Comic Book Ads: Free Star Photos.

I don't know if it's because I felt like punishing myself, or because August, 2014, marked the 44 th anniversary of that horrifying day in August, 1970, that I saw my first CHARLTON Hanna-Barbera comic book (above), after a lifetime of quality H-B comic books from Dell and Gold Key. 

Whatever the reason, I recently found myself looking through Charlton's THE FLINTSTONES # 1.

No joke here... Charlton's pages even SCAN bad!  Can't tell if it's the PAPER, or the PRINTING, but I scanned this (and the ones below) in the usual fashion, yet look at the result!

An aside, this marked the FIRST "Number One" issue for the FLINTSTONES title, because Dell began the run with a Dell Giant, which reflected the numbering of the Dell Giant series.  Gold Key, of course, continued the Dell numbering - giving Charlton an undeserved distinction among collectors. 

For what it's worth, the art in Charlton's THE FLINTSTONES # 1 wasn't nearly as bad as it would eventually get.  (Like this kind of "bad"!)

From Issue # 25

The stories, however, were all sorts of legendary gosh-awful.  Read the ...um, "story" (if you could call it that) pages and judge for yourself.  Click to Enlarge, if you dare.

Though I kinda like "Don't hit us again, Sir!"

But, the real reason we're here is for this amazing AD found therein. 

"FREE STAR PHOTOS"  (!!!)

Imagine that we once lived in a time where a service like this was not only desirable, but NECESSARY to the well-being and completeness of anyone of the "fannish" persuasion! 

Now, all we need do is type the name of the "Celebrity-Of-Your Choice" into Google, select "Images", and you are met with a torrent of these things.  Need I say that's how I illustrate this Blog? 

Yet, in 1970, devotees would have to respond to offers like this to get their photo-fix of... of...

...SAY, just look at all the great names of sixties stardom on that "Free-Photo List"! 

And, from the "Not-Free Poster Gallery"...

You could even join their FAN CLUBS! 

And that "Lifetime Membership" would still be good in 2014!  Pretty good "Bang for your [one] Buck"!

One thing that particularly stands out is Jonathan Harris, immediately followed by George Harrison! 

 

I'll bet that appeared in NO OTHER CONTEXT in the entire history of entertainment and pop-culture! 

In fact, Jonathan Harris even dressed for the occasion!

...And, just two doors down were GIRL FROM U.N.C.L.E.'s Noel Harrison and VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA's David Hedison! 

If I were collecting photos and posters in 1970, instead of comic books, I'd have been all over this! 

...I wonder if I can still order that Raquel Welch poster? 

R.I.P. Don Matheson

I hate it when I learn things like this after the fact, from random browsing of the Internet, but actor Don Matheson passed away on June 29, 2014, at the age of 84.

Don Matheson starred in Irwin Allen's LAND OF THE GIANTS (1968-1970), and was pretty much seen in "all things Allen" during that wondrous time of 1960s fantastic television.  


Mark Wilson meets IDAK Alpha-12

Matheson's character on GIANTS, Mark Wilson, served the same basic function as "The Professor" on GILLIGAN'S ISLAND, the all-purpose scientific whiz, but often did so with more of an attitude.  Wilson often openly clashed with "Good Ship Spindrift's" captain Steve Burton (Gary Conway) making for an interesting dynamic that differed from that of Professor Robinson and Major West on Allen's LOST IN SPACE.  


They weren't always "pals".

A prime example of this was one of Matheson's finest moments of the series, an episode titled "The Golden Cage" (Air Date: December 29, 1968).  This was the sort-of-famous "Girl in a Bottle" episode, with guest star Celeste Yarnall, the ending of which owed as much to Rod Serling as it did to Irwin Allen. 
 

Mark Wilson rescues "The Girl in a Bottle".

"The Golden Cage" is a must-see for those with any interest in Don Matheson, LAND OF THE GIANTS, or Irwin Allen's work in general.  I rate it as one of the "Top Five" episodes of the series -- and, depending on my mood, perhaps even THE best. 

 Click to Enlarge all Images.

To digress, a funny thing about my choice for the "Top Five" episodes of LAND OF THE GIANTS...  They would be the FIRST TWO ("The Crash" and "Ghost Town"), the LAST TWO ("Wild Journey" and "Graveyard of Fools" -- the latter of which revealed a large portion of the Giants' planet to be a vast, uninhabitable wasteland - somewhat of a shocker from "our" limited perspective of the little people) -- and, of course, "The Golden Cage".

First Episode:  "The Crash" 

Last Episode: "Graveyard of Fools"

Elsewhere in the Irwin Allen-verse, Don Matheson gave a wonderfully understated, wordless performance as the silent "Alien Father" in the early LOST IN SPACE episode "The Sky is Falling" (November 17, 1965).  A prime example of just how different LOST IN SPACE might have been if BATMAN (1966) hadn't pushed it in the direction of camp.

But, for those who like our "SPACE" extra-campy, there was "Revolt of the Androids" (March 08, 1967), with Matheson as the android-hunting "Instant Destroyer And Killer" IDAK Alpha-12, in which he uttered the immortal and oft-repeated phrase: "Crush! Kill! Destroy!"   

And that was also Don Matheson in costume as the leader of the "Deadly Amphibians" (December 17, 1967), on VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA. 

Those looking for More-Matheson should look toward the LAND OF THE GIANTS Complete Series DVD set.  Included is a "Presentation Reel" (to pitch the series concept -- with, believe it or not, much stock footage from LOST IN SPACE), narrated by Dick Tufeld and hosted by Don Matheson, the first actor hired for LAND OF THE GIANTS.  

Also contained therein are seven-plus minutes of interview material with Don Matheson, on LAND OF THE GIANTS, filmed in the nineties.  

For a time, Matheson was married to his LAND OF THE GIANTS co-star Deanna Lund. 

Don Matheson's credits, per IMDB, can be found HERE.  

Thank you, Don Matheson, for all the great moments of fantasy, adventure and fun.