Author: Rudy Panucci (Page 77 of 125)

The 2023 PopCult Gift Guide offers up yet another excursion into the world of Tiki.

Perfect for fans of Mid-Century artificial multiculturalism that’s loads of fun and looks really cool. It’s exotic without worrying about being authentic, as Polynesian influences mingle with Caribbean, African, Chinese, beach and nautical ephemera to create a universe of stuff that just looks really cool.

Today it’s Tiki Mugs, from three different sources with affordable price points. Links to order will be in the prices below the name of the mug.

We’ll have one or two more Tiki items sprinkled throughout The 2023 PopCult Gift Guide, but they’ll be hidden away in different groupings of items. Think of them as buried treasures. However today it’s all about the mugs…

Munktiki Import – Whittle Exotica Mug
$35

The Whittle Exotica mug is designed by Jeremy Spears, Annie Award Winning Story Artist at the Walt Disney Animation Studios. His projects at the studio include Frozen, Big Hero 6, Zootopia, Moana and Ralph Breaks The Internet (Wreck-It Ralph 2.)

The Whittle Tiki mug is 8 inches tall and holds 17oz

It melds a classic Moai-type design with African and Carribean decorative carving and the end result is a quintessential Tiki Mug.

Tiki Farm RONGO-RONGO TIKI MUG
$32

Tiki Farm offers up their own take on a classic Tiki mug design, but with a unique “Tank-twist”.  Rongo-Rongo is an inspiration of the majestic Moai Tiki Gods of Easter Island.

Created by Tiki Farm’s brand-new Art Director himself, Tank Standing Buffalo. Tank created his version of the Tangata Manu (bird man) on the backside and kept with stylings of some of the behemoth statues, maintaining the topknot (Pukao) feature as well, found on some of the Moai on Easter Island!

Glazed in a dusty lava-inspired gray with a black wash, Rongo Rongo stands 7 1/2″ in height and holds 12 oz.

Trader Vic’s NOTU MUG (BLACK AND RED)
$34 Mini Version $16

Trader Vic’s manages to pay tribute to their logo with a wonderful Tiki Mug that captures the feel of the Polynesian Islands.

Originating from Papua New Guinea, the design of their mask logo was introduced in 1951 and since has been the symbol of Trader Vic’s known around the world. Notu, is a Papuan language spoken in the “tail” of Papua New Guinea.

The striking color scheme stands out among the usual Tiki Mug designs that you’ll see in many collections.

Capacity 16 fluid ounces

All right, I’m back in Chicago again, art-wise, but this time it’s with a digital piece. It’s a manipulated photo.

I took a random photo I snapped in Chicago back in July (I think) and ran it through the old “Stark Charleston” filters I created over a dozen years ago. I was basically messing around with a few old ideas when I was putting together the Halloween video for Gegen. This my old high-contrast, low-res filter that will probably be put to use again in future projects.

I didn’t use this idea there, but I liked the way it looked, and writing The 2023 PopCult Gift Guide has been eating into my drawing and painting time recently, so I decided to run this here. The original photo was just me pointing the camera up while walking around The Loop. That tall building in the background is the Willis Tower.

You can probably expect a few more digital pieces in the next few weeks.

To see it bigger try clicking HERE.

Over in radioland, Monday at 2 PM on The AIR, we bring you encores of a recent episode of Psychedelic Shack, and then at 3 PM a recent edition of Herman Linte’s weekly showcase of the Progressive Rock of the past half-century, Prognosis.  You can listen to The AIR at the website, or on the embedded radio player elsewhere on this page.

Psychedelic Shack can be heard every Monday at 2 PM, with replays Tuesday at 9 AM, Wednesday at 10 PM, Friday at 1 PM,  and Saturday at 9 AM. You can hear Prognosis on The AIR Monday at 3 PM, with replays Tuesday at 7 AM, Wednesday at 8 PM, Thursday at Noon, and Saturday at 10 AM. You can hear two classic episodes of the show Sunday at 2 PM.

At 8 PM you can hear an hour of the music of Weird All on last week’s episode of The Comedy Vault.

Tonight at 9 PM the Monday Marathon presents ten hours of Mel Larch’s MIRRORBALL, because Mel’s in a big Mirrorballish mood after this weekend.

Be sure to check back later Monday morning for the next installment of The 2023 PopCult Gift Guide.

Since it’s Sunday, our picks today are all retailers, two online and one local with an online component.

