Batman OnStar Magazine Ad

Below is an awesome painting of Batman that was an ad in a May 2000 magazine for the OnStar automobile emergency service. The suit is screen-accurate, based on the one from Batman Forever. I just don't make the connection between pushing a button on your dash to call for help and "becoming Batman." They also did a series of TV commercials that were very memorable (and better than "Batman and Robin"). You can view a compilation of all of them on this Youtube video.

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"Criminals, beware... I'll squeeze your gonads until they burst like rotten figs!"

Below is the cardboard box top for the plastic figures of Batman and the Joker that held candy, that came out in 1989. I ate the candy and saved the toys; it would been too weird to do it the other way around.

Is it wise to accept pill-shaped candy from Jack Nicholson's Joker?

1991 "The Flash" Comics Scene article

"The Flash" was, in my opinion, one of the better live-action superhero series to ever be on television. Much inspiration from the 1989 "Batman" film was evident, from the costume with the sculpted musculature, to the retro-noirish sets, to the music (the rousing and bombastic theme was composed by Batman's Danny Elfman). Below is a cover story from issue #18 of the Comics Scene magazine, (from the same publishers as Starlog) published in April of 1991, on the Scarlet Speedster as played by John Wesley Shipp.

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Below, a couple of TV Guide ads for episodes of the show, along with an "Editor's Choice" clipping.

1974 Battle For The Planet Of The Apes article

Battle For The Planet Of The Apes was the last in the film series, and the lowest in quality, before the TV series began, which seemed to take place not too far in the future from what we saw in this movie. This article on it is scanned from issue # 108 of Famous Monsters, which was published in July of 1974. This is about where I came into my awareness of the Apes phenomenon, having somehow missed it up til then; don't ask me how. But I made up for in rabid interest what I lacked in prior awareness, and my fervor for it burned in intensity second only to my love for Star Trek.

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Below, as a bonus, is an ad page featuring the model kits for the Apes, as well as other interesting items.

The Big Bang Theory Promo

No, this entry is not about Sheldon's popular show; rather, it's a 1988 cable trade magazine dual ad for both the "War Of The Worlds" series and "Star Trek: The Next Generation." Although the ad touts the high numbers for the new "WOTW" series, you may remember that it only lasted for two seasons before being cancelled, whereas "ST:TNG" went for all seven before the studio voluntarily ended it. The magazine was an over-sized publication, and it took six page scans to get the entire two-page spread (the painting for which is quite spectacular), which I then pieced back together. Most of the time the scans here are larger than the actual item featured; but this one is close to the actual size of the original. By the way, I did post this in one of my other blogs awhile back, here, since it spans ST also.

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Bonus: A full-page ad from my 1967 issue #2 of Charlton's "Blue Beetle" comic, advertising their various superheroes. Cool!

1978 Ralph McQuarrie Article

From issue #17 of Starlog, published October 1978, comes this article on artist/designer Ralph McQuarrie. McQuarrie passed away recently, so I am posting this article in remembrance of this extraordinary talent.

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Bonus: from the same issue, this back cover ad for the Don Post Star Wars masks. Did you own one of these?

Bonus: From the same issue is this look back at Edgar Rice Burroughs, whose writing influenced so much of modern science fiction, especially on film. Since the first filmed version of his Mars stories, "John Carter," is still in theaters as of this post, I thought it might be interesting to read this. I saw the film in Imax 3D, and it was awesome! Of course, being Disney, we didn't get to see as many naked people as in the Frazetta paintings, but it was still good.

"V - The Final Battle" 1984 TV Guide article

Back in 1984, one of the most anticipated events on TV (at least for me) was the sequel to the highly-rated "V" saga. The article featured this time is from the May 7, 1984 edition of TV Guide, revealing the makeup technique used on the memorable scene where the Visitor is revealed to the rest of the world.

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It was then that "John" realised he should have disguised himself as someone more beloved than TV's Karl Maldan.

Below, the TV Guide Close-Up on the return of the popular V epic.

Below are some splash ads for the miniseries.

Superboy TV show

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Above, a full-page ad for "Superboy" in a cable-TV trade magazine.

In 1988, the "Superboy" series premiered, to my enthusiastic welcome. Although low-budget, it was an enjoyable show, which is in my opinion more enjoyable than the current "Smallville" series. John Haymes Newton, who, although a bit wooden, carried himself well in the suit and made a both a good Clark and Superboy. The flying wirework was equal to the movies, but the greenscreen flying effects were less convincing. Still, it was good to see a live-action Super-series of any kind, and was the next best thing to a Superman series.

Below, another cable trade magazine ad for the show.

And lastly, an article from Electronic Media magazine about the movie from the Disney studio to Universal. Sadly, I don't have the rest of the article.

1989 Family Channel Batman ad

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This full-page ad, published in a fall 1989 cable trade magazine, is a very nice rendition of Adam West's campy Caped Crusader.