Additional Whitman titles published in the early 1950s included Roy Rogers and the Rimrod Renegades, Gene Autry and the Big Valley Crab and Rin Tin Tin’s Rinty. Again, these likely had less to do with any television programs and more to do with the characters themselves. Two books published in 1955 may be among the first actual tie-ins: The $64,000 Question Official Quiz Book (Dell) and The Life of Davy Crockett (Signet). The latter was said to be written by Crockett himself and coincided with the 1954-1955 ABC Disneyland episodes starring Fess Parker.

Peer called Frontier: 150 Years of the West, published by Bantam in 1955, an “inferred TV tie-in” because it was “similar to the Western anthology TV show Frontier” despite the fact that the book made no mention of the show. It was published four months after Frontier premiered, however, so it very well may have been a tie-in [2]. Dragnet: Case No. 561 was published in 1956 by Pocket. Written by Richard S. Prather under the pen name David Knight, it may be the very first original story related to a television show. In 1957 Ballantine published Gunsmoke, a novelization of ten radio and television episodes, and Sergeant Bilko, which reprinted ten shooting scripts.

The next original novels may have been Wagon Train: Wagonmaster and Wagon Train: The Scout, both written by Robert Turner and both published in 1958 by Pocket. Also published in 1958 were Dragnet: The Case of the Courteous Killer (Pocket) and Alfred Hitchcock Presents: 12 Stories They Wouldn’t Let Me Do On TV, a collection of short stories (Dell). The following year brought Dragnet: The Case of the Crime King (Pocket) and Dragnet: The Badge (Crest).

The first year of the decade saw a slew of tie-ins: Have Gun, Will Travel (Dell), Johnny Staccato (Gold Medal), Leave it to Beaver (Berkley Medallion), Peter Gunn (Dell), The Deputy (Dell) and Men Into Space (Berkley) were all published in 1960. With the exception of Leave it to Beaver, which consisted of novelizations, I believe all of these were original stories. The earliest tie-in novel in my personal collection is The Americans, published in 1961 by Popular Library.

To sum up, the very first tie-in novel with an original story may be Dragnet: Case No. 561, published in 1956. The first tie-ins of any sort were likely Whitman stories based on licensed characters like Gene Autry and Roy Rogers. If anyone has information about an earlier original story or can shed some light on whether the Whitman stories published in the early 1950s were actually intended as TV tie-ins, please let me know.

Works Cited:

Related posts:

1. Bookshelf: TV Tie-In Novelizations
2. Bookshelf: TIED IN: The Business, History and Craft of Media Tie-In Writing
3. Bookshelf: TV Tie-Ins, 2nd Edition

Every novelization I have read has, to some extent, expanded upon the original story as presented on television. The amount of freedom given to writers of novelizations varied. According to Kurt Peer’s TV Tie-Ins: A Bibliography of American TV Tie-In Paperbacks (which I reviewed in December of 2009), “in some cases the writers were required to adhere strictly to the scripts and even use every word from them, while in other cases the writers were given broader latitude” [1]. Peer notes that prior to 1966, scriptwriters retained all rights to their scripts, making it difficult for publishers to purchase the novelization rights.

Based on a list of novelized episodes published in TV Tie-Ins, which runs 15 pages and probably contains several hundred episodes, among the earliest novelizations were ten radio and television episodes of Gunsmoke (novelized by Don Ward for Ballantine Books, first published in 1957), eight episodes of Tales of Wells Fargo (novelized by Sam Allison for Bantam Books, first published in 1958) and eight episodes of The Naked City (novelized by Charles Einstein for Dell, first published in 1959). One of the television episodes of Gunsmoke novelized by Don Ward, “Hot Spell,” was originally broadcast on September 17th, 1955 and may be the earliest television episode to be novelized. According to Peer, it wasn’t until the mid-1960s that novelizations became popular.

Perhaps the most popular novelizations were those written by James Blish (and, after his death, by his wife Judith A. Lawrence) based on episodes of Star Trek. The first batch of novelizations were published in a January of 1967 book titled Star Trek (later retitled Star Trek #1) while the show was still on the air. The book went through at least 25 printings (the 25th came out in January of 1977) and perhaps even more.

According to Peer, by the mid-to-late 1970s “most TV tie-ins were novelizations, as that’s where the trend had taken them. And they were beginning to glut the market, causing at times heavy losses for the publishers. It was becoming evident that the public was no longer interested in a quick rehashing of an episode, but wanted a fresher and more in depth look at a show” [3]. This glut eventually led to the collapse of the TV tie-in novel during the 1980s, although both original stories and novelizations continued.

