Episode 8: Stange Adventures 185/ Fox & Crow 96!

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Are you ready? Yeah. Are you with it? Yeah. Okay, let's go. You know what to do. The whole world's watching and counting on you. And all you people listening out there. Everybody everywhere. [00:00:13] Speaker B: Hang on, hang on, hang on. Welcome to Checkered Past, a loving postmodern examination of the. [00:00:20] Speaker A: Go. Go. [00:00:21] Speaker B: Check. Branded comic magazines published by DC Comics between February 1966 and August 1960. I'm Dr. Bob, and each week I'll be your guide on this trippy tour through 535 mid century masterpieces of graphic noveldom. This Week, Strange Adventures185. Cover date February 1966. Cover price, $0.12. Cover artist Jack Sparling. Edited by Jack Schiff. Featuring Star Hawkins. In Gangsters, Inc. Writer Dave Wood. Artist Gil Kane. And Immortal man in the man who died 100 times. Writer Dave Wood, artist Jack Sparling. Also this week, Fox and the Crow 96. Cover date February, March 1966. Cover price, $0.12. Cover artist Jack Sparling. Edited by Murray Boltanoff. Featuring Stanley and his Monster in Please Don't Pet the Monster, writer Arnold Drake. Artist Bob Ochsner and the Brat Finks in Don't Knock the Rock, penciled by J. Winslow Mortimer. And finally, Fox and Crow in Money Mad, writer Cecil Beard and Alpine Harper. Art by Jim Davis. Are you ready? Are you with it? Then away we go. Go. I am ashamed of myself. [00:01:48] Speaker A: Why? Tell me everything. [00:01:50] Speaker B: Two reasons. [00:01:50] Speaker A: Okay. [00:01:51] Speaker B: Last week, as you remember, our guest star, Jen George was here to talk about Lois lane. [00:01:57] Speaker A: Yes. [00:01:58] Speaker B: Not 30 minutes after we wrapped production. [00:02:02] Speaker A: Yes. [00:02:02] Speaker B: I found a corny 60s song about Lois Lane. [00:02:06] Speaker A: Oh, no. [00:02:07] Speaker B: It would have been the perfect outro. [00:02:09] Speaker A: Oh, I'm so sorry. But you did play that wonderful organization music that you referred to, Right? [00:02:15] Speaker B: Tico. Tico by Ethel Smith. [00:02:16] Speaker A: Yes. Yeah. Well, you didn't think that I knew who that was. But of course I remembered watching our little cutaways from the films. [00:02:22] Speaker B: Yes. [00:02:22] Speaker A: Yes, I'm guessing. Go ahead. [00:02:25] Speaker B: Well, we have plenty more Lois Lane comics to come, so we'll have to have Joan George come back. [00:02:29] Speaker A: She was fantastic. [00:02:31] Speaker B: She was. It was probably our best episode. [00:02:32] Speaker A: Probably. We probably need to incorporate my A game this week. [00:02:35] Speaker B: That's good. [00:02:37] Speaker A: Good. [00:02:37] Speaker B: Now, the second reason I'm ashamed of myself is we're talking about the Fox and the Crow. [00:02:41] Speaker A: Yes. [00:02:42] Speaker B: Which I knew was a comic title from DC Comics. I trust that I did not know that they were cartoon stars. [00:02:49] Speaker A: No, I've never seen them. And I saw a lot of cartoons in the 70s. [00:02:52] Speaker B: I haven't seen them either. But listen to this. The Fox and The crow are a pair of anthropomorphic cartoon characters. I'm reading from Wikipedia now. [00:03:00] Speaker A: Okay. [00:03:01] Speaker B: Created by Frank Tashlin for the Screen Gems Studio, the characters, the refined but gullible Fauntleroy Fox and the street wise Crawford Crow appeared in a series of anim short subjects released by Screen Gems through its parent company, Columbia Pictures and were Screen Gems most popular characters. [00:03:19] Speaker A: Really? [00:03:20] Speaker B: Really. [00:03:20] Speaker A: In the 60s? [00:03:21] Speaker B: No, the 40s. [00:03:22] Speaker A: Oh, well, that's why we don't know anything about them. [00:03:24] Speaker B: But why do we? We see all those Bugs Bunny cartoons and Mickey Mouse. I don't know. [00:03:28] Speaker A: Well, it wasn't the same company, was it, Columbia? [00:03:30] Speaker B: No, but listen, I'm keeping reading. Go ahead. Tashlin directed the first film in The Series, the 1941 Color Rhapsody short the Fox and the Grapes, based on the Aesop fable of that name. [00:03:40] Speaker A: I love that fable. [00:03:42] Speaker B: Oh, are you a fableist? [00:03:44] Speaker A: What? When I was a child, I grew up, I had Aesop's Fables books. [00:03:48] Speaker B: Well, who didn't? Except me. I had Bullfinch's mythology. That's a different thing though, isn't it? [00:03:56] Speaker A: Yes, it is. [00:03:58] Speaker B: Warner Bros. Animation director Chuck Jones later acknowledged this short, which features a series of blackout gags as the Fox repeatedly tries to and fails to obtain a bunch of grapes in the possession of the Crow as one of the inspirations for his popular Roadrunner cartoons. [00:04:13] Speaker A: Wow. [00:04:14] Speaker B: The Fox and the Crow. Right. And the Fox and the Crow were going to have a cameo in who Framed Roger Rabbit but were dropped for reasons unknown. Anyway, the Fox and the Grapes as well as many other Fox and Crow cartoons are available on YouTube. Okay, I'll put a link in the show notes. The Fox and the Grapes is the only one I watch. It's really beautiful animation. Those deep, rich backgrounds. Painted backgrounds like you don't see anymore. Thanks to Hanna Barbera. [00:04:45] Speaker A: They did. They sort of whitewashed all sort of cartoon backgrounds, didn't they? Yes, they made him superfluous. Do you remember when we would watch Scooby Doo growing up and you'd see them chasing the bandits and the ne' er do wells, and you'd see the same background scroll by over and over again. I used to lose interest in the cartoons just because of that. [00:05:03] Speaker B: I. Not because of the backgrounds, but I hated Scooby Doo. [00:05:09] Speaker A: Why? [00:05:09] Speaker B: I don't know. I just couldn't stand it. And they even had. Even when they had the guest stars like Mama Cass and Don Knotts, the Partridge kids, I hated it. [00:05:17] Speaker A: I loved Scrappy Doo. [00:05:19] Speaker B: Oh, he was the worst Scrappy Doo is a super villain, essentially. [00:05:24] Speaker A: Yeah, whatever. [00:05:25] Speaker B: The Fox and the Crow starred in several funny animal comic books published by DC Comics from the 1940s well into the 1960s. They starred with other characters in DC's Columbia licensed funny animal anthology, Real Screen comics beginning in 1945, then did likewise when DC converted the superhero title Comic Cavalcade to a funny Animal Series in 1948 and the duo received its own title, the Fox and the crow, which ran 108 issues from 1952 to 1968. And until the 1954 demise of comic Cavalcade, Fox and Crow were cover featured on three DC titles. [00:06:02] Speaker A: Well, what do you know? Is this one of them? [00:06:04] Speaker B: Well, this is their self proclaimed title. Now we're in 1966. You'll notice the COVID proclaims two new hilarious hits. Yes, plus Fox and Crow. [00:06:17] Speaker A: Right. [00:06:18] Speaker B: Well, Fox and Crow are being eased out of their own title, I'm afraid. [00:06:22] Speaker A: Well, and none too soon. [00:06:24] Speaker B: Yeah, and now we have Stanley and his Monster. [00:06:29] Speaker A: Oh, I can't stand Stanley. [00:06:32] Speaker B: Well, Stanley and his monster are going to take over the title. In fact, it will be renamed Stanley and his Monster. You're kidding. I'm not kidding. [00:06:38] Speaker A: And then of course we have the Brat Finks, those rock and roll rascals. Run right again. [00:06:44] Speaker B: I don't know what they are. Are they rats? [00:06:48] Speaker A: They have to be rats because they have pink tails without fur on them. [00:06:51] Speaker B: Oh, good catch. [00:06:52] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:06:54] Speaker B: Well, let's dive right in, shall we? [00:06:56] Speaker A: Yes, let's go. [00:06:57] Speaker B: I'm not going to spend too much. [00:06:58] Speaker A: Time on this no splash page. Forget about it. He's opening up a refrigerator with an empty carcass of an animal inside. [00:07:06] Speaker B: And several carcasses. There's a fish there and a deer or something, whatever knows. [00:07:11] Speaker A: And the crow apparently has eaten everything there. [00:07:13] Speaker B: Well, that's what crows do. Are they carrion eaters? [00:07:15] Speaker A: I suppose so. They're scavengers, aren't they? Yes, they're scavengers. [00:07:19] Speaker B: But do they eat meat? [00:07:20] Speaker A: Yes, they do. Oh yes. [00:07:22] Speaker B: Really? [00:07:23] Speaker A: You've seen them pick at carcasses? You know, we live out in the country. You do see them pick at carcasses? [00:07:27] Speaker B: Well, I try not to pay too much att to things like that. [00:07:30] Speaker A: You're too busy pop music in the car as you drive along. [00:07:33] Speaker B: I don't like blood and fur and bits of bone and things like that. [00:07:38] Speaker A: Well, when you're walking in the country as I do, you can't help but notice it. [00:07:42] Speaker B: I don't exercise first up in this Issue. [00:07:44] Speaker A: Stanley and his. [00:07:45] Speaker B: Stanley and his monster. [00:07:47] Speaker A: Yes. I want to talk like this all the time now. [00:07:49] Speaker B: Guess why? Because that's how Stanley talks, and it's written out that way. [00:07:54] Speaker A: He has a list. [00:07:55] Speaker B: He says. [00:07:57] Speaker A: So Stanley has a monster. He has a lisp. [00:08:00] Speaker B: It's unfortunate when people with a lot of S's in their names have a lisp, isn't it? [00:08:05] Speaker A: Well, yes, it is unfortunate. An S is a very prominent consonant. [00:08:08] Speaker B: In the English language, especially if your name is Stanley. [00:08:11] Speaker A: Yes, Stanley and his monster. [00:08:13] Speaker B: Yes. [00:08:14] Speaker A: Right. So we know that he lisps because everything he says. For example, the first panel that he talks. But I certainly think it's time to explain to my folks about you. And then the monster says, not yet, Stanley. Crunch, Munch, blah, blah, blah. He