Tag Archives: Bizarre Baseball Culture

Spider-Man’s appearances in BIZARRE BASEBALL CULTURE

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As you would know unless if you’ve been living under a rock the last day or two, Spider-Man is coming to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In honor of this, here are the web-slinger’s appearances in BIZARRE BASEBALL CULTURE:

2007’s TRIPLE-A BASEBALL HEROES

The crossover between Marvel Comics and AAA baseball that you never knew you needed, Spidey is one of the main characters in this comic. There is also a serious error, however, as Peter Parker is portrayed wearing Yankee regalia, which goes against the well-established fact (to Spider-fans) that Pete is a Mets fan.

2008’s TRIPLE-A BASEBALL HEROES

Spider-Man has a much smaller role in the second AAA/Marvel crossover, but does still appear, so it counts.

BILLY THE MARLIN

One of the greatest achievements in human history, right up there with fire, the wheel, the polio vaccine and Mario Kart. I mean, just look at this:

MarlinsSpideyCoverIn this comic, Spider-Man aids Billy the Marlin in stopping Doctor Doom, who has arrived in Miami to kidnap Jeff Conine in order to force him to join the Latverian National Baseball Team, or something like that. It’s amazing. I did not make that up.

Peter Parker Spider-Man (Vol. 2) #33

The last (for now) Bizarre Baseball Culture featuring Spidey, this issue is entirely about Peter Parker’s love of the New York Mets and how it was a bond between him and his Uncle Ben. Features an appearance of an off-brand and talking Mr. Met.

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So, there you go! Spider-Man’s appearances in BIZARRE BASEBALL CULTURE! Enjoy!

 

 

BIZARRE BASEBALL CULTURE/CONTINUUCAST 4: “THE DAY BASEBALL DIED”

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In Bizarre Baseball Culture, I take a look at some of the more unusual places where baseball has reared it’s head in pop culture and fiction.

This installment of Bizarre Baseball Culture can only be found through the Baseball Continuum’s Continuucast! Hit play above, download by right-clicking here, follow the RSS feed here or follow on iTunes here (if the latest episode isn’t up yet, it will be shortly).

The Continuucast has it’s first true “Bizarre Baseball Culture” segment as Dan looks at the 1946 Columbia Workshop radio-play, “The Day Baseball Died.” In addition, he takes a quick look “Around the Continuum” of international baseball and has a brief complaint about the fact MLB Network doesn’t show the Caribbean World Series.

Music/Sounds Featured:

“The National Game” by John Phillip Sousa

“Flight of the Bumblebee” (AKA The Green Hornet Theme) by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov performed by the US Army Band (special “Bizarre Baseball Culture” remix by Dan Glickman featuring the Pablo Sanchez Theme and clips from previous and future Bizarre Baseball Culture pieces)

“Prelude to Act I” from Carmen by Georges Bizet (AKA the Bad News Bears theme)

Excerpt of “Pennant Fever” from the Major League soundtrack

All sound and music used is either public domain or is a short snippet that falls under fair use.

 

Go below the jump for links to previous Bizarre Baseball Cultures.

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BIZARRE BASEBALL CULTURE: Strange Sports Stories #1… “TO BEAT THE DEVIL!”

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In Bizarre Baseball Culture, I take a look at some of the more unusual places where baseball has reared it’s head in pop culture and fiction.

Last time, I introduced you to “Strange Sports Stories”, the on-and-off anthology of DC Comics’ Science-Fiction and/or Fantasy tales involving sports. That past installment was from the 1960s Brave and The Bold run of SSS, but this time, we’re looking at the Strange Sports Stories stand-alone series, from 1973. It only lasted six issues, but it’s first issue prominently featured baseball (amazingly, it wasn’t in any of the other five issues, and as far as I can tell no sport was featured more than once) in a tale called “To Beat The Devil!”

DevilBallcover

Written by Frank Robbins (who was primarily an artist, most notable for having helped create the character of the Man-Bat for DC Comics), penciled by Curt Swan (who is best known for his work on Superman comics) and inked by Dick Giordano (best known for his partnership with artist Neal Adams on Batman and the socially-conscious Green Lantern/Green Arrow book), this tale, as the cover (done by Nick Cardy, who according to Wikipedia is best known for his work with Aquaman and the Teen Titans) indicates, is about a face-off between a baseball team and the devil himself. The Devil, of course, is no stranger to baseball, primarily known for his involvement in baseball-themed musicals, but this is the first appearance by Satan in Bizarre Baseball Culture. Well, unless you count this weird guy from the second AAA Baseball/Marvel comic. I don’t.

Anyway, go below the jump for more:

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Baseball Continuum Continuucast 1: Intro, News and Thoughts, Bizarre Baseball Culture, and a short tribute to Justin Huber

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The first Baseball Continuum Continuucast, presented by Dan Glickman. In this episode, you finally hear the voice behind the Baseball Continuum blog as he boldly tries to make a podcast despite having a voice that was made for the written word. Hear his thoughts on the Cubs and the Hall of Fame, get updated on what’s going on outside of North America and MLB as he takes a look “Around the Continuum”, learn about the “Bizarre Baseball Culture” that Dan has never been able to do, and hear a short tribute to Justin Huber.

The podcast can be heard using the player above, or can be downloaded from here. You may need to click “Save Link As…” I am currently working on getting it up on iTunes and similar services.

Music/Sounds Featured:

“The National Game” by John Phillip Sousa

“Chicago” by the Paul Elkins Orchestra

“Flight of the Bumblebee” (AKA The Green Hornet Theme) by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov performed by the US Army Band (special “Bizarre Baseball Culture” remix by Dan Glickman featuring the Pablo Sanchez Theme and clips from previous and future Bizarre Baseball Culture pieces)

“News Intro” by Maximilien

“Waltzing Matilda”, written by Banjo Paterson, tune by CambridgeBayWeather on Wikipedia

“Advance Australia Fair” instrumental written by Peter Dodds McCormick and performed by the US Navy Band

All sound and music used is either public domain or falls under fair use.

