I like how Nightcat finds a briefcase full of cocaine in a recording studio and she immediately assumes the studio is a front for pushing drugs and not, like, just full of customers.
@@homeaccount5943 Oh yeah. Like this last week, this fat ginger cat jumped out of nowhere and nearly broke my clavicle after he hit me with a metal bo-staff!
He also played Superman on an SNL skit with various superheroes. Garret Morris played Ant-Man and that’s why he has a cameo in the first movie when Scott Lang first used the suit.
@@ComicTropes Honestly she's got all the typical Mary Sue character traits, that's why this comic did so badly. If she is ever going to be a success it needs to get rid of these traits.
That's always been the big difference between Stan Lee and Bob Kane. Stan Lee was an egomaniac but he loved comics. Bob Kane didn't love comics, he loved himself. No-one could ever say that Jack Kirby didn't get his dues but there's a reason why being screwed over in comics is called getting Fingered.
@@spectacleHDhe didn’t get as much credit as he should have. Stan wasn’t a complete ego maniac, for example a policy that he created at marvel gave the artists nicknames so that readers would recognize them in other works. Stan overstated his contributions, and he definitely screwed Kirby out of credit. But for all the talk of “presented by Stan Lee”’ Jack Kirby was also credited as a co creater in some instances and as the main writer. Batman only ever had the big “bob cane” on it with that giant O. When they do a what if on what if the marvel bulletin became the fantastic four Jack Kirby is right there on the cover. And so while Stan Lee definitely screwed Kirby over he definitely wasn’t as bad as Kane. I honestly don’t think Stan knew he was screwing Kirby over, I think he just thought he was overstating his contribution. Bob Kane definitely knew what he was doing.
Wait, if the dad was undercover working for Amanda Gideon, wouldn't this mean there is already an investigation on her? That would mean they are gathering evidence to arrest Amanda Gideon for something🤣😂
@@ComicTropes Honestly Nightcat has got all the typical Mary Sue character traits, that's why this comic did so badly. If is ever going to be a success it needs to get rid of these traits.
Night Cat is one of my favorite weird comic industry endeavors that flopped. This is prime Disney+ MCU potential right here that I'm surprised hasn't been adapted for a younger audience and milked to oblivion.
The way the doctor tells them that the mother is dead reminds me a lot of Padme's death in Revenge of the Sith. "For reasons we can't explain, we're losing her." "We don't know why. She has lost the will to live."
I mean anakin was literally born from the force or whatever, it's never been that hard to swallow to me because it probably had something to do with the force, this comic doesn't get that pass tho lmao
I loved Nightcat...mostly because she was hot and I was 14. She's right up there with NFL SuperPro as "what were they thinking...and what was I thinking?"
Something else was doing the thinking for you. The NFL thing was just like the 'cool' crossover of the day. Back then it was easier to amuse because they didn't have much competition.
I had no idea James Gunn wrote a classic like Tromeo and Juliet! Now we need him to bring this all full circle by reviving Night Cat for a live-action mini-series!!
The Marvel audio experiment I remember best was Spider-Man: A Rockcomic which was an audio drama with songs in between each segment. The album opened up and it had John Romita art that you could follow along with. As a small child in the 1970s I listened to this endlessly. More than anything else, this is probably responsible for me becoming a Spider-Man fan.
Thank you for jogging my memory! I was maybe 7 or 8 and drove my grandmom nuts playing it on a constant loop. I remember it came with a spidey poster that proudly hung on my wall.
@@marcusaurelius6307 - Nope, that is an entirely different Spider-Man record! Spider-Man: A Rockcomic! was released in 1972. You also might find it called Spider-Man: From Beyond the Grave since it had that as a sub title. If you put it in TH-cam, you can find people who have uploaded the tracks.
Honestly I think Stan nearly hit the nail on the head. Musicals are absurd and corney at the best of times. The thing is, they often adapt character growth, passage of time and other significant moments into dance choreography. Intentional movements are not easily translated to comics unless your a talented artist with alot of creative control.
the dad being against her singing reminds me a lot of the lindsay ellis joke about a similar plot in sister act 2 *muffled voice of the parent, knocking on the teenager's bedroom* "you're not in there, believing in yourself again are you?"
My favorite ComicTropes episodes are when you break down the characters and stories of Golden and Silver age comics and "disasters" like Night Cat. Thanks so much for this, Chris! Another hilarious, heartfelt, and interesting episode.
6:55 I was lucky enough to pick up the original art of this page a few years ago... never read the comic, but always been a fan of Denys Cowan (loved his run on the Question in the 80s).
Great Video!! Just some additional info on the artist, Denys B. Cowan. I am a Professor of Education at Touro University in New York City and was lucky enough to have the esteemed and wonderfully prolific Mr. Cowan as a Guest Speaker last semester in one of my classes! Denys continues to have a fabulous, eclectic and successful career in media/comics/sequential narrative. Denys is an Ink Pot Winner, a well-known television producer (The Boondocks), co-creator of the superhero Static Shock and co-founder of Milestone Comics ( along with Dwayne McDuffie)...and much more! And, I've also known Denys since we were kids! AND I KNEW NOTHING ABOUT NIGHTCAT, SO THIS WAS A REAL BLAST! Thank You for this wonderful bit of history (I had one of those Marvel 45's, was a card-carrying member of the MMMS, and I can still sing every song on it!). Nicely Done.
