POP-A-LOOZA: THE EVERLASTING FIRST! The Fantastic Four, The Flash, Fools Face, The Four Seasons, The Four Tops, and Funnyman

Each week, the pop culture website Pop-A-Looza shares some posts from my vast 'n' captivating Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do) archives. The latest shared post is another installment of The Everlasting First, with Quick Takes on my introductions to the Fantastic Four, the Flash, Fools Face, the Four Seasons, the Four Tops, and Funnyman.

It's odd how little I've written about some of these. The Four Tops will have a chapter in my long-threatened book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1), while a Four Seasons chapter was written but is not included in that book's current plan. On the other hand, my fond recollection of the Fools Face album Tell America prompted me to write this piece for inclusion in the 2005 book Lost In The Grooves, a book which also presented my celebration of Subterranean Jungle by the Ramones, but the editors declined my offer to write about Elevator by the Rollers (the artists formerly known as the Bay City Rollers).

Moving from music-makers to comic-book crusaders, the Fantastic Four were a (small) part of my Everlasting First memory of discovering Marvel Comics, and the only other thing I've written about the Flash is a brief bit about his role in The CW's Crisis On Infinite Earths TV event.

Ah, but then there's Funnyman. I haven't written much about the Daffy Daredevil either, but there is this:

"Funnyman was Superman co-creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster's attempt to create another super-sensation after their ugly, ugly split from DC Comics in the late '40s. (I was going to say "after DC unceremoniously kicked 'em both to the curb, penniless, as the company went on to make millions off their creation," but no one likes negativity). By 1976, although it would be a stretch to say that all was forgiven, DC had made some amends with Siegel and Shuster, at least enough that Jerry 'n' Joe agreed to appear as guests of honor at the Super-DC Con in New York that February. I met Siegel and Shuster at the convention, and I also picked up my copy of 1948's Funnyman # 5 in the dealers' room. Funnyman, which comes across as a superhero Danny Kaye, was not a successful title, and it's not remembered with much fondness by fandom. But I liked it, and I wish I'd had the presence of mind to have Jerry and Joe autograph my copy."

I posted the public-domain Funnyman # 1 here. But Funnyman's largest role in my work was his alter ego Larry Davis' appearance in my make-believe 1958 beat musical film Jukebox Express. The fake movie's fictional players were annotated here. Jukebox Express was a joy to write, and I think it remains a fun read, imagining characters from Funnyman, That Thing You Do!, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Gilligan's Island, Happy Days, Room Service, King Kong, Marvel's Agent Carter, The Monkees, Singin' In The Rain, I Love Lucy, My Favorite Year, Ellery Queen, The Rocketeer, and more, all working together to make a movie I would love to see (if it actually, y'know, existed). I'm insanely proud of this gathering of the talents of Ginger Grant, Leather Tuscadero, Troy Chesterfield, Sophie Lennon, and a cast of many...none of whom ever really lived. Just imagine!

And imagine that my knowledge of Funnyman, the Four Tops, the Fantastic Four, Fools Face, the Flash, and the Four Seasons hadda start somewhere. Those stories serve as the latest Boppin' Pop-A-Looza.

Jukebox Express star Leather Tuscadero and a friend in Milwaukee

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This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl airs Sunday nights from 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse at SPARK! WSPJ 103.3 and 93.7 FM, and on the web at http://sparksyracuse.org/ You can read about our history here.

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