knifepoint by the poisoner. Meanwhile, Hadji is somewhere along the coast, where he observes Henry Tudor and Bishop Morton come ashore. Hadji reads his mind and runs off to warn the king. Back at the Tower, Jonny applies Race's judo lessons and Richard smashes a chair over the poisoner's head! E-C-W.....E-C-W.........E-C-W........... Jonny explains where he is from to Richard, who sends him off to bed, shaking his head; but, he finds Jonny's copy of the play and reads it. Jonny meets the Prince of Wales and Duke of York, the young nephews of Richard and they play fight with wooden swords, while telling Jonny they are perfectly safe in the Tower, should Henry invade. The boys dispel Shakespeare's characterization of Richard and then Jonny remembers the book and runs back, but finds that Richard has read it and is downcast. Jonny is angry at Shakespeare; but, Richard understands. He shows Jonny a little hidden nook and puts a document in there and says that truth will win out, in the end. Hadji arrives, exhausted and he tells Jonny of Henry Tudor's plan to kill all of royal blood, including the children.... Richard sends his nephews off to the north, then leads what forces he could raise to meet Henry at Bosworth Field. Jonny knows he will die. He then notices that the princes are in the care of the traitor Montrose and warns Hadji. Hadji sends a telepathic command to their horse and it gallops away from Montrose. His conspirator is about to behead Jonny with a halberd, when, suddenly, Giles Montrose pushes Jonny out of the path of a speeding car.... Jonny had been wandering around, dazed, after the jolt from the temporal viewer. Jonny tells them of meeting Richard and they believe it a dream, inspired by the play. Jonny goes to prove it's true and runs to the Tower of London. The zip past a protesting Beefeater and go to the room where Richard hid the document, but Jonny can't find the hiding place. Giles leans against the wall and accidentally releases a catch, revealing it. There, Jonny pulls out the document, which is written in Latin. It is a bequest by Richard to the Montrose family, deeding them their ancestral lands, in perpetuity. Giles now has proof of ownership. Thoughts: I was actually avoiding this, as I had skimmed through and was wary of a Twilight Zone rip-off, revolving around Richard III; but, I should have given Bill Loebs more credit than that. Loebs uses the time travel gimmick (or was it) to dispel Shakespeare's depiction of Richard III. Richard is the subject of much debate, largely due to rather questionable contemporary accounts of the king, by people who had no intimate knowledge of him and had partisan leanings. There is no evidence of any physical deformity, other than a writer calling him a "crookback", with numerous others describing him as tall and lean and "of good heart." Much of the alleged atrocities ascribed to Richard were promoted by Henry Tudor to legitimize his seizing of the throne. This was the period of the War of the Roses, the civil war between the Yorks and the Lancasters, which was Henry Tudor's side. The Battle of Bosworth Field was the final encounter between the two forces, where Richard was slain, the last English king to die in battle, and Henry Tudor took the throne and became Henry VII, establishing the House of Tudor as the royal family (until the death of the childless Elizabeth I, and the succession of the House of Stuart). Shakespeare wrote his play circa 1592-1594, during the rein of Elizabeth I, a Tudor. His historical sources were Tudor loyalists, with a vested interests in portraying Henry as the hero and Richard a villain. Like any king, Richard was not without enemies and dealt with some harshly; but, he also championed legal reforms that aided the poorer classes and was well though of in the North. It was tradition that the heir to the throne take up apartments in the Tower of London, before coronation, so there was nothing untoward about young Edward V going to reside there, along with his brother, the Duke of York. However, they disappeared from public view, which led to all kinds of speculation and conspiracy theories (imagine that, before social media!). It is quite likely, as Loebs depicts, that they might have been hidden away because of intelligence of Henry's impending invasion, with the aid of French soldiers. In the end, Shakespeare is working with material that has been spun by the equivalent of political pundits, while adding his own artistic touches to the story, to carry out his themes. Within the play, Richard is a vile schemer, who murders his enemies and is defeated by a rebellion against him. In reality, he was a complex figure who lost a civil war against a hated rival, who had been fighting for some time. Lobes does a nice job of juxtaposing Shakespeare's depiction with other sources and presents a plausible tale (minus time travel) of how things might have played out and at least presents an alternate Richard, if not a verifiably accurate one. Hempel and Wheatley handle the issue well and will soon take over as the regular art team, now that the book is going to continue beyond its original 12 issue commitment. They are a good team, handling all of the art chores, for a pretty economical price, for a small company like Comico. their likenesses are good and they are good storytellers, adept at facial expressions, body language, dynamic action and comedy. Next issue is a favorite, as we get a story, from Bandit's point of view. Episode Review: "A Small Matter of Pygmies" Somewhere in Africa (presumably), in the jungle, we see a group of pygmies tie one of their own to a stake, near some totems that look like airplanes. They paint a crude airplane on the man's belly and leave him for panther food. Luckily for him, Race, Jonny & Hadji are flying overhead, in a plane that develops engine trouble. Race is forced to set it down in the jungle, where they survive a crash landing, unscathed. Of course, Race could slam into Mt Everest and escape unscathed, because he is Race F-in' Bannon! Race shoots the panther, just as it is ready to pounce and they free the little fella. However, his buddies turn up and take the group prisoner and march them away. Meanwhile, Dr Quest has initated a search for his kids and Race, with a Spanish official, so this might be Latin America, though these guys look more like they are supposed to be African pygmy tribesmen. Then, Dr Quest points to a map of Brazil and it is definitely South America, but these guys don't look much like the peoples of the Amazon. Go figure. Back in the jungle, the Quest team are treated to stakes, and I don't mean T-bones. Hadji creates a diversion by levitating the chieftan, but Jonny screws up the escape when he trips over some spears and causes Hadji to lose concentration. During the night, the gang is tied to their stakes and the Lollipop Guild is asleep. Their little friend, who had escaped into the jungle, turns up, hiding under a basket, and he frees them. The escape and head for an escarpment that they can use as a defensive position, until help can come. They move rocks and boulders around and take shelter. the pygmies track them and Race and the boys try to hold them off by playing Bowling for Pygmies. They hold their own for a bit, but the pygmies outflank them and they are outnumbered. Things look desperate, when a search helicopter, with Dr Quest, turns up and spots them. They use the rotor wash to drive off the pygmies and rescue the team. Thoughts: I'm not especially keen on this episode. The depiction of the pygmies is too African and the Amazonian setting becomes confusing, though they drew all jungles to look alike. The basic plot is rather a repeat of "pursuit of the Po-Ho," minus the Gods angle. This is pretty cliched stuff. The battle to hold them off at the escarpment gets repetitive, with loops of the same footage of Race pushing boulders over the side. The rescue feels a bit too deus ex machina.Some of the footage at the beginning is used in the end credits sequence, where you see a monkey sitting on a tree limb, chattering. Well, you weren't going to get 26 winners. For the pro wrestling and British Comedy impared:
E-C-W....E-C-W....E-C-W: ECW, or Extreme Championship Wrestling, was a promotion out of Philadelphia, originally known as Eastern Championship Wrestling. it was started by a guy named Tod Gordon, who ran a jewelry store and pawnshop/loan office. He was a wrestling mark and funded one of several little indie promotions that opened up in the Northeast in the late 80s/early 90s, using cast off WWF wrestlers, like Jimmy Snuka and Don Muraco. Gordon later hired Eddie Gilbert to be his booker (guy who creates the matches and the storylines) and he brought Paul heyman with him, adding Memphis-style touches to things, with more violent matches. Gilbert left and Heyman started booking it all himself, adding elements of grunge pop culture, Japanese-style hardcore wrestling (following on the footsteps of the Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling promotion). He had joined in with a group of promoters to revive the NWA World Heavyweight title, along with promotional rival Dennis Corraluzzo, who promoted NWA New Jersey, in the same region, and Jim Cornette's Smoky Mountain Wrestling. They set up a tournament to crown a new champion, with ECW's Shane Douglas booked to win the title. Heyman planned a double-cross and when Douglas won and was handed the title, he cut a promo declaring the NWA dead (it had, effectively, died out when WCW withdrew from it, in 1989) and crowned himself the new ECW World Champion, with Eastern now replaced by Extreme. ECW became known for intricate storylines, violent matches, high quality technical matches (with talent like Dean Malenko and Eddie Guerrero), and cutting edge music and insider promos. Some young talent got a chance to shine and others got repackaged. They had a cult-like following of fans who derided WWF and WCW wrestling and performers, while chanting E-C-W, like Pavlovian dogs, every time something wild happened, like brutal, unprotected chair shots to the head, or ridiculous bumps off of scaffolding or balconies, dropping people through tables, which had as much connection to "wrestling" as knitting does. However, they had a rabid following and did put on a good show, though they would prove to have a tendency to go too far. Their influence was strong enough that the WWF and WCW started swiping personnel and angles, before ECW eventually crashed and burned and the WWF picked up the ashes and assets. Paul Heyman now works for Vince McMahon, though he actually was on retainer the whole time he was promoting ECW, is was eventually revealed. Black Adder: a BB comedy series, starring Rowan Atkinson, of Mr Bean (but before Mr Bean). Atkinson and Richard Curtis, who had worked with Atkinson on his stage shows, created the series as a historical comedy. The first series was set during the time of Richard III, with Peter Cook as a friendly, loving Richard, whose son Richard IV, played with the usual reserve, by Brian Blessed. Atkinson was Prince Edmund, who dubs himself the Black Adder and schemes to gain power. Black Adder is an idiot and a coward, who is aided/manipulated by his shrewder servant, Baldrick (Tony Robinson), and the even dumber Percy (played by Tim McInnerny, of Notting Hill). At the Battle of Bosworth Field, Edmund is late, having overslept, and the battle has been won by Richard. He goes in search of his horse and comes across Edmund's, while he is off behind a bush, having a slash. Edmund sees an armored figure stealing his horse and cuts off his head, then discovers it is King Richard. he and Baldrick cover it up and ride off to the castle to hide. Richard the IV ascends to the throne and Edmund schemes for power and dubs himself the Black Adder. The series did middling numbers; but, got a second series order. They revamped it and moved the time frame to that of the Elizabethan Period, with Stephen fry as Lord Melchett and miranda Richardson as a rather daft and psychotic Queen Elizabeth. This time, they reversed Blackadder and Baldrick, making Baldrick the idiot who usually screws up Blackadder's schemes, while Blackadder is a shrewd conniver. Atkinson also got a more dashing look and appeared remarkably different than he had in the first series, to where some thought it was a different actor (myself included, when I first saw the two series on A&E, in college). The third series moved it to the time of George III and the time of the Regency, when the Prince of Wales ruled in the king's stead, while he was infirmed (The Madness of King George). Hugh Laurie joined as a regular (he had made a guest appearance, previously), as the Prince Regent, with Fry turning up for a guest spot as the Duke of Wellington and Miranda Richardson as the daughter of a wealthy landowner, who masquerades as a highwayman. Series 4 brought it up to WW1, with Blackadder a captain in the British Army, with Baldrick as his Batsman. Tim McInnerny was back as Capt Darling, aid to Stephen Fry's Gen Melchett. Miranda Richardson had a guest role as a nurse, believed to be a spy. The first series uses Richard III as the jumping off point for the series, then introduces the fictional Richard IV as a short-term king, before Henry Tudor gains the throne. Henry then rewrites history to erase Richard IV. Blessed gains wait in each episode as he chews through the scenery (makes his Prince Vultan look like a subtle performance). Peter Cook was only in the first episode. The series begins a bit shaky, but gets better as it progresses. Series 2 had Ben Elton join as co-writer and he stayed for the rest, greatly improving the level of the quality, with the series often poking fun at history and modern life, through the lens of the past. In series 3, they have an election and have coverage of it, like a modern election, on tv, but delivered by a journalist (from a farming gazette) out a window, to a crowd below. There, we see Pitt the Younger become Prime Minister, right in the middle of his exams (they take the premise that he is a pubescent child, hence "The Younger.") He puts his own brother up in the election, against Black Adder's candidate, Baldrick. The brother is referred to as "Pitt, the Even Younger."
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on Dec 8, 2021 17:04:14 GMT -5
ps In the letters page, Diana Schutz prints responses to her rebuttal to David Malcolm Porta's diatribe, some of which attacks her for her viciousness, while others support her. Porta had criticized TM Maple, though Maple is one of those who chimes in and felt Porta was being sarcastic, not serious, ribbing him, and felt Diana took it a bit far in response. In the end, she declares she will handle obnoxious letters by ignoring them, rather than printing them so she can attack them.
See? Don't feed the trolls.
