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Home , Ben Grimm, Rod Serling

#154

7 April, 2021

[email protected] xrayer.blogspot.com efanzines.com/RXXR/

X Points The Way

Photo by Ray X

XR #154 1 Let’s Talk Things Over

There’s a lot of “Things” out there. Sorry, this article doesn’t include movies The Thing From Another Planet and The Thing With Two Heads but it will discuss a film related to the topic.

In the early issues of the comic book back in the 1960s , AKA The Thing,” hadn’t been fully developed by artist , co-creator of the FF. The Thing looked kinda lumpy. Kirby considered The Thing to have a protective dinosaurian hide. No neck, just a head stuck between two shoulders.

But later The Thing’s exterior took on a rocky look. The story is inkers kept adding details to his form that evolved into the stone covered seen today. He even grew a neck after a while which enabled him to turn his head to either side, allowing a wider to danger.

FF #1 debuted in November 1961. It marked the Marvel’s shift into superhero comic. Before Marvel used to crank out a bunch of monsters on the loose stories in various titles, some of them gigantic to evoke the same terror that Godzilla brought to the movies.

Kirby had lots of practice drawing creatures in all shapes and forms. There’s even another creature covered with an orange dinosaur hide. The Two Headed-Thing appeared in #95 in1962. To top it off each head had horns. It could shape shift like the evil over in FF, transforming into an alligator and a tree. (But not ?) Going by the dates I’ve found online the two-header was created at the same time as The Thing or it came to be earlier, a story in reserve. Any out there know the story behind these two Things?

XR #154 2 Besides Marvel’s Thing there was a similar monster that appeared in the movies back in 1962. John Agar portrayed a scientist experimenting with a hypnotic gas to make enemy soldiers docile. But plans go awry when an accident turns him into a creature similar in form to Marvel’s Thing, albeit he didn’t have orange hide but a covering that looked burnt and black. This thing did wear a large trench coat and hat to disguise himself in public like Ben Grimm in the early days.

The scientist finds when he touches others they wither and die, ergo the film’s title. It’s been noted the producers didn’t intend to the burnt black creature to appear as a twisted symbol to perpetuate a racist stereotype. But with the PC nazis on the loose again I won’t be surprised there will be an effort to ban this film despite the fact severe burns are black.

Political Correctness overreaching is a thing more dangerous than any fictional monster. Sometimes PC extremism becomes its own monster.

* * *

MailboX

LOC XR #153 Lloyd & Yvonne Penney

Mon, Dec 28, 2020, 2:10 PM

1706-24 Eva Rd. Etobicoke, ON CANADA M9C 2B2

XR #154 3 Dear Ray:

I only got X-Rayer 153 a few days ago, but I am trying to respond to all zines I have on hand to get totally caught up, so I can take a bit of a holiday in the new year. Here’s what I have to say…

Some years ago, Yvonne and I went to a ’s fair in Toronto, and saw interesting ideas, products and people being creative, but one thing that I still remember to this day was a student who had managed to connect an ancient teletype machine to his Twitter feed. It worked two ways, so as messages came in, the teletype, in its usual noisy fashion, would type them out. You could also type away on the teletype to respond to messages coming in. I doubt I could do it now, but back then, I showed this young scientists a few tricks on the teletype, and then I sent several messages off in record time.

I have seen several UFO stories in the news over the past few months, and most of them deal with the Trump regime threatening to release major secrets regarding UFOs and alien life. I had to wonder if this was more fishing for publicity on Trump’s part, but who knows? I can see Trump signs up here, for there are Canadians who are as right-wing as any Trump-loving Republican. I expect more stories about how the Republicans and their supporters will try to disrupt the Biden administration and their efforts at every opportunity.

I remember the high status of the Scott Meredith Literary Agency, and I am not sure how it fell into some level of disrepute, although what you write here makes things a little clearer. I’d like a look at Writer Beware… Hmmm, interesting. The newest news coming in is on their Facebook page.

My letter… I think there have been some Republicans who have come to their senses (definitely not all of them), and backed away from the idea of declaring martial law, or pulling a coup of some kind. The 25th Amendment of the US Constitution should have been invoked some months ago. The Christmas and New Year’s season is the perfect opportunity to examine your life, see what needs to be changed or reinforced, and resolve to make those changes. Some of us even carry through with these good intentions.

We have a few places to be this afternoon, so I will wind this up. Good to see Dale Speirs and Bob Jennings here, too. Take care, and a happy and sane 2021 to everyone.

Yours, Lloyd Penney

RX: I noticed the December date to your email. What did you think of that event in Washington DC on January 6th, you know the one Trump says only had

XR #154 4 peaceful protesters that “hugged and kissed” the cops?

