So, we have comic books, but where did they come from? After all everything has a beginning.

For the beginning of the comic you would have to go back to the pulp heroes. “Pulps” were small 10 cent books, sold on the newsstands and were published from 1896 through the 1950s. They were usually filled with action heroes going to exotic places and having adventures. Among these heroes were Doc Savage and The Shadow. While these guys did extraordinary things, they weren’t called superheroes. However, they had their influence on what was to come.
The Phantom made his debut on February 17th, 1936. He was the first costumed hero and was created by Lee Falk. The Phantom was a normal “human” person. He fought crime with bravery and death defying stunts. He was one of the first characters who used a mask to hide his true identity. This, of course, would become the hallmark of most superheroes and crime-fighters to follow.
There is a lot of discussion on the origins of the first real comic book. Most agree it was Action Comics #1 which was first published in June of 1938. Why was this one so special? It introduced greatest superhero of all time, Superman. We would go on from there and enter what would be called the golden age of comics (Late 30’s through the 50’s). Much of what we see today was developed during this age and would catapult a billion-dollar industry.
If you want to learn more about the history of Comic Books and Superheroes I recommend: Super-history: Comic Book Superheroes and American Society, 1938 to the Present by Jeffrey K. Johnson. This study views American history from 1938 to 2010 through the lens of superhero comics, revealing the spandex-clad guardians to be not only fictional characters but barometers of the place and time in which they reside.

This Week’s Podcast:

On the podcast this week Jacob Edwards joins us to talk about the current state of comic books and it major stakeholders DC and Marvel. He also introduces us to an episode of the Blue Beetle. BB was one of the first comic book heroes to get his start on old time radio in the 1940s and go on to have good success in the comics.
You can listen to this podcast this Thursday (09/03) at Ron’s Amazing Stories, download it from iTunes, stream it on TuneIn Radio or listen on your radio Friday night at 8pm Eastern time. Check your local listing or find the station closest to you at this link.

The Calendar:

August 27: CBS Radio Mystery Theater – Circle of Evil
September 03: A new story from the Blue Beetle introduced by our friend Jacob Edwards!
September 10: Time for a detective drama
September 17/24: Working on getting a Civil War historian
October 01: The Fifth Annual Month of Spooky Begins!

I decided this week to put the spotlight on a great actor, Mr. E.G. Marshall. We will have one of his episodes of CBS Radio mystery theater on this Thursday’s podcast. What made his radio show unique was that it did not appear during the golden age of radio. In fact, the first episode did not go live until January 6, 1974. Radio dramas ended some 13 years earlier when Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar ended its run in 1961. CBS Radio Mystery Theater ran from 1974 through 1982, eight years and nearly 1400 episodes was its legacy. E.G. Marshal was not creator of the program, that was Himan Brown a he is the subject of another article later on.
What I found was this piece taken from Biography. I could not find the author credit for it, so my thanks to the folks of Biography for providing it. I have edited it down a bit so if you want to read the entire article I have included the link at the end.
-Ron

BIO OF E.G MARSHALL

    E.G. Marshall kept the secret of his original name throughout his life. His career began on Broadway, where he eventually starred in the original runs of The Crucible, Waiting for Godot, and The Iceman Cometh. His films include Twelve Angry Men and The Caine Mutiny. On TV, Marshall became a household name in the 1960s for his role in The Defenders.
In all likelihood, E.G. Marshall was born on June 18, 1914, in Owatonna, Minnesota. However, both the date of his birth and his true name are the source of some controversy. While many public records list Marshall’s birthday as June 18, 1910, in a 1997 interview Marshall insisted that his true birthday was four years later. Since his death in 1998, certain pieces of social security information have emerged that appear to confirm the 1914 date. An even greater mystery than Marshall’s date of birth is the origin of the initials “E.G.”
When asked to state his full name in interviews, Marshall insisted, “My full name is E.G. Marshall. I am known by no other.” When pressed as to what the “E.G.” stood for, Marshall typically responded in jest. Some of his more noteworthy responses were “Enigma Gregarious,” “Everybody’s Guess” and “Edda Gunnar,” an obscure reference to a book of Norse legends. While many hypothesize that his real name is Everett Gunnar, the true meaning of his initials (as his son-in-law David Sayer suggested shortly before Marshall’s death) “will go with him to his grave.”
Marshall became interested in theater and acting at a very young age. “I used to watch movies—silent movies—and stock companies and theater whenever I could,” he later recalled. He also began performing wherever he could—in school, at church, at the YMCA, and in community theater productions. But in Minnesota during the Great Depression, there were few opportunities for advanced training in acting. “There were no acting schools back then,” Marshall said. Instead, he attended the University of Minnesota and Carleton College, where he indirectly honed his acting skills by majoring in speech and music. He eventually made his way to the theater and starred in many successful plays.
While he was enjoying a successful career as a leading man on Broadway, Marshall was also developing his film career. He made his feature film debut in the 1945 picture The House on 92nd Street before appearing in such 1950s classics as The Caine Mutiny (1954), Twelve Angry Men (1957) and Compulsion (1959). His most notable later film roles included Woody Allen’s Interiors (1978), Superman II (1980), Nixon (1995) and Absolute Power (1997).
Despite this prolific career as a stage and film actor, the venue where Marshall enjoyed his most success was television. Marshall’s most acclaimed and famous role came on the 1960s CBS courtroom drama The Defenders. Marshall played Lawrence Preston, an implacable defense attorney who represented such diverse and controversial clients as civil rights demonstrators, neo-Nazis and conscientious objectors. In one especially controversial episode of the socially piercing show, Marshall’s character represented an abortionist. The Defenders ran from 1961 to ’65, and for his performance on the show, Marshall won the 1962 and 1963 Emmy Awards for outstanding performance by a lead actor in a series. After The Defenders went off the air, Marshall again achieved television success on the NBC medical drama The New Doctors, which ran from 1969 to ’73.
E.G. Marshall married first wife, Helen Wolf, in 1939. They divorced in 1953, and he later married Judith Coy. Marshall had seven children from his two marriages. He died at his home in Bedford, New York, on August 24, 1998, at the age of 84.
Over the course of his long and distinguished acting career, Marshall developed a reputation for his honest and stirring depictions of characters, as well as for his willingness to embrace socially critical, controversial material. And though many of the plays, films and TV shows that he appeared in featured dark themes, Marshall believed that underpinning all his work was an optimistic, life-affirming message: “No matter what,” he said, “atom bombs, hydrogen bombs, anything—life goes on: You can kill yourself, but you can’t kill life.”