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on Dec 18, 2021 19:16:53 GMT -5
Jonny Quest #11The Full Sienkiewicz... Creative Team: William Messner-Loebs-writer, Joe Staton-pencils, Rick Burchett-inks, Bob Pinaha-letters, Rick Taylor-colors, Diana Schutz-editor (or, as the credits list, "barking") This is a really good one, told from Bandit's POV. Synopsis: Dr Quest is boarding an airliner for a trip to an awards ceremony. Kathy is there, furthering their relationship, kissing him goodbye, while the boys complain about mush. Race is going to be busy working on Quest 1, which has engine trouble. Bandit is bored and his attention gets drawn to a butterfly, which leads to a merry chase and some exploration. He realizes he has lost sight of his family and starts to look for them, when he hears a cry for help, in his own language. He runs to render assistance and finds two men smashing a window of a car to grab the dog inside, who is yipping for help. Being the true blue hero that he is, Bandit leaps to her defense... Bandit is a tough fighter; but, the two hairless apes are bigger than him and they are able to hold him and take him along with the other poor dog, and throw them into a van. Meanwhile, Dr Quest's plane has departed and the group is headed for their car. Kathy asks Jonny where Bandit is and he says he is probably somewhere ahead, since he is too smart to run off or get lost. They hear a cry and rush to see what is happening and find the owner of the car that the two thugs broke into. She tells them her dog has been stolen. Jonny examines the ground and finds Bandit's collar. Inside the van, Bandit thinks it is hard to move, after the two men jabbed him with a needle. he wants to bite and tear and escape, but he cannot move and feels sluggish. The dognappers take him to someone named Michael's place, and Bandit is tossed in with a large, aggressive dog. At the Quest compound, Race tells Hadji that they gave the police a statement; but the police weren't very hopeful. Jonny is depressed and cannot eat and goes to his room. The aggressive dog snarls at Bandit and mutters, "Kill! Hurt you" and another dog tells him the big dog is old and hurt, from his last fight. The dog says he has been put in with them to die. Bandit asks what he means and he says the humans make them fight. bandit asks "Fight who?" The dog indicates a large, very aggressive rottweiler. The grey dog introduces himself to Bandit, giving his himan name and his pack name. He asks Bandit's names and he tells them Bandit is the only name he knows, having been among humans since he was a puppy. He says he thinks it means "Clever and courageous." Dr Quest talks to Jonny on the phone and tries to cheer him up, but Jonny is worried that Bandit is alone and hungry, possibly hurt. Kathy is going to take him to see someone who searches for lost dogs, but Jonny has trouble maintaining any optimism. We see Jonny staring at a photo of him holding Bandit and, after getting off the phone, lays his head in his arms and cries. The next morning, Kathy takes Jonny to an animal shelter to meet Rick Brown, who fills Jonny in on dognapping and the motives and Jonny becomes even more anxious, for good reason... Bandit and the dogs are fed what smells like rotting meat, while the rottweiler is starved and beaten. Bandit is told it must be close to battletime. The dogs speak of their "pack leaders" and then Bandit tells them he didn't have a pack leader, he had a brother... 'Scuse me, I have something in my eye.......... SNIFF! Back at the compound, Race is busy tearing down the troublesome engine. Jonny refrains from asking him to go searching for Bandit and he and Hadji decide to go on their own. they hit on the idea to use high powered microphones to listen for Bandit's bark and they go out searching. The get several false signals, from family pets, but Jonny eventually picks up a lot of dogs barking and one sounds like Bandit. He goes to investigate. He gets a cold shoulder and threats and smells a rat. He goes to call Rick Brown. Inside, Bandit listens to the older dog whimper from his aches and pains and the smell of fear and death. The old one who Bandit first met speaks of geese flying overhead and Bandit comforts him as life ebbs out of him. Then he is silent. At the conference, Benton is walking with a friend and notices a lost or stray dog and thinks of Jonny and Bandit. He tells his friend he might get a chance to accept an award. Back at the house where the dogs are held, Rick watches from a hidden spot and sees them begin to move the animals. he accidentally makes a noise and is attacked by the thugs and knocked cold. Bandit hears the commotion and decides it is time to act. He is able to trip the latch on the cage and get out. he then goes on to prove the Bandit does mean "Clever and Courageous"...... Bandit pushes water to Slasher, the rottweiler and tries to calm him, to get him to see that they have to work together. Bandit tends the dog's wound, to get him to accept him; but, one of the thugs finds him and kicks him back into the cage. Back at the Quest compound, we see an answering machine. Race calls in to tell Jonny to stay put and that they found Rick's car dumped in the river and he is missing. He tells Jonny to stay home, for his own safety. That is followed by a message from Jonny, to Race, that he and Hadji are going to the suspect house. At the house, the thugs remove the stolen poodle for the fight and Bandit leaps to her rescue and clamps his teeth into the man's arm. The hood kicks him away and stuns him, then goes to beat his brains in. Slasher snarls and growls, then snaps his chain. Upstairs, Jonny and Hadji confront the other hood. the guy threatens them and cocks a fist, then gets knocked on his ass.... ...by Dr Quest! They guy says he is breaking and entering and Dr Quest tells him to call the police, then they will talk about missing dogs and Rick Brown. They hear a yell and then Bandit runs up from the basement, through the man's legs and into Jonny's arms. The hood pulls a gun and says he is walking out and no one is going to stop him. then, the other dogs come charging up, following Bandit's lead. Dr Quest shields the boys from the sight. Later, the Quests and Kathy tend to teh tamer dogs, while they wait for someone from the Humane Society to collect the dogs and care for them and place them in homes. Slasher and many of the others ran off. Rick is in the hospital, but mostly just bruised and a bit of a concussion. the two dognappers survived and are in police custody. One of the dogs tells Bandit that he is truly the pack leader and bandit does mean "Clever and Courageous." Bandit nuzzles into Jonny's arm and smiles. Dammit....something in my eye again..........someone must be chopping onions......... Thoughts: It is a crime against literature that Bill Loebs stopped getting work! If you ask me, it was motivated by pure jealousy. The man can write circles around the bulk of his contemporaries and successors. I'm not ashamed to admit that I cry every time I read this story and I probably have read it close to a dozen times, since it was published. Put simply, it is the best story of the series and one of the most moving stories I have ever read in comics. Bill Loebs takes an animal character, who was added to the cartoon as comic relief, and treated mostly for comedy, and made him a real character, with thoughts and feelings, and, yes, brains and courage. In the cartoon, Bandit was forever getting into trouble, because of his over-curious nature. Here, it leads him astray, but he ends up dognapped because he leapt to the defense of a helpless pedigreed pet. Puddles was no adventure-seeker, like Bandit; but, Bandit proved that he is just as heroic as Race, diving into the fray without regard for his own safety. Meanwhile, Bill gives the animals a real voice, to give us an idea of the relationship between human and animal, from the animal's perspective. When you bring an animal into your home, you are accepting the responsibility to care for them, to love and nurture them, seeing to their health and well being. In turn, they will give you love and companionship; but you must give of yourself to receive it. They are not your "property." They are part of your family and should be treated as such. We see some of the dogs did as their humans commanded, deferring to them as pack leaders. Bandit says he has no pack leader, only a brother; and, Jonny is just that. He shares his life and adventures with Bandit, giving him unconditional love and Bandit returns it in kind. Jonny would not rest until he had found Bandit, when he is taken away. Their bond is stronger than most bonds between humans. Meanwhile, Loebs also lets Dr Quest be human, too. Too often, he is played as the reserved scientist, the authority figure, rather than a parent. Loebs never does that and always treats Benton as a real person; a bit reserved, but a loving father and a good friend. Benton hears the distress in his son's voice and wants to be there for him, but he is far away. He knows Race is there to look after Jonny, but it is his son and he is in emotional pain. Meanwhile, Bandit is part of his family and when he spots the poor, scared stray dog, he resolves to help Jonny and Bandit and abandons his conference and award. Jonny means more to him than recognition and symposiums. Science can wait while a boy is reunited with his best friend. When Benton makes his surprise entrance, we are elated. Loebs lets him have his badass moment, shoving the hood down and calling his bluff, striking righteous fear in the criminal. He threatened Jonny and Hadji, stole Bandit.....if not for H-B's approval, I suspect Loebs might have let Benton beat the snot out of the man. Race would have had to pull him off. But, Loebs is a clever writer and this is Bandit's story; so, Benton is the cavalry coming to the rescue for Jonny & Hadji; but Bandit is the hero who saves the day. Who else in comics could take a comic relief and turn him into a hero for the ages? Not many and Bill Leobs did it and damned if he didn't do it better than anyone in the business! Joe Staton is perfect for this and Rick Burchett is in perfect sync with him. Staton's cartoony style both lends itself to the H-B models, but it also brings an expressiveness that transcends species. Station makes the dogs come alive, with their body language and faces, adding the extra touches to Loebs' narration and dialogue. We see the fear and hatred in the eyes of the smaller dogs and Slasher. We see the ache and longing of Jonny and we see they joy when Bandit leads the escape and is reunited with his brother. We see the respect that the pack shows to its leader, Bandit, a clever and courageous dog. Damn onions, again........ SNIFF.....HONK......(wipe) Good boy, Bandit! The issue also brings to light the very real underworld of dog fighting, where pets and strays are dognapped and used as training fodder and appetizers to fighting dogs. This story was very real then and still holds true now. It wasn't that long ago that NFL player Michael Vick was embroiled in a scandal involving dog fighting. I am not a violent person and oppose the death penalty; but, when it comes to those who abuse animals or children, I am not so sure I wouldn't respond in violence. I had to take part in a court martial of a warrant officer who sexually abused his stepdaughter and was glad I wasn't wearing a sidearm, as I wasn't sure I wouldn't have used it after hearing the testimony in court. The same is true for anyone who abuses animals, especially something like this. To thrill at the sight or even thought of animals, especially pets, fighting to the death sickens and angers me to the point that reason loses hold. The British detective series Touch of Frost ended it's run with a two-part episode, where Detective Inspector Frost is working with an RSCPA officer to catch an illegal dogfighting ring, which is related to the murder of a teenage boy and the attempted murder of the RSCA officer. Even after they have broken up the dog fight event, the animals that are taken in have to be put down, because they are too violent to be placed in care. These poor, innocent creatures have to die, because some human beat, starved and conditioned their basic nature out of them and left only the instinct to kill. To me, that is as much murder as actually killing the animals themselves. If there is a Hell, there is a special place in it for humans like that, where they face the animals and the tables are turned. Enough of that. Bill Loebs gives us a happy ending, though he does deliver a few emotional gut punches, along the way. Next time, he takes us on a treasure hunt and Kathy gets to tag along. We also get the return of the incomparable Dan Spiegle. After that, I will take a break from the regular series to explore the three issues of Jonny Quest Classics, where Doug Wildey gets to adapt three favorite episodes, from the cartoon series. Episode Review: "Dragons of Ashida" We open with a small brown man, in ragged clothes, running for his life. he looks back and we see what he is running from: two extremely large lizards and a cyclops. The lizards are large enough to appear like dragons of myth and their handler is much the same, a large, bulky Japanese man, with an eypatch and a loincloth, looking like a sumo who came out of the match scarred, but who is tough enough to control two "dragons," bigger than the largest crocodiles. Indeseration, the man leaps from a cliff, to the ocean below. He is able to catch a log and float and he eventually comes across a ship and cries out to it. Luckily for him, it is Dr Quest's research vessel and Bandit hears his cries and alerts Jonny and Hadji. They alert Dr Quest and get a boat hook to pull the man in. They tend to him while he babbles warnings not to go to the island because of the dragons and wars of Ashida, the man behind them. Dr Quest is there to meet Dr Ashida, a noted researcher in the field of genetics and zoology. Dr Quest dismisses the idea of dragons and theorizes that they might be large monitor lizards, but definitely recognizes the fear the man has of Ashida and is on his guard when he lands and is greeted by Dr Ashida. On the island, Dr Ashida beats the cyclops for losing the runaway and threatens to feed him to the dragons, when he is interrupted by a houseboy, who tells him that his visitors have arrived. He welcomes them into his home and gives them refreshments. Dr Quest thanks him for his hospitality and then they get the first hint that Ashida is not a benevolent man, when he calls the island, "Ashida," after himself, demonstrating a bit of arrogance. he takes them on a tour, where he denies any knowledge of why the native would fear them and passes it off as madness. Dr Quest mentions the draons and Dr Ashida chuckles and says he does have dragons and shows them to the Quests. he forst shows them a small lizard, like a monitor lizard, called the Tabura Lizard. It isn't much bigger than an iguana. he remarks that it was nearly extinct when he arrived on the island, 20 years before. he then shows them the next stage, a larger and more aggressive version, complete with dorsal fins and teeth that snap a rod in two. He then shows him his crowning glory, the big monsters, spanning 14 and a half feet, from head to tail. He laughs as he says they owe his existence to him and calls them the Ashida Dragons. Jonny asks what they eat and Ashida teases they would eat him, if he let them. bandit growls and Ashida chuckles that he would be a fine delicacy to them, and Bandit yelps and hides behind Jonny. He then tells them that they are flesh eaters and cannibalistic, in the absence of other food. the only one who can control them is Sumi. he shows them Sumi, who is the cyclops, dressed like a sumo wrestler.... Dr Quest keys in on the idea that the natives were dragon worshipers and Ashida confirms this, then says he gave them a new god, himself. He then proposes a conquest, pitting the dragons against ne another, but Dr Quest demands he stop the barbaric display. Dr Ashida later defends his practices as survival of the fittest, and compares it to Sumi's prowess in combat, revealing he is an expert also in judo and karate. He further reveals that he is Sumi's pupil, in the martial arts. He ends up challenging Race to a match, with Race remarking that he outweighs him by at least 20 pounds. Dr Ashida dismisses the disparity, due to his judo training. They change into gis and have a match, which Ashida initiates, while Race is still bowing. Race decides if that is the way Ashida wants it, then he will not hold back. Ashida tries to kick Race, while he is on all fours and Race blocks it and throws Ashida on his back. Dr Qyest calls for an end to the contest and Race agrees, then Ashida declines, as he grabs Race in a rear naked choke. Race then executes a textbook ippon seoi nage shoulder throw, sending Ashida crashing into a table and he concedes the match. The Quests are shown to quarters to rest and change, before dinner. While there, Dr Quest makes up his mind to leave. He feels that Ashida is a dangerous man and the authorities should be warned. They team sneaks out, but find themselves pursued by a dragon and treed, before Ashida calls off the monster, making them his prisoners. he offers them a sporting chance. if Race can defeat Sumi, in a match, they can go free. Dr Quest objects; but, Race tells him they have no choice. They prepare and Dr Quest still opposes the bout and doesn't give Race much of a chance; but, race sees it as their only way out. besides, he's