I’ve read a good number of novelizations over the years and enjoyed them, especially novelizations of episodes I haven’t seen. What are your thoughts on novelizations? Just as good as an original story or something of a waste of time if you’ve already seen the episode(s) being novelized? Are novelizations that vary greatly from the finished work more interesting than those that are nearly identical? And on a related note, excluding the various Star Trek shows, what’s the most recent TV tie-in novelization?

Works Cited:

Related posts:

1. Bookshelf: The Very First TV Tie-In
2. Bookshelf: TIED IN: The Business, History and Craft of Media Tie-In Writing
3. Bookshelf: TV Tie-Ins, 2nd Edition

When I published my article about Nancy almost exactly a year ago I mentioned that one tie-in novel based on the series was published and expressed interest in reading it. I bought a copy a few months ago and finally got around to reading it. The NBC sitcom, which was created by Sidney Sheldon, ran for 17 episodes during the 1970-1971 season. It starred Renne Jarrett as Nancy, the daughter of the United States president and John Fink as Adam, a veterinarian. The two meet, fall in love and during the course of the series get married.

Jack Pearl’s novel was set after the marriage; Adam and Nancy are living at Adam’s farm/animal hospital in Iowa with Adam’s uncle Everett and Nancy’s social secretary Abby. Nancy’s Secret Service agents, Turner and Rodriguez, also live at the farm where they can keep an eye on the First Daughter. According to a small note on the first page, this was intended as “the first in a sequence of NANCY novels” but by the time it was published in December of 1970 the series had already been canceled. The final episode aired on January 7th, 1971.

The novel opens with Nancy, Adam, Everett and Abby waiting for the Kentucky Derby to begin. The President and one of his college friends, John Q. Peckinbaugh, have a horse in the race named Black Star. Unfortunately, the President can’t attend the Derby in person due to a conference with the Canadian Prime Minster over renewing the lease on an Arctic oil pipeline. Just when it looks like Black Star is going to win the race, the horse stumbles and goes down, his jockey flying into the mud. Everyone is horrified and Nancy, knowing what she knows about her husband’s occupation, worries that Black Star will have to be put down.

Before long, the President has called Adam and asked him to take a look at Black Star at Peckinbaugh’s residence in Washington, D.C. Nancy goes along. After examining the horse Adam decides he can perform surgery and eventually Black Star will be able to race again. Following some confusion over where Adam will be taking care of the horse, everyone flies back to Iowa. Black Star will be along shortly via a special plane. In the meantime, Adam is called to look at a mule, Katti-O, who has hurt her leg kicking a tractor. Danny, Kattie-O’s owner, is worried sick. Adam has him bring Katti-O to the hospital.

Nancy Front Cover – Copyright Pyramid Books

Black Star arrives with Peckinbaugh’s twin teenage daughters, Janie and Julie, in tow. Much to Nancy’s annoyance, Janie takes an interest in Adam right off the bat, despite their age difference and the fact that he’s married. The sisters, who are on summer break, want to stay to watch over Black Star. It’s going to be a long summer…

The remainder of the novel consists primarily of Nancy becoming increasingly frustrated with Janie fawning over Adam and Adam, in turn, not realizing what is going on. Adam is forced to perform surgery on Katti-O, who has fallen ill, and that same night has to then perform surgery on Black Star. Both the mule and the horse pull through, though, and begin their recovery. Julie falls for Danny, which Nancy encourages, but Janie continues trying to get close to Adam. She also refuses to do any work but volunteers for plenty, only to then force Julie to take care of everything.

During an evening hayride, Adam finally confronts Janie about her infatuation and she stalks off to sulk. Nancy’s relief turns to dismay when Janie takes Black Star out riding, despite the fact that the horse isn’t ready. Everyone heads out to search for the two. They find Black Star stuck in muddy terrain, Janie standing over him, and scramble to save the horse. Thanks to Katti-O, who has apparently fallen for the horse, they are able to pull Black Star out of the mud. Janie, though, doesn’t think she’s done anything wrong.

