PopCult Rudy Panucci on Pop Culture

Sunday Evening Video: Mystery Of The Batman

November 27, 2022 by Rudy Panucci

This week PopCult brings you the first two chapters of a previously unknown 1939 movie serial based on what was then a very new comic book character, Batman. Or do we?

Here’s what is says in the YouTube description for this amazing discovery:

Here it is… Chapter 1, completely uncut, with a special introduction by Michael Monroe, Dean of Film Studies at the Dini College of Arts. Monroe is the author of “WHAT’S IN YOUR SERIAL? THE BUSTER CRABBE STORY.”

Discovered in December, 2015, MYSTERY OF THE BATMAN is a little-known serial which would have featured the first appearance of DC Comics’ Batman, in any medium, outside of comic books.

Young “Batman” author, Bob Kane, had gone to Hollywood, early in his career, in the hopes of pitching The Caped Crusader as the star of a film series. This was just as the character was being introduced in the pages of DETECTIVE COMICS magazine.

Originally intended for twelve chapters, MYSTERY OF THE BATMAN was produced by BJC Pictures, an obscure poverty row studio, which went bankrupt with only six episodes filmed and completed.

All of the studio’s assets were thought to have been destroyed, until a massive collection of 16mm prints, video transfers and original posters turned up in a barn outside of Beeville, Texas.

Thanks to the passionate effort of historians and fans, the existing chapters of MYSTERY are currently undergoing an extensive digital restoration.

It sounds incredible, doesn’t it? Well it is. See this isn’t really a long-lost find, but is, in fact, a meticulously-produced fan-made hoax, which is a loving tribute to Batman and to the early days of movie serials.

They give it all away further down in the description:

Before anyone feels too clever, I’m sure by now it’s obvious this project was produced in 2016, and in NO WAY is intended to be anything other than a loving parody.

This short film was done in good fun, as a love letter to the history of Batman and his family. Please stay tuned till the very end for the proper credits.

Thank you!- Ryan Bijan, Director

This is a real blast.  The credits are loaded with in-joke references to folks who have worked on the Batman comics over the decades. The art direction and music are spot-on, and the only big give-away that this is not a real period piece is the acknowledgement of Bill Finger as Batman’s co-creator.

In truth, Finger was not give proper credit until more than forty years after his death in 1973.  It’s a nice touch for the filmmakers to risk the joke in order to give credit where it was long overdue.

Any fan of vintage movie serials will appreciate the nods to the form, and the direct tributes in some of the shots.  This was obviously a labor of love. Ryan Bijan and his crew deserve major kudos for this.

Many thanks to Jon Raider for turning me on to this cool project. Tonight and over the next two weeks, PopCult’s Sunday Evening Video will bring you all six chapters of Mystery Of The Batman, two per week, so you can enjoy it for yourself and also enjoy waiting a week between some of the episodes, just to give you the movie serial experience.

If you’re impatient and want to watch all the chapters now, you can go to the YouTube page for Big John Creations, and visit their Facebook page for all kinds of cool behind the scenes info and other cool stuff.

Chapter One is at the head of this post, and Chapter two is below…

The RFC Flashback: Episode 38

November 26, 2022 by Rudy Panucci

From March, 2008, we jump back to a special episode of Radio Free Charleston.  This was our 38th show, “Captain America Shirt” featuring music by Captain Crash and the Beauty Queen From Mars with Joe Slack and The Spurgie Hankins Band .There’s also a commercial for the Chevrolet Corvair and some animation from Mars.

The show sports location footage from The Blue Parrot, Capitol Roasters, Capitol Street, and The Quarrier Building, home of LiveMix Studio.  This made two episodes in a row where we used The Quarrier Building for some of our host segments. At the time I was sheepishly apologetic about it, but now it’s sort of bittersweet, since that building was taken away from Charleston’s artistic community.

I’m not sure, but this might have pre-dated Bill Lynch’s regular donning of a Captain America shirt, so we may have been trailblazers.

This was a special episode because it was our first attempt at going weekly with Radio Free Charleston. We managed to squeak out four or five shows in consecutive weeks for the first time. Little did I know that, just a few years later, I would manage to do that for months at a time. Read the original production notes HERE.

The 2022 PopCult Gift Guide-Day Fifteen: Deja Vu

November 25, 2022 by Rudy Panucci

Today being Black Friday, a day many people are out of the office and therefore not reading PopCult at work, I have decided that this is a good day to revisit some gift suggestions that I’ve made in previous years. These are all for stuff that is still available, and one or two of the items have been updated, so they’re sort of new. It’s rerun day in The 2022 PopCult Gift Guide. And yes, I did this on Black Friday last year, so even the idea is recylced.

Holly Jolly: Celebrating Christmas Past in Pop Culture
by Mark Voger
TwoMorrows Publishing
ISBN-13 : 978-1605490977
$43.95

This is a book that was due out in 2020 but was delayed by the pandemic until the spring of 2021. I reviewed it in March, and here’s why you should consider giving this as a gift to the person on your shopping list who needs a little prodding to get into the holiday spirit.

Mark Voger has written a series of wonderful books of pop culture nostalgia for TwoMorrows and Holly Jolly is no different. It’s basically a collection of short, entertaining essays, lavishly illustrated, that celebrate Christmas as a pop culture phenomenon. Sections of the book are dedicated to the history of the holiday, the toys of Christmas, the books, movies, decorations, television and music of Christmas and even holiday memories from celebrities.

Holly Jolly is a brisk, enjoyable survey of fond recollections that doesn’t have to be devoured in one sitting. This is going to punch the nostalgia buttons of readers of a certain age (like yours truly) more than others, but the experiences are universal enough that anyone who grew up enjoying Christmas can identify.

Voger touches on everything from Captain Action to Gumby to “I Love Lucy,” to classic animated Christmas specials to hit holiday songs to beloved movies.

Holly Jolly: Celebrating Christmas Past in Pop Culture is a nice blast of Christmas spirit, and it’s really too much fun to hold off and read only during the holiday season. You might be able to order it from any bookseller using the ISBN code, but Amazon has it in stock now. The publisher is sold out of print editions.

Stevo’s Horses
$32.50 to $50 at Stevo’s Toys

I’ve told you about these  cool toy horses several times in PopCult, and you can still get your hands on some of these high-quality reproductions of the Marx Thunderbolt Horse, in new colors, with, or without, the cool riding gear. In fact, they’re not exactly repros. These cool toy horses are made from the original Marx molds!

These are terrific 1/6 scale horses, perfect for any 12″ action figure (or fashion doll). You can order them HERE, and be sure to check out the rest of his site for other cool Western accesories for your 1/6 scale cowboys.