We have one new music label, a cool T-shirt Etsy shop and a local T-shirt and apparel outfit that is deservedly much-beloved in the Mountain State and beyond.

We’ll spotlight more retailers for the next two Sundays, with the idea being that they have so much good stuff to offer as gift ideas, that it was hard to narrow them all down to just one.

Kin Ship Goods

These are our local folks who have settled into their bright and shiny new location (near the previous one), but you can also go online and shop at their webstore that’s filled with cool apparel, accessories, home goods and other neat stuff at Kin Ship Goods.

You can order and pay online through their secure webstore, and have your order shipped directly to you, or visit the store at its new locatin, 617 Tennessee Avenue, on Charleston’s West Side.

You’ve probably heard of Kin Ship Goods, a brand of apparel, accessories, and home goods designed by Dan Davis & Hillary Harrison. They are based in Charleston, returning to their roots after having started their business in Louisville.

Once you find that perfect gift, be it a mug, a shirt, a hoodie, a hat or someting else cool, Kin Ship Goods offers reasonable shipping options, or you can pick up your order at the store, or better yet, go into the store and check out their new digs and buy tons of stuff.

Dammit Tees

Next up we have an Etsy shop that specializes in ‘Unique horror, punk, goth, cult film t-shirts & apparel.” Dammit Tees has a really cool collection of shirts from which you can choose.

Now, the main reason we’re listing them here is because this is where you can get T-shirts based on Ann Magnuson’s “Ghost Cat” and “Club 57” projects, as well as Ann’s drawings of Sid & Nancy and several shirts and facemasks with other cool stuff on them.

Where else can you find shirts based on London After Midnight, Ed Wood films, Freaks and The Metaluna Mutant?

Plus there are shirts featuring musical acts like Iggy Pop, Sinead O’Conner and The Misfits, among others. This Etsy shop has one of the coolest line-ups of fun, weird cult stuff that I’ve come across.

There are even a few designs available as long-sleeve Tees or hoodies.

Check out their Etsy Shop and see for yourself.

House of Tabu/ Tabu Recordings

I’ve recommended a few cool Tiki items from House of Tabu in previous Gift Guides, like their excellent Exotica Moderne magazine, and some of their drinkware, but this year they branched out and started a record label.

Tabu Recordings has their first three releases available on vinyl now, and as I write this, they are offering 15% off of the regular prices if you use the code in the graphic at the right.

All three of the acts on the label, The Tentakills, The Madeira and Test Subject 17, have been featured on the Radio Free Charleston radio show in recent months, and I’m really enthusiastic about the surf/elecronica/avant-lounge aesthetic of the label. If fact, I’ve picked up their first three vinyl releases for myself already.

The House of Tabu website has a few offerings from other record labels as well, and if you like the sounds of surf for the new world, then this music is right up your alley.

Here’s a sample of their artist’s music…

If that sounds cool to you, go order now at the House of Tabu website, and check out the rest of the site for other cool stuff.

You pretty much had to know that this would be my video pick this week.

Above you the Peter Jackdson-directed music video for “Now and Then,” what’s being billed as “the last song by The Beatles.”

As a bit of a preview, I’ll let you know that we’re doing The Beatles as our theme in The 2023 PopCult Gift Guide this Friday. This single will probably be one of the suggestions.

Below you can watch a brief documentary about the making of the record.

Today we’re going back to last year’s Gift Guide to re-recommend three cool books that would still make great gift ideas.

For the next two Saturdays The 2023 PopCult Gift Guide will revisit picks from previous years so that you don’t have to scroll back through eighteen years worth of Gift Guide looking for cool ideas for your holiday shopping.

The three books today are all firmly entrenched in pop culture, but aside from that, they have little to do with one another.

One book is about toys, another about The Beatles’ Yellow Submarine, while the third is devoted to the making of Shudder’s Creepshow series.

All three are great books, and they make great gifts.

Tomorrow The 2024 PopCult Gift Guide will spotlight retailers, so you can find all sorts of cool gift ideas, instead of just the ones I’m including here.

Memories of Marx Toys: Glen Dale
by Gary Rider and Roseanna Dakan Keller
Independently published
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8801403045
$25 (Paperback)
$34.99 (Hardcover)

Anyone interested in toy manufacturing, Northern West Virginia history or post-war industrial America should seek out Memories of Marx Toys: Glen Dale. It’s a great gift for folks who are curious about any of those topics.