This whole comic is very reminiscent of a Roger Corman movie...maybe a lost episode of Black Scorpion (who also did get tied down a lot, and had her own custom-made car). Nightcat is actually more like Dazzler and Dagger combined (if you remember, Cloak and Dagger got their powers from designer drugs). Also reminiscent of the Serbian-made superheroine Cat Claw from around the same time.
I'm shocked that Julie Strain wasn't the "actress" being used for Nightcat, she looks the part more so than the actress chosen, and she was married to famed comic creator Kevin Eastman.....Strain also served as the inspiration for several comics in the magazine Heavy Metal posing for covers of the magazine too
If I had a nickel for every time Marvel tried to make a character specifically to be a music star I’d have 2 nickels which is not a lot but it’s weird it’s happen twice.
And if i had a nickel for every time Marvel tried to make a character Grace Jones, id have like three nickles maybe. Dazzler, Rogue and part of Storm if not just certain looks of hers. We could go into business with maybe 5 nickels
Meanwhile Marvel could have gotten probably any metal band, thrown Ghost Rider and Wolverine in the 1st issue with a die-cut, poly bagged, holofoil, bedazzled cover, and actually have sold a few records. Not sure which Marvel executive thought that bubble gum pop would sell to young boys. As for her name, if you looked at the rest of the panel the contract is in "Nightcat" might have been a decent choice as "Razor Blades and Illegal Pills," isn't a great superhero title. Come to think of it though, "Razor Blades and Illegal Pills," would have actually sold much better.
Ngl I wouldn't mind Nightcat being revived in someway but her song gimmick would most of the time only work in animation or live action. I feel like she could have her own show that has music video esque situations like that new animated Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur show!
I featured Night Cat as an NPC in an RPG that I ran, at the time. She teamed up with the Bat Child, from the Weekly World News, and joined forces with the Player Characters...
Love the new intro Chris! When you look over Lee's life, you can't help but admire his perseverance at trying to make superheroes mainstream. I love Dazzler's concept as a character; she's a musician who just happens to be a mutant and wants to help people with her singing skills.
So... Nightcat is a Superhero who got cat powers from standard house cats, and dresses in black leather. And this came from the early 90's. I think the creators just watched Batman Returns and decided "Hey! Lets ripoff that version of Catwoman! But lets make her a generic pop singer, while referring to her as a ROCK star...".
interesting note for anyone who might be wondering how a comic could convey something musically: check out dead winter (by allison shabet)'s musical segments. it uses old rock songs in a fantastically cinematic way by designing the lyrics directly into the panels so you hear the song in your head at the same time as you see the artwork. it's by FAR the most interesting and impressive way i've seen an artist utilize music in their work, and it's all silent too! just another way nightcat dropped the ball though LOL
First of all, "coatrack" sounds like a great band name. Second, Cat-illac is absolute gold. Finally, Nightcat walked so Hannah Montana could run and she's due for a revival... alongside Tigra and Hellcat.
Lumpy is Bill Murray's characters nickname in Scrooged, incidentally. It's funny to hear him call Thing lumpy, like he's talking to his future character.
I think that album is the most early 90s album that ever early 90ed! It's got a Paula Abdul/Pebbles/Cover Girls/Seduction thing going on.... It didn't age well, but it is a solid product of it's time.
That song gave me Paula Abdul vibes. But if Marvel wanted they could have printed the lyrics and sheet music at the back of the comic book. But that would only appeal to the singers and musicians who could read it.
😂🤣Why did Amanda, the bad girl boss billionaire, strip to HER bra and pantries for the final fight?!? "Before I kill you I must let you know that I am hotter than you. This is vital information you will take to your grave." Ah the 90's. It'll be forever a 'special' time...
The Nightcat artwork reminds of Heavy Metal styling Simon Bisely in particular. Speaking of which MF Doom used some of the Fantastic Four story recordings sample clips in the Mmm Food album. The songs to me sounds very Paula Abdul & Tiffany very teen pop I remember that sound one very well almost a late 80s sounds really 88-89
I bought the album (CD) I do really like the #1 House Rule single. The rest is mediocre. I think that Nightcat is one of those interesting characters that someone should bring back and do something with. I would like to maybe see a comic with all of the female cat themed Marvel characters. Nightcat, Black Cat, Tigra, Hellcat, the Shuri Black Panther, maybe even throw Kitty Pryde in there for good measure.
22:47 That is how you prove a murder wasn't premeditated; his defence counsel could use that one-liner - "clearly, if my client had planned to kil this man he would have come up with a better one-liner."