The Best of 2014- BIZARRE BASEBALL CULTURE: “Mr. Go” is about a GORILLA PLAYING BASEBALL IN KOREA

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This was originally published July 18, 2014. More “Bizarre Baseball Culture” can be found here.

In Bizarre Baseball Culture, I take a look at some of the more unusual places where baseball has reared it’s head in pop culture and fiction.

Oh boy.

I have covered many strange things on Bizarre Baseball Culture over time. There was the story about baseball in 2044, there was the Pokémon episode, the comic where the hero basically uses PEDs, the comic where Billy The Marlin and Spider-Man had to save Jeff Conine from Doctor Doom, and, of course, all of those “Ultimate Sports Force” comics. But perhaps none can compare to the 2013 Korean/Chinese epic that is… Mr. Go.

Yes, Mr. Go. A film much beloved by people throughout the baseball internet for the sheer curiosity factor of those blog posts at places like Big League Stew last year, but rarely actually seen by it. I, however, was able to procure a copy of the film, in the form of a DVD from Hong Kong, acquired from a Canadian seller on eBay. All for you, the readership of the Baseball Continuum (and anybody who found this link).

So, buckle up, because below the jump, we dive deep on Mr. Go. Prepare yourself, because gorilla baseball, MLB cameos, banana-shaped thunderstix, pizza commercials, a bullpen-cart chase and other madness awaits you:

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Bizarre Baseball Culture: “CHALLENGE OF THE HEADLESS BASEBALL TEAM!”

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In Bizarre Baseball Culture, I take a look at some of the more unusual places where baseball has reared it’s head in pop culture and fiction.

This is gonna be fun. Today, I take my first look at a quintessential part of Bizarre Baseball Culture: “Strange Sports Stories”. A short-lived DC Comics anthology banner that popped up a few times during the 1960s and 1970s- at one point even having it’s own book for six issues- it’s title told you everything you have to know about them: they were sports stories that were strange. Sometimes they would be sports mixed with magic. Other times it would be sports mixed with science fiction. No matter what, though, they were most definitely bizarre. And, so, by definition, all baseball installments of “Strange Sports Stories” are going to be Bizarre Baseball Culture.

And we’ll begin with the very first “Strange Sports Stories” story, from waaaay back in December 1962 or January 1963 (it’s cover date was January, but comics often come out before the cover date, so it likely was already out in December- if not even earlier, as the GCD says it was on stands in late October), in The Brave and The Bold #45, the first “Strange Sports Stories” installment ever: “CHALLENGE OF THE HEADLESS BASEBALL TEAM!”

Note that this isn't an actual picture of my cover- my cover is in sort of crummy shape- the book is over 50 years old, after all.

Note that this isn’t an actual picture of my cover- my cover is in sort of crummy shape- the book is over 50 years old, after all.

Let’s go below the jump for more.

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Coming Up: A New “Bizarre Baseball Culture”

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By the end of the week (perhaps as early as tonight), you’ll be seeing a new “Bizarre Baseball Culture”. Originally the plan was for it to be tonight, but it’s a bit longer of a story than I thought it was, so to ensure it is a good quality article, it’ll be a bit delayed.

Thank you!

Bizarre Baseball Culture: True Comics #78 has a Stan Musial Biography

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In Bizarre Baseball Culture, I take a look at some of the more unusual places where baseball has reared it’s head in pop culture and fiction.

A shorter one today, as we go back to bio-comics, this time looking at Stan Musial. Now, I’ve done a bio-comic before, but this one is different because it’s from a different era- the Golden Age of Comics! To be more specific, it’s from True Comics #78, in August 1949, from “Parents Magazine”. This is from the late Golden Age, a time where super-hero comics were in a low period and were being replaced by crime, horror and romance comics, no doubt leading to good wholesome fun like this to held up as being the last bastions of innocent virtue in comics.

But I digress. Here’s the part of the comic with Stan on it:

Screen Shot 2014-11-16 at 12.01.23 PM

You can see it here, as it is in the Public Domain. Go below the jump for more:

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Coming Soon: Another Bizarre Baseball Culture

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See above. It’ll be sometime this weekend.

Bizarre Baseball Culture: Post-Schulz Peanuts go to Japan in “It’s Tokyo, Charlie Brown!”

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In Bizarre Baseball Culture, I take a look at some of the more unusual places where baseball has reared it’s head in pop culture and fiction.

Today, we look at an odd duck: a Peanuts story. Only it’s not from the classic comics by Charles Schulz, it’s instead a long-form post-Schulz comic book in which Charlie Brown and friends go to Japan after being selected to represent America as Little League ambassadors. Hilarity ensues.

Released in 2012 by KaBOOM! Press (part of BOOM! Studios) and authorized by the Schulz estate (which provided the actual creative team), It’s Tokyo, Charlie Brown! was written and penciled by Vicki Scott and had colored by Paige Braddock. Both had worked as assistants at Schulz’s studio before his death, which famously occurred the day his final Peanuts strip came out. In fact, Braddock apparently did the inking of the comic using a pen nib that “Chuck” had given her.

Still, I don’t know, despite that pedigree, I’m not so sure about this. I mean, I’m still weary about the the upcoming Peanuts CGI film, despite the fact that it’s teaser trailer was actually pretty good.

Well, we’ll have to see…. after the jump:

It only says "Charles M. Schulz" because they are his characters and he did the original drawing of them in baseball garb.

It only says “Charles M. Schulz” because they are his characters and he did the original drawing of them in baseball garb.

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