For All Mankind #6

FOR ALL MANKIND #6 - SUPER FRIENDS #6

Rob and Super Friend Russell Burbage review "The Menace of the Menagerie Man" by E. Nelson Bridwell, Ramona Fradon, and Bob Smith, from SUPER FRIENDS #6! Plus another segment of "For All Merchkind" and Listener Feedback!

Check out images from this comic by clicking here!

Opening and closing themes by Hanna Barbera.

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22 responses to “For All Mankind #6

  1. Mr Burbage summed up The Menagerie Man’s costume perfectly. I saw it and thought, this is what you get when Snidely Whiplash can’t decide whether to go dress up as Tarzan or The Phantom do he goes to the costume ball as both.
    I also like the Menagerie Man’s clever use of shrinking powers. The costume may be a mess, but he came up with a neat concept to carry around an army of animals and make his escape.
    It also seems that Batman has as much tolerance for Marvin as Chris Franklin does. (I don’t think he gave Marvin a signal device either.)
    Matt Sirois proud member of Shagg’s Crap List

    1. With the purple costume and the splash of yellow/orange from the leopard print, combined with the signature mustache, Menagerie Man reminds me of the Captain America villain Batroc the Leaper (or “ze Lepair”).

  2. Always a pleasure to hear one of my favorite folks, Russell on the network. I’ll even forgive that “Almost as good as Robin” comment. 🙂

    Now, I famously hate Marvin. I always have. I have nothing against Wendy or Wonder Dog, however. I don’t really see why these two kids made it into this “Junior Super Friends Training Program”, except, in the comic, good old fashioned nepotism. Zan and Jayna definitely needed training and schooling in their powers, so they wouldn’t use them in a way that could endanger others, etc., and acclimating to human life. Of course on the TV show they seemed to automatically fit into Earth culture instantly, which made no sense.

    I first encountered The Menagerie Man in one of his follow-up appearances, so when I saw his “Phantom Meets Tarzan” get-up, I was not impressed. His second look is a little easier to follow, and still a bit Phantom-esque, as I recall.

    LOVED the Merch-Kind segment! I love the idea of young Russell beginning his collection while he was still a kid. Sounds like someone I know. And I never get tired of those pics of Rob’s birthday parties, and those wonderful party favors. Thanks to both of you for sharing!

    I’m much more of a Andy Griffith Show guy than Beverly Hillbilles fan, although I did enjoy it as a kid. I haven’t really watched it much as an adult. But I will agree Ellie Mae was pretty fine.

    Chris

    1. Zan and Jayne studied Earth culture before arriving on Earth. Unfortunately they studied it by watch The Donny and Marie Osmond Show… I guess it could have been worse. The might have tuned into The Brady Bunch Variety Hour…. the horror… the horror… film

        1. Hey, I’m seeing real possibilities if they were based on the Brady Bunch variety show: Zan could have been called Johnny Bravo, and Jayna could have been Fake Jan. And the former’s water powers would have come in handy to accommodate the Krofftettes…

  3. Dang, ENB, last issue you had Batman captured most of the issue and this time he’s out-detectived by Marvin?!? I hate the modern Bat-God, but this is going a little too far in the other direction.

    Speaking of 60s TV…

    Did you ever notice on 60s TV how different characters on different episodes wore the same outfit? For example, Minstrel’s moll Octavia, Joker’s moll Josie Brown and Dr. Cassandra wore the same purple dress with the orange stripe. Similarly, I think Menagerie Man raided the DC costume closet for leftovers. I know DC didn’t publish the Phantom but maybe there was a leftover Phantom costume in the DC closet from when Jim Aparo drew him at Charlton. Menagerie Man, bare legs on a costume are never a good look for a man. *Sigh*Wonder Woman*Sigh* can get away with them because she’s pretty and a girl.

    As for the jungle outfit, it isn’t exactly Tarzan, but I think I’ve seen that outfit on Clark, Lois and Jimmy in various Superman jungle adventures. Lois wore it best.

    https://d1466nnw0ex81e.cloudfront.net/n_iv/600/685473.jpg

    https://d1466nnw0ex81e.cloudfront.net/n_iv/600/680285.jpg

    https://d1466nnw0ex81e.cloudfront.net/n_iv/600/867709.jpg

    I thought Menagerie Man ripped off the mustache from Snidely Whiplash, but he could have lifted it from Flash Foe, Abra-Kadabra. In Gothosmansion’s weird tangent of the comment, every time I hear Menagerie Man, I get Phoebe Snow’s Poetry Man stuck in my head.