I remember seeing this cover back in the day, but didn't pick it up because the character looked derivative. It's wild to see what a hilarious mess it was!
Whoa! Jim Lee was involved! So, she's Voodoo! I knew it! Neat! WHOA! That's some late 80s early 90s NEW JACK FUNK! I love the slap of the drum machine! This is fun video! I'm so used to Prince's musical muses, so, I'm used to the over the top larger then life persona.
I really enjoyed watching this video and learning about "Marvel's" aka "Stan Lee's" forays out of the comic book realm into making or trying to make music. Although I really do like the 1960's Marvel Super Hero theme song's as well as The Merry Marvel Marching Society.
Honestly the idea of cross-media characters isn't inherently bad, just because this one didn't work. These sort of ventures reminds me of the "Idols" in Japan(that often have like a fictional background story, pseudonym and magazines and manga devoted to them), given how struck with Japan media Stan Lee was I can imagine him getting inspiration from that.
"Idols" that are actually people playing a character isnt same thing though, and isnt out of the ordinary elsewhere. WWE off the top of my head is built around the idea. Its extra media and "lore" built around a person's unque persona. With this, its instead of a fictional thing with something tied to it in-universe which can actually be experienced yourself seperately. Like uuuh, a special book mentioned in a story that you can actually read yourself. (Edit) -Oh wait nevermind-
Nightcat's fingernail powers are the same that Meg Griffin later got in that Family Guy "What If" episode where the Griffins all got super powers. Meg was disappointed because her powers were much lamer than those of the rest of her family. My parents still had a rotary wall phone in the kitchen during this time period, so that doesn't seem weird to me. Mom refused to get rid of that thing for a really long time. We had touch tone phones in other rooms of the house, though.
I contend that Jem and the Holograms was the inspiration for Nightcat. The show and the dolls had come and gone by the time Stan Lee produced this lovely failure, but so had disco when Dazzler premiered. Stan had the uncanny ability to arrive a little late to every trend. Anyway, Jem was the alter ego of Jerrica Benton, created using her dead father's hologram technology. The songs in the cartoon were remarkably catchy and were available on cassettes that came with the dolls. Nightcat looks a bit like Jetta, one of the last dolls made. Hasbro clearly intended to do a multimedia blitz with Jem, who briefly outsold Barbie. Now, did the Catwoman movie rip off Nightcat for its female villain?🤔
I remember seeing things in the editorial pages and house ads and Marvel Age about NIGHTCAT, yet somehow, I don't think I ever actually saw it on sale any of the places where I bought my comics. Of course, it could have been that I just wasn't interested enough to actually look for it, being somewhat skeptical of the whole project. Anyway, I did want to mention a couple of other audio adventures that went the other way, bringing superheroes to albums. Well, one superhero in particular, Spidey. The first was 1972's THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN: A ROCKOMIC, which is also referred to as THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN: FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE, A ROCKOMIC. The album cover, which opened up, featured artwork in the form of panels arranged like a comic strip by the late John Romita. This alternated an audio drama with songs, with the Kingpin (voiced by Thayer David of DARK SHADOWS fame) kidnapping Aunt May to force Peter (voiced by Rene Auberjonois from DEEP SPACE NINE and many other movies and shows) to assassinate Spider-Man for him with a camera that is actually a disguised gun. Stan Lee narrates, but not as much as he does on the 1975 album SPIDER-MAN: ROCK REFLECTIONS OF A SUPER-HERO, which is MUCH more song-oriented. In fact, if you didn't know better, you'd think this album was drawn from an Andrew Lloyd Webber rock opera, one that tells Spidey's origin and goes through to his confrontation with the Green Goblin that took the life of Gwen Stacy. Maybe it was his experiences with these albums that later led to Stan pushing for an actual Broadway musical about Captain America that would have starred Hal Linden if it had been produced.
That was so 90s it's almost insane. They actually thought this would be a success? She sounds like every other generic early 90s pop star. I remember a few years back DC released an EP of supposedly Black Canary singing. You can find it here on TH-cam.
In a lot of ways Vince McMahon and Stan Lee have some overlap with the ways they tried to venture their creations into other parts of pop culture. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t, but both were ambitious
Speaking of QR codes, Image did just that for issue 5 of I Hate Fairyland - the issue comes with a QR code on the first page that you scan which plays an album that accompanies the issue, as the issue has no dialogue. Pretty cool idea.
"I must adopt a secret identity, so my dad won't think I'm disobeying him. What name can I use that he wouldn't recognize me? Maybe something based on his nickname for me, 'Kitten'...." 🐈⬛
I finished reading Stan Lee creates the DC Universe comics recently and two of the characters origin is some combination of "take animal DNA, inject it and suddenly you have super powers". If it worked for the Whizzer I guess it could work for literally anybody I guess
I feel like combining comics and music could work imo. They could have concept albums retelling the story within the comic. Heck, I have listened to many concept albums that could work as comics. Also, Night Cat sounds like a supe from the Boys.
