Radio Recap: The Black Book

The Black Book is an unusually brief but well-made radio program. According to all the research available on the internet, only three episodes were ever broadcast in 1952 - all of which still exist. However, there are two other recordings which were apparently never aired that suggest a lot was going on behind-the-scenes of the program.

The most important factoid about the Black Book is that it starred Paul Frees. Frees was simply one of the best voices on radio; he was sometimes an announcer on Suspense, sometimes the announcer and/or lead role on Escape. He was adept at drama and comedy, could speak with the neat mannerisms of Orson Welles, the rough voice of a butcher or the twang of a southerner.

The Black Book, then, was a vehicle for Frees to show off his abilities. The Old-Time Radio Researchers Library has a recording from 1951 called "Different Readings" which is apparently the Black Book's pilot. Frees is presented as "the Man in Black," who had been the host of Suspense in its earliest days (I'm pretty sure John Dickson Carr owned the character which is why he disappeared from Suspense with Carr). "Different Readings" is basically a five-minute "perfect crime" story told by Frees - and then re-told. You get to hear different takes on Frees trying out the story. This alone is pretty fascinating as we have all-too-few examples of multiple takes on the same works by the same creators. At first, Frees is simply narrating a story; in other takes, he adopts different voices; conversations are played out in full instead of being alluded to. You get the sense that someone thought it wasn't quite gelling and wanted a different approach. In one version Frees gets a bit tongue-tied and has to take a section over again. "Different Readings" was never meant for public consumption but it's a neat peek behind the curtain.

A year later it seems they tried another pilot for the Black Book. This time it was the story "The Price of the Head" by John Russell, which was also dramatized on Escape. The Escape version has some patchy audio so it's nice that the Black Book version is so crisp. This time instead of a five-minute narrated drama, the Black Book is a 15-minute program; instead of Frees running the show solo, he's joined by actor John Dehner. Between Frees, Dehner and the source material it sounds pretty much like a lost episode of Escape and small wonder - pretty much everyone working on it was an Escape alumni, from director Norman Macdonnell to composer Leith Stevens.

So I guess this 2nd pilot impressed CBS enough to grant the Black Book a spot in the schedule, but maybe they changed their minds because we only received 3 actual programs: "On Schedule," "My Favorite Corpse," and "Vagabond Murder." The casts in these shows are minimal but very strong, with Frees joined primarily with John Dehner (again). "On Schedule" is also interesting as it's a crime story by Nelson S. Bond, who was better-known as a science fiction author.

The Black Book would have been a crime show, based on the three episodes that actually aired. With all the talented people from Escape working on it, it could've become a classic of old-time radio. But, sadly, for whatever reason, it didn't pan out.

You can hear the three broadcast episodes on the Internet Archive, here. I've only seen the other two at the Old-Time Radio Researchers Library.

RIP: David Warner

On July 24th, actor David Warner passed away at the grand old age of 80.

Warner was never a huge name as an actor but he had the sort of recurring presence that develops a following. For me, as a Star Trek fan, I first took notice of his name because he was one of those rare few who turned up in multiple significant roles. First he played the Federation ambassador in Star Trek V: the Final Frontier - a pretty unimportant part for an actor as recognizable as he; appropriately, as Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country was intended as something of a redemption for the film franchise after the previous film's failings, Warner protrayed the Klingon chancellor Gorkon in that film and got to turn in a terrific performance. But perhaps most memorably for Trek fans, he appeared in the two-part story "Chain of Command" on Star Trek: The Next Generation, in which he portrayed Gul Madred, a Cardassian who tortured Jean-Luc Picard. Much of that two-parter's recognition is due to Patrick Stewart's performance in the torture scenes, but Warner really earned due praise in those episodes. His oily portrayal of Gul Madred helped reinforce how Cardassians would be characterized throughout the franchise. Warner nearly had another role when Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's producer Ira Steven Behr wanted Warner to portray in "Accession" an usurper to the role of Emissary that Benjamin Sisko performed. Unfortunately, Warner was out of the USA when the episode was being filmed and so was unavailable. Behr counted the lack of Warner as one of his regrets as he was certain Warner would have improved the quality of the episode.

Warner was something of a character actor and most often seemed to play villains, to the extent that his roles included playing Evil, itself (Time Bandits). He was also a terrific Jack the Ripper in the charming time travel romance Time After Time; he was the bad guy in Tron. I was so into Warner that when he would turn up in a minor role such as in In the Mouth of Madness I would get excited imagining what his character would get up to (then disappointed when the answer was, "not much").

But I also loved Warner's work in voice acting. His first big animated role was as Ra's al-Ghul in Batman: The Animated Series; he was also one of the top villains of Gargoyles, the Archmage; and in contrast he got to play the very silly villain the Lobe on the very silly program Freakazoid! Even in animation he seemed to be typecast as villains but certainly his smooth, refined voice sounded great on those shows.

Rest in peace, Mr. Warner.

Radio Recap: Obsession

Every now and then one comes across a description of an old-time radio and you wonder why you've never heard of it before. Then you listen and... understand.

Obsession was a syndicated radio program that aired on CBS from 1950-1952. Despite its lengthy run and syndicated nature, we have surprisingly little of the show - just 30 episodes. There's also very little information about the background behind the show, other than it was produced by C.P. MacGregor. A newspaper advertisement called the program a "mystery" and "whodunnit" program but that's a little generous.

So what was Obsession? It was sometimes a mystery anthology program - sometimes simply a dramatic anthology program. Most of the shows appear to be original scripts but there were also scripts recycled from earlier radio shows. The broadcasts offer incomplete creative credits and most episodes don't seem to have their titles spoken on the program itself.

The casts, however, were pretty strong - not only did the series employ a lot of great Hollywood radio talent - Elliot Lewis, Barton Yarborough, Howard McNear, William Conrad, Bill Johnstone - but there's even an episode with Vincent Price in the lead.

Obsession is, in many ways, not very good. The audio quality of the surviving 30 episodes is frequently poor. The stories themselves are frequently unremarkable, despite the good casts. Frequently the show felt like a Suspense imitator, and probably the Vincent Price episode is the best example of how Obsession failed at what Suspense did near-flawlessly for 20 years. (plot spoilers ahead) The episode features Vincent Price as a prisoner being escorted by a policeman on a train. Price kills the policeman in the compartment then tries to find a way off the train while pretending that he himself is the policeman. The story meanders about for a time until the prisoner tries to escape by jumping off the train. The scene shifts to a news office where we learn he was instantly killed by a train passing the opposite direction.