These would also make great gifts for the horse lover on your shopping list who wants a little equestrian reminder of their favorite animal to keep on their mantlepiece or display shelf. The horses are available in gray or dark brown, with custom, hand-painted details. The saddle and tack is available in white, red and brown.

To make these, Stevo uses the actual 50-plus-year-old molds for the original Marx Thunderbolt horse, the faithful steed of Johnny West. As folks of a certain age are well aware, this horse is compatible with GI Joe, Captain Action, Barbie and any 12″ action figure with the proper leg articulation. These are terrific 1/6 scale horses, perfect for any 12″ action figure (or fashion doll). You can order them HERE, and be sure to check out the rest of his site for other cool Western accesories for your 1/6 scale cowboys.

Superman Smashes The Klan
writen by Gene Luen Yang , art by Gurihiru
DC Comics
ISBN-13: 978-1779504210
$16.99 (discounted at Amazon)

First off, Superman Smashes The Klan is a terrific Superman adventure. It presents the iconic, original superhero at his best, fighting bigotry and injustice and other anti-American ideals in an engrossing and entertaining story. Secondly, the story frames this adventure in a nuanced and intricate tale that explores the immigrant experience in post-World War II America. Lastly, it makes it clear that The Klan are the bad guys, something that cannot be repeated often enough or loud enough these days when White Supremecists seemingly have allies in very high places.

Written by American Born Chinese author and MacArthur Fellowship recipient Gene Luen Yang, with art by the Japanese art duo known as Gurihiro, Superman Smashes The Klan is a very timely story, executed in a near-perfect style. While totally appropriate for younger readers, the story has enough complexity and characterization to satisfy any adult reader.

Based on a summer 1946 story arc from The Adventures of Superman radio show, this is the story of Superman coming to the aid of a Chinese-American family that has just moved to Metropolis, and finds themselves under attack by The Klan of the Fiery Cross.

That radio story was created in conjunction with the Anti-Defamation League, and is credited with doing serious harm to the KKK’s recruitment efforts. The Klan even tried to organize a boycott of Kellogg’s, the radio show’s sponsor, which failed, proving that boycotts only work when they’re justifed and moral.

Yang keeps the 1946 setting, but updates and expands the story to address additional themes of the immigrant experience, and manages to very effectively tie them to Superman’s Kryptonian origins, which Clark Kent confronts for the first time in this (non-canon) story. He re-centers the story with a focus on the Lee family, and adds a daughter, Roberta (Lin-Shan) who is really the star here.

In this story Superman’s confidante on the Metropolis Police Force, Inspector Henderson, is depicted as African-American. In the regular comics he has been race-flipped before, but here it’s particular effective and greatly adds more layers of depth to the story.

This story does not only show the racism of the Klan, but also touches on the sensitive relations within the Asian community and between Asians and Blacks. It even addresses the concept of “passing,” in ways that are particularly touching. That it does so without clubbing the reader over the head with it is a testament to the talents of the storytellers.

Being that this is a stand-alone tale not set in any established continuity frees Yang from having to deal with any of the heavy baggage that 80-plus years of Superman adventures bring with them. This an old-school, liberal plea for tolerance and acceptance, the kind that bigots and demagogues despise.

A major subplot involves Superman discovering his roots for the first time, which is a new take on a story that’s been often told, and then retold before. This fresh take is really well-done.

In addition to a great script, the art by Gurihiru is perfectly suited to the story, combining the look of the Max Fleischer animated shorts with Superman: The Animated Series, and a hint of Manga, to create a slick, clean, yet detailed world that makes perfect sense.

Originally published in 2019, this three-issue series was collected into one volume, and it’s a great 220-page story that can be read without any prior exposure to the Superman mythos. The end of the book contains a great essay by Yang that gives the background of the original radio story, the history of The Klan and his own experience as an Asian-American. Given the continuing racial tension coming from the spiritual descendents of the KKK, this book is more relevant now than ever.

If you enjoy great Superhero adventures without a ton of continuity issues, but with a clear and important underlying theme, then Superman Smashes The Klan is the book for you. Available anywhere books or comics are sold.

The Art of Glen Brogan (Second Edition)
by Glen Brogan
published by HGC Art
$60.00
available from HGC Art

Charleston’s Glen Brogan is the type of artist that makes his fellow artists want to give up and pack it in. His art is so good that it’s hard to imagine anybody topping it. With a sleek style and a strong appreciation of the coolest elements of pop culture, Glen has made a name for himself with exhibits in New York and Los Angeles and work commissioned by Disney, King Features Syndicate, Marvel Comics and more. His first book was published in conjuction with an exhibit at HGCArt in Los Angeles. This new edition has even more of his amazing art.

You can order the book from HGC Art.  And that’s not the only way you can buy some of Glen’s artwork.

So, as we  have been doing for six or seven years, we are once again going to recommend the art of Charleston’s own Glen Brogan.  At his Albino Raven website you can find links to where you can buy Glen’s artwork on T shirts, prints and more.

Seriously, we’re talking about eye candy of such a high grade that it can mess with your blood sugar.

This is a great way to support a local artist who’s making his name on the international scene and treat your gift recipient to a wonderful work of art.

Marvel Comics Mini-Books Collectible Boxed Set: A History and Facsimiles of Marvel’s Smallest Comic Books
by Marvel Entertainment, Geoff Spear and Mark Evanier
Harry N. Abrams
ISBN-13 : 978-1419743429
$29.99 (heavily discounted at Amazon)

You’ll have to excuse me for being old enough to remember this, but when I was just turning four years old, the idea of finding Marvel Comics in gumball machines was mind-blowingly epic. Thanks to some older fellow comic book fans I got to see some of these treasure years later, but I was not allowed to open them because they were so fragile. These were fifty-page comic books that were smaller than a postage stamp.

Being four when they were published, I literally didn’t have a dime to spare, if I’d ever have been able to find a gumball machine stocked with these in the first place, but for years I wondered what the books were like on the inside. Now I don’t have to wonder any more.

As the blurb goes…

Reprinted for the first time, the world’s smallest comic books—originally printed in 1966 and now enlarged to a more readable size—in a seven-book collectable boxed set

In 1966, Marvel printed what the Guinness Book of World Records certified as the world’s smallest comic books. Smaller than a postage stamp, and sold in gumball machines across the country, these six books told the quirky origin stories of Marvel’s most beloved characters at that time: the Amazing Spider-Man, the Incredible Hulk, the Mighty Thor, Captain America, Sergeant Nick Fury, and Millie the Model.