    Rob, to answer your Beverly Hillbillies question, which you’ll probably forget that you asked by the time you respond to my comment. I want to say Drysdale’s comic was called Super Banker and he went into the vault and changed into Money Man. I may have that reversed, though, since I haven’t seen it in a while. It is a sixth season episode and only the first five seasons of the Beverly Hillbillies are on DVD. Plus, you know, I was all distracted by Elly May wearing that Tater Sack.

    Chris, I love most of the black & white Andy Griffith Show episodes and even have an “Aunt Bee’s Kerosene Cucumbers” T-shirt (Menagerie Man should have gotten one of those). If I rank it a notch below The Beverly Hillbillies and Green Acres, it is because a) the color episodes are so awful and b) Andy sometimes had those “very special episodes” that tried to be all heart-warming and message-y and weren’t really funny. I watch sit-coms to be entertained. Just my personal preference. Most of my favorite TV shows are from the 60s, which is bad since I wasn’t even born until 1971. Just to put your mind at ease, I love Smokey & the Bandit like a good Alabama boy should.

    This is way off topic, but the first season and a half of the Beverly Hillbillies are in public domain and you can watch the episodes on youtube. If you haven’t seen it in a while, treat yourself to a viewing. It is much funnier than you remember and can really lift your spirits when you’re feeling down. My Beverly Hillbillies breakdown:

    Seasons 1-2 Hitting on all cylinders. One of the funniest shows to ever hit TV. Greatly creative. Donna Douglas is at her most gorgeous, and, for the ladies, Max Baer Jr. is quite handsome.

    Seasons 3-5. The original director leaves and consistent quality dips, but still hugely fun with some gems that rank among the series best. A few poor episodes, but they are infrequent.

    Seasons 6-7 Getting hit and miss, but some real gems here-and-there, but some real stinkers, too.

    Seasons 8-9 It is actually physically painful to sit and watch these.

      1. I might would have gotten that joke if I hadn’t been too busy watching Andy, Green Acres and the Hillbillies to watch Different Strokes. 🙂

        OK, kidding aside, I’m glad I never did see that DS episode, because it would have ruined Gordon Jump for me. Don’t quote me on this, but I think Different Strokes was on opposite either The Incredible Hulk or Dukes of Hazzard, and those were my Friday night viewing staples.

        1. I could look it up, but I’m lazy, so I don’t know what night Diff’rent Strokes was on, but I’m thinking Saturday for some reason? I remember watching it, and the Hulk, and the Dukes, but maybe I’m wrong.

          Yeah, I could never quite watch WKRP reruns the same after that episode. Poor Dudley…

          1. Different Strokes may have aired on different nights during its run. I really can’t remember. I’m sure the Hulk and Dukes aired on Friday. The Dukes replaced Wonder Woman of Fridays when she was cancelled. I should be angry about that now, but that was back when I was still in my “girls have cooties” period. Hard to believe I ever thought Lynda Carter had cooties.

          2. Diff’rent Strokes definitely aired on Friday nights, at least in its first few seasons when – for some reason that mystifies me now – it was must-watch TV for me. The Dukes were also definitely aired on Fridays and I’m pretty sure the Hulk did, too. However, I also remember watching all three, although possibly not at the same time – if Diff’rent Strokes conflicted with Hulk, I would end up watching the former. The Dukes had a later time-slot if I recall correctly.

  4. Another great show, thanks for bringing this to us!

    While I wasn’t a big fan of Wendy & Marvin, the comic book always did a much better job with them, and the same can be said with the way the handled the Wonder Twins. I’ll admit I’m eagerly awaiting the issues that feature them, as they were my favorites on the cartoon.

    One thing I’m glad you mentioned was the panel of the Super Friends hiding at the ivory display. I remember reading that as a kid and thinking, “Are they 6? They can’t find better hiding places? Why is everyone else in the place walking around like they don’t see them? ” Seeing Marvin and Wendy tucked away in the corner behind a pedestal was too funny.

    I was wondering (and if you’ve said this and I missed it, I apologize) what is your opinion of this series and its place in DC continuity? It always seemed to me that ENB wanted it to be in continuity, and he considered it to be in continuity, but I think hardcore DC readers consider it out of continuity, mainly because they didn’t want characters like Wendy, Marvin, Zan & Jayna as part of the official DC univers.

    Keep up the great work!

    Chuck

  5. Thanks, Russell and Rob, for an enjoyable episode. Rob, we’re all eagerly anticipating the inevitable MountainMerch podcast.

    Dick Grayson was a snarky teenager. I think he was just giving Aquaman some good-natured ribbing, and I appreciate the characterization.

