WE can well remember the years just prior to the "POW", big Batman Campy Pop Art Television Revolution. Being mostly "Boomers" in our household, we five Ryan Kids were big fans of that now cult TV Series, "THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN" (National Comics, 1952-58). Only our older sister, Joanne (born in 1942) remembered the SUPERMAN Radio Show and had followed it in the Post-War years. The rest of "the Tribe", Rose Mary ('49), Jim ('51) Bob ('52) and me, John ('46) never had the pleasure of listening to the daily episodes on our Crosley.
Superman TV was another story. This was the first contact that we had with the Man of Steel. In 1957 that we abandoned the likes of Little Lulu, Dennis the Menace, Casper and The Fox & Crow for comics titles like Action Comics, Detective Comics, World's Finest Comics and Jimmy Olsen. The Super Hero thing had arrived on Damen Avenue on Chicago's Southside!
SO in '65 that we got hold of a mimeographed catalog of one Mar-Bren Sound company which sold Reel to Reel tapes of Old Time Radio. They listed what seemed to be an extensive list of Superman Radio Shows, at least 2 dozen or so!! There was one which had a synopsis saying that it featured not only Clark Kent, Jimmy Olsen, Lois Lane, Perry White and Superman; but it also guest-starred Batman & Robin!
Well, this was for me! An order was placed for about 4 of "THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN!" The familiar characters appearing in those "Theatre of the Mind" stories; seemed to a bunch of young kids to be from a time period that was so very long ago.
Listening to this old Mutual Radio Network showgot me little head a bit of inspiration. I reasoned, why couldn't the people over at National Comics/D.C., Superman's publishers and the Mutual Radio Network adapt the old Radio shows to the TV.
My "plan" would be easy to carry out and had the potential to be quite lucrative, I'm sure. It would require the use of the recordings of the radio shows would serve as the sound of the stories with the visuals being new drawings, with a small amount of limited animation. The art work would have provided by some of the current Superman Artists; like Wayne Boring, Al Plastino and Curtis Swan. The TV viewers would be treated to the great sounds and stories, with visuals that would give the "series" a look of being a screen comic book.
DAMN! Isn't that what "THE MARVEL SUPERHEROES" animated TV Series is? I shoulda had sense enough then to commit the idea to paper, to WRITE IT DOWN and get it submitted to somewhere or somebody who can do something with it! Oh well, no sense in crying over spilt milk! AS for the "HULK" segment of "THE MARVEL SUPERHEROES" (Grantray-Lawrence/Famous Studios/Marvel, 1966), what can we say that hasn't been said already? The series was made up of the finest direct-from-the-comics-page Art Work, the finest of voice acting and exciting stories taken right from the comics. All of that and they had the most limited animation; being just this side of "CLUTCH CARGO".
The Hulk is a manifestation of all of the fears that we Baby Boomer Kids had learned ever so early in our lives. Ever since the days when far off places such as Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Bikini Atoll became common parlance; Mankind has had a collective fear of causing our own self-inflicted extinction. The Hulk gives us a huge, almost giant humanoid distortion; representing the power and, to a degree, even the size and shape of the "Mushroom Cloud" unleashed by a nuclear blast.
Nuclear power and its uncertain application has long been a favourite of Writer/Editor Stan Lee and his creative partner, Comic Artist Extraordinaire, Jack Kirby. Their FANTASTIC FOUR and X-MEN*, as well as the "Green Giant", the HULK, all owe their origins to various varieties and applications of radiation.
The HULK'S origin was due to Dr. Bruce Banner's being in the wrong place at the wrong time when the super-secret Gamma Ray Bomb was detonated. Dr. Banner somehow survived and absorbed the energy; thus transforming his very genetic make-up to a sort of Post-Atomic Age version of Jekyll & Hyde.
And even within the personality of the Hulk, there is much conflict between the forces of good & evil within the "Biggie Sized" green headed brain of Dr. Banner's Alter-Ego. The presence of Banner's love interest, Miss Betty Ross and the local Dessert Urchin, Rick Jones, provides the Good Doctor with loved ones who try to cultivate the good that they see deep in Hulk's heart and try to steer it in a productive direction.
For a short while, it appeared that they would be successful. Along with the help of the MIGHTY THOR, ANT MAN & THE WASP and IRON MAN as The AVENGERS, the HULK'S power was channeled toward good, for a short while (about 3 issues, anyway!). But there were so many distractions; not the least of which was the hateful attitude of General 'Thunderbolt' Ross; the Commanding Officer in charge of the Gamma Ray Bomb test and incidentally, Betty Ross' Pater! Standing out in the vocals applied was the work of Max Ferguson. It was Mr. Ferguson who supplied perhaps the ideal voice for the animated "HULK" TV episodes (cartoons). Gruff, gravelly and constantly speaking of himself in 3rd Person Neanderthal Dialect ( i.e., e.g. "Hulk mad now!", or "Where Hulk go now?"), Max had Hulk nailed, to a tee! The stories were all excellent; being "torn right from the headlines" (of the Comics any way!). The Marvel Comics style of having highly dramatic, almost Shakespearian dialog supporting the visuals was continued in the small screen venture. To this was added some quite well done and highly appropriate incidental music, which also made its contribution to the melodramatic effect.