Marvel Comics Mini-Books reproduces facsimile editions of all six books in one affordable box set—along with a seventh book written by Mark Evanier that details the history and creation of these rare, vintage collectables.

That seventh book is the icing on the cake that makes this package worth more than just a novelty. It includes an essay by Mark Evanier that attempts to identify the creators of these comics (many are clearly drawn by Marie Severin) and weaves his personal quest for these when they came out with the sketchy history of the company that made them. Also of value in this seventh book is that each of these mini comics is presented actual size as a two-page spread.

That may seem redundant, since each mini-comic is also printed much larger as one of the other six books in this small slipcover edition, but the truth is, they actually read better at the tinier size.

Each of the seven books measures about four by six inches, and each small hardcover fits into a slipcover that is nicely decorated with the gumball machine insert graphics for the mini comics.

Geoff Spear did an amazing job photographing and enlarging the printed mini comics, but as small as these books are, it looks like they’re actually presented here larger than the size they were originally drawn.

These are cute and quaint and scratch the itch for collectors who have wanted to see them for more than fifty years, but they’re also a pretty cool gift for new fans of the Marvel Universe who are curious about the early days of Marvel’s merchandising. The “comics” are mostly one-panel drawings facing a page of text, but they’re a pretty cool example of forced minimalism in comics.

You might be able to order Marvel Comics Mini-Books Collectible Boxed Set: A History and Facsimiles of Marvel’s Smallest Comic Books from any bookseller using the ISBN code, or, since it came out over two years ago, you can snap it up from Amazon for almost half the original price.  It’s a great gift for any longtime Marvel Comics fan.

And that wraps up The 2022 PopCult Gift Guide for this week. We have one more week to go, that’s a mere 25 more suggestions, so don’t forget to check back here Monday, but also, don’t forget our regular weekend features here at PopCult.

MIRRORBALL and Sydney’s Big Electric Cat are NEW Friday!

by Rudy Panucci

The PopCulteer
November 25, 2022

It’s one month before Christmas, and Friday afternoon we offer up new episodes of MIRRORBALL and Sydney’s Big Electric Cat. The AIR is PopCult‘s sister radio station. You can hear these shows on The AIR website, or just click on the embedded player right here…

At 2 PM, Mel Larch uncorks a new MIRRORBALL! The AIR’s showcase of classic Disco music presents a collection songs from the heyday of polyester, gold lamé, mirrored balls and lighted dancefloors. We don’t have a fancy theme this week, just meaty, beaty, funky Disco music. Check out the playlist…

MIRRORBALL 063

The Three Degrees “The Runner”
Sister Sledge “Lost in Music
Boney M “Gotta Go Home”
Voyage “Let’s Fly Away”
Dan Hartman “This Is It”
Edwin Starr “H.A.P.P.Y. Radio”
Diana Ross “The Boss”
The Isley Brothers “It’s A Disco Night”
Cher “Take Me Home”
Shalamar “Take That To The Bank”
Giorgio Moroder “Knights In White Satin”
Stars on 45 “Abba Medley”
Odyssey “Native New Yorker”
Rose Royce “Is It love You’re After”
Chic “My Feet Keep Dancing”

You can hear MIRRORBALL every Friday at 2 PM, with replays throughout the following week.

At 3 PM, Sydney Fileen graces us with the a dancey new episode of  of Sydney’s Big Electric Cat.  This time around, Sydney is so happy that she wants to dance, and that means we get the sixth Big Electric Cat mixtape of New Wave 12″ extended remixes. She does begin the show on a slightly somber note, with a quick nod to the late Keith Leven.  Peruse this here playlist for a preview…

BEC 098

Public Image Limited “Death Disco”
B 52s “Rock Lobster”
M “Pop Musik”
Ian Dury & The Blockheads “Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick”
Flying Lizards “Money”
Lene Lovich “Lucky Number”
Japan “Life In Tokyo”
Sparks “Beat The Clock”
Big Audio Dynamite ” E = MC²”
Thompson Twins “Love On Your Side”
Soft Cell “Tainted Love/Where Did Our Love Go”
The Sisters of Mercy “Temple of Love”
Dead or Alive “My Heart Goes Bang”
Toyah “It’s A Mystery”
Aztec Camera “Somewhere In My Heart”
Strawberry Switchblade “Since Yesterday”
Scritti Politti “Hypnotize”
Oingo Boingo “Not My Slave”
Cyndi Lauper “Girls Just Want To Have Fun”

Sydney’s Big Electric Cat is produced at Haversham Recording Institute in London, and can be heard every Friday at 3 PM, with replays Saturday afternoon,  Monday at 7 AM, Tuesday at 8 PM, Wednesday at Noon and Thursday at 10 AM, exclusively on The AIR.

Saturday evening at 9 PM, instead of our usual mini-marathon of MIRRORBALL, we will be running three episodes of Mel Larch’s other show for The AIR, Curtain Call, which will pay tribute to the legendary Broadway composer, Stephen Sondheim, on the first anniversary of his death. We’ll also run this Sunday evening beginning at 6 PM.

That’s what’s new on The AIR Friday, and that is this week’s PopCulteer. Check back later today for the ghosts of gift suggestions past in The 2022 PopCult Gift Guide, and come back for our regular features every day.  Next week is the final week for the gift guide, so hunker down and start buying this stuff already!

Special note: PopCult may disappear from this location at The Charleston Gazette-Mail soon. Don’t miss out on our new posts at our NEW HOME. Bookmark the new site, and subscribe to our RSS feed. You can also follow PopCult and Rudy Panucci on social media at Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

The 2022 PopCult Gift Guide-Day Fourteen: STUFF TO DO

November 24, 2022 by Rudy Panucci

It’s Thanksgiving Day and hardly anybody is going to be reading the blog until tomorrow, so today, instead of suggesting material things you can buy, The 2022 PopCult Gift Guide presents five things that folks local to Charleston, WV, can do on Friday and Saturday.

Black Friday Artwalk
Downtown Charleston

From 5 PM to 8 PM Friday, Charleston’s downtown galleries and art-friendly spaces will play host to artists selling their wares. Art makes a great gift, and this is a great way to support the local scene.

Highlights include Jake Fertig’s work at Stray Dog Antiques; The work of Appalachian Gothic at WV Market; Blacklight ArtWalk at Aronfield will have art by folks at Hole in the Wall and live music by Emmalea Deal; There will also be Holly Jolly Brawley set up in the Brawley Walkway and downtown stores will stay open late so you can shop local, support the local scene and keep your holiday dollars in the community.

