We’re changing it up a little on Give Them A Shoutout Before They’re Dead. This time it’s Guns ‘N’ Roses with You Could Be Mine.
Tag Archives: Balladeer’s Blog
AVENGERS – THE KREE-SKRULL WAR (1971-1972)
OKAY- TECH PROBLEMS SOLVED SO LET’S TAKE THIS BLOG POST FROM THE TOP –
At Balladeer’s Blog I’m all about you readers. You can’t seem to get enough Marvel Comics items so here we go!
Last year when the latest Marvel movie came out I did a long, issue by issue look at the Avengers’ 1973-1975 story The Celestial Madonna Saga for some nice escapist fun mixed in with my usual topics.
This year as promised I’ll accompany the new Avengers movie (out this week) with an issue by issue look at an even earlier Marvel Comics epic. Namely, the The Kree-Skrull War (1971-1972). In many ways it’s a prequel since it sets up many storylines that were finalized in The Celestial Madonna Saga.
As always I retain a soft spot for superhero stories because reading them when I was a kid served as a gateway to two of my adult passions: mythology and opera.
SETTING: The Kree race and the Skrull race are a pair of alien races who have been at war for untold thousands of years. Both races were introduced in the pages of the The Fantastic Four in the 1960s and became staples in the Marvel Comics Universe, which I will once again praise for being as enjoyably detailed as the Star Trek or Doctor Who universes.
THE AVENGERS Volume One, Number 89 (June 1971)
The Only Good Alien … Is A Dead Alien
Synopsis: The story opens up in Miami, where a trio of Avengers – the Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver and the Vision – track down and engage in a battle with the Kree superhero called Captain Marvel. (THIS IS THE HERO THAT NICK FURY SUMMONS IN THE POST-CREDITS SCENE IN AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR)
NOTE: There is often confusion between the Marvel Comics figure called Captain Marvel and the Fawcett Comics figure of the same name. The Fawcett Comics figure dated back to the Golden Age and was one of the victims of DC Comics’ legal attacks on ANY superhero that they felt was too similar to their character Superman. Continue reading
Filed under Superheroes
AVENGERS: CELESTIAL MADONNA SAGA
As assorted tech issues remain here at Balladeer’s Blog I can at least post these links to EVERY part detailing the Celestial Madonna Saga. It presented the Avengers – Mantis included – taking on Loki, Dormammu, Zodiac, Thanos, Lion God, the Troglodytes, the Star Stalker, the Defenders, the Collector, Ultron, Nuklo, Klaw, Solarr, Maximus the Mad, Omega, Necrodamus, KANG the Conqueror, Macrobots, the Titanic Three, the Legion of the Unliving and Immortus! Enjoy til things are operating properly again.
MANTIS IN COOL HAND LUKE II
Balladeer’s Blog spent part of this past summer on a light-hearted, escapist bit of fun by examining the very first Mantis storylines at Marvel Comics. Mantis was brought into the Marvel Cinematic Universe this year in the second Guardians of the Galaxy movie but I reviewed her ORIGINAL appearance and the 1973-1975 Celestial Madonna epic she starred in.