Thanks for the video, very interesting. Also thanks for always providing context to the comic itself, why they did it, what the goal was, the situation in the industry at the time, etc.
From context you can tell it means that all the judges agreed, but it's not a phrase I've ever heard used before. When searching it looks like it's normally used in regards to politics rather than singing contests.
Oh wow! I remember that cover as it sat on the racks at my comic book store. I was just a young teen, and so I felt self-conscious about picking it up to look at it. But I remember that it caused a strange stirring under my utility belt!
When this comic came out, it was one of the few Marvel #1s of the time I had zero interest in. The cover looks not far off of a Dragon Magazine cover from the era, except modern. It screamed "this is not a serious comic". Not because it was sexy, but because it didn't resembles a magazine or promotional material. Also, $4 was a graphic novel price. I better be getting Thanos Quest or Marvels, not this.
I like how Nightcat finds a briefcase full of cocaine in a recording studio and she immediately assumes the studio is a front for pushing drugs and not, like, just full of customers.
Hahahaha, this comment here is the best thing I've read all night
"Well it's obvious the musicians aren't doing drugs they are all too responsible...."
Hahaha, Nightcat is the reason Motley crue had a writers block
Yeah. How does she know Rick James wasn't just in there?
Okay...... So I have always thought from the cover that Nightcat was Vanity in a Marvel book..... this interior art looks nothing like the cover....
My Dad always called me Mistake, and my costume is Horrible. I know, I’ll call myself Horrible Mistake!
Much better name for this comic
I chuckled.
That's a good joke
Nice 😊
Arf
@@ComicTropes Now we know where the Awful Catwoman movie got part of it's plot from!
I see how the name fits. She uses a staff to deflect bullets, like a cat. She also uses a flashlight to blind people, like a cat.
😂 🥇
I don't see any problems here, my cat regularly tosses flashbangs at me when I don't pay attention to her.
She's a knockoff of classic heroines Black Cat ( who used judo) and Phantom Lady ( who had a light weapon that blinded opponents).
Nothing worse than those damn street cats who jump around hitting people with a staff, and blinding thugs with a flashlight !
@@homeaccount5943 Oh yeah. Like this last week, this fat ginger cat jumped out of nowhere and nearly broke my clavicle after he hit me with a metal bo-staff!
My favorite part of this video was learning that Bill Murray was a Marvel character long before Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
He also played Superman on an SNL skit with various superheroes. Garret Morris played Ant-Man and that’s why he has a cameo in the first movie when Scott Lang first used the suit.
@comictropes that's a very cool fact
@@ComicTropes Honestly she's got all the typical Mary Sue character traits, that's why this comic did so badly. If she is ever going to be a success it needs to get rid of these traits.
@@ChroniclerVno it's just aggressively corny and poorly written regardless of that
Everything about this Nightcat character is so aggressively 90s, it made my rattail grow back out.
It made a Nirvana T-Shirt grow out of my chest.
@Ícaro Corrêa Where did this neon slap bracelet come from, and how did it get on my wrist?!
It made my leg cut crawl up to my armpits
This review of this comic is still 10 times better than that biopic about Casablanca Records 😄
@@aoterou Much like with Dazzler, the Genre of music & style had already gone out of date by the time the character debuted.
That's always been the big difference between Stan Lee and Bob Kane. Stan Lee was an egomaniac but he loved comics. Bob Kane didn't love comics, he loved himself. No-one could ever say that Jack Kirby didn't get his dues but there's a reason why being screwed over in comics is called getting Fingered.
Nailed the distinction between those two
Enough people'd say Jack Kirby didn't get his due, including Jack Kirby.
@@spectacleHDhe didn’t get as much credit as he should have. Stan wasn’t a complete ego maniac, for example a policy that he created at marvel gave the artists nicknames so that readers would recognize them in other works. Stan overstated his contributions, and he definitely screwed Kirby out of credit. But for all the talk of “presented by Stan Lee”’ Jack Kirby was also credited as a co creater in some instances and as the main writer. Batman only ever had the big “bob cane” on it with that giant O. When they do a what if on what if the marvel bulletin became the fantastic four Jack Kirby is right there on the cover. And so while Stan Lee definitely screwed Kirby over he definitely wasn’t as bad as Kane. I honestly don’t think Stan knew he was screwing Kirby over, I think he just thought he was overstating his contribution. Bob Kane definitely knew what he was doing.
Wait, if the dad was undercover working for Amanda Gideon, wouldn't this mean there is already an investigation on her? That would mean they are gathering evidence to arrest Amanda Gideon for something🤣😂
Stop making sense.
@@ComicTropes Honestly Nightcat has got all the typical Mary Sue character traits, that's why this comic did so badly. If is ever going to be a success it needs to get rid of these traits.
Night Cat is one of my favorite weird comic industry endeavors that flopped. This is prime Disney+ MCU potential right here that I'm surprised hasn't been adapted for a younger audience and milked to oblivion.
A girl who sing in disguise? Nah, never saw something like that on Disney.