Record Store Day
Budget Tapes & Records and Sullivan’s Records

A great place to find gifts for the music lover on your list is this year’s Black Friday Record Store Day, the national movement to get people into records shops by offering hundreds of exclusive releases on one day each year, has expanded to a second day in recent years with a smaller, but still impressive slate of exclusive limited edition vinyl releases on Black Friday.

Locally, Budget Tapes and Records (3708 MacCorkle Ave SE, in Kanawha City) and Sullivan’s Records (1588-A Washington Street East on Charleston’s Historic East End) are participating, with special vinyl releases from Ringo Starr, David Bowie, Duran Duran, Ultravox and dozens of other great artists, and new and unreleased music from history’s greatest musicians. You can find a full list of available records HERE. Sullivn’s opens at 8 AM and Budget opens at 9:30.

Black Friday & Small Business Saturday at Eclectic Goods Market

The area’s newest cool shopping destination, located in the teeming Metropolis of Dunbar, will be open Friday and Saturday with tons of discounts and specials. This very large antique and artisan mall will be open 11 AM to 6 PM both days, and they’re promising all kinds of holiday shopping specials as vendors will have discounts up to 50% off and are stocked up on loads of new inventory.

Among the weekends specials there will be:  Gift card giveaways up to $100 (Saturday only);  Gift Wrapping prices starting at $3;  Free kids craft kits;  Curated gifts under $20.

Eclectic Goods Market is located at 1401 Charles Ave, Dunbar, WV. If you’re old enough to remember, it’s the former location of FAD Furniture.

Scarpelli & Kehde’s MARY: A Rock Opera
Elk City Playhouse

Mark Scarpelli and Dan Kehde’s rock opera, MARY,a Charleston tradition, opens this coming Friday. This is the first production of the show following the death of its composer, Mark Scarpelli, earlier this year, and while it’s bittersweet, it is good to see the tradition carry on.

Let me repeat myself from a few days ago and remind you that, to get in the mood for this production by Charleston Youth Arts Company, you can sample a Radio Free Charleston playlist of clips from previous  productions in Sunday Evening Video from a few days ago. This year MARY happens at the Elk City Playhouse at 218 W Washington St, Charleston, on the city’s historic West Side.

MARY: A Rock Opera returns for its 26th season on Friday, November 25th and runs through December 4th. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for students and seniors. The story follows Mary, the young girl destined to be the mother of Jesus, through the 9 months prior to the birth of Christ. MARY paints a poignant picture of an ordinary girl thrown into the ultimate of extraordinary circumstances.

Seating is limited, so we suggest you purchase tickets ahead of time HERE.

Live Music at The Shop (Dunbar) Sam’s Uptown Cafe (Charleston)

John Inghram Band and The Settlement will be at The Shop Friday, November 25th 2022. Doors open at 8 PM and the show begins at 9 PM. Admission is $12 at the door.

Born and raised in Charleston, West Virginia, John Inghram was steeped in the historic music of the region. His mother’s side of the family were church musicians, and he was exposed to bluegrass, country, gospel, and old-time music as a kid. On his self-titled debut album, John Inghram, the accomplished bass player seizes the present moment to step into the spotlight as a front man. With a collection of 60’s and 70’s psychedelic rock tunes, Inghram sets modern experiences to vintage sounds, allowing his listeners to feel time as circular in nature, hitting on the right now with both nostalgia and innovation.

The Settlement is a funk-fusion jam band from Huntington, WV. Cleverly combining rowdy rock riffs, complex jazz harmonies, funky bass lines, dreamy pop melodies, jammin’ reggae grooves and a multitude of diverse world music influences, the eclectic ensemble truly offers something for everyone. Each member has their own unique flavor and contributes to the bands’ vast array of sounds. Each set is different from the last, offering an original live performance that thrives on energy, improvisation, communication and creativity.

Both bands are heard often on Radio Free Charleston, on The AIR.

BYZANTINE’s CD RELEASE show happens at Sam’s Uptown Cafe Friday night. Join BYZANTINE and POTTERA (Pantera Tribute Band) for the official release of BYZANTINE’S new EP, BLACK SEA CODEX. This show is sponsored by Blackened Whiskey. Tickets are $15 in advance or $20 at the door. The show is general admission and doors open at 8 PM.

There are also VIP tickets that allow fans to hang out with the band at the merch booth, get pics and autographs along with finger foods and complimentary beverages until showtime.

BYZANTINE are internationally acclaimed Metal Gods, based here in Charleston, and getting the chance to see them in an intimate setting is a rare treat. They are also heard frequently on Radio Free Charleston.

That is our Thanksgiving Day sort of gift guide entry. Check back tomorrow for new radio shows and another edition of The 2022 PopCult Gift Guide. And Happy Thanksgiving from PopCult!

Revolving Around The Circle of Life on The AIR

November 23, 2022 by Rudy Panucci
Wednesday afternoon The AIR brings you a special new episodes of Curtain Call and Beatles Blast.  You can tune in at the website, or if you’re on a laptop or desktop, you could just stay right here and  listen to the convenient embedded radio player right here…

At 2 PM Beatles Blast Dives headfirst into the new Super Deluxe Edition of The Beatles’ Revolver album, with an hour of new mixes, previously unheard demos and rehearsals and all sorts of cool studio outtakes.

Revolver is considered the band’s best album by huge chunk of Beatles fandom, and it’s amazing how they were able to use audio technology invented for The Beatles Get Back project to isolate the voices and instruments on the original four-track recordings to create a bold new mix. The bonus cuts are revelatory, showing how the band wrote their songs and tracing the evolution of different tracks.

This week’s show gives you a taste of this must-have boxed set of Beatles’ rarities.

Beatles Blast can be heard every Wednesday at 2 PM, with replays Thursday at 11 PM, Friday at 1 PM,  and Saturday afternoon.

At 3 PM on Curtain Call, Mel Larch salutes  25 years of Disney’s The Lion King on Broadway. Naysayers didn’t see how an animated film about talking and singing animals could be translated to the stage but Julie Taymor devised a way to do it that works so well that the play is still running on The Great White Way and touring all over the world.

With additional songs by Lebo M, Mark Mancina, Jay Rifkin, Julie Taymor, and Hans Zimmer fleshing out the songs written for the movie by Elton John and Time Rice, and innovative puppets helping represent the animals, The Lion King has proven to be a timeless classic of the stage.

In this episode of Curtain Call, Mel assembles a mixtape from the Original Soundtrack Album, the Original Broadway Cast album and even the Mexican Cast Album to  pay tribute to the many successful iterations of this beloved musical.