talks like that. But what. But what's to explain? I was lonely and I wanted a pet around and I found someone's coming. And he says, someone's coming with the. [00:08:38] Speaker B: Proper S. Oh, and he also says, shh. [00:08:41] Speaker A: Yeah, right. Instead of. [00:08:45] Speaker B: How would you write that out? [00:08:46] Speaker A: I have no idea. That I have no. What's he eating? What's the monster eating? [00:08:51] Speaker B: Lizard livers. [00:08:52] Speaker A: Oh, he's huge. [00:08:54] Speaker B: He really is. Yeah. [00:08:56] Speaker A: He's a hulking monster. [00:08:57] Speaker B: He's like the size of. Who's that dog on Sesame Street? [00:09:00] Speaker A: Marmaduke? Oh. [00:09:03] Speaker B: Barkley the dog I love. That was a cute Muppet, wasn't it? It was, yeah. But this is more of a Mr. Snuffleuppagus situation, isn't it? [00:09:11] Speaker A: Right. No one can see him. [00:09:12] Speaker B: No one can see him. Except for Stanley. [00:09:15] Speaker A: Yes. Now, he manages. He's a hulking monster. He takes up pretty much half of the room, yet he manages to squeeze under the bed. [00:09:22] Speaker B: Well, he's a monster. [00:09:24] Speaker A: They have magical powers. [00:09:25] Speaker B: Magic powers, yes. [00:09:26] Speaker A: Right. And then, of course, Stanley. So his parents come in and they say, stanley, have you seen the ladder? Or have you seen the ladder? [00:09:31] Speaker B: His parents still talk like that. [00:09:33] Speaker A: No, they don't. Of course. I'm getting all mixed up. And he. The monster gets him to the bed. Stanley puts the ladder behind the window. And then his mother says, I need to find this. This ladder. So she's going to search his room. Right, right. And then he fakes a stomachache. And then they. [00:09:50] Speaker B: Good one, Stan. [00:09:52] Speaker A: Right. And he's like, ow, my stomach. My poor delicate little thumbach. Rolling around on the floor and making some wonderful faces. I love these faces. [00:10:00] Speaker B: This is great art. Isn't it cute, Bob? Ochsner. [00:10:03] Speaker A: Ochsner. I love this. Stanley's haircut. [00:10:05] Speaker B: It's very simple, yet not simple. Yeah. It's like advertising art. [00:10:11] Speaker A: It's like Jetsons. [00:10:13] Speaker B: And in fact, Stanley's father, Mitch is an ad man. He's an ad man. He's running a dog show. [00:10:19] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:10:20] Speaker B: A dog contest. [00:10:21] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:10:22] Speaker B: And Stanley thinks the monster is a dog. [00:10:26] Speaker A: Right. [00:10:27] Speaker B: It's not because dogs don't have fangs growing out of their upper lips. [00:10:31] Speaker A: No. And nor can dogs talk. And the monster actually is from. Once lived in a sewer. I'm assuming he doesn't smell like he came from a sewer. [00:10:43] Speaker B: He might. How could you tell a boy's room in a sewer? [00:10:47] Speaker A: He's a very young boy. He hasn't hit puberty yet. So I don't think boy's room smells yet. So Stanley goes and they decide. Stanley wants to enter his monster into the contest. Yes. [00:11:01] Speaker B: Yes. [00:11:02] Speaker A: That. We're going to a dinner scene where this kind of ticked me off a little bit. The father's going on and on about the super deluxe prize for the dog show. And it's going to be a bike and a two wheeler with training wheels if he wants. And Stanley's very excited. And the mother keeps on asking, please pass the bread. Please pass the bread the bread, please. And then Stanley runs off and the father says, stanley, the butter. Butter, Stanley. I don't understand what's happened to the butterfly. I don't know where that came from because the father never made a reference to the butter at all. And the next panel down, we see the mother with this devilish look on her eyes spreading butter on her husband's tie because she didn't get the bread when she was asking for the bread. I guess what made me so angry. [00:11:49] Speaker B: Was, does that mean she had the butter there all along? [00:11:52] Speaker A: The butter is sitting in the middle of the table. [00:11:55] Speaker B: Oh, that's not a covered hot dish. That's a big butter dish. [00:11:59] Speaker A: If that's okay. Maybe it's. But. So his mother's spreading butter on the father's tie to sort of teach him a lesson. She's gonna have to clean up that tie. [00:12:08] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:12:09] Speaker A: I don't know why she's doing that. What she's doing, teaching herself a lesson. Oh, I'm gonna get you and put butter all over your tie, which tomorrow I'm going to have to clean out. [00:12:16] Speaker B: I will not be ignored. Mitchell. [00:12:19] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:12:20] Speaker B: Her name's Sheila, by the way. Mitch and Sheila. [00:12:23] Speaker A: Then we love this next panel with the monster painting a la Bob Ross. [00:12:30] Speaker B: Bob Ross. [00:12:30] Speaker A: Bob Ross with a little beret on his head. Really cute. And then he does his hair up in curlers and gets ready to go to the dog show. Right, right. And then Stanley builds, says, I need to take you, but we need to keep you a surprise. I need to take you in in a case. So he. I don't know where he gets the wood or the know how to do this, but this five year old boy builds a crate on wheels for the monster. [00:12:59] Speaker B: Sure, why not? [00:12:59] Speaker A: And paints the word dog on the front. [00:13:02] Speaker B: Well, because he couldn't paint the monster's name, which is Matthewtoothits. That was a mean trick. [00:13:11] Speaker A: And they get to the show which apparently is standing room only. [00:13:16] Speaker B: Standing room only. And Mitch is getting a congratulations from his boss, Mr. Gerber. [00:13:21] Speaker A: He's raised $10,000 for charity and great publicity for Barco Biscuits. [00:13:27] Speaker B: Right. [00:13:28] Speaker A: He's very pleased. [00:13:30] Speaker B: But what do you know, a couple of crooks are standing outside the box office. [00:13:35] Speaker A: Yes. With costumes in hand because they're going to, you know, dress up as. [00:13:39] Speaker B: Right, they're going to dress up as the popcorn men. [00:13:41] Speaker A: I don't understand why they take the cash away like that in those. In the candy popcorn and the ice cream. [00:13:47] Speaker B: Because they're. That's their disguise. Like no one would question a popcorn seller with a wallet. [00:13:53] Speaker A: $10,000 in cash in the box. [00:13:55] Speaker B: Well, you remember back in. I can't remember which comic it was, they were robbing the ice cream truck at the baseball stadium. It was Lex Luthor's robot was robbing the ice cream truck. So they must make good money. I've never been to a ball game. [00:14:10] Speaker A: But so we get to. You've been to a ball game? Yes. You have. [00:14:15] Speaker B: Have I? [00:14:16] Speaker A: Yeah. We went to the Jacksonville Suns. [00:14:18] Speaker B: Is that what that was? Was that a ball? [00:14:21] Speaker A: All we did was sit around and eat hot dogs and drink beer and talk to our friends. It was great. [00:14:24] Speaker B: Right? [00:14:25] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:14:25] Speaker B: You should do that more often. [00:14:26] Speaker A: We should. So we're inside the show now and the judge is looking at them through a lorgnette. [00:14:33] Speaker B: A what? [00:14:34] Speaker A: A lorgnette. [00:14:34] Speaker B: What's that? [00:14:35] Speaker A: Those are the eyeglasses that are on a peg and you hold them up to your eyes. [00:14:40] Speaker B: Oh, like rich ladies. [00:14:42] Speaker A: Like the rich lady. She's obviously very rich because she has on a fur and a winged hat. [00:14:47] Speaker B: Right. [00:14:47] Speaker A: And she's examining the dogs. Of course, it doesn't show you what they arrested, how closely they examined their private parts and such in these shows. And the woman screams from the box office because the money's been stolen. And immediately the money is gone. And Stanley's father, who his Name is Mitch. Mitch gets blamed and he fired on the spot. [00:15:14] Speaker B: Wow. [00:15:14] Speaker A: For the theft of the money. [00:15:15] Speaker B: It seems like there should be some kind of process, you know, he must have been written up in the past. [00:15:21] Speaker A: Yeah. He says, I blame you for this. Dover. Mitch Dover. That box office wasn't properly guarded. Yeah, yeah. Ya fired, right? [00:15:29] Speaker B: Yep. [00:15:30] Speaker A: Meanwhile, we're outside. Stanley's got his monster there. And he brings his monster in in a box. And it terrifies the dogs. They go crazy. And one of the dogs, a bulldog apparently grabs one of the thieves by the ankle and bites him. [00:15:47] Speaker B: And not on purpose, just because he's scared. [00:15:49] Speaker A: Well, yeah, he's frightened. That's how dogs are frightened. And they stop the thieves. The thieves run and they run to a place to hide, which happens to be where. [00:15:58] Speaker B: Where the monster is. [00:16:00] Speaker A: Where the monster Matthews is hiding. And of course, the men are terrified by seeing a monster. They smack each other in the head. Massachusetts. A monster runs. And Stanley is left there looking at these two guys who are knocked silly right beside the crate. And Stanley gets the credit for it. [00:16:21] Speaker B: Right. [00:16:21] Speaker A: For capturing the thieves. [00:16:23] Speaker B: The policeman says, well, you're a fine lad. You saved the box office money and your dad's job too, I'd say. [00:16:30] Speaker A: Word travels fast, doesn't it? [00:16:32] Speaker B: Lucky for him. [00:16:33] Speaker A: Yes. And then we have the last panel that I'm not too keen about either. [00:16:38] Speaker B: No. [00:16:38] Speaker A: Which is Matthew 2:5th is spinning a. [00:16:41] Speaker B: Handgun, a pistol that he stole from the. [00:16:43] Speaker A: They stole from the crooks, spinning it on his index finger with Stanley happily looking up at the handgun as if it's the