The Play's the Thing (Scooter 6/ Star-Spangled War Stories 132)

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Are you ready? Yeah. [00:00:01] Speaker B: 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. Hang on, Hang on, hang on. Welcome to Checkered Past. A loving postmodern examination of the. Go. Go. Check. Branded comic magazines published by DC Comics between February 1966 and August 1967. 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, swing with Scooter 6. Cover date April May 1967. Cover price, 12 cents. Cover artists Joe Orlando and Mike Esposito. Edited by Jack Miller. Featuring Hamlet and Eggs. Written by Barbara Friedlander and Jack Miller. Art by Joe Orlando and Mike Esposito. And Star spangled war stories 132. Cover date April May 1967. Cover price, $0.12. Cover artist Russ Heath. Edited by Robert Kaniger. Featuring the Big House of Monsters Written by Robert Kanigher. Art by Russ Heath. Are you ready? Are you with it? Then away we go. Go. Open up your eyes Take a look [00:01:30] Speaker A: at the world around you don't you [00:01:32] Speaker B: want to lend a helping hand Try it on the side Give you like a feeling about you Come along and join in with the band Young Scooter and his fellows at that noble institution, Laurel High. Are beset with a challenge most civil, civic and virtuous. To raise sufficient coin for a monument honoring greatness. The Lady Bluff, mistress of theatrical arts, doth take the reins of this noble enterprise. And setteth her charges upon the task of performing that most celebrated of tragedies. The melancholy Dane himself, Prince Hamlet. Yet the young players, bless their earnest souls, do struggle most mightily with verse and drama of such lofty sophistication. And the Lady Bluff's tale temperament doth grow as stormy as the seas off Elsinore. Then hark. A constable, young and green Jacky by name, doth find himself charged with the conveyance of one Nick, a villainous wretch, aboard an iron carriage bound for the stocks. Yet fate, that capricious mistress, doth intervene most violently. And the carriage is cast from its iron path. Jacky awakens to find his pockets stole stuffed with coin most suspicious. And his superiors, those men of little faith, do brand him traitor and corrupter of his sworn duty. Burning with righteous indignation, Jackie taketh up arms in service of the crown. Pursuing the escaped knave across vast and perilous lands to a prison Most foreign. Thrown together by Providence into an unholy alliance. The two men find themselves cast upon a savage isle most unnatural, where terrible beasts and of ancient and fearsome aspect to roam and hunger confused. Fear not. I'll be back anon with Dr. Husband to explain everything. [00:03:34] Speaker A: England swings like a pendulum do. Bobby's on bicycles. [00:03:39] Speaker B: Two by two west by Mr. Abbey, [00:03:42] Speaker A: the tower of Big Ben. [00:03:43] Speaker B: The rosy red cheeks of the little children. Canst thou but believe what the audacity of this weather. It might as well be the middle of winter. [00:04:00] Speaker A: My goodness, it's. It's quite chilly. [00:04:04] Speaker B: Very. [00:04:05] Speaker A: It was 40, 41 degrees this morning when I walked the dog. [00:04:09] Speaker B: It's like 60 right now. But I'm very elderly and I can't take cold weather. [00:04:15] Speaker A: You do act elderly. You aren't elderly, but you act elderly. [00:04:18] Speaker B: I'm actually pretty elderly. [00:04:20] Speaker A: There's a youth right now walking by our house. In front of our house. [00:04:24] Speaker B: Yes. [00:04:25] Speaker A: You can't see the youth yet, but they're staring at their phone. And they nearly got hit by someone in the car because they weren't paying attention what was going on. [00:04:33] Speaker B: Is he coming this direction? [00:04:34] Speaker A: You can see the youth any second now. [00:04:36] Speaker B: Well, there were two Utes walking down the street yesterday, but they weren't on their phones. They were conversing. Teenage boys. [00:04:43] Speaker A: See? See the person right now? [00:04:45] Speaker B: No. [00:04:45] Speaker A: Oh, you should look out. [00:04:47] Speaker B: Well, if you'd get me a big bay window for this studio space, then I could see things. No. Did you make it up? [00:04:55] Speaker A: Look, it's right there. The person. [00:04:57] Speaker B: Oh, that's not the one I saw yesterday. [00:04:59] Speaker A: Oh, God. [00:05:01] Speaker B: So apparently there's a lot of teens now in the neighborhood. [00:05:04] Speaker A: Well, there were a lot of young kids when we grew up. Excuse me. When we moved here. And they have grown up. So now they're just not that much. [00:05:10] Speaker B: They haven't. [00:05:11] Speaker A: Whatever. Anyway, [00:05:15] Speaker B: I'm telling you, there's ones I've never seen before. You know how observant I am. I was HOA president. [00:05:22] Speaker A: They can't take a bus here or anything. So they. And they don't. Certainly don't drive here and then get out of their cars and then walk up around. They actually fucking live here. [00:05:29] Speaker B: Well, what about in my day? We'd have a bicycle or a skateboard or something. [00:05:34] Speaker A: Well, I've seen teens ride bicycles. Well, I've seen children, not teens, ride bicycles in our neighborhood. [00:05:41] Speaker B: Not teens or rollerblades. Why don't they wear ride rollerblades? We have nice paved road here. [00:05:47] Speaker A: No, we do have a nice Paved road. [00:05:49] Speaker B: Yes. [00:05:50] Speaker A: Yes. [00:05:51] Speaker B: Well, how are you? Hi. [00:05:52] Speaker A: I'm great. You are? [00:05:54] Speaker B: You didn't even have a nap today. I know. [00:05:56] Speaker A: I didn't need one. I'd be so surprised. Yes, I'm thrilled. I'm like one of those dairy cows in Sweden that's been locked up all winter. And they open up the gates and the dairy cow comes springing out, kicking their back, heels in the air. That's how I feel. [00:06:11] Speaker B: I'm not aware of that custom. You don't know Swedish friends. [00:06:15] Speaker A: Oh, you haven't seen that? [00:06:16] Speaker B: No. [00:06:17] Speaker A: Oh, just look up Swiss cows being released from barn. [00:06:20] Speaker B: Well, is it Swiss or Swedish? [00:06:22] Speaker A: Oh, I'm sorry. I know there's a difference. It's probably Switzerland. It's probably Swiss cows. And it's a thing like they. They do it every year and people gather around to see it and they open the barns and they let the cows out for the first time because it's. The grass is green and the cows go absolutely nuts. And it's so adorable to watch. [00:06:42] Speaker B: Do they, Is it. Do they make a parade out of it? Like. [00:06:46] Speaker A: No, no. But I've seen lots of people gather around like photographing it because it's so