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.

COF #23 Apes Article

When I was 15 years old in 1974, I was living near Macon, GA at the time, and one weekend as usual I was spending the night at my Grandma's house. These trips were like a taste of freedom given to a prisoner, in that I was allowed to be myself there, and buy what I wanted. I made my trip to Chi-Chesters Pharmacy on Vineville Ave, to see what magazines, comics or paperback I could find... and this time I hit the goldmine: the following issue, #23, of the awesome magazine "Castle of Frankenstein." The issue was electrifying to me as I snatched it from the magazine rack in an instant and feasted my eyes on the Apes cover art! I was a rabid Apes fan by then (an interest that was second only to my fever for Star Trek), and this was just before the first issue of the Marvel Apes magazine had come out. Below is the art for the wraparound cover, and the main Apes article inside. I still remember reading the article as I walked back home to Grandma's house, and how excited I was.

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Zaius: "I'm tickling her underarm! Tickle, tickle, tickle!"

Bonus: the cover art without the text! Found online.

1978 This Island Earth article

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The article this time comes from the June 1978 issue of Science Fantasy Film Classics, the cover to which you can view here. I have just posted several articles from it over on one of my other blogs, "My Star Trek Scrapbook."

Admittedly a somewhat minor classic, "Island" still rightfully deserves classic status, and occupies a place close to the heart of many kids that grew up in the 50's, and those that knew of it from "Famous Monsters" and such magazines, like me. Chock full of aliens, space ships (the saucer resembles the main hull of the later U.S.S. Enterprise, no coincidence I'm sure), bug-eyed, exposed-brain mutants, battles in space and more, it is quintessential 50's sci-fi.

One thing that always struck me as odd about the "Mu-tant" costume was... "why pants?" I mean, really... would a bipedal insectoid/crusteacean creature need trousers? Why not just design more of the crab-like armor over his loins and thighs? But what's worse is, the pants don't just come down and end with a hem at the ankle, it seems to run into his bug suit and to plainly become part of the carapace again! So, is he wearing the pants, or are they part of his own body?

If the Creature From the Black Lagoon had come out of the water wearing swimming trunks it wouldn't have been more ridiculous... unless the trunks also had scales and blended with his body, yet had a belt in it! This seems to have just been laziness or perhaps they ran out of money when building the suit. "Can't afford monster legs? Just stick him in some baggy pants, then! The kids will never notice!"

If I had one major criticism of the movie, it would be the short amount of time devoted to the actual visit to Metaluna. The film is mostly taken up with the mystery of who these high-foreheaded people are and what they are doing, but the trip to their planet, brief adventure and trip back seems rushed and inconsequential. "Well, we're here! Oops, too late, we've lost the war... let's get you back home." Devoting more of the film to their time on the alien planet, and contributing to the solution to (or winning of) the space war would have been more fulfilling... as opposed to getting there just in time to see it destroyed. The entire setting of the Earth-bound think-tank could have been jettisoned in favor of starting the trip to space at that point in the film.

But, all in all, the movie is fun and full of effects, and certainly not bad enough to be chosen to spoof in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie." Although I admit I was amused by the passing resemblence and mannerisms of the main alien Exeter (Jeff Morrow) to Robin Williams, and I was half-way expecting him to break out with "Nanu-nanu!" any time.