Guest Post: GW Thomas on Buck Rogers: The First Space Hero

I've never had a guest post before, but GW Thomas runs the very excellent Adventure! blog and not only are our blog's names similar, but our interests are so close that I was thrilled when he agreed to write a series of articles about classic Space Pulp heroes for me. And even more thrilled when he decided to cover them in chronological order, because my particular brand of OCD is all about chronological order. Thanks again, GW, and I can't wait to read the rest of the series.



People often forget where things begin. Take Buck Rogers for instance. If you asked anyone about Buck you’d probably hear about the new comic book or the old TV show with Gil Gerard or if you were lucky the old newspaper comic strip. But these and other incarnations of Buck were not the first. Buck Rogers began in the Pulps and is really the first true Space Hero. He was the first and because of that, for many years Science Fiction was known as “That Buck Rogers stuff.” (Said with a sneer usually.)

Buck started out in the world as Anthony Rogers. He was featured in two connected stories, “Armageddon 2419” (Amazing Stories, August 1928) and its sequel “Airlords of Han” (Amazing Stories, March 1929) by Philip Francis Nowlan. The magazine these stories ran in was the first all-Science Fiction Pulp, created by Hugo Gernsback in 1926. It shouldn’t really be surprising that the first Space Hero appeared in the first Space magazine. Gernsback was a crusader for Science, believing technology would change the world into a paradise. His background was radio and electronics and his magazines appealed to these kinds of readers, with lots of gadgets and pseudo-scientific speeches about them.



The plot of “Armageddon 2419” concerns the evil Han (yes, this was the era of Yellow Peril and racism is found in these stories) who take over the World. Anthony Rogers is a man from our time who is put to sleep by a mysterious gas in a mine and wakes to find his beloved America under the Han’s cruel thumbs. He joins a group of resistance fighters, who armed with their flying belts, take on the Han and begin to win back their homeland. Wilma Deering is one of these plucky rebels and the two eventually fall in love. In the sequel the rebels win the world back from their oppressors and all is well. Sounds clunky and just a little silly, doesn’t it? But Nowlan’s style was straight forward and the action scenes with flying men fighting the nasty Han ships are exciting and colorful. We all like to cheer for the underdogs.



At this point, Anthony Rogers is not yet Buck. On January 7, 1929, the National Newspaper Syndicate began a comic based on Nowlan’s story and Anthony became Buck, named after the 1920’s cowboy actor, Buck Jones. The strip was written by Nowlan and drawn by Dick Calkins. Beginning as an adaptation of the stories, the comic changed into tales of space and other fantastic adventures. It was in the comics that characters such as Black Barney, Killer Kane and Dr. Huer were added. The sign that Buck was influential far beyond those two original stories was that he was imitated. Flash Gordon began as a comic strip on January 7, 1934. Ironically, the man who played Flash in 1936, Buster Crabbe, would don the silver underwear to play Buck in 1939.



“That Buck Rogers Stuff” was here to stay. Radio, television, comic books, movie serials. All popular signs that Buck Rogers had gone from fighting the Han to becoming an SF icon, a fate some SF writers lamented. Adventure Science Fiction had begun and the pages of the Pulps, from Amazing Stories to Astounding Science Fiction to Thrilling Wonder Stories, would feature brash heroes who fight against fantastic enemies and win. Space adventurers would appeal to fans for generations to come. George Lucas, when he created his Star Wars franchise in the 1970s was thinking back to those Buster Crabbe serials and longing for the color and excitement they had. And all thanks to “That Buck Rogers stuff” and the first hero of space.

Kolchak: The Night Stalker Files #2

Earlier this week I reviewed The Spider #1 for Robot 6, but it’s not the only recent Moonstone book I’ve read. Nor is it the only one that offered an encouraging introduction to a character I’ve heard a lot about, but don’t have much personal experience with.

I do know a bit more about Kolchak than I did about The Spider. I have vague memories of watching a TV movie or two as a kid and I’ve checked out a couple of stories in one anthology or another, but none of those have actually helped the character for me. On the contrary, they gave me the impression that Kolchak’s misfortune and demoralization are such integral parts of the concept that there’s no hope that he’ll ever achieve any kind of success. I at least need the illusion that a hero may succeed, so when failure becomes a built-in part of the concept, I lose interest.

Still, enough people whose tastes are otherwise similar to mine enjoy Kolchak, so I keep trying to find a hook to grab onto. One of those people is Christopher Mills, so it’s appropriate that he’s writing Moonstone’s new comic series, which looks to be just the handhold I’ve needed.