It's... a really bad ending. The scenes of the prisoner on the train trying to effect an escape - that's a pretty good premise. But for him to be killed essentially off-mike - that's bad. It's radio - the sound effects should suggest his demise, and there should be an eyewitness to the event who explains what happened. William Spier could've dramatized a moment like that in his sleep; Obsession did not fire on all cylinders.

But while I've remarked on the show's resemblance to Suspense I should not fail to note that one episode (which circulates as "Blackout Killer") is recycled from an early Suspense script - "Voyage Through Darkness." It's not as good as the Suspense production (which had Olivia de Haviland instead of Ruth Warrick) but the quality is noticeably higher than the typical Obsession fare. There's also an adaptation of "the Silver Cord," a popular stage play by Sidney Howard which was adapted for radio in a few other places. It's likely, therefore, that other episodes are likewise adaptations.

As something of a stepchild to Suspense, Obsession might be of interest to devotees. But, for the first time in this series of blog posts, I can't recommend the program at all. You can hear the surviving episodes in the collection held by the Old Time Radio Researchers Group on the Internet Archive, but really, there's much better programs out there. Caveat emptor.

Thoughts on the Paradine Case (book and film)

Roger Ebert defined "the Idiot Plot" as "Any plot containing problems that would be solved instantly if all of the characters were not idiots." I wonder if there should be a British version of this plot - the British Twit Plot, if you will - which I would define as "any plot containing problems that would be solved instantly if all of the characters were not British."

That was my great takeaway from reading the Paradine Case by Robert Hichens (1933). As I've indicated before, I've recently been reading various novels and short stories which were adapted into films by Alfred Hitchcock. In this (ahem) case, we have a book which Hitchcock did not particularly want to adapt but which his producer David O. Selznick wanted to make into a film. Hitchcock made his version of the Paradine Case just to complete his contractual obligations to Selznick so that he could finally move on in his career.

Today, the novel of the Paradine Case has been eclipsed by Hitchcock's film, even though it's never been considered a particularly good film. People seek out the film not because of the book (or good reviews of the film either) but because Hitchcock remains one of history's great film directors, so there's interest even in his failures.

I'm afraid I fall in with those who don't particularly like the film version but I was interested to learn if the book was more engaging than the film. I had only previously read a short story by Robert Hichens: "How Love Came to Professor Guildea." That's a very good short story, however, so I had some hopes for his novel.

As I indicated at the top, the Paradine Case is a very British book. It was a book that could only have been written by an Englishman (and probably only before 1950). The novel principally follows a defense lawyer (and his wife) as the lawyer defends a woman who is accused of murder. Although there is no real evidence implicating her in the crime, she had opportunity and possibly a motive. The lawyer's efforts to defend her are complicated by an attraction to her. But being a very British barrister, when I say he's attracted to her I mean it almost never comes up - it's a very Victorian view of love as something unsaid and shameful. It causes problems below the water line but seldom in the actual text of the book.

It's a very long book and it is mostly concerned with undercurrents. That Victorian culture where everyone gossips and speculates but no one speaks openly and honestly. This is where I came to think that I was reading a variation on the "idiot plot" because everyone talks modestly around their problems instead of actually facing them. It's not a very interesting read because, despite being 500 pages, it's concerned with what is unsaid moreso than what's said.

Reading it, I was perplexed as to why Selznick thought it would make a great film. He bought up the rights before the book was even published and it took 14 years before it fell into Hitchcock's hands. Selznick seemed to view Hitchcock as his "British director" rather than a thriller director, which is where Hitchcock's talents truly resided. Apparently Selznick's interferences with the production had a lot to do with why the film became a flop; Selznick was so desperate to prove he could make another Gone with the Wind hit that he second-guessed the picture into oblivion. Hitchcock was simply glad to get out from under his thumb.

Selznick's filmography is full of pictures with grand ambitions unmet, but with films such as Portrait of Jennie or Duel in the Sun I can at least imagine why Selznick thought he had another classic on his hands. But the Paradine Case? It's a courtroom drama and not a very interesting one. It's a very British story but made for American audiences. This was never going to be a huge picture.

It's amazing that the movie was so expensive, apparently due to Selznick's frequent midstream changes. Watching the film, you might wonder where all the money went. Certainly it has a great cast and the courtroom set is a very nice set. But otherwise, it's a black and white picture about people talking. It doesn't have stunts, special effects, colour photography, on-location shooting or any other interesting visuals. The most interesting the film gets is a well-done bit where the camera circles around Mrs. Paradine as her ex-lover approaches the witness stand.

The courtroom drama and the thriller can be combined into a great picture, as later films 12 Angry Men (1957) and Anatomy of a Murder (1959) proved. But most of all, the Paradine Case brings to mind Witness for the Prosecution (1957) by director Billy Wilder, which also featured a plot about a cool foreign woman who becomes a problem for the defense lawyer; it also features Charles Laughton as the lawyer (rather than the judge as in the Paradine Case). But Agatha Christie's story proved more durable than her countryman Hichens - it made for a great picture. The Paradine Case is ultimately too British to be engaging.

Spider-Man: No Way Home creator credits

In short: a decent movie whose thunder was slightly claimed first by the animated Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse movie.

My main directory of which creators are responsible for what elements of Marvel Cinematic Universe films can be found here.