Gary Rider and Roseanna Dakan Keller have crafted an exhaustive history of the Marx Toys Glen Dale, West Virginia plant, pre-dating Marx toys and going all the way to the days of the Marx Toy Museum. They do this by weaving deep research with a stirring oral history provided by dozens of Marx Factory employees and their families. The book is also generously illustrated with photos and images from the factory.

Memories of Marx Toys: Glen Dale is a fascinating look at how toys were made in the days before OSHA, before outsourcing to other countries, and before Marx Toys themselves shut down operations.  We learn how life was for an every day worker at the factory, including some downright frightening tales of dangerous incidents at the plant and the aftermath of chemical exposure. However, the overwhelming aura of this book is that of a fond rememberance of a factory that provided employment for hundreds, if not thousands of households in the Glen Dale/Moundsville area for decades.

The book winds up with a profile of Francis Turner and a history of The Marx Toy Museum, which is one of my favorite places in the world. It follows the opening of the museum, the closing and even the visit by American Pickers a few years ago. I think Francis deserves a book of his own someday, but this is a great start and taught me a lot of new facts about my friend.

While Memories of Marx Toys: Glen Dale is obviously a must-have book for any fan or collector of Marx Toys, it will also appeal to anybody who would like a well-crafted story about a small factory town and the people who lived there.

You can order Memories of Marx Toys: Glen Dale from Amazon in Hardback or Paperback editions. Be advised that the hardcover edition will take four-to-six weeks to ship, even from Amazon. You might also be able to order it from your local bookseller using the ISBN number above.

It’s All in the Mind : Inside the Beatles’ Yellow Submarine, Vol. 2
by Robert R Hieronimus and Laura E Cortner
Hieronimus & Co., Inc.
ISBN-13 9781736049808
$32.49 Available from the author

Over twenty years ago I discovered the most comprehensive book ever about the making of The Beatles’ Yellow Submarine. Now the author has returned with a new volume loaded with more insider stories on how favorite scenes were made, on-set hijinks, the Swinging 60s. Why the Yellow Submarine makes us feel so GOOD, interpretation of symbolism and the subconscious. Full-color, 203 illustrations.

This new book details the merry and wildly creative tribe who produced The Beatles’ Yellow Submarine, the ground-breaking, one-of-a-kind visual adventure, first released in 1968. Get to know the formerly undiscovered artists and the technical wizardry behind your favorite scenes. Discover symbolic interpretations and subconscious messages of peace and love, plus in-studio hijinks by frustrated animators that were hidden in the movie.

How does Yellow Submarine inspire such wonderful feelings of peace and love? This book lifts the veil of the animation screen to see behind The Beatles and detail that one magical year, during the Summer of Love in Swinging London, when a band of young artist-fans fell into the groove and brought their heroes to animated life. Part two of the internationally acclaimed Inside the Yellow Submarine: The Making of the Beatles Animated Classic by Dr. Robert R. Hieronimus and Laura E. Cortner.

This is, of course, the perfect gift for any Beatles fan or anybody interested in Yellow Submarine. You can order the deluxe paperback from the author, or other booksellers, but be warned that the version on Amazon is a cheaper printing, with no color graphics.

Shudder’s Creepshow: From Script to Scream
by Dennis L. Prince
Titan Books
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1803363066
$49.99

Shudder’s Creepshow: From Script to Scream is the official behind-the-scenes book featuring the spine-tingling stories and tantalizing talent behind the Creepshow series. This is the inside look at Greg Nicotero’s television continuation of Stephen King and George Romero’s Creepshow franchise.

Shudder’s Creepshow: From Script to Scream, produced by AMC Networks Publishing and Creepshow showrunner and executive producer Greg Nicotero (The Walking Dead), is a coffee-table book which brings fans behind-the-scenes of the acclaimed Creepshow series with deep dives into its riveting origins, gripping development, provocative production, sinister special effects, and much more.

The book features a foreword by legendary storyteller and Creepshow co-creator, Stephen King, and an afterword by horror aficionado Kirk Hammett, Metallica’s lead guitarist. Based on the hit anthology series from Nicotero, Cartel Entertainment, Striker Entertainment, and in partnership with Titan Books, the book is written by Dennis L. Prince, designed by John J. Hill, and co-produced by Julia Hobgood.

The series has been heralded as “an irresistibly macabre package,” (Slant Magazine) and “an undeniable love letter to all generations of horror fans,” (CBR), and over three seasons, has been one of the most watched programs on Shudder.

Shudder’s Creepshow: From Script to Scream is the perfect gift for any fan of the show, or for folks who have an interest in horror filmmaking.  Available discounted from Amazon or at full price from any bookseller, using the ISBN code.