Nancy Back Cover – Copyright Pyramid Books

That all changes after a canoe race that Danny wins. Janie’s date, a boy named Jim, comes in third. Janie, convinced he could have won had he traveled into rougher water, has Jim take her out in the canoe. Before long, they’re in trouble. The canoe is capsized after being sucked into a spillway. Adam and Nancy are able to get a small boat and try to help. Turner and Rodrigeuz, worried about Nancy, pitch in as well. Adam and Nancy pull Janie from the water and rather than worrying about herself she’s only concerned about Jim. Thankfully, the boy is also pulled from the water. He’s swallowed a lot of water but he’ll be fine.

Later, at the Preakness Stakes (the second part of the Triple Crown racing), Black Star wins. Everyone is overjoyed. Even better news comes from Canada: the Prime Minister agrees to return to the conference after earlier pulling out. It’s a happy ending all around. Minor subplots involved Nancy dealing with a nasty reporter and the President embroiled in controversy over the oil pipeline. Like the one episode of the series that I’ve seen, the novel is incredibly sappy. It doesn’t paint Nancy in a very good light; she spends the bulk of her time worrying about her husband falling for another woman. Still, the story was solid and the novel overall was enjoyable.

Related posts:

1. More Nancy Images
2. Bookshelf: V #2
3. Bookshelf: Bonanza #25

Mannix, which ran on CBS from 1967 to 1975, was in many ways two separate shows. Yes, Mike Connors starred as Joe Mannix during its entire run and, yes, the character was always a detective, but its first season was very different than the other seven. When the show premiered in September of 1967, Mannix worked for a high-tech organization called Intertect, which used computers to compile information that its operatives could then use in the field. Mannix, however, preferred to use his wits, his experience and his fists to solve cases, not technology. Joseph Campanella played Lou Wickersham, Mannix’s boss.

When Mannix returned for its second season in September of 1968, Intertect and Campanella were gone. Joe Mannix was now a private investigator working for himself with Gail Fisher as Peggy, his secretary. This tie-in novel, written by Michael Avalone, was the only original story based on the series (four novelizations were also published) and is set during the first season when Mannix was working for Intertect. Lou Wickersham has a large role in the story and Howard Pender, who also worked for Intertect, was mentioned several times (Morgan Jones played Pender in several episodes during the 1967-1968 season). While the show was known for its violence, Avallone’s novel is notable for its relatively racy content.

As the story opens, Mannix is finishing up a case involving a woman whose husband had been kidnapped. She was involved in the abduction and planned on absconding to South America with his fortune. She holds him at gunpoint but he’s eventually able to remove the bullets from her gun when she isn’t looking. That makes her angry. So he spanks her. She tries to seduce him but he won’t have any of it, threatening to spank her again. He finishes the job, hands her over to feds and goes home.

The next day, Lou Wickersham assigns him to keep tabs on a young woman worth three billion dollars who apparently plans on working for the Red Chinese. Her name’s Iris Alexandria Foley and she likes to sunbath completely naked atop apartment buildings. After dropping by the Cybernetics Department to flirt with the supervisor and the Armory Department to have his gun checked out, Mannix returns to his messy cubicle to read Intertect’s file on Iris Foley. The file had been put together by the company’s powerful IBM computers, which Mannix loathed, and was unfortunately missing one important detail.

As the story unfolds, Iris meets with a man named Borkoff who she thinks is working for the CIA but instead is working for the Soviets. She thinks she’s going to help her country but instead Borkoff blackmails her into helping the Soviets embarrass the Secretary of State. Borkoff has photographs of her late father in compromising positions that she’ll do anything to keep hidden away. Mannix crashes a fancy costume ball looking for Iris and winds up in a brawl with a dozen or so wealthy young men.

Mannix Front Cover – Copyright Popular Library

Borkoff plans to have Iris killed once she’s no longer useful. Mannix is eventually able confront her and, with the help of her bodyguard, a former boxer named Monkey Miller, plans to set a trap for Borkoff. Instead, Mannix is the one trapped when Monkey turns out to be working with Borkoff. Ultimately, Monkey betrays Borkoff in order to save Mannix and Iris. Borkoff is killed in an explosion after agreeing to turn over the photographs in return for his freedom. That important piece of information left out of Intertect’s file on Iris Foley? The fact that Mannix looks just like her late father. It almost got him killed and did nothing to change his opinion of computers.

Monkey’s motivation for betraying Iris is never plainly laid out. He may have been tired of her constant partying. He didn’t want to hurt her, though, he only wanted a lot of money. So when it became obvious that Borkoff was planning on killing her, Monkey quickly returned to his role as bodyguard. Iris didn’t seem to be bothered all that much by Monkey’s betrayal. She was more interested in bedding Mannix.