best thing he's ever seen. This little trinket. [00:16:54] Speaker B: Well, the good news is we don't have to keep calling the monster Masthtoothits because we're invited to send in suggestions for the monster's name. [00:17:01] Speaker A: Good. Let's call him Chuck. [00:17:03] Speaker B: Chuck the Monster. [00:17:04] Speaker A: Chuck the Monster. [00:17:05] Speaker B: That's not a good name for a monster. [00:17:07] Speaker A: How about Captain Rhett Butler? [00:17:08] Speaker B: No. The Brat Finks. Anyway, the Brat Finx. I don't know what this is all about. They look like possums to me. They're rats. [00:17:18] Speaker A: Look at the tails. [00:17:19] Speaker B: But rats ears aren't that big, are they? [00:17:23] Speaker A: They're probably. I mean, if they really, really wanted to make them look like rats, you know, they would. They would draw on them a little bit more differently. [00:17:30] Speaker B: Right. [00:17:31] Speaker A: But they need to make them look somewhat cute and appealing. [00:17:33] Speaker B: So this is drawn by Jay Winslow Mortimer, whom you'll remember from Batman v. Eclipso. [00:17:39] Speaker A: Okay. [00:17:39] Speaker B: I think he's much better suited to drawing animals than human beings. [00:17:44] Speaker A: I would agree. So poor old dad, he's coming home from his day. All the puns, all the mice references in here. God. [00:17:57] Speaker B: He'S come home from a day at the cheese factory. [00:17:59] Speaker A: Cheese factory. And he says, first somebody. He's had a bad day. First somebody drilled the wrong holes in the Swiss cheese square. Holes. No one drills holes in Swiss cheese. That is a byproduct of the fermentation process. [00:18:13] Speaker B: Well, then how do the holes get there? [00:18:16] Speaker A: It is bacteria that grows and the gas expands and pushes the mass of cheese out of the way. [00:18:21] Speaker B: You know, some rich people pay extra money to have more bacteria in their cheese. No, that's unregulated by the US Government. [00:18:28] Speaker A: I do know about that. [00:18:29] Speaker B: Yes. No, thanks. [00:18:30] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. [00:18:31] Speaker B: Take my Velveeta and go on my way. [00:18:34] Speaker A: So Daddy comes home and he comes to the door, and now this. This looks like some. The picture, the drawing of the son. Looks like they've drawn him as a Chinaman. [00:18:44] Speaker B: Yes. Or a policeman. He's got one of those jughead hats. [00:18:48] Speaker A: On and his eyes are all squinty. You know how they like to try to do that in the comics, Try. [00:18:52] Speaker B: To, like, make ridiculous, particularly comics of this. [00:18:57] Speaker A: Yes. [00:18:58] Speaker B: You'll see that the father's bringing home a newspaper that has a headline about the Beatles. [00:19:02] Speaker A: I didn't notice that you caught something. I didn't. Good for you. Good for you. So, yes, he's got the Beatles. Because all the lingo in this, of course, as you told me as we talked about the go go checks, tries to incorporate a lot of slang into it. And so the kids talk in all the latest terms. In the 1960s, they use all the lingo. [00:19:24] Speaker B: So this is. The parents are Fanny and Fred Fink. Fanny kind of looks like my mother. [00:19:28] Speaker A: She does. [00:19:30] Speaker B: I wonder if she talks like my mother. [00:19:32] Speaker A: Let's just assume that she does. [00:19:33] Speaker B: Okay, so you do my dad and I'll do my mother. [00:19:36] Speaker A: Okay, I'll do what? On page two. Fanny Fink. Those two kids have done it this time. This is the last straw. [00:19:44] Speaker B: Fred, calm yourself. [00:19:47] Speaker A: Those two monsters pour a pail of water on me and you say, calm yourself. [00:19:52] Speaker B: Those sweet, innocent children wouldn't hurt a fly. Well, that's enough of that. [00:19:57] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. [00:19:58] Speaker B: The children are sitting contentedly. [00:20:03] Speaker A: See their tails up in the air? [00:20:05] Speaker B: Is that what rats do? [00:20:07] Speaker A: They don't read like that. They eat paper. They don't read like that. [00:20:12] Speaker B: The children are sitting on a pail. [00:20:14] Speaker A: They're sitting on the same pail that they just Dumped a bucket of water on the father. We didn't mention they dumped a bucket of water on their father's head before. [00:20:20] Speaker B: I guess it was that big when they dumped it. [00:20:22] Speaker A: It was. Yeah. [00:20:23] Speaker B: Is this some kind of. Are they in some kind of tiny town? [00:20:26] Speaker A: What do you mean? [00:20:27] Speaker B: Well, like where the pail is comically oversized, or is it just that they're. [00:20:31] Speaker A: I got a pretty. We have a pretty big tin pail at home. A metal pail that we use for icing down things and parties. [00:20:39] Speaker B: It's not big enough to sit on. [00:20:41] Speaker A: For one of us to sit on. [00:20:42] Speaker B: Are you saying I'm fat? [00:20:44] Speaker A: No, it's not just big enough for two people to sit on, but it's definitely big enough for one of us to sit on. [00:20:47] Speaker B: Okay, yeah, I'm not gonna sit on it. [00:20:49] Speaker A: No, you could if you wanted to, though. It's plenty fine. [00:20:52] Speaker B: I don't want to. God, drop it. [00:20:55] Speaker A: Move on. So apparently the father's angry at the children. And I don't know what the hell's been going on here because he picks up that he's accused the children of dumping a bucket of water on them. And then he lifts it up and there's a painting of their father underneath it, as if the children have been doing. Have been engaged in their favorite hobby, which is watercolor painting. [00:21:15] Speaker B: All kids love watercolors. [00:21:17] Speaker A: Yeah. As if dad didn't realize that the kids had done this to him. Who else? How else can you explain all the water on the floor? [00:21:25] Speaker B: Because they literally, a page ago, dumped a bucket of water on the floor. [00:21:29] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:21:30] Speaker B: Well, the kids head out the doors with their guitars on their. [00:21:33] Speaker A: They are going to a contest. Another contest? We had a contest in the last episode with Stanley the monster. Stanley and his monster. And now we have a different kind of contest. [00:21:43] Speaker B: Here comes Reggie Van Stinker iii, the world's worst kid. You know how we know he's worst? Because he's got a pinstripe jacket and an ascot. [00:21:51] Speaker A: Oh, always. [00:21:52] Speaker B: And his nose in the air every time. [00:21:56] Speaker A: Yeah, I can't wait till we get to the actual contest itself. And the things that he does. [00:21:59] Speaker B: Oh, yes. [00:22:01] Speaker A: So he's just being mean to the kids and talking down to them. Talking trash. [00:22:08] Speaker B: Here's a song. The kids demonstrate one of their songs. You ready? [00:22:10] Speaker A: Uh huh. [00:22:11] Speaker B: Let's sing it together down at the Rats Keller. My baby and me we'll chase mice Till the clock strikes 23 why are they chasing mice? Do rats chase mice? [00:22:24] Speaker A: You know I can't answer that. I do know they eat Their young. [00:22:27] Speaker B: Oh, okay. Well, hopefully we'll get to that in this story, because I'm sick of these kids already. [00:22:34] Speaker A: No kidding. [00:22:35] Speaker B: They're going to the Rat Hole Theater. That's not a great name for a theater. They might try. [00:22:39] Speaker A: It is if you're a rat. [00:22:41] Speaker B: Well, I'm a person, and I wouldn't go someplace called the Person Hole Theater. [00:22:47] Speaker A: Okay, so now we get to another offensive moment. Mexican coat hangers. So what happens is the two kids are standing in a very long line. They don't want to wait in line to get in because they're sure that if they wait in this long line, they won't be able to enter the contest. So they decide to tell everyone that there is a man giving away imported Mexican coat hangers for free right over there, which they point around the corner, and the whole crowd runs away to get free Mexican coat hangers. What exactly are Mexican coat hangers? We find out. [00:23:21] Speaker B: Nails. [00:23:22] Speaker A: They are nails. [00:23:25] Speaker B: A disgruntled customer. Three inch nails. But you said you were giving away genuine coat hangers. I'm gonna do the Speedy Gonzalez voice. Okay, so what do you think they hang that coat. That wasn't good. [00:23:39] Speaker A: No. So what do you think they hang their coats on? [00:23:42] Speaker B: Him. [00:23:43] Speaker A: Okay, you do it. No. So what do you think they hang their coats on in Mexico? Solid gold chili beans. [00:23:53] Speaker B: You know, the jokes write themselves. This is not. [00:23:57] Speaker A: I didn't like this. Yeah, there's a lot. Whites are better. Whites are best. Blah, blah, blah. Bullshit jokes going on. Well, let's make fun of everyone. [00:24:07] Speaker B: Rats. They don't need to be pointing fingers. [00:24:11] Speaker A: Yeah, the rats, they live in their own shit. [00:24:13] Speaker B: Yeah, they eat garbage. [00:24:14] Speaker A: And they're young. But we must continue because it's a comic for children. [00:24:19] Speaker B: So here's a new act. The three giraffes. Let's sing their song. Let's go neck and baby. Cause I got a lot of neck. By heck, heck, heck, heck. [00:24:31] Speaker A: Now they have. What is this? A banjo? An ocarina. What is this? It's not an ocarina. It's a small. It's a small accordion. What's it called? A squeeze box. And a. What's that called? Not a. [00:24:43] Speaker B: A fiddle. [00:24:44] Speaker A: No, no, no. The very small accordion. [00:24:47] Speaker B: I don't know. [00:24:48] Speaker A: I don't remember what that's called. [00:24:50] Speaker B: Next up, the four soap suds. [00:24:52] Speaker A: The four soap suds. [00:24:54] Speaker B: Let me slip my bathtub ring on your finger. Cause I'm losing my bubbles over you. My bubbles. And now we have the mean monsters. [00:25:08] Speaker A: I took my baby to a Horror show. [00:25:11] Speaker B: The picture was keen, but she's scared of those monsters right off the screen. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That one witch monster looks like Mama Cass. [00:25:20] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:25:21] Speaker B: I don't know if that's intentional or not. [00:25:22] Speaker A: That's a great face. [00:25:25] Speaker B: I mean, Mama Cass, if she were dressed as she was dressed with a witch. Yes. Which we know she did in the motion picture Puff and Stuff. [00:25:32] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah. [00:25:35] Speaker B: More contests. Who do we have? The two tomatoes? [00:25:38] Speaker A: So these are the kids. Two tomatoes. [00:25:41] Speaker B: Squeeze me, baby, and I'll be your tomato juice. Drip, drip, drip, drip, drip. That's. [00:25:49] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:25:50] Speaker B: That's disgusting. [00:25:51] Speaker A: I know. I imagine that this is really great to hear in the audience. So here's what I don't like. What's this horrible guy's name? I should have written this down. [00:26:03] Speaker B: Snidely Whiplash. No. Reggie Van Stinker. [00:26:07] Speaker A: Reggie Van Stinker. So he decides that his joke. That he's going to ruin their act. He's going to shoot arrows at their heads. Arrows. [00:26:17] Speaker B: That checks out. Why not? [00:26:18] Speaker A: So he. So he does pierce the tomatoes. Luckily, he doesn't kill them because that wouldn't really play over well with the audience. [00:26:28] Speaker B: Well, you know, don't you think? Right. But also, these are cartoon animals. They can take a lot of abuse without dying. I guess so they bounce right back. [00:26:38] Speaker A: So the kids get their tomatoes burst and the two tomatoes have to go back. And then they say, Please, Mr. Happy. Mr. Happy Hop Hopper. We could put together a new act in just a few minutes. Just like man, just give us a chance. Well, okay. But it better be good. Minutes later, they re emerge as a new act. The Fink Twins with a brand new act, the bouncing balloons. [00:27:02] Speaker B: Here's their song. Baby, you're a gasser. So fill up my balloon and we'll float away to the moon. We could be pop stars. [00:27:14] Speaker A: I suppose we could. As long as I have to look at you to know what you're gonna do. [00:27:18] Speaker B: Right. [00:27:20] Speaker A: So Reggie Van Stinker decides to use a flaming arrow and shoot it high at the balloon. [00:27:28] Speaker B: Oh, sure. You want the inflatable gas to catch on fire. [00:27:31] Speaker A: Yes. You're in a theater, so everybody knows that you don't like to use live flame on the flames of the field. Which reminds. [00:27:37] Speaker B: That reminds me of a funny story. [00:27:39] Speaker A: Yes. So do you remember when we were in college, Bob? [00:27:41] Speaker B: Yes. [00:27:42] Speaker A: And we were doing the opera Don Giovanni. [00:27:44] Speaker B: Yes. [00:27:45] Speaker A: And our director decided to have the men carry torches on stage. And we were in the Stover Theater. [00:27:54] Speaker B: Yes. [00:27:55] Speaker A: Which is an old, old theater. Very old. Stetson University. And I was Playing Don Giovanni and you were playing Leporello. And there was a scene where the guys were backstage and they lit the torches. These were literally wooden sticks. Like two by twos. No, no, no, no. One by ones that were cut. Whatever. He screwed in a tin can, painted the entire thing black. So imagine a piece of wood with a tin can screwed at the top, open on the top and stable. But then he gently placed a can of Sterno fluid inside. So the guys lit the torches and blue flames came out. Now, what do these guys do with their. While they're waiting to go on backstage? While I'm waiting in the wings as well. My decided to do a sword fight. With their flaming swords? With their flaming torches. And because they're idiots, what do they do? They start doing a sword fight, and of course, the Sterno fluid pops out lit, and hits this floor and spreads. [00:28:57] Speaker B: Undergrads. Am I right? [00:28:59] Speaker A: And this is during a production. [00:29:01] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:29:02] Speaker A: And they start to stomp it out, but it's sternofluid, so it's sticking to their clothing, and the flames start spreading. [00:29:10] Speaker B: Serves them right. [00:29:11] Speaker A: What would you do at this moment? [00:29:13] Speaker B: I know what I'd do. Run out of the theater. [00:29:16] Speaker A: So I took off my cloak, which was part of my costume, threw it on the floor on the Sterno fluid over my friend's feet and leg, which had caught fire. But it wasn't like it was just starting. So got that. Flames went out. I looked at them and I said, you idiots. So I don't know what. I guess they didn't. I don't know if they relit the fluid or whatever. They just. They went on stage, it went through. No one said a word because, I mean, this was, like, potentially a disaster. Peep. Okay, so. [00:29:43] Speaker B: Well, I don't think you're all getting the full picture. Here's the way it's been told. [00:29:47] Speaker A: It's true. I literally did go on stage. I put the fire out, he takes off his cape. [00:29:51] Speaker B: He beats out the flames, puts his cape back on, marches on stage. This all happens in a span of one second. [00:29:56] Speaker A: I sang. I continue to sing. [00:29:57] Speaker B: It was like Legolas getting on that horse in Lord of the Rings. One fluid motion. [00:30:02] Speaker A: I'm not gonna lie, it was incredibly tense. That's what I was thinking of when I saw that he was using this flaming arrow to blow out to destroy their balloon. Okay, so then what do they do to stop and they. What do they do, Bob? [00:30:19] Speaker B: Well, they win the contest. [00:30:20] Speaker A: They win the contest. [00:30:23] Speaker B: And then they dump another bottle of bucket of water on Their father. [00:30:27] Speaker A: What? Because they're idiots. Why don't they have a peephole in the door so they can see who's actually coming through the door? The children are trying to dump water on the laundry man. [00:30:34] Speaker B: Why? [00:30:34] Speaker A: Because apparently he just. They play pranks on him and then he does stuff with their laundry. Like he starches their underwear. I don't know. What. You know, what does the mother do? Does she not do their own. Do their laundry? She doesn't have a job. She's always in a house. [00:30:45] Speaker B: You know that. [00:30:46] Speaker A: Does she look like she has a job? She's wearing a house dress. [00:30:49] Speaker B: That's the daughter. Oh, that's a mod 60s a line. [00:30:54] Speaker A: I see. Okay. Well, let's wrap this up here. I gotta go to another recital. The Fox and the Crow. [00:31:01] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:31:02] Speaker A: Oh, okay. So the general gist of the story is the fox is bored, right? He's lonely, so he calls a pet shop and orders. I don't even understand. You're gonna have to explain to me how it is a fox can call a pet shop and order a canary delivered by a crow. [00:31:16] Speaker B: Well, the fox can talk, Right. Because he has a telephone. [00:31:19] Speaker A: Right. So the canary, apparently, is the least intelligent form of animals. [00:31:24] Speaker B: Right. Well, I've seen Tweety cartoons. That's true. [00:31:27] Speaker A: But Tweety talks. [00:31:28] Speaker B: Tweety's also an idiot. [00:31:30] Speaker A: He's very annoying. [00:31:31] Speaker B: Is it a he, Tweety? Yeah. [00:31:33] Speaker A: Yes, Tweety's a he. [00:31:34] Speaker B: Are you sure? [00:31:35] Speaker A: I'm sure. [00:31:36] Speaker B: Okay. What happens to the canary? [00:31:39] Speaker A: Well, so the kid puts it in the mailbox. So this is what I find pretty interesting. May I go to the second page here, where the canary. Where the crowd is let out of the cage. And he says he can sing. He says, you sing? Of course. And he says, oh, naturally. I'll. Let me out and I'll show you. And then he goes to the piano and he goes. He sings Moon River. Wider by a mile. Right. And it looks like from the. From the piano, he's playing a crazy jukebox tune, but he's playing Moon River. [00:32:10] Speaker B: We might be his own arrangement of it, but you're burying the lead. What's the lead on page one? He goes to a pet shop. [00:32:18] Speaker A: Yes. [00:32:19] Speaker B: Which is being manned by a dog. [00:32:22] Speaker A: Yes. [00:32:23] Speaker B: So in this world, animals are selling other animals in cages. [00:32:29] Speaker A: Oh, you know, I didn't mean to skip over that. I was wondering myself how it is that. Who determines the hierarchy of animals? How is it that a fox can call a pet shop that's run by a dog? And order a canary that is delivered. [00:32:42] Speaker B: By a crow in whatever post apocalyptic hellscape this is. Apparently some animals are sold into slavery. [00:32:51] Speaker A: I buy other animals. [00:32:53] Speaker B: Buy other animals? Yes. Even the crow has no loyalty to his fellow bird. [00:32:59] Speaker A: No? No. He throws them in the cold, cold mailbox. [00:33:03] Speaker B: And you're in a cage. You must belong there. Yep, fine with me. [00:33:06] Speaker A: Enjoy your life in the mailbox, for heaven sakes. [00:33:12] Speaker B: So maybe it's like a jazzy arrangement, like a Chet Baker or something. Moon River Wider than a mile than the Amazon mile. [00:33:21] Speaker A: Those aren't crow words, by the way. No, they aren't. So the crow makes himself at home and asks for some food. And the fox, of course, goes right away to make the crow some food and gives him a hot bowl of birdseed bird seed. And that's not what the crow wants. [00:33:39] Speaker B: What did he want? [00:33:40] Speaker A: He wanted. He wanted everything in the refrigerator. [00:33:45] Speaker B: I'm getting the idea that this crow is a little bit selfish. [00:33:49] Speaker A: You think he eats one panel? This is Life stereo. Smoked ham, milk and bananas. He wants everything in the house. Yes. [00:33:59] Speaker