Race F@#$ing Bannon and he eats sumo for breakfast (with sliced banana and orange juice, for a well rounded meal). They square off and Race bumps around for Sumi and Dr Quest tries to call it off, but Race stops him. Sumi misses the big splash and Race starts making his comeback. Sumi charges and Race monkey flips him ( tomoe nage) through two walls! Sumi recovers and charges again and Race hits him with two flying tackles, then ties him up in a surfboard, forcing him to submit.... Dr Ashida reneges on his promise and pulls a pistol out of his sleeve and orders his houseboy to prepare the "special room" for the Quests. The housebouy pulls a cord and the group is dropped through a trap door, into a holding cell. Bandit sniffs around and discovers that the cell door is unlocked. Dr Quest smells a trap, but it is their only way out. Race figures Ashida is luring them into another chase with the dragons and figures he can distract them enough to give Dr Quest and the boys a chance to escape to the ship. The sneak outside and when the hear the dragons, they split up. Race draws Sumi's attention and draws him and the dragons away from Dr Quest and the boys. race makes like Tarzan and takes to the trees and swings on vines. He spots a boulder on a cliff and climbs up, drawing Sumi to send a dragon in a climb up the hill. Race drops the boulder on it (with footage recycled from the Pygmy episode) and takes one out. he then heads for the cliffs to dive in and swim to the ship. The dragon closes in and charges at him and Race leaps up and grabs a tree branch that overhangs the mouth of the tunnel that leads out onto the cliffs (seen hanging there when the native dove off, at the start of the episode). the dragon misses him and tumbles over the edge and falls to its death, on the rocks below. Race swan dives into the ocean, escaping Sumi. Sumi reports back to Ashida, who threatens to feed him to the dragons. Sumi has had enough and picks Ashida up and tosses him into the dragon pit, where he is devoured by his own monsters. The Quests sail away, with Dr Quest remarking that Ashida will get his, one way or another, as we see one of the dragons in the distance. Thoughts: Another favorite episode and one that comes up with a more convincing monster. The dragons are obviously inspired by the Komodo Dragons, a species of monitor lizards native to the Komodo island, in the Indonesian archipelago. Komodo dragons were discovered by westerners, in 1910, after reports of large "land crocodiles". The average size is between 7 and 8 ft, with 10 feet as the largest recorded. They are carnivorous and there have been recorded attacks on humans. The consume up to 80% of their bodyweight, at feeding, but then feed on only a few occasions, as little as 12 times, in a year. Dr Ashida's dragons are the product of genetic breeding experiments, over time, breeding successively larger specimens. He obvious encourages both their predatory behavior and instills a fighting aggressiveness, via combat. Given that this was broadcast in the 60s and Ashida has been on the island 20 years, it would suggest that he came there, during the war. The likely location, based on the monitor lizard and the general look of the natives would suggest Indonesia, on an island like Komodo. The Japanese did attack and occupy much of Indonesia and the Dutch East Indies, to obtain their oil reserves. Whether Ashida was an Army officer or researcher is unknown. he certainly fits the fanatical profile of the militarists that ruled Japan, during the war, with the same Darwinian attitude, making him a right little fascist. That is probably by design, as the war was still a recent memory and the depiction of Japanese soldiers in war movies of the era reinforces the wartime attitudes and stereotypes. At least Ashida isn't drawn as a racial caricature and Sumi is designed to look like a deadly man-mountain. However, as the UFC has proven, sumo isn't a particularly rounded combat sport and no sumo has fared well in MMA combat. In the first UFC, Dutch savate fighter Gerard Gordeau knocked three teeth out of the mouth of sumo Teila Tuli and then proceeded to batter him until the fight was stopped. One of the teeth was embedded in Gordeau's foot! 600 lb Emanuel Yarborough fought kempo practitioner Keith Hackney and Hackney avoided him and then landed a solid punch to the face that knocked Yarborough down and then proceeded to rain paunches on his head until Yarborough submitted. yarborough also lost to a Japanese fighter in another bout, in Japan, despite taking the fighter down and attempting to smother him under his weight. Sumo trains only for sumo rules. At least Sumi was given the backstory of also being a master of karate and judo; but, you still knew Race was going to clean his clock. the fight is booked like a textbook pro wrestling match, with the monster getting the early advantage, before the babyface makes his comeback and wins the fight in spectacular fashion. This is one of the best written episodes, mixing a plausible maniac and a credible monster, with thrilling suspense that makes it a real nail-biter. The image of the native running and the dragons hunting in the jungle is used in the opening titles. "The Dragons of Ashida" usually ranks in the top 5 of the series episodes, in polls.
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on Dec 29, 2021 23:33:35 GMT -5
Jonny Quest #12The full Wildey..... Race is about to F someone up! Creative Team: William Messner-Loebs-writer, Dan Spiegle-art, Carrie Spiegle-letetrs, Tom Reilly-colors, Diana Schutz-editor Pin-ups by Ken Steacy and John K Snyder III Synopsis: A young girls is running, in the rain, from a panther. She stumbles and all looks lost, until we see a man, in a loincloth, with a spear; and, I'm pretty sure he isn't Mowgli, Tarzan or either brother of the Spear! Meanwhile, the next morning, at the Quest compound, on Palm Key, Benton is telling Kathy about the Invisible Monster and she isn't buying it and pokes fun at Benton, which earns her a kiss.... ...and then Jonny walks in and it gets awkward. Jonny says he has finished his chores and he and Bandit are going outside. Kathy tells Benton that Jonny seems upset about their relationship and the doc is clueless but asks if he should have a talk with him? Kathy says she would like to try and she goes out to try to make friends with Jonny; but he blows her off, saying Bandit doesn't like it outside and they must go somewhere else. He is polite, but cold to her. He is far more animated when he storms into his bedroom, where Hadji is busy levitating and doing his magic tricks. Jonny says he hates her and that she was making fun of their adventures, like they were lying. Hadji, far more calm, suggests he wouldn't, either, had he not seen them. He asks if that is what is making Jonny mad or the fact that he saw her kissing Dr Quest. Jony admits that they might marry her dad and then she'd be his mom and he would have to forget his birth mother. Kathy is sitting on the dock of the bay, watching the tide roll her way, when a stranger comes up. His name is Elmer Garfield and he is in need of special help. he tells her that a herd of Bigfoot (Bigfeet?) have been plaguing his farm and his daughter was taken away in a spaceship. Elsewhere, Race asks Dr Quest for some data and finds him plagued by relationship issues. Race gives him some advice.... Kathy comes in an tells the men about Elmer and his Bigfeet (Bigfoots?) and tries to not giggle and says they look like cave men and suddenly Race and Dr Quest are talking about gathering equipment and prepping Quest 1 to fly out and Kathy thinks they might not be kidding. They load up and Dr Quest questions Elmer about events, while Kathy asks Jonny if there trips are always so spontaneous. Jonny starts to give her a cold answer, then recognizes a chance to scare her off and ups the ante to make it sound like they are always tearing away in a rush to some crazy corner of the world. Kathy smells a rat. Dr Quest asks Elmer if his farm is near mountains, with thick forests and he confirms it. they talk about the boys and Dr Quest says Jonny is very much like his mother and Kathy asks about her and benton speaks of her in such glowing terms that Kathy feels 3 inches tall and ugly as a toad. She vows to become and adventuress and show Benton and Jonny smirks, figuring this will run her off. Somewhere, Haley Mills is smiling. They land near the area where Elmer's daughter disappeared. he shows them the charred area, where the spaceship landed. Elmer leaves them to it and Kathy questions the seriousness of Benton. he explains there have been troglodyte sightings in the area before; but nothing recent and would like to solve the mystery of the sightings, whether real, hoax, or hysteria; but, mostly, find the girl. Race identifies the ash as from wood fire, not any kind of propulsion heat. They start searching and Benton warns Kathy that there might be bears or wildcats and she poo-poos the idea, then stumbles into a hole and disappears. She has discovered and cavern that was formed by lava flows, in the past. They go spelunking and Kathy tries her best, but she isn't a trained adventurer. They use ultraviolet and sonic scanners to track the alleegd cave men and find tracks. Jonny notes they aren't much bigger than average and Benton explains that past footprint discoveries have been in areas with frequent snow and water can enlarge the size of footprints. Science in action! Kathy discovers a cave painting, which is fresh. Benton starts toe xamine it and Kathy says she is going to scout the area and takes off as Benton and Race set up equipment. Benton tells Jonny and Hadji to go after her and make her stay put and they and Bandit go after her. then, Dr Quest and Race are accosted by cave men! Hadji tells Jonny that his wish will come true, as Dr Quest thinks Kathy is foolish and may not marry her. Jonny feels guilty and says his father may remain lonely, because of him. They catch up to her and Jonny tries to tell her she doesn't need to act like this and Kathy slips down a mudhole and discovers another chamber below, possibly an underground river. Jonny and Hadji drive down spikes and lower ropes and go down to help her. It is an underground river and there is a large stone bridge to the other side and up. She says they can cross on stones to reach the bridge and the stones turn out to be large turtles. Kathy runs to escape them, running across backs and ends up on the other side, where Hadji and Jonny meet her, after crossing on real stones. Then, a bear turns up. Kathy tries to scare it off boldly and ticks it off (she didn't have a pick-a-nick basket!) and they haul gluteus. They run to get across the center of the stone bridge, before the bear, because the boys don't think it will hold its weight. It doesn't and they barely make it, with Kathy hanging on the edge. Jonny pleads with her to stop and explains he knows what she is doing.... They hear voices and it is Elmer. They follow the sound and find a large chamber, where Elmer, Race and Benton are tied to stakes and Race is hurt. They aren't certain they are going to escape, when Kathy walks in. She goes over to Dr Quest, who tells her to run, but she won't leave him. he explains the tribe are neanderthals, who have remained unchanged, but moved underground. They have Betsy and have been caring for her, as she tells them. Kathy calls out to the girl, who is inside a hut. She was cut running from the panther and it is swelled up and hurts. Dr Quest knows she needs help and the tribe can't provide antibiotics, but won't let them near the girl, because they fear the men will harm her. Kathy says she is going to try something and she walks to the hut, showing that she is unarmed. She is allowed in and finds Betsy. She carries her out to see Dr Quest, so he can examine her leg. A warrior raises a spear and Jonny and Hadji prepare to hit him with stones, when he lowers it, seeing Kathy isn't hurting the girl. Jonny and Hadji relax. We cut to later and Race is recuperating at a hospital and Kathy talks to him on the phone, saying he can't be released without Dr Quest's say-so and be a good patient, like young Betsy. She hangs up and spots Jonny carrying a large box of things out of his room. She asks if he is doing some spring cleaning and he says he is getting rid of some old things that would be in her way, since she will be around a lot. Kathy isn't dumb and asks if they are things from Jonny's mother. She takes them back into the room and asks Jonny to sit down and talk and she tells him she doesn't want him to forget his mother and asks him to tell her about his mother and the items.... Thoughts: The cave men mystery sounds like classic Quest; but, it is really just a device to bring Kathy along and to explore how her relationship has upset the dynamic between Jonny and his father and how they both have been without a female presence in their lives for so long and have to adjust. Meanwhile, Kathy is feeling inferior to Benton's description of Jonny's mother and goes overboard trying to prove herself to be an equal. Jonny realizes he hasn't been kind to Kathy and given her a chance and Kathy learns that she doesn't have to be anyone but herself. Kathy is the one to figure out how to get to Betsy and assure the troglodytes that they mean no harm, using her training as a social worker. This is really about relationships and making space for new people to come into them, while holding on to the memories of those who are gone. Jonny learns that he can treasure the memories of his mother and still have room for Kathy. Dr Quest also realizes that he has been afraid to meet someone new, burying himself in work and adventures. It's a nice character piece, with doses of humor to keep it from getting too serious. Here is John K Snyder III's pin-up.... and Ken Steacy's ultra-cool one, that gets to the heart of Jonny Quest.... Man I wish Steacy would have done more comics! Episode Review: "Turu the Terrible" Somewhere in South America (probably the Amazon), a panther stalks the jungle, then loud shrieks are heard from a mountain. We zoom in on a cave opening and see a pteranadon appear in the opening and take flight, then swoop down on a pair of natives, in a dugout canoe. It grabs one and flies off, leaving the other near death. The Quest are downriver, where Dr Quest examines a specimen of trinoxite, a metal "vital to the space program." It is far purer than samples from any of the world's mines. He got the sample from a native and his brother, who said they got it from "The Land of the Turu." Jonny and Hadji call to them and say they have spotted an empty canoe and they discover the brother unconscious, in it. He awakens and babbles about "Turu." Dr Quest treats him and explains that"Turu" means bird. The native sketches out the creature and Dr Quest recognizes a pteranadon, but says that it is impossible. They load up a boat to investigate. The board a small steamer, called the Amazon Queen and head upriver, where they have to pass through crocodile country. The boat is attacked by crocs, even though that goes against all study of crocodiles; but, hey, this has a giant pteranadon! They shoot a bunch of them and move on. They set up camp and hear the shrieks of Turu, in the night. They see his shadow pass across the moonlight. Turu attacks their camp. Turu returns to the cave and is met by an old man in a wheel chair. he has a whole group of slaves working a mine, all living in fear of Turu, which he controls. The next day,t he Quests narrowly escape another attack by Turu and decide to go hunting, with jetpacks and a bazooka! Tur grabs Dr Quest and Race fires a bazooka rocket at it to get him to release Dr Quest and then Benton saves himself with his jetpack. They go back up, armed and discover the mine. The old man thinks they are mining silver. Dr Quest and Race free the slaves and are spotted by the old man, who sicks Turu on them. Race hits him with bazooka rockets and the creature drops into a tar pit and sinks. The old man goes in after him and perishes. The natives are reunited with their families and the Quests head back down the river. Thoughts: Another favorite, one of the best episodes in the series and a fan favorite. This was one of the episodes that got a VHS release, back in the early 90s, as a solo tape. It is very imaginative and exciting and the shrieking audio effect is chilling. Footage of Turu and Dr Quest and Race in the rocket packs were used in the opening and end credits. They call the jet packs "rocket belts," which matches the name that Bell gave to their experimental jet pack, seen in the movie Thunderball. Turu's coloring is different in the episode, than in the credit sequences. Here, he has a dark outer area and a purple underbelly, while he is completely purple in the credits. The Amazon Queen is swiped form Bogey's little steamer, in The African Queen and the name is on the hull to give the inspiration a nod. Henry Corden voices the skipper, though he isn't drawn to look like Bogey; just a generic sailor with a captain's hat. The mountain is volcanic and we see geysers and other indications of volcanic activity, which is Dr Quest's theory for how Turu exists there, saying the temperatures must have preserved the specie's environment. However, Turu appears to be the last of his kind. The only thing missing from this, from my viewpoint, is Turok and Andar! Great episode. Next, we begin our look at the 3-issue Jonny Quest Classics, as Doug Wildey adapts 3 of his favorite episodes. The actual episodes will be covered with them.