much fun. [00:06:51] Speaker B: Okay, well, let's book a trip. Do it now while there's still jet fuel in the world. [00:06:57] Speaker A: Okay. So I wasn't talking about traveling, but okay. You know, that's just how I feel. So I just feel great because the grades are in, right? [00:07:04] Speaker B: Yes. [00:07:05] Speaker A: And I have planned out a really fantastic summer. [00:07:10] Speaker B: Imagine having the summer off. Listener. [00:07:14] Speaker A: I have a mixture of work, personal education, artistic work, and some fun. [00:07:21] Speaker B: Well, I just have work. None of it's personal. Well, but do tell me more about you. [00:07:28] Speaker A: Okay, well, is this a comparison exercise? [00:07:33] Speaker B: No, it's just jealousy. [00:07:35] Speaker A: A lot of my stuff is work, really. So I am working right now on a proposal for a concert that I'll give. And I talked to the collaborative artist today and he's interested. Okay. So we're looking at potentially doing four performances. We're going to aim for three to four performances of the same recital in this region, same day. [00:07:58] Speaker B: Like four day vaudeville. [00:07:59] Speaker A: Oh, good God, not at this piece. So I'm. I want to do the Andre expedition again, which is a lot of fun. Yes, it's very hard. So I'll need time to build up to it. But, but. And he's actually interested in doing it as part. Like incorporating it into a potential lecture recital from him. Because he. Oh, he is very interested in who you said. George Crumb. George Crumb. Yes. So this is kind of up his alley. [00:08:24] Speaker B: Yes. [00:08:25] Speaker A: And then I start writing. So I had done some preliminary research and then put it away for the chapter that I'm writing on mentorship for a book that I would. That I submitted to. [00:08:34] Speaker B: Yes. [00:08:35] Speaker A: So you know, I submitted in January. [00:08:36] Speaker B: Yes. [00:08:36] Speaker A: And it was accepted. [00:08:37] Speaker B: Yes. [00:08:38] Speaker A: So I did all this preliminary research and then I put it away. Now that the grades are in, I start tomorrow in earnest, just researching and up to my elbows in research and writing out, doing the research to support my thesis. [00:08:51] Speaker B: Right, right, right. [00:08:52] Speaker A: So that is due on June 15th. So I'm starting to work that. So that's work for its research. [00:08:58] Speaker B: Yes. [00:09:00] Speaker A: I start a class on May 11, which I'm very excited about. A graduate class called Strategic Cost Management. And because I love that sort of stuff. [00:09:11] Speaker B: Well, you're getting an mba. [00:09:13] Speaker A: Okay, well, there we go. That's out of the bag now. Yes. I'm pursuing an mba. [00:09:17] Speaker B: Why would I talk about it before? No. But I don't understand why it would be a secret. [00:09:21] Speaker A: Well, what if I do a couple classes and I'm like, nah, this isn't worth it. [00:09:24] Speaker B: Nobody's gonna remember. [00:09:25] Speaker A: Oh, you're right. Okay. Okay. So then I'm also. I'm very excited about our trip to Columbus. And your nephew is going to be joining us now. Yes. So we're gonna have the family together. I mean, a larger group of the family together, which will be nice. Although our niece, I guess he's my nephew too. He's my nephew in law. [00:09:43] Speaker B: Yes. [00:09:43] Speaker A: Our niece. My niece in law won't be back from her tour with. Who's she touring with? [00:09:49] Speaker B: Demi Lovato. [00:09:50] Speaker A: Demi Lovato. She won't be back yet, so we won't see her. And then I'm planning to. I'm preparing to perform in a concert. Guitar in a concert at the end of May. [00:10:01] Speaker B: Yes. [00:10:02] Speaker A: And I'm going to go to a guitar festival. [00:10:07] Speaker B: Okay. [00:10:08] Speaker A: At Shenandoah in July. And I got camping gear, so I'm planning to go camping this summer. [00:10:14] Speaker B: Okay. [00:10:15] Speaker A: And let's see. So I'm doing two classes this summer. And. Oh, oh, and the. And your sister and I. Your older sister and I are talking about potentially doing some camping trips together. And one of the things we're looking to do is to get our instruments and take them with us and go to Clifftop in West Virginia. [00:10:34] Speaker B: Okay. [00:10:35] Speaker A: Which is actually. Clifftop is its nickname. It's actually called the Appalachian String Music Band Festival. Which your cousins have played at for years. [00:10:47] Speaker B: Yes. [00:10:48] Speaker A: And so we're thinking about joining them there and for a long weekend festival, so that will take me all the way up through August, so. [00:10:57] Speaker B: Well, I have a couple of irons in the fire as well. You do, don't you do. I haven't even told you yet. [00:11:03] Speaker A: I know one of them. Why? No. One of them. [00:11:05] Speaker B: What? [00:11:07] Speaker A: You're gonna be musically directing a show? [00:11:08] Speaker B: Oh, yes, I'm musically directing a show. [00:11:11] Speaker A: The local theatrical, and it's called the Little Mermaid. [00:11:17] Speaker B: Yes, Mermaid. [00:11:18] Speaker A: Our little moniker system. Our little name twisting system doesn't work for mermaids. [00:11:22] Speaker B: It's not great. [00:11:22] Speaker A: No. Okay, so a little Mermaid. I mean, if it was merman, it'd be Merman. Merman. Merman, baby. Merman. But yeah. So you're gonna musically direct the Little Mermaid? [00:11:30] Speaker B: Yes. [00:11:30] Speaker A: Right. And I'll see one of those weekends of performances. [00:11:33] Speaker B: Sure. I've set an internal deadline for myself to start regular posting on my cooking channel, Dr. Bob's Kitchen, because I'm going to get a thousand subscribers and become a YouTube sensation. [00:11:47] Speaker A: Okay. [00:11:47] Speaker B: And monetize. [00:11:48] Speaker A: Good for you. [00:11:49] Speaker B: And kicking around another little podcast idea in the back of my head now that I know that my husband knows everything about the Love Boat. [00:11:57] Speaker A: We have been talking about it. Actually listening. [00:11:59] Speaker B: Yes, we have. [00:12:00] Speaker A: And we're both. Both very. [00:12:02] Speaker B: He's actually on board. [00:12:03] Speaker A: Very excited about it. I am on board. [00:12:06] Speaker B: Oh, I see what you did there. So stay tuned, listener. You may have another reason to listen to us during the week. [00:12:15] Speaker A: Yes. [00:12:16] Speaker B: Other than that, you know, just continuing on my day job. [00:12:20] Speaker A: And. Yes. And I am going to have some more responsibilities here pretty soon related to my job, which I won't talk about. I never talk about my job in specific details unless you're complaining about it. Right. So I'll have some more responsibilities here pretty