The Mighty Heroes

Long-time readers of this blog will remember my post back in April regarding the defunct UHF TV channel 48, WKBS in Philadelphia, and how it featured the coolest cartoons in the city. One of those cartoons was the Mighty Heroes!

The Mighty Heroes first aired on CBS Saturday mornings in the fall of 1966 as part of the Mighty Mouse program. Both Mighty Mouse and the Heroes were created by the Terrytoons animation company. The concept for the Heroes was pitched by fledgling animator Ralph Bakshi, who went on to later fame, or infamy, as the creator of adult-themed cartoons such as Fritz the Cat and Cool World.

The Mighty Heroes, however, were as innocent as can be, although they were quite inept at handling their weekly villian. The team consisted of super-powered baby and team leader Diaper Man, a strong man named Strong Man (fancy that), Tornado Man, Rope Man, and Cuckoo Man. These bungling heroes would start attacking their villian without regard for their fellow teammates. Only when they worked cohesively as a group did they eventually foil the bad guy.

Here is one of my favorite installments, and according to some online sources, the first installment of the series, "The Plastic Blaster."



What a fun cartoon, and what great theme music!

This next clip is something I never saw until very recently: the actual wraparound theme and bumpers used in the original CBS network airings. These never appeared in the syndicated packages I saw on channel 48 in the late 70s. An awesome find!



Thanks as always!

Saturday Matinee: Batman, 1949 serial, part 5

It's time once again to present this weekend's Saturday Matinee! But first, a word about theater policy:

Chapter 5 Robin Rescues Batman
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Come back next week! But grab some refreshments on the way out:



OK, that one was pretty weird :)

J. Caleb Mozzoco on the work of Raymond Briggs

Freelance writer J. Caleb Mozzocco writes the comics blog Every Day Is Like Wednesday, which is linked to in my blog list. This morning he published a post about writer and artist Raymond Briggs, author of books that were adapted into animation, The Snowman and Where the Wind Blows. In his article, Mozzocco lists how Briggs' work, although not usually comsidered to be comics, in fact are just that. Here is the great article:

http://everydayislikewednesday.blogspot.com/2008/08/some-of-raymond-briggs-childrens-books.html

I've never encountered Briggs' work in their original book form, but I'm now putting it on my list at my next library visit. Thanks Caleb!

Both of the above mentioned adaptations have been featured at my blog previously and can be found here:

http://meandyouandablognamedboo.blogspot.com/search?q=Raymond+Briggs

See you this weekend at the Saturday Matinee!

Pancake Puffs!

If you've seen this already, you know you want it. If you haven't seen it yet, you didn't know you wanted it--until now. Behold--the Pancake Puff Maker!

Saturday Matinee: Batman, 1949 Serial, Part 4

Coming soon to a theater near you:



And now our feature presentation:

Chapter 4 Batman Trapped!
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9 Years of Wedded Bliss

Happy Anniversary Honey--I love you!

And here's a special song for the occasion:

Saturday Matinee: Batman, 1949 serial, Part 3

I apologize for the late post, but unforeseen circumstances kept me from posting this Friday. Therefore, I present to you now, part 3 of the 1949 Batman serial!

But first, here is a sampling of what may be appearing at your local imaginary movie house:



And now our feature presentation:

Chapter 3 Robin's Wild Ride
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