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Or "What Happens When a Licensor Thinks They Can Create Super-Heroes, too." Holo-Man
was a Power Records original, created by Vincent Fusco and Donald
Kasen, written by Fusco and Kasen(plus, according to the credits, five more people!) and drawn by long-time comics pro Joe Giella.
I
guess I shouldn't be too hard on ol' Holo-Man; Power Records' heart was
clearly in the right place, it wasn't all their fault the end product
came out so ridiculously goofy. I bet if this story had been written as a
Superman tale most comics fans wouldn't bat an eye. I do love
how they keep saying the word "hologram" in excited and/or hushed tones,
as if its the most exciting technological development since the
microchip.
Clearly, they intended to do more of these, since the story ends with a cliffhanger(oh, excuse me, a superiffic cliffhanger)...but as far as I've ever seen or heard, this was Holo-Man's one shot at comic book glory.
Like the Shazam! 45", I never knew this one existed until I saw it on eBay.
How
Peter Pan Records escaped a lawsuit from Universal I don't know, I
would say the cover art does its best to tie this record in with the hit
film, wouldn't you?
Unlike the superhero and monster records,
which are really goofy yet a total blast, these stories are, well, just
pretty bad. The stories are ridiculously contrived, and the
characterizations are silly beyond belief. Pretty much nothing could've
lived up to Neal Adams' cover in terms of excitement, but the gulf
between cover art and inside contents has never been greater on a Power
Record.
The producer is listed as Arvid Knudsen, and the actors
are the "Goldstar Repertory Group." Since none of these people are
familar names to the rest of the Power Records' line, I wonder, were
these stories(and maybe the even the unusual, educational-style back
cover) done for some other purpose, years ago, and Power Records grabbed
them up, slapped a new cover on it, and called it a day?
By the way--despite what the sleeve says, there is no story called "Worshippers of the Sharks." Sheesh!