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on Jan 5, 2022 16:34:37 GMT -5
Jonny Quest Classics #1Creative Team: Doug Wildey-everything, Dian Schutz-whatever was left So, the premise of this mini-series is that Doug Wildey is adapting 3 of his favorite episodes of his creation. These are painted and scripted by Wildey, adapting the episodes which he developed and supervised. The first is "Shadow of the Condor." Since these are adaptations, I will combine the issue review with the episode review and remark mainly about the differences, aside from general thought on the story. Synopsis: Somewhere in the Andes Mountains, in Chile, a man with a German accent is firing at a condor, but only clips a wing. nearby, the Quests are flying over the mountain range, when the Dragonfly has problems with their fuel feed and Race needs to set the plane down quickly, in this remote area. Jonny, amazingly, spots a mountain airstrip below. It is a short runway, but Race has no choice and tells everyone to brace for a rough landing. With skill and dexterity, Race sets the aircraft down safely and is able to brake before the go off the strip.... Our condor hunter witnesses the landing, from the ground and marvels at the skill of the pilot. He and his servant go to greet their guests. The Quests see a German-style schloss, a castle/chateau. They open the aircraft door and are introduced to Baron Heinrich Von Froelich and his mute servant Julio. Dr Quest introduces his party. The Baron offers Race his fully equipped workshop to effect repairs and Bandit express displeasure with meeting the Baron, with a low growl. Jonny apologizes and says it takes Bandit a little time to get to know people. The Baron says he and Bandit have something in common. The Quests meet the Baron's dachshund, Willy. At the schloss, he treats them to dinner and he and Race talk about the two vintage WW1 aircraft he had on the strip: a Fokker-D7 and a SPAD. Bandit notice a stuffed condor and growls at it. The Baron remarks about the condor and says they have been known to carry off small animals and he never lets Willy out alone. The Quests prepare for bed and Jonny remarks to Hadji that the place is spooky and there is something creepy about the Baron. In their room, Dr Quest remarks to Race he recalls the Barons name. he had 84 kills and wanted to make an even hundred when the armistice came, enraging him. Elsewhere, the Baron does a bit of sabotage on the Dragonfly, while Willy watches. He isn't the only one, as Julio observes, from the shadows. Later, in the morning, Willy entices Bandit to play and goes outside, with Bandit chasing after him. A condor flies above and swoops down to catch one of the small animals. Willy is able to hide, but Bandit is caught and carried into the air. Luckily for him, the condor loses it's grip and Bandit drops into the fountain below, the water breaking his fall. Jonny and Hadji find him and bring him along. They hear gunshots and find the Baron at target practice and Race has a try, knocking a loose feather off the condor target. The Baron is impressed and says his flying and shooting skills would make him a worthy opponent, in the air. Race then tells the Baron that their plane has been tampered with and the troubled relief valve removed. The Baron blames Julio, who must have been curious and poking around in there. The Baron suggests the relief valve might have broken loose in the rough landing. Race says maybe, but he needs to contact Valpraiso to get a replacement. The Baron tells him there are no radios or phones and the road to the mountain is cut off, due to a landslide. he offers his SPAD to Race, telling him it is in excellent condition. Race accepts and the Baron provides him with flying gear. Race gets dressed and tells Dr Quest he feels like he walked out of the Late, Late Show. They are interrupted by Julio, who can speak... He warns them that the Baron is an evil man and then leaves. Outside, the boys play fetch, with bandit and then overhear the Baron speaking angrily. They spot him through a ground window, where he has Julio tied to a chair and is beating him, asking where Willy is and what he told the Quests. despite the severe blows, Julio remains quiet. The Baron leaves and Hadji and Jonny sneak in and free Julio. he tells them that the Baron intends to kill Race, in a dogfight. They take the Baron's car to the airstrip to warn them. At the strip, the Baron insists on escorting Race through the mountains and they take off, though the Baron remarks it is the first time he has flown without Willy, his good luck charm. The car pulls up as the planes lift off and Jonny tells his father about the Baron. Dr Quest says Race is a good pilot and they will have to hope for the best; but, Julio says the Baron's guns are loaded, while the SPAD is not. Race notices the Baron pull abreast and that he is smiling at him. He knows something is fishy. he then loses the Baron in the sun, as he moves into an attack position, striking from above. Race makes evasive maneuvers and tries his own guns and finds them empty. All he has is his flying skill to avoid being shot down. The Baron has hit some of his control surfaces and it is affecting the performance of the SPAD.... The Baron fires some shots, which hit the area around the condor's nest and it takes flight. The Baron has Race in his sights and is about to fire, when the condor swoops at his face, talons bared. The Baron reacts and his Fokker smashes into the side of the mountain. Race is able to land safely and they find the missing relief valve, so they can leave. They offer to take Julio away; but he says he will remain at the house, with Willy, now that the Baron is gone. They say good bye and we close on a shot of the condor in flight, the King of the Andean Skies. Thoughts: This is another of my favorites, of the series. My dad had a deep love of planes and aviation and he passed it on to my brother and I. As such, we loved movies about airplanes and such, especially the WW1 days of Richthofen and Rickenbacker, and groups like the Lafayette Escadrille. This episode has that, in spades. In the issue, there is an interview with Doug Wildey and he expresses a fondness for old WW1 aviation movies and that he wanted to keep the series fresh by not overdoing the "world is in danger" plots. This was perfect and he put extra time and budget into the episode. He hired comic strip and comic book artist Warren Tufts, of Casey Ruggles fame (the syndicated aviation comic strip), to help with the story and design and Tufts threw everything into it, preferring to do most things himself. He and Wildey crafted a great episode and many of the sequences in it are superb, a step up from usual standards, in some shots. The dogfight, at the climax, is as exciting as anything done in Hollywood and has some great camera shots, though there are plenty of side views, as the Baron tries to shave off Race's rudder, with the Fokker's prop. In the comic, Wildey has the damage to Race's plane come from bullet hits, rather than the prop trick, since that action would be hard to achieve without damaging the Baron's own plane. In general, the comic truncates some scenes and stages a couple slightly differently. For instance, when the Quests retire to their rooms, there is a scene of Jonny and Hadji saying their prayers and Dr Quest reminding them to include their host, the Baron, to which Jonny adds "and the spooky old Baron!" We observe as Julio listens at the door, as jonny and Hadji talk about the Baron and the surroundings and hear an owl hoot, then the shriek of the condor and they bury themselves under their blankets. There is also more room to establish the Baron's attachment to the past. He is the dogfight sequence, from the episode.... The character of the Baron is a bit of a mix of influences. The general plot of the story is taken from the short story, "The Most Dangerous Game," by Richard Connell, published in 1924. In the story, an acclaimed big game hunter and friend find their yacht damaged off an island, while travelling to the Amazon, for a Jaguar hunt. The island is owned by General Zarooff, who is aided by his deaf mute servant, Ivan. Zaroff knows of the shipwrecked hunter's reputation and stages a hunt, where the hero is the prey. The same thing is happening here, right down to the mute servant, though we learn that Julio only pretends to be mute. Also mixed in are fugitive Nazis, living in exile in Latin America. It was only a couple of years before the broadcast that Adolf Eichmann had been located and kidnapped by MOSSAD agents, in Argentina, and smuggled out of the country to stand trial, in Israel. In the issue's interview, Wildey said he had a developed backstory for the Baron, that he had plundered art treasures and was a wanted fugitive, hiding out in South America. The remoteness, his obsession with the glories of the past, and his outlaw nature combine to make him insane. The only problem is that the idea of him plundering art is more a factor of the Nazi conquest in WW2, than in WW1. Although the Germans controlled parts of France, at different stages of WW1, they did not control as much territory as in WW2, nor had the large scale plundering operations perpetrated by the Nazis. The Nazi Party owed much to veterans of WW1, who felt betrayed by the armistice (like Hitler), the WW1 generation of officers tended to be from the traditional upper classes. They weren't above a little plunder; but did not exercise it on the same scale. Of course Hermann Goring was one of the biggest figures of the Nazi plundering crimes and he was a member of Von Richtofen's squadron (assuming command, after the Baron's death). As such, perhaps the Baron was a supporter of the Nazis and used the opportunity to feather his nest, like Goring. One interesting area of departure from the cartoon and the comic is in the depiction of the Dragonfly. In the episode, we see the design as it originated, in the test sequence, for Jack Armstrong. A piece of that footage appears in the end credits, as a hovercraft flies into the cargo door of the Dragonfly and it rockets to takeoff. There are a few shots that are recycled from "Pursuit of the Po-Ho," which had the first (broadcast) extensive footage of the Dragonfly, in flight. This expands upon it with close-ups of the cockpit area and some side and 3/4 shots. The comic sees Doug redesigning the plane to look exactly like the Douglas X-3 Stiletto.... ....right down to the cockpit area and wing structure. The Dragonfly's wings were further aft and tilted upwards, while the stiletto had short, stubby wings, but at a flat angle. In the episode, the cockpit area resembles that of the North American XB-70 Valkyrie and the B-58 Hustler.... The D-7 and the SPAD are correct, in both, though, in the cartoon, the SPAD has American star roundels, painted on the wheel hubs. Doug painted them as blank. Again, a terrific story, with some stunning sequences in cartoon form and excellent painted work in the comic.
