TERRIFIC TEAM-UP IMAGE: SPIDEY, KRAVEN & SQUIRREL GIRL

GOODBYE, WILL MURRAY

 

You seized high importance in the pulp field, having attained unfinished Lester Dent concepts, which you then expanded into new, Doc Savage fables, under the nifty pseudonym, Kenneth Robeson.

In addition, you gave your heart and soul to Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir's Remo Williams/The Destroyer series (in Signet novels and Marvel comics) and breathed fresh life into Tarzan, King Kong, the Spider and Cthulhu.  

You also hold the enviable distinction of teaming with Steve Ditko to fashion Marvel's ever-chipper The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl. 

Beyond your fictional jaunts, you were a respected, pulp scholar, having composed an admired, historical trilogy on Lamont Cranston, the Shadow: Master of Mystery, Dark Avenger and Knight of Darkness. And as a complementing bonus, you even tackled noteworthy retrospectives for Main Enterprises' popular periodicals. 

Your prolific presence was ubiquitous and welcomed: a shining example for a generation of aspiring, New Pulp writers. For that, Mr. Murray, your protégés owe you immeasurable thanks, as do your many fans, who won't soon forget the bountiful, literary wonders you shared. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MARY SHELLEY/HAPPY FRANKENSTEIN DAY 2026 (8/30)

 

SO LONG, PETER CULLEN

You were a man of many voices: above all, that of Optimus Prime for both the animated and big-screen Transformers. 

Beyond your favored, robotic tonality, your nuanced and diverse expressions distinguished Go-bots, Robotix, G.I. Joe, Dino-Riders, Sectaurs, Winnie the Pooh, Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers, Spider-Man 1981, Dungeons & Dragons, Gallavants, Bigfoot and the Muscle Machines, Saber Rider and the Star Sheriff, The Pirates of Dark Water, Rainbow Bright and the Star Stealer, Voyage of the Rock Aliens, Voltron, My Little Pony: The Movie, Mickey's Magical Christmas, Deck the Halls with Wacky Walls, The Story of Christmas, Seasons of Giving, Super Sleuth Christmas Movie, Treasure Planet, Knight Rider, Invincible, Saturday Supercade, Toonami, The Greatest Adventure: Stories from the Bible, Little Wizards, Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light, Police Story 4: First Strike, The Iron Giant, Gremlins, Predator and King Kong 1976.  

Indeed, you brought our endearing favorites to life, giving them depths of sound that are now indivisible with their celebrated facades. Thank you, Mr. Cullen, for that essential attentiveness ... thank you for always getting it right.🗢 

WISE WORDS:

 

I SAW THE DOG STARS

Director/producer Ridley Scott's The Dog Stars, scripted by Mark L. Smith (with contributions from Christopher Wilkinson), based on Peter Heller's post-apocalyptic novel, offers a rekindling of the regret, guilt and fear that sprung from our maddening, COVID years, perhaps made more unsettling in light of recent revelations. 

By its nature, such a tale can't be cheerful, and in the case of Dog Stars, it's not, but it's adventurous in a semi-modern-western way, referencing the dismal yet epic ambiance of Ravagers (that wee, underrated, Richard Harris gem), A Boy and his Dog, Damnation Alley, Ark II, Planet Earth, Maggie, The Book of Eli, The Rover and The Postman, with oodles of The Andromeda Strain, 12 Monkeys and Outbreak to stress its backdrop cause and effect.

Leading the tale is a supply-pilot/mechanic named Hig, played by Jacob Elordi, and an ex-Marine named Bangley, played by Josh Brolin. Guy Pearce's Pops, a seasoned rancher, and his medic daughter, Margaret Qualley's Cima, join the starry-eyed cause, helping to track a vague, radio transmission that references a spot called Grand Junction. 

For the record, the movie's title alludes to the dog-themed stars (of which Sirius is the brightest and therefore, the one that implies the most shepherding hope), but the label more so represents the metaphorical Jasper, Hig's dog (enacted by Raksha), who's accompanied his master through a monstrous virus (of unknown origin) that took Hig's wife (Sai Bennett). The steadfast bond between man and dog (met by Hig's allegorical interest in the guiding, heavenly bodies) inspires a sense of purpose, which includes the need to connect with others on a larger, social scale (something the strange signal might deliver). 

Though our protagonists persevere with the best intent, it's the Reapers (Native American-imprinted marauders), who propose a constant threat. (Sounds rather like certain factions that dare to defile our cities today.) Due to the surrounding disarray, the situation could default to an intrinsic quest more than an external one, since traditional escape isn't practical.  

No matter the means or variables, the precious need to survive (in any locale) is Dog Stars' ultimate outcome, along with finding love, which blossoms between Hig and Cima, blanketed as it is by Scott's contemplative style and Erik Messerschmidt's pleasing cinematography. However, it's the characters who make the concept click. 

Abetting the leads are Benedict Wong and Allison Janey, springing from opposite ends of the story's eclectic spectrum. They're nuanced enough so that, if Dog Stars had been an ongoing series, they'd have flavored its bridges, and in compact form, they can't help but excel when their turns emerge, enough to make one yearn for more than is shared. 

From what I've heard, some advance viewers have compared Dog Stars to a Mad Max chapter, but it doesn't strike me that way. It doesn't have Max's fierce, distinguishing fuel (despite a few edgy, action sequences), and that's fine. Star Dogs is meant to be confined and more often than not, relaxed in its entrenched execution. In other words (and for better or worse), Dog Stars' tone is grounded: meaning it holds only minimal levity (often delivered by Bangley), matched by an out-of-left-field, surreal, airport sequence and of course, the aforementioned stars' abstract lure, which depending on how the wind blows, could result in either salvation or a hellish nowhere. (The concept reminds me of Logan's Run's "outside" realm. Few know what it holds, but it draws curiosity.) 

Though it felt a tad too juxtaposed at times, I nevertheless found Dog Stars engaging, even with its too-close-for-comfort, pandemic reminders. It's also far from great. That's fine, too. Not every movie needs to knock it out of the park, and not every post-apocalyptic saga needs to be a redefining classic. Dog Stars falls somewhere in the respectable middle. It's captivating enough to help one pass the time, so even if one skips its scenic, IMAX run, it should in the least prove useful for a homebound, rainy afternoon. 

PINUP TIME: LINDA HARRISON