The twist involving Mannix and the dead father looking identical was disappointing, as was Monkey’s sudden betrayal of Iris and equally as sudden betrayal of Borkoff. Up until that point the story was moving along fairly well but the ending pretty much ruined it. Still, Avallone peppered the novel with enough nudity and hints of sex to keep things interesting. Here’s how he introduced Iris Foley on the roof of her skyscraper apartment building:

Her willful body, lying on a soft, downy deck chair whose very material cost ten dollars a yard, was long, bronzed and curved like a Dienes nude. Iris Alexandria Foley was everyman’s romantic fantasy of the perfect woman. Even now, supine on the deck chair, her breathtaking alliance of breasts, hips and legs were the perfect essence of female. Her skin shone like wet sculpture. The classic lines of her face, even with the gorgeous eyes closed, showed the hand of a master creator. Gaunt cheekbones a la Garbo, a slender nose molded in perfect detail, and the somehow inevitable lush mouth, were worthy of a Renaissance Italian and his clay. She lay like a goddess in the sun.

Strangely, Iris didn’t have a problem with Monkey seeing her completely naked. She sunbathed naked again later in the book and once more wearing a bathing suit, this time trying to entice Mannix. Avallone made it abundantly clear that to Iris the sun was a substitute for a man:

The sun steamed, sending its hot fingers like a lover’s touch into the warm recesses of her body. She kept her eyes closed against the glare. Heavy, jewel-crested harlequins adorned her eyes. The flaming clutch of the sun held her body. She loved the sun. If only a man could ever make her feel like the sun did…

And later:

Iris Alexandra Foley shut her eyes tightly and locked all thoughts of a serious nature out of her mind. Now was only the sun and that bubbling, intimate surrender to its rays. God, how it held her nakedness so hotly, draining all the natural fight out of her. Damn, why couldn’t a man be light that?

For all her vast experience and world travel and accessories of wealth and position, Iris Alexandria Foley, age twenty-nine, was that rarity of rarities in an enlightened, 1967 world.

She was a virgin.

Unable to show the violence that was the hallmark of the series, perhaps Avallone hoped making the novel salacious would help it sell. Compared to many of today’s dramas, Mannix was squeaky clean but at the time it was considered overly violent, with its reliance on guns and fist fights. It certainly could have gotten away with showing a character like Iris Foley in a bikini. But it would have been difficult to translate Iris and her love of the sun to the television screen, both for reasons of decency and practicality.

Mannix Back Cover – Copyright Popular Library

As I mentioned in my review of The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. #1, “The Birds of a Feather Affair”, also written by Avallone, tie-in novels from the 1960s are going to seem somewhat sexist to today’s readers. Iris is a spitfire at times, carries a gun and at one point uses it to knock Borkoff unconscious (when he wakes up he punches her in the face). But she also spends a lot of time crying or pining over Mannix. When Borkoff first shows her the photographs of her father he expects anger. Instead, he gets tears:

Miss Iris Alexandria Foley very quickly and very childishly sat down on the floor. And wept. Unashamed. Her figure in the banal trenchcoat trembled. Great sobs racked her body. She buried her face in long, graceful fingers and cried. The man’s floppy fedora on her head rolled off onto the floor.

After knocking Borkoff out she throws herself on a bed and cries again. Later, when she is told that Mannix is dead, she breaks down once more and no longer cares about the photographs of her father. She tells Borkoff she wishes she were dead because Mannix, the only man she ever felt anything for, a man she had known for a few days at most, was taken from her. She nearly faints when he shows up alive. Later, she suggests have an affair. At one point she even apologizes for being bitchy.

This has been an unusually long review, especially for a story I didn’t think was all that great. But Michael Avallone writes lascivious stories well. Mannix is certainly the most adult tie-in novel I’ve come across to date, although it really isn’t all that bad. Crime stories just like it — and worse — were a dime a dozen at drugstores and supermarkets, some of which were written by Avallone. It’s a fascinating cultural artifact, though. Interestingly, he also wrote several tie-in novels based on The Partridge Family. Anyone who wants to learn more about Avallone, who died in 1999, should read this obituary from The Independent and this entry at the Thrilling Detectives website.

