Pop Culture Chronicles

A Very Brady Blog Post

Recently Watching A Very Brady Christmas with my daughter caused me to wonder how many Brady reunions there have been since the cancellation of the original series. My research has revealed that there have been three spin-off series from the original: a variety show, a sit-com, and a drama. The original series is available in its entirety on DVD.

The first reunion was the Brady Variety Hour in 1977 which lasted only nine episodes. The second reunion was to be a TV movie entitled The Brady Girls Get Married in 1981. The movie was re-edited into the first three episodes of a new sit-com called The Brady Brides which told of Marcia and Jan's married life. The series ran 10 episodes. 

The TV movie A Very Brady Christmas aired in 1988. The high ratings led to yet another spin-off series called The Bradys which was more dramatic than comedic. It ran six episodes which have since been re-edited into three TV movies. 

Reuniting the entirety of such a large cast proved challenging, with the original Jan missing from the variety hour, the original Cindy missing from the Christmas movie, and the original Marcia missing from the drama. Each were replaced with other actors. The Brady Girls Get Married (which became the first three episodes of "The Brady Brides") was the only reunion that featured the entire original cast.  

The most successful Brady series outside of the original was actually a cartoon called "The Brady Kids" airing from 1972-1974, lasting 22 episodes. Since the series there have been two theatrical films which spoofed the original series, both featuring all new actors. The Brady Bunch Movie and A Very Brady Sequel were released in 1995 and 1996 respectively. A third movie was released to DVD in 2002 called The Brady Bunch in the White House.

As is obvious from the picture on this post, the Bradys also had their day in comics when Dell published two issues, complete with photo covers, in 1970. A promotional comic, Brady Bunch Kite Fun Book appeared in 1976.

It has been noted that the original series and reunions have put the Bradys on all three networks at various times. This feat isn't unique to the Bradys, however, since James Garner has played the role of Bret Maverick on all three networks as well. The original Maverick series aired on ABC, the New Maverick/Young Maverick on CBS, and the Bret Maverick series on NBC.             

Holy Hallmark, Batman!

 Here come the Dynamic Duo!

Wishing you the Happiest Holiday Season!

 

Same Bat-Time every Year! Merry Christmas to all. 

And to all a 

Dark Knight!

(or something like that)

Sugar & Spike Christmas

I like to post Christmas-related stuff this time of year. So here is the cover from Sugar & Spike # 68 from December of 1966. As opposed to getting a clean image from the web, I've scanned my own battered, but sentimental copy. This is not the oldest comic in my collection, but it is the oldest one that I've had since it was new. Anything older was acquired as a back issue. I've had this one since I was two-years-old.  

The story is about Sugar's 125-year-old, great-great-great-great Grandpa Plumm, an escapee from the retirement home who takes a job as a department store Santa. All havoc breaks loose when he decides to empty the stock room to give each child what they want for Christmas.

A most clever device in the Sugar & Spike stories is that they spoke their own language--baby talk--which could only be understood by other young children. But in this issue, they are surprised to learn that Grandpa Plumm speaks baby talk. What a neat commentary on the fact that sometimes grandparents understand children better than their parents do. 

I love the cover of this issue, which keeps the DC universe cohesive. Notice Batman, Robin, and the Batmobile in Spike's stocking (click on picture for a larger image). This was the year Batman came to TV. 

I read this comic multiple times as a child and thoroughly enjoyed it. This series, running from 1956-1971, was written and drawn consistently by Sheldon Mayer. This was his signature piece. Like Grandpa Plumm, Mayer understood children and knew how to write for them without being condescending. 

If you're looking for good stories for kids, Sugar & Spike would be a great choice. The unfortunate thing is that they've only been reprinted once to my knowledge. A replica edition in 2002 reprinted the first issue. I hear there may be some digest-sized reprints out there from several years ago.  

To see last year's Christmas comics post, click here.           

Some Stuff I Got For Christmas

Each year I'm fortunate enough to receive some comic related stuff for Christmas. My 2007 haul includes the following:

The Corgi 1940s Batmobile Roadster is a highly collectible toy. Corgi has produced some great Batmobile toys through the years reflecting every phase of Batman's history. This one is large scale die-cast. My wife and kids bought it for me at Target.

Here is a view from the front. Is this sleek or what? Funny though, I don't recall ever seeing this exact version in any of my Golden Age comics reprints (Notice I said "reprints" since I can't afford to own many original Golden Age comics). 

This really fits with my love of nostalgia and of the Golden Age Batman.

Here is a view with the hood open. Batman keeps his engine clean and in peak running condition.

Notice the presence of the Bat logo on the engine and on the backs of the seats.

And now a view from the back, with the trunk open. Here is where Batman keeps all his wonderful toys. The utility belt is stored here along with some batarangs and assorted technology that only wealthy super heroes knew about in the 40s.

Notice the bat-logo on the steering wheel and on the dash board.

And to my added surprise, on the bottom of the car is this "impression" of Batman (for lack of a better term).

Since this is close in size to the average model kit, perhaps I'll display it alongside my Batmobile kits that reproduce the looks of the 50s comics, the 60s TV show, and the 1989 movie.

I also got some books for Christmas, including the trade paperback version of DC: The New Frontier, Volume 1.

