] type='image/vnd.microsoft.icon'/>

Monday, August 19, 2013

The Fire and Water Podcast, Episode 62

sgTHE FIRE AND WATER PODCAST: Episode 62
The official podcast of THE AQUAMAN SHRINE and FIRESTORM FAN

Episode 62 - Power Records Showcase!


In this episode I am joined by writer, artist, inaugural F.O.A.M. member and lifelong Power Records fan Chris Franklin (aka Earth-2 Chris) to talk about two of our favorite audio adventures: "Robin Meets Man-Bat!" and "The Man From Krypton"!

As always, you can leave a comment on our sites:
THE AQUAMAN SHRINE - http://www.aquamanshrine.com
FIRESTORM FAN - http://firestormfan.com
FIRE AND WATER PODCAST TUMBLR - http://fireandwaterpodcast.tumblr.com


Have a question or comment? Drop us a line at firewaterpodcast@comcast.net

You can see Chris' artwork here: http://earth2chris.deviantart.com/gallery

Subscribe via iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/podcast/the-fire-and-water-podcast/id463855630

Intro theme, "That Time is Now," by Michael Kohler.


Closing music by Daniel Adams and Ashton Burge of The Bad Mamma Jammas! http://www.facebook.com/BadMammaJammas

Thanks for listening! Fan the Flame and Ride the Wave!



sgsg


16 comments:

Count Drunkula said...

Ordinarily, these Power Records episodes make me shove my head in the oven. Of course, it's electric, so I get bored and end up banging my head and my knees when I get up.

The point is, this is the first Power Records episode I finished listening to. At first the Man-Bat screeching made me think Tanja, the woman who lives upstairs, was having rage-sex with her ex-husband again. Realizing it was part of the show, however, was enough to hold my attention for the rest of that adventure.

Earth-2 Chris did a great job co-hosting. He made me forget all about Rob's regular partner, Luke.

Anj said...

Have to say I also enjoyed this Power Records episode more than prior.

Figured I'd concentrate on the Superman one.

First off, the kid is pretty weak in the 'golly gee you're Supergirl' sort of a way.

Second, is it me or did Jor-El sound pretty old?

As for Lara, her singing Kryptonian folk songs sounded like whale calls. And her 'have a happy journey!' line as the rocket goes off is pretty weird.

But I was happy to hear a version of the Pa Kent deathbed speech. That is my version of the Superman origin.

Briefly, I thought the Batman one was also very entertaining. I am a Man-Bat guy so having him and his wife Francine involved was great. SCREEECH!

Earth 2 Chris said...

I meant to comment on Lara's "whale song". It's pretty odd, and the whoopie-cushion-like ending to the song seems way out of place. Her and Jor-El's farewells to baby Kal are kind of haunting to me. The sadness of a dying world really comes through.

I'd like to thank Rob again for asking me on the show. I had a blast. And I apologize for all the times I said "you know". I guess that's my version of Shag's "so".

Chris

Unknown said...

I agree with Count Drunkula...sort of...when I first heard Man-Bat's screech I thought it was a woman in distress. It put me more in mind of a scream from an old Hammer Horror film, sampled and looped than rage sex...but I guess we all have our own points of reference

Unknown said...

Oh yeah...just to be clear I love these Power Records episodes and hope there will be many more to come!

BlUsKrEEm said...

I love how Supes went so far as to tell the boy the name of his parents and hometown. Clark has never really tried to hide his secret identity, has he?

This was a great show. Chris's audio quality wasn't great, but he's clearly a natural host. Does he have his own show yet?

Siskoid said...

The bat-screech is HILARIOUS! I mean that in a good way.

You know, it's too bad you're not a Doctor Who fan, Rob, because the Big Finish audios Shag is always raving about are really an evolution of what Power Records were doing way back when. Real theater of the imagination stuff.

And good job, Chris! Your passion shone through!

Earth 2 Chris said...

I don't have a podcast...or even a blog yet! It's on my list of things to do. Rob and Shag have inspired me to consider it in the future. In the meantime, I am available for podcasts, weddings and barmitzvahs.

Thanks for all the kind words guys, and I apologize for audio quality, that's the fault of my crappy phone service, and no fault of Rob's. The perils of living in the sticks of Kentucky!

Chris

Russell said...

Chris, I thought the show was great! I'm not a big fan of the Power Records or the F/W podcasts about them (sorry, Rob, just not that much of a radio drama type guy) but this one was fun! You were a natural. I agreed with you most of the time, and when I didn't, I definitely saw your point or your passion. Your comments about Barnabas Collins were spot on!

Off to drink my Mountain Dew...oh, damn, who mis-labelled my Bat Extract again? :-(

rob! said...

Here's the thing about the Power Records shows: they're never planned as anything other than fill-in shows during a week where one of us can't record. Last year, when we started going from a bi-weekly to weeky schedule, we just took the week off and didn't post a show, but we found these are a nice compromise.

Max said...

Great job, guys (and personally, I really enjoy these Power Records episodes)! Having someone to discuss the stories with brings a whole other dimension to things, so I hope you'll do it again. And others have already said, Chris is a natural!

