Superman Records and Books Ad

I'm sure I was not the only reader who bought Warren Publishing's magazines as much for the mouth-watering Captain Company ad pages as for the story and art. Each issue ended with 10-12 pages of truly amazing stuff--records, toys, books, and more.

This ad ran on inside back covers (hence the color) and featured all kinds of goodies right in my wheelhouse--three Superman Power Records not to mention Treasury Comics! I'll take one of everything, thanks Captain Company!

Six Million Dollar Man - The Bionic Berserker

 
Track:

The Bionic Berserker

Despite the Six Million Dollar Man's superstar status at Power Records (three full LPs, plus a variant), from what I've been able to determine, he didn't get too many 45"s to himself. Other than Elves' Revolt, The Bionic Berserker is the only one of these single reissues that I've been able to find starring good old Steve Austin. I've learned, however, never to say never, so who knows what else is out there, still to be discovered?

The cover sleeve looks Neal Adams-ish, but not quite. I'm going to assume this was a Continuity Studios job, handed off to another artist on staff who was trained to draw a lot like Neal. I love that guy in the back, completely losing it over the Six Million Dollar Man's display of muscle.

Power Pals: Van Zee

Oh man do I love this picture! This is newest Power Pal Van Zee, proudly displaying his Batman - Stacked Cards Book and Record set, while also riding his Batman tri-cycle. How boss is that?

Despite all the pictures of me growing up with comics in my hand or in the background (or both), there's not a single shot of me with any of my beloved Power Records, so I absolutely love photos like this. If you have one, please send it in--we are the Power Records Generation!

Thanks Van!

Power Pals: Christmas Kid

Power Pal Rockwell Jay Pugglesworth sent in this picture of a kid from the 1970s having the best Christmas ever! Clearly he's a big Star Trek fan--if not, then Santa goofed up big time.

Merry Christmas everyone!

The Adventures of The Amazing Spider-Man and Friends!

Tracks:
Mark of the Man-Wolf
The Way It Began
...And A Pheonix Shall Arise
The Incredible Hulk At Bay

Power Records re-issued this Spider-Man LP, giving it a slightly new name, and managing to squeeze in a fourth audio adventure (why only three made it on the other version I can't imagine). Could it be possible this was sent back out after Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends debuted in 1981, with the hopes that slapping "...and Friends!" on it would move some copies? And check out the front cover blurb, where it says it features "Captain America and The Hawk." I think they mean The Falcon...

Regarding the back cover, it's interesting that of all the records they chose to plug, they picked Man-Thing, one of the least little kid-friendly records in the collection!

B-Boy Bionics

Newest Power Pal Darrell Krum sent me this vinyl record sleeve, which bares a striking resemblance to a certain Power Record LP. Darrell designed and illustrated it, and this Power Records fan thinks it came out great.

Nice job Darrell and thanks for sending it in! Power Records lives on!!

The Incredible Hulk - At Bay

Track:
The Incredible Hulk At Bay!

For some reason, Power Records re-purposed some of their Spider-Man and Hulk book-and-record sets. They retained the inside contents but gave them new, generally less Marvel-y, covers. The mustard-colored background really brings the excitement!

The Power Records Podcast Episode 8: Six Million Dollar Christmas!

The Fire and Water Podcast Presents: THE POWER RECORDS PODCAST, Episode 8

It's Christmas time again, so Chris and I take a listen to four holiday-themed audio adventures starring Steve Austin, the Six Million Dollar Man! We wrap up with your Listener Feedback!

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Opening and closing themes courtesy Peter Pan Records.

Thanks for listening! Drop the needle and turn the page!

Space: 1999 - 3 Exciting Stories

Tracks:
Breakaway
Death's Other Dominion
Mission of the Darians

Like The Six Million Dollar Man, Space: 1999 was a property I was only vaguely familiar with as a kid. To my memory, I never had any of the book and record sets, and this second LP of adventures was completely unknown to me until recently. This certainly has to be the only Power Record recommended by Dr. Wernher von Braun--though to be fair, I bet he would have recommended this Wonder Woman 45" if he had had the chance.

Audio-wise, these adventures aren't bad, but they suffer an overall dullness that I thought marred the show, and kept me from really getting into it, in those dark days before Star Wars. Still, the sleeve makes it all look very exciting!

Spider-Man - The Abominable Showman

Track:
The Abominable Showman

Another Spidey 45", featuring signed cover art by Bill Gow. Art-wise, this is one of the better sleeves, with Spidey taking a real beating courtesy the Showman's giant robot!

Wonder Woman: The Secret of the Magic Tiara Original Art

 

A page of Rich Buckler's wonderful original art to the "The Secret of the Magic Tiara" book and record set. Be careful of that Mitch fella, Wonder Woman!

I (ahem) wonder why the page is noted as "Wonder Woman #35"?

The Beastie Boys - Brr Stick 'Em

Tracks:
Bionic Berserker

I mentioned on Wednesday that I found it remarkable that, considering how massively popular The Six Million Dollar Man was in the 1970s, that it hasn't come back in some major way. The property is still very beloved by those who grew up with it.

Case in point: The Beastie Boys sampled a section from Power Records' Six Million Dollar Man audio adventure "Bionic Berserker" for their 2004 song "Brr Stick 'Em", which appeared as a B-side to the "Right Right Now Now" single. Check it out below, it kicks off the song:

Did one of the Beastie Boys have some Power Records growing up? Age-wise it's more than possible. This seems like a subject that should be addressed in that Power Records coffee table book I want to write!

The Six Million Dollar Man: Volume 2

 
Tracks:

The Haiti Connection

Operation Deep Freeze

To Win An Oscar

The Loch Ness Syndrome

Boy, did I give ol' Steve Austin short shrift on the first iteration of this blog. I covered the first LP of course, and I mistakenly assumed that was all there was. Wrong, wrong, wrong! Not only did Power Records issue that first LP in two different sleeves, but they also put out an all-original Christmas record, multiple 45s, and this second LP full of another set of audio adventures! That puts the Six Million Dollar Man up there with Superman, Batman, and Spider-Man in terms of how many different Power Records are out there with Steve Austin as the star. 

Considering how big The Six Million Dollar Man was in the 1970s, its sort of amazing that he hasn't returned to the pop culture landscape, considering nearly everything from that era has (including The Bionic Woman). I know there's been a reboot movie script floating around Hollywood for years, I wonder what the hold up is?

Audio-wise, these four stories--which I'm hearing for the first time--are pretty solid. There's a different actor playing Steve, and he dropped the attempted mimicry of Lee Majors that the other performer went for. I kinda miss it, really!

The Six Million Dollar Man - Alternate Cover

Tracks:

Birth of the Bionic Man

The Iron Heart

The Man From The Future

Bionic Berserker

I guess Power Records thought re-issuing their Six Million Dollar Man LP using photos from the actual show was a good idea, just in case Neal Adams' original failed to hook potential buyers.

Of course, no sooner do I say that I've never seen Power Record issue a "variant", then I find this. Happy to be wrong!