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on Jan 16, 2022 16:55:56 GMT -5
Jonny Quest Classics #2Great cover by Doug Wildey, giving us a different angle on the attempted assassination of Dr Quest. Creative Team: Doug Wildey-everything, Diana Schutz-everything else Once again, I will discuss this simultaneously with the animated episode, detailing in the Thoughts section what was done differently or left out or expanded. Synopsis: Dr Quest is in Calcutta, India, lecturing to a group of scientists. he demonstrates a device that projects concentrated sonic waves, which can be used with pinpoint accuracy to destroy a building, without damaging the surrounding area (neat trick!) Of course, Dr Quest thinks it will aid the earth-moving and demolition business, rather than be a powerful weapon to devastate an enemy. A government official asks to have a word with him in private and he later rejoins Race and Jonny (and Bandit), who want to do some sightseeing. They walk back to their hotel and Dr Quest fills in Race about the conversation with the official. A village to the north has been plagued by deadly illness and they suspect a nerve gas. The government asked Dr Quest to check into it and he and Race make plans for the next day, while Jonny tries to get Bandit to stop poking his nose into everything in the marketplace. He nearly pokes his nose into the wrong basket and meets up with cobras, being charmed by a young boy. Jonny pulls him back and they start to move on, when the boy notices a man about to hurl a knife at Dr Quest and he grabs a wooden lid and blocks the knife... Jonny misunderstands, when he sees the boy with the knife and grabs him. Dr Quest yells for him to stop, that the boy saved his life, then the boy monkey-flips Jonny over his head. He offers Jonny his hand and says "Friends?" and Jonny takes it and apologizes and asks where he learned judo. he tells him from an American Marine. The assassin is long gone and he is berated for failure, by the boss. He orders his minions to try again while he goes to the lab to help with finalizing the process. Dr Quest treats Jonny to a new suit, in gratitude and Jonny asks if he can accompany them north. The boy, Hadji, says he can be a guide and interpreter. Dr Quest says it will be up to Hadji's parents and he reveals that he is an orphan. Dr Quest says he will have to think about it, but we see Hadji guiding them the next day. They have to cross a bridge, but Race stops at the edge. He points out wood shaving to Dr Quest, then backs up the car. He rols down a boulder and the bridge gives way when it rolls across. The bridge had been weakened. They ask Hadji if there is another way to cross and he says no. They then hear helicopter rotors and think they are under attack, when Hadji tells them it is his friend, Pasha Peddler, a venerable man.... ....who sounds like a fast-talking salesman.... Pasha gives them a lift, in his helicopter (for a price). Another 30 clams buys them 4 parkas, as the weather is getting colder, as they fly over the mountains. Jonny spots a steel door, set in the side of a mountain and Race confirms it. Another 20 samoliens gets Pasha to set the chopper down nearby so Dr Quest and Race can do a recon. They take a peak, but the ground under Dr Quest gives way and he tumbles down the side of the escarpment, to the door below. Race watches helplessly as the door opens and a figure in a protective suit and gas mask finds Dr Quest and drags him inside.... Race returns and tells the boys and Pasha what happened and says he would need a bazooka to get inside. Pasha tells him that guns aren't his bag, man! However, he has an idea. They roll up a rug and pull out a sled. Race hides inside the rug and Pash steers the sled, loaded with goods, down to the door and knocks! A guard answers and Pasha tries to sell him a tablecloth, blocking his view of the sled, where Race slides out and slips in the doorway, behind the distracted guard. When he is inside, he gives Pasha a signal. The guard gives him a bigger one, pointing his weapon at him and telling him to move on. Elsewhere inside, Dr Quest is being interrogated by the boss we saw earlier, with the assassins. He asks where the rest of Dr Quest's men are and Race informs him, when he sucker-punches him from behind. He frees Dr Quest and the head out. They spot hooks on rails, for the factory line and use them to pass overhead without being seen by the workers and guards. Unfortunately, the boss is awake and hits the alarm. All hell breaks loose and Dr Quest and Race drop on a pair of guards and relieve them of their weapons. It all turns into the third act of a James Bond film and they fight their way outside and find a present, from Pasha... Race covers Dr Quest while he skis away, then takes to skis when he is out of ammo. He has dozens of guards on his heels and closing and Jonny steers him in the right direction and hops on.... Dr Quest uses the sonic device to drop a mountain on the hoods and it all crashes in through the open doorway and into the chemical works, triggering an explosion, which destroys the complex. Later, Pasha says goodbye as Hadji is about to fly off with the Quests, his new family. he helped smooth through the paperwork and Hadji says goodbye and Jonny and Bandit welcome him into the family. Thoughts: This was the episode that introduced Hadji, except it was actually broadcast after "Arctic Splashdown;" so, Hadji had already been seen (he is absent in "Mystery of the Lizard Men." The cartoon episode is actually told in a flashback, which is framed by the Quests watching a film of the avalanche hitting the secret lab entrance. The film came from Pasha and they recall the adventure and it transitions to Calcutta University and Dr Quest's lecture. In the episode, Dr Quest demonstrates the destructive power of sonic waves and tells the scientists it is their duty to explore the phenomena for beneficial uses. In an interview in this issue, Doug Wildey comments on public talk of new technology, always focusing on the beneficial aspects, yet the application of the same technology as a destructive weapon is obvious. He cites the laser and remarks of the then-new Space Defense Initiative (SDI), aka Ronald Reagan's "Star Wars" project for ballistic missile defense. Bandit snoops into Hadji's basket, outside the university entrance, where Race and Jonny await Dr Quest. The basket has a mongoose and there is a comedy chase between Bandit and the mongoose. Race and Jonny then go inside and hear the end of the elcture, then the trio leave together. this is when the assassin strikes and Hadji rescues Dr Quest. The staging is different in the comic. In the episode, Dr Quest treats Hadji to a lunch, to reward him and we see Hadji in a suit (with Nehru Jacket). In the comic, Dr Quest buys Hadji the new suit and Doug leaves off the luncheon. In the cartoon, at the end of the lunch, Hadji spots the assassin in a window and tells Jonny. They go out to the alley behind the restaurant to investigate and Hadji uses his flute to levitate a rope, which Jonny shinnies up to eavesdrop. bandit barks and Jonny has to duck under a balcony and hang from a support, as the man yells down at Hadji, who asks for 2 rupees to reveal the secrets of the ancients and he performs a disappearing trick with Bandit, using his turban. Hadji is seen with his head bare, showing a mop of black hair, while he places the turban over Bandit and lifts it up to reveal Bandit gone. The assassin tells him to go away. They then transition to the bridge sequence. The comic leaves out this element and the restaurant, instead moving from Hadji's new suit to the next day and the bridge. The cartoon has the Quests travelling in a DUKW... This was an amphibious vehicle, developed in WW2 and used at the Normandy landings and for crossing the Rhine. They were a highly versatile and highly prized vehicle by the Allies and remained in service, in many countries, into the 60s and beyond. They head to the area that Jonny overheard the hoods talk about and the bad guys sick a fighter plane on them. It's a twin-engine prop and I don't recognize a specific design. The pilot is seen wearing a garrison cap (what we used to call a p!$$-cutter, in the Navy) and headphones, instead of a flight helmet. He makes an attack run and Race evades, then suckers him into coming in low and fast and Race hits the breaks and the pilot can't pull up in time to avoid some trees and the plane is destroyed. This is followed by the bridge and the boulder test. Pasha then enters the scene and Jesse White hits them with hipster patter. Jesse White was a character actor, best known to modern audiences as the original Maytag Repairman, in their commercials in the late 70s and 80s (before he passed away and WKRP's Gordon Jump took over the role). He appeared in numerous comedy films and television shows, usually playing a fast-talking salesman. He also did voice work for animation, radio and comedy albums and was one of Stan Frieberg's stock company, both for his short-lived radio show, but also his albums and commercials (Stan did humorous commercials for a variety of products, including Gino's Pizza Rolls, Chung King foods, Sunsweet Pitted Prunes, and, later, Encyclopedia Brittanica). The recon of the secret lab exterior is similar to the episode, with some different angles. After Dr Quest is taken and Race sneaks in, the episode has Race sneaking through the facility and overhears a tech remark that they are close to perfecting the nerve gas. The men are all in chemical suits and respirators, yet Race isn't affected by anything. The basic look was likely inspired by Dr No and the radiation suits the villain and his men wear in the reactor room of his complex. In the comic, Race hits the boss from behind and he and Dr Quest sneak out, using the overhead rails and hoists. The boss is seen on all fours, recovering from being nocked out. He crawls to the alarm button and presses it. In the episode, Race grabs him from behind and clamps a hand over his mouth. We see Race and Dr Quest move on, then cut back to the office, where the boss is tied to a desk chair and gagged. The chair is on castors and the boss pushes away from the desk and rolls to the opposite wall, where the alarm button is and he stretches out a finger and hits the alarm. The gunfight is longer in the episode, while the comic has the highpoints and adds to the quantity of men involved. In the episode, Race fires a Thompson SMG at one of the overhead buckets and dumps a load of chemicals on the goons. He also drops some barrels down a catwalk onto pursuing hoods and grapples with another, monkey-flipping him into a chemical vat. He then drops the steel door on a pair of guards, so he and Dr Quest can leave. He and Dr Quest ski off together, while Doug had Dr Quest precede Race, in the comic. In the cartoon, they are pursued by the boss, who is still wearing his everyday suit, while skiing, and firing a Luger. Pasha can't start the helo, so the Quests ski on. Jonny takes a tumble and Race does the ski rescue seen in the comic. Dr Quest tries the sonic amplifier and creates the avalanche. The episode ends with the parting, at the airport, with Pasha and a gag that he realizes he hasn't been paid by the Quests, yet. He then says he'll just send them a bill. Footage from the episode appears in the opening and closing titles sequences. In the opening, the shots of the Mummy, from "Curse of Anubis," bursting through a wall are juxtaposed with the gun battle between Race and the hoods in chemical suits. In the end credits, footage is seen of Hadji playing the flute for the rope levitation, which also draws a cobra out of a basket (which is seen in the alley scene, in the cartoon, though played more for comedy). This is the only other episode where Hadji's hair is seen. In "Devil Doll," you can see Hadji without his turban, scuba diving, showing his black hair. Every other time you see Hadji in scuba gear, in other episodes, he is wearing the turban. He is seen in bed with it, in certain episodes. here, he is seen holding it, as he converses with the boss, at the balcony window and then puts the turban over Bandit and makes him disappear. As a Sikh, Hadji may not bare his head, in public, except in special circumstances, which makes the footage of other episodes make some sense. It is okay to bare the head in an emergency, as seen recently, in Canada, where a group of Sikhs used their turbans to help rescue a person from a river, in British Columbia, last October. the men used their turbans to make a rope to help pull a hiker out of the water, after they had fallen in. One of the tenets of Sikhism is serva; or, "selfless service." Hadji exemplifies this through the series (and the comics) as he uses his skills to aid others, for no reward. Here, he saves Dr Quest from a knife and guides them to the village and aids in the destruction of the nerve gas lab. Hadji finds himself rewarded with a new family, with whom he will share countless adventures. Hadji is referred to as Hindu, in "Curse of Anubis," but, this is incorrect and can be explained away as the Arab hood being ignorant that Hadji is a Sikh. The turban is part of the Sikh tradition and Sikh's reject Hinduism (particularly the polytheistic aspects), in favor of the teachings of the Guru Nanak and subsequent gurus. It also teaches that no religion has any monopoly on "Absolute Truth." This would figure into Hadji's openness to other cultures, moreso than Jonny. "The Riddle of Gold" shows Hadji expressing a fondness for hamburgers, suggesting that he eats meat, including beef. Sikhism does not have a doctrine against meat. though it does speak against consuming meat from sacrificial rites, which is part of a condemnation of such practices, rather than a prohibition against meat. Sikhs are free to decide for themselves whether to consume meat or not and Hadji, obviously, chose to eat meat and likes it. Hadji's surname, Singh, is one that is featured in many Asian communities, both Hindu and Sikh. In Sikh tradition, the surname was mandated as a rejection of the caste system, though the caste system still existed in many Sikh communities, sometimes more strongly than in Hindu communities, suggesting more of a regional than doctrinal basis. This is another of my favorites, as it gets into Hadji's backstory, provides a great mystery for the Quests to investigate, and has exciting action sequences. It also has a pretty high body count and you see some dead bodies on the ground, in the lab, after gunplay. remember, this was shown in prime time, with more leeway than Saturday morning, though the 60s cartoons were less censored than the 70s. Even in reruns, in the 70s, Jonny Quest was left relatively intact, even some of the more racist elements (like Race's dialogue, in "Pursuit of the Po-Ho"). Most censorship came in the 80s or later, apart from trimming, for time. The comic shows Doug giving the story a richer, more developed look and he opts to use different angles, especially to convey the action, since he can't use the motion of animation. The ski sequence has some really great panels that would have been prohibitively expensive to animate. As it was, the cartoon made it as exciting as it could, while maintaining a stock progression across the screen. The comic could do things like have the boss in ski clothes, for the chase, while the episode went with using the same model, rather than draw a new model sheet for one sequence. This is common in animation to save money. Costume changes generally mean new model sheets need to be generated, for the artists to follow while they do the in-betweens (motion shots linking key actions) A few shots from the cartoon.... Next, our final adaptation, with "Werewolf of the Timber Land."