I. MANTIS: THE CELESTIAL MADONNA SAGA – The “senses-shattering” beginning of the series which I covered in some of the same style as my reviews of Epic Myths. CLICK HERE
II. MANTIS 2: NIGHT OF THE SWORDSMAN – Mantis and her romantic partner the Swordsman show up at Avengers Mansion and wind up helping the superteam against one of their old foes. CLICK HERE
III. MANTIS 3: BELOW US THE BATTLE – Mantis, the Swordsman and the other Avengers fly to England in search of their missing member the Black Knight. While there they come into conflict with sinister forces. CLICK HERE
IV. MANTIS 4: THE AVENGERS VS THE DEFENDERS – As the search for the Black Knight continues, Loki and Dormammu trick the Avengers and the Defenders into all-out war with each other over a relic called the Evil Eye of Avalon. CLICK HERE
V. MANTIS 5: THE AVENGERS-DEFENDERS WAR CONTINUES – Mantis and one of her fellow Avengers battle the Defenders’ leader Doctor Strange for a fragment of the Evil Eye. Meanwhile, the newest Defender Hawkeye fights Iron Man in Mexico for another fragment. CLICK HERE
VI. MANTIS 6: HOLOCAUST – Mantis’ lover the Swordsman battles Valkyrie of the Defenders for the Bolivian fragment of the Evil Eye, while Captain America clashes with the Defender Sub-Mariner and the mutant called Sunfire for the fragment in Japan. CLICK HERE
VII. MANTIS 7: BREAKTHROUGH – In Los Angeles the Avenger Thor battles the Defender Hulk for the final fragment of the Evil Eye, unaware that their teammates have begun combining forces. CLICK HERE
VIII. MANTIS 8: TO THE DEATH – The Avengers and Defenders race against the clock to save the entire universe from Dormammu’s revealed plan. CLICK HERE
IX. MANTIS 9: THE COLLECTOR – Mantis and her fellow Avengers battle the Collector, one of the Elders of the Universe. The Collector is trying once again to add the Avengers to his universe-wide museum. CLICK HERE
X. MANTIS 10: ZODIAC RETURNS – The supervillain team called Zodiac is back in action, now led by Taurus who has a deadly master plan. CLICK HERE
XI. MANTIS 11: AVENGERS VS ZODIAC CONTINUES – Taurus hints at some of the mysteries behind Mantis as the Avengers battle Zodiac atop the World Trade Center Towers. CLICK HERE
XII. MANTIS 12: SHOCKING REVELATIONS IN THE SHOWDOWN WITH ZODIAC – The Avengers and the rebellious Houses of Zodiac fight each other while trying to survive Taurus’ death trap, meanwhile an explosive revelation is made about Mantis. CLICK HERE
XIII. MANTIS 13: AN ORIGIN FOR MANTIS – Libra’s revelations about Mantis lead the Avengers to Vietnam and a clash with Mantis’ crime-lord uncle and his chemically-enhanced troops. CLICK HERE
XIV: MANTIS 14: THE STAR STALKER – As the mysteries surrounding Mantis deepen the Avengers battle to save the entire world from destruction at the hands of the alien Star Stalker. CLICK HERE
XV. MANTIS 15: THANOS – Mantis and the other Avengers get drawn into the war against the mad Titan called Thanos and must prevent his interstellar fleet from invading the Earth. CLICK HERE
XVI. MANTIS 16: THE THANOS WAR CONCLUDES – Mantis plays a crucial role in defeating the cosmically powerful Thanos. Meanwhile parallels between Mantis and Moon Dragon come to the surface. CLICK HERE
XVII. MANTIS 17: KLAW AND SOLARR TEAM UP – The supervillain Klaw and his new partner Solarr hold an Ambassador and several Avengers hostage in a bid to force the Black Panther to abdicate the throne of Wakanda. CLICK HERE
XVIII. MANTIS 18: THE SCARLET WITCH FINDS A FATHER – During a battle against an atomic-powered mutant called Nuklo, the Scarlet Witch meets her long-lost father as parallels now emerge between her and Mantis. CLICK HERE
XIX. MANTIS 19: THE WEDDING OF QUICKSILVER AND THE INHUMAN CRYSTAL – The Avengers and Fantastic Four join the Inhumans in their hidden city of Attilan for the wedding of the former Avenger Quicksilver and the former Fant 4 member Crystal. Maximus the Mad, the Alpha Primitives and Omega attack them. CLICK HERE
XX. MANTIS 20: ULTRON VS THE AVENGERS, THE FANTASTIC FOUR AND THE INHUMANS – The Avengers’ arch-enemy Ultron, the real menace behind Maximus, Omega and the Alphas, plans to kill all three superteams then use Attilan’s Kree technology to wipe out all human life on Earth. CLICK HERE
XXI. MANTIS 21: NECRODAMUS ATTACKS – While the romantic feuds among Mantis, the Scarlet Witch, the Vision and the Swordsman come to a head, Wanda trains with Agatha Harkness and the Defenders’ old foe Necrodamus attacks Avengers Mansion. CLICK HERE
XXII. MANTIS 22: KANG THE CONQUEROR WANTS THE CELESTIAL MADONNA – Kang attacks the Avengers and declares war on 20th Century Earth while waiting for the manifestation of a figure called the Celestial Madonna. CLICK HERE
XXIII. MANTIS 23: KANG, THE CELESTIAL MADONNA AND THE DEATH OF AN AVENGER – Kang the Conqueror’s future self aids the Avengers as they fight Kang around the world, the Celestial Madonna is revealed and an Avenger is slain saving Mantis’ life. CLICK HERE Continue reading
Filed under Superheroes
MIDNIGHT MARQUEE #80 IS NOW AVAILABLE
Midnight Marquee, the renowned magazine devoted to horror, sci fi and cult films, returns after a long hiatus.
