Five Comic Book Mashup’s

So last time I talked about how, in order to boost the ratings of a struggling show, two or more cartoon series will be combined to form an “hour” or program block. But this happens in other media too, like comic books! One example is when Batman founded The Outsiders but that doesn't really count as a mash up since the series began with that name.


 



Here five examples of two comic series being thrown together to boost sales. Does it work? Not really.






Atom & Hawkman

When the sales for Atom and Hawkman were struggling the titles were combined. It managed seven issues with separate stories and team-up’s alternating. I came across one or two issues in the day and they were pretty dull







Green Lantern/Green Arrow

Now this one, was something special! Brought into help the Green Lantern book, Green Arrow added a spark to the series. But the stories presented in these issues were groundbreaking. They tackled social concerns and featured to heroes who were very different in terms of political viewpoints. This is the series that tackled over population, racism, and even made Speedy a heroin addict! Dennis O’Neil really raised the bar with these, sadly the sales numbers did not go up.








Superboy Starring The Legion of Superheroes

The Legion were introduced in a classic Superboy story in the pages of Adventure Comics. After that they both existed in Adventure Comics for several years. Eventually the Superboy got his own solo book which after awhile was renamed “Superboy Starring the Legion of Superheroes” when creators drcided to add the Legion. Superboy then left the book and the team carried on, the title dropping Superboy entirely. This may be a rare time when a book was taken over successfully by supporting characters! And the Legion of Superheroes continued on very successfully after that. Superboy would get his own title again later but that’s another story.









Power Man & Iron Fist

A Marvel example? Madness!! Yup when Power Man and Iron Fist’s own series were struggling it was decided to combine them into one. The series actually had a healthy life after that, until the final issue when Iron Fist was inexplicably killed off.










Batgirl and the Birds of Prey

I’m not gonna lie, I don’t get this one. I guess Batgirl was brought back after The New 52, so her connection to The Birds of Prey was kinda confusing. She was originally a member as Oracle. Who does exist in the Rebith era, kinda…Sorta. But yeah for some reason Batgirl isn’t one of the Birds of Prey but she does work with the team. The series lasted about two years.





That was all I could find, which was a surprise I figured there would be more. If I missed an example comment and let me know.

Ten Saturday Morning Cartoon Mashup’s

Wanted to discuss a particular part of Saturday Morning Cartoon’s which has always fascinated me. When a show is mashed up with another show to form a full “hour”. Usually this is a transparent attempt to bolster one not so popular show with another. Or to make re-runs look like new material. One that really worked was “Garfield & Friends” which featured U.S. Acres segments in between Garfield cartoons. I was annoyed at this when the show premiered but I came to be fond of U.S.Acres, which was another Jim Davis strip.

But for every “Garfield and Friends” you get odd blending like “Pinky and the Brain and Elmira”. I mean what the heck was that about? Here are ten classic examples of two (or more) shows being packaged together to form one.




The Mork & Mindy/Laverne & Shirley/Fonz Hour
Why has no ever done a comprehensive look at this craziness? Ok, first we had Fonz an the Happy Days Gang, where the Happy Days gang go time traveling (I am serious!). So that prompted another show, Laverne & Shirley Go to the Army. At least this one was a little grounded in reality. Fonzie was later added to L&S, and that show was blended with the new Mork & Mindy cartoon to make a full hour. Got that? There will be a quiz at end.

Memorable TV Line-Up’s:NBC Monday Night (Fall 1997)

So I’ve done a few of these now, talking about lineup’s that were so solid and strong that people still talk about them today! But I got to thinking, has the opposite ever happened? Has a network ever done a lineup so bad that people never forget them? And I don’t mean the early days of FOX or the WB when they were struggling and put anything on. I mean one of the big network’s just flat out giving up and producing a line up which even they had to know, NO ONE WOULD WATCH. Well, I dug and found a line up that makes a good example. From NBC in 1997.

 

As I’ve said NBC was on top of the world in the 80’s and 90’s. They were solid on Monday’s with Alf, Hogan Family and later The Fresh Prince of Bel Air and Blossom– until 1996. When Fresh Prince ended NBC was determined to keep Monday a “must see TV night” for comedy. The 1996 lineup was so lame I wont even dignify it. So in 1997 they decided to take their crappy “time slot hits” (you know, shows that were only successful because they aired opposite Seinfeld or Friends) and give them a night all of their own. The result? You can probably guess!

8:00
Suddenly Susan

I’ve discussed this before, probably more than it deserves. This is the Brooke Shields show which struggled to find an identity. First it was about a magazine writer who was suddenly single. Then in the second season she had a nemesis and a love interest. The third season saw such a dramatic retooling that it lost its audience very fast. The supporting cast was ok but the writing was never there.