Superman TV was another story. This was the first contact that we had with the Man of Steel. In 1957 that we abandoned the likes of Little Lulu, Dennis the Menace, Casper and The Fox & Crow for comics titles like Action Comics, Detective Comics, World's Finest Comics and Jimmy Olsen. The Super Hero thing had arrived on Damen Avenue on Chicago's Southside!
SO in '65 that we got hold of a mimeographed catalog of one Mar-Bren Sound company which sold Reel to Reel tapes of Old Time Radio. They listed what seemed to be an extensive list of Superman Radio Shows, at least 2 dozen or so!! There was one which had a synopsis saying that it featured not only Clark Kent, Jimmy Olsen, Lois Lane, Perry White and Superman; but it also guest-starred Batman & Robin!
Well, this was for me! An order was placed for about 4 of "THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN!" The familiar characters appearing in those "Theatre of the Mind" stories; seemed to a bunch of young kids to be from a time period that was so very long ago.
Listening to this old Mutual Radio Network showgot me little head a bit of inspiration. I reasoned, why couldn't the people over at National Comics/D.C., Superman's publishers and the Mutual Radio Network adapt the old Radio shows to the TV.
My "plan" would be easy to carry out and had the potential to be quite lucrative, I'm sure. It would require the use of the recordings of the radio shows would serve as the sound of the stories with the visuals being new drawings, with a small amount of limited animation. The art work would have provided by some of the current Superman Artists; like Wayne Boring, Al Plastino and Curtis Swan. The TV viewers would be treated to the great sounds and stories, with visuals that would give the "series" a look of being a screen comic book.
DAMN! Isn't that what "THE MARVEL SUPERHEROES" animated TV Series is? I shoulda had sense enough then to commit the idea to paper, to WRITE IT DOWN and get it submitted to somewhere or somebody who can do something with it! Oh well, no sense in crying over spilt milk! AS for the "HULK" segment of "THE MARVEL SUPERHEROES" (Grantray-Lawrence/Famous Studios/Marvel, 1966), what can we say that hasn't been said already? The series was made up of the finest direct-from-the-comics-page Art Work, the finest of voice acting and exciting stories taken right from the comics. All of that and they had the most limited animation; being just this side of "CLUTCH CARGO".
The Hulk is a manifestation of all of the fears that we Baby Boomer Kids had learned ever so early in our lives. Ever since the days when far off places such as Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Bikini Atoll became common parlance; Mankind has had a collective fear of causing our own self-inflicted extinction. The Hulk gives us a huge, almost giant humanoid distortion; representing the power and, to a degree, even the size and shape of the "Mushroom Cloud" unleashed by a nuclear blast.
Nuclear power and its uncertain application has long been a favourite of Writer/Editor Stan Lee and his creative partner, Comic Artist Extraordinaire, Jack Kirby. Their FANTASTIC FOUR and X-MEN*, as well as the "Green Giant", the HULK, all owe their origins to various varieties and applications of radiation.
The HULK'S origin was due to Dr. Bruce Banner's being in the wrong place at the wrong time when the super-secret Gamma Ray Bomb was detonated. Dr. Banner somehow survived and absorbed the energy; thus transforming his very genetic make-up to a sort of Post-Atomic Age version of Jekyll & Hyde.
And even within the personality of the Hulk, there is much conflict between the forces of good & evil within the "Biggie Sized" green headed brain of Dr. Banner's Alter-Ego. The presence of Banner's love interest, Miss Betty Ross and the local Dessert Urchin, Rick Jones, provides the Good Doctor with loved ones who try to cultivate the good that they see deep in Hulk's heart and try to steer it in a productive direction.
For a short while, it appeared that they would be successful. Along with the help of the MIGHTY THOR, ANT MAN & THE WASP and IRON MAN as The AVENGERS, the HULK'S power was channeled toward good, for a short while (about 3 issues, anyway!). But there were so many distractions; not the least of which was the hateful attitude of General 'Thunderbolt' Ross; the Commanding Officer in charge of the Gamma Ray Bomb test and incidentally, Betty Ross' Pater! Standing out in the vocals applied was the work of Max Ferguson. It was Mr. Ferguson who supplied perhaps the ideal voice for the animated "HULK" TV episodes (cartoons). Gruff, gravelly and constantly speaking of himself in 3rd Person Neanderthal Dialect ( i.e., e.g. "Hulk mad now!", or "Where Hulk go now?"), Max had Hulk nailed, to a tee! The stories were all excellent; being "torn right from the headlines" (of the Comics any way!). The Marvel Comics style of having highly dramatic, almost Shakespearian dialog supporting the visuals was continued in the small screen venture. To this was added some quite well done and highly appropriate incidental music, which also made its contribution to the melodramatic effect.