ThanX to my lousy health insurance I had go to a small town in the hinterlands about an hour away with a volunteer driver (I haven’t been able to afford car in over 20 years.) On the way I noticed someone had erected this sign by the road, large letters proclaiming:

FUCK BIDEN

PRO-AMERICAN

ANTI-BIDEN

Teletype? Reminds me of the machines back in journalism school that printed out the latest stories on long light yellow paper. See a story, tear it off. Me, I prefer cut and paste or saving as a PDF.

Trump was gonna spill the beans on UFOs? Missed that one. Like his other claims no evidence provided. Maybe evil aliens stole the presidential election from him, using unseen UFOs hacking into the system.

Republicans not supporting Biden, attempting to block his efforts? How can this be?

ThansX for the LOC. Watch the skies for stolen voting machines.

* * *

Reality Benders

In the latest edition of his Askew zine (#33) John Purcell included an image from the web of Rod Serling introducing a episode with a special guest star in the background. Trump sits at the Oval Office desk while Rod provides details about the character.

In a LOC to John I commented on the appropriateness of that image. It's TZ time when Trump and the other repuglicans try to sell deceptive fantasy as reality like the election was stolen. Recently Trump stated that the insurrection on January 6th was peaceful, everyone hugging and kissing like a hippie lovefest. An odd statement from a homophobe but then again dementia...

Repuglicans blame the violence on January 6 (huh, where's the hugging and

XR #154 5 kissing?) on antifa. What's next? They'll blame the riot on evil shape shifting Skrulls or body snatching pods from outer space?

Of course the main problem is some people believing anything, no matter how crazy, shoveled on them by Trump, the Repuglicans and conspiracy mongers. But then again this doesn’t surprise me after what I’ve seen in other areas.

The TV series American Greed details true stories of scams that had left investors destitute. Now if someone has limited mental capability like dementia it’s understandable they would fall prey to such deception. But intelligent people with full mental capabilities? Sorry, it’s hard to feel sorry for most of them falling victim to a snake oil salesman. When someone promises a 20 per cent return or higher on an investment be wary.

Many of the deceptions discussed on American Greed involved Ponzi schemes. If you’re investing money you should know what that scheme is. Google it.

There’s one episode of a true crime series that I couldn’t believe the gullibility of a woman married to a man after her money. Friends and relatives tried to warn her after she was rushed to the hospital two different times with what appeared to poisoning. Someone at least convinced her to change her husband being the beneficiary to her money to someone else.

Despite the warnings two times before the wife still believed in her husband, she didn’t leave. Like they say the third time was a charm.

After the of his wife the widower contested the beneficiary status and the court awarded him all the money. At least he didn’t escape completely free: the

XR #154 6 widower was nailed later for murder.

Locally a woman fell for the “your relative is in prison” phone call scam. She was told to mail the bail money hidden in a magazine inside a large envelope. After the package went off she started to have doubts about the transaction.

People should be skeptical (but not cynical.) I remain skeptical in general but maybe someday a clever crook with a sophisticated scam will get me. But it has to be really sophisticated.

Besides my skepticism I’m also a realist. One time I told someone I would never be really happy while stuck in Plattsburgh.

He replied: “You can’t say that!”

Really. You know me better than I know myself?

* * *

Don’t Judge An Artist By The Medium

The other day I came across a comic book story online that I read in printed form years ago. A simple three page story entitled Death Claims An Enemy, originally published in the Avon title Strange Worlds #6 (1950). The story concerns Robert Vance, an 80 year old scientist who misses his dead wife but presses on with his research to create an invention for world peace. For many years he has been working on a gas that would make men give up their warlike emotions. Sound familiar? As I previously mentioned the movie Hand of Death was about a scientist also pursuing world peace with a gas that would make men docile. No relation between the movie and the comic book story: it just shows how ideas can arise in fiction independent of other sources.

XR #154 7 Both the film and comic book story have downbeat endings. No, Vance doesn’t turn into a whose touch can kill anyone and has to be killed. Death Claims An Enemy doesn’t have a horrific plot. Falling asleep Vance awakes in the realm of unthought things, his spirit the form of a young man. He sees his wife, looking as young as when she died, asking her if he will succeed in reaching his goal. They float through the ether, his wife showing the future, one that has someone else bringing about world peace. Defeated Vance doesn’t return to his body, he stays with his wife, both flying up into heaven. How the artist depicts the astral realm and the two young spirits shows a talent beyond most comic book artists. Human hands and bodies float and twist, planets and stars seen in the background. Vapors trail across the otherworld, passing by hovering green creatures with limp tentacles. This was years before Steve Ditko depicted similar scenery in . In the panel where the spirits of Vance and his wife release themselves to rise to haven Kinstler evokes a classical feel. I noticed the artist’s signature: Everett Raymond Kinstler. Through Google I learned that besides comic books he also illustrated pulp magazines. Some would think his work in those mediums would limit this future prospects. Wrong. He went on to became a well-known portrait artist whose subjects includes eight American presidents and movie stars like James Cagney. His talent came to full bloom. Don’t judge a book by its cover. Or an artist by a medium.

XR #154 8