Retro Thing

Fantastic Contraption: Mechapunk Delight

Device, Volume 1: Fantastic Contraption is a beautiful 120-page paperback that highlights brilliant mechanapunk-steam-cybercreations by an international group of artists. The book release accompanies an exhibition of these contraptions at the new Device Gallery in La Jolla, California, which runs from July 19th through September 2nd.

Publisher IDW reports,"'Fantastic Contraption is as much as an experience as it is an exhibition and sets the tone for the unique aesthetic of the Device Gallery,' explains gallery co-owner Amy Brotherton. It’s like being transported in time to Leonardi Da Vinci’s workshop and while the work cannot easily be defined by a genre or medium, the sheer genius is undeniable."

It's amazing to see this movement hit the publishing mainstream, and I continue to hope that it'll have a positive influence on a new generation of young industrial designers and mad scientists. The book will be released on July 29, 2008, but it's available to pre-order for less than $14.

Order a copy of Fantastic Contraption
Visit the official Device Gallery site

Comedians + Comic Books = Remarkably Unfunny

Superheroes are synonymous with comic books, but when their popularity is on the wane publishers turn to other measures. There are funny comics, and there are attempts to make otherwise serious books humorous, (an approach that seldom, if ever, works). It makes sense that a publisher like DC comics might have turned to two legendary funnymen to try and inject their pulpy hilarity into 15 cent comic books.

From 1950-68 DC Comics devoted an entire series to the
adventures of Bob Hope. A popular star at the time, each comic depicts comedic mishaps and adventures similar to his feature films. He's surrounded by dishy beauties, and has the habit of calling all the babes "doll" (which is equally annoying in comics as it is in real life). 

I gave him a chance, but even in this format * SPOILER ALERT * Bob Hope just isn't that funny. The humor seems intended for children, but Hope's girl-crazy antics are a little too racy for tikes. Even after having read the book, I can't figure out what audience DC was intending to reach. All I can say about the experience is that just because a celebrity has a face that's easy to caricature, that doesn't make for a good comic.

DC tried it again in a couple early 1970's issues of "Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen". This comic series brandishes a two pronged pincer - Don Rickles in a dual role! In a trippier plot than Bob Hope could handle, Don appears as himself as well as a costumed alter-ego called Goody Rickles.

Superman does eventually show up, but all in all it's a big mess. There's no sign of Rickles' famous brand of insult comedy. Why do a comic book starring Mr. Warmth (Frank Sinatra's nickname for Don), if he only appears as a neutered version of himself?

The Hope comic makes some tiny bit of sense, but the elaborate Rickles cameo with Superman is just odd. It's hard to believe that including Hollywood stars could do all that much to increase sales of comics. On top of that, the presence of real-world celebrities compromises the elaborate universe that comic books work so hard to construct. I don't think that Superman sales soared because the world was just waiting for Rickles to don cape and boots.

As our modern Hollywood continues to plunder the long rich history of comics for more blockbuster ideas, let's hope that neither of these crummy comics become big-budget feature film epics.  Wasn't a hundred years of Bob Hope enough?

related:

Marvel Comics go digital
Disney comic strip artist's guide

30 Year of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"

It's been exactly 30 years (actually, I'm a few hours early) since the first episode of Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (H2G2) was foisted upon unsuspecting BBC radio listeners.We thought we'd celebrate by linking you to several free versions of the H2G2 game, but I'm going to blather a bit first.

The series would spawn a wildly successful five part 'trilogy,' a TV series and even a woefully inadequate feature film that Douglas had the good sense to avoid by reincarnating as a tea-loving deity on a far off world populated by sentient mattresses (For the record, Douglas, the Earth would have been a far more interesting place if you'd skipped the film idea and decided to stick around instead).

It should come as no surprise that Douglas was an alpha technology addict. After earning a daft sum from his books in the early 1980s, he eagerly embraced the Macintosh along with a respectable collection of then state-of-the-art MIDI synthesizers including a Sequential Prophet VS. His favorite feature of the VS was the random patch generator, which seems somehow fitting given his love of Infinite Improbability. Of course, the secret purpose of his music rig could be summed up in a single word: Procrastination. As he famously remarked, "I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by."