@@-maxveleno- Hanoi Montano
The way the doctor tells them that the mother is dead reminds me a lot of Padme's death in Revenge of the Sith.
"For reasons we can't explain, we're losing her."
"We don't know why. She has lost the will to live."
Was thinking exactly the same thing 😂 maybe padme was hitting the bottle behind the scenes
Wait, is George Lucas a secret Nightcat fan?
The beginning of LucasFilm's "Because I said so" script writing approach.
Padme died because of her failed singing career
I mean anakin was literally born from the force or whatever, it's never been that hard to swallow to me because it probably had something to do with the force, this comic doesn't get that pass tho lmao
Minor point here: you can be a doctor and a professor. Doctor is a qualification. Professor is an academic pay-grade.
I loved Nightcat...mostly because she was hot and I was 14. She's right up there with NFL SuperPro as "what were they thinking...and what was I thinking?"
I remember NFL SuperPro, wow I'm so damn old😄😄
How about US 1, the comic about a long haul trucker?
She's also up there with Combos Man!
Something else was doing the thinking for you.
The NFL thing was just like the 'cool' crossover of the day. Back then it was easier to amuse because they didn't have much competition.
I had no idea James Gunn wrote a classic like Tromeo and Juliet! Now we need him to bring this all full circle by reviving Night Cat for a live-action mini-series!!
Yes, Gunn has quite a bizarre filmography if you go back far enough. Imo, the soundtrack to Tromeo is one of the best of the 90's.
@@aaronsarchive82 the guy wrote scooby doo! put bizarre in there!
@@aaronsarchive82 No kidding: Unsane, Superchunk, Assponys, Meatmen, Motorhead, Sublime, and Wesley Willis!
Honestly, I'd like to see someone recreate this panel-by-anel.
The Marvel audio experiment I remember best was Spider-Man: A Rockcomic which was an audio drama with songs in between each segment. The album opened up and it had John Romita art that you could follow along with. As a small child in the 1970s I listened to this endlessly. More than anything else, this is probably responsible for me becoming a Spider-Man fan.
Thank you for jogging my memory! I was maybe 7 or 8 and drove my grandmom nuts playing it on a constant loop. I remember it came with a spidey poster that proudly hung on my wall.
That actually sounds cool.
Are you talking Spider Man, Rock Reflections of a Superhero?
@@marcusaurelius6307 - Nope, that is an entirely different Spider-Man record! Spider-Man: A Rockcomic! was released in 1972. You also might find it called Spider-Man: From Beyond the Grave since it had that as a sub title. If you put it in TH-cam, you can find people who have uploaded the tracks.
‘In the very next panel she’s dying from her drinking!” I howled laughing 😂😂
Honestly I think Stan nearly hit the nail on the head. Musicals are absurd and corney at the best of times.
The thing is, they often adapt character growth, passage of time and other significant moments into dance choreography. Intentional movements are not easily translated to comics unless your a talented artist with alot of creative control.
This comic / record probably cost less than Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, though.
Where's that Robot Chicken clip with the Star Wars bot about "lost the will to live"?
the dad being against her singing reminds me a lot of the lindsay ellis joke about a similar plot in sister act 2
*muffled voice of the parent, knocking on the teenager's bedroom* "you're not in there, believing in yourself again are you?"
My favorite ComicTropes episodes are when you break down the characters and stories of Golden and Silver age comics and "disasters" like Night Cat. Thanks so much for this, Chris! Another hilarious, heartfelt, and interesting episode.
6:55 I was lucky enough to pick up the original art of this page a few years ago... never read the comic, but always been a fan of Denys Cowan (loved his run on the Question in the 80s).
Stan Lee certainly does deserve credit for pushing to get comics expanded into different media (even if most efforts fell flat).
Great Video!!
Just some additional info on the artist, Denys B. Cowan.
I am a Professor of Education at Touro University in New York City and was lucky enough to have the esteemed and wonderfully prolific Mr. Cowan as a Guest Speaker last semester in one of my classes!
Denys continues to have a fabulous, eclectic and successful career in media/comics/sequential narrative.
Denys is an Ink Pot Winner, a well-known television producer (The Boondocks), co-creator of the superhero Static Shock and co-founder of Milestone Comics ( along with Dwayne McDuffie)...and much more!
And, I've also known Denys since we were kids!
AND I KNEW NOTHING ABOUT NIGHTCAT, SO THIS WAS A REAL BLAST!
Thank You for this wonderful bit of history (I had one of those Marvel 45's, was a card-carrying member of the MMMS, and I can still sing every song on it!).
Nicely Done.
This whole comic is very reminiscent of a Roger Corman movie...maybe a lost episode of Black Scorpion (who also did get tied down a lot, and had her own custom-made car). Nightcat is actually more like Dazzler and Dagger combined (if you remember, Cloak and Dagger got their powers from designer drugs). Also reminiscent of the Serbian-made superheroine Cat Claw from around the same time.