Stan Lee: co-creator of Spider-Man, Peter Parker, a teenage super hero garbed in red and blue with a red webbing design, spider emblem on chest, lenses in his mask and webbing in his armpits; Spider-Man swinging around on webbing fired from his web-shooters and climbing up walls; Peter designing his own web-shooters and web fluid and sewing his own costume; Spider-Man motivated to use his powers to help others; Peter's aunt May Parker; of Flash Thompson, a student who bullies Peter at Midtown High School; of Ben Parker, Peter's uncle who died at the hands of a criminal Peter could have stopped; of Peter learning the lesson, "with great power comes great responsibility" (Amazing Fantasy #15, 1962); of J. Jonah Jameson, a blustering newsman from the Daily Bugle who hates Spider-Man; of Spider-Man's spider-sense power which warns him of danger (Amazing Spider-Man #1, 1962); of the Vulture, an enemy of Spider-Man (Amazing Spider-Man #2, 1963); of Dr. Octopus, Otto Octavius, a research scientist whose manipulator arms are fused to his body; driven insane, he battles Spider-Man (Amazing Spider-Man #3, 1963); of Betty Brant, a reporter in New York, friend of Peter Parker; of Flash Thompson as Spider-Man's #1 fan; of Sandman, alias Flint Marko, a criminal who was transformed into a sand-like being by a science accident; Sandman as an enemy of Spider-Man (Amazing Spider-Man #4, 1963); of the Lizard, Dr. Curt Connors, a scientist who transforms into a green reptillian monster and fights Spider-Man; of Spider-Man curing Connors from being the Lizard (Amazing Spider-Man #6, 1963); of the Parkers living in Queens (Amazing Spider-Man #7, 1963); of Electro, Max Dillon, an average man who gains the ability to control electricity; of a three-pronged electrical design over Electro's head (Amazing Spider-Man #9, 1964); of Mysterio, an enemy of Spider-Man who poses as a super-hero; of J. Jonah Jameson being a pawn of Mysterio (Amazing Spider-Man #13, 1964); of the Green Goblin, a superman enemy of Spider-Man clad in green armor with a purple hood; of the Green Goblin's flying apparatus; of the Green Goblin's pumpkin bomb weapons (Amazing Spider-Man #14, 1964); of Spider-Man calling himself a 'friendly neighborhood' Spider-Man; of the Green Goblin's glider flying apparatus (Amazing Spider-Man #17, 1964); of Ned Leeds, an associate of Peter Parker (Amazing Spider-Man #18, 1964); of Peter Parker linked to a love interest whose initials are 'MJ' (Amazing Spider-Man #25, 1965); of Gwen Stacy, a love interest of Peter Parker; of Harry Osborn, son of Norman Osborn, friend to Peter Parker (Amazing Spider-Man #31, 1965); of Norman Osborn, scientist, father of Harry Osborn, enemy of Spider-Man (Amazing Spider-Man #37, 1966); of Norman Osborn as the Green Goblin; of Osborn learning Peter Parker is Spider-Man (Amazing Spider-Man #39, 1966); of Norman Osborn having a split personality as the Green Goblin (Amazing Spider-Man #40, 1966); of the Rhino, a Russian criminal in a superhuman costume (Amazing Spider-Man #41, 1966); of Peter Parker being nicknamed "tiger" (Amazing Spider-Man #42, 1966); of Spider-Man working alongside Dr. Strange (Amazing Spider-Man Annual #2, 1965); of Matt Murdock a blind lawyer with superhuman radar senses (Daredevil #1, 1964); of the Hulk, a powerful superhuman (Incredible Hulk #1, 1962); of the Hulk having green skin (Incredible Hulk #2, 1962); of Thor, Norse god of thunder (Journey into Mystery #83, 1962); of Nick Fury, a soldier in the US Army (Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos #1, 1963); of Doctor Strange, a sorcerer based out of his Sanctum Sanctorum in Greenwich Village who wages war against mystical forces of evil; Strange wearing a blue shirt; Doctor Strange's ally Wong; the Sanctum's window bearing a symbol with two curved lines pierced by a third line; of the magical ability to release a being's astral form while their body slumbers; of Doctor Strange's golden amulet (Strange Tales #110, 1963); of Wong's name (Strange Tales #119, 1964); of Doctor Strange's red Cloak of Levitation and round amulet (Strange Tales #127, 1964); of Iron Man, Tony Stark, a wealthy industrialist whose armor grants him superhuman strength, flight and special weapons (Tales of Suspense #39, 1963); of Happy Hogan, a former boxer turned chauffeur and bodyguard to Tony Stark; Stark Industries, Tony Stark's technology company (Tales of Suspense #45, 1963)

Steve Ditko: co-creator of Spider-Man, Peter Parker, a teenage super hero garbed in red and blue with a red webbing design, spider emblem on chest, lenses in his mask and webbing in his armpits; Spider-Man swinging around on webbing fired from his web-shooters and climbing up walls; Peter designing his own web-shooters and web fluid and sewing his own costume; Spider-Man motivated by a sense of responsbility to use his powers to help others; Peter's aunt May Parker; of Flash Thompson, a student who bullies Peter at Midtown High School; of Ben Parker, Peter's uncle who died at the hands of a criminal Peter could have stopped; of Peter learning the lesson, "with great power comes great responsibility" (Amazing Fantasy #15, 1962); of J. Jonah Jameson, a blustering newsman from the Daily Bugle who hates Spider-Man; of Spider-Man's spider-sense power which warns him of danger (Amazing Spider-Man #1, 1962); of the Vulture, an enemy of Spider-Man (Amazing Spider-Man #2, 1963); of Dr. Octopus, Otto Octavius, a research scientist whose manipulator arms are fused to his body; driven insane, he battles Spider-Man (Amazing Spider-Man #3, 1963); of Betty Brant, a reporter in New York and friend of Peter Parker; of Flash Thompson as Spider-Man's #1 fan; of Sandman, alias Flint Marko, a criminal who was transformed into a sand-like being by a science accident; Sandman as an enemy of Spider-Man (Amazing Spider-Man #4, 1963); of the Lizard, Dr. Curt Connors, a scientist who transforms into a green reptillian monster and fights Spider-Man; of Spider-Man curing Connors from being the Lizard (Amazing Spider-Man #6, 1963); of the Parkers living in Queens (Amazing Spider-Man #7, 1963); of Electro, Max Dillon, an average man who gains the ability to control electricity; of a three-pronged electrical design over Electro's head (Amazing Spider-Man #9, 1964); of Mysterio, an enemy of Spider-Man who poses as a super-hero; of J. Jonah Jameson being a pawn of Mysterio (Amazing Spider-Man #13, 1964); of the Green Goblin, a superman enemy of Spider-Man clad in green armor with a purple hood; of the Green Goblin's flying apparatus; of the Green Goblin's pumpkin bomb weapons (Amazing Spider-Man #14, 1964); of Spider-Man calling himself a 'friendly neighborhood' Spider-Man; of the Green Goblin's glider flying apparatus (Amazing Spider-Man #17, 1964); of Ned Leeds, an associate of Peter Parker (Amazing Spider-Man #18, 1964); of Peter Parker linked to a love interest whose initials are 'MJ' (Amazing Spider-Man #25, 1965); of Gwen Stacy, a love interest of Peter Parker; of Harry Osborn, son of Norman Osborn, friend to Peter Parker (Amazing Spider-Man #31, 1965); of Norman Osborn, scientist, father of Harry Osborn, enemy of Spider-Man (Amazing Spider-Man #37, 1966); of Spider-Man working alongside Dr. Strange (Amazing Spider-Man Annual #2, 1965); of Doctor Strange, a sorcerer based out of his Sanctum Sanctorum in Greenwich Village who wages war against mystical forces of evil; Strange wearing a blue shirt; Doctor Strange's ally Wong; the Sanctum's window bearing a symbol with two curved lines pierced by a third line; of the magical ability to release a being's astral form while their body slumbers; of Doctor Strange's golden amulet (Strange Tales #110, 1963); of Wong's name (Strange Tales #119, 1964); of Doctor Strange's red Cloak of Levitation and round amulet (Strange Tales #127, 1964)