Related posts:

1. Bookshelf: V #3
2. Bookshelf: The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. #1, “The Birds of a Feather Affair”
3. Bookshelf: Cain’s Hundred #2

It should come as no surprise to anyone who has been visiting Television Obscurities regularly that I’m a huge fan of television tie-in novels. I’ve reviewed dozens over the past year and a half, primarily from the 1960s and 1970s. I have more than 100 of these “classic” tie-in novels and I continue to slowly add new titles to my collection every year. But I also read newer tie-in novels based on shows that are still on the air. So when Lee Goldberg sent me a review copy of TIED IN: The Business, History and Craft of Media Tie-In Writing, which he edited, I was thrilled (and not just because getting review copies is really neat).

Published by The International Association of Media Tie-In Writers (IAMTW), TIED IN is a collection of essays on a variety of topics about media tie-in writing, from those who know the business inside and out, including Lee Goldberg, Max Allan Collins, Greg Cox, Jeff Ayers, Robert Greenberger and more than a dozen others. You can’t buy it at brick and mortar stores yet — it’s only available as an eBook at Amazon.com and other websites — but a trade paperback version is coming next month. An official press release can be found at the IAMTW blog.

I should point out that TIED IN doesn’t focus solely on television tie-ins. It also covers movie novelizations, comic book tie-ins and computer game tie ins. But that actually makes it even more valuable and more interesting. Several of the essays cover the history of media tie-ins while others are personal accounts of working as a tie-in writer. There’s even a round table discussion about the business of media tie-ins that covers breaking into the tie-in business and dealing with deadlines, among other things.

For obvious reasons, my favorite essays were those that did focus on television tie-ins, especially David Spencer’s wonderful “American TV Tie-Ins from the 50s through the early 70s,” which delves into the history of television tie-in novels and examines several of the writers from those decades, including William Johnston, Keith Laumer and Michael Avallone. Spencer also offers an an in-depth analysis of Walter Wager’s I Spy novels. Plus, he recounts several intriguing behind-the-scenes stories. For example, there may be a “lost” novel based on Dragnet 1967, apparently pulled from shelves after Jack Webb complained. I would love nothing more than for Spencer to flesh this essay out into a full-length book documenting the television tie-in novel.

Other essays I found particularly interesting were “Learning on the Job,” in which Nancy Holder discusses her experience writing her first tie-in novel, “This Time It’s Personal,” an account of how Max Allan Collins managed to write the novelization for a movie adapted from his own graphic novel, and “How to Novelize a Game,” William C. Dietz’s reflection on what goes into crafting a novel out of a computer/video game. TIED IN also includes essays about writing young adult tie-ins, whether “real” writers should author tie-ins and the current state of soap opera tie-ins.

TIED IN is a fascinating exploration of the media tie-in business and the authors that undertake the complicated yet rewarding task of crafting original stories using characters they haven’t created or turning a blockbuster movie into a new work that both reflects and expands on the source material. There’s something for everyone in TIED IN and the essays that aren’t at first glance of interest to a particular reader may turn out to be the most informative. If you’ve always secretly wanted to write a tie-in novel of your own, TIED IN offers some sound advice (for example, incredible as it may seem, being a tie-in writer may require the ability to complete a novelization in just a few weeks). After reading TIED IN, you’ll never look at a movie novelization or a television tie-in novel the same again.

Related posts:

1. Bookshelf: TV Tie-In Novelizations
2. William Johnston Named Tie-In Grandmaster for 2010
3. Bookshelf: TV Tie-Ins, 2nd Edition

Make Room For TV is not a historical overview of impact made by the arrival of television in the late 1940s. Instead, it is an examination of how media — specifically magazines targeted at women — responded to television and the advice they offered on how to watch television. As Spigel explains in her introduction, “these popular sources expressed a set of cultural anxieties about the new medium as they engaged the public in a dialogue concerning television’s place in the home.”

Spigel spends the first chapter explaining how society has viewed domesticity and the split between family life and work life, from the early 1800s through the 1950s. Gender roles, household appliances and recreation are tied together, culminating in the Utopian ideal of the white, middle-class suburban family into which television was soon introduced. Over the course of the remaining four chapters, Spigel explores how television influenced family life, reshaped the concept of women’s work, merged the public and private spheres and, finally, how the situation comedy reflected the artificial nature of the ideal family.

