For All Mankind #33

Rob and Super Friend Delvin Williams review “The Secret of the Stolen Solitaire” by E. Nelson Bridwell, Ramona Fradon, and Vince Colletta, from SUPER FRIENDS #33! Plus another installment of For All Merchkind and Listener Feedback!

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Opening and closing themes by Hanna Barbera.

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13 responses to “For All Mankind #33

  1. Hello Super Fans, Rob, and welcome to the show, Delvin!

    Like the two of you, I had no idea about the multiple “solitaires” out there, so we all learned something that issue.

    Seeing the birds with kryptonite on their talons was odd to me, wasn’t it just in issue #31 (Black Orchid guest star) that the criminal said she had to buy kryptonite on the black market? How much kryptonite did that market have in stock? LOL

    While it was nice seeing the spotlight on Jayna, and we weren’t sure how much time elapsed while she was captured, she seemed to learn bird-speak pretty quickly. Just how does one say “My name is Jayna” in bird-speak?

    It’s always fun to hear the opinions of a Super Friends newbie on your show, and I hope that we hear Delvin react to another issue. My own vote? The podcasts on either of these issues: #36, #39, or #42. Those issues were ones with a Wonder Twins solo tale at the end, and I’d be interested in how he felt the twins were portrayed in the comic, opposed to their portrayal in the cartoon.

    See ya next month!

    Chuck

  2. Well, *I* for one, knew what a Cape buffalo was and would have known back then as well (besides being a dinosaur kid, I was also a bit of a wildlife nerd, and often surprised my teachers in school with my knowledge of obscure animals). So I was also a bit miffed when – immediately after the discussion of said buffalo – Rob referred to it as a ‘moose’ (twice!) just a little bit later. The young me would have been outraged… 😛

    Otherwise, though, a great show as usual, and Devlin was an outstanding guest. Hopefully he will indeed come back for a follow-up appearance.
    And finally, as was the case when he was first discussed, I again feel the need to come to the defense of Menagerie Man’s so-ridiculous-it’s-actually-cool costume. Although I think I liked the bare leg look in his first appearance better…

  3. hey friends!
    1 “the bad guy (dear lord dont make me spell it) in a live action movie? simple just use his real name and a business suit.
    2 there was a lot of kryptonite but I say only a bit of it was REAL. You gotta remember pre- crissis Luthor REALLY wanted to kill Superman and was REALLY SMART and probly could MAKE the stuff and sell it. I Mean why get punched by Superman if you dont need to?
    ps I really was’nt kidding I LOVE SCARECROW

  4. Fun discussion gents. It is great to hear “new” readers digging this comic. It just shows solid entertainment never ages, or knows any age boundaries.

    I had this one as a kid, and really liked it. I knew Hawkman from the SF cartoon and JLA issues I had, but this was probably the first “spotlight” treatment I ever saw him get. I think I got “Big Red” and “Red Wing” (the Falcon’s bird) confused at the time…and still kinda do, although the MCU’s use of the Redwing name for Sam’s drone has kind of taken care of that.

    I know we’ve beaten this buffalo to death, but boy, Vince really does suck the life out of Ramona’s pencils, doesn’t he? It’s such a thin, THIN line. Inked by a Bic pen, maybe? C’mon Vinnie.

  5. Another great episode. Love the discussion.

    While I had most of the Super Friends issues, I seemed to always miss the Menagerie Man stories. Maybe I should be grateful!

    This is another wonky but fun ride. I mean how often do you see a superhero fighting a moose!

    I thought for sure I knew what the stinger would be … ‘Solitaire’ by Laura Branigan, her only other ‘hit’ besides Gloria.

    Roll on For All Mankind!

    1. Hello Anj!

      Going off topic, but I’m a pop music fan, and Laura Branigan had other songs beside “Gloria” and “Solitaire” hit the Billboard Top 40 chart.