In 1984, Douglas teamed up with Infocom's Steve Meretzky to release a text-only computer game based on the Guide. It sold a stunning 350,000 copies before getting buried by an avalanche of prettier titles. Douglas explained, "Then graphics games came along and the computer using portion of the human race forgot all about 500,000 years of language evolution and went straight back to the electronic equivalent of banging rocks together - the point'n'click game. Infocom and most of its competitors went to the wall - signaling the arrival of the post-literate society. That's the way it's been for most of the last dozen years."

Luckily, you can experience several online versions of the game, including a Java port of the original and a graphically enhanced '20th Anniverary' edition that the BBC released in 2004. I strongly suggest steeping some tea, getting comfy and spending a few hours trying to keep Arthur Dent alive.

tangentially related:
The BBC ponders The Ultimate Question

Marvel Comics Go Digital

Following years of declining sales, Marvel has chosen to leap into the digital world by launching an online archive service that allows unlimited access to around 2,500 back issues for $9.99/month. It's easy to understand why the company chose to go this route. The days of the dime store rack laden with hundreds of exciting Marvel and DC titles are long gone, a victim of skyrocketing prices, the Internet, video games and countless other modern distractions.

I vividly remember the excitement of receiving boxes of 'remaindered' comic books from my local drug store in the late 1970s. The front pages had been removed and returned to the distributor as evidence that they'd been destroyed, but my friends and I didn't care about the damage - we spent days absorbing each and every panel.

Alas, I fear Marvel's new venture is doomed from the start because online browsing can't possibly replace the tactile excitement of flipping through a paper version of your favorite comics (not to mention the classic ads), nor will it entice a new generation of kids to read the "real thing" because the real thing is too bloody expensive these days. The Amazing Spider-Man debuted in March 1963 at a price of 12 cents. Adjusted for inflation, that's 77 cents in 2006 dollars. Unfortunately, the cost of printing and distribution (along with a declining market) has pushed modern cover prices to at least $2.99.

The only people who will be truly excited about the digital archives are likely to be older fans and collectors who get to delve into the back story of their favorite characters at minimal cost and relive moments from their childhood. That said, I'm unlikely to subscribe to Marvel's new service for more than a month or two because a browser-based version of The Incredible Hulk can't compare to the huge stack filled with the heroic deeds of the Fantastic Four, Conan the Barbarian and dozens of others.

Marvel Comics Launches Digital Archive [PC World]

Classic Home Video Games: A Complete Reference Guide

Former comic book store owner Brett Weiss has compiled a 316-page hardcover guide to nearly every official US game release for programmable home consoles prior to the Nintendo NES -- no small feat. The book covers titles for the Adventure Vision, APF MP1000, Arcadia 2001, Astrocade, Atari 2600, Atari 5200, Atari 7800, ColecoVision, Fairchild Channel F, Intellivision, Microvision, Odyssey, Odyssey2, RCA Studio II, Telstar Arcade, and Vectrex.

Each chapter offers an overview and history of a system, followed by encyclopedia-style entries for each game. There's even an appendix that lists homebrew titles that have been released by amateur programmers. This intriguing reference volume will hit stores in Fall 2007, but it's available now for pre-order.

Update from Bohus:

Having Retro Thing offices in two countries sometimes means that messages don't always get through. We got an advance copy of "Classic Home Video Games" in Chicago, but our carrier pigeon was still getting his skates on while James was merrily posting about the title from Retro Thing in Canada. Here then are a few of my thoughts after cracking the spine of the book.

The first thing that jumped out at me is the book's school textbook vibe. No surprise since McFarland is a noted academic publisher (though their title "Super Bitches and Action Babes" leave me wondering...) which also seems to have influenced the price.  Retailing at $55 makes this one of the highest priced video game books I've seen that isn't a coffee table book with a lot of color photography. Fortunately, the writing style isn't dry and clinical like a textbook might be. Weiss offers up accessible reviews of every game released for both popular and obscure game systems.

The problem facing a book like this is how to differentiate from similar sources of the same information.  There are countless websites that offer reviews of all of these games, but don't have the quality writing that this title offers - a point in the book's favor. This reference guide also collects all of this content - including some pretty obscure games - in one place. That's another good point.

