Star Trek - The Time Stealer

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The Time Stealer

Yet another reissue of "The Time Stealer", in conjunction with the release of Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Interesting, this photo features no Chekhov, but it does feature Yeoman Rand, rarely seen on any ST merchandise of the time. Where's that Mego doll?

Ghostbusters - Ghostbusters Meet The Laser Ghost

 

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Ghostbusters Meet The Laser Ghost

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Ghostbusters Meet The Laser Ghost

Power Pal Mike Bridges found another heretofore (to me, at least) unknown Peter Pan release--Ghostbusters! I had no idea that the company was still licensing and releasing new records as late as 1984, not to mention something with as much geek cred as the 'busters. Mike also found a PDF of the entire book, see above so you can read along as you listen!

Adventure-wise, the story bares almost no resemblance to the cynical, wiseass tone of the movie--this is a lot more Scooby-Doo than anything else. That's of a piece with the whole Ghostbusters property following the movie, which was aimed at wee tykes almost exclusively.

Still, it was so fun to see this, and underscores yet again the thought that there's probably lots of other cool Peter Pan records that we just haven't seen yet (I'm holding out hope for a Scrooged Xmas record). Thanks Mike!


Post Script: In between writing this post and today, Mike also found that Ghostbusters Meet The Laser Ghost was released on cassette:

I was so sure I'd seen ever cool Peter Pan/Power Records release, and now this. My whole life has been thrown into chaos--human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria!

Star Trek - The Human Factor

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The Human Factor

Power Pal Rockwell J. Pugglesworth sent me a link to a site called Star Trek Story Records, which features a complete(?) listing of every Trek record Peter Pan issued! I took a quick look and found a number of Trek records we haven't yet covered, so let's catch up.

This audio adventure is called "The Human Factor", which was one of the newer stories created specifically as a tie-in to the 1979 movie. It was issued on a couple different multi-story LPs as well as this single with the dull as dishwater sleeve, seen above. Somehow I had overlooked posting it before so it is making its debut on the site today!

As an audio drama, "The Human Factor" is on par with the others from this later series of recordings. Though I did particularly enjoy the oblique references to the other stories in the opening moments of this one (continuity!).

By the way, if for some reason you need to own ten copies of this record, there's a guy on eBay who can hook you up.

Thanks again Rockwell!

Wonder Woman - Secret of the Magic Tiara

Another discovery I made recently was this 45" edition of Wonder Woman - Secret of the Magic Tiara with a cover I've never seen before. I don't recognize the art style at all, it doesn't look like any other sleeve Peter Pan produced at the time. Questions, questions!

Six Million Dollar Man - The Bionic Berserker

 
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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.

Spider-Man - The Abominable Showman

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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!

Star Trek: To Starve A Fleaver

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To Starve A Fleaver

 

Another of Power Records' dull as dishwater re-releases to tie in with Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Having worked in graphic design and dealt with licensed properties, I'm guessing that Peter Pan was sent a batch of stills from the movie by Paramount to use for the sleeves, so they could only do so much: almost all the images seen on these re-releases are boring as all get out. Not that ST:TMP had a whole lot of action scenes to pick from, but it seems like whoever was in charge really went out of their way to find as many "Crew of Enterprise standing around" shots as possible.

Star Trek: Passage to Moauv

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Passage to Moauv

Power Records reissued most (all?) of their Star Trek audio adventures with new front and back covers to tie in with the 1979 movie. Some of them were pretty god awful ugly, but this one isn't too bad, if a bit generic. Could the story title be done in a less exciting manner?

Superman: The Man From Krypton

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The Man From Krypton

Spider-Man of course wasn't the only Power Records star whose adventures were re-purposed across multiple formats. Superman got the honor with "The Man From Krypton", featuring an all-new cover, which looks to me like re-drawn versions of work by Rich Buckler and Jose Luis Garcia Lopez (PBHN).

This seems a little odd to me, because from what I understand JLGL didn't start producing the classic DC stock art until 1983 or so, and I thought Power Records had given up the ghost by then--or at the very least, had stopped issuing new releases of any kind. Yet here it is!

Six-Million Dollar Man: Elves' Revolt

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Elves' Revolt

I was never that into the Six-Million Dollar Man as a kid, so I never fully grokked just how popular he was in his heyday. Case in point: not only did Power Records license the character for his own LPs, but he was picked to headline a Christmas-themed adventure, an honor not even granted to Spider-Man or the cast of Star Trek!

This adventure is pretty painfully silly, though I appreciate the voice actor playing Steve Austin trying to approximate Lee Majors' particular way of speaking. It helps if you think of this record as a prequel to The Night The Reindeer Died.

Spider-Man: The Invasion of the Dragon Men

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Invasion of the Dragon Men

Power Records issued a couple of their adventures in yet another format, a refitted book-and-record set that came with a 45 rpm record. I can't be sure just yet, but I believe they also used this cover when putting it out on cassette, which is why they changed "book and record" to "book and recording", which covers all bases.

The artwork looks like it was traced from Marvel comics/style guides--it's a little loose for the House of Ideas, but also tighter than the work of Bill Gow, who did the sleeves for a lot of Spider-Man 45" records.

Planet of the Apes - Battle of Two Worlds

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Battle of Two Worlds

Another POTA TV show-centric plot, another stunning Neal Adams cover. The audio adventure is pretty good, and features some grisly moments that were hallmarks of the Apes franchise, despite it being aimed at, and sold to, children. It still distracts me that the guy who plays Peter Burker was also Peter Parker on the Spidey records. Now...Spider-Man on the Planet of the Apes, that would be something!

Another thing: the first time I looked at it, I really thought that one ape was angrily biting a banana.

Star Trek - Dinosaur Planet

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Dinosaur Planet
 

Dinosaur Planet is another of the later period, Star Trek: The Motion Picture-inspired book and record sets. Like the previously covered adventure The Robot Masters, Dinosaur Planet is perfectly fine, if a little dull, comic book, but the audio portion is pretty good. The writers get the interaction of the characters pretty spot-on, and of course the dinosaur-centric plot is something the actual show could have never afforded to do!

Though I will say, while the idea of using photos of the actors makes sense from a marketing perspective, jeez do they look cheezy when paired with the comic book-style backgrounds!

Spider-Man - Bells of Doom

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Bells of Doom

Another Spidey 45", featuring signed cover art by Bill Gow. Who is Bill Gow? Well, according to a commenter named Brian, he was an artist whose work "[A]ppeared mostly on the covers of Peter Pan and Kid Stuff Records in the 1970s." Mr. Gow, if you're out there, let us know, this blog would love to talk to you!

Superman - Light Up The Tree, Mr. President

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Light Up The Tree, Mr. President

Another one of the Christmas-themed re-purposed adventures from the Superman/Batman/Wonder Woman LP, this 45" sleeve features a beautiful Neal Adams piece which I am amazed wasn't re-used for other Xmas-related merchandise down the line. Who wouldn't want a shot of a smiling Superman flying in front of a Christmas tree on an ornament?