This weekend’s light-hearted and escapist superhero post from Balladeer’s Blog takes a look at the 1960s and 1970s Flash stories in which several of his recurring villains would team up against him.
FLASH Vol 1 #155 (September 1965)
Title: The Gauntlet of Supervillains
Villain Roster: Captain Cold, the Top, Mirror Master, Heat Wave, Pied Piper, Captain Boomerang and Gorilla Grodd
Synopsis: Gorilla Grodd (the mysterious villain referred to on the cover) engineers prison breakouts for the six other Flash foes mentioned above. Grodd uses the other villains to wear down the Flash and erode his powers, hoping to then kill the hero himself.
NOTE: The semi-annual team up of Flash villains soon becomes referred to as his Rogues Gallery Convention and/ or “Convention of Flash Villains.” For a time the event was almost as frequent as the annual Justice Society/ Justice League get-togethers. Continue reading
If you enjoy serious analog horror like 
Around 2012 Richard Littler began mocking up some fake 1970s public health posters and government pamphlets for schools and general consumption. He presented them with an enjoyably twisted slant that perfectly captured the vaguely menacing, often insulting approach of such material. 
TRAVELS AND ADVENTURES OF JAMES MASSEY (1714) – By Simon Tyssot de Patot. Supposedly written in 1710 but not published until 1714, this novel dealt with the travels of the title character to exotic lands. 
SHIRLEY TEMPLE’S STORYBOOK (1958-1961) – This time around, Balladeer’s Blog’s recurring feature Forgotten Television takes a look at this overlooked children’s series hosted by an adult Shirley Temple. Like Shelley Duvall’s 1980s series Faerytale Theatre this earlier program managed to attract some big names and soon-to-be-big names for its cast. 
Shirley Temple’s Storybook was one of Shirley’s A.J.A. (After John Agar) ventures, in fact it debuted 8 years after their divorce. The program aired from January 12th, 1958 to July 16th, 1961.
KNOCKING OFF NUMBER TWO – The UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA AT ANCHORAGE SEAWOLVES welcomed the number 2 team in the nation – the ST. MARTIN’S UNIVERSITY SAINTS. The Seawolves put the Saints on Upset Alert by Halftime with their 33-25 lead. After the break SMU rallied, but Alaska-Anchorage held on for a 71-68 victory. Tyson Gilbert logged 28 points to lead the Seawolves. 
MARATHON GAME OF THE DAY – The FLORIDA SOUTHERN COLLEGE MOCS (Moccasins) visited the PALM BEACH ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY SAILFISH yesterday. At the Half the Mocs were up 42-34 but the Sailfish forced OT with a 74-74 tie to end Regulation. The 1st Overtime ended at 80-80, the 2nd at 89-89, the 3rd at 102-102 and the FOURTH OVERTIME saw FSC win out 117-110. Luke Anderson’s Double Double of 31 points and 12 rebounds led the Mocs. 
FANTASTIC FOUR Vol 1 #58 (January 1967) 
THE BILLDAD 
DESERT CRUSADER (1968-1969) – This French television series is also known as Thibaud, ou les Croisades, Thibaud, il Cavaliere Bianco, Thibaud, der Weisse Ritter and other variations of those titles. The color series ran two seasons of 13 episodes each, with those episodes lasting around 26 minutes apiece.
Thibaud and his sidekick Blanchot (Raymond Meunier) are part of the knightly efforts to safeguard people making a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. He often works alongside the Knights Templar but doesn’t seem to be an official member of their Order. 
FRIGHTMARE THEATER (2015-2022) – Over the years, Balladeer’s Blog has examined plenty of Movie Host Shows, old and new. Frightmare Theater is another hostess-themed film show created, written and directed by Joel Stephens, just like 
Frightmare Theater delivers an entire coven of hostesses, led by Mistress Scarlet (Scarlet Ryan), the red head who rises from her coffin to host the bad movie proceedings. Some of her assistants are Original Cyn (Cyn Renteria), Sister Jane (Jane Victoria Colley) and Sister Monalisa (Monalisa Davinci). Stephens himself appeared as Boris the Butler for a while. 
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