      “Gloria” – #1
      “Solitaire” – #7
      “How Am I Supposed To Live Without You” – #12 (later covered by Michael Bolton)
      “Self Control” – #4
      “The Lucky One” – #20
      “Spanish Eddie” – #40
      “Power Of Love” – #26 (later covered by Celine Dion)

      1. …..and although it was NOT a hit in the UK or the US,
        she has a fantastic song called “Shattered Glass” which was produced by the team of Stock Aitken Waterman,
        who had hits in America from Bananarama, Dead Or Alive, Rick Astley, and of course
        (the reason I’m writing this) Kylie Minogue!

        1. Hiya Shawn,

          I love “Shattered Glass”. It came close to being a hit. It got to #48 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and got to #13 on the dance song chart.

          Chuck

  6. I’m no ornithologist, not I’m not sure how much Jayna had to learn. I imagine bird language largely consists of things like telling each other where the food is, calling out specific threats, asking young lady birds out on dates, and telling rival suitors to buzz off. I did see an article that said foxes could understand some of the things crows said (or some such), but foxes are pretty smart and they have a lot of time on their hands, so I’m not sure how much that proves one way or the other.

    A hearty welcome to Delvin! It’s always great to hear any Longbox Crusader on Fire and Water, or vice versa. You both did a great job with the material given, and For All Merchkind was pretty enjoyable for what was basically a reminder to exercise. But I’m still waiting for…The Return of the Overlord. (Dun-dun-DUNNNN!)

  7. Welcome to the podcast Delvin!
    You were great and I hope that we get to hear you from you on here again!

    I know you guys praise Ramona Fradon’s art – but I can’t believe that you didn’t point out how PHENOMINAL she is at capturing the likenesses of real life people!
    The Menagerie Man’s accomplice who sneaked into Laswell Cody’s mansion look EXACTLTY like Frank Burns!

  8. Great show, Rob and Delvin. Always nice to see Hawkman, especially drawn by Ramona Fradon. You can tell by the cover that she really got the hawk helmet/mask design. The bold lines on the cover make Hawkman look like his Super Powers figure. Then you turn the page and Vince Colletta’s inks makes the art look like he farted it out over his lunch break. Why is this guy on every issue ever?

    I had forgotten all about the Menagerie Man. He should definitely be the arch enemy of B’wana Beast. Their rivalry could be based on animal powers and Menagerie Man’s jealousy that B’wana Beast has the confidence to pull off the leopard skin look without the security tights underneath. More sit-ups, Menagerie Man. You’ll get there.

    Overall the story was fun. Honest question: Does Jan just never melt when in ice form? He was sitting in the case for hours. Plus, how was he speaking? I enjoyed the “jail bird” scenes with Jayna and Big Red. They could’ve based an entire issue on those two getting to know each other in prison. Maybe throw in a scene where Big Red tries to eat 50 eggs. Or Jayna offers to do Menagerie Man’s taxes in return for some cold beers for the other birds.

    But everything turned out fine in the end. Except the Cape Buffalo who now has brain damage. Now to play some cards while Hawkman flies off to find his nipples.

  9. I don’t remember this issue fondly. I thought the Menagerie Man was a lame villain, and I wished that Hawkwoman had appeared instead of Hawkman. Although thinking about it now, I bet E Nelson wanted to use Hawkman because the Menagerie Man had fought his pal the Atom in his last appearance. Maybe E Nelson wanted to make Menagerie Man into an Atom-Hawkman foe? LOL

  10. Loved the episode and I loved the comic! Hawkman has always been one of my favorites (second to Aquaman) and I loved to see him guest star. Menagerie Man was a familiar favorite because I had Super Friends #6, guest starring Atom vs Menagerie Man, when I was a kid.

    Hawkman’s pal, Big Red, is actually an established Golden Age character! The bird made regular appearances in Hawkman’s strip in Flash Comics. First appearance, 1941. So another case of E. Nelson Bridwell making a deep pull.

    https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Big_Red_(New_Earth)

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