THE POWER RECORDS PODCAST 18 – THE FANTASTIC FOUR/SPIDER-MAN
After too long a time, Rob and Chris are back with a new episode of THE POWER RECORDS PODCAST, discussing two Marvelous audio adventures: The Fantastic Four in “The Way It Began!” and Spider-Man in “The Bells of Doom!” Plus your Listener Feedback!
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Opening and closing themes courtesy Peter Pan Records.
This episode brought to you by InStockTrades. This week’s selections:
- MARVEL MASTERWORKS FANTASTIC FOUR VOL.13: https://www.instocktrades.com/TP/Marvel/MMW-FANTASTIC-FOUR-HC-VOL-13/JUN110720
- MARVEL MASTERWORKS FANTASTIC FOUR VOL. 18: https://www.instocktrades.com/TP/Marvel/MMW-FANTASTIC-FOUR-HC-VOL-18/MAR160925
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Hey a new Power Records. I had almost given these up for dead…
Good morning! Listened to the podcast — great stuff as always!
I don’t know who voiced the Thing (yet), but Peter Fernandez (Johnny Storm/Human Torch) was also the narrator and the Mole Man. (In other stories on the LP version, he voiced the Phoenix, and narrated “The Incredible Hulk: At Bay”.)
The LP version (Spider-Man and Friends”) was released in 1974, years before “Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends” appeared on TV.
The one connection with that LP and “Frosty the Snowman”: producers Herb Davidson and Charlotte Sanders. Among the several Peter Pan albums they wrote and produced was “The Funky Phantom” (Fernandez voiced “Skip”, “Uncle George”, and several other characters. Corinne Orr, Trixie on “Speed Racer”, voiced “April” as well).
With “(The) Bells of Doom”, the story was written by Arthur Korb, who wrote and/or produced numerous materials for Peter Pan Records.
And the “45” in this case is actually a 7″ LP. Just saying.
That FF bit is on Norm MacDonald’s 2006 album Ridiculous.
I know Mark Waid had DD fight ol’ Moley in 2012, but I don’t remember anything earlier.
I just found out that rapper MF DOOM sampled the Spidey story for his track “Bells of Doom”
https://youtu.be/CdjYbr4vYU0
I was listening to this while mowing the lawn. I have listened to many F&W podcasts over the past two years while doing yardwork. It’s gotten to the point where places in the yard correspond to specific episodes! Behind the lilacs where Dad’s garden was = Wonder Woman Power Record. The fenced in part next to the garage = Superman Movie Minute TV tie-in ads. The hedges at my Mom’s old house = Ryan wondering about Al ( Atom) Pratt’s sexuality on Secret Origins. Taking the wallpaper off in the front room = a whole lot of Turn It Off With Tracy.
This one may get stuck in my head as; the front lawn = lousy Spider-Man v. Sonic Man story!
Wow Ward, I for one am touched that you associate our shows with hard labor. 😉
Seriously, that’s cool. Always fun to hear stories about where folks listen to the shows.
Chris
That’s funny Ward normally I listen to them while cutting the grass too (push mower). This latest episode I’ve been listening to while driving to work but it is taking some time to get thru it since work is only 3 miles away so I have had to break it up into segments.
Chris,
Since you mentioned first hearing the Fantastic Four story on the album without the book, I have a question for you. Could you keep up what was going on with the story? For example, when Ben says he’s about to do something and we get the weird audio effect that sounds like a cross between a robotic slinky and an exhausted moose trying to fight off going to sleep. Ben never really says what he’s doing, but it sure sounds like something weird. I think this is the first time I’ve heard the story without the accompanying visuals of the book, since I had the book and record set.
I thought I recalled seeing the album version in stores during 1970s, but I could be mistaken. I got a lot of my Power Records 45 with comics versions for Christmas, since the Christmas catalog had them in sets of four, although I got my first Power Record, “Stacked Cards,” in the wild. I didn’t see a lot of the book and record sets in public, but I got the albums in stores and they were easy to find. I didn’t have the album with the FF story, though, since I had them all as singles.
Also, thanks for the info on the artwork for the single version of Bells of Doom, and I wonder if he did the cover art for the Invasion of the Dragon Men album. I don’t know if I’ve seen the single in person. The Spider-Man images on that Dragon Men album were clearly swiped by someone at Power Records from Mark of the Man-Wolf, right down to Spidey having the rip on his costume….the images by Power Records’s artist made it look like Spidey had a pair of large, pale lips on his chest or was he just wearing a poor knock-off of the Rolling Stones’s logo…or maybe he was advertising Rocky Horror Picture Show? Anyway, Sonic Man’s outfit was orange and yellow on the Dragon Men album cover, so I don’t know why his color was changed on this version. Really, I don’t know why he was Son of Sonic Man and Ultra-Sonic Man, when we never encountered regular Sonic Man.