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on Jan 25, 2022 16:33:52 GMT -5
Jonny Quest Classics #3"Werewolf of the Timberland" Creative Team: Doug Wildey-story, art, letters and colors; Diana Schutz-heaps of praise Synopsis: Somewhere, in the Northern Canadian wilderness, a man sits by a campfire. He is attacked from the shadows by something fierce, which he calls Le Loup Garou. Another man, Blackie, drives away the creature with a rifle. We see him, the next day, at a cabin, and calls out a man, named Pierre. He says he and Emil were attacked by Loup Garou and Pierre calls him a liar and says only they know he is Loup Garou and he was not out last night. he asks why he would attack his own men? He tells Blackie that it must have been a bear or other animal. Blackie says it looked more like a huge wolf. Emil is injured and will not be able to work in their "operation." Pierre tells Blackie that he will have to suck it up and do extra work until Emil is better and to post Emil as a sentry, outside a saw mill. he says the attack only strengthens the myth of Loup Garou. Meanwhile, The Quest team is setting up camp, nearby, as Dr Quest seeks a specimen of petrified wood. A sentry spots them and alerts Pierre. Later, at night, he and Blackie visit the Quest camp and tell them it is dangerous to be there and to leave. Dr Quest indignantly replies that they are there under the auspices of the Canadian government and have no intention of leaving. Pierre plays menacing and Race warns them to hit the trail and they leave. Later, the Quests are woken up by a tree, crashing between their tents. They recognize it as a warning from Pierre and are more resolute. the next morning, Dr Quest tells the boys to stay close to camp, while he and Race find the petrified tree for their sample. Bandit finds a skunk and chases it, which doesn't end well. Jonny and Hadji chase after him and find themselves lost; but, they meet up with a First Nations native, named White Feather, and his companion, Grey One, a large wolf. White Feather directs them back to their camp, telling them to follow the river and then he disappears. the boys follow his directions and spot a saw mill, with a log flume. They also spot Blackie and decide to check things out, to see why he wanted them gone. Meanwhile, Dr Quest and Race return to camp to find Bandit and the boys gone. Jonny and Hadji sneak up to the mill and see men hiding gold bars in hollowed out logs, then floating them down the flume. They realize it is a smuggling operation; but, they are caught. They are tied to a support post while the men continue. White Feather appears and bashes a guard over the head and frees them. Jonny and Hadji tell him about the smuggling; but he only cares that they are cutting up the forest without regard to the wildlife. he disappears again and the boys get away by riding a log down the flume. Dr Quest and Race search for the boys and they meet up again. Pierre ets a report and decides Loup Garou will visit the Quests. Dr Quest makes sure the boys are okay, then send them to bed. he and Race watch out and hear animal noises. They spot a wolf, which charges the underbrush and there is a scream and snarls. We see Grey One chase after Pierre, in a wolf pelt, until he comes to a cliff and falls over the side, into the river. Race spots the wolf and takes aim with his rifle, until Jonny and Hadji stop him and White feather appears.... They tell him how Grey One and White Feather helped them and they give the full story. Dr Quest alerts the RCMP and the smugglers are rounded up. bandit finally returns to camp, with his tail between his legs and Grey One and White Feather leave before he can approach. The Quests soon learn why they left and Jonny is detailed to bathe his dog. Thoughts: This was an interesting change of pace, in the series and the setting made for great atmosphere. The gold smuggling is largely incidental, as the Loup Garou werewolf con is the central mystery. The smuggling just gives a motivation for the masquerade. The episode tries to keep the idea of a werewolf in things, though you pretty much get the idea it is a phony once Blackie visits Pierre and he says he is Loup Garou. It never really establishes the idea that Pierre might actually transform, rather than put on a wolf pelt. We learn that Grey One is what attacked Blackie and Emil and that the smugglers have earned the wrath of White Feather. The model for White Feather is a bit generic; but, is largely based on Iron Eyes Cody, the actor who appeared in the anti-pollution ads. However, those ads didn't start apeparing, until 1971, after the series. Cody was an established actor, appearing in several westerns. In the interview at the end of the issue, Doug Wildey says he was based on Jay Silverheels, who played Tonto, on the Lone Ranger and mistakenly identifies him as the indian in the PSAs. However, White Feather in the cartoon does not resemble Silverheels, but does match Cody. In the comic, Wildey clearly uses Cody as his model. ironically, Cody wasn't a Native American; he was of Sicilian heritage and was from Louisiana (much like Joe Scarpa, who wrestled as Chief Jay Strongbow, in the . Here are White Feather and Grey One, from the cartoon.... The only real difference between the comic and the cartoon is that Dr Quest and Race use hovercrafts (as seen in the end credits, from the original Jack Armstrong proposal) to search the woods and Pierre reports to "the boss." The boss is never seen and could be anyone, including Dr Zinn, though gold smuggling doesn't seem to be his kind of thing, although Riddle of the Gold involved counterfeit gold. That would have caused economic chaos, when dumped on the market, though the reason for gold smuggling, here, would be the tight controls on gold exporting, before the gold standard was dropped in major countries. There is a difference in the comic, as Hadji is seen with his head bare, when they are safely back at camp... The episode did a great job with the forest setting and Wildey improves upon it, here, with added shadows and different angles, making it a richer environment. He can also give it more detail, since it isn't acting as a background element on an animation cel. Next time, we return to the regular series, as they continue on past their original series commitment. Join us as Carmine Infantino and Adam Kubert team up with Bill Loebs for a ghost story.
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on Feb 11, 2022 17:14:09 GMT -5
Jonny Quest #13Time for a ghost story! Creative Team: William Messner-Loebs-writer, Carmine Infantino-artist, Bob Pinaha-letters, Adam Kubert-colors, Diana Schutz-editor Synopsis: Race is in the hospital, recovering from the previous issue's adventure and making out with the nurses (probably). He wants out, but he is still fighting an infection, so he has to stay and read letters from Dr Quest, who has the boys with him as he investigates possible paranormal shenanigans, at a New England House, purchased by a fellow scientist, Howard Phillips. So, is the house plagued by tentacled things from other dimensions? Ancient gods of terrible imagining? Racially inferior people moving in next door? The doc and the boys arrive by train to Whatelyville and ask directions to the Black Gables, the name of the house and the station master bables something about the Devil's Manse.... The station master suddenly changes tune and claims to have never heard of the place and walks off. Thankfully, HP turns up, looking like a bit of a nut and they follow him to the house. It looks like you would expect and has had the usual history: indian burial ground, pirates and smugglers, bootleggers massacred... It's what they call a "fixer-upper." Oh, sure, you suffer horrible nightmares when you sleep there, things move around, strange lights; but, hey, it's perfect for a creepy lab to conduct experiments, like reanimating the dead! HP was one of Dr Quest's college professors and remarks about a paper that Benton wrote, theorizing that ectoplasm, something which is completely made up, can be dispersed by ultrasonic waves. HP wants Dr Quest to build such a thing. Dr Quest thinks they should start by cleaning the place and fix the electrics, so they go to bed to start in the morning. This is usually where the "ghost" appears to Shaggy & Scooby! Jonny has a dream about death and monsters and wakes up to see a glowing woman in a filmy dress, which sound like a different sort of dream. He follows her and she descends into the sea and he wakes up again and goes to wash off..... ...his FACE.... Jonny catches up with Hadji, who had nightmares of India and wolves (was there a tiger, a bear and a panther, as well?). Dr Quest also remarks about nightmares, as they have their breakfast (Probably Boo-Berry cereal). Jonny and Hadji get groceries and stop at the local library, where they meet librarian Clara Ashton Smith (uh-hunh), whose family used to own the house and the town. She says a neice of her ancestor drowned herself there. Oh, the niece was Lenore Whately. Jonny & Hadji also meet Colin, a handyman who came through the town, during a thunderstorm, spent a night in Black Gables and hasn't been "right" since. Zoinks! The group works on the house and Dr Quest and Howard talk and are interrupted by a headless ghost... Jonny & Hadji work on re-shingling the widow's walk area (flat roof walkway) and see Lenore's ghost, again. Both ghosts disappear into mist. That night, Jonny meets and speaks with Lenore, who introduces a whole commune of ghosts.... Lenore says she was murdered by Honesty Smith, to gain the house and he concocted the suicide story. Elsewhere, Dr Quest and Howard test the sonic device, which works on a pirate ghost. Well, yeah, pirate ghosts are easily beaten. It's the black knights, the animated cavemen and the ghouls that cause problem! Jonny & Hadji go back to the library and find an account of Captain Wilson, the pirate who loved Lenore. He sailed on Dunsany's Revenge, which disappeared off the Ivory Coast. They tell Ms Smith about the ghost and ask her to check Honesty Smith's diary again. She dismisses the idea of her ancestor being a murderer, but, finds a letter hidden in the binding of the diary that confirms that Lenore tried to write her beau and it was intercepted by her uncle. Clara refuses to believe it, while Colin mutters something about the dead can only read letters that have been burned and Clara's hand gets nudged and she drops the letter into a jack o' lantern and the cnadle sets it on fire. She screams at the boys as they beat feet. Dr Quest tries his machine and it doesn't dispel the ghosts, but it does knock the walls of the house down. Then, a pirate ship floats by and launches a broadside at the house. Clara turns up and the ghost of Honesty Smith tells her to tell the world the truth to release those trapped there. Lenore jumps over to the pirate ship and her love and they sail away. Colin comes out of it and has no memory of his 4 years as Colin, but recalls his past and moves on. Howard goes off to find the 7 Cities of Cibola. Race Bannon gets a shot in the backside. Thoughts: a decent little ghost story and Carmine is having fun. It looks all angular, as his later work did, though it looks much better than many thing he did in this period. I don't know if he put more into it or if maybe Adam Kubert did some uncredited clean-up. Barring evidence, I will have to assume that Carmine just had a chance to do a complete job. Howard is, obviously, meant as a tribute to Howard Phillips Lovecraft, creator of Cthulhu and master of decrepit house stories, though usually with creeping monstrous things with tentacles and such. Clara Ashton Smith is a nod to Clark Ashton Smith, a friend of HP and fellow major contributor to Weird Tales pulp magazine. They, along with Robert E Howard, set the standard for Weird Tales, especially the Cthulhu mythos (which Smith contributed to) and other ancient terrors, creepy old, damp houses and touchy-feely monsters. This ends up with a lot fewer decaying bodies than their tales usually had. Less racist, too. Episode Review: "The Fraudulent Volcano" The episode opens with a shoreline and a plateau, with a volcano. A figure creeps out of a cave and inches along the edge of the plateau. He comes to a crevasse, where a rope is hidden. he uses it to slide down to the lower reaches, then eventually to the ground, where he has a motorcycle hidden. then, two hovercraft appear out of the cave, carrying men in standard uniformed henchmen gear, armed to the teeth... They fire on the guy and hit the rear tire and he is sent off a cliff, but grabs a branch hanging over the cliff. The men move in and he drops to the waters below, disappearing. They fly back to the cave and pass through a metal gate, leading inside the volcano, which then erupts, after they are inside. We cut to an oil rig fire, where Dr Quest is testing a robot torpedo, which fires foam jets and extinguishes the fire. Dr Quest receives a call from an official on a Latin American island, with the active volcano. They fly down in their VSTOL jet and take a look. The official asks them to try their method on the volcano. Meanwhile, a clerk in his office listens in, via a stethoscope. He sneaks off and uses a motorscooter to travel to a hidden radio transmitter, where he alerts the boss, in the volcano, of Dr Quest. The boss radios his boss, Dr Zinn. They are conducting experiments on a new destructive force. He tells the head henchman to deal with the Quests and he dispatches a pair of goons to do it. They try the old spider in the bed method, which fails and also try to set the hangar on fire, but Race rescues the VSTOL. The next day, Dr Quest and Race fly up to investigate the volcano. The goons raise a weapon and fire it at Dr Quest's plane and shoot it down. Dr Quest and Race bail out and parachute down to the area around the volcano and are captured. Jonny and Hadji witnessed the event through binoculars and head out, with a local cop. Dr Quest and Race are brought before the boos and then see Dr Zinn on a monitor, who boasts about selling his weapon to the highest bidder. Scanners spot the car with the boys and goons are dispatched. They capture the cop, but Jonny and Hadji hide, then sneak though the gate, before it closes. The boys are able to clobber a goon and prop him up to get past the other guards, while using an electric cargo mover. They then crash into the cart with DR Quest and Race and Race lays out the guards. They make their escape, after sabotaging the controls of the ray. The goons give chase in hovercraft, but Race steers them into crashing into the ide of a mountain, near a tunnel. They report in and head home, with the thanks of the governor. Thoughts: Great James Bond episode, as the volcano hides an entire base for Dr Zinn's goons, who are all tooled up in snazzy uniforms, shoulder holsters and rifles. They get to have goggles and skullcaps and inspire the later uniforms of the FEAR agents, in Birdman. The shot of two of the goons in a hovercraft is used in the credit sequence. The vehicles, themselves, seem somewhat inspired by the Hiller Flying Platform.... The vehicle was a test platform for a possible flying observation platform, for Army observers. However, it created too much noise for covert use, and also had a tendency to right itself, which caused problems with steering it, as it was done by leaning in the direction the pilot wanted to go. The platform would tend to want to return to horizontal. Other than that, it hovered well and landed well. The concepts helped in the development of future VSTOL technology. Doug Wildey used things like Popular Mechanics to ad advanced technology ot the show, to show a possible future, in a contemporary setting, which added to a timeless quality to the series. This episode also marks the last for Dr Zinn, as the overt villain. Wildey felt it was best not to use him too much, to keep the series from getting stale.