I don’t know what happened in Kolchak #1, but I don’t need to because the second issue starts a new story arc. In it, Kolchak has been fired from yet another newspaper, but is on his way to Miami where he’s been offered a new job with a tabloid. One of the problems I’ve had with Kolchak in the past is that in the stories I’ve read he insists on being taken seriously as an investigative journalist, when he’s in fact Jack McGee from The Incredible Hulk. It might be overstating things to say that he’s embraced his McGee-ness in Kolchak #2, but he’s at least come to terms with it and is apparently being rewarded for it. Being rewarded – in my admittedly, very limited perspective – is something that’s long overdue for this character and it’s allowing me to move past Kolchak’s haplessness and enjoy the rest of the concept: a rumpled, unlikely monster-hunter.

And for his first case, he’s looking for a Florida skunk ape (in spite of the cover, which – while cool – has nothing to do with anything in the book), so I’m totally into that too.

Ghostbusters Hate Cephalopods

By Andy Kuhn. [Comic Twart]

The Quartet of Crime by Avery Butterworth

From front to back: Junkyard Kat, The Head Guy, Mary, Crazy Mouse, and the Cownt.

Since I shared that Quartet of Crime story last week, I thought maybe you'd like to see this QoC drawing by Avery Butterworth, who's done illustration work for White Wolf Games and The Surreal Adventures of Edgar Allan Poo.

Amazon of the Week: Marion Ravenwood

There are several reasons why Raiders of the Lost Ark is the best of the Indiana Jones films and Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen) is at the top of the list. Although she plays the damsel in distress for a significant part of the movie, she never feels like she's filling that role. She's strong, she's capable, and if you're a guy in her way, she'll either seduce you, punch you, or drink you under the table depending on what the situation calls for.

Of the many problems Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom has, the biggest is that it didn't continue the story of Indy and Marion. Kate Capshaw's whiny, spoiled Willie Scott is no substitute. And though Alison Doody's Elsa Schneider was pretty tough in The Last Crusade, she lost points by being a villain (though I should probably watch that again with fresh eyes; I just remember being disappointed at the time).

It was smart of them to bring Marion back for Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, but a shame that they didn't give her a lot to do. She wasn't nearly as tough and cool as she'd been in Raiders. But then again, neither was Indy.

Land of the Lost: Season Three (Episode Twelve: Scarab)

Sorry I couldn't get this done yesterday. Spent the day rescuing people trapped by snow. I may have watched a Shirley Temple movie too, but it had a surly lighthouse keeper and Buddy Ebsen as a dancing sailor, so it was also a very manly activity.



Season One: Part One, Two, and Three.
Season Two: Part One and Two.
Season Three: Part One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, and Eleven.

Episode 12: “Scarab”

While collecting firewood with Holly, Cha-Ka discovers a huge, golden beetle. Rather than continue to help with chores, he ditches Holly to catch the insect.

Back at the temple, the Marshalls are patient about Cha-Ka's laziness. As Jack points out, Cha-Ka doesn’t understand what it means to be part of a family that helps each other. They don't point it out, but this makes sense considering his background with the abusive Ta and Sa. Cha-Ka's defense for wanting to take the day off is that he worked yesterday, but the Marshalls explain that they did too. There’s still work to be done and they all need to pitch in and do it. That’s a great lesson for the young kids presumably watching the show, but also an indication of where the series was headed: less continuity and world-building; more adventure stories with moral lessons.

Cha-Ka gets what Jack and the others are telling him and promises to help, but before he has a chance, he and Holly argue over whether or not he should be able to keep the beetle. Holly contends that it’s wrong and that the bug should be let go. Cha-Ka ignores her, but as he’s putting the beetle into a cage, the insect bites him and flies away. It’s a painful bite and Cha-Ka decides he can’t go hunting for firewood after all. The Marshalls let him stay, but as soon as they’re gone he grins malevolently and trashes the temple.

His mischief doesn’t end there. Next he goes out to find Grumpy, taunts the T-Rex into following him, and leads the theropod to where the Marshalls are gathering their firewood. They escape – barely – and as they rest from the chase, Will notices Cha-Ka running through the jungle in the direction of the Lost City. They decide that Cha-Ka must be looking for them, so Will goes to get him while Jack takes Holly (injured while running from Grumpy) and the firewood back to the temple.

You got your comics in my literature!

I was killing some time at Barnes and Noble the other night and noticed something cool in the Mystery section.



See it?

Here. Have a closer look.



That's Ian Edginton and INJ Culbard's comics adaptation of The Sign of Four, not in the Graphic Novel section, but right there on the Mystery New Releases shelf with the prose novels.

Pretty cool, huh?

The Eagle (2011)

My first instinct was to do refer to the quality of this movie as a roller-coaster, but that's not accurate. It's more of a bobsled ride. It's got some occasional, gentle slopes to keep you from feeling like you're plummeting into Hell, but the entire trip is downhill and you still end up lower than when you began.

