It’s been years since I’ve written about the Orphic variations of mainstream Greco-Roman mythology. For anyone who is not familiar with the Orphic Hymns, Zagreus, etc. these fascinating offshoots of the myths we all grew up with feature a variety of differences.This version of the tale of Jason and the Argonauts won’t always match the more popular rendition.
THE ORPHIC ARGONAUTICA – To avoid being too boring I will omit all the arguments about the exact time period in which this variation on the epic was first written. At any rate, as the “Orphic” part of these writings would indicate, this look at the Quest for the Golden Fleece is told from the point of view of Orpheus the musician, poet and keeper of the Mysteries.
Our famous lyre-player Orpheus is approached in his cave at Thrace by the hero Jason. The hero tells Orpheus how he has gathered a crew that will take to sea in the Argo, the first vessel built specifically for ocean voyages. NOTE: Yes, the Orphic Argonautica depicts the Argo as the first ship ever built for a long-range journey. Various allegorical meanings are read into this, but I’ll spare you the details.
Jason explains that he needs to find and obtain the Golden Fleece of the sacrificed ram in order to mark his claim to the throne of Iolcus. He has named his crew the Argonauts. None of them are willing to risk the dangers of this quest unless Orpheus, he who braved the Netherworld and returned, is with them. Continue reading
THE INVISIBLE MAN (1975-1976) – Before Harve Bennett and Steven Bochco would launch The Gemini Man they tried a very similar premise with The Invisible Man. David McCallum, with his best Cousin Oliver hairdo (below right), starred as Dr. Daniel Westin, a scientist working for KLAE Corporation on matter transformation. 
PILOT MOVIE: THE INVISIBLE MAN (May 6th, 1975) – My above description also serves as a synopsis, with the resulting series set up by KLAE Corporation only allowing Dr. Westin to use their laboratory facilities to work on his invisibility cure if he and his wife work for them as spies. Henry Darrow played Dr. Nick Maggio in this 90-minute telefilm. 
THE BRICK MOON (1872) – Written by Edward Everett Hale, best known for The Man without a Country. This novella started out as a serialized story published in 1869 in the October, November and December issues of Atlantic Monthly. A follow-up installment, titled Life in the Brick Moon, was published in the February 1870 issue. 
The story begins in the 1840s when Frederic Ingham, the tale’s narrator, and his college friends Orcutt and Halliburton plan a dream project which winds up taking decades to fulfill – a manmade artificial satellite, the first recorded in science fiction stories. 
THE VOYAGE OF MAEL DUIN (Immram curaig Mail Duin) – Dated to around the late 900s A.D. or earlier, this story deals with the epic quest of Mael Duin (aka Maildun and Maeldune) and the crew of his ship as he seeks revenge on his father’s killers. This lengthy epic deserves to be as well-known as the Odyssey or the Quest for the Golden Fleece.
Mael Duin matured, and proved better than his presumed siblings at athletic, martial and academic competitions. Losing their temper over this, one of our hero’s foster brothers ridiculed Mael Duin for not even knowing who his real father and mother were. 
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME – This title tilt pitted the 5th seeded NORTH CENTRAL UNIVERSITY RAMS against the 6 seeds – the CROWN COLLEGE POLARS. The Rams went on top early and led 40-25 by Halftime. After the break, they got even more separation from the Polars, ultimately winning the game 76-51. Carmello McNeal led North Central U. with 23 points. 
ROUND TWO: GAME ONE – The AVE MARIA UNIVERSITY GYRENES did battle with the FRIENDS UNIVERSITY FALCONS. A shootout was in store with Friends University on top 64-59 at the Half. From there, the Gyrenes made their move, overtaking the Falcons and winning the game by a Century Club score of 108-102. Jaylen White and Jack Watkins led Ave Maria with 21 points each. 
JANUARY 31st, 2017 – 
MARVEL PREMIERE Vol 1 #41 (Apr 1978) 
The crew members we meet in this debut story – 1. Captain Jordan Shaw (right), a decent man appalled at the way the Six have chosen to play God with who gets to escape and who gets left behind to die. He cooperates just so he and his wife can survive, so he bitterly knows he is no better than the oligarchs in the end. 
And 5. Phaedra (left), a mutant with telekinetic and telepathic abilities. She and Earth’s hundreds of other mutants live in prison camps at the Six’s command while their abilities are probed. They are all forced to wear facial tattoos to prevent them hiding their mutant status. 
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