soon. [00:12:35] Speaker B: Oh, and I forgot. I'm gonna put on a Shakespearean play and raise money for a statue for the school. [00:12:40] Speaker A: Oh, my God, this episode is gonna be crazy. [00:12:46] Speaker B: It goes from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows right away. Let's start at the turn of the page. [00:12:53] Speaker A: We'll start with the lowest because I really like the second you asked me which one I wanted to start with. And I said I really want to start with Scooter. Because I want to end on a high note. [00:13:02] Speaker B: Yes. [00:13:02] Speaker A: Because I do love the second story. [00:13:05] Speaker B: Well, you do love a dinosaur. [00:13:06] Speaker A: I do love a dinosaur story. So I would prefer to start with something I don't like, which would be Swing with Scooter. [00:13:15] Speaker B: Swing with Scooter. Number six. Scooter and company are in Shakespearean gard garb on a Skewell Auditorium stage. And the ghost of. Who's the ghost in Hamlet? Horatio. They think it's his friend Malibu. Malibu's standing right behind him. So it really is a G, G, G ghost. [00:13:44] Speaker A: Only the ghost never appears in the story. [00:13:47] Speaker B: No, it's a very deceptive cover. But it does have a purple background, which apparently made it sell better, they say. All right, Swing with Scooter, number six, Hamlet and eggs. So many people involved in the production of this issue. Two writers. Barbara Freelander and Jack Miller. [00:14:12] Speaker A: Okay. [00:14:13] Speaker B: Joe Orlando on pencils, Mike Esposito on inks. And the letterer gets a call out. Joe Letteres. [00:14:21] Speaker A: It's got to be. [00:14:22] Speaker B: Has to be fake. [00:14:22] Speaker A: Has to be a joke. I bet it's supposed to be pronounced letter easy. [00:14:25] Speaker B: I bet it's not. It's a fake name. [00:14:27] Speaker A: I know. [00:14:27] Speaker B: Letterer named letter. I'm just saying. [00:14:30] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. It's stupid. That can't be a real thing. Okay, so what's going on? So we have an auditorium full of students and there is a man, a balding man. [00:14:41] Speaker B: Yes, it's the principal, I guess. And he's telling the children that every high school in the state, except this one, has a lasting military monument to honor its great leaders. Let us not ignore our heroes. Who will be Laurel High's symbol of greatness? [00:15:00] Speaker A: Ringo Starr. [00:15:02] Speaker B: Benedict Arnold. Siegfreak. Who's that? [00:15:05] Speaker A: I have no idea. I went to the Home Depot today, as you know. [00:15:10] Speaker B: Yes. [00:15:10] Speaker A: First went to the church. I went to secular church. [00:15:14] Speaker B: Yes. [00:15:15] Speaker A: Which I often do on Sundays after I go to sacred church. And I saw something I haven't seen in quite a while today. [00:15:21] Speaker B: What's that? [00:15:22] Speaker A: I saw a man, a middle aged man with an extreme comb over. Like, think about it. How often do you see extreme comb overs? [00:15:35] Speaker B: Not often, now that I think about it. [00:15:37] Speaker A: Nowadays you don't. I mean extreme like the kind where you start on the right side of your head and you comb it to the left side of your head and then you bring it forward and swirl it around. Yeah, yeah. [00:15:47] Speaker B: Then it's all like wispy. Yes. [00:15:49] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. [00:15:52] Speaker B: Based on my careful Internet research, Zeke Freak is a current up and coming hip hop artist known for mixtapes and tracks such as Exhibition and Humble Yourself. Do you suppose Scooter was peering into the future? [00:16:05] Speaker A: Perhaps. [00:16:06] Speaker B: Wow. I wonder what else he could foretell. [00:16:10] Speaker A: Or Zeke Freak named himself after the comic book. [00:16:14] Speaker B: Aye. That's a stretch. [00:16:16] Speaker A: Is it spelled the same way Z, E, A K. Yeah, okay. [00:16:21] Speaker B: But also, Scooter comics have not been widely reprinted. [00:16:25] Speaker A: Just a coincidence then. [00:16:27] Speaker B: Maybe. No, I think the future explanation is the simplest. So it must be we're using Occam's razor. [00:16:35] Speaker A: It must be that therefore the reason. [00:16:37] Speaker B: Yeah, okay. All right. This principal apparently is a military veteran, Major Otis. And one of the students, Scooter, in fact, suggests making a statue of him, which he thinks is an excellent idea. Now that we're all in agreement, there's only one obstacle standing in the way of final the money to pay for it. Any suggestions? [00:17:04] Speaker A: The kids yell out, hawk our textbooks, [00:17:06] Speaker B: fire the teachers, sell the school. No, that won't work. Well, luckily, Cynthia's here. Cynthia's Scooter's sister, as you may recall. She says, why don't we put out a play or something? I. I know at least one person who would buy a ticket to see me act. My aunt Hatta. [00:17:25] Speaker A: Because as we all know, a way to raise major funds for an enterprise is to put on an artistic event. [00:17:34] Speaker B: Yeah, sure. [00:17:35] Speaker A: Yes. [00:17:36] Speaker B: Didn't they have the horrible foot long chocolate bars that didn't taste like chocolate that they'd make the students go out and sell? [00:17:44] Speaker A: Girl, I could polish off one of those in 15 minutes. [00:17:46] Speaker B: Oh, I could eat one right now for sure. But [00:17:50] Speaker A: they weren't bad. [00:17:51] Speaker B: What else did we sell? We had to go sell magazine subscriptions. [00:17:55] Speaker A: We sold boxes of chocolate, chocolate wrapping [00:17:58] Speaker B: paper, holiday wrapping paper. [00:18:01] Speaker A: I just remember candy. [00:18:05] Speaker B: Who wouldn't remember candy? I wasn't a very good salesman. [00:18:09] Speaker A: Me neither. [00:18:09] Speaker B: You may imagine I wish I'd had [00:18:12] Speaker A: someone when I was younger to coach me on that and really like, coach me on it because I could have been good at that. I just felt so self conscious. [00:18:21] Speaker B: That's where the girl scouts have an advantage, because they have a product that everybody wants. They don't have to go door to door. They just set up in the parking lot of the grocery store and everybody comes to them. It's always around money, hand over Fist. All right. Ms. Bluff, the drama teacher is assigned the duty of directing the students in a suitable play. Apparently she's German because she talks in comic book German and she's a military gal because Major Otis orders her around like he's her commanding officer and she takes his orders. Yes. Now they've decided to put on Hamlet, an eminently appropriate high school play. Do you remember when at a former institution where we taught. Yes. When the theater