B: He's locked the fox out of the. [00:34:02] Speaker A: House in the freezing cold. [00:34:04] Speaker B: The fox and the canary now are teaming up. [00:34:06] Speaker A: Right. And the canary can talk. [00:34:08] Speaker B: Right? So even more reason to put him in a cage and sell them into slavery. The canary flies into the house, covers himself in flour. [00:34:18] Speaker A: Right. [00:34:19] Speaker B: Well, because. Why not? [00:34:20] Speaker A: Because he wants to be a ghost. A ghost Ghost canary. [00:34:25] Speaker B: That would be a good superhero. [00:34:28] Speaker A: That would be a good superhero. [00:34:31] Speaker B: Alright, we'll be back after this message from the public service announcement Players. [00:34:38] Speaker A: Public service announcement Theater presents Buzzy scoffs. [00:34:42] Speaker B: At that deep dark secret. [00:34:45] Speaker A: Say, what's the matter, Tommy? You look as if you lost your best girl. [00:34:51] Speaker B: You hit it on the head, Buzzy. Something's eating Margie. I haven't been able to speak more than two words to her. She acts as if she's trying to avoid me. [00:35:02] Speaker A: Hmm. I think I know what's bothering her. Her folks and mine are good friends. They're all upset about her uncle Kenneth who lives with them. He got sick and went to one of those mental hospitals. They seem to be, well, kind of ashamed. Afraid of what people will say. [00:35:21] Speaker B: Gosh, then Margie isn't really mad at me. But it's silly for her to go around that way. [00:35:27] Speaker A: It sure is. Same thing happened to Susie's cousin when he came out of the service. And he's fine now. [00:35:34] Speaker B: Say, maybe you can get Susie to talk to Margie, girl to girl. [00:35:41] Speaker A: And so. Thanks a lot, Suzy. I feel so much better. Being able to talk about it with somebody who understands. [00:35:50] Speaker B: It's not just me, Margie. You don't have to avoid anybody. People understand. It has nothing to do with you. Your uncle is just sick, that's all. [00:36:02] Speaker A: Gosh, I wish somebody would talk to my mother. She's kind of old fashioned about these things. [00:36:09] Speaker B: Maybe your mother just the thing. I'm sure mother will be glad to help. [00:36:17] Speaker A: A few days later. [00:36:20] Speaker B: It's good to see Tommy and Margie together again. Margie's a different person these days. [00:36:27] Speaker A: Sure. When you talk about mental illness openly, you soon find out it's an illness that can be treated just like any other illness. Not something to whisper about. [00:36:40] Speaker B: Presented as a public service, a cooperation with the National Social Welfare Assembly Coordinating Organization for National Health, Welfare and Recreation Agencies of the usa. We're back. [00:36:51] Speaker A: Hello. [00:36:53] Speaker B: All right, here we are. Strange adventures number 185. [00:36:58] Speaker A: Strange indeed. [00:36:59] Speaker B: Featuring two strange characters. [00:37:03] Speaker A: Yes, tell us about them. Bob. [00:37:04] Speaker B: Would you like to hear a little more about. [00:37:06] Speaker A: I would love to hear about not only about the characters, but maybe a little bit about Strange Adventures, the comics. [00:37:11] Speaker B: Well, Strange Adventures was a flagship science fiction title anthology title for DC Comics. It started out in 50s and one of its earliest features was Captain Comet, who was an early resurgence of the superhero. [00:37:30] Speaker A: Superhero. [00:37:31] Speaker B: We'll talk more about that when we get to the Flash. Star Hawkins leads off our issue today. Star Hawkins appeared in 21 issues of Strange Adventures, first appearing in number 114 in rotation with two other series, the Atomic Knights and Space Museum. [00:37:51] Speaker A: Okay. [00:37:51] Speaker B: And he appeared in every third issue of Strange Adventures from 119 through 158. Brought back then in issue 173, featuring him again in every third issue until 185, which we're reading today. Which would be his last appearance in the Silver Age until he was brought back in the 1980s. [00:38:13] Speaker A: Oh, well, that's good because it's a pretty weak character. So I'm glad that I'm encountering him. [00:38:17] Speaker B: We're gonna go around and around with this. I love everything about this story. [00:38:20] Speaker A: Oh boy, I can't wait to discuss this. [00:38:24] Speaker B: Star Hawkins is a down at heel private investigator living in New City, down at heels, 21st century. He has a robot receptionist Ilda, bought from the Super Secretary Robot Factory. Because he's always short on money, Ilda is regularly pawned. Although Star Hawkins always promises that was the last time. Although he's a sharp detective with athletic skills, it's normally Ilda who exhibits the intelligence and power to solve the crime or is critical to defeating the criminal using low powered telepathic ability, standard equipment and all models the year of Ilda's manufacture or some of her other robot powers. Well, this is the world that the metal men created. The robots took over and remained idiots. And so the humans still run everything and the robots just get taken advantage of. [00:39:20] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:39:21] Speaker B: Followed up by Immortal Man. Immortal man first appeared in Strange Adventures 177 in an eight page story drawn by Jack Sparling. Not clear who created him. Apparently someone that heard the word reincarnation and didn't understand what it actually entailed. As we will discuss in a moment. This is his second of four appearances in Strange Adventures. Also disappeared for a while and brought back in the 1980s as one of the forgotten heroes. [00:39:53] Speaker A: Forgotten? [00:39:54] Speaker B: Forgotten. With good reason. [00:39:56] Speaker A: Was he renamed Deathman? [00:39:58] Speaker B: No, he remained Immortal Man. Now there was a title in the 90s called a resurrection man. And there was some supposition that Resurrection man was actually Immortal man, but that is false. [00:40:09] Speaker A: He was just. Jesus. [00:40:10] Speaker B: Yes. So Immortal man, when he first appears is an orphan named Mark with a mysterious past he has no memory of and has many skills in areas such as bull fighting, Japanese samurai culture and culinary arts without knowing why. Same with me. [00:40:29] Speaker A: Oh yeah. [00:40:29] Speaker B: Honestly, You're a natural. Right. Eventually. [00:40:32] Speaker A: You know what your superpower is? [00:40:33] Speaker B: What? [00:40:34] Speaker A: Taking out the trash on Tuesday nights. [00:40:36] Speaker B: It is. And the recycle on Monday, don't forget. He eventually returns to the orphanage where he was brought up and is given a jeweled amulet that shows him his past lives and powers. Shortly afterwards, he instinctively uses his powers to save a town when a reservoir bursts, but dies when a school boiler explodes during the rescue. We'll get to that in a minute. [00:40:59] Speaker A: Okay. [00:41:00] Speaker B: All right. Star Hawkins. [00:41:01] Speaker A: Yay. [00:41:02] Speaker B: What do I love most? His outfit. He's wearing a skin tight bodysuit, Peter Pan boots and a Members Only jacket. [00:41:12] Speaker A: I love the Members Only jacket. [00:41:14] Speaker B: Every outfit I wore from 1982 through 89. [00:41:20] Speaker A: 89. [00:41:24] Speaker B: Except I didn't wear it nearly this well. He's got a shapely pair of legs. [00:41:27] Speaker A: He does have shapely legs. He's drawn very well. [00:41:31] Speaker B: Gil Kane is the artist here. He's a. Well, he's a master. [00:41:37] Speaker A: Is he a homosexual? [00:41:39] Speaker B: Not that I'm aware of. Now, he created the look for your favorite character, Green Lantern. [00:41:44] Speaker A: Oh. Well, I would say he has a good appreciation of the male body. [00:41:47] Speaker B: He certainly does like the skin tight outfits. [00:41:51] Speaker A: Yes. [00:41:54] Speaker B: Although I also love Ilda. We open this story with Ilda, who's a robot. I remind you she's a robot walking down the street in a knee length red trench coat. She's go girl. [00:42:06] Speaker A: Very shapely legs, but a gigantic melon of a head. [00:42:10] Speaker B: Yeah, it's an unfortunate head. It looks like Stewie Griffin's head does with lipstick on. [00:42:15] Speaker A: Yes. [00:42:16] Speaker B: So Stewie Griffin, essentially. [00:42:18] Speaker A: Yes, essentially. With extreme cat eyes. Extreme cat eyes. [00:42:22] Speaker B: Ilda gets electrocuted by a falling power line, as one does in the 21st century. Apparently they still have power lines. [00:42:31] Speaker A: They still haven't. They haven't figured out how to put them alone. [00:42:32] Speaker B: Wait a minute. [00:42:33] Speaker A: What? [00:42:33] Speaker B: We're in the 21st century and we still have power lines. We're the same as these people. [00:42:39] Speaker A: We are. [00:42:41] Speaker B: She gets electrocuted and loses her memory and stumbles over to a crime documentary showing at the Bijou about the slinker from Saturn. [00:42:50] Speaker A: I'm glad to see they still have movies in the 21st century. [00:42:53] Speaker B: I, you know, I haven't seen a movie in so long. I wouldn't know if they had him in the 21st century or not. [00:42:58] Speaker A: What was the last. What was the last movie we saw? This was a superhero movie, wasn't it? [00:43:02] Speaker B: Black Panther. [00:43:03] Speaker A: That was great. It was a fantastic movie. [00:43:06] Speaker B: Now that's a Marvel movie. We shouldn't be discussing it on this program. [00:43:10] Speaker A: But you know what show we have been enjoying on the television lately? [00:43:13] Speaker B: Black Lightning. [00:43:14] Speaker A: Lightning. It is fantastic. [00:43:15] Speaker B: It really is. If you watched it. And look, I know the WB shows have their weaknesses. They're very formulaic and trust me, I. [00:43:25] Speaker A: Have been a cynic. Bob has tried to sit me down and watch these superhero shows and over. And I'm just like, oh, I can't. I have