Jack Kirby: co-creator of the Avengers, a team of super heroes (Avengers #1, 1963); of Captain America, Steve Rogers, a patriotic super hero (Captain America Comics #1, 1941); of Captain America's round, red and white shield with star in its center (Captain America Comics #2, 1941); of the Hulk, a powerful superhuman (Incredible Hulk #1, 1962); of the Hulk having green skin (Incredible Hulk #2, 1962); of Thor, Norse god of thunder (Journey into Mystery #83, 1962); of Nick Fury, a soldier in the US Army (Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos #1, 1963); of Iron Man, Tony Stark, a wealthy industrialist whose armor grants him superhuman strength, flight and special weapons (Tales of Suspense #39, 1963)

Jim Starlin: co-creator of half of all people blinking out of existence (Infinity Gauntlet #1, 1991); of the disappeared people being brought back (Infinity Gauntlet #6, 1991); of Thanos, a villainous purple extraterrestrial dedicated to the destruction of life (Iron Man #55, 1973); of the Infinity Gems, six all-powerful stones; Thanos seeking the Infinity Gems to assemble his Infinity Gauntlet (Thanos Quest #1, 1990)

John Romita: co-creator of Norman Osborn as the Green Goblin; of Osborn learning Peter Parker is Spider-Man (Amazing Spider-Man #39, 1966); of Norman Osborn having a split personality as the Green Goblin (Amazing Spider-Man #40, 1966); of the Rhino, a Russian criminal in a superhuman costume (Amazing Spider-Man #41, 1966); of Peter Parker being nicknamed "tiger" (Amazing Spider-Man #42, 1966)

Don Heck: co-creator of Iron Man, Tony Stark, a wealthy industrialist whose armor grants him superhuman strength, flight and special weapons (Tales of Suspense #39, 1963); of Happy Hogan, a former boxer turned chauffeur and bodyguard to Tony Stark; Stark Industries, Tony Stark's technology company (Tales of Suspense #45, 1963)

J. Michael Straczynski: co-creator of Mr. Harrington, a staff member at Midtown High School (Amazing Spider-Man #32, 2001); of May Parker knowing her nephew Peter is Spider-Man (Amazing Spider-Man #35, 2001); of Tony Stark building a new costume for Spider-Man with widget arms (Amazing Spider-Man #529, 2006)

Joe Simon: co-creator of Captain America, Steve Rogers, a patriotic super hero (Captain America Comics #1, 1941); of Captain America's round, red and white shield with star in its center (Captain America Comics #2, 1941)

John Romita Jr.: co-creator of Mr. Harrington, a staff member at Midtown High School (Amazing Spider-Man #32, 2001); of May Parker knowing her nephew Peter is Spider-Man (Amazing Spider-Man #35, 2001)

Robert Bernstein: co-creator of Happy Hogan, a former boxer turned chauffeur and bodyguard to Tony Stark; Stark Industries, Tony Stark's technology company (Tales of Suspense #45, 1963)

Larry Lieber: co-creator of Iron Man, Tony Stark, a wealthy industrialist whose armor grants him superhuman strength, flight and special weapons (Tales of Suspense #39, 1963)

Ron Garney: co-creator of Tony Stark building a new costume for Spider-Man which includes retractable widget arms (Amazing Spider-Man #529, 2006)

Mark Gruenwald: creator of Mysterio's real name Quentin Beck (Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #7, 1983)

George Perez: co-creator of half of all people blinking out of existence (Infinity Gauntlet #1, 1991)

Ron Lim: co-creator of the disappeared people being brought back (Infinity Gauntlet #6, 1991); of the Infinity Gems, six all-powerful stones; Thanos seeking the Infinity Gems to assemble his Infinity Gauntlet (Thanos Quest #1, 1990)

Tom DeFalco: co-creator of Spider-Man wearing a black costume; of a black alien costume connected to Spider-Man (Amazing Spider-Man #252, 1984); of Dr. Octopus knowing Peter Parker is Spider-Man (Spectacular Spider-Man #221, 1995)

Ron Frenz: co-creator of Spider-Man wearing a black costume; of a black alien costume connected to Spider-Man (Amazing Spider-Man #252, 1984)

Dennis O'Neil: co-creator of Matt Murdock defending Peter Parker as his client (Amazing Spider-Man #218, 1981); of Kamar-Taj, the mystical base of the Ancient One in the far east (Strange Tales #148, 1966)

Bill Everett: co-creator of Matt Murdock a blind lawyer with superhuman radar senses (Daredevil #1, 1964); of Kamar-Taj, the mystical base of the Ancient One in the far east (Strange Tales #148, 1966)

Luke McDonnell: co-creator of Matt Murdock defending Peter Parker as his client (Amazing Spider-Man #218, 1981)

Archie Goodwin: co-creator of the existence of divergent timelines which are accessible by others (Fantastic Four #118, 1972)