I really enjoyed the show, guys, but was there a reason you paired these two together?
I don’t recall what I thought when I first heard the FF story, Gothos, but I can see someone being confused by the sounds without the book. It’s kind of hard to tell what’s going on.
We never said it in the show, but we covered the FF story because they recently returned to comics after a ridiculous corporately-driven hiatus. The Spidey story was just thrown in for fun!
Chris
I figured as much on the Fantastic Four, but I wondered if there was a reason that particular Spider-Man was included with it.
Marvel really is hyping the FF now that they are back in the fold. I was surprised that an FF book I ordered from In Stock Trades the other day wasn’t Rob’s recommendation, considering he shares my love of oversized comics. I won’t mention what it is in case Rob is planning to use it on an FF treasury cast in the near future.
I got the album in summer of 1976 or 1977 and listened to it a billion times It was definitely in stores, I think mine came from Kmart
I listen to the F &W shows on my morning runs and even though I haven’t heard the album in 30-40 years, I was mentally saying the words along with the record. If only my Spanish classes had burrowed into my brain that much
Enjoyed the commentary on both stories. If I had heard the Spider-Man story when I was young I probably would have loved it, but hearing it for the first time now it was a bit of a slog. I think the stories based on the comics were definitely a cut above. I have to say, the commentary on goofy stories and comics can be more fun than the praise for the great ones
Rob, Chris – thanks for bringing back this show, and for all you do to keep us entertained
Only a 9 months between episodes? Hmmm…i guess life gets in the way. But worth the wait. Rob and Chris are in top form, always insightful and entertaining. Power Records Podcast is my personal favorite on the FW network and always delivers. I listened to this one at work and it brought some joy to my otherwise dull job. Keep it up, guys and please try to get us a couple more episodes per year.
As always guys, another great episode! The Power Records Podcast is by far my favorite podcast and the one that is the least updated (yeah I know, not a lot of new material to talk about!). Half way thru this one, just finished up the F4 story, will listen to your comments on the way home from work. As always it’s good stuff. Keep ’em coming as time allows. – Power Pal Mike
When I got to the Spiderman episode I just glanced at the cover and thought “Oh cool, Electro is in this one!”. Then when I was listening I was wondering what Electro needed with bells! Went back and looked at the cover again and saw it was some generic villain.
I have to say YES, go back and re-do some of the older episodes and do some you haven’t covered yet. Still waiting for you to cover The Hulk LP, my all time favorite story record. Wouldn’t even mind some G.I. Joe if you remove the “turn the page” beeps.
Would also like to hear more Six Million Dollar Man, those episodes are great! Incidentially I had no idea there was a comic called “Season 6” which picks up after Season 5 of the show (and it is funny to read some of the reviews on Amazon where people thought they were buying a DVD set of the non-existant season!). I ordered the graphic novel of it and am looking foward to reading it.
Looking forward to the the next installment!
Anybody else think that the Mole Man sounds a bit like Simon Bar Sinister from the Underdog cartoons?
Also… the Spidey Narrator did a pretty nice Burt Lancaster impersonation. And Ultrasonic Man sounded pretty close to Jack Lemmon.
Just listened to the first segment with the Fantastic Four. I was really amused when Ben muses that the Mole Man’s monster “made Godzilla look like a blamed tadpole!” This record was released in 1974, and the comic in 1972, which predates Marvel having any association with Toho or Godzilla. That line is verbatim from the comic. While this reflects Marvel’s at the time attitude of “the world outside your window,” (Godzilla being a known entity in American cinemas by this point), it introduces two other interesting points for me.
First, this statement is a little strange in continuity when Godzilla becomes part of the Marvel universe a few years later, and even tangles with the FF. Secondly, while the reference is cute, I have to think that had Toho’s legal team be aware of Marvel making reference to their IP, they would have sued them faster than you can say “cosmic rays.” But hey, it was the 70s, Toho had their own problems (which lead to the Marvel agreement a few years later anyway).
For the second portion, yeah, any thoughts on who is going to play Ultrasonic Man in the next Spider-Man movie? Anyone? Anyone?
Sorry, if I hear bells in a Webhead story, all I can think of is Web of Spider-Man #1 with the alien costume. Just saying.
Fun episode guys!
I stumbled on this ep looking for info on the spider-man side of this album. I doubt I’ve heard this record since the 1970s but when it came on I realized that when I read the FF, I hear -these- voices in my head for their dialogue.