been hooked on Black Lightning from the beginning. For the complexity of the characters, for the story unfolding quickly, for the music is fantastic. [00:43:46] Speaker B: Yeah, that's great. [00:43:47] Speaker A: I love it. And the stories are not predictable. [00:43:49] Speaker B: No Black Lightning. Wb. [00:43:53] Speaker A: Black Lightning is back. No, no, it's not that. [00:43:55] Speaker B: Cw. [00:43:56] Speaker A: Cw. [00:43:56] Speaker B: Oh, I'm such an idiot. [00:43:57] Speaker A: Well, there are so many channels. [00:43:59] Speaker B: There really are. And now we have streaming services. [00:44:02] Speaker A: And back to this robot story. [00:44:03] Speaker B: Well, Ilda's lost her memory and she thinks she's the slinker from Saturn because she's got that red face. [00:44:07] Speaker A: The slinker from Saturn? [00:44:09] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:44:10] Speaker A: Who looks like the scarecrow. The, The. [00:44:14] Speaker B: He looks a little like the scarecrow from the Wiz as played by Michael Jackson. Hoda. So Ilda's going off to commit a crime because I think she's a slinker from Saturn. Star Hawkins is beside himself. He doesn't know where Ilda is. [00:44:31] Speaker A: He can't track her down. He can't find her. He's got all sorts of devices. [00:44:35] Speaker B: She always informs me when she wants to goof off. I wish I could just call my boss up. [00:44:40] Speaker A: I'm gonna goof off. [00:44:41] Speaker B: I am gonna goof off today. I'll be. Oh, out of office. [00:44:45] Speaker A: Out of office. Yes. [00:44:48] Speaker B: Well, Starhawkins doesn't have time to look for it because of burglar alarm at the space travel insurance company. Just got tripped. Pause. Yes. [00:44:55] Speaker A: Really like this. This look, these switching of the multiple hands, the double takes and the hands move. I love these. [00:45:01] Speaker B: It's fantastic. [00:45:02] Speaker A: I really enjoy the art here. [00:45:04] Speaker B: I'm glad. [00:45:05] Speaker A: Don't like her head, but that's okay. [00:45:07] Speaker B: Here we are on page four. Star Hawkins creeping up a ventilation duct. That's a fantastic panel. [00:45:13] Speaker A: That is fantastic. [00:45:14] Speaker B: I put that in the show notes. He breaks into the office to find Ilda in the midst of committing a crime. [00:45:20] Speaker A: Ilda's committing crime and she picks him. [00:45:22] Speaker B: Up by the scruff of his neck and tosses him out the window. [00:45:25] Speaker A: Right out the window. He's flying out the window. Much like Lois Lane did last week in our podcast. [00:45:30] Speaker B: He is only she did it on purpose. He's doesn't know what's terrified. Well, he lands on a flagpole and of course lands safely on the ground. Look at the acrobatic figure there. [00:45:43] Speaker A: He's quite skilled for a man who's always behind in his rent. [00:45:47] Speaker B: Yeah. You think? I mean, he could join the circus or something. I know they still have circuses in the 25th. [00:45:53] Speaker A: He's great hair. So, you know, he's getting haircuts regularly. [00:45:55] Speaker B: He's got that little hair flip that I'm trying to cultivate in my own hair. [00:45:57] Speaker A: You're doing a great job with that. [00:45:59] Speaker B: Thank you. [00:45:59] Speaker A: I'm so happy it was you went and get your hair cut yesterday. Did you try that shampoo? [00:46:04] Speaker B: I did this morning. [00:46:05] Speaker A: Oh, my God. She said to us when she sold it to us, yeah, a pea sized amount. She was absolutely right. She did. She said just a pea sized amount. [00:46:13] Speaker B: No, I was talking about the gel. That was the gel. [00:46:15] Speaker A: Oh. So I put that shampoo in my hand. [00:46:18] Speaker B: We're talking about Tiffany, our gal at the beauty salon. [00:46:20] Speaker A: We love her. So I put that shampoo in my hand and it foamed up and it was like, oh, my God, there's so much of it. [00:46:28] Speaker B: So we got a blue rinse shampoo, essentially because we're going gray and she. I mean, I've gone. [00:46:34] Speaker A: I think I can tell. It looks great. [00:46:36] Speaker B: Thanks. [00:46:38] Speaker A: Back to the comic. [00:46:39] Speaker B: Back to the comic. The crime clown has escaped. [00:46:42] Speaker A: Oh, God. [00:46:44] Speaker B: Well, now Ilda thinks she's the crime clown because she just. [00:46:47] Speaker A: She's a flibberty jibbet. Apparently, she doesn't know anything, so she's. [00:46:50] Speaker B: Off to commit another crime as the crime clown. There's only one problem. The real crime clown shows up. [00:46:56] Speaker A: Right. [00:46:57] Speaker B: Star Hawkins. [00:46:59] Speaker A: He looks evil. He looks like it, yeah. [00:47:02] Speaker B: Clowns are not ever a good. [00:47:04] Speaker A: Why do people even ever hire clowns? Do we know any clowns? [00:47:09] Speaker B: Well, you know, I used to be a clown in seventh grade clown ministry. [00:47:13] Speaker A: That's true. You were a clown at your church. [00:47:15] Speaker B: Until my clown career came to a scalding hot end. Tell us about that, Bob. So when you're a clown minister. [00:47:24] Speaker A: Yes. [00:47:25] Speaker B: You have to remain silent. You have to do all of your communicating with motion. [00:47:29] Speaker A: How do you share the scriptures you. [00:47:31] Speaker B: With liturgical dance and movement? Shut up. Are you kidding? So the clown ministers of the seventh grade were hired to bus serve dinner? Well, we were busing the tables, essentially. [00:47:45] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:47:46] Speaker B: At a banquet in the fellowship hall. Well, I was tasked with refilling people's. [00:47:52] Speaker A: Coffee, so hot stuff coming through. [00:47:55] Speaker B: I went up. [00:47:58] Speaker A: Hot stuff coming through. [00:48:00] Speaker B: Matronly woman. And picked up her coffee cup to refill her coffee and spilled hot coffee all over her. Well, I was a clown. I couldn't say I'm sorry aloud. [00:48:09] Speaker A: So you just. [00:48:10] Speaker B: So I just shrugged my shoulders with a comical grimace and went on my way. You ruined her night. And my crime clown career came to an end. Okay, so crime clown is interrupted by Star Hawkins, who's still looking for Ilda. [00:48:28] Speaker A: What's crime clown doing? He's going to the museum to steal some art. Is that it? [00:48:33] Speaker B: Yeah. I don't know. [00:48:36] Speaker A: He's using a balloon. [00:48:37] Speaker B: Yes. He's floating out of the museum with a balloon. [00:48:39] Speaker A: That's the stupidest thing you know. [00:48:42] Speaker B: Star Hawkins has jailed the crime clown once before. That's why crying clown is eager to get his revenge on Star Hawkins. He's just about to shoot Star Hawkins dead. And Ilda, dressed as the crime clown, soars into the window in her own. [00:48:56] Speaker A: Clown outfit, extends her hand and picks up the clown. [00:49:00] Speaker B: Yep. All right. Seeing Star Hawkins in danger snapped her back to her senses. [00:49:06] Speaker A: Her emotion chip. I'm just projecting Star Trek onto that. [00:49:12] Speaker B: So Star Hawkins takes her to the soda fountain, where they serve a robot special strawberry oil soda. [00:49:21] Speaker A: I can't imagine that would taste good. [00:49:23] Speaker B: Yum. And they get A reward for capturing the crime clown. Enough to pay up three months of back rent. [00:49:30] Speaker A: How many months aren't paid? [00:49:33] Speaker B: Probably. Well, this is his last appearance until 1980, so. [00:49:37] Speaker A: Good. [00:49:40] Speaker B: All right. [00:49:41] Speaker A: And the story concludes with a little joke. You know, like, yay, we get to pay our rent. Wee cares. Although I just want to say I love that soda fountain. I wish we could have a soda fountain someday. Wouldn't you like to have a little soda fountain? I would only have beer inside it. Yeah. [00:49:59] Speaker B: If it had like vodka. Yeah. [00:50:02] Speaker A: Well, so basically I just want to have a tap. [00:50:04] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. [00:50:05] Speaker A: Okay. [00:50:06] Speaker B: With vodka. [00:50:07] Speaker A: With. Seminar Brewery. [00:50:10] Speaker B: Seminar Brewing. [00:50:11] Speaker A: Seminar Brewing. [00:50:12] Speaker B: Florence, South Carolina. Google it. Alright. Immortal Man. Our story opens. [00:50:21] Speaker A: Oh, God. [00:50:24] Speaker B: With a blonde, Nordic, perfect specimen of manhood, dressed in a cheetah loincloth. [00:50:33] Speaker A: Drawn so nicely. His latissimus dorsi are quite. [00:50:37] Speaker B: His body's alright, but his face is jacked up. I don't know what's wrong with that. [00:50:40] Speaker A: He's had work. He's lived. He's lived a hundred lives. He's had work done, but we don't. [00:50:45] Speaker B: Know that yet until we see his thought bubble. Yeah, what am I doing here in this outfit? [00:50:50] Speaker A: Oh, which. Okay, so can I just say the premise of being a superhero whose powers include dying. [00:50:58] Speaker B: Right. [00:50:58] Speaker A: That's great. Except that he dies twice in this feature. [00:51:03] Speaker B: Right. Well, you're jumping ahead now. Well, okay, look, so immortal. [00:51:08] Speaker A: Back up before you go into the story. [00:51:09] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:51:10] Speaker A: Does he just inhabit the. As a consciousness? [00:51:14] Speaker B: You're jumping ahead. Just calm down. [00:51:17] Speaker A: He says, what am I doing here? Did he spring forth into the ether as a fully formed, really great looking Nordic man in a leopard suit? [00:51:26] Speaker B: You have to read the text box. He says he thinks to himself, of course, I've been reborn. And this time as a full grown man. The text box explains. Yes, he is the man who has lived and died a hundred times and more since the beginning of time. [00:51:42] Speaker A: Okay. [00:51:42] Speaker B: I have to conduct see strange adventures number 77. [00:51:45] Speaker A: This really did have my attention from the