From September, 2008. This edition of the show features music by Brain Trauma and The Underdog Blues Revue, plus a Kitty Killton movie trailer and the debut of the Astonishing Finger Man! Just one show after our fiftieth, Radio Free Charleston kicked out the jams with Brain Trauma’s Horrorcore Rap and hot blues from Chuck Biel’s Underdog Blues Revue.

We first met Kyle and Toxik Flow from Brain Trauma at an IWA East Coast show way back in the early days of the PopCult blog. It took a couple of years for our schedules to jibe so we could have them on the show, but it was worth the wait. Using footage we shot at The Empty Glass in August, 2008, we created a music video for the song “Rock It.”  Rounding out the show this time is an amazing performance by The Underdog Blues Revue. This was recorded in July 2008, at the last show UBR gave before going on what has turned into a very long hiatus.

You can read the original production notes HERE.

Today in The 2023 PopCult Gift Guide we have three recommendations of music in physical formats for those of you who want to wrap stuff for under the tree.

Most of these are available as vinyl sets, but some are also sold as CDs. The links today will take you to Amazon, for the sake of expediency, but be advised that these can probably be ordered through your local music shop, or found online from other sources.

A week from today our Gift Guide will be devoted to Beatles stuff, so we stayed away from the Fab Four today.  Our three picks include a new album by a legendary group, a boxed set that collects almost the entire work of a unique talent who left us forty years ago, and the work of a famed record producer with an amazing list of clients.

It should go without saying that these are recommended for the adventurous popular music lover on your holiday shopping list.

Klaus Nomi
Nomi
LP, Box Set, Import
$105.19 (plus shipping)

This is a collector’s vinyl box set containing four vinyl editions of Klaus Nomi’s albums: Klaus Nomi (1981), Simple Man (1982), In Concert (1986), and Encore (1983).

These records have been out of print for years, and the man is long overdue for some recognition and exposure to new audiences.

Klaus Nomi, was a German countertenor noted for his wide vocal range and an unusual, otherworldly stage persona. He was a pioneer of New Wave music, who made his first impression on mainstream audiences as one of David Bowie’s plastic-clad backup singers on a 1979 appearance on Saturday Night Live. Later his performance of Kristian Hoffman’s “Total Eclipse” was one of the highlights of URGH! A Music War in 1981.

Sadly, Nomi was also one of the first major artists lost to the AIDS crisis, back in 1983.

Nomi was known for his bizarre and visionary theatrical live performances, heavy make-up, unusual costumes, and a highly stylized signature hairdo that flaunted a receding hairline. His songs were wildly eclectic, ranging from synthesizer-laden interpretations of classical opera to covers of 1960s pop standards like Chubby Checker’s “The Twist” and Lou Christie’s “Lightnin’ Strikes.”

Lovers of New Wave music will love this collection of Nomi’s work. It collects all the music he released during his lifetime, along with a posthumous live album, which is only available on vinyl in this box set.  Check out his breakthrough tune here…

The Pretenders
RELENTLESS
LP and CD
between $12 and $18

The Pretenders return with RELENTLESS, their fourteenth studio album.

Arriving with the impulsiveness and attitude that at once defines the band’s eternal spirit, RELENTLESS is a clearly defined snapshot of where The Pretenders are in 2023.

RELENTLESS is the second consecutive Pretenders album to be written as a collaboration between Chrissie Hynde and the band’s resident guitar hero, James Walbourne (renown for his work with Dave Gahan, Jerry Lee Lewis, and The Rails amongst many more).

Produced by David Wrench and recorded at Battery Studios in West London, the album’s 12 tracks feature what Chrissie describes as “The Pretenders Collective.” This extended band features James Walbourne (guitars), Kris Sonne (drums), Chris Hill (double bass), Dave Page (bass) and Carwyn Ellis (keyboards and guitars).

RELENTLESS also features a long hoped-for collaboration with the esteemed composer Jonny Greenwood (Radiohead, The Smile), who provides the string arrangement and conducted the 12 Ensemble for the album’s beautiful closing track, “I Think About You Daily.”

This new album is a real treat for longtime fans, and a good introduction to the band for folks who haven’t been around to enjoy the for the past 43 years.

Here’s a sample…

Various Artists
Produced By Tony Visconti  
Box Set, Import
6 LP set or4 CD set

Another archival treat from Demon Records, Produced by Tony Visconti is a new definitive retrospective compilation assembled with the assistance of the legendary record producer hiimself, Tony Visconti.