On the other hand, you could get much the same info from the Digital Press Collector's Guide. It's $25 shipped, has rarity & pricing guides, and also has a healthy online component. Classic Home Video Games also features very little in the way of photography to justify the cost.  This book is priced like a serious research work, when most readers are likely to be hobbyists and collectors.  All in all, I think that author Brett Weiss delivers on the content & critiques, but the publisher needs to examine the market for the book and adjust the price by about $20.  Maybe we can reconvene when the softcover comes out. - Bohus

Classic Home Video Games, 1972-1984: A Complete Reference Guide

The Making of Star Wars

George Lucas has rehashed Star Wars more times than I'd care to count: The groundbreaking 1977 original, the remastered 1997 theatrical release (I admit to seeing it on the first night), and the 2004 restoration / reimagining. Each time, the legends surrounding the film grow and people's memories become more and more clouded. What was wrong with Han shooting first, anyway? It's what one would expect from a ruthless mercenary.

J.W. Rinzler's The Making of Star Wars: The Definitive Story Behind the Original Film cuts through the myths and time-worn memories in an attempt to tell the true story behind this seminal sci-fi epic. The hardcover version runs 372 pages and outlines how a tale about "Annikin Starkiller” and “a huge green-skinned monster with no nose and large gills” named Han Solo evolved into the battle of good vs. evil that we know so well.

It's stunning to realize that 30 years have passed since a young George Lucas took on more than he could chew and pulled off a cinematic miracle. Some have argued that the book focuses too heavily on Lucas, but that is probably because it is impossible to imagine the Star Wars franchise without him. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some wamp rats to hunt on my uncle's moisture farm...

"Using his unprecedented access to the Lucasfilm Archives and its trove of never-before-published “lost” interviews, photos, production notes, factoids, and anecdotes, Star Wars scholar J. W. Rinzler hurtles readers back in time for an unprecedented behind-the-scenes look at the nearly decade-long quest of George Lucas and his key collaborators to make the “little” movie that became a phenomenon."

The Making of Star Wars [April 2007, Del Ray]

Bowling for Boys and Girls Book

Maybe it's the Mid-Westerner in me, but I've been compelled to bowl for the last few years.  I've always been attracted to the kitschy/novelty aspects of the game - the endless parade of ashtrays, greetings cards, the curious trophy I saw of a bowler having dropped the ball on their foot, etc.  I've watched the sexiness of the game from the sidelines for long enough, so now I'm in the game!

Growing up, bowling was the only sport I was interested in watching on TV (you've gotta set goals, I guess...) and I was envious of my classmates who had a bowling unit in high school gym.  So I was on my own to learn how to bowl on the streets of suburban Chicago (in the alleys, so to speak...).  I'm not any good, but it's the only social sport that I've been interested in.  All that said, check out my score sheet from last Sunday:

Um, yeah.  I'm as freaked out as you.  If I break 100 I'm a happy guy - but there it is, seven strikes.  I clearly had the "beer frame jitters", then choked in the 10th frame to come within a hair's breadth of 200 - all with rented shoes and an alley ball the color of fever snot.  I'm probably making too big a deal about this, but isn't this the exact kind of news to share with friends?  I feel so sporty... like a burly guy who drinks Milwaukee's Best - by choice.  Perhaps this what it feels like to finally be a man?

Funny thing is that the most helpful aides I've found in bowling are all from the 50's & 60's.  Perhaps the immense popularity of the game back then contributed the most to the science of teaching the necessary skills.  I've watched some helpful old 8mm & 16mm films, but I also found some help in this 1963 book.  While aimed at school children, this skinny book has a lot of essential techniques.  You also learn about buying your own ball and shoes, how to keep score, the benefits of automatic pin setting technology, even some snapshots of bowling history and culture.

These tips and tricks have helped my score in real bowling, and unexpectedly have also helped in video game bowling.  If I break 200 at the bowling alley I'll stutter out a joyous post, but instead of waiting until Judgment Day for that, how about a future post about the fun that we've been having bowling on the Nintendo Wii?