beginning. I was really excited about it because I thought he was drawn very well. [00:51:50] Speaker B: Yes, he does have a nice physique. [00:51:52] Speaker A: I missed that. I missed that. [00:51:54] Speaker B: Well, you've got to read all the words like I do. [00:51:56] Speaker A: Well, my eyes skipped on him when he was shooting laser beams at the. At the, at the lion. I thought, oh, what the hell is he doing to this lion? [00:52:04] Speaker B: So he's in a jungle, an African jungle. Here comes a lion. Well, that's fake because lions don't live in the jungle. They live on the Veldt. [00:52:11] Speaker A: On the Sahara, right? No, no, no, no, no. On the grasslands. [00:52:14] Speaker B: Grasslands. Grasslands. Savannah. That's what you meant. [00:52:16] Speaker A: Savannah. Thank you. [00:52:19] Speaker B: Must bring my hypnotic powers into play. So this is what I don't understand. The hypnotic powers come from the ancient tribe of cavemen where he originated. Okay, is that what. I'm interpreting correctly? [00:52:33] Speaker A: Yet he didn't carry over any of the body hair. [00:52:36] Speaker B: Right. Well, he's clearly. Well, we'll get to that. He's probably from the Belgian Congo. Belgians are blonde and have no body hair. [00:52:49] Speaker A: Okay. [00:52:52] Speaker B: That was supposed to be a joke. Nobody got it. [00:52:54] Speaker A: I was trying to think of what celebrity he looks like, and I would say, do you remember. Do you remember when Dennis, he was married to Jacqueline Smith? [00:53:02] Speaker B: Married to Jacqueline Smith. He beat her. [00:53:04] Speaker A: Oh, why did you have to say that before? I said what I was gonna say. Now I'm gonna sound like a horrible person. [00:53:09] Speaker B: What? [00:53:10] Speaker A: I about died when he appeared as Tarzan on Fantasy Island. [00:53:14] Speaker B: Well, you didn't know then. He beat her. [00:53:16] Speaker A: Of course I didn't know then. [00:53:17] Speaker B: Oh, my God, he's dead now also. Yeah, well, people die, but Jacqueline Smith lives on. And she looks fantastic. Look at her Twitter feed. [00:53:28] Speaker A: Really? [00:53:28] Speaker B: Oh, my goodness. [00:53:29] Speaker A: I don't Twitter. [00:53:30] Speaker B: You know, we saw Cher a couple of weeks ago. [00:53:32] Speaker A: We did. [00:53:33] Speaker B: Also, she looks fantastic. 71 years old. Jacqueline Smith has to be. [00:53:37] Speaker A: I'm convinced she cut the legs off a 20 year old and sewed them onto her body. [00:53:41] Speaker B: Could be. You know, she had ribs removed so she could stay thin. Jacqueline smith must be 95, and she looks terrific. [00:53:47] Speaker A: Good for her. Good for her. [00:53:49] Speaker B: Okay, now, so he hypnotizes the lion with his magnetic, hypnotic jungle man powers. [00:53:56] Speaker A: Jungle man powers. [00:53:57] Speaker B: He has a brief flashback to the many lives that he's lived when he. [00:54:02] Speaker A: Was a Roman warrior. [00:54:03] Speaker B: Roman warrior and a caveman. Yeah, apparently he's flashing back as a caveman. And apparently he looked exactly the same as he looks as jungle man as a caveman. [00:54:15] Speaker A: Well, maybe his flashbacks are just using his mind as he. I, you know, I like this guy. I really want this to work out, so I'm not gonna be too critical of him. [00:54:25] Speaker B: So he hypnotizes the line. [00:54:27] Speaker A: I like this guy. Not the next one. [00:54:29] Speaker B: He takes off, flying into the air above the treetops. [00:54:32] Speaker A: Okay, okay. I would have understood. I would have been okay with cheetah speed. [00:54:37] Speaker B: Yep. [00:54:37] Speaker A: You know. Yeah, not the flying. Well, okay, because I'm gonna come back to the fact that he just dies over and over again. This idiot can do everything. And yet. And he's strong and he can fly and he has. He has telekinetic powers. [00:54:54] Speaker B: Strong. Do we show strength? [00:54:56] Speaker A: We will in a minute. [00:54:57] Speaker B: Okay. [00:54:57] Speaker A: Yes. And he can start fires with his eyes. And yet he must die. [00:55:02] Speaker B: I say, what a peculiar gentleman. You know, he fires beams from his eyes, don't you know? Yes, I'm doing the British man that just discovered him and he's so rich. [00:55:15] Speaker A: He adds diphthongs to everything he says. [00:55:17] Speaker B: Yes, his name is Rodney. Rodney and his sister Helen, they're riding together in their jeep across the African savannah because they're on safari or expedition or something. [00:55:28] Speaker A: Yes. And of course, Jungleman has just. There was a stampede of elephants coming toward them in their vehicle. And Jungleman shot down beams of fire from his eyes. [00:55:41] Speaker B: I say, I wonder if he's an Ubangi tribesman. He doesn't have a dot on his head. So he's not one of ours. Isn't one of Her Majesty's subjects. Do you know he's clad only in a loincloth? Yes. Jolly good show, my friend. That's an actual quote from the comic. Jolly good show. We were in a bit of bad rut until you came along. And where did you get such extraordinary powers? [00:56:11] Speaker A: It's a long story. Too long to go into now. Just call me Jungle Man. [00:56:17] Speaker B: Just call me Jungle Man. Just call me Flying man or I beam. [00:56:22] Speaker A: How about Fred? [00:56:23] Speaker B: They're not even in the jungle. [00:56:25] Speaker A: Just call me Fred. [00:56:26] Speaker B: We've seen three trees total, Jungleman. [00:56:31] Speaker A: So. And then Helen says, you certainly deserve an explanation, Jungleman, for saving our lives. This ancient scroll is the reason we, my brother and I are here. A treasure map. That was a bad British accent. [00:56:47] Speaker B: It was not bad. They're upper crust. They can talk however they want. Sir Winfrey. Phelps. Our father planned an expedition here to seek this treasure, but death overtook him and. [00:56:58] Speaker A: And that's why you're both here, to carry out your father's dying wish. But those criminals are out to get ahold of your map and rob you of your treasure. [00:57:06] Speaker B: Yes, it's quite apparent the leader, whom they call carrot, is onto our mission. It's real sticky. Wicked. Well, whoever wrote this story has never heard a British person talk. Or rather, has only heard British people talk in movies. [00:57:23] Speaker A: If you allow me, I'd like to help you. Let's move in that direction. [00:57:27] Speaker B: Does that Engleman. He doesn't. [00:57:28] Speaker A: I'm sorry, he doesn't have a British. Right, right, right, right, right. If you. If you allow me, I'll like. I'd like to help you. Let's move in that direction. Yes, yes, yes, yes. I'm Jungleman. I've died a hundred times. [00:57:39] Speaker B: So they go, they track down Carrot. There's some kind of secret helmet. [00:57:42] Speaker A: Oh God, it looks terrible and it has horns and whatnot. And. Okay, so the secret helmet's power allows you to manifest whatever thoughts that you have into. Into, like beasts and things to. But you. But apparently the one thing the secret helmet doesn't do is prevent you from getting punched in the face to knock the helmet off your head. [00:58:00] Speaker B: Yeah, that's a great punch. That's a mark Trail punch. [00:58:02] Speaker A: Look at that punch. Look at his body. Damn. [00:58:06] Speaker B: So he is fit Carrot the villain, okay? He has all kinds of magic words he has to say. Kaza, kazam, yazam. [00:58:15] Speaker A: You hear that coming and you're Jungleman. You're gonna punch him right in the face. [00:58:17] Speaker B: What kind of mumbo jumbo is he muttering? Yeah. A fantastic beast appears out of the ether which Jungleman subdues. [00:58:27] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:58:30] Speaker B: He saves Helen and Rodney and gives him the helmet. Gives him the helmet and rides the beast over a cliff where he falls and dies. [00:58:41] Speaker A: Now he could have jumped off of the beast and flew. Flew away and saved his life. [00:58:46] Speaker B: He can fly? [00:58:47] Speaker A: Yeah. Instead he rides the beast and gets hit. [00:58:50] Speaker B: He could have shot the beast with I beams. [00:58:52] Speaker A: He could have done anything. Instead he rides it, hits his head on the tree as he's going over. [00:58:58] Speaker B: The edge and dies and kills our beautiful jungle man. [00:59:02] Speaker A: Yes. [00:59:04] Speaker B: Part two. [00:59:06] Speaker A: Jungleman comes back to life. Well, first we open up with part two where they're mourning his death. [00:59:12] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:59:12] Speaker A: Holding the helmet. [00:59:13] Speaker B: Yeah. Helen is very upset. [00:59:18] Speaker A: What's she wearing? She's wearing a onesie with shorts and a shirt. [00:59:20] Speaker B: It's like. [00:59:22] Speaker A: Like a culottes pantsuit With a matching headband. [00:59:26] Speaker B: Mm, of course, why wouldn't you? [00:59:30] Speaker A: She probably had it sewn for her. [00:59:32] Speaker B: Chin up, sis. Stiff upper lip and all. I'm sure he'll be back as a chimney sweep soaring over the rooftops of London. Or a chimney sweep, perhaps a valet to his Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh. You're doing a great job at that exit. Maybe you'll see him firing I beams as the driver of a handsome cab around Piccadilly Circus. [00:59:56] Speaker A: Shut up. [00:59:59] Speaker B: We'll bring the helmet back to London as Dad wanted, for all the world to see and admire. Now we'd better locate Carrot and his henchmen and turn them over to the authorities. Don't you know? [01:00:10] Speaker A: Of course, she doesn't say a damn thing. [01:00:12] Speaker B: No, she's silent, she's quiet and pretty. That's how you know she'll make a good wife someday. [01:00:16] Speaker A: She's mourning, right? [01:00:19] Speaker B: Carrot is taken off to African jail. [01:00:22] Speaker A: Which has got to be the worst. I've seen Locked Up Abroad. [01:00:25] Speaker B: Have you? What's that? [01:00:27] Speaker A: Oh, it's a show where they show people, Americans who do really