Says Visconti, “This boxset covers five and a half decades of my efforts in the art of making iconic recordings. Some of it is familiar and some will have a eureka moment, ‘I didn’t know Visconti produced that one!’ I am honored that Demon Records took on this enormous task.”

Often described as one of the most important producers in rock, Tony Visconti has helped create countless classic musical moments. His work can be heard on celebrated albums by artists such as T. Rex, Procol Harum, The Moody Blues and Thin Lizzy to name but a few.

This new collection features 73 tracks personally curated by Visconti, gathering together some of his favorite production work from across his career. It includes tracks by Sparks, Thin Lizzy, T. Rex, U2, Dexys Midnight Runners, Gentle Giant, The Boomtown Rats, Manic Street Preachers, The Good, The Bad & The Queen, and many more.

The vinyl box is a Limited edition of 1,000 units, and includes an exclusive print signed by Tony Visconti. The set also includes a 60 page booklet with previously unseen photographs, an introduction by Tony Visconti, extensive track by track liner notes by Mojo writer Mark Paytress, and tributes from a selection of the featured artists. The CD box set includes an 80 page book.

This is amazing summation of an incredible career. Visconti has worked with everyone from Bowie and U2 to T. Rex and The Alarm. The artist line-up is breathtaking.

Recommended for any fan of rock music of the last 50-plus years.  Here’s a short trailer…

The PopCulteer
November 3, 2023

We have one last Halloween treat for you before we pack up and put away the skeletons and monsters (I’m kidding here, we never really pack up that stuff).  On Halloween itself Charleston native Ann Magnuson (have I mentioned that she’s an artistic hero of mine?) released a music video for her single, “Ghost Cat.” This is the song that opened last week’s episode of Radio Free Charleston.

It’s a cool song that she performed last year at her Surruralism show, and she talked about it when we were both on Josh Gaffin’s Afternoon Show on Status Quo. She’d been working down to the wire to get it out in time for All Hallow’s Eve, and she just did manage to sneak it in.

I would’ve shared it here on Halloween, but your PopCulteer was neck-deep in preparation for The 2024 PopCult Gift Guide, along with other pressing issues, so I didn’t even get a chance to watch it until the day was almost over.

However, “Ghost Cat” has a cool, spooky, timeless quality that transcends Halloween and celebrates the long legacy of Appalachian Mystic Weirdness. So you can watch it any time you want. I may even repost it here on Christmas and Easter. Check it out…

Now that youv’e see it, visit Ann’s Store for cool Ghost Cat stickers and patches (and lots of other cool things) and then hit up her Bandcamp page (this post goes live on Bandcamp Friday, when the artist gets all of the money while Bandcamp doesn’t take a cut) and download the song as well as her other albums.

STUFF TO DO

We have a short list of suggestions this week as many people seem to be partied out following Halloween, The World Series ending and the coming time change, so let’s get into the truncated list of events and shenanigans, shall we?

As I have been doing of late, this a good time to remind you that THIS IS NOT A COMPLETE LIST OF EVENTS.  It’s just a starting point, so don’t expect anything comprehensive, and if you feel strongly about me leaving anything out, feel free to mention it in the comments.

Live Music is back at Taylor Books. There is no cover charge, and shows start at 7:30 PM.  Friday a four-piece acoustic band with great haroinies, Wound Tight, takes the stage. Saturday Brandon Costello performs at the beloved bookstore/cafe/art gallery.

The World Famous Empty Glass Cafe has some great stuff this week  to tell you about.  Friday Tim Courts plays during happy hour.  Friday at 10 PM, Hurl Brickbat invades the Glass with their progressive sound. We have graphics below for the rest of the weekend shows at The Glass.

There is a killer drag show in Dunbar at Live at the Shop Saturday at 7:30 PM, as the East End Ghouls join nationally-recognized Billboard-charting artist, Flamy Grant, for an evening of wild Bible-belt music, drag, dancing, music and fun.

Please remember that the pandemic is not over yet. It’s still a going concern with the ‘rona surging again. And now there are seasonal allergies, the flu, paramilitary Turkeys out for revenge, trick-or-treaters who forgot to go home, dangling participles and other damned good reasons to be careful. Many people who have very good reasons are still wearing masks, and many of us, understandably, are still nervous about being in crowds, masked or not. Be kind and understanding  while you’re out.