Curtain Call can be heard on The AIR Wednesday at 3 PM, with replays Thursday at 8 AM, Friday at 10 AM, Saturday at 8 PM and Monday at 9 AM. A six-hour marathon of classic episodes can be heard Sunday evening starting at 6 PM, and an all-night marathon of Curtain Call episodes can be heard Wednesday nights, beginning at Midnight.

Also on The AIR, Wednesday at 11 PM,  The Comedy Vault revisits its fifth episode, as our comedy showcase takes the rest of 2022 off.. The Comedy Vault can be heard every Wednesday at 11 PM, with the featured episodes replayed a couple of weeks later, Monday at 8 PM. New episodes begin again in January.

Special note: PopCult may disappear from this location at The Charleston Gazette-Mail soon. Don’t miss out on our new posts at our NEW HOME. Bookmark the new site, and subscribe to our RSS feed. You can also follow PopCult and Rudy Panucci on social media at Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

The 2022 PopCult Gift Guide-Day Twelve: Graphic Novels & Comics

November 22, 2022 by Rudy Panucci

Today we’re going to recommend some graphic novels, or collections of comics, in The 2022 PopCult Gift Guide.

Captain Action: The Classic Collection
by Gil Kane, Jim Shooter, Wallace Wood
forward by Mark Waid
IDW Publishing
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1684058907
$29.99 (discounted at Amazon)

Captain Action was a 12″ action figure that could be dressed up as a variety of superheroes, using outfits (each sold separately). Thanks to the less-sophisticated licensing deals of the day, Ideal Toys was able to offer outfits for the Captain featuring heroes from DC Comics, Marvel, King Features Syndicate and more. It was a great gimmick and the toy line did good business until the 1960s superhero boom went bust after a couple of years.

However, during that time DC Comics picked up the license to produced a comic book based on Captain Action. It lasted five bizarre and intriguing issues, and those make up the bulk of this book.

Captain Action: The Classic Collection collects the entire five-issue run of the comic book, complete with covers and bonus material.

Since the character was pretty much a blank slate, much of his mythos had to be created out of thin air by the writer of his first two issues, a teenaged Jim Shooter (later to be a controversial editor at Marvel and Valiant Comics). Shooter, under the guidance of editors Mort Weisinger and Julie Schwartz, came up with his secret identity (Clive Arno), his job (Archeology Professor with a Museum named after him) and a source of super powers (magic coins imbued with the power of the gods).  The series featured spectacular art, with the first drawn solo by the legendary Wally Wood, and the second with Wood’s inks over the equally legendary Gil Kane.

After the first two issues, which told the origin of Captain Action and gave us a great Silver age super hero action story, Shooter was gone. With the third issue, Kane took over as both the writer and penciller (and he even inked the fourth issue himself). It was at this point that the series took a turn toward the psychotronic.

With Gil Kane in charge (under the editing of Julie Schwartz), Captain Action became one of the first truly psychedelic superhero comics. Dr. Evil was introduced, but instead of simply being his “enemy from Alpha Centuri,” as the toy was identified, Dr. Evil in the comics was an alturistic scientist mutated by an accident who becomes a god-like blue-skinned alien with an exposed brain and telepathic powers…who now hates humanity.

Captain Action is very much a work of its time, and when Kane took over writing the book, the influences of Heinlein, Harlan Ellison, and a culture that was experimenting with all kinds of ways to expand your mind were in the air. Kane’s stories are cosmically aware, yet are still filled with superhero action and great comic book melodrama.

Highly recommend for the toy collector/comic book fan on your holiday shopping list.

Fantastic Four: Full Circle
by Alex Ross
Harry N. Abrams/Marvel Arts
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1419761676
$24.99 (discounted at Amazon)

Fantastic Four: Full Circle is a stunning valentine to Jack Kirby and his brilliant late-1960s run on Marvel’s Fantastic Four. With dialogue and editing by Stan Lee, Kirby told epic superhero tales of cosmic adventure that set the standard for the Marvel Universe.  Alex Ross has long been established as a master of telling dynamic superhero stories with a photorealistic style. Full Circle is the first time that he’s handled both the writing and the art solo, with no collaborators.

This is the first “Marvel Arts” book, a joint venture of Abrams Arts and Marvel, and it gets the imprint off to a strong start. Ross jumps right in, unburdoned by decades of complicated continuity, and tells a direct sequel to a couple of Kirby/Lee FF stories from the 1960s.

The end result is a spectacularly-illustrated 64 page story that reads like a lost classic Fantastic Four Annual from thecomic’s peak period. The artwork of Alex Ross is pure eye candy, and he shows off the strength of his layouts here as well. He perfectly recreates the fast pace of the classic comics and crams tons of action into a very short space.

Ross did not paint the art here. It’s drawn traditionally and colored by Ross with Josh Johnson in wild day-glo hues, with digital effects to lend the art the hand-separated dot-pattern look of old school comics. It’s got just the right touch of nostalgia, without turning it into a gimmick.  Another really nice touch is a fold-out dustcover that retells the origin of The Fantastic Four, just to bring new readers up to speed.

The story itself is an adventure in the Negative Zone, which spins out of dangling storylines left over from the Kirby days. It is everything a fan could want in a Fantastic Four story set in the Negative Zone.

Ironically, despite its setting in the Negative Zone, the story is overwhelmingly upbeat and positive. Thematically it would fit right in with the treasury-sized specials that Ross did with Paul Dini at DC over twenty years ago.

Fantastic Four: Full Circle is a must-have gift for any fan of classic Marvel comics.

The Spider: Crime Unlimited
written by Jerry Siegel, Donne Avenell
art by Aldo Marculeta. Giorgio Trevisan
Rebellion Publishing
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1786184658
$24.18

From British comics of the 1960s comes The Spider. The Spider was the most accomplished criminal in the world, to the point where he got bored hanging out with other criminal masterminds and started fighting crime alongside the police. Because he was the smartest man in the world, nobody every really trusted him, but when it came to foiling epic plots to dominate the Earth, he was the go-to savior of the planet.

The character is a bit sinister-looking. He had a large nose, pointed ears and a widow’s peak. That he usually wore a black bodysuit makes him bear an uncanny resemblance to the Golden Age depiction of Captain Marvel’s strongest foe, Black Adam. However he didn’t have that kind of superpowers. He was sort of like a Bond villain who would switch sides and help the good guys. It’s also worth noting that while The Spider’s adventures span the globe, he is based in New York City, which was a bit unusual for a British comic of the day.