department put on Hamlet. [00:19:24] Speaker A: I have no visual memory of it because there's a reason for It. [00:19:28] Speaker B: So we were sitting in the auditorium witnessing act one, I think, what is [00:19:35] Speaker A: quite possibly the worst lit production of anything I've ever seen anywhere on any stage in my entire life. [00:19:43] Speaker B: The performances were good, I think. I think. But the point of the story is that it was Florida in the springtime, and so there was a giant weather event. [00:19:53] Speaker A: Yes. [00:19:53] Speaker B: And the power went out early on in the staging of the production. And it took about 20 minutes for anyone to realize it because the lighting design had been so dark all along. [00:20:08] Speaker A: Now you're exaggerating. We knew right away when the power went out, but. [00:20:11] Speaker B: Yeah, but they kept going. [00:20:13] Speaker A: They did keep going. And the difference between having the lighting on and having the lighting off was so subtle that I got the giggles because I think one of us said to the other person, I'm sure it was you who said to me, you know, I. I can't tell, are the lights on or off? You know? [00:20:28] Speaker B: Right. [00:20:29] Speaker A: Which. It's obvious that the lights have gone off. And I got the giggles because I. You. It was spot on. I remember just. I remember straining to try to figure out. All I could see was silhouettes of characters on the stage and barely make out their faces. And I was just going. I was so angry because I couldn't tell who was the actual actors were. [00:20:49] Speaker B: Right. [00:20:49] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:20:52] Speaker B: All right. So they have begun rehearsals for Hamlet. [00:20:56] Speaker A: They called the show. Yeah, that was that production. They finally. They couldn't get the power back on because the power went out in that whole, like that area of the neighborhood, including campus. And the director came out and said, I'm calling the show. [00:21:12] Speaker B: Yes. [00:21:12] Speaker A: Yeah, we couldn't have the show anymore. [00:21:14] Speaker B: No. Well, they did have it the next day or sometimes. All right. As you know, the minute you begin rehearsing a show, you do it in full costume as they're doing it here. [00:21:27] Speaker A: Full costume. Which anyone in show business knows that's not true. [00:21:31] Speaker B: Right. So these teens are just taking off on their own. They're not even listening to Ms. Bluff. They just start doing the frug and [00:21:39] Speaker A: singing kind of like Peanuts. [00:21:41] Speaker B: Hamlet swings like a pendulum do. See the little teenagers two by two. [00:21:47] Speaker A: Right. [00:21:47] Speaker B: Octo, Lieber, Ms. Bluff. Shout sh. Stop fooling around. [00:21:53] Speaker A: Shh. [00:21:53] Speaker B: Stick to Hamlet, you stuffed salamis. Alright. They tried to tell Ms. Bluff that she's standing atop a rickety old box which breaks and she falls to the ground on her butt. It wouldn't be Scooter without a lot of visual gags. [00:22:12] Speaker A: Poor woman. She probably busted a coccyx. All right. [00:22:18] Speaker B: Scooter is Playing Hamlet, of course. He's up in the balcony doing the ghost of the father scene. I don't know why they're laughing. They all start laughing at the ghostly father. [00:22:35] Speaker A: They don't even explain it because he says. Because the ghostly father says, I am thy father's spirit. I. I could detail unfold whose lightest word would hatter up thy soul. And they all just start giggling. I guess it's because. [00:22:49] Speaker B: Because of the accurate language. [00:22:52] Speaker A: But they don't say anything like, boy, this language is stupid, or it's not groovy, or any sort of. They just don't say anything. [00:23:01] Speaker B: They just titter and laugh. They say, that's just like kids today. They just laugh and they don't tell you why. Idiots. Anyway, on with the show. The play's the thing. So what's the fat one's name? [00:23:21] Speaker A: I have no idea. [00:23:24] Speaker B: One of Scooter's fat friend is not doing an accurate read of the lines. He's doing vernacular teen language from the 60s, and Ms. Love's not having any of it. Also, who's the blonde one? [00:23:40] Speaker A: I don't know any of these characters with Scooter, so you can ask over and over again. [00:23:44] Speaker B: She's allergic to the props, right? But the brunette one, let's just call him Betty and Veronica just for the sake of ease. She is not allergic to the props. And so she grabs him up and runs over to Scooter and says, romeo, Romeo, wherefore out art thou, Romeo? [00:24:01] Speaker A: So they start. This becomes a gag because they start mixing Hamlet and Romeo, which, of course, [00:24:06] Speaker B: are two very different plays. [00:24:08] Speaker A: Of course, [00:24:11] Speaker B: now Ms. Bluff is very angry, and she quits the play. [00:24:20] Speaker A: She does. [00:24:23] Speaker B: The kids urge her to stick with it. The show must go on, and there's no business like show business. And the fat one says, don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes. Which has nothing to do with. We call that a non sequitur in the business. [00:24:40] Speaker A: All right, so what's the teacher's name? [00:24:43] Speaker B: Ms. Bluff. [00:24:43] Speaker A: Ms. Bluff. You know, the next time we do this podcast. [00:24:47] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:24:47] Speaker A: I'm gonna have a short list of names beside me so that I can. [00:24:50] Speaker B: Well, you had four pages of notes about your summer activities. I'm surprised you couldn't pencil in the margins names of the characters we're discussing. [00:24:59] Speaker A: Well, I just. I just care about my summer activities. [00:25:04] Speaker B: But you don't care about the podcast. I get it. [00:25:06] Speaker A: I care about you. [00:25:08] Speaker B: Yes. [00:25:08] Speaker A: Yes. What's her name? Ms. Bluff. [00:25:10] Speaker B: Ms. Bluff. [00:25:11] Speaker A: She says, y. Let no one ever say that Brunhilde Bluff ever deserted a sinking ship. Okay, let's get the show on the road again. Scooter. Scooter, Kenny, get ready for the big dueling scene. [00:25:26] Speaker B: Kenny, that's not the fat one. Kenny's the beatnik one. They start fighting with their tinfoil ep. And Kenny's got a spear. Kenny has a spear and he's lunging right at Scooter, but he can't stop and he falls right off the stage into the scenery and busts it down. Hey, remember when I was serving as interim opera director at another institution down south? [00:26:01] Speaker A: Yes. [00:26:02] Speaker B: And I was. I was a little bit heavier than I am now. Yes. And I was trying to demonstrate to my young charges how I wanted them to. There was kind of