Ten Star Trek Characters That Were Transformed

Halloween is a great time to dress up and pretend to be something else, very often a monster or creature. This brings to mind all the time’s on Star Trek when a main character gets transformed into some kind of creature. It’s usually a strange disease, which of course is cured in the end and all is well, and other times it's a done surgically. And while these episodes are usually silly, at best, you gotta admire the special effects which turn a lovable character into a true alien!





Kirk (The Enterprise Incident)

And I couldn’t come up with a classic series example. Except maybe for when the crew were aged. I always liked this one where Kirk was surgically altered to be a Romulus. It doesn’t exactly count but this happened a few more times (as we’ll see) so may as well add it. If I am forgetting one please let me know!







Picard (Best of Both World’s)

One of the most shocking transformations ever on Trek has to be when Picard was assimilated by The Borg. As Locutus he was just plain, scary.

The Best & Worst Star Trek-TNG Character Episodes

Any good ensemble series will have several episodes devoted to its various characters. Course, that wasn’t the rule as much in the old days when “supporting characters” did just that. They had a few lines and that was it. I guess people didn’t think audiences cared that much about the supporting characters. Take the classic Trek, where none of the other cast members had episodes revolved around them, just Kirk and Spock. Scotty sorta had one, in “Wolf in the Fold”. And McCoy kinda had one, in “The World is Hollow”. But that was it. So it would be pretty hard to do an article like this for that show.

As time went on creators realized fans wanted to see the “supporting characters” get the spotlight once in awhile. And series started to reflect that by having episodes where other characters were the focus once in awhile. This gave us a chance to not only spend some time with the characters, but learn a little more about them too. And by the time The Next Generation came around, that was the policy. Everyone got at least one episode a season where they were the focus. Some were good, others not. But I was wondering, which were the best?




So these don’t have the best episodes of the series, just the strongest episode for the particular character. The criteria here is more than just the actor getting a lot to do. It needs to be an episode that explores the character, and maybe even shows a side of them we’ve never seen. And since they can’t all be good, very briefly will mention what I think is the worst. And I can’t stress enoygh, this is all just my opinion. Here’s what I came up with:




Picard-“Tapestry”

Tough to choose between this and “Inner Light”. That episode is fantastic, but I decided Tapestry was better in this instance for one simple reason. In Inner Light, Picard is living another man’s life. In Tapestry, it’s his own life being examined. And thanks to Q, he learns just how important those early experiences were in making him who he is today. It seems most Picard episodes are snore fests involving his love life. This is different and very well written script.

WORST-“Lessons”, dull and stupid

Top 10 Favorite Hanna-Barbera Characters

A lot of people say Disney or Looney Tunes ruled their childhood. Others say Fox Kids or Kids WB. For me? It had to be Hanna-Barbera!

 

Founded in 1957 by creators and former Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer animation directors William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, the studo lasted for decades giving us iconic characters we all know that will be around forever. The studio closed in 2001 and the properties were absorbed by Warner Bros, but we not gea to discuss that. We’re here to celebrate the amazing characters created over fifty years.

One of the best rides was ever on was the Hanna Barbara ride in Universal Studios. It isn’t there anymore, but the clip is on YouTube. I loved it, I was smiling the whole ride! So let’s run down the 10 favorite characters. And yes lots will be missing here like Birdman (who liked that?), Popeye (not a H&B creation), and Top Cat. Because no one remembers Top Cat (just kidding),






#10.Tom and Jerry

I seriously forgot they were created by Hanna and Barbera. I guess when H&B left MGM they took these two with them. It was classic cartoon slapstick and we loved every crash and scream of AARRRGHHH!! These classic cartoons are great examples of how strong H&B’s animation was. True they are still around, being shoehorned into other franchises, but the classic cartoons will always be the best.

Top 10 Best Hershey Products

When Halloween comes around, a lot of things get discussed. We think of costumes, scary monsters, and of course Halloween TV and movies. But there is one thing that gets a lot of attention on Halloween that no one ever talks about–CANDY!

 

For me, Hershey is king. I love Hershey Bars and I have been to Hershey PA more than a few times. I spent a lot of time discussing anniversaries this year, and well there is a candy related one I couldn’t ignore. Hershey was created in 1894 making this year the 125th anniversary of the company. Founded by Milton Hershey the company is one of the largest chocolate manufactures in the world. They have made a ton of items over the years, some of course purchased by other companies, and in honor of both Halloween and the 125th anniversary, I present the 10 best. So only one variety per product, or this list would be all Hershey bars. And since it’s too obvious, the classic Hershey bar is off the table. That’s a given (I adore them)! And no, ice cream will not be in on here because its gross. And yes, non chocolate counts!

#10.Almond Joy/Mounds

Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don’t! Almond Joy has nuts. Mounds don’t. One of the best ads in the 80’s made it very clear which candy was which, so simple and effective. To bad the candy is coconut or I’d eat it