Although short (the introduction, five chapters and epilogue run just 189 pages; the remainder of the book consists of notes and an index), this is not an easy book to read. The text is often dense. Spigel draws from television critics, sociological studies and magazine editorials in addition to advertisements when making her arguments. Make Room For TV is above all a scholarly work.

The brevity of this review does not reflect the quality of the writing. I read the book and I enjoyed it but I cannot easily summarize it. Spigel’s main contention seems to be that the mass media, rather than simply promoting television through advertisements or criticizing it in reviews, actually forced the public to think about the television set’s place in the family. As Spigel herself says in the epilogue: “The approach I’ve taken provides insights into the way television viewing has been connected to larger patterns of family ideals and gender construction.”

I certainly wouldn’t recommend Make Room For TV to the casual fan of television who would enjoy a broad overview of television’s impact on society. For cultural historians or those interested in learning more about the role women played in the acceptance of television , on the other hand, it could prove enlightening. Indeed, at the top of the back cover of Make Room For TV the publisher has provided a category for the book: Media/Gender Studies.

Related posts:

1. Bookshelf: Television in the Antenna Age
2. Bookshelf: Televisions: One Season in American Television
3. Bookshelf: Fifties Television, The Industry and Its Critics

Here’s the cover to Batman vs. 3 Villains of Doom:

Batman vs. 3 Villains of Doom Front Cover – Copyright Signet Books

Batman vs. 3 Villains of Doom Back Cover – Copyright Signet Books

And here’s the cover to Batman vs. The Penguin:

Batman vs. The Penguin Front Cover – Copyright Signet Books

Batman vs. The Penguin Back Cover – Copyright Signet Books

Related posts:

1. Bookshelf: Signet Batman Paperbacks
2. Batman Trading Cards
3. Random Batman Memorabilia

More recently, Signet has published novels based on Diagnosis Murder and Monk (all written by Lee Goldberg). In other words, in 1966 it wasn’t unusual for Signet to acquire the rights to publish books based on Batman. What I find unusual is the content of many of the books.

Batman was incredibly popular right out of the gate. Plenty of toys and collectibles were released in the months and years after it premiered in January of 1966. In the past I’ve written about Batman trading cards and other random memorabilia. Signet, in March of 1966, published Batman, subtitled “The BEST of the ORIGINAL BATMAN–the Caped Crusader’s greatest adventures.” Inside were black-and-white reprints of stories from Batman comic books. The back cover declared that “The editors of Signet searched the secret files of BATMAN–files dating back to the early 1950′s–to bring you THE FIRST ADVENTURES… THE VERY BEST ADVENTURES… of the Caped Crusaders Against Crime BATMAN and THE BOY WONDER, ROBIN.”

Batman Front Cover – Copyright Signet Books

Batman Back Cover – Copyright Signet Books

Obviously, the front and back covers were designed to replicate the tone of the television series. But fans of Batman who purchased this book were probably in for a disappointment. The television Batman was completely unrelated to the comic book Batman. And yet, the book must have sold because Signet published two additional volumes, Batman vs. The Joker and Batman vs. The Penguin in May of 1966.

Signet also published one original tie-in novel, Batman vs. 3 Villains of Doom, in April of 1966. It was written by scriptwriter, comic book writer and novelist William Woolfolk using the pen name Winston Lyon. Woolfolk, who died in 2003, actually wrote for DC’s Batman comic book (an obituary from The New York Times can be found here). In August of 1966, Signet published a novelization of Batman the movie, also written by Woolfolk, also under the pen name Winston Lyon.

Batman v. The Joker Front Cover – Copyright Signet Books

Batman v. The Joker Back Cover – Copyright Signet Books

Easily the strangest Batman tie-in published by Signet was Bill Adler’s Funniest Fan Letters To Batman, which came out in August of 1966. It was a collection of actual fan letters written to Batman. Whether the letters were addressed to DC Comics or ABC, I can’t say. Bill Adler edited quite a few books like this, including Kids’ Letters to President Kennedy, Kids’ Letters to President Reagan, Letters to Smokey Bear and Love Letters to the Monkees, and the popularity of Batman meant there were plenty of letters being written.

Here’s a list of the six Signet paperbacks. Note that only Batman vs. The Joker and Batman vs. The Penguin were actually numbered.

One of these days I might try to get my hands on a copy of Batman vs. 3 Villains of Doom, the one true Batman tie-in novel.