Bowl-O - the bowling card game

Bowling 8mm tutorial film

"Let's Go Bowling" 50's educational film from Archive.org

Core Memory: A high rez look at some classic computers

The Internet is wonderful for what it is, but there are many times I wish it was a truly high resolution medium. Perhaps that's why I still covet glossy magazines and books -- I'm addicted to pretty pictures.

John Alderman (author) and Mark Richards (photographer) share my love of stunning imagery and intelligent prose. Their new book, Core Memory: A Visual Survey of Vintage Computers, is a beautiful ode to 35 vintage computers that shaped the world. The featured machines are part of the world's most renowned computer collection, The Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California.

Over 100 full color photographs (frequently two page spreads) are the next best thing to being able to reach out and touch Eniac, a Cray supercomputer, an old French Minitel network terminal, an Osborne I portable or the incredibly quaint Apple I. Each set of images is accompanied by thoughtful text which offers insight into each machine's unique capabilities and eccentricities.

Core Memory: A Visual Survey of Vintage Computers [Amazon product page]

Retro Gaming Hacks

Somehow I missed the release of Chris Kohler's Retro Gaming Hacks back in October 2005. This clever 502-page tome offers 85 "hard-nosed hacks for reviving the classic games." He takes a look at original hardware alongside modern emulation techniques, but not before starting with a quick look at the history of home gaming consoles such as the Magnavox Odyssey, Atari's Pong, the Mattel Intellivision and a myriad of others (including my all-time favorite, the Vectrex).

While the book touches upon acquiring and using classic systems and boards (for example, Hack #6 focuses on repairing "toaster" style NES consoles), the main focus is emulation. Kohler excels at navigating the minefields of vintage emulation and shows you how go squeeze an authentic vintage gaming experience out of a modern PC. Of course, there are some strange hacks, too, such as emulating an Atari 800 on a Dreamcast console (I'm sure a few of you have one lying around).

"Want to game on an original system? Kohler shows you how to hack ancient hardware, and includes a primer for home-brewing classic software. Rather adapt today's equipment to run retro games? Kohler provides emulation techniques, complete with instructions for hacking a classic joystick that's compatible with a contemporary computer. This book also teaches readers to revive old machines for the original gaming experience: hook up an Apple II or a Commodore 64, for example, and play it like you played before."

Retro Gaming Hacks: Tips & Tools for Playing the Classics

Help us move Retro Thing Intergalactic HQ

My wife and I are in the midst of packing to move to a new house. The only problem is that the new place won't be ready for another month, so everything is going into temporary storage during our "homeless phase."

There are about a dozen copies of my Essential Retro book sitting on my desk. I'd rather not store them, so this is your chance to get a massively discounted copy: Visit the Essential Retro order page and you can get one with free shipping and an additional "moving mania" 20% discount (to get the discount, enter retrothing in the Coupon Code box).

Order Essential Retro: The Vintage Technology Guide

The Dangerous Book For Boys

Perhaps it was evidence of how paltry my local library was, or maybe I was as weird a kid as I am an adult, but I remember reading a lot of really old books full of "dangerous" projects.  I pulled out lots of project books that had their first printings in the 30's, often listing ingredients you couldn't get anymore.  I realize now that perhaps I shouldn't have burned all those holes in the lawn, nor used the toilet & plunger as pestle & mortar.

I did actually learn stuff from those old tomes though.  Those old books had no reservation in teaching amateur chemistry, model rocketry, building things out of scrap lumber, using a knife... knowledge that some parents groups seem to want kept secret nowadays.  Not only is there a conscious effort by some adults to bubble wrap life for their children, but many kids are so embroiled in virtual games and digital experiences that they're not aware of the real magic and adventure that lies in their backyards.

This book collects some of the best of these old projects.  What boy wouldn't like to learn how to make their own timer and tripwire?  A periscope or go-kart?  You'll learn about the greatest paper airplane ever, how to palm a coin, and the five knots every boy should know!  This is the kind of stuff that my father showed me how to do - the kinds of things I thought everybody knew. 

"The Dangerous Book For Boys" is a great title, but it could potentially scare off a lot of parents.  The world isn't made of Nerf, but neither are there monsters around every corner.  This book hit #1 in the UK, and hopefully it can do the same here.  Let's see some enthusiasm around the good ol' non-volatile read-only media we call "book". 