The 80th issue is now available. Below find the table of contents of this latest issue and the click for ordering. Continue reading
Filed under Bad and weird movies
COLLEGE BASEBALL RANKINGS: USCAA
Balladeer’s Blog’s rankings for USCAA Baseball:
USCAA (United States Collegiate Athletic Association) – 1. NEWPORT NEWS APPRENTICE SCHOOL BUILDERS ### 2. WRIGHT STATE – LAKE CAMPUS LAKERS ### 3. UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI AT CLERMONT COUGARS ### 4. BLUEFIELD STATE BIG B’s ### 5. COLLEGE OF SAINT JOSEPH’S (sic) FIGHTING SAINTS ###
6. ILLINOIS TECH SCARLET HAWKS ## 7. CLEARY UNIVERSITY PROWLING COUGARS ### 8. FLORIDA NATIONAL UNIVERSITY CONQUISTADORS ### 9. SOUTHERN MAINE COLLEGE SEA WOLVES ### 10. GREAT BAY COLLEGE HERONS ### Continue reading
Filed under College Baseball
THE HAMPDENSHIRE WONDER (1911): ANCIENT SCIENCE FICTION
THE HAMPDENSHIRE WONDER (1911) – Written by J.D. Berresford. The story centers around Victor Stott, the remarkable son of Cricket star Ginger Stott. A news reporter who is on friendly terms with Ginger Stott meets his one year old child Victor during a train trip.
The reporter is disturbed by Victor’s obvious intelligence and menacing, piercing stare, thougb the prodigy’s father has forbidden the child to speak in order to avoid confirming suspicions regarding his paranormal intellect.
When Victor is five years old the anthropologist Squire Challis, another friend of the family, lets the obviously brilliant child loose in his extensive library. Victor manages to complete every book in Challis’ library in a matter of days. He then proceeds to debate and demolish all of Challis’ deeply-held views in a variety of scholarly subjects. Continue reading
Filed under Ancient Science Fiction
POLO: DRF UPSET VALIENTE IN U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Balladeer’s Blog continues its coverage of the world’s OLDEST team sport. FOR MY PRIMER ON POLO CLICK HERE
U.S. OPEN: CHAMPIONSHIP GAME – DAILY RACING FORM VERSUS VALIENTE
Valiente – Official Balladeer’s Blog Nickname: The Valiants – were the defending champions of the U.S. Open and had taken last year’s Triple Crown of Polo. Daily Racing Form – Official Balladeer’s Blog Nickname: The Stat-Hounds – defied the odds and derailed the seemingly unstoppable Valiente juggernaut.
FIRST CHUKKER – Valiente grabbed an early lead by way of a pair of Goals from Facundo Pieres. Daily Racing Form responded with a Goal of their own as the opening Chukker ended with the defending champs on top 2-1.
SECOND CHUKKER – This time around it was the Stat-Hounds who swatted a pair of Goals between the Uprights while limiting their opponents to just 1. The score was now knotted up at 3-3.
