Originally presented here from a November 2009 post is "Mystery of the Time Chamber" from issue #52 of the Mysta of the Moon serial featured in Planet Comics. For those of you who have read this entry already go ahead and scroll down to the last page for a note about Mysta and Bron's relationship (it's fan-wank, but it works in context).
Before I continue with the Futura Saga I am going to take a break to present a special request appearance of Mysta of the Moon.
Mysta of the Moon was long-running science fiction adventure serial that ran in Planet Comics from 1945 to 1949. Mysta is perhaps the most consistent serial in regards to art and story quality to have been published by Fiction House. Mysta originally appeared as a young girl in issue #35 of Planet Comics as a victim of the machinations of Mars, the God of War, the star of an early and very popular Planet Comics serial. In those stories, the evil Mars would travel the galaxy and possess different people, forcing them to commit horrific acts and spread terror and strife all in the name of conflict.
Having survived an attempt to destroy her at the end of issue #35 an adult Mysta began her own feature with issue #36, effectively replacing the Mars series with her own. Like many superheroes Mysta, who was now the repository of all knowledge, sometimes maintained a secret identity so the public at large would not know she was acting as their savior and defender. In her guise as an older and unappealing librarian, Mysta fought criminals, mutant zombies and solved mysteries with the aid of a deadly, unstoppable robot with which she shared a telepathic link. Mysta eventually abandoned the pretense of a civilian disguise.
Out of all the female characters featured in Planet Comics it is Mysta of the Moon that was the strongest in terms of characterization. Unlike many other contemporary characters Mysta largely stood on her own in her adventures. Typically in almost any comic book tale, while a female would often act as the lead in a story it was not unusual to have a man show up near the end of the tale and take charge, wrapping things up as the female character shed angst-filled thought balloons expressing gratitude and unrequited love. Among the Planet Comics entries this was most common among the Gale Allen serial. Mysta, being the most intelligent person in the Universe, would have none of that. Anyone interested in researching a good example of early female empowerment in comic books could do worse than reading the Mysta of the Moon series.
Planet Comics #52 (January 1948) features Mysta using time travel to defeat the menace of brain-sucking plants. The story also gives a nice recap of her origin with only an oblique reference to the original Mars story.
Enjoy!
While most sites are posting the same old Christmas song videos here is my humble video entry which I can pretty much guarantee no one else has ever posted before because...Well, listen for yourself.
Here's my personal list of the five best Christmas movies ever! These films are not presented in any order of preference but it has been a long-standing mandatory tradition in my house that the Christmas movie we all watch together is the 1988 holiday opus Die Hard, possibly the greatest Christmas-themed film ever made.
1) Hogfather (Have you been naughty...Or nice?)
TODAY
Angry Customer: Is somebody going to help me in the bakery or not? I need someone to write 'Happy Birthday' on a cake.
Me: Well, at this late hour the bakery is closed and with the bakery staff gone we are not able to do much other than supply bags and boxes. None of the front end staff have Food Handler certifications and we are not allowed to prepare food for anyone.
Angry Customer: So I waited in line all this time for nothing? Thanks for nothing! All I wanted was someone to write on a damn cake.
Me: Ma'am, the law states we can't. It's for your protection.
Angry Customer: It's just a cake! So you refuse to help me?
Me: It isn't that. Again, the law says no one not certified in food preparation can do that for you. Surely you wouldn't want someone not trained, perhaps careless with what they've handled to touch a cake.
Angry Customer: That's ridiculous! I just want someone to write on a cake! I'll get someone else to help me.
Me: I'm sorry. I won't allow anyone without certification to use the bakery equipment or go behind the counter. I'd feel terrible if some child became sick. We have many cakes in the case that already have 'Happy Birthday' written on them. Can I get you one of those?
Angry Customer: Thanks for nothing!
TWO WEEKS EARLIER
Angry Customer: You. I wanna talk to you. I have a complaint.
Me: OK. How can I help you?
Angry Customer: That girl in the deli. She touched the slicer without changing her gloves before helping a customer. That's disgusting.
Me: I'm very sorry. I'll take care of that right away.
Angry Customer: Don't they take a class or go to school or something to learn about that? Don't they need to pass a test or something?
Me: Yes, they do. I'll take care of it right away. I'm sure it was a mistake and it won't happen in the future.
Angry Customer: It better not! That's disgusting.
All this occurred without any apparent irony or self-awareness on the part of the customer.
A few links to some Holiday stuff of latter years from Lady, That's My Skull.
Aw, cute!
Thor and the Christmas Miracle!
The Waitresses - Christmas Wrapping!
Frosty the Golem!
They should never have called him Mutie!
Lazy, crappy Holiday comic strips!
