We live in a superhero-crazed world right now. Here at Balladeer’s Blog I’m always glad to oblige readers’ requests to throw in superhero-related posts because I have a soft spot for the subject since superhero comic books were a gateway to two of my adult passions: mythology and opera.
DC fans have complained that I pay too much attention to Marvel Comics and other comic book companies, so here is the first of my looks at DC’s biggest claim to fame – the VERY FIRST SUPERHERO TEAM EVER. Long before the Justice League came the Justice Society in 1940.
I will review the original issue AND detail how I would “script-doctor” the story for modern audiences.
ALL-STAR COMICS #3 (December 1940)
Title: THE FIRST MEETING OF THE JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA
Heroes: FLASH (Original), RED TORNADO (Original female version), SPECTRE, SANDMAN, GREEN LANTERN (Original), HOURMAN, DOCTOR FATE, HAWKMAN (Original), ATOM (Original), JOHNNY THUNDER
Synopsis: At this very first meeting of any superteam in comic book history, the members make general introductions and each relate one of their adventures via flashback. The Red Tornado stops by for a visit.
While the meeting is going on, FBI Chief J Edgar Hoover invites the entire team to a Top Secret meeting the following Tuesday and the Justice Society of America accepts.
How I Would Revise It: Continue reading
Here at Balladeer’s Blog I’m about responding to you readers. Some of you responded very strongly to the way I 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.
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. 
Two thousand fishermen from Cape Cod had gone off to enlist in the Continental Army, and in their absence the British had repeatedly landed raiding parties to harass the citizens.
More than eleven years after its posting online, this specially edited trailer for The Wicker Man remake as if it’s a comedy STILL hasn’t gotten nearly as much love as it deserves. So, for a holiday season break here is one of the few reworked trailers that is utterly hilarious because it doesn’t cheat by inserting footage from other movies. This baby is all pure video and audio from the Nicolas “What’s in the bag? … A shaaarrrk?” Cage remake. 
Thanksgiving is this Thursday, which means that on Wednesday Night Balladeer’s Blog will be showing its yearly Thanksgiving Eve presentation of Oliver! Yes, I know there’s no connection between Thanksgiving and that musical based on the Dickens novel Oliver Twist. 
College football rivalry games are as much a part of the Thanksgiving season as turkey and pumpkin pie. Here is a look at some of this week’s holiday offerings in the way of in-state grudge matches or other traditional gridiron clashes for the season. To find odds for the upcoming NCAAF games click 
CENTENNIAL-MAC BOWL – The FRANKLIN & MARSHALL COLLEGE DIPLOMATS from the Centennial Conference hosted the LYCOMING COLLEGE WARRIORS from the Middle Atlantic Conference. The Diplomats were chasing the Warriors 13-7 in the 1st Quarter and 20-14 at Halftime. Franklin & Marshall went on top 21-20 in the 3rd Quarter, a score that held up as the final tally, too. 
WHITELAW BOWL – The UTICA COLLEGE PIONEERS took on the ITHACA COLLEGE BOMBERS in the 2018 Scotty Whitelaw Bowl. The Bombers were leading 28-21 at the break and 35-24 to end the 3rd Quarter. In the 4th the Pioneers exploded for 20 points, winning the game by a count of 44-42. 
BUSHNELL BOWL – This year’s Asa Bushnell Bowl pitted the ALFRED UNIVERSITY SAXONS against the SALISBURY UNIVERSITY SEA GULLS. A 7-0 Saxons edge in the opening Quarter became a 7-7 tie at the Half. Neither team scored in the 3rd Quarter, but Alfred University added 7 more points in the 4th for a 14-7 win. 
The people of Fiji believed in an epic journey for the souls of the deceased. That journey is even more detailed than the Soul’s Journey envisioned by the Tupari of Brazil. 