THIRD CHUKKER – DRF seized their first lead of the Match, once again outscoring the Valiants 2 Goals to 1. Going into Halftime the Stat-Hounds led Valiente by a count of 5-4. Continue reading
Filed under Polo
RED ELVISES: BOOGIE ON THE BEACH FROM SIX-STRING SAMURAI
Give Them A Shoutout Before They’re Dead strikes again here at Balladeer’s Blog! In this case the shoutout goes to the Red Elvises and their song Boogie on the Beach. The video was released promotionally for the excellent but underappreciated film Six-String Samurai, which featured music by the Red Elvises and Brian Tyler back before Brian Tyler was synonymous with movie soundtracks.
AND FOR MY REVIEW OF SIX-STRING SAMURAI CLICK HERE
Filed under opinion, Samurai Films
THE PRISONER (1967): MORE RELEVANT THAN EVER BEFORE
Regular readers of Balladeer’s Blog are very familiar with my high regard for Patrick McGoohan’s 1967 science-fiction/ existential drama The Prisoner. Over the many times I’ve referred to this 17-episode program I’ve heard back from a few readers here and there saying they have heard of the show but never saw any episodes and don’t understand its appeal.
I’ve decided to do an in-depth look at The Prisoner, episode by episode, for the benefit of readers who’ve never seen the show and in the hope of reigniting interest among Prisoner fans who mistakenly feel the program’s relevance ended with the Cold War. Actually, The Prisoner is more relevant than ever, in my view, what with its brilliant blend of Orwell and Kafka plus its foreshadowing of shows like Twin Peaks and Lost.
The premise of The Prisoner reflects Patrick McGoohan’s disillusionment and disgust with the way pop fiction romanticized Intelligence Agents, who are actually just government thugs, not heroes. From interviews McGoohan did over the years he seemed to feel a certain sense of personal guilt over his own contribution to that romanticized image, especially from his successful run as Intelligence Operative John Drake on Danger Man and Secret Agent. (His acclaim from those programs was such that Patrick was supposedly approached to play James Bond in Dr No. He declined.)
LET’S GET THIS OUT OF THE WAY: Many Prisoner fans still engage in a fairly pointless argument over whether or not Patrick McGoohan’s never-named character on The Prisoner is supposed to be John Drake from his earlier series. IT. DOES. NOT. MATTER. (And in one oft-cited episode another character rather clearly says “break” not “Drake,” but there’s no convincing the pro-Drake crowd.)
Either way, John Drake or not John Drake, the point is that McGoohan portrays a Secret Agent who resigns from the Intelligence Services in disgust. Soon after, he is gassed into unconsciousness and abducted.
He comes to in an isolated, high-tech but dystopian community known only as The Village (or “The Island” if you’re a fan of The Simpsons episode that parodied The Prisoner.) Continue reading
Filed under Forgotten Television, Prisoner (tv series)
POLO: U.S. OPEN SEMIFINAL RESULTS
Balladeer’s Blog continues its coverage of the world’s OLDEST team sport. FOR MY PRIMER ON POLO CLICK HERE The 115th U.S. Open rolled along with its Semifinal clashes now in the books.
FIRST SEMIFINAL – DAILY RACING FORM VERSUS THE U.S. POLO ASSOCIATION: “Complacency” was the byword of one of the oddest Semifinal matches in U.S. Open history. First up Daily Racing Form – Official Balladeer’s Blog Nickname: The Stat-Hounds – faced the United States Polo Association – Official Balladeer’s Blog Nickname: The Association (Thank you to Jim Rome).
The Stat-Hounds’ biggest problem through Chukkers One and Two was staying awake. They confounded and kicked around the hapless, outclassed Association so thoroughly that the two opening Chukkers ended with Daily Racing Form on top 3-0 and 6-0 respectively.
In Chukker Number Three USPA showed signs of emerging from their collective coma by actually swatting in a Goal for themselves. Going into Halftime the Stat-Hounds led the Match by a count of EIGHT Goals to ONE!
Chukker Number Four saw the Association trying to capitalize on a seemingly complacent DRF team. USPA put 3 Goals between the Uprights compared to just 1 from the Stat-Hounds, whose lead had now been cut to 9-4. Continue reading
Filed under Polo