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on Feb 27, 2022 16:53:22 GMT -5
Jonny Quest #14The full Hempel and Wheatley... Bandit is going to be sorry, if he gets sick! Creative Team: William Messner-Loebs-writer, Marc Hempel-pencils & letters, Mark Wheatley-inks & colors, Kathryn Mayer-letters & colors, Diana Schutz-letters (to the editor, colors (with crayons), pencils (in appointments), inks (deals); but, mostly edits. Hempel & Wheatley begin their run as the regular art team. Synopsis: Dr Quest is dealing with government bureaucracy and Race is boning up on Canadian histories of the War of 1812, where an army of guys in toques, armed with beer and back bacon, faced off against an army of hosers in ballcaps, armed with hamburgers and beer. Dr Quest leaves Race to it and checks in on Jonny, who is teaching Bandit a new trick. he asks Jonny for morale support while he deals with the government auditors. They meet them at the gate and one of them flashes a weapon and says someone wants to talk to them, in the back of the limo. Hadji returns from the market with groceries, to cook dinner and runs into the real auditors and no Jonny or Dr Quest. They wake up to an Asian woman, who gives them pressure suits to don and they take a rocket sled from a spaceship to an orbital station. There, of course, they find Dr Zin. he shows them around and crows about his private space program and then Dr Quest reminds him why he always comes first against Zinn.... Zin wants him to rescue his space probe from a decaying orbit and get it back on track. Back on Earth, Race yells at government bozos to hunt for the Quests, while Hadji reaches out with his mind.... Dr Quest has an idea, but it requires a small man to climb though an exhaust vent, to get inside the probe. Jonny has been exploring the station and Dr Quest encourages him to continue and learn what he can. Jonny and Bandit try out a zero G room, where Zin train s his astronaut. Bandit messes up a maneuver and Dr Zin offers to impant a neural trasnmitter that will make him obey Jonny's every command; but Jonny politely thanks him and declines the offer. Dr Quest is introduced to the pilot, nicknamed Weasel, who will take him over to the probe. She had rescued trapped mine workers, then came to work for Zin. Back on Earth, Race and Hadji consult with an observatory and Hadji tells them where to search with their telescope and they spot Zin's orbital station. Jonny is helping Weasel suit up, when she collapses from ulcer pain. Time is running out for the astronauts on the probe and Jonny decides to take her place. Dr Quest and Dr Zin compare notes and see the rocket sled launch. then, an underling runs in to report that Weasel is unconscious and we see who is piloting the sled....Jonny! He has to fly through space debris to get to the probe and Dr Quest guides him, then questions Zin about the chain of events that led to Jonny being out there. Jonny makes it on board the ship, but there is no one there. bandit trips the release on a specimen chamber and it opens. Zin admits the deception and the probe was actually a net, to bring back intelligent life. That's what's in the chamber. Dr Quest warns Jonny that there is an alien life form in the pod, in the chamber, then warning klaxons go off and Zin realizes Bandit must have triggered the self destruct, as well as the chamber release. Dr Quest tells Jonny to get out, but Jonny won't leave the alien trapped inside. It is a ball of energy and Jonny is able to catch it; but time runs out and the probe explodes. Dr Quest goes for Zin and is restrained, spouting vengeance for the death of his son. Then, Jonny and Bandit appear, unharmed.... The alien energy creature saved him and wants a word with Zin. It's family arrives and surround the station. All power is lost and before they know it, they are on the ground, at Zin's launch site. Zin thinks he will be more formidable, at his base, but everyone is asleep, thanks to Race Bannon and the US Army... Zin is taken into custody and the alien life forms leave. Thoughts: Great issue, as we see how Dr Quest is a formidable brain and Zin is not exactly a cartoon villain (even though he was a villain in a cartoon), and that Jonny is a noble soul, who will not sacrifice the life of another, even if it is an alien. Once again, the quality of Loebs' writing shines through. This time, Hempel and Wheatley get to strut their stuff in aid of the story and it is spectacular. They even throw in a nod to their own series, Mars, from First Comics (on the shopping bag logo of Hadji's groceries). Nice use of Dr Zin and a James Bondian locale. Episode Review: "Pirates from Below" Dr Quest is testing a new undersea exploratory vessel. After removing a curious squid, he surfaces and gives Race a list of adjustments required. He then asks for a volunteer to accompany him to an appointment, on the mainland. It's a delegation of scientists from Calcutta and Hadji is eager to talk with people from home, so he goes. Jonny stays to help Race. Some foreign spies turn up to steal the exploratory vessel and they take Race and Jonny prisoner. They take the machine out to sea. When Dr Quest and Hadji return, they find the vessel gone and no sign of Jonny or Race. Hadji calls Jonny on their video communicators (a 1960s smart phone). Jonny is tied to a support beam, but is able to respond to the communicator. He feeds info to his father, who figures out their course. The spies direct Race on a course to a hidden base, inside a cavern. They remove them and make them board a hovercraft, to take them to the boss. On the trip, Race spies overhead piping. he tells Jonny to grab ahold of one. He does and Race tells the goons that they lost the boy. They turn and see him hanging there and go back. When they have their attention on Jonny, Race kicks them over the side. Jonny leaps back aboard and unties Race, as Bandit holds off the goons. They head off in the hovercraft, then duck down to make the other guards think it is a runaway. bandit gives them away and more goons give chase, in another hovercraft. They make it to open water and Jonny finds a guard's M-16 and Race uses it to shoot out the pursuer's spotlight. However, bandit slips over the side and Jonny dives after him and the goons get to them before Race can. Race is forced to surrender. They are brought before the boss and interrogated and he spots Jonny's communicator. After yelling at the incompetent goons, he forces Jonny to call Hadji and ask where they are. They are close by and the boss sends the goons to trap them. they are brought before the boss, who leaves them with the goons. hadji hypnotizes their guard and then commands him to take them to the explorer. They escape in it and cut their way through the submarine net, guarding the entrance to the cavern. Thh goons pursue in mini-subs and Dr Quest uses the craft's waldo arms to fight them off. The boss calls off the attack, then distracts the Quests while a goon in scuba gear attaches a limpet mine. Race smells a rat and hears something on the hull. he goes out and finds the mine and removes it and plants it on the boss' control ship. It detonates and bye-bye spies! The episode ends with Dr Quest turning the explorer over to a naval officer. Thoughts: Basic plot, but plenty of James Bond action, with some nice advanced technology. The video communicators were kind of a take off on Dick Tracy's wrist radios and later updates in the strip, while the explorer was similar to actual prototype deep water explorer craft. The mini-subs were pure Bond, as was the hidden sub base. The foreign spies are all in wet suits, ala Thunderball, and carry M-16s, which were relatively new, at the time, and futuristic looking, compared to other rifles of the era. The hovercraft is the same one seen in the end credits and the same design used by Dr Quest, in Werewolf of the Timber Land. Exciting action, a bit thin on plot. Henry Corden does his "foreign voice," which is vaguely Eastern European, sound more Yiddish than Russian or German. His father was a Romanian Jew, while his mother was from Russia; so, he came by it naturally (he was born in Montreal). This was one of the episodes put out on commercial vhs. The tape included it, Werewolf of the Timber Land and The Invisible Monster, which was the real attraction, for me (of course I bought it!)
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on Mar 12, 2022 21:35:00 GMT -5
Jonny Quest #15Race dead? Race is indestructible! Creative Team: William Messner-Loebs-writer, Marc Hempel-pencils & inks & letters, Mark Wheatley-colors, Katherine Mayer-colors & letters, Diana Schutz-solo editing Synopsis: Race is working out, trying to get back into barrel-throwing shape, after his time in the hospital. Hadji seems to think he is doing it the hard way..... Race isn't up to snuff and he decides to lie in the sun a while, but swears Hadji to secrecy about his aches and pains, from Dr Quest. meanwhile, Jonny asks his father about a comment Zin made about them meeting, in chains, previously. Dr Quest then begins the story about how he first met Zin. He was attending a symposium on early Amerind (or pre-Columbian, as they say now) relics, in the Southwest, and Judith is accompanying him. She is admiring his new beard, which she says makes him look dashing, a bit like Allen Ginsberg. I can't see Dr Quest doing Beat Poetry. Also on the plane is Dr Mario Bartelli and introductions are made. After they have landed and arrive at their hotel, we overhear an Asian attendee, Dr Samuel Chin, ask about his reservation and is rather rudely told they have no record. he asks the clerk to check again and gets a rather racist response. Judith is having that and she intercedes and saves the day and the dignity of the visiting scientists.... One threat of buying the hotel and firing the clerk settles the matter. We move on to the symposium, where we learn of an astounding find of pottery relics that show greater complexity than finds at higher levers (it should be the reverse, as the higher levels would represent to more recent history) and Egyptian influences. Dr Chin is a top Egyptologist, Dr Bartelli is a big wig in astronomy and geology, while Dr Quest is the expert in applied physics and electronics. Prof Petty, the host, hopes they can validate his theory of a more advanced civilization that pre-dated the later residents, with a possible connection to Egypt. Dr Quest has a handy gadget that combines radioactive scanning with spectroscopic analysis, and it also makes julienne fries! Judith coos about her man. Later, while the men do their studying, Judith is bored out of her mind and unloads to Maria, a maid at the hotel. Maria lets slip that she feels what the scientists are doing is grave robbing and warns Judith to tell her husband to leave, before it is too late. Judith tries to follow, but Maria has disappeared. She runs into Dr Chin and asks if he has seen Maria go past. He begs her pardon and says no. Judth then calls him out about insulting her intelligence. She points out that a trained scientist would not speak English like Warner Oland (on screen) and he apologizes to her. They run into the hotel owner, who is carrying a large and unwieldy box. Judith engages him in conversation and enquires if the museum is paying locals to dig up pottery. he denies any knowledge, but says some folks will do anything, for money. He seems rather edgy with Judith nearby. he also seems rather determined to "stay rich," because it means power. he moves on and Judith receives a message, from a boy, which was given to him by "an indian lady." It says "Beware! The death of the eagle awaits those who disturb the rest of the dead." Judith runs to check on Benton and finds him and Dr Petty unconscious. Later, Dr Quest is recuperating in bed and Judith questions the motive of the attack.... Dr Quest poo-poos professional jealousy, but lets slip that Bartelli had a checkered past. Judith goes to check him out. They meet in the dining room and she questions whether someone might be trying to steal her husband's work and take credit for themselves and Bartelli explodes about some incident in his past and storms off. Meanwhile, Judith is paged for a phone call and it turns out to be Dr Chin, who is stuck in Alexandria, Egypt! He relates being attacked by a local smuggler, named Napoleon Zin.... Judith goes looking for her "Dr Chin." She calls the hospital and learns that Dr Petty has disappeared. She goes to the lab to examine the scene of the attack. She hears a noise and looks out back to find men unloading boxes, like Mr Carnes, the hotel owner had. One of them thinks she is "the boss" (he's blinded by the sun over Judith's head) then realizes she isn't the boss and they take off, though a box falls off their jeep. She takes it back to the hotel and then meets the local sheriff, who was called to the hotel. They hear a scream and rush into a room to find Maria standing over Mr Carnes, with a knife sticking out of his chest. She says he called for maid service and pleads her innocence. The sheriff hauls her off to jail. Later, Judith talks things over with Benton, whose device was found, smashed, next to Carnes. She shows him the box she recovered and he opens it, to find a desert cactus. it turns out the group is smuggling out protected species of desert cacti, illegally (as if there is legal smuggling). Judith smells a rat and leads Dr Quest to Dr Chin's room and picks the lock (she learned that at Vassar). She finds Dr Quest's device in Chin's belongings. The smashed one is a fake. The fake was planted after the attack. Judith realizes there are two groups of bad guys. one of those groups takes potshots at the Quests: Dr Chin's assistant, with a silenced Walther P-38 (Shades of Napoleon Solo!) They take it on the run (baby) and hide behind some rocks, but then find the artefact rustlers, and are caught between a rock and a hard face. Sorry. Judith takes a rather unique approach to dealing with armed men.... They interrogate the assassin about Dr Chin's whereabouts, when the sheriff turns up, with Chin in handcuffs, and Dr Petty, who was unconscious, with Chin standing over him. he says Chin is Zin, and wanted in the Far East and is their murderer. Zin uses the distraction to batter the sheriff and run off. The sheriff pulls his pistol and takes aim, but Judith blocks his shot. she tells the sheriff that Zin isn't the murderer. She says he wanted Benton's device and he had it, so murder makes