So I’m busily working away on the text feature for Steve Canyon Volume 8 (a juicy assemblage of material that includes Milton Caniff turning real-life incidents into story fodder!) and I get this e-mail from my dear, long-time friend Doug Thornsjo. If you read the Definitive Flash Gordon and Jungle Jim you got a taste of Doug’s writing (and his voluminous knowledge of movie serials) in Volume 2, in which he produced an article about Buster Crabbe’s three chapterplay turns as Flash.
Doug knew that in Canyon we had provided some coverage of the Ideal toy line based on Milton Caniff’s high-flying colonel, items like the Jet Helmet …
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
… And the Glider Bomb …
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
But he found an even-more-fascinating artifact about those toys, something that blended sound and motion with its pictures and words.
“A small part of this will be of interest to you — pay special attention at the 5:28 mark — it gets even more interesting for you at the 6:30 mark,” he wrote.
And here’s the link he provided:
When I first launched this video it began playing at the ten-plus minute point, so if that happens to you please rewind to 5:25 and watch the fun unfold!
Of course, you may decide you want to watch the whole video, and who can blame you? I don’t remember seeing commercials for King Zor (for Odd Ogg and Horrible Hamilton, yes, but not for King Zor), but if I had seen that commercial, I know I’d have wanted one!
If you enjoy what you see when you click the link, thank Doug for pointing it out to us. You can find him at: Doug Thornsjo.