stupid things and get locked up abroad, and they spend months and months in jail for possession of marijuana. Or a Bible. [01:00:36] Speaker B: Right, right. I've heard of that. [01:00:40] Speaker A: And I'm going to use that as a threat to keep our kids in line when we go to Spain and Portugal. [01:00:44] Speaker B: That's right. Just a month later, on a street in England. Whoa, whoa, what's this? I've come to life again. Fully grown as an adult and dressed in a suit now with a mustache. I believe that someone involved in this story. This is 1966, right? [01:01:02] Speaker A: Yes. [01:01:03] Speaker B: I think someone heard the word reincarnation and thought they knew what it meant. Thought that it meant that you die and then appear fully grown a month later. [01:01:14] Speaker A: Yeah, that's the problem. He doesn't actually inhabit the consciousness of someone. Like, take over the consciousness of someone we don't know. No, he just appears. He apparates. [01:01:27] Speaker B: We don't know. We don't see him. Apparate. He could have been. I mean, this person could have been crossing the street and got hit by a car, and then his mind is just replaced by Jungle Man. Travelers. Travelers on Netflix. [01:01:37] Speaker A: I love that show. [01:01:38] Speaker B: Season one and two now streaming on Netflix. And season three coming soon. [01:01:41] Speaker A: Awesome. [01:01:42] Speaker B: You'll love it. [01:01:43] Speaker A: Great show. Tragically flawed characters in that one. Well, yes, I love complicated characters, so. [01:01:51] Speaker B: Oh, look, a headline. Extra, extra, extra. Rodney and Helen Phelps arrive with rare treasure to be donated to museum. They've brought the helmet back, haven't they? [01:02:02] Speaker A: Yeah. It's a hideous piece of jewelry. [01:02:05] Speaker B: It's not. It's not our queens crown, is it? No, I should say not. [01:02:13] Speaker A: So he decides that he's going to go see them, however, they would not recognize them. [01:02:17] Speaker B: No, he's a blonde and he has a mustache. [01:02:20] Speaker A: No. And he's wearing a suit instead of a loincloth, unfortunately. [01:02:24] Speaker B: Right. Well, we don't know. We don't know what he looks like under that suit. [01:02:27] Speaker A: Oh, God, I hope he's not wearing the leopard skin loincloth underneath that suit. [01:02:31] Speaker B: Could be the moisture. So he meets up with Helen and Rodney. They make instant friendship. [01:02:40] Speaker A: Of course, he has a certain talent with that. She's wearing, by the way, she's wearing a yellow Dress with a yellow headband. [01:02:47] Speaker B: Mm. I should say this Mr. King is a gentleman. Not like Jungleman, who crawled out of the underbrush. I know it's the 1960s and we're supposed to be nice to commoners, but Rally. [01:03:02] Speaker A: You're doing great with that accent, Bob. [01:03:04] Speaker B: Thanks. I've been practicing all day. Uh. [01:03:08] Speaker A: Uh. [01:03:09] Speaker B: Oh. [01:03:09] Speaker A: Where are you? Oh, okay. [01:03:11] Speaker B: And now for your evening broadcast from the BBC. Oh, wait. Sorry. And now for your evening newscast from the BBC. [01:03:18] Speaker A: Who the hell are you? [01:03:20] Speaker B: Early this evening, an international criminal known as Carrot, sent to England to stand trial, escaped from Blackgate Prison. [01:03:28] Speaker A: My, my, my word, Helen, that is the mad. That madman is free. [01:03:33] Speaker B: Too late. The helmet's already been stolen. Yep, he's already been there. Well, it looks like Mr. Mark King, recently born on the streets of London, has a job to do flying over. [01:03:43] Speaker A: The rooftops of London. [01:03:46] Speaker B: He doesn't have a very good flying posture. He just looks like he's been tossed into the air like a rag doll. Whoa. [01:03:58] Speaker A: He's rather clumsy, actually. [01:04:00] Speaker B: He's no Superman. [01:04:01] Speaker A: No, Superman has a strength about everything he does. This man just sort of fops about. [01:04:08] Speaker B: Oh. Hey, I'm flying. Look at that. I guess I'll flail my arms around and kick. [01:04:13] Speaker A: So Carrot is standing outside of what? Where. [01:04:19] Speaker B: He'S. [01:04:20] Speaker A: Westminster? [01:04:21] Speaker B: No, the royal jewels. On display one week only. It must be the Tower of London. [01:04:27] Speaker A: And he's utilized the helmet to conjure up fantastic magnetic beings to attract the royal jewels. Jewels. [01:04:33] Speaker B: Okay, so are the royal jewels magnetic? [01:04:35] Speaker A: No, that's the thing. Gold is not magnetic. I mean, I'm sure it had. It's a metal, so it has some sort of magnetic properties. But I'm sure they're very weak. Too bad we don't have a metallurgist here. [01:04:45] Speaker B: Well, we'll call him tomorrow. What about precious stones? Are they magnetic? [01:04:51] Speaker A: No. [01:04:51] Speaker B: That's what's sticking to these unusual gentlemen. [01:04:56] Speaker A: Yes. [01:04:56] Speaker B: My goodness, they're peculiar. [01:04:58] Speaker A: They do look like robots, don't they? [01:04:59] Speaker B: They must be from America or. Or India or Czechoslovakia. Well, here's the strength. Yeah, I see it. He rips the iron gate. [01:05:10] Speaker A: Yes. [01:05:10] Speaker B: And throws it at the magnetic people. Who? [01:05:12] Speaker A: Beings? Yes. [01:05:15] Speaker B: Well, here's Rodney and Helen watching the television. Auntie Beebe. Think of it, Helen. A man flying through the air, possessed of superhuman strength. Sounds almost like Jungleman. Now, say, spuck up. We both know he's dead. No one could have survived that plummet from the cliff. And besides, there isn't the slightest resemblance between this man and a Jungleman. [01:05:47] Speaker A: I know, Rodney, but there was something about him I can't explain. [01:05:54] Speaker B: So Mark King and Helen go out on a date. [01:05:59] Speaker A: She's wearing a brown dress with a matching brown headband. [01:06:03] Speaker B: I think it's orange. [01:06:04] Speaker A: Oh, okay. Orange, brown family. And I hate her dress. It's got a giant bow tied in the front. [01:06:13] Speaker B: I'm sure it looks good. [01:06:15] Speaker A: I'm sure it's fine. By 60s standards, she probably bought it. [01:06:20] Speaker B: At King's Cross station. Not at the famous fashion thoroughfare. [01:06:29] Speaker A: Not at HM HM. H&M wasn't around then. [01:06:32] Speaker B: No. The Kings Road. [01:06:33] Speaker A: Yeah. God. Go on. [01:06:36] Speaker B: What? [01:06:36] Speaker A: So they're out to dinner or something? [01:06:39] Speaker B: Yes. An alarm. Look, he can't even fly. When he's crashing through the ceiling, he just falls. [01:06:44] Speaker A: He's just falling. Someone tossed him up in the air and he's falling through. [01:06:51] Speaker B: Carrot dreams up a nuclear missile out of his head. [01:06:54] Speaker A: First he dreams up. He's controlling this jackhammer to attack him, which he thinks that's all he has to fight. But no. He's got a nuclear time bomb. [01:07:04] Speaker B: Right. Well, Immortal man destroys the helmet with his super heat vision. [01:07:11] Speaker A: Thank God. And finally assumes a proper flying pose. [01:07:15] Speaker B: Yes, thank goodness. Even though he's wearing a tuxedo. Well done by crickets. You're right, Helen. He has a duplicate amulet. What can it all mean? Helen realizes that Mark King and Jungleman must be one in the same. [01:07:32] Speaker A: Yes, but she did not confide. [01:07:33] Speaker B: Amulet. What? [01:07:34] Speaker A: She dare not confide? No. [01:07:39] Speaker B: Mark King flies up to grab the nuclear missile. It explodes, killing him again. [01:07:43] Speaker A: Idiot. All that superpower, all those lives, and he. I mean, we see. To see him die twice in the same issue from stupid, stupid mistakes. [01:07:55] Speaker B: Steady on, sis. He's gone. Just like Jungleman. He went heroically sacrificing his life. Jolly good show, don't you know. [01:08:05] Speaker A: But if my suspicions are right, he'll be back as another person and I just know I'll recognize him, whoever he is. There's hope for her, right? [01:08:16] Speaker B: There's no hope for her. She's an easy mark. Anybody could walk up and say, I'm Jungleman. [01:08:21] Speaker A: Well, he's an idiot too. The bum off the street he was talking about. He's always going to encounter some sort of evil escapade, some evil doer. And he's going to find some way to die. [01:08:31] Speaker B: Yes, well, that's his power. He dies and comes back to life fully grown and dressed. [01:08:37] Speaker A: Ha. [01:08:37] Speaker B: The end. [01:08:38] Speaker A: Wouldn't that be something? [01:08:39] Speaker B: I'll say. [01:08:40] Speaker A: Right. [01:08:41] Speaker B: Who would be. [01:08:41] Speaker A: This day's not working out I'm just gonna walk out in front of a bus and see what happens next. [01:08:46] Speaker B: I'd come back as a Baldwin brother. Not Adam. Not the. No, Steven's the weird one. [01:08:52] Speaker A: Billy. [01:08:53] Speaker B: Billy Or Alec? [01:08:54] Speaker A: Alec's clever. [01:08:56] Speaker B: Yeah, but Billy's hotter. [01:08:58] Speaker A: He was. [01:08:59] Speaker B: All right. That's all we have for you, right this week. [01:09:02] Speaker A: This has been fun. I should say fox and crow and some girl with a giant robot head. [01:09:10] Speaker B: Bubble and squeak and banger and mash. Well done. [01:09:17] Speaker A: What's coming up next, Bob? [01:09:18] Speaker B: Well, it's funny you should ask. It depends how I can line up our guest stars. It might be Aquaman. Or it might be your fella. Green Lantern. [01:09:27] Speaker A: Green Lantern. [01:09:28] Speaker B: Or it might even be Wanda Woman. [01:09:31] Speaker A: We'll have to have a gal for that. [01:09:33] Speaker B: Well, I've got one in mind. [01:09:34] Speaker A: Good. [01:09:35] Speaker B: Don't you worry. [01:09:36] Speaker A: Wonderful. [01:09:37] Speaker B: All right, you can look us up on social media. Hashtag, go, go, checkpod. Go, go, checkpod. And we'll be back next week. Next by Cheerio.