John Buscema: co-creator of the existence of divergent timelines which are accessible by others (Fantastic Four #118, 1972)

Christopher Priest: co-creator of Ben Parker as the one who said "with great power comes responsibility" to his nephew Peter (Spider-Man vs. Wolverine #1, 1987)

Mark Bright: co-creator of Ben Parker as the one who said "with great power comes responsibility" to his nephew Peter (Spider-Man vs. Wolverine #1, 1987)

Dan Slott: co-creator of Dr. Strange using magic to help restore Peter Parker's secret identity (Amazing Spider-Man #591, 2009); of multiple versions of Spider-Man from different realities joining forces (Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions video game)

Dwayne McDuffie: co-creator of Damage Control, an organization which cleans up after superhuman battles (Marvel Age Annual #4, 1988)

Ernie Colon: co-creator of Damage Control, an organization which cleans up after superhuman battles (Marvel Age Annual #4, 1988)

Mike Friedrich: co-creator of Thanos, a villainous purple extraterrestrial dedicated to the destruction of life (Iron Man #55, 1973)

Frank Brunner: co-creator of the title 'Sorcerer Supreme' used by Earth's premiere mystic (Marvel Premiere #10, 1973)

Steve Englehart: co-creator of the title 'Sorcerer Supreme' used by Earth's premiere mystic (Marvel Premiere #10, 1973)

Gerry Conway: co-creator of Gwen Stacy dying in Spider-Man's arms with him unable to save her (Amazing Spider-Man #121, 1973); of the Green Goblin being impaled on his goblin glider vehicle, killing him (Amazing Spider-Man #122, 1973)

Gil Kane: co-creator of Gwen Stacy dying in Spider-Man's arms with him unable to save her (Amazing Spider-Man #121, 1973); of the Green Goblin being impaled on his goblin glider vehicle, killing him (Amazing Spider-Man #122, 1973)

J. M. DeMatteis: co-creator of Harry Osborn dying in Peter Parker's arms (Spectacular Spider-Man #200, 1993)

Sal Buscema: co-creator of Harry Osborn dying in Peter Parker's arms (Spectacular Spider-Man #200, 1993); of Dr. Octopus knowing Peter Parker is Spider-Man (Spectacular Spider-Man #221, 1995)

Bob Gale: co-creator of F.E.A.S.T., a charitable organization for the homeless run by May Parker (Amazing Spider-Man #546, 2008)

Phi Winslade: co-creator of F.E.A.S.T., a charitable organization for the homeless run by May Parker (Amazing Spider-Man #546, 2008)

David Michelinie: co-creator of Venom, a man bonded to an alien symbiote (Amazing Spider-Man #299, 1988); of Eddie Brock, Venom's true identity (Amazing Spider-Man #300, 1988)

Todd McFarlane: co-creator of Venom, a man bonded to an alien symbiote (Amazing Spider-Man #299, 1988); of Eddie Brock, Venom's true identity (Amazing Spider-Man #300, 1988)

Peter David: co-creator of a Spider-Man who has organic webbing that emits from his wrists (Spider-Man 2099 #1, 1992)

Rick Leonardi: co-creator of a Spider-Man who has organic webbing that emits from his wrists (Spider-Man 2099 #1, 1992)

Barry Kitson: co-creator of Dr. Strange using magic to help restore Peter Parker's secret identity (Amazing Spider-Man #591, 2009)

Joe Quesada: co-creator of Matt Murdock wearing red-tinted sunglasses (Daredevil #1, 1998)

Kevin Smith: co-creator of Matt Murdock wearing red-tinted sunglasses (Daredevil #1, 1998)

John Byrne: co-creator of Spider-Man as an Avenger (Avengers #316, 1990)

Paul Ryan: co-creator of Spider-Man as an Avenger (Avengers #316, 1990)

Radio Recap: John Steele, Adventurer

Just when I thought I'd heard it all...

John Steele, Adventurer is a series I had somehow never heard a single episode of until I sought it out. It ran on Mutual for many years: 1949-1956. There seem to be only 49 episodes which still exist.

Based on the title, you might think sounds like an adventure program about a two-fisted hero type who roams from one exotic locale to another. You're... partially right. For a considerable time, John Steele, Adventurer was narrated by the titular Steele, but he wasn't the lead character. Instead he would appear at some point in the drama as a minor side character who witnessed the drama of the story. Because Steele always wanders into different odd jobs his appearances feel very random. There's no reason these minor characters from one episode to the next should be the same man, except that it gives Steele an excuse to be present for the episode's drama.

If you step into this program expecting to hear the Mutual equivalent to Escape you might be disappointed. Escape featured stories of man vs. man (ie, "The Most Dangerous Game") and man vs. nature (ie, "Three Skeleton Key"). Less frequent were the psychological dramas of a man wrestling with his inner turmoil, but such episodes did exist (ie, "Action").

John Steele, Adventurer was, surprisingly, a psychological drama. It was less concerned with physical conflict than with mental conflict. Frequently the stories involved someone coping with a traumatic past, such as the ex-sailor who finds himself in a lighthouse and forced to confront his fear of water ("Lighthouse Twelve"). So not only does this series seldom feature its titular hero as the protagonist, but the adventures tend to occur within men's minds. The program's definition of 'adventure' is a little looser than that of other programs.

Now, the show did change as it developed - about halfway through the surviving episodes, Steele becomes a more conventional adventure hero. Even then, there are a few later episodes where he reverts to his role as the narrator. Still, this show is really unlike any other radio adventure program you've heard. Give it a listen, it might be just what you want to hear. The Old-Time Radio Researchers Group have a YouTube playlist of this series.

"No one can be told what the Matrix is, blah, blah, blah." The Matrix Resurrections review

I wasn't interested in the Matrix when it came out. It was a film with an infamously obtuse trailer that didn't give away what exactly it was about. Perhaps my rebellion against that trailer was my first sense that the film was stuck-up and pretentious. But regardless, that's what I ultimately concluded about the film when I finally saw it; I wasn't impressed by the effects or the story. I thought it was superficial and thin as gruel.