Keep in mind that all shows are subject to change or be cancelled at the last minute. Sometimes I think they just do it to mess with me.

If you’re up for going out, here are a few suggestions for the weekend, roughly in order, after the jump…

Continue reading

We are talking about books about Comic Books, to be exact, not comedians.  That will be later in the Gift Guide.

Today’s picks are three books that will cover a lot of historically significant details about some of the most interesting comics of the Silver and Bronze Age.

Two of them spotlight publishers, while the third is a great collection of interviews with some of the top creators of comic books in the 1970s and 1980s.

All of these books provide a fascinating insight into the creative process and the lasting influence of these particular comic books. The history is important, because those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it, and nobody wants to repeat Super Green Beret or Pre-Teen Irradiated Samurai Tadpoles.

So here are three books I’ve reviewed over the past eleven months that are entertaining, informative and filled with all sorts of trivia and arcane knowledge about the comic books that a lot of us grew up reading.  Recommended for any comic book fan who is partial to the Silver and Bronze age.

The Charlton Companion
by Jon B. Cooke
TwoMorrows Publishing
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1605491110
$43.95

Charlton Comics, the perennial “also-ran” comic book company that had bursts of creativity and innovation at various times in their history, is a favorite of your humble blogger, and this book is a goodsend for us fans of the plucky little mob-connected publisher from Derby, Connecticut.

In this long-awaited book, Jon B. Cooke expands on his previous efforts, and with the help of many collaborators, puts forth the definitive account of Charleton. He covers the entire bizarre story of Charlton Publications, which was born out of a chance meeting in a county jail, and spent several decades as the nation’s only “all-in-one” magazine publisher, printer and distributor.

The Charlton Companion is an exhaustively-researched slice of manna from heaven for fans of Charlton Comics. In this book we learn how the company grew from publishing HIt Parader magazine to encompass a comic book line, hundreds of magazines and even their time as the original distributor of Hustler, before they finally shut down in 1992.

The focus is mainly on the comics, and this book has the full stories on the different eras, editors and creators that made Charlton, despite their lousy printing and distribution, one of the most interesting comic book companies around. While often derided for publishing substandard comics, the presence of Steve Ditko in their pages put the lie to that idea.

Among the revered comics pros who got their start at Charlton were Dick Giordano, Dennis O’Neal, Jim Aparo, Steve Skeates, Don Newton, Tom Sutton, John Byrne, Joe Staton, Mike Zeck and many others.

The book is profusely illustrated and wondefully laid out, which is pretty ironic, since Charlton was notorious for their low production values.  This book simply looks spectacular.

The Charlton Companion is a must-have for anybody with an interest in Charlton Comics, but the book is really recommended for anyone with an interest in pop culture, publishing, music or the changing face of comics in the Bronze Age. You can order The Charlton Companion directly from the publisher, or from any bookseller, by using the ISBN code.

The Pacific Comics Companion
by Stephan Friedt, edited with additional writing by Jon B. Cooke
TwoMorrows Publishing
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1605491219
$29.95

The early 1980s was a great time to be a comic book fan. Although mainstream comics were disappearing from newsstands, as companies like Gold Key, Charlton and Harvey struggled through their final years, the rise of stores devoted to comic books and the direct market created a demand for more sophisticated storytelling and more creator-friendly contracts for the hottest artists and writers who’d sprung up in the previous decade.

The first company to meet that demand with independently-produced four-color comics in the traditional format was Pacific Comics. The Schanes Brothers, Bill and Steve (along with their eventual editorial director, Dave Scroggy), had been running a successful chain of comic shops and a distributor for the direct market, handling DC and Marvel as well as underground comix and “ground level” publishers like Star Reach and Eclipse, decided to take the plunge into publishing and make their own comic books.

They began by seeking out top-name talent who’d left comics for greener pastures. Their first book published was Captain Victory by Jack Kirby, who had famously been screwed out of full credit and fair pay for essentially creating most of Marvel Comics’ characters. The first artist signed, but the second published was Starslayer by Mike Grell, who had created the successful Warlord for DC, and who had become a fan favorite, but who had moved on to the Tarzan comic strip because the pay was better. By offering contracts where the creators retained ownership of their characters and received a more equitable split of the profits, Pacific Comics changed the way comics publishers did business.

