...tantas Saudades...!!!

Sunday, March 08, 2020

1994-2001

ReBoot!

... because before there could be any hope

of a true blue AQUA SAGA

(with the likes of Mera, Atlanna, Orm,

Tsunami, Neptune Perkins, Tuatara,

Aquagirl, Aqualad, Vulko, Lori Lemaris,

Lagoon Boy, Indigo/Deep Blue

and Aquaman - of course!)

there had to be something else

that paved the way ~ prepared the

collective consciousness...!!!

AND THAT WAS...

With its extensive cast, all colorful and very much with a penchant

for the aquatic allegory (given that they were all surfing the web,

after all) it is undeniable that these four seasons of ReBoot

inspired both DC *and* LP... me!!!

From the main two Mainframe heroes - Bob and Dot, who so closely resemble

a plethora of power couples of my youth: be it Aquaman/Mera,

Edo/Maria Do Carmo (from Rainha Da Sucata...!)

or James Bond/Emma Peel (!!!) -

to the assorted supporting cast that covered it all

(and, in time, was extensively echoed in both DC as Marvel books!)

with the likes of AndrAIa, Enzo Matrix, Mouse, Frisket, Hexadecimal

and RAY TRACER...!!!

Purists of the four-color, two-dimensional fare will say that this

was pilfering extensively from the other two sources;

but the truth is another: if Enzo and AndrAIa never grow up,

Aquaman doesn't start swimming around with DC's Dolphin girl!

If this team doesn't get formed around "Glitch Bob"

there is no Hydro Base in Marvel - with all those misbegotten

mutants there! If those cute (if square) little Binomes don't

start prattling about like they do here - there would have been

no MINIONS all over the place afterwards - likely EVER!

And then the irony: that Dan DiDio - whom we affectionately refer to

as "The Didiot" from time to time - first cut his teeth here

before he went to BYTE into the DCU for about a decade ~

a tumultuous tenure that just recently came to an end.

Yup - Explore The Art of ReBoot - here!

You'll be astounded to find so many awesome little details

(they are awesome - despite their littleness!)

and concrete proof that YES - the Didiot was one of the

masterminds behind this little masterpiece we love!

It was, of course, a massive collaborative effort ~

and a labour of love at that, first and foremost!

Labels: Aquaman, Bob, cartoons, childhood reminiscence, comics, luminous connections, Mera, old favorites, super-heroes, television shows

¶ 12:00 AM 0 comments

Sunday, February 16, 2020

1970-1979

... ever the prophet: his obsession with a dame by the name of Thibault

was surely about another broad entirely! You see, I happen to know

there was a singer by the name of... Fabienne Thibault.

She was briefly a big deal in the frigorified nether regions

'Monsieur' here hails from! But he was no Nostradamus, see;

he simply got two Fabiennes (10 years apart) mixed up, that's all!

The second one, with the less than lyrical last name of Larouche,

was the one he was prophesying the rise of --- an obnoxious

soap opera wannabee queen that still toils while stirring up

a storm of stench, turmoil and nonsense on a daily basis!!!

(Clue: she was nicknamed ''Lesbienne Farouche'' LOL)

Year after year she tries ---

only to always be defeated by the superior

TELENOVELA BRASILEIRA!

That's my theory and I'm sticking with it!

(Just like ''frigorified'' is my new word, created now

in lieu of the banal ''refrigerated'' - duh!)

But aaaaall that is another story... of conflict!

You want conflict? Here it is:

He always stuck it to that darn clown -

and stole the spotlight completely from him too!

What a disappointment to realize that

this cool character... singer, tantrum-thrower, life of the show...

was indeed but a lifeless puppet, in real life!!!

I was heavily into comic-books at that time - of course.

American, European; Belgian, French, Portuguese...

And even infamous material... ''made in QUÉBEC''

The character had briefly popped up there, too -

they'd turned him into a super-hero, also;

"Bionique Tranquille" aux Éditions Héritage

A cheap imitation of Achille Talon

(or Hägar The Horrible mixed in with Beetle Bailey!)

if you ask little luminous me!

(it was more likely inspired by the TV series success

Six Million Dollar Man than actual comic-booky

superheroes - but let's not get into that right now!)

That was... a mixed success at best.

Obviously (not so for a 4 year-old!) a puppet or not,

he was much better in live-action, on TV!

And as far as the comic-bookies went,

I was always leering towards much more

mature fare already...! Precocious little me

was reading stuff like The Tomb of Dracula...!

... it naturally led the prone-to thought conundrums kid that I was

to imagine a scenario that would see Tranquille play Harker

to Sesame Street's very own Count...

WHO WOULD WIN?!?

We probably... don't want to find out!

It didn't hurt one iota that the puppeteer who gave life to

''Mr. T'' here was a comedian that I liked all on his own too;

the extremely funny Roger Giguère - who did the dream job

that I would have loved to do, also!

And that job was to make people laugh - as a TV host

or through characters such as this beloved puppet!

I wanted to grow up and become that guy!

GOD - I loved this silly puppet!!!

... not exclusively, mind you!!!

It was nice to see that he was not entirely forgotten -

for a little while, anyway!

He made his first comeback on a game show,

less than a decade after the end of his run:

A decade went by - until we saw him again!

They took him out of mothballs

for this commercial for... Nyquil!

He did one or two more commercials that I recall...

Here is the least one of those:

And there's been nothing since then.

... until I met the real-life Monsieur -

while working in the retail industry!

Although Jack Somack in 1969

could have been the inspiration, too...!

...unless it is this other puppet dud - selling the pasta sauce

to go with Jack's meatballs there?!?

HUH?!?

Separated at... confection?!?

And what of these guys - Jim Henson property?

(with apologies to DC...?!?)

But all that is yet another story!!!

Labels: advertisements, childhood reminiscence, comics, commemorative, EH, History, luminous connections, Music, old favorites, television shows, tubes français, TV Hebdo, UHF, Ztélé

¶ 4:00 PM 0 comments

Sunday, January 19, 2020

1980-1989

One thing is for sure: Valerie Perrine never imagined

what her 2020s would be like...

And the same can be said of each and everyone here:

25th...? Yeah, well - tack on a couple of decades there - soon!

(So not missing the king of comics either; JACK KIRBY used these characters

so poorly there - especially the one at the forefront...!)

Verde e Vermelho

as cores do meu coração

And onward to the City of Champions!

Wooooo!

Labels: Anicée Alvina, Aquaman, Batman, Boston, cinema, comics, Diana Rigg, Good Times, History, Horsemen, Ladies of Cinema, Lisboa, Margot Kidder, Mera, Music, Nature Boy, Star Wars, super-heroes, Tina Turner, Vampires

¶ 7:00 PM 0 comments

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: Name: Luminous (\ô/) Luciano™

Born in the Age of Aquarius, destined to seek out truths in many an art form, trained as a historian and a journalist but truly a prose-lover... Luciano is out to dispel any clichés and reinvent them all both to the tune of a little something called the truth as also to his own image - and being old-fashioned, he does not mind that distinction one infinitesimal tiny bit at all...! "There are two ways to spread the light; be the candle... or the mirror that reflects It." I have chosen to be the latter... okay? ~*~ "To be not only a seeker of light... but a dream weaver of light" ~*~ For as surely as the moon reflects the light from the sun, you and I can reflect the Light from Above - and be, indeed, the light of this world! ~*~*~*~ NOTE: THERE ARE COOKIES ~ from at least three parties~ ON ALL OF MY BLOGS! ~*~ accept it!

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