This hardcover reprint volume collects two long adventures of The Spider from 1967, and there’s a lot of note here.  The first story is written by none other than Jerry Siegel, the co-creator of Superman, who found himself begging for work after DC Comics (then National Periodical Publications) blacklisted him for trying to reclaim ownership of his creation. Somehow he found himself writing for the top publisher of comics in Britain, and his work here is among his best.

Although the pacing and structure of the comic book is very much in line with UK comics aimed at kids, the ideas at work here are more subtle and sophisticated than one might expect. The dialogue is state-of-the-art 1960’s spy/action jargon, but the plot of this story, which opens with The Spider robbing a retirement trophy from the police commissioner, veers into the morality of mind control as a professor attempts to create a ray that will turn evil people good, and that experiment backfires, turning the professor evil instead, while giving him super powers.

The Spider: Crime Unlimited is a great introduction to one of the more unusual British comic book characters of the 1960s. I highly recommend it for fans of the period, fans of the spy/crime genre or just anybody who likes good comics. You ought to be able to order it from your favorite comic book shop or bookseller, or through Amazon.

Love and Rockets: The First Fifty: The Classic 40th Anniversary Collection
by GILBERT HERNANDEZ, JAIME HERNANDEZ, MARIO HERNANDEZ
Fantagraphics
ISBN-13 9781683965541
$400.00

This is the most expensive non-regrigerator gift suggestion in this years PopCult Gift Guide, but it’s worth every penny. In celebration of the 40th anniversary of Fantagraphics’ flagship series, this prestigious box set presents bound facsimiles of the original fifty issues of the Love and Rockets comics magazines.

Gilbert and Jaime Hernandez are now recognized as two of the greatest cartoonists in the history of the medium — award-winning, world-renowned, critically acclaimed. But in 1982 when the first issue of Love and Rockets came out, they (occasionally working with their brother, Mario) were two young, struggling, unknown cartoonists who were bucking the dominant comic book trend of costumed characters and adolescent content with intimate, complex, humane, novelistic stories told in comics form. Love and Rockets has appeared in a variety of formats over the years and continues to this day, but the original 50-issue run represents a milestone in comics history. Fantagraphics is celebrating and honoring the 40th anniversary of Love and Rockets and the debut of the Hernandez’s’ first published comics with a gigantic eight-volume slipcase reprinting each issue in a facsimile edition.

Their organic body of work is available in a series of scrupulously and logically organized graphic novels, but here Fantagraphics honors the original quarterly format by presenting the comics as they appeared between 1981 and 1996, recreating not only the reading experience of tens of thousands of fans, but of a particularly fecund period in comics history when a new generation of cartoonists was exploding the idea of what comics could be. Painstakingly recreated in issue-by-issue facsimile, this boxed set includes every cover, comics page, and letter column (even advertising!) in seven hardcover volumes. An eighth volume densely collates selected essays, reviews, and profiles that appeared in the popular (and unpopular) press between 1981 and 1996, along with over 100 pages of additional, rarely-seen comics from the period by all three Brothers, plus dozens of book and magazine covers – a virtual history of the growth of Love and Rockets and the simultaneous rise of the literary comics movement of which they were exemplars and trailblazers.

Love and Rockets: The First Fifty: The Classic 40th Anniversary Collection is part of the Love and Rockets series. Recommended for the comics fan on your holiday shopping list that you love enough to drop four hundred bucks on.

Groo Meets Tarzan
by Sergio Aragones with Mark Evanier and Thomas Yeates
Dark Horse
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1506722375
$19.99 (discounted at Amazon)

Groo The Wanderer, the hapless barbarian created by Sergio Aragones for a benefit comic forty years ago, has proven to be one of the most durable independent comic characters ever since, appearing in books published by Pacific Comics, Eclipse, image, Marvel’s Epic imprint and Dark Horse Comics.  Aided and abeted by Mark Evanier, Aragones has told his tales of the clueless harbinger of destruction at a steady pace for decades now.

In Groo Meets Tarzan, jungle adventure, time travel and wizardry come into play as the bumbling barbarian encounters the cunning lord of the jungle. Will Groo wind up destroying the jungle itself or teaming up with Tarzan to fight slavers?

With cartoonist Sergio lost and running from hungry lions in Chula Vista’s Jungle Safari Land and script writer Mark doing panels all day at Comic-Con International, how will this comic get finished? Legendary Tarzan artist Thomas Yeates swings in to help! Plus—the legendary Rufferto backup strips from the comic series and an introduction by Mark Evanier are also included! The confident lord of the jungle meets the dangerous master of cheese dip!

This book collects Groo Meets Tarzan comics #1 to #4, and is a great gift for fans of Aragones’ work in MAD Magazine, fans of Groo, fans of Tarzan or just any comics reader with a healthy sense of humor.

Available from any bookseller, or from Amazon, at a discount.

There you have five gift suggestions for today. Check back tomorrow as The 2022 PopCult Gift Guide brings you a day filled with totally randome gift ideas.

New RFC and The Swing Shift For Which To Give Thanks

by Rudy Panucci
It’s Tuesday on The AIR  and that means it’s Radio Free Charleston time, and we also have a new edition of The Swing Shift for you enjoy. You simply have to point your cursor over and tune in at the website, or you could just stay here, and  listen to the cool embedded player found here…

We have three full hours of music, much of it new, local and not, at 10 AM and 10 PM Tuesday.   This week our latest Radio Free Charleston has killer new tunes from loads of artists, and I’m going to tell you all about them now.

We open the show and also our second hour with tracks from the new Payback’s A Bitch album, This Is My Life. What’s cool about this (other than it’s the first PaB album in years) is that this is a punk rock operetta in four acts (plus and overture and an epilogue) written and performed by Thom Copher.  It tells the story of The Hooligans, a London-based punk band contemporary to The Clash, The Sex Pistols and The Ramones, who released a couple of singles in 1976, and didn’t quite find the acclaim of that the other bands of the day did. It celebrates the raw energy of punk rock and combines it with the surreal aspect of surviving your dreams and wondering what the hell happened.  We’ll be hearing more tracks from this project in the coming weeks.

Folowing that, we have a preview track from a Chicago-area team up between the progressive pop band, Tautologic,  and the traditional Cletic band, Character Fleadh (that’s pronounced “Flaw” which makes the pun work–thanks to Ethan from Tautologic for saving me from mangling that word).  This preview track from an album due next March features world-renowned Irish accordionist John Williams.

