JUST A FEW OF MY FAVORITES by Dave Goode

And now for something visual that's not to abysmal. And I'm not to talking about an old Steve Reeves movies. But close. The other day I was thinking about two of the greatest movie entertainments ever. Gladiator movies and masked wrestler flicks. And how both had some of the greatest posters of any genre. I wasn't thinking about which genre had the best. That's an apples or oranges discussion. But both would make great comic book covers.

This week's blog looks at some of my favorites from the masked wrestler genre. And when I say my favorites I mean just that. Too many times when someone says their favorites what they mean is "the best". I mean "my favorite". If I call something the best I usually follow it with "IMHO".

El Santo made more movies than any other masked wrestler so it follows that his movies would have some of the best posters. How do you not love the poster for Santo vs. The Vampire Women? That would have made a great cover for a novelization of the movie. But there are other great posters from the genre. 

Blue Demon and Mil Mascaras movies had great posters too. 

And then there were the posters from Europe's Superargo series. As well as the Neutron series.

THE CONAN WHO SHOULD HAVE BEEN ! by Dave Goode

 

I've got a very short list of actors who I think would have been great portraying Robert E. Howard's barbarian hero Conan of Cimmeria. There's Charles Bronson who may have been too short to play Conan. But may have been just right to play another of Howard's characters, the Pict king Bran Mak Morn. Then there is Jack Palance who was perfect as Attila the Hun in the movie SIGN OF THE PAGAN (1954). It was his performance as Attila that got me thinking that Palance would have been great as Conan. Or even better as King Kull,yet another of Howard's barbarian heroes. And then there's "Big" Bill Smith, the actor/bodybuilder best known for his roles in action flicks playing both heroes and villains.

Smith did play Conan's father in CONAN, THE BARBARIAN (1982). And most critics thought that his brief performance was the best thing about the movie. Ten or fifteen years earlier he would have been great as Conan himself. And in 1982 he would have been great as the older King Conan of Howard's stories The Phoenix On The Sword and The Hour Of The Dragon a. k. a Conan The Conqueror.

I imagine a younger Bill Smith starring in an adaptation of my favorite Howard Conan story Beyond The Black River. And he would have been equally good in A Witch Shall Be Born. Imagine if you will Vincent Price as the mercenary general Constanius the Falcon. And Barbara Steele as the twin sisters Queen Taramis and Salome , the witch of the title. But more importantly imagine Smith as the pantherish Cimmerian in the most famous scene from the Conan series. Fierce!!!

MARILYN BEFORE SHE WAS MARILYN! by Dave Goode

If you're like me you're fascinated by the rich and famous before they became famous. There are very few true overnight success stories in the world of show business. Take for instance the definitive "blonde bombshell" of the Fabulous 50s...Marilyn Monroe.

Before she was a glamorous movie star the former Norma Jean Dougherty modeled for camera clubs and figure studies to help pay the rent while appearing in such forgettable movies like THE DANGEROUS YEARS (1947) and SCUDDA HOO! SCUDDA HAY! (1948). And as eye candy in LOVE HAPPY (1949) and RIGHT CROSS (1950). From 1946 to 1950 she modeled for famed pin-up illustrator Earl Moran at 10 dollars an hour. Which was a good piece of change in that era.

Marilyn and Moran would become friends. And she credited the painter for making her legs look better than they were. Of note Moran's daughter from his first marriage was 1940s B-Movie Queen Peggy Moran.

And speaking of B-Movies I was thinking the other day of Marilyn co-starring with Johnny Weissmuller in one of his Jungle Jim movies from Columbia. In VOODOO TIGER (1952) Jean Dean portrays Shalimar, an exotic dancer who works with a tiger in her act. When her plane crashes in Africa she is taken as the high priestess of the tiger god. A perfect role for the young, yet to be star Marilyn.

THE UNMOVABLE AND THE UNTOUCHABLE by Dave Goode

THE UNMOVABLE AND THE UNTOUCHABLE by Dave Goode

 

 

I've been ribbed for years by a buddy, independent comic book artist William Murchinson, about being a fan of the original team of X-Men. Or as he jabs "the team with Frosty the Snow Man"... Of course he's just joshing. Like most Lee & Kirby created comics from the beginning of the Marvel Age the early X-Men stories were magic. Two of my favorites were X-Men N0.3 (Jan. 1964) and X-Men No. 8 (Nov. 1964).

 

 

I've been a fan of carnival and circus themed movies for as long as I can remember. The colorfully costumed performers of the big top reminded me of comic book heroes. And of course Superman's original costume was inspired by circus performers. But that's a story for another day.

In Beware Of The Blob (X-Men No. 3) the uncanny X-Men face off against the massively built Blob, a sideshow attraction who imagined being played in a movie by pro wrestler Haystacks Calhoun. The highlight of the story is the X-Men's headquarters being attacked by carnival performers led by the indestructible and immovable Blob.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Five issues later the X-Men would face an adversary from a different kind of circus when they battle The Uncanny Threat Of Unus, The Untouchable (X-Men No. 8 ). In what remains my favorite story from the original X-Men series Hank Mc Coy a.k.a the Beast leaves the team briefly for a career as a professional wrestler. There he meets wrestler Unus, the Untouchable a mutant with a personal force field.

The highlight of this story to me is the Beast's foray into the grunt & groan racket. His ring entrance is something that Vince McMahon could only dream of.