Reader Daniel Kibblesmith requested this item about how I’d treat an expanded universe from Robert Ludlum’s espionage novels. Here at Balladeer’s Blog I’m about responding to you readers. I had sprinkled my reviews of Robert Ludlum’s Top Seven Novels with observations of what I would have liked to see in terms of offshoots or spin-off stories. So, since Expanded Universes are becoming all the rage in recent decades here’s an outline of my fan fiction-style view of an Expanded Robert Ludlum Universe.
I. BEOWULF AGATE – Series of short stories or a made for cable series. The tales would be set from the 1950s to late 1970s, ending just before the events in The Matarese Circle. Ludlum’s fictional intelligence organization Consular Operations would take center stage.
Brandon Scofield, codename Beowulf Agate, one of the main characters of The Matarese Circle, would be shown pulling off his highest level defections from the Soviet Union in his best “Cold War version of the Scarlet Pimpernel” style. Every so often he would clash with his archenemy – KGB Agent Vasili Taleniekov. To up the suspense level sometimes Taleniekov would win their clashes.
II. OPERATION: MEDUSA – Another series of short stories or a made for cable series. Ludlum’s Operation: Medusa was his fictional version of the Vietnam War’s real-life Phoenix Project. Operation: Medusa was the top-secret, paramilitary Black Operations outfit in which David Webb aka Jason Bourne got his first covert experience.
Officially disavowed by the U.S. government, Medusans spent the final few years of the Vietnam War pulling off assassinations, abducting and torturing information out of North Vietnamese movers and shakers, committing acts of sabotage AND facilitating escapes from POW camps. David Webb, his brother Gordon, D’Anjou (Codename: Echo), Alexander Conklin and “The Monk” himself, David Abbot would be the main characters but we would meet new Medusans, too. Continue reading
ECLIPSE MONTHLY Vol 1 #4 (January 1984) 
Synopsis: Writer and artist B.C. Boyer was wearing his Will Eisner hat more flamboyantly than ever this time around in a tale that piles on the comic relief with a shovel. 
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME – A tournament that was basically all chalk came to a close in the expected way – with the top seeded TRINITY BAPTIST COLLEGE EAGLES facing the 2 seeds – the BLUE LIGHTS COLLEGE OF APEX THOROUGHBREDS. The game was a real thriller, but in the end the Eagles outdid the Thoroughbreds for an 84-76 victory. * THE EAGLES ARE BIBLE COLLEGE NIT CHAMPIONS * 
FIRST SEMIFINAL – The top seeds – the SANDHILLS COLLEGE FLYERS – took the court to tackle the 4th seeded ROCHESTER TECHNICAL COLLEGE YELLOW JACKETS. By Halftime the Flyers were clinging to a mere 37-36 edge but after the break they got a bit more separation from their opponents to win the game 84-76. Savion Staton led Sandhills College in scoring with 16 points. 
ONE LITTLE INDIAN (1973) – Light-hearted family western. James Garner portrays Corporal Clint Keyes, who, after clashing with his Indian-hating superior, escapes a potential hanging for it and rides off into the desert with a pair of camels left over from the ill-advised American Camel Corps attempt in the 1800s. 
FIRST SEMIFINAL – The 2 seeds – the BLUE LIGHTS COLLEGE OF APEX THOROUGHBREDS – took the court against the 3rd seeded APPALACHIAN BIBLE COLLEGE WARRIORS. The Thoroughbreds proceeded to fold, spindle and mutilate the Warriors. Appalachian Bible College never knew what hit them as Blue Lights College obliterated them by a Century Club-level score of ONE HUNDRED TWENTY to SIXTY-THREE! 
QUARTERFINAL ONE – The 3 seeds – the EASTFIELD COLLEGE HARVESTERS – played the 11th seeded SAINT CLOUD TECHNICAL COLLEGE CYCLONES. The Harvesters were in charge all the way, parlaying a 47-35 Halftime lead over the Cyclones into a 96-63 triumph when all was said and done. Dajuan Ridgeway led Eastfield College with 22 points. 
Balladeer’s Blog’s theme of Top 20 lists for the year 2020 continues with this look at a score of James Garner films. NOTE: The Great Escape is not included, only because Garner was part of an ensemble cast in that movie. 
MAVERICK (1994) – Though James Garner was technically playing a supporting role to Mel Gibson in this film, Gibson was portraying Bret Maverick, the character Garner had turned into a sensation in the 1950s. Since this movie would not exist without the cultural cache built up by James’ portrayal of both Bret AND “Pappy” Beauregard Maverick (in old age makeup) this definitely counts as a Garner film. 
BARBARIANS AT THE GATE (1993) – In this telefilm based on the best-selling non-fiction book, Jim plays F. Ross Johnson, the real-life president of RJR-Nabisco who unleashed one of the most chaotic and frenzied leveraged buyouts in Wall Street history during the “greed is good” 1980s. 
PART THIRTY-FIVE: Taking a look at James Larkin Pearson’s version of the Fool Killer and the mythic figure’s targets in the May of 1910 Fool-Killer four-pager. (There was no April issue that year.) 
*** Pope Pius X. Pearson and his Fool Killer – like the folks at the iconic humor magazine Puck – adored ex-President Theodore Roosevelt and sided with him in the public feud between TR and Pope Pius X over the lack of respect the Pope felt Roosevelt had paid him. Luckily for Pius X the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea kept him safe from the Fool Killer’s wrath. 
PLAY-IN GAME – In this game the 4 seeds – the DAYSPRING BIBLE COLLEGE & SEMINARY EAGLES – squared off against the 5th seeded WORD OF LIFE COLLEGE HUSKIES for the right to advance to the tournament proper. The Eagles were on top of the Huskies 40-33 come Halftime then got more separation from their opponents from there to win it 82-67. 
DAY ONE: GAME ONE – The 8th seeded HERKIMER COLLEGE GENERALS took on the 9 seeds – the COLUMBUS (OH) STATE COUGARS. The Generals were chasing the Cougars 31-26 at the Half but regrouped in the locker room for a 61-58 comeback victory. Ty Desinor led Herkimer College with a Double-Double of 15 points and 10 rebounds. 
DAY ONE: GAME TWO – Next the 5 seeds – the RICHLAND COLLEGE THUNDERDUCKS – did battle with the 12th seeded COLLEGE OF RHODE ISLAND KNIGHTS. The dominant Thunderducks parlayed a 46-38 advantage over the Knights by the break into a 91-75 smackdown win. Donovan Souter tossed in 23 points to lead Richland College. 
KID GLOVES (1951) – This joyously tasteless program from the early years of television featured children AGE THREE TO TWELVE beating each other’s brains out in boxing matches. No, I’m not joking.
ADRIFT IN THE UNKNOWN (1904) – Written by William Wallace Cook (like our previous story), this tale was originally serialized in Argosy magazine from December of 1904 to April of 1905. Our previous Cook story dealt with time travel, while this one deals with space exploration. 