Related posts:

1. Bookshelf: The Very First TV Tie-In
2. More Signet Batman Covers
3. Random Batman Memorabilia

I’m reviewing the final three issues of Marvel’s Man from Atlantis comic book at the same time for two reasons. First, they make up a three-part adventure, so reviewing them together makes sense. Second, I don’t think anyone wants to read three more individual reviews. When I reviewed the very first issue back in July of 2009 I wasn’t planning on reviewing the other six issues. But one thing led to another and over the next year I reviewed the second, third and fourth issues as well. In the future, if I ever review an entire comic series again, I’ll try to do it in one review.

As I mentioned, the three issues are chapters in a three-part story. Issue #5, “A Modern Master of the World,” begins with a sudden attack on Sea Base (operated by the Foundation for Oceanic Research). After ensuring that Dr. Elizabeth Merrill is safe Mark heads out into the open water to investigate. He makes his way to the surface and is stunned to find a massive aircraft dropping bombs on Sea Base. Navy planes are making a futile attempt to drive off the attacker, which eventually leaves after dropping a canister.

Man from Atlantis #5 Front Cover – Copyright 1978 Marvel Comics Group

The canister holds a video tape which reveals that Lars Skorba is behind the attack (Mark has fought him before in the comic). He threatens to wreak havoc up and down the California coastline if Mark doesn’t agree to help him with a mysterious task. The Navy wants to wait to see if Skorba will attack again. He soon does, heading directly for Sea Base. Mark is forced to surrender to Skorba rather than see Dr. Merrill killed. Later, aboard Skorba’s aircraft, he attempts to escape, only to discover that the aircraft is surrounded by dinosaurs!

In issue #6, “Latitude: Ninety!,” the dinosaurs are said to exist in a “smoldering volcano” in “the midst of the frozen polar wastes.” Mark is sent out to explore a series of tunnels below the volcano’s lake. He discovers a deserted city, filled with statues covered in strange hieroglyphics. For some reason he wonders if he could have come from this city. Before he can explore further, he is attacked by a woman and two dogs. As Mark tries to keep from hurting anyone, he uncovers a chamber filled with treasure, which is obviously what Skorba is after, and learns that the woman’s dogs can talk!

Meanwhile, aboard the Ceteacean, someone activates the outer airlock. Who can it be but Mark? But it’s not. It’s a mysterious, laughing figure. Unlike issue #5, this issue included a letters column (Out of the Depths) in which the cancellation of Man from Atlantis is discussed. No mention is made of the comic book ending, however. On the contrary, it seems that Marvel plans to continue publishing the series.

Man from Atlantis #6 Front Cover – Copyright 1978 Marvel Comics Group

Issue #7, “Mad Dogs and Dinosaurs,” begins with Mark and Plaxy (the woman who attacked him in the previous issue) making their way to the top of the volcano. Plaxy’s talking dogs are named Cassiopeia and Sirius. They were given the gift of speech by Plaxy’s father, who developed special speech collars. Plaxy’s parents work at a research station at the North Pole (her older sister stayed behind in England). Shortly before they were to leave, a Tyrannosaurus Rex suddenly appears.

As research center personnel try to fight off the dinosaur, it falls over and lands on the center itself, killing everyone but Plaxy and the dogs. They’ve been living inside the volcano ever since. Skorba, somehow, learned of the volcano and its treasure. Plaxy plans on driving off Skorba and his men, however, and unleashes a barrage of spears followed by a dinosaur charge. As Skorba makes his getaway, he tosses one of his hench-woman into the path of the dinosaurs. Mark leaps off the back of a dinosaur to try to save her and is nearly killed by Skorba.

Plaxy and her dogs are able to subdue Skorba, however, and the hench-woman is revealed to be Plaxy’s sister, who has been searching for the volcano for years. She eventually partnered with Skorba because only his aircraft could get to the volcano. Mark, after seeing the sisters reunited, leaves to investigate the deserted city, wondering again if it was his city. But he has no way of knowing and eventually heads back to the Ceteacean. Once on board, he hears laughter coming from the bridge.

