Retro Fan #32 May 2024 (magazine review).
The articles in this issue of Retro Fan’ have grown longer. We remain uncertain if this is due to the focus on larger subjects. The first one, written by writer Mark Voger, explores the life of David Cassidy (1950-2017) and how he transitioned from his famous ‘Partridge Family’ role. Surprisingly, aside from their music, I don’t remember much about the show. I’m uncertain whether the show ever made its way to the UK. Cassidy’s appraisal of how the American teen magazines created an image that did not reflect him was common at the time, and I never knew he was a Hendrix fan.
Writer Will Murray’s look at Terrytoons Mighty Mouse does resolve something I was never sure about: which American animation company had a mouse first. Paul Terry, not Walt Disney, was the original inventor of the mouse, which is why there was no lawsuit. Paul Terry himself compared his company to Woolworth’s, while Disney was compared to Tiffany’s. The evolution of Mighty Mouse from a more rat-like Super Mouse is fascinating to observe. Having regular teeth and small irises certainly made him look scary when his mouth was partially closed. Changing these certainly made him look more likeable.
Writer Joe Meno, the editor of TwoMorrows’ ‘BrickJournal’ magazine, presents the history of Lego in Denmark, starting as a wooden toy manufacturer Ole Kirk and his sons, and their evolution into working with plastic. The number of times their factories burned down due to the abundance of wood raises questions about fire regulations. In addition to the well-known plastic bricks, they have expanded their product line to include construction toys. It’s impressive that a toy has gained global recognition.
In 1963, a rival puppet show named ‘Space Patrol’ emerged in the UK, challenging the Andersons’ growing franchise. This show later changed its name to ‘Planet Patrol’ in the USA to steer clear of its predecessor from the 1950s. Writer Shaui Le Vesconte recounts the history of the show. Although the puppets may have been somewhat crude, Roberta Leigh’s creations, with the assistance of science advisor Colin Ronan, effectively tackled the challenges of hibernating for long-distance space travel, as well as the necessary preparations before space travel. Having all the planets inhabited by different species with different agendas shows how differently we thought about our Solar System back then. This issue features numerous photographs and one of my most cherished articles.
Editor/writer Michael Eury’s look at the disco scene from the 1970s is rather playful. I believe the disco scene of the 1970s overlooked a broader range of music, yet it contributed significantly to dance music before punk disrupted the management control.
Writer Scott Shaw examines the life of Dave Ivey (1950-2020), an amateur cartoonist and model maker who began his career on Detroit TV’s “Ghoul”-hosted show. He also crafted the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man, which subsequently found its way into ‘Ghostbusters’. Quite enlightening.
Writer Andy Mangels goes back into Retro Saturday, looking at the ‘Thundarr The Barbarian’ animation series. I have read various articles about the show over the years. The comic book creator input on this show ranged from Steve Gerber, Alex Toth, and a certain Jack Kirby, among others. The show features a significant number of Kirby illustrations. Since many of these illustrations are no longer available, Mangels is forced to rely on quotes from other sources, which serves as a reminder of where I previously read some of this material. They also have the same problem we have in the UK: what they can do, kids cannot copy.
I only ever saw Buckaroo Banzai: Across the 8th Dimension (1984) once back in the 1980s and thought it was a little pretentious. Writer DeWayne Todd tries to put me right about that. It does explain how a film can become a cult classic versus a failed promotional campaign when the studio was clueless in how to promote it. The fact that the studio had plans to produce a series of films leads me to believe that they were also rushing into the unknown. It would have been more logical to produce a quality film and gauge the response more closely.
Writer Katherine Kerestman visits Roswell, New Mexico, a haven for UFO studies due to a specific incident that occurred in 1967. In many respects, this is the Elvis equivalent of Graceland for tourists. I’m still unsure about the identity of the 1951 film ‘They Came From Another World’, as my Google search yielded no results other than ‘The Thing From Another World’.
The number of articles has decreased, yet the depth has increased significantly. Always a positive sign.
GF Willmetts
December 2024
(pub: TwoMorrows Publishing. 82 page magazine. Price: $10.95. (US). ISSN: 2576-7224. Direct from them, you can get it for $10.95 (US))
check out website: www.TwoMorrows.com and https://twomorrows.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=98_152&products_id=1775