a madcap scene where. Or they needed to be manically running around the stage. [00:26:21] Speaker A: Yes. [00:26:21] Speaker B: And I was trying to demonstrate that. And so I set off at a speedy clip. [00:26:29] Speaker A: Yes. [00:26:30] Speaker B: And fell into the scenery. Actually, it wasn't scenery. It was one of those big metal coral risers. And I busted my head open. I got a big gash on my face. My nose swelled up. I went home to my little hovel where I was staying and made myself stay awake all night because I was so afraid I'd have a concussion. Oh, my God, it was a nightmare. [00:26:57] Speaker A: And I wasn't there to help you. [00:26:58] Speaker B: You weren't there to help me? [00:26:59] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:27:01] Speaker B: I guess I could have gone to the emergency room or something, but I was in a strange town. I didn't know where anything was. I had to ride the bus tour. [00:27:09] Speaker A: You had to ride the bus tour because there was no parking on campus? [00:27:12] Speaker B: No, no, I had a parking pass, but I was only allowed to park there after 5pm and on weekends, which were times that I didn't teach. All right. Do you think this situation could get any weirder? [00:27:26] Speaker A: Well, perhaps. Let's see. [00:27:29] Speaker B: All right. Major Otis comes in to see what the progress is, and of course, the stage is all wrecked. [00:27:35] Speaker A: Now, Mrs. Bluff is a mess. [00:27:37] Speaker B: She knows this is not going to be a successful play because now the whole school has found out how terrible bad it is and they refuse to buy tickets. Major Otis says, what? How was they? How are you going to pay for my monument? [00:27:57] Speaker A: He says, now hear this, you turtle heads. You start infiltrating your fellow students at once and bombard them with tickets or it's a sure court martial for every last one of you. Bombard them with tickets? Does he mean give them free tickets? [00:28:10] Speaker B: Well, as you know, I was briefly a box Office manager. [00:28:17] Speaker A: We are getting a lot of your history in this. [00:28:19] Speaker B: We sure are. And I don't have any notes about it either. It's all from the top of my head. That is a way to paper the house. Do like, buy one, get one, or. Yes, give a block of tickets to a school group or something. Yes, of course, that doesn't make any money. You just want a full audience, Right? Drum up some more business. When people see that it's quote unquote selling, they might be more apt to buy tickets. Anyway, these children go out and harass their friends. One of them buries his friend in the sand to force him to buy a ticket. Doesn't work. Betty tries to seduce a boy into buying a ticket. No go. [00:29:04] Speaker A: No go. Another one. [00:29:05] Speaker B: Cynthia just climbs on top of a [00:29:07] Speaker A: fellow and locks her legs around his neck. Yeah, and he says, I'd rather pass out than go go to this play [00:29:18] Speaker B: the fat one gets beat up on. So, no, that didn't work. But Aunt Hatta, she's bought a ticket already and she's serving children cookies. [00:29:33] Speaker A: Aunt Hatta looks like Patty Duke. [00:29:37] Speaker B: She does. Although at this time, Patty Duke was a teen. Now Aunt Hatta says, now I'm very surprised that the tickets haven't sold because when I saw the silent movie version of that musical, I thought it was very sweet. I'm on the next page. I skipped ahead to avoid all the visual jokes. Scooter says, did you say musical? [00:30:09] Speaker A: Mm. [00:30:10] Speaker B: Gasp. That's it, gang. We'll do this show as a swingin soiree. So Fatwin goes out to promote the show in his jalopy with a big banner driving around town. [00:30:27] Speaker A: It says, the tragedy of Hamlet. The go go goingest comedy hit of the year. See the hilarious death of Ophelia. Watch the ghost do the boogaloo. You'll split your sides when Hamlet kills Laertes. [00:30:41] Speaker B: All right. They arrive back at the school just in time for opening night, apparently, and it is sold out. A hush descends over the auditorium, but not for long. Oh, dang it. I didn't take the time to write tunes for all of these songs. To be or not to be my baby that is the question I put [00:31:09] Speaker A: to you yeah, yeah, I'll be your baby, baby and I don't mean maybe baby. [00:31:17] Speaker B: But this is Betty, and she's allergic to the flowers, so she starts sneezing. Veronica pops out in a whores outfit. [00:31:24] Speaker A: She looks like a whore. She just got out of the Kit Kat Club. [00:31:29] Speaker B: Yeah, or like those in a western, when you have the Dancing girls. Except this is a much shorter skirt. Yes. [00:31:36] Speaker A: What is that called? Not cabaret. Can. [00:31:39] Speaker B: Can. Can. To sleep Per chance to dream that I'm in your loving arms. [00:31:50] Speaker A: Romeo and Juliet. [00:31:51] Speaker B: Yes. [00:31:52] Speaker A: Yes. [00:31:54] Speaker B: All right. Betty, Veronica are gonna have a girl fight. Ms. Bluff is beside herself. All of the children now on stage have devolved into fisticuffs and sword fighting. And the audience loves it. [00:32:14] Speaker A: They love it. [00:32:16] Speaker B: And what do you think? They raised the money. [00:32:19] Speaker A: They did. I don't know. What? They didn't do a Hamlet, that's for damn sure. [00:32:24] Speaker B: All's well that ends well, as Shakespeare would say. And when they unveil the statue, it's a statue of Major Otis sitting astride a donkey. [00:32:36] Speaker A: Backwards. [00:32:37] Speaker B: Backwards. And the caption reads, major Orpheus Otis leading his men to glorious defeat at Lollipop Hill during basic training. Which apparently is true because the Major Otis says. How did you find out about that? [00:32:56] Speaker A: He's furious. [00:32:58] Speaker B: The end. [00:33:00] Speaker A: How did they commission to have a statue made? I mean, that's expensive. [00:33:05] Speaker B: Well, you know, in the 60s, it's just a tuppence. You can get anything made. Also, it looks like it's made out of peanut butter or something. Now, have you noticed the subtle evolution in Scooter comics? No. [00:33:21] Speaker A: What? [00:33:21] Speaker B: Well, there's also two other short stories in here featuring just a couple of characters at a time, which we're not going to cover because we don't. We hate all the sporty characters. [00:33:33] Speaker A: But where's the Super Scooter? The guy who turns into the super hip. [00:33:37] Speaker B: That's Bob Hope. Super hip. [00:33:39] Speaker A: Oh, for God's sake. [00:33:42] Speaker B: Boy, are you confused, brother. [00:33:44] Speaker A: All this, they're all drawn the same. They're all from the same period, and they're all stupid. Sorry. That's not fair, is it? [00:33:53] Speaker B: No. [00:33:53] Speaker A: Okay. [00:33:54] Speaker B: I mean, it's accurate so far what you're saying, but. [00:33:58] Speaker A: Super hip. [00:33:58] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:33:59] Speaker A: I don't know why I thought super hip and Scooter, like Scooter, would become super hip. [00:34:03] Speaker B: I don't know either. [00:34:04] Speaker A: Because there's. There's music. [00:34:05] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:34:05] Speaker A: They all have mop heads. [00:34:06] Speaker B: Yes. [00:34:07] Speaker A: And they all speak teen slang. And it's the 1960s. Right. That's why. [00:34:12] Speaker B: But Scooter is evolving now. And it's eventually going to become really much more of an Archie knockoff. [00:34:18] Speaker A: Okay. [00:34:19] Speaker B: Which is why calling these gals Betty and Veronica is not too far off. [00:34:23] Speaker A: Okay. Okay. [00:34:26] Speaker B: But this is part of the evolution is having not just a single story per issue move into other short stories. [00:34:35] Speaker A: Yeah. Okay. [00:34:36] Speaker B: Which, as I say, we're not gonna cover. Because we've gotta move on to our second feature. [00:34:42] Speaker A: Kenny. [00:34:44] Speaker B: Kenny's the one with the goatee? [00:34:45] Speaker A: Yes. [00:34:46] Speaker B: He's the Maynard Cribs. Yes. [00:34:47] Speaker A: Hold on a second. Let me get to this second feature. Second story I actually like. [00:34:52] Speaker B: I did too. It was like an episode of the Twilight Zone. [00:34:55] Speaker A: Great. [00:34:57] Speaker B: It's Star Spangled war stories number 132. The recurring feature of Star Spangled War Stories in this period was the war that time forgot where soldiers get trapped on dinosaur islands. [00:35:15] Speaker A: Oh, this is a trope. [00:35:17] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:35:17] Speaker A: Okay. [00:35:18] Speaker B: Remember last time we had Brother Bird? The return of Brother Bird? [00:35:21] Speaker A: Yes. [00:35:21] Speaker B: The gentleman who got lost off his ship and was raised by a troop of pterodactyls? Yes. [00:35:28] Speaker A: Did you just call them pterodactyls? [00:35:30] Speaker B: I did. [00:35:30] Speaker A: Shut up. [00:35:31] Speaker B: I didn't have a nap today. [00:35:34] Speaker A: I told you, didn't I? I said before we started this podcast, I said, I'm not tired. I'm at least bit tired. I'll probably want a nap afterward. I'm feeling it creeping on [00:35:45] Speaker B: stars back awards stories number 132. Not even giant savage beasts. Halt the two soldiers. Private war in the startling big house of monsters. This is an effective cover. It's got two soldiers firing at a giant red tyrannosaurus. [00:36:05] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:36:07] Speaker B: And these about to get ripped up. All right. There was a black page on the youthful cop's record and a crafty gunman had put it there. Now, despite a war, he had a chance to clear himself. Until fate put him and the gunman ashore in the big house of monsters. [00:36:33] Speaker A: We already did the shouting of the title. [00:36:36] Speaker B: I know, but we have to do the COVID and then we have to [00:36:37] Speaker A: do the splash page. [00:36:39] Speaker B: Okay, but before we dive into this actually good story for this episode, we have to mention a couple of passing of comics creators, of course happened this past week. Jerry Conway, comics writer, created the Punisher. Co created the Punisher. Ms. Marvel, he wrote the death of Gwen Stacy in Amazing Spider man story, which is a pivotal moment in Spider Man's history. From DC Comics, he co created Firestorm, Power Girl. You've heard of Firestorm, certainly. Robin, Jason Todd. And he wrote the first modern day intercompany crossover Superman vs. The Amazing Spider Man. Had a good long run on Justice League of America in the golden era. Not in golden era in the Bronze Age. But everyone knows what I'm talking about. Satellite era. Wrote a lot of Batman stories. Excellent. Cool, tragic loss. Also Len Strazewski, writer who wrote an excellent run of Justice Society of America. Starman, the Flash wrote Speed Racer for now Comics. He also passed away this week. Well, that's it. I didn't have any further information for you unless someone else has died in the meantime. All right. The young ex cop crowded close to the barbed wire fence when he saw the new prisoners were being brought in. He's a prisoner of war, apparently. And he sees Nick Tarty. Who's that? Oh, Jamie Tartt is on Ted Lasso. [00:38:41] Speaker A: Yes. So the two characters in this are gonna be Nick and Jackie. Jackie being the cop who is behind who's already imprisoned, and Nick who's being brought into prison. And I say prison. I'm sorry, Prison camp. [00:38:53] Speaker B: Prison camp, yes. [00:38:54] Speaker A: They're both. This is World War II. [00:38:58] Speaker B: Korea. Yes. World War II. [00:38:59] Speaker A: World War II. Okay. Of course. I'm sorry. I don't know why I said Korea. That would have been right? It would have been okay. Yeah. Could have been. Okay. [00:39:08] Speaker B: All right. The Nick Tardy recognizes Jackie Blaine. And now we have a flashback when Jackie was a cop taking Nikki to the big house. [00:39:22] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:39:24] Speaker B: They're on a train. [00:39:25] Speaker A: Oh, I know. I know. Why? I didn't. Why? I was thinking Korea. [00:39:29] Speaker B: Why? [00:39:30] Speaker A: Because of the soldiers. Oh, yeah. [00:39:34] Speaker B: So they're on a train. Jackie's taking Nick to jail. And just then, the train hits something planted on the tracks and derails. [00:39:48] Speaker A: And Nick is like a big time crime person. [00:39:50] Speaker B: Yeah, Right. [00:39:51] Speaker A: He's not just a petty criminal. [00:39:53] Speaker B: Right. [00:39:53] Speaker A: He's someone worth capturing. [00:39:55] Speaker B: It's his hoods that have planted something on the tracks and derailed the train. Yeah. Jackie is knocked unconscious. Nick escapes. But when Jackie wakes up, he finds that a wad of money has been planted on his person. And so his superiors think he's crooked. It's going on his criminal record, his permanent record. Not only did he let a killer escape, but he also stole the money. [00:40:27] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:40:29] Speaker B: Your promotion's out. [00:40:32] Speaker A: Says his commander or his boss, whatever. Yeah. But Jackie says he's definitely. [00:40:37] Speaker B: I'm gonna catch him and he will clear me. [00:40:40] Speaker A: But then the war came. The war. And it doesn't say what war is. [00:40:44] Speaker B: It has to be World War II. [00:40:47] Speaker A: So these would be Japanese soldiers. [00:40:48] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:40:49] Speaker