Spider-Man LP Original Art

When I first saw this beautiful piece of John Romita art, I assumed it had been created expressly for the Power Record The Amazing Spider-Man LP, seen above. But upon closer inspection, it's more likely that it was used for some other purpose (Romita being Marvel's go-to guy for iconic stock art shots of its characters) and then re-used for the LP. Although...

Now that I look at it again, I see that the Spidey logo looks like a recent addition to the paste-up, since it has not browned with age like the rest of the piece. So maybe that was added later, and then signed by Romita to make it more valuable on the original art market. Whatever its origins, it's a beautiful piece, perfect for the album sleeve, promising the buyer classic Spider-Man adventures!

Heroes World Ad

I found this ad on Google Image, but it had no context so I can't be sure where it originally appeared. Judging by the wonky letting and DIY aesthetic, my hunch is its from one of those Heroes World catalogs from the 1970s and early 80s.

I know the ad is not suggesting this at all, but who do you think would win in a fight, Spock, Spider-Man, Captain America, and Dracula vs. Superman, Batman, Hulk, and Man-Thing? My money's on the latter!

Fantastic Four/Captain America Cassette 2-Pack

 

 

 

 

Tracks:

The Way It Began

...And A Phoenix Shall Arise

Over on the Power Records Facebook page, Power Pal Rockwell Jay Pugglesworth sent a bunch of really cool images, mostly of stuff we have yet to cover here on the blog. Case in point, this 2-pack featuring cassette versions of Fantastic Four: The Way It Began and Captain America: And A Phoenix Shall Arise!


As you can see, Power Records put in Mego-like effort sometimes, simply slapping a sticker with the word "cassette" over the cover, rather than re-printing. Clearly, they had inventory lying around, and Pete Pan realized that vinyl was dying off, so repurposing for cassette was the financially prudent thing to do. Maybe I simply stopped being interested in these by the early 1980s, because I don't ever remember seeing a single one of these Power Cassette sets for sale at the time.

We now have photographic evidence of three Marvel-based cassette sets, there must be more. Perhaps Superman or Batman? Until we can find them, thanks Rockwell!

The Power Records Podcast, Episode 7: More Monsters!

The Fire and Water Podcast Presents: THE POWER RECORDS PODCAST, Episode 7

It's Halloween time, and that means Monsters! Hosts Rob Kelly and Chris Franklin talk about two spooky Marvel Monster records, "The Monster of Frankenstein!" and "The Curse of the Werewolf!"

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Opening and closing themes courtesy Peter Pan Records.

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

Wonder Woman - The Secret of the Magic Tiara Original Art

Here's the beautiful original art for Wonder Woman: The Secret of the Magic Tiara book and record set by the legendary Rich Buckler. About as iconic as it gets, weird capitalization notwithstanding!

If you look close, you can see some very minor tweaks made to Diana's face for the printed version--it seems editors just can't resist fiddling with final art after it comes in, no matter who is doing the work. Man, have I been there, and I'm not Rich Buckler or John Romita!

(h/t: Al Bigley's Big Glee Archive)

The Avengers - Captain America Joins The Avengers!

This gorgeous custom Power Records book-and-record set is courtesy the always engaging Dial "B" for Blog...but there's more!

In the late 1960s, Marvel teamed with an outfit called Golden Records, which issued four LPs called "Marvel Age Comic Spectaculars", that featured audio adaptations of classic Marvel stories (for the, uh, record: Fantastic Four #1, Amazing Spider-Man #1, Journey into Mystery #83, and The Avengers #4), accompanied by reprints of the comic--in this case, the aforementioned Avengers #4. Almost impossible to find now for less than a small fortune, they were the forerunners to the Power Records.

Dial "B" decided to create the custom Power Record cover, also adding "Ani-Motion" to the comic book portion, so you can watch your heroes move (sort of) as they discover the Sentinel of Liberty encased in ice. It's a lot of fun, and the audio adaptation is pretty darn good. In fact, I'm not sure why Peter Pan just didn't license the four Golden Records and repurpose them for the Power Records line, it would have been great to have The Avengers and Thor added to the roster!

Star Trek - Dinosaur Planet

Track:
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!

Planet of the Apes Display Header

This beauty is the header card used for the Power Records Planet of the Apes in-store displays. They just don't make stuff like this anymore!

The fact this thing is still around gives me hope that other Power Record miscellanea is out there, too. Not that my wallet needs more trips to eBay, but still...

(h/t: Hunter's Planet of the Apes Archive)

Spider-Man - Bells of Doom

Track:
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

Track:
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?

Power Records @ The 1975 Toy Fair

Check out this mouth-watering display Peter Pan/Power Records had going at the 1975 Toy Fair. They quite simply don't make 'em like this any more! Click the image to check out PlaidStallions.com to see more pics from this show, it looks like the kind of thing I dreamed about as a kid.

 

Speaking of dreaming, I keep hoping one day I'll find some of these Power Records displays for sale on eBay or something. I have yet to, but hope springs eternal...

 

 

Space: 1999 - The Future is Fantastic!

 

Tracks:

Return to the Beginning
End of Eternity
Dragon's Domain
If Played So Softly on the Ear

In all my years of Power Records fandom, I had no idea that Space: 1999 was so popular! Not only did the show get two book and record sets, but it also headlined two LPs, too, complete with photo covers, something the label never did for other TV properties like Star Trek and The Six Million Dollar Man!

I haven't seen Space: 1999 since I was a kid, but I remember the show being pretty dull. You wouldn't know it from this sleeve, which makes it look like a combo of Star Trek, Star Wars, and Irwin Allen. The future is fantastic!

The Amazing Adventures of Holo-Man Ad

Somebody had really high hopes for Holo-Man, as this breathless ad shows. Not only did he get his own Power Record, but kids could send away for an entire Holo-Man Adventure Kit!

I've never been sure whether Holo-Man was created by someone else and then licensed to Power Records, who assumed they were getting in on the ground floor of The Next Big Thing, or whether The Captain of Color was their own in-house idea. Judging by the fact that the mailing address of Atomic Comics was in the same city as Peter Pan, my hunch is the latter. Which means, somewhere, there's probably a dusty warehouse with several boxes of unsold Holo-Man 3-D pendants.

Wonder Woman - The Prisoner of Christmas Island

Track:
Prisoner of Christmas Island

Power Records re-purposed (of course they did) two of the three Christmas-themed stories they produced featuring Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman as solo 45" releases, with new sleeve art (in this case, it looks like the work of Dick Giordano to me) on both the front and back. With the Santa-driven piece on the back cover, I'm guessing these were all released in October and November, trying to cash in on the lucrative Christmas shopping season.

Strangely, I have yet to find the Batman story--"Christmas Carol Caper"--as a separate 45", which makes no sense to me at all. Batman was a big Power Records star, and they had the material on hand, so...? I guess that will be another question I have to find the answer to when I work on my as-yet-started Power Records coffee table book.

Wonder Woman - The Return of Brunhilde

 

Track:
The Return of Brunhilde

All five of the stories from Songs and Stories About The Justice League of America LP were reissued as 45"s, but only Wonder Woman got one all to herself. I don't have this actual record, so I'm not sure what, if anything, Power Records did to fill the grooves, since this story is about the same length as the ones starring Aquaman, Flash, Metamorpho, and Plastic Man.

As always, wonderful (heh), iconic sleeve art by Neal Adams.