POP-A-LOOZA: THE EVERLASTING FIRST! ABBA, Action Comics, Action Swingers, Adventure Comics, The Adverts, and Astonishing Tales

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 a reprise of the very first edition of my series The Everlasting First, offering quick takes on my introductions to ABBA, Action Comics, Action Swingers, Adventure Comics, the Adverts, and Astonishing Tales.

This piece was a little bit longer when it was first posted back in August of 2016. My original intent for The Everlasting First was for each alphabetical entry to spotlight my introductions to a musical act and a superhero or other fictional entity, supplemented by the quick takes, consisting of an equal number of music and comics/pulp fiction subjects. As the series progressed, I realized that many comics fans didn't want to read about rock 'n' roll, and some pop music aficionados didn't care about the funnybook stuff.

So I started separating the music from the comics and pulp stuff, and retroactively split all the previously-posted Everlasting Firsts, as well. 

Over the course of nearly six years of The Everlasting First, I still haven't made it through the damned alphabet. I have gotten through the letter T, with T is for TARZAN, T is for THE TURTLES, and T's Quick Takes For Comics (Teen Titans, Thor, T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, and The Twilight Zone) and Quick Takes For Music. (Television, the Temptations, Tommy Tutone and the Troggs). I haven't yet decided on the U entries--Uncle Scrooge? The Ugly Ducklings? U.N.C.L.E.? The Undertones? Uncle Sam? Tracey Ullman?--but I'll get to 'em eventually. When I finally do finish making my way through EF A-Z, I'll circle back to do others in no particular order, perhaps including the Animals and the Lone Ranger.

Two other dormant series are also due for a near-future comeback here: 5 Above (covering five songs from a specific artist or within a specific category) and Comic Book Retroview (covering short runs and/or single issues of comic book titles). Among the subjects potentially looming in one or t'other, we have the Romantics, Iron Man And Sub-Mariner, KISS, Daredevil Battles Hitler, the Hollies, Shazam!, Herman's Hermits, Detective Comics, Suzi Quatro, Captain Action, the Kinks in the '80s, the Spectre in the Silver Age, and comic book songs.

They say you never forget your first time; that may be true, but it's the subsequent visits--the second time, the fourth time, the twentieth time, the hundredth time--that define our relationships with the things we cherish. Ultimately, the first meeting is less important than what comes after that. But every love story still needs to begin with that first kiss. 

That's the boilerplate intro for The Everlasting First. And the origin of The Everlasting First serves as the latest Boppin' Pop-A-Looza.

If you like what you see here on Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do), please consider  supporting this blog by becoming a patron on Patreon, or by visiting CC's Tip Jar. Additional products and projects are listed here.

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.

I'm on Twitter @CafarelliCarl

THE EVERLASTING FIRST: Quick Takes For A

Everything's gotta start somewhere. Before it becomes your favorite food, your favorite movie, or the love of your life, it's just something you've never tasted, something you've never seen, or someone you haven't yet met. And it's also true of favorite musical performers, and of favorite fictional characters.  For The Everlasting First, we'll take a series of looks back at my first exposures to a number of rock 'n' roll acts and superheroes (or other denizens of print or periodical publication), some of which were passing fancies, and some of which I went on to kinda like. Each entry in this 26-part series will be devoted to a single letter of the alphabet, and will include my reminiscence of both a rock group or singer and a comic book or comic book character (or other print-related topic) whose name starts with the letter of the day. Yes, it's Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do)'s answer to Sesame Street! 

They say you never forget your first time; that may be true, but it's the subsequent visits--the second time, the fourth time, the twentieth time, the hundredth time--that define our relationships with the things we cherish. Ultimately, the first meeting is less important than what comes after that. But every love story still needs to begin with that first kiss.

 


ABBA: First ABBA song I ever heard was "Waterloo," on WOLF-AM.

ACTION COMICS:  First issue I owned was Action Comics # 356 (November 1967), starring Superman in "The Son Of The Annihilator!," plus Supergirl in "The Girl Of Straw!"

ACTION SWINGERS: I don't think I'd even heard of them before coming across a used copy of the group's Decimation Blvd. CD at a shop in Lake George, NY. Bought it on a whim--the album title's sly reference to Sweet's Desolation Boulevard was a positive factor--and subsequently enjoyed it at a rather loud volume. "No Heart & Soul" became an early favorite on This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio.

ADVENTURE COMICS:  Adventure Comics # 358 (May 1968), starring The Legion of Super-Heroes in "The Mutiny Of The Super-Heroines!"

THE ADVERTS:  "Gary Gilmore's Eyes" on Brockport's college station WBSU.

ASTONISHING TALES: A Marvel split-book, published after the era of split-books--Tales To Astonish, Tales Of Suspense, Strange Tales--had passed with the end of the '60s. Nonetheless, Marvel tried it again 1970, and I came in with Astonishing Tales # 2 (October 1970), starring the jungle hero Ka-Zar in "Frenzy On The Fortieth Floor!" and the evil Dr. Doom in "Revolution!" The Ka-Zar story was pencilled by Jack Kirby, and Dr. Doom was drawn by Wally Wood--two legendary comics artists under one cover, for a mere 15 cents! Picked this up off the spinner rack while on vacation in Pensacola.



TIP THE BLOGGER: CC's Tip Jar!

You can support this blog by becoming a patron on Patreon: Fund me, baby! 

Our new compilation CD This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 4 is now available from Kool Kat Musik! 29 tracks of irresistible rockin' pop, starring Pop Co-Op, Ray Paul, Circe Link & Christian Nesmith, Vegas With Randolph Featuring Lannie Flowers, The Slapbacks, P. Hux, Irene Peña, Michael Oliver & the Sacred Band Featuring Dave Merritt, The Rubinoos, Stepford Knives, The Grip Weeds, Popdudes, Ronnie Dark, The Flashcubes,Chris von Sneidern, The Bottle Kids, 1.4.5., The Smithereens, Paul Collins' Beat, The Hit Squad, The Rulers, The Legal Matters, Maura & the Bright Lights, Lisa Mychols, and Mr. Encrypto & the Cyphers. You gotta have it, so order it here.