I still remember the excitement of buying the first issues of Captain Victory and Starslayer, and I recall having my mind blown at the awesome artwork of Dave Stevens on The Rocketeer. The Bruce Jones’ books (Alien Worlds and Twisted Tales) remain among the finest anthology comics ever assembled and it’s nice to be reminded that for four brief years, there was one comic book company who was consistently entertaining. Even their missteps were worth looking at. I recommend The Pacific Comics Companion for any comics fan who lived through that era, and any younger fans who want to find out what they missed, and how much of a debt they owe to this company. It’s possible that, without Pacific Comics, we might be stuck with just Marvel, DC and Archie Comics today.

Available from TwoMorrows Pubishing, or from any bookseller by using the ISBN Code.

DIRECT CONVERSATIONS: Talks with Fellow DC Comics Bronze Age Creators
by Paul Kupperberg
Independently published
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8373651769
$16.00

For an aged comic book nerd like me, this book is pure gold. As the title says, it’s a collection of conversations between writer, Paul Kupperberg, and the people he worked with at DC Comics back when he was breaking into the business in the 1970s. This was a crowdfunded project, but it’s now available for general sale while we eagerly await Kupperberg’s next collection of interviews with comic book veterans and legends.

In Direct Conversations Kupperberg engages in trips down memory lane with Howard Chaykin, Jack C. Harris, Tony Isabella, Paul Levitz, Steve Mitchell, Bob Rozakis, Joe Staton, Anthony Tollin, Bob Toomey, and Michael Uslan. These are casual, but very informative chats that serve as a terrific oral history of a pivotal time in the comic book industry, as seen by some of the younger creators of the time.

On the creative side, comics were making the transition from being produced by long-time pros who’d been around almost since the begining of comics to the first generation of comics creators who had grown up as fans. On the business side, comics were changing from a ubiquitous form of cheap, disposable entertainment for kids into a niche market sold in specialty shops aimed at teens to adult readers.

These guys were there for that. Some are still producing great comics, while others have moved on to other pursuits…and Michael Uslan gets a new mansion and yacht every time they make a Batman movie. In Direct Conversations we get treated to the kind of candid exchanges between friends that a hardcore researcher might not elicit.

This book really hits my sweet spot because I’m the perfect age to have lived through this time as an enthusiastic fan, primarily of DC Comics. I already knew all the names of the folks interviewed here. I’m even Facebook friends with more than a few of them. They’re all six to fifteen years or so older than I am, so when I was just getting heavily into collecting comics, they were the fresh new faces behind the scenes. It’s weird to realize, but I’ve been fans of some of their work for damned close to fifty years.

Direct Conversations is a fun read for anybody with an interest in DC Comics of the 1970s, or anyone with an interest in comics, period. You can order it from Amazon, or try using the ISBN code to order it from a local bookstore…or get a signed copy directly from Kupperberg himself (that’s the best option because he has several other great books for sale).

Welcome to the first day of The 2023 PopCult Gift Guide. Every day for the next three weeks we will run the best pop culture gift ideas that we can find for you.

This year we’re cutting back a bit, so that we only suggest the very finest gift ideas, and our weekend selections will be flashbacks to previous years and recommendations of different retailers, both local and online.  On Black Friday we’ll post the Master List, and we’re leaving open the option to do some bonus picks the first week of December.

During the course of our Gift Guide we’ll group our suggestions by themes, types, genre or just random collections of stuff. Today we’re doing Toys, because we always start with toys. You can also expect one or two “Big Ticket Tuesdays” where the gift ideas will exceed the hundred-dollar mark.

All of our regular features will also run during this time, so you’ll have to check PopCult twice as often for the next few weeks.

And now we begin, as always, with this year’s HESS Holiday Truck…

The HESS Holiday Truck: 2023 Police Truck & Cruiser
$42.99
Available exclusively from Hess Toy Truck.com

For the eleventh year in a row, we include the new HESS Holiday Truck in our Gift Guide. This time it’s a bit of an odd choice, a huge pseudo-military police truck, with a little police cruiser inside. I’m a little put off by the fact that it’s a police vehicle, since HESS is an oil company and I didn’t know we had Oil Police, but once you get past that, this is a really cool two-vehicle set.