This Superman origin is "my" origin, too, but there's always been something that's bugged me about it: Shouldn't the doctor and staff at the children's home (oh, such a nice way to say "orphanage") have put two and two together at some point? A super-powered baby would be hard to forget, and you'd think a super-powered guy flying around later might trigger something.

Earth 2 Chris said...

^Yes! Another comment I failed to mention. In some stories baby Kal lifts up his crib (which is amazing enough) but here he is FLYING! I could see these two showing up in a blackmail plot in an old Adventure Comic Rob would cover feature here!

Chris

Justin Barlow said...

This is the first time I've actually listened to one of the Power Records episodes, and I really enjoyed it! I'll be going back to give the others a chance, too.

It was awesome to hear another guest co-host, as I always enjoy guest Fire and Water hosts, especially ones with great origin stories. Rock on, Earth-2 Chris!

Diabolu Frank said...

1. I'm with Count Drunkula. The first Aquaman/Shazam showcase inspired an attempted drug overdose, but it turns out that no amount of pot will kill you, especially when it turns out to be oregano, so now I just break out into hives when I get too close to a Papa Johns. No wait, I was doing that already.

The Conan/Riddler episode drove me TO hang myself, but I live in an apartment, so there's no quality weight-bearing beams. I'm so not getting that security deposit back.

When I heard about this Power Records excursion, I preemptively slit my wrists, but in my zeal I forgot to go down the lane instead of across the street. It just severed the tendons and made my wrist all floppy like Marley Shelton in "Planet Terror," but instead of having a gay baby with Rose McGowan I just couldn't type a comment worth a damn. That's why this is two weeks late. Also, I couldn't do anything about thinking about Marley Shelton and Rose McGowan, which was the true tragedy.

2. Nice to finally hear a proper Southern accent on the show. Shag's Floridian doesn't count, I'm a watered down Houstonian, and I can't understand a word that Cajun Luke says, so kudos to Earth-2 Chris for representing properly. Dug his deviantART page, too.

3. I'm a little bit younger than Rob, so I remember seeing "Power Records & Tapes" advertised in the actual books. The ones with tapes came on a blister pack type thing, the tape centered on a piece of (yellow?) cardboard above the book. I never bought any myself, because I only had my own suitcase record player, and couldn't rely on access to a tape deck back then. The family stereo only had an 8-track, and it's not like anybody else wanted to listen to radio dramas.

4. I had the Man-Bat record & comic set, which was probably the best total package of the lot. The record was far more professional than most in terms of tone, acting and effects, even if the story itself was cheesy. The greatest selling point was obviously the gorgeous Adams/Giordano art. The visuals were astonishing, like nothing I'd ever seen up to that point, especially at staid old DC. Adams really took advantage of the heavy stock paper for sublime coloring. I'm a Robin fan too, so his usage as an exposition dumping ground was fine with me. On the side of mockery, I wasn't aware that Kirk Langstrom was from Victorian England, or that his beard would get so passionate over a full bloom dandy man. If you need evidence of Francine's idiocy, look no further than her being fooled enough by a rubber Halloween mask to almost marry Man-Bat. Finally, the canned romantic music at the end of the story while Francine was lying topless on the floor was a little bit of a porny cue.

Diabolu Frank said...

5. I forgot to mention that I bought all of my Power Records from the K-Mart music section. Never saw them outside of spots like that.

6. I had a nostalgic interest in Man-Bat because of the record that lasted until around the time of that Batman: The Animated Series pilot. I understood why you'd use a dynamic budget-busting villain to launch the cartoon, but it was one of the weakest episodes I ever saw, made a poor first impression, and exposed a lot of the flaws in the character. He's the Lizard, without the tragic backstory. He doesn't work in Batman's sphere, and his tales irritate me today.

7. The voice work on the Superman story was meh, except for the icepick to the eardrum "kid." I'm pretty sick of the origin story by this point, but I enjoyed the comic for its emphasis on Jor-El & Lara. The lady steals the show with her vicious yet petty indictment of the council, amd for the creepy delivery of "He's so little, Jor-El, so small to die. Rich Buckler's art was winning.

8. "I don't have a podcast...or even a blog yet! It's on my list of things to do." Speaking as a fellow who just celebrated his sixth anniversary of blogging... don't. Just don't. I think there's a future in podcasts, but blogging is a chore pandering to a dwindling audience. Or maybe that's just me? The potential for a Wolverine blog has yet to be tapped...

9. Word Verification: icritac 10

Siskoid said...

8. That sounds a little sour, Frank. I can't disagree with the size of the audience. People hate to read, but I love to write so... When Shag and Rob talk about finding "your joy", well, verbiating on things I like seems to be mine.

My blog is 6 years old too, coming up on 7 in December, but I've always been an old dog slow to learn new tricks. If the audience IS small, it's still bigger than what I'd get expounding the virtues of Doctor Who (or whatever) in my living room. (I do that too, of course.) I'm quite happy to cater to the community that does check in with the SBG regularly or once in a while. I think my readers/commenters are pretty great.