Despite that I went to see the two sequels with my friends; the Matrix Reloaded I found at times laughably bad (especially the CGI) but I did at least enjoy the freeway chase scene - when it involved actual stunt driving (again, the CGI cars looked bad). Then the Matrix Revolutions came out and no one seemed to especially like it. The sensation I had was that the film was a passing fad whose time was up. I went on to discover others films made around the same time which had plots I could really sink my teeth into: Dark City and the Thirteenth Floor.

So: the Matrix Resurrections. This is the first Matrix film I enjoyed.

The fact that I, someone who didn't like the first 3 films, does like this one is certainly indicative of what an odd duck this movie is. I think it's likely that the majority of people who enjoyed the first three films were not especially fond of this entry. The stunts and effects are competant, but it doesn't even try to attempt eye-popping visuals. I always found those Matrix Reloaded effects to be lousy, but at least they were trying to push the limits. By contrast, effects in the Matrix Resurrections are done well within the lines. You will not be amazed.

So, if you liked the Matrix franchise for the effects then this one's not for you. What about the film's deep, heady stoner philosophy about, like, man, what if we are all dust in the wind? The Matrix Resurrections mocks its earlier pretensions (as in the "blah, blah, blah" quote above). This film is not seeking to be the new illustration in your 'cool' philosophy prof's 101 class.

I think a large part of why I like the film is because it unbends; the earlier pretense is gone and the world feels a little more human for it. The first quarter of the film is especially fun for Matrix detractors like myself as the protagonist Neo lives in a reality where his earlier adventures were nothing more than a video game and now his company wants a fourth game. It feels like director Lana Wachowski is unleashing some of her frustrations at being constantly petitioned to tell more Matrix stories.

In many ways this feels like another nostalgia film in the wake of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Beloved(?) characters return, so does an old threat with a new face. And, as I indicated, it's a fairly "safe" picture. At the same time, the film lovingly mocks itself and that's no small thing, considering Lana created the original films. The sequences of video game developers rehashing what the first three stories were about feels like the sort of boardroom environment that would create a Matrix nostalgia film and I'm here for that.

In the end, we learn that Neo wasn't exactly the One, rather he and Trinity together are the One. Because in the Matrix, even counting to "1" is convoluted. I don't care. I laughed a lot at this film, but this time, I was supposed to.

Radio Recap: Author's Playhouse

Author's Playhouse was a NBC radio program that aired from 1941-1945. It was primarily a half-hour dramatic program which featured adaptations of short stories. What makes it stand out from similar shows is that it didn't adapt from many well-known authors. Sure, there was O. Henry ("Christmas by Injunction"), H. G. Wells ("The Inexperienced Ghost" and "The Country of the Blind") and Robert Browning ("The Pied Piper of Hamelin"), but also a lot of authors seldom heard on radio: Lafcadio Hearn ("The Soul of the Great Bell"); Nelson S. Bond ("Johnny Cartwright's Camera").

One episode I want to draw notice to is "The Kraken," a story by (of all people) L. Ron Hubbard. It's a sea monster story about a submarine crew encountering a massive sea creature. The manner in which the story is told - especially the sequences of the submarine crew communicating to a diver outside the vessel - make for excellent radio. It's very good horror program.

At the other end of the spectrum, I want to note "Reunion" by Julius Fass. It's the story of a man heading to his college reunion who decides to spend his inheritence on the evening in order to impress his classmates. It's a very simple story and warmly told.

Author's Playhouse isn't a typical NBC dramatic program - it feels more like the sort of radio CBS was producing at the time on Columbia Workshop and others; I mean that as a compliment, as NBC didn't really get interested in competing against CBS' dramatic shows until post-World War II. But Author's Playhouse is a fine exception that makes for good listening. Here's a couple of collections from the Internet Archive: here and here.

"So... now we gonna talk about Bruno?" Encanto review

Encanto is animated musical comedy that Disney released last year. Even way out in Angola I felt the influence of the film - it was the only movie that visitors from North America would bring up in conversation and contained the only new songs that people wanted to sing and share.

I really admire fiction that tells an engrossing story without utilizing an antagonist. I think a bit part of why I haven't been able to cut it as a writer of fiction is that I don't like creating antagonists. I wish I could tell a story the way Preston Sturges did, a conflict that doesn't actually require an antagonist - but it's not in my skillset.

Therefore, I truly admire fiction such as Encanto for telling a complete story without an antagonist figure. Certainly the character Bruno is set up in the film as a potential villain but he proves to be entirely benevolent. The drama comes from the family's personal conflicts rather than a particular malevolent force.

Similarly, Encanto's plot didn't pivot where I expected - considering the premise concerned the protagonist Mirabel's angst about not having a magical gift, I imagined that through the course of the film she would discover she really did have a gift. I was right, but not in a magical sense - she remains non-magical and that's a nice deviation from the expected.

The songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda are very catchy and fun to repeat. The whole film runs merely 90 minutes - it doesn't waste time, it's very lean and to the point. It's certainly one of the best family films I've seen since the start of the pandemic.

Radio Recap: Adventure Ahead

Adventure Ahead was a short-lived juvenile program that aired on NBC during the summer of 1944. However, unlike other juvenile shows, the writing was rather strong because it drew from famous pieces of literature. The series had a very obvious appeal towards boys - that is, to the possible exclusion of girls - and so featured stories with young male leads such as "The Story of a Bad Boy" and "Toby Tyler." But many of the stories featured on the program were the same kind of content being prepared for adult audiences, such as "Robinson Crusoe" and "Two Years Before the Mast."

For me, as a John Buchan fan, I was extremely delighted that the series featured an adaptation of his 2nd Richard Hannay novel, "Greenmantle." Like many Hannay fans, I actually consider "Greenmantle" to be superior to "The Thirty-Nine Steps" but it seldom receives the attention afforded the more famous entry. "Greenmantle" is a great little spy drama but it's a bit too complex for a half-hour radio program - at least a 1-hour show would have been better. I'm happy it exists in any form, though!

Adventure Ahead is not flashy radio but by the standards of juvenile programming it has above average writing and production values. The Old Time Radio Researchers Group have collected the surviving episodes to a page on the Internet Archive, here.