I'm shocked that Julie Strain wasn't the "actress" being used for Nightcat, she looks the part more so than the actress chosen, and she was married to famed comic creator Kevin Eastman.....Strain also served as the inspiration for several comics in the magazine Heavy Metal posing for covers of the magazine too
even Julie knew that this was dumpster juice and to stay away 🤣
Congrats on getting the episode up with your internet issues!
If I had a nickel for every time Marvel tried to make a character specifically to be a music star I’d have 2 nickels which is not a lot but it’s weird it’s happen twice.
And if i had a nickel for every time Marvel tried to make a character Grace Jones, id have like three nickles maybe. Dazzler, Rogue and part of Storm if not just certain looks of hers. We could go into business with maybe 5 nickels
@@faherty87 If I can just add my 2 cents...
We'd have 27 in total.
@@MrHantz101 😅😅😅
Meanwhile Marvel could have gotten probably any metal band, thrown Ghost Rider and Wolverine in the 1st issue with a die-cut, poly bagged, holofoil, bedazzled cover, and actually have sold a few records. Not sure which Marvel executive thought that bubble gum pop would sell to young boys.
As for her name, if you looked at the rest of the panel the contract is in "Nightcat" might have been a decent choice as "Razor Blades and Illegal Pills," isn't a great superhero title. Come to think of it though, "Razor Blades and Illegal Pills," would have actually sold much better.
Wolverine did have a Heavy Metal song written about him.
I now want to front a band called Razor Blade and The Illegal Pills.
@@Clay3613 And wasn't there an album about Venom too? But they weren't Marvel productions that got support as I remember, but I could be wrong.
@@ethansloan I can be on synth, drum machine, and illegal pills. I'm a pro at all 3.
@@Clay3613 not just Wolverine. Holy Wars... The Punishment Due by Megadeth is all about the Punisher.
Ngl I wouldn't mind Nightcat being revived in someway but her song gimmick would most of the time only work in animation or live action. I feel like she could have her own show that has music video esque situations like that new animated Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur show!
I featured Night Cat as an NPC in an RPG that I ran, at the time. She teamed up with the Bat Child, from the Weekly World News, and joined forces with the Player Characters...
Love the new intro Chris! When you look over Lee's life, you can't help but admire his perseverance at trying to make superheroes mainstream. I love Dazzler's concept as a character; she's a musician who just happens to be a mutant and wants to help people with her singing skills.
So... Nightcat is a Superhero who got cat powers from standard house cats, and dresses in black leather. And this came from the early 90's.
I think the creators just watched Batman Returns and decided "Hey! Lets ripoff that version of Catwoman! But lets make her a generic pop singer, while referring to her as a ROCK star...".
interesting note for anyone who might be wondering how a comic could convey something musically: check out dead winter (by allison shabet)'s musical segments.
it uses old rock songs in a fantastically cinematic way by designing the lyrics directly into the panels so you hear the song in your head at the same time as you see the artwork.
it's by FAR the most interesting and impressive way i've seen an artist utilize music in their work, and it's all silent too! just another way nightcat dropped the ball though LOL
Well, of COURSE someone else did the actual singing. She was too busy FIGHTING NINJAS !
The Nightcat album always kinda had that Paula Abdul vibe about it, I wonder if they based the sound on her stuff.
First of all, "coatrack" sounds like a great band name.
Second, Cat-illac is absolute gold.
Finally, Nightcat walked so Hannah Montana could run and she's due for a revival... alongside Tigra and Hellcat.
The fact that Marvel v DC didn't exclusively feature a Nightcat v Snowflame battle is perhaps the greatest missed opportunity in history.
Lumpy is Bill Murray's characters nickname in Scrooged, incidentally. It's funny to hear him call Thing lumpy, like he's talking to his future character.
Great video. A lot of this is way before my time so its interesting to see all the ways Marvel tried to branch out of comics
Jim Lee really likes that Frank Miller Elektra costume, huh? Considering THIS, Psylocke and Voodoo are all basically that.
I think that album is the most early 90s album that ever early 90ed! It's got a Paula Abdul/Pebbles/Cover Girls/Seduction thing going on.... It didn't age well, but it is a solid product of it's time.
That song gave me Paula Abdul vibes. But if Marvel wanted they could have printed the lyrics and sheet music at the back of the comic book. But that would only appeal to the singers and musicians who could read it.
This is so excellent! All new to me but your background information is awesome-as always. Edit: This may be my favorite episode ever.
Okay. You roasting this comic's absolutely bonkers story makes this one of your funniest videos yet. Very well-informed and entertaining stuff!
Just one spider short of joining Miles, Peter, and Gwen.
😂🤣Why did Amanda, the bad girl boss billionaire, strip to HER bra and pantries for the final fight?!?
"Before I kill you I must let you know that I am hotter than you. This is vital information you will take to your grave." Ah the 90's. It'll be forever a 'special' time...
I love how it looks like Shooter is a giant in that photo with the Marvel staff.