Also from our Chicago pipeline, we have a track from Daniel Gunderson, who has been performing in various venues for the last 40 years, across a variety of instruments and musical styles. He has mostly played in bands (and often as a backup instrumentalist) but has now stepped out on his own as a solo performer.  Ravenslake Music has just released his solo debut studio album. The album Remember, a collection of Gunderson originals and covers of tunes by Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, Toad the Wet Sprocket, and The Rolling Stones,

Another cool band making their RFC debut is The Routes, who, on their album The Twang Machine, perform surf-guitar covers of songs by Kraftwerk. They turn  up in our first and third hours because, well, you know…”surf-guitar covers of songs by Kraftwerk.”

Throughout the show we continue our mix of local, independent and major-label artists, just to keep you on your toes.  This week chunks of the show veer a little country, then a little New Wave-y, then we sort of go all over the map.

Check out the playlist below to see all the goodies we have in store. Live links will take you to the artist’s page…

RFC V5 109

hour one
Payback’s a Bitch “This Is My Life”
Logical Fleadh “Merry Blacksmith-Swinging On The Gate”
Tyler Childers “Jubilee (Jubilee Version)”
Daniel Gunderson “Gravel From The Dirt”
Annie Neely “Patchwork Quilt”
Paul Callicoat “The Hills Beyond”
Heavy Set Paw Paws “(Pressin’) The Leather”
The Routes “Pocket Calculator”
Frenchy And The Punk “Blood”
Nervous Twitch “It’s Going To Be OK”
The Company Stores “A New Leaf”
Madness with Paul Weller “Audition/The Harder They Come”
J Marinelli “Everything Begins”
Carl Perkins “Gone, Gone, Gone”
The Paranoid Style  “Doug Yule”
Stark Raven “Radio”

hour two
Payback’s A Bitch “Johnny and Jenny”
Buni Muni “Old School
Erasure “Rock Me Gently”
Danny Elfman “We Belong (Squarepusher Remix)”
David Synn “Conception of Aries”
The Smashing Pumpkins “The Good In Goodbye”
Yoko Oginome “Nudist”
Bane Star “Perfectly Designed”
Aurora “Cure For Me”
Animal Hospital “Paralarva”
Spencer Elliott SE3 “Insignificant”
Agile Thumb “In One Ear (Out The Other)”
Mike Batt & Friends “Stel Me, Free Me, Shake Me, Save Me”

hour three
The Routes “Autobahn”
Fitz & The Tantrums “Heaven”
Novelty Island “Elizabeth”
The Lickerish Quartet “New Days”
Jordan Andrew Jefferson “Crybaby”
Emmalea Deal “Sugar and Champagne”
Joseph Hale “Church of Paranoia”
Mediogres “Chef’s Kiss”
Christine and the Queens “Tu sais ce qu’il me faut”
Bobby McFerrin “Sunshine of Your Love”
Three’s Company Blues “Pray For The Thunder”
John Entwistle “Left For Dead”
Speedsuit “Riddle”

You can hear this episode of Radio Free Charleston Tuesday at 10 AM and 10 PM on The AIR, with replays Wednesday at 9 AM,  Thursday at 3 PM, Friday at 9 AM, Saturday at Noon and Midnight,  and  Monday at 11 AM, exclusively on The AIR. Now you can also hear a different episode of RFC every weekday at 5 PM, and we bring you a marathon all night long Saturday night/Sunday morning.

I’m also going to  embed a low-fi, mono version of this show right in this post, right here so you can listen on demand.

 

After RFC, stick around for encores of  MIRRORBALL at 1 PM and Curtain Call at 2 PM.

At 3 PM we have a new hour of The Swing Shift that’s loaded with a combination of unexpected surprises and Swing Music standards.  Check out this playlist…

The Swing Shft 134

Clarence ‘Gatemouth’ Brown “I Want You For My Girlfriend”
Tyler Pedersen “Striden on Europa (Mellotron version)”
David Campbell “Birth of The Blues”
Minor Swing “Scooterville”
Sugarpie And The Candymen “Otherside”
Benny Goodman and Peggy Lee “I Got It Bad and That Ain’t Good”
Duke Ellington “I’ve Got The World On A String”
Jelly Roll Morton “Kansas City Stomp”
Phil Harris “Chattanooga Shoe Shine Boy”
Louis Jordan “Choo Choo Ch-Boogie”
Amos Milburn “Down The Road Apiece”
Quincy Jones Big Band “Happy Faces”
Nat King Cole “But She’s My Buddy’s Chick”
Pink Turtle “Billie Jean”
Kenny ‘Blues Boss’ Wayne “Stewball”
Glenn Miller “Sweet Potato Piper”

You can hear The Swing Shift Tuesday at 3 PM, with replays Wednesday at 8 AM, Friday at 10 AM and 8 PM and Saturday afternoon, only on The AIR . You can also hear all-night marathons, seven hours each, starting at Midnight Thursday and Sunday evenings.

Special note: PopCult may disappear from this location at The Charleston Gazette-Mail soon. Don’t miss out on our new posts at our NEW HOME. Bookmark the new site, and subscribe to our RSS feed. You can also follow PopCult and Rudy Panucci on social media at Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

The 2022 PopCult Gift Guide-Day Eleven: New Board Games

November 21, 2022 by Rudy Panucci

Last week we told you about retro board games, but today in The 2022 PopCult Gift Guide we’re going to recommend NEW board games for the gamer on your holiday shopping list.

You Lying Sack
by Exploding Kittens and Penn Jillette
$19.99
Available exclusively from Exploding Kittens

You Lying Sack is an honest-to-goodness game about lying. It is a first-of-its kind collaboration with Penn Jillette of the legendary magic-duo Penn & Teller. To play, reach into the Lying Sack, grab something, then look into each player’s eye and lie to them. Or don’t. They must decide: are you lying about what’s in your hand? Will you outsmart your opponents? Or will you get caught?

As we have seen, lying is an essential talent needed to advance in conservative politics, so a young kid might hone the skills with this game that they can use to run the country into the ground in the future!

It’s a fun game, for ages seven and up, and for two to five players. Average gametime is around fifteen minutes.

Target: Rats | The Board Game
by Transit Tees
$45 This is a pre-order that will ship on November 30th, in plenty of time for Christmas
Available from the Transit Tees website

In every alley in the city of Chicago, you can find a bright yellow poster with a mean-looking rat under a red cross hair, warning you of how dangerous rats are and to alert you that exterminators have planted rat poison in the area. Printed in bold red letters on the poster is the slogan, “IF RATS CAN’T FEED, RATS CAN’T BREED.”

