Mister 8

Today, all over the U.S., comic book stores are giving away free comic books, no strings attached (although I’m sure they’d love it if you made some purchases before leaving).

One of the comics available (though the offerings in your local store may vary) is a collection of classic comic strips, with Secret Agent X-9 / Secret Agent Corrigan in the spotlight, art by the great Al Williamson. The comic also has previews of forthcoming volumes of Blondie by Chic Young, The Complete Bloom County Library by Berkeley Breathed, Rip Kirby by Alex Raymond, Polly and Her Pals by Chris Sterrett, Dick Tracy by Chester Gould, and Little Orphan Annie by Harold Gray.

The Adventurer

I have never seen the following show. Nor had I heard of it before receiving an email from John K. in appreciation of the tablature section and asking if I knew how to play this one. I received the email way back in March, so I hope John has been patient and is still around!

Em
e|-------7-8--|
B|-8-7--------|
G|-----9------|
D|------------|
A|------------|
E|------------|

[See the full tablature]

The Adventurer was apparently a show starring Gene Barry. Network, who have put out the series on DVD, describe the show thusly:

The world is full of adventure!

Golden-Globe winner Gene Barry (Burke’s Law, War of the Worlds) stars as the debonair film star and jet-setting, multi-millionaire businessman Gene Bradley. With an eye for the ladies and a nose for trouble, his multiple interests plunge him into dynamic adventures with every new episode.

This fondly-remembered and much sought-after series was created by Monty Berman and Dennis Spooner (THE CHAMPIONS, RANDALL AND HOPKIRK (DECEASED)) and co-stars Barry Morse (SPACE:1999), Stuart Damon (THE CHAMPIONS) and Catherine Schell (SPACE: 1999) as well as featuring excellent performances from guest stars such as Freddie Jones, Stephanie Beacham, Andre Morell, Burt Kwouk, George Sewell, Ed Bishop, Patrick Mower and Sylvia Syms.

This set includes exclusively recorded contributions from Catherine Schell, Stuart Damon and Barry Morse, a gallery of title elements struck from the original 35mm negatives, as well as extensive image galleries and a commemorative booklet. Although The Adventurer was filmed and distributed on 16mm, the main titles originated on 35mm. These surviving 35mm materials are presented here for the first time.

“The world is full of adventure” – pshaw. I prefer the alleged original tagline: “Everybody’s pin-up. Nobody’s fool.” Burke was better known as Bat Masterson, and as Amos Burke on Burke’s Law / Amos Burke, Secret Agent. COBRAS agent Wes Britton suggests in his Spy Television
that the implausibility of an internationally known jet-setting movie star also being a secret agent damned the show. In any case, the theme by John Barry is fantastic, and I’m thankful to John K. for directing my attention to it!