The Nightcat artwork reminds of Heavy Metal styling Simon Bisely in particular. Speaking of which MF Doom used some of the Fantastic Four story recordings sample clips in the Mmm Food album. The songs to me sounds very Paula Abdul & Tiffany very teen pop I remember that sound one very well almost a late 80s sounds really 88-89
Jem and The Holograms say:
"Now THIS is TRULY OUTRAGEOUS!"
Your nails were really nice in this vid! Loved em!
I bought the album (CD) I do really like the #1 House Rule single. The rest is mediocre. I think that Nightcat is one of those interesting characters that someone should bring back and do something with. I would like to maybe see a comic with all of the female cat themed Marvel characters. Nightcat, Black Cat, Tigra, Hellcat, the Shuri Black Panther, maybe even throw Kitty Pryde in there for good measure.
That style of music that Nightcat sings is called Freestyle. Very big in the late 80s and Early 90s.
22:47
That is how you prove a murder wasn't premeditated; his defence counsel could use that one-liner - "clearly, if my client had planned to kil this man he would have come up with a better one-liner."
I remember seeing this cover back in the day, but didn't pick it up because the character looked derivative. It's wild to see what a hilarious mess it was!
She's a knockoff of classic heroines Black Cat ( who used judo) and Phantom Lady ( who had a light weapon that blinded opponents).
That Captain America movie where his superpower seems to be running faster than other people to steal their vehicles is
Is something.
Whoa! Jim Lee was involved! So, she's Voodoo! I knew it! Neat! WHOA! That's some late 80s early 90s NEW JACK FUNK! I love the slap of the drum machine!
This is fun video! I'm so used to Prince's musical muses, so, I'm used to the over the top larger then life persona.
I really enjoyed watching this video and learning about "Marvel's" aka "Stan Lee's" forays out of the comic book realm into making or trying to make music. Although I really do like the 1960's Marvel Super Hero theme song's as well as The Merry Marvel Marching Society.
Honestly the idea of cross-media characters isn't inherently bad, just because this one didn't work. These sort of ventures reminds me of the "Idols" in Japan(that often have like a fictional background story, pseudonym and magazines and manga devoted to them), given how struck with Japan media Stan Lee was I can imagine him getting inspiration from that.
"Idols" that are actually people playing a character isnt same thing though, and isnt out of the ordinary elsewhere. WWE off the top of my head is built around the idea. Its extra media and "lore" built around a person's unque persona.
With this, its instead of a fictional thing with something tied to it in-universe which can actually be experienced yourself seperately. Like uuuh, a special book mentioned in a story that you can actually read yourself.
(Edit) -Oh wait nevermind-
Nightcat is my favorite Paula Abdul album.
Nightcat's fingernail powers are the same that Meg Griffin later got in that Family Guy "What If" episode where the Griffins all got super powers. Meg was disappointed because her powers were much lamer than those of the rest of her family.
My parents still had a rotary wall phone in the kitchen during this time period, so that doesn't seem weird to me. Mom refused to get rid of that thing for a really long time. We had touch tone phones in other rooms of the house, though.
I contend that Jem and the Holograms was the inspiration for Nightcat. The show and the dolls had come and gone by the time Stan Lee produced this lovely failure, but so had disco when Dazzler premiered. Stan had the uncanny ability to arrive a little late to every trend.
Anyway, Jem was the alter ego of Jerrica Benton, created using her dead father's hologram technology. The songs in the cartoon were remarkably catchy and were available on cassettes that came with the dolls. Nightcat looks a bit like Jetta, one of the last dolls made. Hasbro clearly intended to do a multimedia blitz with Jem, who briefly outsold Barbie.
Now, did the Catwoman movie rip off Nightcat for its female villain?🤔
The one good thing to come out of this; is that Denys Cowan would later go on to create DC Milestone's Static Shock.
I remember seeing things in the editorial pages and house ads and Marvel Age about NIGHTCAT, yet somehow, I don't think I ever actually saw it on sale any of the places where I bought my comics. Of course, it could have been that I just wasn't interested enough to actually look for it, being somewhat skeptical of the whole project. Anyway, I did want to mention a couple of other audio adventures that went the other way, bringing superheroes to albums. Well, one superhero in particular, Spidey. The first was 1972's THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN: A ROCKOMIC, which is also referred to as THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN: FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE, A ROCKOMIC. The album cover, which opened up, featured artwork in the form of panels arranged like a comic strip by the late John Romita. This alternated an audio drama with songs, with the Kingpin (voiced by Thayer David of DARK SHADOWS fame) kidnapping Aunt May to force Peter (voiced by Rene Auberjonois from DEEP SPACE NINE and many other movies and shows) to assassinate Spider-Man for him with a camera that is actually a disguised gun. Stan Lee narrates, but not as much as he does on the 1975 album SPIDER-MAN: ROCK REFLECTIONS OF A SUPER-HERO, which is MUCH more song-oriented. In fact, if you didn't know better, you'd think this album was drawn from an Andrew Lloyd Webber rock opera, one that tells Spidey's origin and goes through to his confrontation with the Green Goblin that took the life of Gwen Stacy. Maybe it was his experiences with these albums that later led to Stan pushing for an actual Broadway musical about Captain America that would have starred Hal Linden if it had been produced.