The Best Films I watched in Africa

Although I didn't live very far from Lubango's cinema, I only visited it one time during my year there. Still, I did watch a number of films - in part from watching television, partially from what I could stream online, and a few that I borrowed from people's collections. From my time in Lubango, here are the best films I saw:

1. The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith A harsh Australian film about a young indigenous man whose naivete is shattered when white people try to ruin him out of sheer pettiness; then he resorts to murder. The protagonist has a sympathetic plight, yet he performs horrible actions- it's one that will give you something to talk about.
2. Cluny Brown (1946) A charming Ernst Lubitsch comedy about a young woman who works as a maid for a wealthy English family but her true passion is plumbing.
3. The Color Out of Space (2019) An H.P. Lovecraft horror story adaptation that indulges in a lot of genuinely disturbing body horror. Nicolas Cage is actually pretty good and doesn't simply play his "crazy Cage" character (though there's some of that too).
4. Dr. No (1962) I'd never actually watched the first Bond film all the way through - I really didn't get into Bond until the Daniel Craig era. I enjoyed that this film begins very low-key and uses very believable spycraft for the first half. Then the sci-fi stuff shows up, but by then I was hooked.
5. For Your Eyes Only (1981) Continuing with Bond, the Roger Moore films were the movies I was least interested in, but this one turned out to be very strong - it wasn't as goofy as the other films I'd seen, nor did it use a lot of silly made-up tech. There were also some fun stunts, especially in the car chase. This might be my favourite Moore as Bond film.
6. God Grew Tired of Us (2006) A documentary which follows young men from Sudan from a refugee camp to life in the USA. A very sympathetic portrait of the affected men's lives.
7. Hoosiers (1986) A basketball drama about an urban coach who relocates to a rural school and tries to raise the school's basketball team to a competitive level, yet finds resistance from the community because his methods are unfamiliar.
8. Independencia (2015) A truly excellent documentary about the war of independence in Angola. The DVD comes with a 2nd disc which explains how the film was made, which is equally fascinating. This is a great living history of Angola's recent past.
9. Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (2020) An adaptation of a stage play and one of Chadwick Boseman's final roles about a band gathering to record a single and the trumpet player who is trying to raise his profile, to considerable drama.
10. Mank (2020) A well-made if somewhat ahistorical account of Herman Mankiewicz's crafting of the script to Citizen Kane.
11. Santana (2020) Not exactly a great action movie, but because this film was made in Angola I'm a little more forgiving towards it - it's the best Angolan action movie I've seen. Admittedly, that's a very generous curve to grade upon.
12. Top Gun: Maverick (2022) This is the one movie I went to see in the cinema. I don't think Top Gun is a particularly good film but I was okay with watching a dumb action movie; as it turns out, it's actually a good action movie with better character work than I expected.
13. The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020) An interesting true story I hadn't known about; it bears a lot of Aaron Sorkin's typical writing tricks and some of them are getting pretty tiresome at this stage. But the performances are strong.
14. We Intend to Cause Havoc (2019) An unusual documentary about the Zambian group W.I.T.C.H. who performed Zamrock in the 70s. In looking up the surviving member of the original group, the documentary ends up causing the band to re-form and go on tour! It's a fun snapshot of Zambia of the 70s vs. Zambia of the 2010s.

The Best Books I read in Africa

During my year in Angola I read a lot of books... so many books, in fact! Only a few were traditional print books, mostly borrowed from my neighbours. The majority of the books I read in Angola were ebooks; some I had bought and downloaded years ago in anticipation for my trip to Angola. From the vast list of books I read, here are the best books: THE BEST FICTION

1. The A. M. Burrage Classic Collection Vols. 1-10 I had enjoyed Burrage's stories "The Waxwork" and "Smee" but wondered what the rest of his work was like; well, I certainly know now; he wrote a lot of ghost stories and, having read them together, he hit a lot of themes and tones again and again. Some stories felt merely repetitive and at times he felt a bit too sincere about what he was writing about - that is, there was a hint of spiritualism in his writing - but in all, "The Case of Mr. Ryalstone" was a great discovery in its own and there were plenty of other great ghost stories in these books.
2. Before the Fact by Frances Iles I read a number of novels which had been adapted into Alfred Hitchcock films; this is tough read because the protagonist is so unwilling to become dynamic but instead loses more and more agency until she finally willingly permits her husband to murder her.
3. Darkness at Noon by Arthur Koestler A fascinating look at a man who was among the leaders of the communist revolution in Russia finding himself imprisoned by the state and his gradual acceptance of his fate. Perhaps no passage is better than when he's communicating with the neighboring cell by tapping on the walls. When he gives his name to his neighbor the response is, "it serves you right."
4. Gravel Heart by Abdulrazak Gurnah Because Gurnah won the Nobel Prize in 2021 I thought I should check out his fiction - this is an interesting dramatic story about the upbringing of a young man from Zanzibar, his eventual move to England and then his difficulty in reconciling himself to his family.
5. In Search of the Unknown by Robert W. Chambers I had no idea that the writer of the King in Yellow had also written a number of silly short stories about a man who goes searching for mythological beasts around the world. Utterly charming.
6. Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison At times I didn't know what I was reading because the narrative is a little unconventional at first, but this is a challenging text about a black man's rise through society and then his downfall; sort of a companion read to Nightmare Alley if you like (more likely, Native Son).
7. Lusophone Africa Short Stories and Poetry After Independence A great anthology of stories and poems from all the old Portuguese colonies. Obviously I was mostly interested in the Angolan entries but I enjoyed quite a bit of the Mozambican and Cabo Verde stories as well.
8. Riotous Assembly by Tom Sharpe An odd comedic novel set in Apartheid South Africa that saw the structure of their deliberately racist society as a great backdrop for an absurd farce.
9. Round the Fire Stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle This was a very strong collection of thrillers by Doyle. The best by far is "The Brazilian Cat," about two heirs and the feline who came between them.
10. The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad Another Hitchcock adaptation - this is about what I expected from Conrad; it's really not a thriller, although the final chapters are by far the most electrifying. It's a very strong book, I'm interested in seeing a more faithful adaptation than the one Hitchcock made.
11. Seven Keys to Baldpate by Earl Derr Biggers A fun mystery story about a writer trying to find solitude at a hotel during the off-season, only to find himself in the midst of a complex mystery yarn. It doesn't take itself too seriously - good fun.
12. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe The first fiction by Achebe that I've read. It's interesting to see an African perspective on their nation's pre-colonial history and to see that, in many respects, he judged the ways of the old culture harshly. Not what I expected - this is the mirror opposite to Gone with the Wind.
13. To Catch a Thief by David Dodge This was one of the best Hitchcock-adapted works I read; it's a little different from the film as the protagonist wasn't meant to be quite as handsome as Cary Grant, but as well the relationship between the protagonist and his love interest is a bit more interesting in the book because she's less trusting in him and it remains an open question throughout the novel whether she'll help him or turn on him.
14. 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke I'm not really a fan of the movie but I had to read the book to research another project and I found that I liked it a lot - it really is the same story as the film, but somehow I connected better to the prose than I did Kubrick's pretty pictures.
15. War with the Newts by Karel Capek The other great sci-fi novel by Capek (author of R.U.R.). Mankind discovers a rare creature who adapts very easily. First they enslave it, then the creatures rise up. It's mostly a satirical novel - very entertaining.