It starts okay with Channing Tatum's Marcus Aquila arriving in Britannia to command a garrison there. If you've seen the trailer, you know the plot. His father once commanded the same area, but on an excursion into the wild North, he and his men disappeared with Rome's standard, a golden statue of an eagle. Marcus doesn't come to Britannia to find the standard, but when he's injured in battle and relieved of duty, he decides to fill his time with a quest. He takes with him his slave Esca (Jamie Bell), who's from the northern lands where Marcus' father went missing and can act as a guide.

As long as the story is about Marcus' personal quest, it does all right. Tatum makes Marcus likeable and the script leaves some doubt about whether or not his dad's death was noble and courageous or foolhardy and cowardly. Though most of the other Romans are too polite to speculate to his face, even Marcus wonders if his father may have deserted rather than fallen in battle. If the film had followed that path, it would've been a much better movie. The titular standard should have been a Maguffin for the real quest: solving the mystery of Marcus' father's disappearance.

Instead, the movie does both, which is what makes it uneven. When it's focusing on Marcus and his relationship with his absent father, it's not half bad. There's still too much shaky-cam and fogged-over camera lenses and weird flashbacks to make it Good, but it would've been Okay. Unfortunately, the eagle standard is much more than an excuse to go hunting for answers about Dad. We're supposed to take it seriously as an end worth pursuing, so that the Dad plot is wrapped up before the Eagle plot and we're still asked to care.

There's a scene early on in which Esca questions Marcus about the importance of the standard. Marcus tries to explain - something about "The eagle is not a piece of metal. The eagle is Rome" - but fails to adequately express it and settles for, "You're not a Roman. You wouldn't understand." Well, guess what, makers of The Eagle? I'm not a Roman either. I'm your audience and I need to understand if you want me invested in your story.

There's another scene towards the end of the film where the heroes are valiantly fighting against overwhelming numbers to defend the standard. (I hope that's not a spoiler that Marcus and Esca do in fact find the eagle at some point). As they battle, the camera switches to a high-angle view of the field with the standard in the foreground as the men fight below. I'm pretty sure it's meant to be inspiring, but it made me sad and a bit sick. It was like this hunk of metal was proudly watching over the meaningless violence and death it had inspired.

Tarzan Hates Cephalopods, Part 2

The Cownt and the Quartet of Crime

I've mentioned this in a couple of interviews, but the Cownt wasn't created to be a standalone character. My brother-in-law and I were bored during a slow roleplaying game and came up with a bunch of weird people for an inept group of supervillains. The Cownt was only one member of the five-member Quartet of Crime, but he was easily the most popular.

After Gav and I did that first Cownt story for Tales from the Inner Sanctum, we played with the idea of doing a Quartet of Crime one-shot. We even got six pages of it finished before deciding that we were more interested in the Cownt than anyone else. I do love Crazee Mouse though..

The Quartet's scheme in the story, by the way, is very loosely based on actual events.

Amazon of the Week: Martha Jones

But first: some housekeeping.

If you missed having the Art Show post this week (or Pass the Comics or Quotes of the Week, for that matter), be sure to check out/subscribe to/follow the Adventureblog Annex where all that stuff is now. I know that starting Yet Another Blog is spreading myself pretty thin, so I'm going to pull back the content I  was putting into spin-off blogs Amazon Village and Dear Dairy. As fond as I am of the idea of them, I'll probably end up killing them for no other reason than to keep things simple and efficient.

So here's the plan. This blog will be much more about original content than it has been. Art, other people's comics, and quotes are in the Annex. News links are on Twitter. Personal stuff (and weird YouTube videos) are on Facebook.

One of the things I tried at Amazon Village was to have an Amazon of the Week. I use the word Amazon loosely to describe any strong, independent woman, because frankly I can't come up with a better term. Lisa Paitz Spindler calls them Danger Gals, which is awesome, but I'm not stealing her name. Anyway, I love these characters and have meant for years to start a feature spotlighting my favorites, so here we go. The first three weeks will be reposts from Amazon Village and then we'll get into new ones.



Martha Jones probably won't be the only companion of the Doctor to be featured here, but she gets to be first because she's my favorite.

Yeah yeah, I'm as in love with Rose as anyone (other than folks who think it's cool not to be in love with Rose, of course) and was heartbroken by how her story played out. But it's Martha who really has my heart. First of all, I get the whole Unrequited Love Thing. I've been through that and it's just as terrifying as the Eternally Separated From The One You Love Thing, if not more so. And not to make Rose or anyone else seem unheroic in comparison, but Martha's a warrior for a) sticking in that situation for as long as she did and b) finding a way to continue sacrificing herself even once she'd pulled away from the Doctor.

More than any other Companion, Martha feels like she's got a life worth following outside of Doctor Who. We should've gotten a spin-off with her instead of Torchwood.