As regular readers of Balladeer’s Blog know, December through Twelfth Night (January 6th) is the time of year in which I look at versions of the tales of Charlemagne and his Paladins. These are the legends about Charlemagne, not the actual history, so there will be dragons, monsters and magic.
FOR MY FIRST CHAPTER ON CHARLEMAGNE’S PALADINS CLICK HERE.
REINOLD BATTLES ROLAND – Regular readers will remember that when we left the Paladin named Reinold he was making his way on foot back to the Court of Charlemagne after escaping from Princess Angelica’s enchanted island.
Reinold crossed paths with a beautiful weeping woman named Flordelis, who begged the Paladin to help free her beloved Florismart from the clutches of Morgana, the Lady of the Lake. Reinold agreed, and Flordelis offered him her horse to ride. With the young woman seated behind him on the horse, Reinold rode off.
After a few hours’ ride, the pair came upon a cavern guarded by a 12 foot tall, club-wielding giant. Chained nearby was a griffin, who aided the giant in guarding the precious horse Rabican. Continue reading
JOE BIDEN’S AFGHANISTAN DEBACLE – Several items regarding Biden’s inept departure from the previously decided upon withdrawal procedures, plus the needless tragedies which followed. Click 
JOE BIDEN’S BLOOD-SOAKED FAILURES – And for not covering him in 2020 the way all previous presidential candidates had been covered. Click 
ANCIENT SCIENCE FICTION – A Journey in the 29th Century (1824) 
Joe Biden, accused rapist, proven racist and career criminal who, 
A CHRISTMAS CAROL (2020) – Christmas Carol-A-Thon 2021 comes to a close with this review of the criminally underrated version of A Christmas Carol that was released last year. This production is easily one of the most beautiful adaptations of the Dickens classic. 
And what thespians! The voice of Andy Serkis is heard, in addition to those of Sian Phillips, who apparently will never die, and Leslie Caron, whom I thought had already died. Serkis provides the dialogue for Marley’s Ghost and Old Joe. Phillips is the narrator whose wonderful performance ties it all together and Caron provides the voice for the Ghost of Christmas Past. 
A CHRISTMAS CAROL (1950) – This production of A Christmas Carol was shown on the BBC on December 25th and December 27th, 1950. Bransby Williams starred as Ebenezer Scrooge, John Ruddock played Bob Cratchit with Robert Cawdron as Nephew Fred. 
MS SCROOGE (1997) – Balladeer’s Blog’s Twelfth Annual Christmas Carol-A-Thon is fast approaching its finale. This time around I’m reviewing Ms Scrooge, a Hallmark TV movie starring the revered actress Cicely Tyson as Ebenita Scrooge. 
The main distraction in this telefilm is the one that afflicts many other attempts to set A Christmas Carol in more modern times – employers cannot, and for decades haven’t been allowed to, treat their employees the way that Scrooge treats Bob Cratchit in the original story. Some modern adaptations avoid the problem by just making vague references to Ebenezer’s merciless running of their business, and in my opinion that works the best. Unfortunately this Hallmark presentation constantly takes you out of the story with blatantly illegal conduct by Scrooge. 
THREE BIZARRELY WATCHABLE MOVIES – My review of the neglected movies Darker Than Amber (1970), Bloodbath (1975) and Circle of Power (1981). Very odd but very watchable. Click 
RYAN DRAKE NOVELS BY WILL JORDAN – Balladeer’s Blog’s look at the series of Ryan Drake spy novels written by the one and only Will Jordan. Click 
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY: THE ORIGINAL TEAM – I examine the Guardians’ stories from 1969-1977. Click 
FRONTIERADO PARTY ESSENTIALS – The official list. Click 
FOOL KILLER: JULY 1912 – The Fool Killer targets abuses by the monied class and follies by America’s political establishment. Click 
Because December 21st is the shortest day of the year, Balladeer’s Blog always runs articles about short films, short presidential administrations (Yes, William Henry Harrison) and similar topics. This year I’m pandering to the insatiable superhero audience with this look at a Marvel Comics title that was INTENTIONALLY published as a one-shot item, making it the shortest series run imaginable. 
Previous articles here have dealt with the way that, for part of the 1960s, Marvel was limiting how many titles it had hitting newsstands. That meant publishing some of their heroes in one monthly publication, with each character getting a story covering half the issue. Iron Man and Captain America shared Tales of Suspense, Sub-Mariner and the Hulk shared Tales to Astonish. 
The trouble was, both Iron Man and Sub-Mariner had one more half-issue length story left and ready to be printed, but there were no more split comic book titles to accommodate them. So, Marvel Comics published one lone issue of a comic book titled Iron Man and Sub-Mariner. 
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