Sorry, kids!
An oldie but a goodie from MAD Magazine, If Kids Designed Their Own Xmas Toys!
Links from other places:
Retrospace Christmas Music Mix Tape!
A Riverdale Christmas by Bully!
20 Geeky Xmas Decorations (NSFW sidebar)!
Golden Age Comic Book Stories has lots of nifty Xmas images and stories!
The Monkees sing Xmas acappella!
Planet Comics #51 (November 1947) brings new dimension to Mysta's personality. In her origin, Mysta and her brother were experimented as adolescents upon, having the entirety of knowledge transferred to their minds. Not having the opportunity to mature naturally Mysta's brother became insane ofter the treatment. Forced to kill her brother, Mysta may have been too traumatized to process events rationally. She withdrew, perhaps into a different insanity and used her knowledge to build a fortress on a moon. From that remote location she toiled for years doling out knowledge in pieces and guiding humanity as they recovered from the devastation fomented by the alien entity, the so-called Mars, God of War.
In this issue which takes place in the far future of 1997, Mysta for the first time displays an emotional tie to her assistant Bron (though typically for Mysta less emotion for a victim killed directly through her actions). Also, a telling embrace Mysta does not recoil from on-panel reveals that a long-repressed sexuality or brother-complex is emerging. Hopefully future issues will reveal that misplaced feelings of guilt for her brother are not being transferred to Bron and that she is becoming instead a whole person. Whatever is happening between Mysta and Bron it is sure to be further complicated by the fact that Bron is not Bron, he was a spy sent to impersonate the real lab assistant to Mysta. Even though Faux-Bron has earned his redemption this complication is something that Mysta oddly, for all her intelligence, has chosen to repress or use in some plan of hers.
Oh, and in this chapter there is a big prison break.
Shortly after Thanksgiving is when the song by the lovely and still very much active Kay Starr, The Man With the Bag begins to play on the radio, in malls and stores all over the nation. A big hit for Miss Starr in the 1950s, it nonetheless in this day and age has no quality videos representative of it. Many, like myself, enjoy the vintage acts as a part of music history and become all frowny when we receive hear of archives being destroyed through neglect, mishap or because they were not considered important enough at the time to save for the future. Considering how popular The Man With the Bag was I'm surprised Kay Starr did not sing it for film or television. I would have expected a Scopitone at the least. If she ever had recorded the tune in any other media of the era then I can't find it or sadly there is no publicly available or archived footage of that particular performance.
As much as I generally dislike a static image used for a music video there is not a lot of suitable footage of Starr that I could artfully apply to this song. Many of the fan-made videos while heart-felt include images or scenes that kind of bug me, only because I'm old. So I put together a fake-ish LP cover to accompany the tune. I also included the lyrics because while this is a song which nearly everyone is familiar with very few know all the the words to it. Sing along and Enjoy!
Oh, Mr. Kringle, is soon gonna jingle,
The bells that’ll tinkle all your troubles away
Everybody’s waitin’ for the man with the bag,
‘Cause Christmas is comin’ again.
He’s got a sleigh full, it’s not gonna stay-full
He’s got stuff to drop at every stop on the way
Everybody’s waitin’ for the man with the bag,
‘Cause Christmas is comin’ again.
He’ll be here,
With the answers to the prayers that you made through the year
You’ll get yours
If you’ve done everything you should, extra-special good.
He’ll make this December, the one you’ll remember,
The best and the merriest you ever did have
Everybody’s waitin’ for the man with the bag
Christmas is here again!
Oh Mr. Kringle, is soon gonna jingle,
All the bells that’ll tinkle all your troubles away
Everybody’s waitin’ for the man with the bag,
Christmas is here again.
He’s got a sleigh full, and it’s not gonna stay-full
Got stuff that he’s dropping every stop on the way
Everybody’s waitin’ for the man with the bag,
Christmas is here again.
He’ll be here,
With the answer to the prayers that you made through the year.
You’ll get yours
If you’ve done everything you should, extra-special good.
He’ll make this December, the one you’ll remember,
The best and the merriest you ever did have
Everybody’s waitin’
They’re all congregatin’
Waitin’ for the man with the bag!
Better watch out now!
At two pages covering three different sizes, the assembly instructions for the retail floor cardboard display stand of the DVD movie Inception is more complicated than the film itself.
Hobo: Excuse me, can you spare...
Me: Oh, hey. Can I borrow 60 bucks?
Hobo: Uh...I don't...
Me: That's what a locksmith is going to cost to get my car running. Can I have some money?
Hobo: Sir...I don't have...
Me: But you're wearing a nicer coat than I am.
Homeless man turns and walks away.
Me: Yeah, right! How do you like it, dude?