That was so 90s it's almost insane. They actually thought this would be a success? She sounds like every other generic early 90s pop star. I remember a few years back DC released an EP of supposedly Black Canary singing. You can find it here on TH-cam.
In a lot of ways Vince McMahon and Stan Lee have some overlap with the ways they tried to venture their creations into other parts of pop culture. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t, but both were ambitious
LOVE YOUR NAILS!!! YA GORGEOUSSSS
What a roller-coaster. I love those kind of stories. This channel is a gem.
Dude.... THANK YOU!
You just BUSTED ME UP laughing on what the Dr said when her mom passed WHOOOO I needed that
This channel always brings up the most obscure comics stuff. I love it.
What's your name?
Pea Tear Griffin.
- Family Guy
Speaking of QR codes, Image did just that for issue 5 of I Hate Fairyland - the issue comes with a QR code on the first page that you scan which plays an album that accompanies the issue, as the issue has no dialogue. Pretty cool idea.
Was not expecting an episode today. Huzzah for Comic Tropes!
That animation with Thanos and Spider-Man was bloody hilarious ! Thanos looked more like a purple ape !
Goddamnit! I almost forgot about this, ENTIRELY!
Yeah, I bought it at 10 years old at Geppi’s Comic World.
17:11 not a Milli Vanilli, why people in late 80s early 90s thought they could pull off the ghost singer thing
Marvel also worked with Troma when they released The Toxic Avenger comic! Not related to this but worth mentioning none the less.
This video is hilarious Chris. I love when you tear these things apart. The Power Pack one was great too.
Come on now, a rotary phone wasn't that out of date in the early '90s. I recall still using them in the early 2000s.
"I must adopt a secret identity, so my dad won't think I'm disobeying him. What name can I use that he wouldn't recognize me? Maybe something based on his nickname for me, 'Kitten'...." 🐈⬛
I finished reading Stan Lee creates the DC Universe comics recently and two of the characters origin is some combination of "take animal DNA, inject it and suddenly you have super powers". If it worked for the Whizzer I guess it could work for literally anybody I guess
I feel like combining comics and music could work imo. They could have concept albums retelling the story within the comic. Heck, I have listened to many concept albums that could work as comics.
Also, Night Cat sounds like a supe from the Boys.
Tassels, Shoulder Pads, and Glamour Shot-Hair... this costume has all the crimes against fashion, True Believer!
Thanks for the video, very interesting. Also thanks for always providing context to the comic itself, why they did it, what the goal was, the situation in the industry at the time, etc.
Good work Chris. Its nice to see a funny episode from this era 😊
Wow, this is all new to me, and wildly hilarious! 😂 What does "unanimous consent" even mean?!?
From context you can tell it means that all the judges agreed, but it's not a phrase I've ever heard used before. When searching it looks like it's normally used in regards to politics rather than singing contests.
Well when you're in an orgy...
I guess it makes sense for Nightcat’s costume to be like a pop star’s but how the hell do these heroes hide their identities despite wearing no masks?
Enormous cleavage is a great distraction.
For instance, what color eyes does Elvira have?
See? You don't know. I don't know. Nobody knows.
No one is looking at her face. ( Y )
I'm gonna need that suitcase. For my business meetings.
I mean you have got to admit it has a very nice smell about it.
Comictropes premier? What a wonderful Sunday
Thanks Chris, Nightcat is now my favourite superhero of all time
I can’t say it was THAT much of a surprise to learn this outfit was created by Jim Lee
You always find the most interesting things. Great video
How tall is Jim Shooter? Or was he standing on a box in that photo?
He’s very tall.
He’s like 6’5”. He towers over the room.
Happy to see you did have a friend with an internet connection.
Love your videos so much. I’m pretty new to TH-cam but you were definitely an inspiration for getting started. Thanks for all your hard work on these!
I have heard about this way back when but didn't know the full history of it.
I remember enjoying the comeback of Deathlok with Denys Cowan.
I agree.
Oh wow! I remember that cover as it sat on the racks at my comic book store. I was just a young teen, and so I felt self-conscious about picking it up to look at it. But I remember that it caused a strange stirring under my utility belt!
Memory unlocked. i totally forgot about this.
Someone in charge of the music was listening to way too much Paula Abdul! 🎶😳
A mass-murderer pop star that freaks out over finding drugs in a 90's music studio and refuses to tour... Seems legit
When this comic came out, it was one of the few Marvel #1s of the time I had zero interest in. The cover looks not far off of a Dragon Magazine cover from the era, except modern. It screamed "this is not a serious comic". Not because it was sexy, but because it didn't resembles a magazine or promotional material. Also, $4 was a graphic novel price. I better be getting Thanos Quest or Marvels, not this.
I had no clue about this character and this is one of the funniest fucking episodes you’ve ever made. Great job.