It'll be great to walk in the park this summer and see parents and kids fashioning great new memories by working on these fun old-fashioned projects together.  Now excuse me while I build a submersible from some old jukebox parts...

Order the book on Amazon

Extremely Odd Book Titles

I've faced the odious challenge of naming a book, but these fine authors obviously found it much harder than I. These are all genuine titles (I've included links) and I can hardly wait to see if the local library has copies:

People Who Don't Know They're Dead: How They Attach Themselves to Unsuspecting Bystanders and What to Do about It (Gary Leon Hall, Weiser Books) -- Honestly, it sounds like Hall also had the pleasure of dating one of my more memorable ex-girlfriends. Hopefully she didn't microwave his cat, too.

How Green Were the Nazis? (Bruggemeier et al., Ohio University Press) -- You'd think that invading dozens of countries and slaughtering millions of innocent civilians would have been an incredibly messy pastime, but apparently I might be wrong.

The Stray Shopping Carts of Eastern North America: A Guide to Field Identification (Julian Montague, Abrams Image) -- A traumatic incident while bird watching seems to have pushed poor Mr. Montague over the edge. How else can one explain his attempt at an elaborate classification system for ferile, uhh, grocery carts? Remember not to get between them and the chocolate pudding isle during mating season.

Proceedings of the Eighteenth International Seaweed Symposium (Robert Anderson et al., Springer) -- Gosh. This lot puts Harry Potter and his piddly little collection of seven books to shame. Unfortunately, I found the 17th volume a tad too predictable and can't help but feel the plot would have been dramatically improved by the inclusion of some radioactive phytoplankton, or maybe even some devious mammals.

Better Never To Have Been: The Harm of Coming Into Existence (David Benatar, Oxford University Press) -- This one truly makes my head hurt. I can hardly wait for Benatar's follow-up, tentatively titled, "Why You Lot Should All Drop Dead and Leave Me in Bloody Peace."

Judging books by their very odd titles [cbc.ca]

Turntable Optical Illusions Book

This may be the item that fits the most Retro Thing categories ever!  Clearly this is a book, it deals with optics, and it uses a turntable to make the magic work.  The first section of the book details how many popular spinning optical illusions work, the second part having full-page optical illusions that can tear out.  The book has a hole through its center, so once you tear out the full page illusions you can pop them on your turntable.

The book explains that while you can see many of these illusions by spinning the patterns on a pencil tip, they work better with constant rotation like that provided by a turntable.  The part that might be the most surprising is the publishing date of the book: 1992.  That's quite a bit after turntables were on their way out of many households.  The book's intro makes mention of this, joking that this book will help you get some use out of that "obsolete turntable" you didn't throw out yet.

I won't agree that record players are useless - to the contrary, this book is just one more use for your platter spinner!  To think that it used to just be the music I chose to put on the turntable that made me dizzy!

Click HERE to pick up "Turntable Illusions" and help out Retro Thing.

Handcrafted leather journals

Cheap journals are false economy. Spiral bound pads tend to disintegrate with heavy use and looseleaf often flutters around my house like leaves in the wind. Moleskine books are certainly popular, but everyone seems to have one in their pocket these days. A handmade leather book from Renaissance Art is guaranteed to stand out from the crowd, unless you hang with Druids.

These beautiful books feature 5 ounce soft tempered covers and hand-sewn threading. Arches Text Wove paper is included in all of their writing and sketching journals. It's 100% acid-free cotton rag, so your musing will pass the test of time. Each book is kept closed by a flat hand-braided cord. Prices start at around $20, although you'll pay at least $150 for a large sketchbook or music journal.

Renaissance Art handcrafted leather books [via Honky-Tonk Dragon]

New eBook: Essential Retro gadget guide

My Essential Retro book is now available as a $9.95 electronic edition that includes everything from the paperback version. If you prefer the smell and feel of paper, the print version is available with free shipping in the USA and Canada until Christmas (discounted shipping is available for international orders, too).

Visit eSellerate to buy the eBook with instant electronic delivery
Or, drop by the official Essential Retro site for more info