A: Okay, [00:40:53] Speaker B: So I don't know why he's so sure that Nick would be hiding in the Army. Why would a criminal want to join the Army? Well, don't they do background checks? [00:41:07] Speaker A: One would think. Did they have a draft for World War II? [00:41:13] Speaker B: Yes. I want to say yes. [00:41:16] Speaker A: I don't know. It was a different time. [00:41:17] Speaker B: Yes, they did. Because my member, my father, wanted to join the Marines. But he couldn't because of a medical condition. But then the town doctor offered to fix the condition for free. It involved surgery. Yes, which he did. And then. So he went out to join the Marines. But then he got drafted by the Navy. [00:41:35] Speaker A: That's right. [00:41:36] Speaker B: Before he could join the Marines. [00:41:37] Speaker A: Right. Yeah. [00:41:39] Speaker B: So then he got out of the Navy, and then he went back and joined Marines anyway. Ha, ha. Draft board. Take that. All right. Jackie is fighting the Japanese in his effort to find Nick, the criminal who must be hiding in the army. But he gets captured. He's a prisoner of war. He thinks he's lost his chance to get Nick. But now Nick is also prisoner of war, and they greet each other warmly in prison camp. Then there's a prison break, and Jackie sticks to Nick like glue. He's gonna escape with him, get it back to the States, make him clear his name and send him to jail. They get in a little raft together and take off across the ocean. And then they're entombed by fog. [00:42:38] Speaker A: Right. So what happens here? [00:42:43] Speaker B: Well, a giant. [00:42:44] Speaker A: Which page are you on? Four or five? [00:42:45] Speaker B: Well, I just turned to page five, where a giant crustacean has attack their little yellow raft. [00:42:51] Speaker A: Nick. Right. [00:42:52] Speaker B: It picks up Nick the criminal. Jackie starts firing his machine gun. But it's no good against a giant crustacean. Of course. Right. [00:43:00] Speaker A: And then he hurls a grenade at the giant crustacean. And Nick flies into the water as the giant crustacean releases him. [00:43:09] Speaker B: Yes. [00:43:11] Speaker A: And Jackie grabs him by the hair and hoists him out of the water, which must have hurt. But. But then Nick, as he's being pulled into the raft, gives a sucker punch to Jackie and grabs a gun and turns it on Jackie. And this sort of back and forth happens quite often. [00:43:29] Speaker B: A lot. Yeah. All right. So they paddle, continue paddling through the fog. They come to land on an island. Nick still has all the guns. Suddenly, through the mists, a fearsome figure. It's a brontosaurus with fangs. [00:43:51] Speaker A: Right. A killer brontosaurus. [00:43:53] Speaker B: Brontosaurus didn't actually have fangs. And I think actually brontosaurus is no longer considered an actual species. [00:44:01] Speaker A: Really? [00:44:01] Speaker B: I think it was a Brachiosaurus or. Oh, something else. [00:44:05] Speaker A: Brontosaurus means thunder lizard. So big and fat that on land, he soon grew tired. Doesn't eat meat, doesn't eat fish. Not even as large, but. But he was as large as our friend Moby Dick. [00:44:22] Speaker B: What is that? [00:44:23] Speaker A: A childhood song from my childhood that I just remembered. It was this. It was a series of songs about dinosaurs. [00:44:33] Speaker B: Okay. Yeah. It's amazing that it sounds like something you just made up off the top of your head right now. [00:44:39] Speaker A: Brontosaurus means thunder, Liz. So big and fat that on land he soon grew tired. Doesn't eat meat, doesn't eat fish. [00:44:49] Speaker B: Not. [00:44:49] Speaker A: Doesn't eat. Well, what. Some. What rhymes with dick. Doesn't eat meat, doesn't eat fish. Not even as something has a friend. Moby Dick. What would that be? [00:45:04] Speaker B: I don't know. Listener, if you have any idea what he's talking about, please be in touch and we'll play it on air next [00:45:12] Speaker A: week of Little Songs. And that was like the. That was the verse to I don't know what the chorus was. That was the verse. And the next verse was about a different dinosaur. [00:45:23] Speaker B: Well, I know what I'll be doing this evening while you're napping. Internet research. [00:45:28] Speaker A: You know, I know. I bet our buddy. Our buddy in Missouri will know exactly what I'm talking about. Because he was also raised as a conservative Christian, although his church may not have allowed him to learn about dinosaurs. [00:45:41] Speaker B: No, because dinosaurs are things planted by Satan in the dirt. [00:45:44] Speaker A: Oh, that's true. [00:45:46] Speaker B: Fool us. [00:45:46] Speaker A: I often have sung childhood songs. And he knows exactly the songs that I'm talking about. [00:45:51] Speaker B: Well, I guess we'll see. [00:45:52] Speaker A: Yes. [00:45:54] Speaker B: Anyway, Nick has pity on Jackie and throws him a gun so that they can fight. The brontosaurus means thunder lizard. Of course, their guns are no good against this giant thing either. Grenades are their only shot. [00:46:09] Speaker A: I hope they have a lot of grenades. They don't appear to have a lot of grenades on them, but every time they need one, one appears. [00:46:14] Speaker B: They have at least two because they throw them at this thunder lizard and off they go. Now back to their fighting and feudin'. Nick's gonna try to make Jackie drop his gun. But of course, now he has a gun, he's not about to drop it. Right. [00:46:28] Speaker A: So the guns get passed back and forth. And basically it's that at one moment Nick has the advantage and at the other moment Jackie has the advantage is a recurring trope throughout the story. This, I mean, or if you will, trope the theme. It just. It's a recurring series of events. This trading back and forth, a balance of power where one person is taking dominance over the other person. Jackie, of course, wants to drag Nick back off the island, take him back and put him into custody. And Nick looks for an opportunity repeatedly to. To not have that happen and hopefully to see the disappearance of. Of Jackie. [00:47:05] Speaker B: Yes, yes. However, they do need to explore. So Nick says, let's Case the joint. They pass under a big tree. There's a giant snake up in the tree. [00:47:18] Speaker A: It's a snake. [00:47:19] Speaker B: And it comes down and grabs up Jackie. [00:47:22] Speaker A: Yep. [00:47:24] Speaker B: Now they have made a sort of a bargain, right? [00:47:28] Speaker A: But the moment that's tested, right? And Jackie drops his gun. Nick grabs Jackie's gun and says, what's the bargain in helping out a copper that wants to take me back to the big house so long. [00:47:41] Speaker B: Luckily, Jackie has some grenades on his person, throws one at this