Man from Atlantis #7 Front Cover – Copyright 1978 Marvel Comics Group

When he makes his way to the bridge, Mark finds the Dr. Merrill and the others playing with blocks and other toys as a mysterious man with pointed ears and a long nose, wearing a court jester’s outfit, sits and laughs. If there had been another issue, the identity of this man — who called himself Merry — certainly would have been revealed. But there were no more issues of Man from Atlantis from Marvel Comics. Here’s what Bill Mantlo, who wrote the comics, had to say:

By now you know, if you read MAN FROM ATLANTIS #3, that this issue is Marvel’s last to deal with the adventures of Mark Harris. We here at the Bullpen regret the decision to cancel as much as we’re sure you do. It was a decision that was forced on us by circumstances, not sales, and we’re still hoping that the success of the comic itself will be proven by an upsurge of letters from all of you concerned Atlantis-fans out there.

It’s a funny thing, the demise of a book. Many of us put in quite a lot of time, energy and love to its creation. We borrowed the original stimulus from the TV show, to be sure, but we also invested much of our own concern in the mag…and we think it showed.

MFA may be gone–then again it may not. Your mail can still change that, and so can sales figures which we’ve yet to receive on even MFA #1! Mark Harris may be gone from Marveldom, but undersea adventures are in the works on another great mag even as we write this…what do we call it?…eulogy. Be that as it may, there’s still one thing that remains to be done, and that’s to thank all the people who helped bring you MAN FROM ATLANTIS for the few short months of its existence. There are too many names to list them all, but we can certainly spare space to express our appreciation to Fearless Frank Robbins and Fun-loving Frank Springer. Then there’s Janice Cohen, ARchie Goodwin, Jim Shooter, Ralph Macchio. Last but not least we have to say a word of thanks to Mary Jo Duffy, who cared so much that it hurt.

And we have to express our heartfelt gratitude to you, True Believers, who stuck with us, who wrote in, who plunked down your 35c to show us that we were doing good! Thanks, people! Thanks a million!

Notice the mention of issue #3 in the first sentence. I couldn’t find any mention of Man from Atlantis ending or being canceled in that issue so I’m not sure what Bill Mantlo was referring to. I don’t know why the decision was made to end the series, although I assume it had something to do with the demise of the television show. Given that the final page of issue #7 introduced a new character, some work must have been done on issue #8. Was the story completed? Were pages drawn, inked and colored? As far as I know, Marvel never published another story featuring Mark Harris.

Related posts:

1. Bookshelf: Man from Atlantis #3
2. Bookshelf: Man from Atlantis #2
3. Bookshelf: Man from Atlantis #1

I don’t actually own any annuals, and not being British I don’t truly understand the phenomenon, but I find them interesting nonetheless. Here’s a BBC News article from December of 2006 reporting that the latest Doctor Who annual has surprised booksellers by becoming the most popular annual of the year, beating The Beano Annual (which features a character called Dennis the Menace, entirely unrelated to the comic strip — and later television — character popular here in the United States). And here’s a BBC News article from May of 2010 about a rare 1973 annual up for auction. Because annuals are published in the United Kingdom, they’re hard to come by in the United States, although eBay has hundreds available at any given moment.

Two great resources for television annuals I’ve found are TV Annuals and the galleries put together by Tony’s Trading. What’s really interesting about annuals is that a show like The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. was given an annual despite the fact that it wasn’t all that successful when it was broadcast in the United States. Three different annuals were published for The Girl from U.N.C.L.E., in fact, for 1968, 1969 and 1970 (likely published in December of 1967, December of 1968 and December of 1969, respectively). Shows like The Dakotas, Gemini Man, Logan’s Run, Man from Atlantis and The Quest also had annuals. Even Manimal was given an annual.

This suggests to me that either the companies publishing annuals weren’t picky about the shows they gave the annual treatment or that Manimal and Man from Atlantis were much more popular in the United Kingdom than in the United States. Planet of the Apes, which was a failure for CBS in 1974, nevertheless received three annuals.

As I mentioned earlier, I don’t own any annuals, so I can’t talk about the contents. Based on the covers of some of the annuals, like The Girl from U.N.C.L.E., it’s possible that they contained reprinted stories from comic books (Gold Key published five issues of a comic book based on The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.). There was also a magazine about The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. for a while, so perhaps articles and stories from it were reprinted in the annual as well. The Man from Atlantis annual could contain reprinted stories from Marvel’s comic book based on the series. But what about Manimal? It likely contained articles, interviews and pictures about the show.

I’d love to hear from anyone who has read annuals based on any of the aforementioned shows. And if any of the information I’ve given is incorrect, please let me know.

Related posts:

1. Bookshelf: TV Tie-In Novelizations
2. Bookshelf: Man from Atlantis #2
3. Bookshelf: Man from Atlantis #1