In this game, you will be playing as the head of a family of rats trying your best to survive in this hostile environment. You must lead your family to victory by scavenging for food to feed your rats, then breeding to produce more rats, and establishing new nests to grow your territory. Finally, you must become Da Big Cheese to control Rat City at the heart of the underground. But beware! In the big city, a rat can meet danger around every corner!

Suitable for ages ten and up, and for two to four players. Average gametime is 60 to 90 miinutes.

Contents:
1 20″ x 20″ Game Board
48 Painted and Screen Printed Wooden Rat Pawns
1 Painted and Screen Printed Wooden Exterminator Pawn
8 Painted and Screen Printed Wooden Dumpsters
1 Painted and Screen Printed Wooden Deep Dish Pizza
4 Painted and Screen Printed Wooden Sewer Covers
16 Chipboard Nest Markers
79 Cards full of Prizes and Perils that a city rat might encounter
8 Custom Six-sided Dice

This is a great way to turn a problem into a fun way to pass the time, and if you scroll down the page you order from, you’ll find lots of Rat-related merchandise.
Not recommended for the rat-hater on your shopping list.

GO GO GARGOYLE! THE GAME
by Archie McPhee
$24.95
Available from Archie McPhee

The Horrible Horseman has defeated the gargoyles that defended Crowning Castle and thrown everything into chaos. A new batch of baby gargoyles has been birthed from the fire demon to retake the castle and protect it from future attacks.

These gargoyles have got to save the kingdom! This simple game takes you through a magical kingdom full of ghosts, cryptids and grumpy wizards. Includes a fantastic detail-filled game board, four 1-1/8″ tall gargoyle tokens and 54 standard-sized, 2-1/2″ x 3-1/2″ illustrated cards.

It’s a game about brave little gargoyles. A game board, cards and mini-gargoyles are included.

Race to the castle to defeat Horrible Horseman, battle monsters, traverse the catacombs and mediate a divorce.

Recommended for ages eight and up, and for two to four players.

Horrified: American Monsters Strategy Board Game
by Ravensburger Games
$31.99
Available from Target

This is a new edition of a game I recommend last year. This time, instead of fighting the Universal Monsters, players work together to save the town from classic cryptids monsters: Bigfoot, Mothman, the Chupacabra, the Jersey Devil, the Ozark Howler, and the Banshee of the Badlands.

That’s right, Point Pleasant’s own harbinger of doom is one of the characters in this game.

Each unique monster requires different strategies and tactics to be defeated. Adjust the difficulty by facing different groups of monsters, each represented by a sculpted miniature. Will you be victorious against American’s legendary cryptids?

Recommended for ages ten and up, and one to five players. Playing Time can range from 45 minutes to two hours, depending on how you play.

Game Contents: 1 Game Board, 6 Monster Mats, 6 Monster Figures, 7 Investigator ID Tiles, 7 Investigator Standees, 13 Citizen Standees, 22 Bases, 60 Item Tokens, 45 Monster Tokens, 1 Terror Marker, 1 Frenzy Marker, 30 Monster Cards, 20 Perk Cards, 5 Reference Cards, Item Bag, 3 Dice, Rules

Space Explorers
by 25th Century Games
$25
Available from Amazon

The conquest of space was one of the greatest achievements of the 20th century. In 1957, the first satellite – named sputnik 1- was launched into orbit. Just four years later, Yuri gagarin was the first human in space, aboard the spaceship vostok 1.This game is dedicated to the early space explorers: all the outstanding people who worked to make space travel possible. As Yuri gagarin said at the moment of his launch: “let’s go!”

In this game you are the head of a research & development hub in a space research center, competing with other such hubs in the spirit of the Golden age of astronautics. Your goal is to complete large- scale space projects by gathering The best and brightest minds humanity has to offer.You score progress points by recruiting specialists and completing projects. The game ends when all available projects are completed, or you have recruited 12 specialists to your hub. The player who made the most progress Is the winner!

Specialists are assigned to the divisions according to their skills. The more specialists you have in a division, the easier It is to recruit new ones to that division.

All specialists have unique abilities. Only the ability of the top card in each stack is Active. Therefore, by adding a new specialist, you often get a new ability but lose the other one. Think carefully what is more important for you at that moment in the game!

Recommended for teens and up, this game features absolutely gorgeous graphics that capture the retro-space program feel of the Apollo era.

That’s our new board game recommendations for this year. Tomorrow The 2022 PopCult Gift Guide will recommend more graphic novels!

Monday Morning Art: What City

by Rudy Panucci

 

This week’s art is a quick pastel crayon expressionistic imaginary city scene.  Parts of it are inspired by photos I took in Chicago, New York and Columbus, but since I wasn’t going for a high-detail depiction of anything, it doesn’t really matter.  This was a small piece done to limber up my fingers and present a non-specific sunny day in an urban setting.

Because it’s been so bleak and dreary here, this was my little bit of escapism.

To see it bigger try clicking HERE.

Meanwhile, Monday at 2 PM on The AIR, we bring you a new episode of Psychedelic Shack, and then at 3 PM a new edition of Herman Linte’s weekly showcase of the Progressive Rock of the past half-century, Prognosis.  You can listen to The AIR at the website, or on the embedded radio player right here…

Since I’m still waiting on these shows and their accompanying playlists to download as of Sunday evening, I have no way to tell you what’s going to be in these shows.

On Psychedelic Shack, Nigel Pye offers up an hour-long mixtape of Psychedelic Music, which is how he do.

Psychedelic Shack can be heard every Monday at 2 PM, with replays Tuesday at 9 AM, Wednesday at 10 PM, Friday at 1 PM,  and Saturday at 9 AM.

On a classic Prognosis, Herman Linte presents another mysterious new program.

You can hear Prognosis on The AIR Monday at 3 PM, with replays Tuesday at 7 AM, Wednesday at 8 PM, Thursday at Noon, and Saturday at 10 AM. You can hear two classic episodes of the show Sunday at 2 PM.

Tonight at 8 PM you can hear an hour of classic musical comedy from Noel Coward on The Comedy Vault. Wednesday evening at 10 PM, we’ll have another rerun this week because somebody is busy writing a gift guide.

Then, at 9 PM we bring you an overnight marathon of Psychedelic Shack, with a fun selection of random episodes from the last five years.

And check back around noon. That’s when we plan to post Day Six of The 2022 PopCult Gift Guide! Today we have five new board games to suggest.

Special note: PopCult may disappear from this location at The Charleston Gazette-Mail soon. Don’t miss out on our new posts at our NEW HOME. Bookmark the new site, and subscribe to our RSS feed. You can also follow PopCult and Rudy Panucci on social media at Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.