The 2023 Hess Police Truck and Cruiser is a highly specialized law enforcement response team that will make you wonder why an oil company has a law enforcement team. Still, it looks really cool…

2023 Hess Police Truck & Cruiser! from Hess Toy Truck on Vimeo.

The heavy-duty, dual axle Police Truck is a geared-up, green-colored tactical transport enhanced with bold white striping, emblems, and glistening chrome embellishments, including a fully chromed front end with push bar, cab mounted emergency light bar, bumpers, fuel tanks, mirrors, wheels, and exhaust pipes. Cab top buttons activate 4 realistic sounds (horn, engine start, and traditional and European emergency sirens), each in tandem with a different animated flashing light pattern from an amazing array of 55 brilliant red, white, and blue emergency lights. A switch on the chassis underside enables the lights to operate silently in steady or flashing mode. Clear paneled windows reveal an internally illuminated cargo hold for the Cruiser, accessed via a quick release button that unfolds the dual-purpose rear door into ramp position for loading and unloading.

The Cruiser is a white armored-response vehicle accented with bold green striping, emblems, and chrome embellishments including front and rear window louvers, front bumper, and hubcaps. A total of 19 switch operated red, white, and blue steady-on lights includes 2 spotlights enclosed in a 270˚ rotating roof mounted turret. An under-chassis panel conceals a slide-out battering ram. A speedy ‘rev up and release’ pull back motor propels the Cruiser in either flat or wheelie position for a quick response to any emergency!

Despite HESS Oil recently being bought up and absorbed by Chevron, provisions have been made for the HESS Toy Truck line to continue, with three or four releases each year. I’m hoping that next year we get something a little less police-y, and maybe see them do a cement mixer with a revolving drum, or a working crane, or perhaps an oil tanker. Still, with all the light features and cool extras, plus the fact that batteries and shipping are included,  The 2023 HESS Holiday Truck is still a great gift idea for the collector or toy lover on your shopping list.

GI Joe: The Military Years 1964-1968: The Unauthorized Action Figure and Accessories Checklist
by R.J. Jones
Independently published
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8863087832
$12.99 from Amazon

Full disclosure time here: R.J. is an old friend of mine, and I contributed a back-cover blurb and did a little graphics work on the cover of this book. I was glad to do this because this is a much-needed book for the GI Joe collecting hobby.

In time for the 60th anniversary of GI Joe, this book is a straightforward checklist of all of the figures and accessories of the Military era of the original GI Joe. It’s a handy, portable list for the collector trying to complete their collection.  This checklist breaks down the figures and accessories by the branch of service (with the Soldiers of the World getting their own section) and promises to be the first of several books that will present a detailed list of figures and accessories, complete with their catalog number and a list of all the parts included.

That’s important because some of the accessory sets only included one piece, while others might have a dozen.

Being a checklist, there is no history to interpret or analysis to consider here. That’s refreshing because there have been some very good books already written about the history and creation of the original action figure, GI Joe. There have also been some books that have gotten so many details wrong that they’re basically useless. This book is just the cold, hard facts of what figures and accessory sets were released, and what was in them. And each item has a convenient checkbox next to it so that collectors can keep track of what they have and what they need.

GI Joe: The Military Years 1964-1968: The Unauthorized Action Figure and Accessories Checklist is an invaluable reference work for any vintage toy collector or dealer and would make a great gift for any fan of America’s Moveable Fighting Man.

The Member’s Mark Elite Adventure Corps 4-Action Figure Pack
Exclusive to Sam’s Club
$19.99

I wrote about this cool action figure set and did a photo review less than a month ago, but since then it has become available to order online, and is still a great value, so it lands in our Gift Guide today.  You can check out my earlier review HERE.

Sold under the Sam’s Club brand, Members Mark, this is a set of four 11.5″ action figures: An Outdoor Explorer; An Airborne Ranger; A Fire Fighter; and A Space Explorer. This is a nice return from Lanard Toys who haven’t been quite as visible as they once were of late.  Their signature lines, The C.O.R.P.S. and its 12″ counterpart, Ultra C.O.R.P.S have been a little harder to find, so it was great to see this set show up because it’s such a great value.

The figures themselves are typical of current 1/6 scale action figures aimed at kids. They have eleven points of articulation, molded-on clothes, and not a great range of motion. They are poseable and have lots of play value for kids, but they also have a lot of customizing potential for adult hobbyists who are willing to be creative.  All four figures have gloved, gripping hands which are sturdy and flexible. Each figure also comes with headgear or a helmet, three of which have working visors.  And there are accessories. Each figure gets three or four accessories, which are wrapped in tissue paper, tucked away in a small box in the middle of the packaging, and they are a really nice bonus for the price.

The Member’s Mark Elite Adventure Corps 4-Action Figure Pack is NOT a high-end collectible for adults. It’s a nicely-priced kid’s toy that makes a great gift for kids and for adult collectors who aren’t obsessive about detail, accuracy or articulation.