    I never realized that Zan and Jayna were supposed to be Donnie and Marie Osmond. In my defense, no one ever commented on the Wonder Twins’ blindingly white teeth.

  6. Two more things!
    1. Love the birthday photos and the merch.
    2. This may have been my first SuperFriends comic. I remember none of it, except for the Atom’s origin sequence and Wendy’s (unbelievably awesome) signal bracelet. Oh, the merch that never was…

  7. I have seen this cover before and thought the villain’s suit was such a Phantom/Tarzan mash-up that I couldn’t buy it. Who knew so much excellent Atom stuff in the inside.

    But really the purpose of this comment is to strongly disagree with your super friend award going to the Atom.

    If there was ever a time to give something to Marvin, it is this issue. He is a more keen observer and detective than the freaking Batman. He ends up providing the key clue to unraveling all this. And it is this bit that probably is the key moment to them graduating Marvin.

    The Atom will have plenty of time for congratulations … like when he marries Jean Loring … but Marvin won’t have many chances to win anything. If he doesn’t win it here, he’s never going to win it.

    So I am respectfully asking that the award given to Atom be retroactively removed … maybe for marrying Jean Loring … and be given to Marvin. Consider it like the clause in the Miss America title. If you cannot continue to function as Miss America for any reason (let’s say, like marrying Jean Loring), then your title goes to the runner-up.

  8. Great episode, I was so excited to see this issue show up on ComiXology a few weeks ago – forgetting that I have it in a trade – that I bought it at once and wound up reviewing it at my blog, and realising this episode was coming up, linked back to this show’s page.

    If anybody fancies visiting and leaving a comment – it can get lonely! – here’s the link

    https://dangermart.blog/2020/04/19/retro-review-super-friends-6/

    Meanwhile, I shall cannibalise myself for a couple of paragraphs!

    I’m not convinced the story needed two whole pages of Atom background, but I did laugh that readers get the impression Ray Palmer wore that diamond ring – he actually had it on him because he’d proposed to girlfriend Jean Loring earlier that day (she turned him down – honestly, there’s something wrong with that woman…) Good on Jerry Serpe for matching the original story’s clothing colours.

    And ouch, Robin the Bitch Wonder, anyone?

    ENB gives us the usual wink to the wider DC Universe, this time in the form of a reference to comics greatest band, Great Frog.

    My award for worst ever balloon placement goes to the final panel of page 5… illo over at the blog!

    As regards Men Man’s outfit, a commenter at my blog, Reno, said: ‘… he looks like the love child of The Phantom and Lothar (Mandrake’s partner) to me, with Batroc’s mustache thrown in for good measure.’ So maybe Ramona was thinking about a King Features mash-up.

    Russell’s revelation about ENB not wanting to print nice letters about the wonderful Ramona’s art has ruined my day. Blimey.

  9. Welcome to the podcast Russell – you were great!
    I can’t wait to read your letter in a future issue!

    I like this issue a lot! It has so many great things going for it.
    Every character gets at least one cool thing to do or a neat action beat. It has a great DC Universe guest star. It shows off Wendy and Marvin as viable, interesting characters who add worth to the case, and a villain with an unusual power-set, (although with a bad costume).
    *You know a costume has a bad design, if, a male character is showing off a lot of leg and I think that it looks bad!*

    When I first read this story as a young kid I had never hear the word menagerie so I misread (mis-heard in my mind) the word as men-a-JEER-e. LOL, Sweet Unknowing Shawn!

    I loved that Russell talked about an item from his own Super Friends collection and while still respecting Chris’ great segments (I love hearing about the items he has and the stories that go with them) I hope that future guests talk a bit about things that they either had as a kid, or spent way too much on eBay to get as an adult!

  10. Nice show, gentlemen. I don’t have much to add, as I never had this issue, but I enjoyed the discussion, and am looking forward to future appearances (so to speak) by Russell.
    I will say, though, that Menagerie Man’s costume is so ridiculous that it goes full circle to being awesome.

  11. Rob, your younger self was clearly anticipating the Sandro Miller photo-recreation phenomenon which is totally awesome!
    (For the uninitiated: https://www.boredpanda.com/portrait-remakes-malkovich-homage-to-photographic-masters-sandro-miller )
    But now you got to keep it up! I think in these uncertain times, what we really need now is to see you in 2020 recreating that classic scene again with identical party favors, paper towel, and centerpiece. Not just for the lulz, but for all mankind!

  12. If DC had decided to put The Menagerie Man in a regular series, I would’ve loved to see him go up against Animal Man, B’wana Beast, or Vixen.

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