THE BEST NON-FICTION

1. All the Marvels by Douglas Wolk Wolk shares a few of his impressions from reading every Marvel super-hero comic book published. He touched on a few subjects I'm especially keen on (such as Christopher Priest's Black Panther). I think this one is best for relatively new readers to Marvel as Wolk does a good job of running down the highlights of Marvel Comics and the different ways one might go about reading them.
2. As It Is in Heaven and...
3. ...Surprised by Scripture by N. T. Wright I heard both of these as audiobooks; although they ran over a lot of the same material (the former book is a devotional which is partially assembled from the latter's text) and I certainly came to better understand Wright's philosophies on the Bible. Very strong, maybe a bit too scholarly for me.
4. Breathing Space by Heidi Neumark A very good examination of a female priest who wrote about her experiences at an inner-city church and the slow changes which came about. Very practical, human, yet inspirational.
5. A Casa: Diario de uma Missao by Hans Fuchs Fuchs wrote the translation of my book so it was only fair I read his book; I wish I had read this years ago as it contains details that would have been helpful for my book! A nice portrait of what Lubango was like around 1990, but also a strong biography about his family's struggles in Angola and Brazil.
6. Encounters with the Archdruid by John McPhee An interesting book of journalism in which a famous environmentalist visits various developers on the lands they wish to transform and they openly and honestly air how they feel about the situation. A very even-handed book on environmentalism.
7. Half the Way Home by Adam Hochschild I finished all of Hochschild's books while I was in Angola but I left this one for last - I wasn't even sure if I would be interested in his memoir. But this is a very heartfelt book about his difficult relationship with his father and his unusual upbringing among the wealthiest families in the USA.
8. Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell And for that matter, I owe to to Hochschild that I finally sat down and went through this book, which he brought up in Spain in Our Hearts. I only knew Orwell for his fiction before so this was eye-opening in terms of understanding the context of his later works.
9. Jack Benny and the Golden Age of American Radio Comedy by Kathryn Fuller-Seeley A very interesting series of essays that are not comprehensive in their examination of Benny's early career but extremely thorough in the subjects they do cover, most interesting to me being his falling out with his original head writer and the chapters about Rochester and how public opinion on his character changed over the years.
10. Lessons from a Dark Time by Adams Hochschild An interesting set of essays by Hochschild on a variety of subjects, some of them about Africa, which I always appreciate.
11. The Mirror at Midnight by Adam Hochschild And this is Hochschild's book about South Africa, set around the time of Mandela's liberation. A very strong snapshot of what the nation was like with interesting recordings of conversations Hochschild had.
12. Mukiwa: A White Boy in Africa by Peter Godwin I'd read Godwin's book The Fear already - this is his biography and helps explain some of what I'd read in the other work. Godwin grew up in Zimbabwe at the time the nation was resisting, then submitting to true independence. I didn't actually know anything about how Rhodesia became a "rogue colony" when they refused to comply with England. Godwin's transformation from a naive white kid to something of a police thug is a tough read - I appreciate that, having removed his mask, he didn't seem to hold back.
13. Prayer in the Night by Tish Harrison Warren A very good book about the Order of Compline and the meaning it's brought to the author. This was helpful to me in Angola and for a time I performed Compline each night.
14. The Pursuing God by Joshua Ryan Butler An interesting text which emphasizes how God is seeking after us; which is something that I knew, but Ryan sagely noted that we often don't seem to believe it - we talk about God as though He's the one who needs to be sought. Very thought-provoking, I've already written an essay on the subject.
15. A Short History of Modern Angola by David Birmingham This is one of the best texts I've read on Angola's history - Birmingham summed it up very efficiently and taught me a lot that other books left out at the same time!
16. Silencing the Past by Michel-Rolph Trouillot Although this book mostly examines issues particular to the author's home of Haiti, more broadly it considers how we think about history and what information is permitted to survive in historical accounts.
17. Sub Rosa by Stewart Alsop A collection of stories about the O.S.S. during World War II; I read it primarily because one anecdote inspired an episode of the radio program Escape which I really enjoyed.
18. War Child by Emmanuel Jal A biography about Emmanuel's childhood in the Sudan at the time of the civil war and the life he made later on. A very strong biography.
19. When Narcissism Comes to Church by Chuck DeGroat This book is concerned with how destructive personalities can wreck havoc in churches - a subject I became interested in after listening to the podcast The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill. It's a very good set of resoures and teaches lessons that I think everyone who considers themselves a church member needs to hear at least once in their life.
20. Where the Light Fell by Philip Yancey This is the story of Yancey's relationship with his mother and how his mother and older brother's relationship became fractured. It's a rough ride and I did wonder at times how Yancey retained his faith considering his harsh upbringing - his other book, Soul Survivor, will tell me the answer to that one.
21. The World and Africa by W. E. B. DuBois An excellent series of essays on Africa from DuBois' perspective. It was especially helpful for me to get a sense of how black Americans' attitudes toward Africa shifted within DuBois' lifetime.

Tomorrow: Film

Non-Lubango Lubango Vlog 24: On Seeing

As a final vlog about my year in Lubango, here are some post-trip thoughts about the importance of seeing.