snake, and [00:47:46] Speaker A: inside the mouth of the snake frees himself [00:47:52] Speaker B: and some. Oh, I guess he must have had a gun. I guess Nick didn't pick up the gun. He drops his. Jackie dropped his gun, but it's still on the ground because he picks it up. [00:48:00] Speaker A: Oh, he has looked up to Nick. Well, you're must be on page. What is that? I don't know what page that is. Cause of the bottom 10. Yes. And so as the gunman caught up to the other gun. The top cop caught up to the other gunman. [00:48:13] Speaker B: Yes. [00:48:14] Speaker A: They notice. They exchange, you know, pleasantries back and forth. [00:48:18] Speaker B: Wow. They're unpleasantries. [00:48:19] Speaker A: Unpleasantries. And of course, Nick is constantly referring to the fact that Jackie wants to take him to jail. You'd think he'd have something else to say because they've been. They're literally on an island with dinosaurs. [00:48:29] Speaker B: You know what? It would be fun. [00:48:31] Speaker A: What? [00:48:31] Speaker B: If they'd fall in love. [00:48:33] Speaker A: Oh, yeah, that's not going to happen. [00:48:36] Speaker B: But when they met, it was murder. All right. Later, they pass two gigantic creatures tearing each other ribbons. [00:48:44] Speaker A: It's a stegosaurus and a triceratop. Excuse me, a T. Rex. [00:48:49] Speaker B: Yes. Which famously were not the same size. No, in real life. But they are in this comic. They bed down for the night in a cave. There's something gigantic, Paul, trying to get in there to the cave. And they just keep firing at it. They drive it away. Next day, they come to a river crossing, which helpfully, there are stones leading across the river. Uh oh, those aren't stones. [00:49:21] Speaker A: Those are the back of a monster. [00:49:23] Speaker B: It's the back of a brontosaurus. Famously on Aqua Aquatic. [00:49:29] Speaker A: Famously not aquatic. [00:49:31] Speaker B: I mean, we don't know. Honestly, they probably just lived in a swamp. Right. At least on. On Land of the Lost. Oh, yeah. Also, did we mention Sid Groff's passing last episode? [00:49:44] Speaker A: I think so. Probably [00:49:48] Speaker B: they gotta fight this monster off too. I guess they're out of grenades because all they're doing is shooting at it. They get back into the jungle, they're trying to escape. It they're trying to escape to the beach because they're going to go back out to sea where at least they'll have a chance to be spotted by a plane or a ship. [00:50:08] Speaker A: And they happen upon a dinosaur the likes of which I don't recognize because of the top of its head. [00:50:15] Speaker B: It's got the head of a Triceratops, but the body of a person in a Godzilla costume. Just because. [00:50:24] Speaker A: Look at the hands or the front of its legs. Yeah, yeah. It looks like a great big well fed dinosaur standing up on its hind legs. [00:50:33] Speaker B: Well, luckily it's got those human arms because it snatched up that raft like a child's toy. [00:50:39] Speaker A: Yes, it's going to try to eat it or something. Puncture it. [00:50:42] Speaker B: Well, they must be out of grenades because all they could do is shoot at this. But it does make him drop the raft. So they grab the raft and they're heading back out to. And Nick somehow has gotten all of the guns because he's taking over, Right? Cause I'm not letting you take me back to no big house. See, just then an octopus grabs. Grabs Jackie and pulls him down under the ocean. [00:51:17] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:51:17] Speaker B: I did not expect this. [00:51:19] Speaker A: I didn't either. I wasn't quite sure what was going to happen. [00:51:22] Speaker B: Spoiler alert. He's gone. [00:51:23] Speaker A: He's gone. That's it. He was pulled under the water and he's gone. [00:51:28] Speaker B: Now Nick thinks he's safe, so he's going to head back to this island and wait to be picked up because he doesn't stand a chance on the open sea. [00:51:37] Speaker A: There's no way this is such a bad idea for Nick. Even though Jackie's gone, he never should have made this choice. [00:51:48] Speaker B: Also, apparently the dinosaurs have been waiting for him to come back. [00:51:52] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:51:52] Speaker B: Cause there's one standing there on the beach. I don't know why he just. [00:51:56] Speaker A: Why didn't he see that? As he's pulling up to the beach, [00:52:00] Speaker B: Nick realizes now that he's all alone. Jackie's gone and I'm here with the monsters. I wonder how long I can fight them off alone. How long can I keep out of their claws? I didn't get away at all. [00:52:15] Speaker A: I'm in a big house, A big house of monsters. And I'm starving to serve my sentence. Now the joke's on me. [00:52:23] Speaker B: Doo doo doo doo doo doo. [00:52:26] Speaker A: He's got a grenade. Look. [00:52:27] Speaker B: Where'd he get. Why don't go. [00:52:29] Speaker A: Apparently he has an endless supply of grenades. Okay, well he's not gonna make it. [00:52:33] Speaker B: He's not gonna make it. Yeah, this is an excellent. It's almost like an episode of the Twilight Zone. Right. With a twist ending where character gets his comeuppance. [00:52:43] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:52:45] Speaker B: Or if it was a little gorier, it'd be a nice EC story. But that's it. That's it. That's the end. Nick trapped in the big house of monsters. Serves him right. [00:52:59] Speaker A: It does serve him right. [00:53:02] Speaker B: Well, I don't have anything to add. [00:53:03] Speaker A: Do you suppose he'll be eaten or maybe he'll go mad? [00:53:07] Speaker B: I think he already has gone mad. But, yes, I think he'll be eaten or just torn limb from limb. And they'll just toy with him. [00:53:16] Speaker A: Yeah. Toss him around. [00:53:17] Speaker B: Tear a leg off. Let him watch. Toss it around like a stick. Like a dog chasing a stick. Anything to add? No. You gonna take a nap now? [00:53:31] Speaker A: I think so. I really enjoyed this second. [00:53:35] Speaker B: Well, I know you love Dinosaur island, but who doesn't love dinosaurs at all times, whether it's an island or not, Right? Right, Right. Yeah. You can find us on social media, Ogocheckpod. You can rate and review us wherever you get your podcasts from. You can find us on our sister podcast, Nerd Orchestra. And you can find us right back here next week with House of Mystery. [00:54:01] Speaker A: Oh, great. [00:54:03] Speaker B: Well, we'll see. [00:54:04] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:54:06] Speaker B: Sockama G. All right. [00:54:09] Speaker A: Yes. [00:54:10] Speaker B: Bye. Bye. Looking for the world. [00:54:31] Speaker A: Gonna play the misery Used to be [00:54:35] Speaker B: Looking at you like living it all behind.