no sense. Only someone who had something to lose, from the device, would smash it and identifies Petty as the killer, as his research would be undone by the dating of the find. The pottery pieces were fakes. Carnes was bankrolling the scientific department, in hopes of making more money, while covering his cactus smuggling business. He demanded results and Petty found it easier to fake a find than uncover one of monetary value. Later, the Quests say their goodbyes and a letter is delivered. it is from Zin, who says he will not forget. Dr Quest says it makes him feel uneasy, with Zin knowing so much about them. Judith tells him Zin doesn't know everything.... We return to the present, as Dr Quest finishes the story of his first meeting with Dr Zin and also learning of Jonny's impending birth. Their tale is interrupted when the boys realize that Race isn't waking up and doesn't appear to be breathing! Thoughts: Well, the cover is a bit of a fake, though it does tie into the cliffhanger ending. the real story if another tale of Dr Zin, as well as one of Judith Quest. i had misremembered this story as being part of issue 2, where we see Judith pass away. However, it is here that Dr Zin incurred a debt of gratitude and a deep respect for Judith Quest, and likely the reason why he has never tried to kill Dr Quest or Jonny, despite several opportunities. To do so with violate the debt he owed to Judith; so, in honor of her, he has let Dr Quest live, though he isn't above trying to steal his work. I really love this and the character of Judith Quest, which Bill Loebs has created. She really is Dr Quest's partner and you see where Jonny gets his curiosity, his deductive skills, and his general caring for people, beyond what we have seen of Dr Quest. Judith is fabulously wealthy and could have easily been a spoiled dilettante, or vacuous jet-setter; but, she is a caring person who uses her money to try to help others, through her husband's research. Dr Quest is devoted to using science to better mankind, rather than enrich himself. Judith supports that with her own wealth, which issue 2 told us Benton only realized how rich she was when she presented him with his lab. However, Judith doesn't flaunt her wealth and she treats people as equals, and with respect and dignity. When the hotel clerk treats the disguised Zin with disrespect and racist attitudes, Judith uses the power of her checkbook to fight back. However, that isn't her only asset. She proves to be a more astute observer than her husband, the other scientists or the sheriff. She sees through Zin's facade and also sees the clues that everyone else is missing. She uncovers the real killer, as well as the corruption surrounding the artefacts. Judith is a woman you can believe would capture Dr Quest's heart, as she is smart enough to keep up with him, but also possesses a zest for life that invigorates him and also grounds him in the here and now. Without Judith, Dr Quest might have been a stuffy academic, rather than the globe trotting scientist, helping those in need. She keep the human side in the scientific world. You can also believe that she is the mother of Jonny, as she shares many of his personality traits. Loebs really crafts wonderful characters and Judith Quest is his creation. Prior to his story, in issue 2, she was just a background detail in Jonny's life, a mere mention in the pilot episode of the series. Loebs gave her life and spirit and made us care about her in just one story and this adds even more life to her and makes that story all the more poignant. I really wish Loebs had been able to follow up with a Benton & Judith Quest mini-series, covering their young married life and Jonny's birth. Sadly, there is no equivalent to her in any form of the animated series, except the direct-to-video feature, Jonny's Golden Quest, where she is murdered by Zin. This has far more weight and also treats Zin with greater depth than as just a mustache-twirling villain. That feature also had Dr Quest working for Intelligence One, with Race as bodyguard, before Rachel Quest is killed. It also makes Jade an agent of Intelligence One and Race's ex-wife. None of that was in the original series. Loebs is a better writer than that. Hempel's looser style adds a lot to Judith, through body language and an above average command of facial expressions (not quite Kevin Maguire; but better than most). He keeps it lively and chooses some interesting angles for his panels. Wheatley and Mayer's colors also add to things, with soft desert tones to match the environment. More greatness from the team that has been knocking them out of the park, on a consistent basis. This is, roughly, the halfway point in the series (there were 31 issues; so, technically, the middle of next issue is the halfway point) and it is fantastic. Now, we have a cliffhanger. Is Race dead? Of course he isn't; but, what is going on? Episode Review: "Attack of the Tree People" The Quest team are sailing on their schooner, Sea Quest, off the coast of Africa, when a leaky fuel pipe drips onto the electric stove and causes a fire. it spreads throught he galley and the Quests eventually smell the smoke, after Bandit alerts them to it. it is out of control and beyond their extinguishers, so they don life jackets and hit the water, with Race saying there is no time to launch their lifeboat, before the fuel tank goes up. They send the boys and Bandit over first, then follow. The tank explodes, destroying the yacht. race and Dr Quest search for Jonny and Hadji and follow Bandit's barking; but, by the time they are close to the area, there is no sign of them. tehy cling to wreckage and spot a freighter, in the distance and signal it. they are seen and rescued and the ship sends out an alert for the boys and starts a search of the nearby islands. On one of the islands, the boys and Bandit have come ashore. They set up a makeshift "scarecrow," using one of the life jackets, so they will be spotted, then go exploring. We see some apes watching them, as the move on. Jonny feels like someone is watching them and they run into a pack of apes. Faster than you can say "Bo, mangani!" the boys and Bandit are scooped up by the apes and carried along the jungle, via swinging vine and deposited in a tall tree, way off the ground. Meanwhile, Dr Quest and Race search for the boys, but no joy. They continue to broadcast messages. We cut to a pair of ivory poachers, named Chopper and Silky, who hear a broadcast on their shortwave radio about the missing boys and a reward. they like the sound of the reward and start searching. The boys think the apes are gone and decide to sneak away, but are caught trying to float away, on a log and end up back up the tree. Just as the freighter is about to end the search, Race spots the lifejacket scarecrow. He and Dr Quest are put ashore by the captain, with supplies and weapons, to search for the boys, while the ship notifies the authorities to send a boat for the Quests. They then continue their voyage to deliver their cargo. Dr Quest and Race head into the jungle to track the boys. The boys have charmed the apes, who want to play. the sound of their laughter pulls in Silky & Chopper, who want to hold them for ransom, to get more money from Dr Quest. They try to sneak up, but are intercepted by the apes and sent packing. they try again and fire their weapons to scare off the apes. The gunshots are heard by Dr Quest and race and they return the sound, thinking it might be a signal. The poachers catch Jonny (though Chopper gets judo tossed for good measure) ad Hadji surrenders before they hurt Jonny. The poachers then catch Dr Quest and Race from behind and make them lose their weapons. Silky delivers a demand for 20,00 pounds and sends Dr Quest to contact his important friends to obtain it. The Apes watch, in alarm. Chopper watches over the boys, in a cave, but is soon disarmed and smacked around by the apes. They free the boys and the find the camp and Dr Quest and Race being held prisoner. While Silky is in the tent, Jonny sends his troop of ape para-commandos to drop on the tent and bounce around on top of Silky. They free the men and then radio for the rescuers and we end with the apes saying goodbye to the Quests, as the poachers are taken into custody. Thoughts: This is a lighter adventure, with much of the plot cribbed from Tarzan adventures (and other jungle tales). The apes are fun and the poachers are pretty standard evil intruders in the jungle. henry Corden voices Silky, with a cross between a bad Cockney and a bad Australian accent, while J Pat O'Malley voices Chopper, in his own accent. Corden also voices the German freighter skipper. Some of the footage s reused from other jungle episodes. Dr Quest and Race's weapons have a futuristic design and the pistol, at least, was used in a previous episode. Not the most exciting episode, but a decent and fun little tale. Better than the pygmy one, in my opinion.
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on Mar 23, 2022 16:04:11 GMT -5
Jonny Quest #16Creative Team: William Messner-Loebs-writer, Mark Wheatley-art & color, Marc Hempel-letters, Kathryn Martin-letters & colors, Diana Schutz-editor Synopsis: A guy smashes his way into a hospital (via a back entrance), and is gunned down, while clutching at sticks of gum. Race just happens to be recovering at this hospital. Hi doctor takes out a stick of the same gum (Moon Chews) and turns into a werewolf. He runs amok, infects others, and disappears.... The problem grows and Dr Quest and the boys help the hospital to deal with the problems. Dr Quest goes on a local talk show and gets torn up by the host, who sensationalizes things to shock an audience and gain ratings. That creates a panic among the populace. Jonny takes a call at the hospital, that a werewolf is trapped in someone's garage. Jonny and Hadji go out and find the doctor, transformed back into a human. They take him back tot he hospital, where Race is awake and helping Dr Quest track down the source of all of this. he comes across the report of the hood, from the start and in comes Stark, the government agent who has caused trouble for the Quest team, in past. the hood worked for him, stealing secrets from a crime boss...Dr Zin! They go to interview him and find him dead, with Zin sitting beside his bed.... He developed a bioweapon to spread fear and paranoia in a targeted environment, which was in the gum. Zin escapes, pursued by Stark, then runs smack into Jonny and has him at point blank, with Dr Quest too far away to save him; but, Zin surrenders, discharging the debt he owed to Judith Quest. Thoughts: Meh. This is pretty mediocre, for the series, so far. It was released in mid-late September, 1987, which suggests it was timed for Halloween. Either that, or Bill Loebs wanted to do a werewolf story. There is a theme of prejudice and paranoia and how disreputable media exploit such things for attention. This was the days of people like Morton Downey Jr and the earlier shock jocks and hosts, before it really exploded, exponentially. You also had things like CNN's Crossfire, where Pat Buchanan basically steamrolled over people, while his "opposition" was too weak to challenge him; plus, Bill O'Reilly on Inside Edition and other tabloid garbage. It only got worse, across the 90 and then the internet just provided new fertile soil for it to grow further. That point gets a bit lost in chewing gum bioweapons and lightweight werewolves. The letters page has near universal praise for issue 11, with the Bandit story, including one from Len Wein, who said the greatest compliment he ever got was when someone wrote that the initial Swamp Thing story made them cry. He goes on to say the Bandit story did the same for him and tells the gang, "Well done." There is one letter, which praised the story, but call Bill Loebs a sloppy plotter and the series strays too much from the cartoons. I think he is nuts; but, to each their own. The story does remark back on Dr Zin's debt to Judith and we see now, with him surrendering, rather than taking Jonny's life, he feels he has discharged that debt. That suggests that things could be deadly, now, for Dr Quest and the gang. Episode Review: "The Devil's Tower" Dr Quest is preparing to launch a weather balloon, with an electronic package attached. An updraft catches it and violently pulls it up, severing the mooring cable. they watch helplessly as it drifts up to the Devil's Escarpment, and disappears. They hire a Stearman biplane to go up after it, as it would take too long and too much expense to replace the electronics. the balloon comes down on a plateau and is found by cavemen! Dr Quest spots the balloon and they land. Dr Quest orders Race to bring back the boys and the case for the equipment package. Race leaves him his rifle (which looks like a jazzed up Luger artillery model pistol, crossed with a Topper Secret Sam Spy Pistol.... Race brings Jonny and Hadji up to the plateau. Dr Quest is missing and they search for him. Bandit finds the cave men and they surround them. They speak to them in German and order them to come. They are taken to a caven opening and told to climb down a rope, into the cavern below. the rope is pulled up, leaving them trapped. They are then reunited with Dr Quest and meet Klaus Heinruch von Dueffel, a Nazi war criminal. The cave men are his muscle and he has used them to mine the diamonds in the cavern. he plans to use Dr Quest's airplane to leave the escarpment and return to civilization, with immense wealth. The group finds a way out of the prison, which leads to another opening, onto a ledge. There is a rope bridge across a chasm to another cliff. they head that was and von Dueffel attempts to bomb them, from the air, in the Stearman (with potato masher grenades). The bridge is severed before Dr Quest gets across, but he clings to the remains. von Deffel swoops down for the kill, but his grenade hits the wing and gets lodged and the plane blows up and crashes. Race is able to pull Dr Quest up and they begin the trip down from the cliff. They reach the bottom and return to their camp, where they pack up for home. Thoughts: It's an okay episode, but not one of the better ones. It is the first to acknowledge recent history, with von Dueffel, as an escaped Nazi war criminal. There was a lot of that in 60s spy tv and movies, as the Nazi memory still loomed large. It also made a break from vaguely Eastern European-but-unnamed enemies. Not one of my favorites.
|
|