This is one of the best comics I've read in a long time--a real page turner that I can hardly put down. If you like nostalgia and all things retro, you'll love this reimagining of the dawn of DC's silver age.

I am also glad to know that this epic will soon be released as a made-for-DVD movie. I only hope they do it justice. Since I also went out and bought volume 2, my review is forthcoming.

And to top off my Christmas, my niece and nephew gave me a copy of this Standard Guide to Golden Age Comics. It's basically a price guide and with publication as recent as 2006, most of the prices are at least still close. But the best part of this book is the collection of 900 Golden Age covers--all in full color!

Hope you had a great holiday as well.    

 

Christmas Collection

One of my fondest childhood Christmas memories is sitting at the foot of our tree with my brand new copy of Christmas with the Super-Heroes. I was probably in fifth grade. This comic was special. It was before reprints appeared as trade paperbacks or hardcover archive editions. In the mid-seventies DC reprints appeared in such collections as Limted Collectors' Edition, of which Christmas with the Super-Heroes was number C-43. Here was a collection of DC Comics Christmas stories that had appeared through the decades.

The book was also special because it was over-sized, what they called "tabloid sized" back then. And it was available for the whopping price of a whole dollar. I didn't think my parents would spring for it, but they did. When I saw it on the magazine shelf of our local supermarket, I just fell in love with the cover.

I am pleased to say that my copy is still intact (albeit with rusty staples, somewhat yellowed pages, and activity pages completed by yours truly). Now my own fifth grade son enjoys reading it in anticipation of the holidays. It's just one more special tradition that we can share.

So I recently re-read it as a way of recapturing that nostalgic Christmas spirit. I recall the thrill of reading the opening story for the first time--Superman and Santa Claus--two of my childhood heroes together! How cool is that?!?!

But this opening story isn't too sophisticated by today's standards. A couple of old codgers dubbed Dr. Grouch and Mr. Meaney react from their own tortured childhood to destroy Christmas for everyone. They take an air ship to the North Pole where they attempt to destroy Santa's workshop. They use gas guns, rendering his reindeer unconscious, which means Superman must save the day by flying Santa all over the world on Christmas Eve. The most laughable moment had to be when the two bad guys are simply let off the hook after they apologize for the kidnapping and attempted murder of Lois.

I wondered if all Golden Age comics were as plot-thin as this story. But then I discovered that this was reprinted from a 1940 Macy's department store promotional. But it's great for kids! 

Other stories include such stars as Wonder Woman, a.k.a, Diana Prince, army nurse and Nazi fighter. Wonder Woman befriends two Hummel-figurine-looking children whose home was broken when their mother was falsely accused of having an affair with a Nazi. Since their father has forbidden Christmas, the children get lost in a blizzard while attempting to deliver gifts to their estranged mother. Wonder Woman stories were ahead of their time from the start.

There's also a Batman story which would be totally out of character today. The Dark Knight sings carols on Christmas Eve with the Gotham P.D. Come to think of it, that would be out of character for any P. D. that I'm familiar with. But what happens on the streets of Gotham while Batman takes the night off is a bit more sophisticated story telling--and without dialogue!

My first introduction to Sandman was in this book, a reprint from the days in which Wesley Dodds had traded the gas mask and overcoat for yellow tights and a youthful sidekick. It was of comparable caliber to the Superman story. The most laughable moment is when a baseball bat is broken over Sandman's head and he wakes up with nothing more severe than a headache.

This special edition also included lyrics to Christmas songs. It was the first time I ever knew that Jingle Bells had more than one verse.

This wasn't DC's only foray into the Christmas season. In 1983 Superman and Santa met again in DC Comics Presents 67. My son picked up this back issue in a comic shop for maybe a buck. It's billed as a "fairy tale." Would that be an "imaginary tale" in today's lingo? While the plot lacks sophistication, the most interesting twist is when Superman discovers that Santa is his neighbor. The Fortress of Solitude is in the North Pole after all.

A couple of years later, The Outsiders did their version of Dickens' A Christmas Carol with super heroes masquarading as the various Christmas ghosts.

The goal was to persuade a Christmas- hating old miser to blow the whistle on some shady characters with whom he had done business. The most redeeming thing about Outsiders # 5 was its cover. A super hero version of the Dickens classic has unlimited potential. If done well, it could make a great graphic novel; perhaps an Elseworlds (or alternate earth) story set in the Dickens era.

But my all time favorite super hero Christmas occurred just a few years ago when the original members of the Justice Society teamed up with Santa in JSA 55.

It's rare to find a story that is self-contained in a single issue. Geoff Johns really pulled it off. This "whatever happened to?" story celebrates the return of Ma Hunkle, the original Red Tornado, appealing to my sense of nostalgia. But the story is moving and even surpasses today's comic standards for incorporating drama and emotion into the medium.

And the art team of Kirk, Champagne, and Grawbadger is excellent! I love it when the characters look real as opposed to looking like residents of cartoon land. The expressions on the faces of Ted Grant and "Santa" are at times priceless. But I can get pretty sentimental about the JSA.

The issue not only celebrates the holiday season, but also sixty years of comic book history. The back issue or trade paperback reprint is worth tracking down.    

So there you have it. My Christmas Eve review of super hero comics in the collections at my house. Thanks for reading and Merry Christmas!