E.G. Marshall. (2015). The Biography.com website. Retrieved 09:24, Aug 25, 2015, from http://www.biography.com/people/eg-marshall-23030.

This Week’s Podcast:

As I have already mentioned we have an excellent episode of CBS Radio Mystery Theater on this Thursday’s show. Also on the program is a story from a mailman that will leave you scratching your head. So be sure to tune in this week and you will not be disappointed.

You can listen to this podcast this Thursday (08/28) at Ron’s Amazing Stories , download it from iTunes, stream it on TuneIn Radio or listen on your radio Friday night at 8pm Eastern time. Check your local listing or find the station closest to you at this link .

The Calendar:

August 20: An interview with Patty Wiseman author of the Velvet Shoe Collection.
August 27: CBS Radio Mystery Theater – Circle of Evil
September 03: A new story from the Blue Beetle introduced by our friend Jacob Edwards!
September 10: Time for a detective drama
September 17/24: Working on getting a Civil War historian
October 01: The Fifth Annual Month of Spooky Begins!

On the podcast this week we have Patty Wiseman. I thought that I would take this opportunity to put spotlight on Patty and tell you a bit about her. Patty worked as an administrative assistant to a financial advisor. She has always dreamed of writing, but life was too busy and overwhelming.

Writing was always my dream in life. Before meeting my husband, Ron, of 21 years, I was a single mom raising my boys, Scott and Lance, working full-time to support my family. Though the day-to-day life was busy and overwhelming, I was determined to make the dream of being a successful author a reality. This gave me an anchor to the individuality and identity every busy wife and mom struggles to maintain. As a woman we carry many titles – so-and-so’s mom, so-and-so’s wife, etc. – and battle that inner war of who we are. My success was nurtured and fulfilled by my actions during those tough years. – Patty Wiseman

Patty retired from work, but her writing career had just begun. She writes clean, fiction stories about the challenges women have faced in the past and continue to face today. Her stories fall in the romance genre, but that is only a title. The work is rich with historical content, action and even personal family history.

My published and future novels cover a variety of genres — from the love of stories that inspire and encourage, to those suspenseful dramas that keep you on the edge of your seat, and adventurous journeys of those who have overcome society’s constraints. – Patty Wiseman

If you are interested in learning more about Patty Wiseman, here are some links to get you started.

Patty’s Facebook
Patty’s Home Web Site
Patty’s Twitter Account
Patty’s Amazon Authors Page

This Week’s Podcast:

On this Thursday’s show we have a good one. Author Patty Wiseman joins us to talk about her series of books, The Velvet Shoe Collection. These are mystery dramas set in the 1920’s Detroit era. She also shares some of her family’s amazing history.  Additionally, on this episode we explore the True Crime Story of the death of Jessie James. Like I said this is a going to be a good one.

You can listen to this podcast this Thursday (8/20) at Ron’s Amazing Stories, download it from iTunes, stream it on TuneIn Radio or listen on your radio Friday night at 8pm Eastern time. Check your local listing or find the station closest to you at this link.

The Calendar:

August 13: Scoundrels
August 20: An interview with Patty Wiseman author of the Velvet Shoe Collection.
August 27: A new story from the Blue Beetle introduced by our friend Jacob Edwards!
September 03: We will have a horrific old time radio gem.
September 10: Time for a detective drama

As I mentioned in last week’s podcast you have sent me a few questions on podcasting. I have saved these up and will answer those right here in this blog. I include the senders name (when available) with each question. Before we get started I want to thank you for sending these in. If you have question simply head to main web site at RASpodcast.com, click the contact tab and fill out the form. Now, Lets get started.

Question 1 from John Millsap (California): Most podcasts use a service to produce their show like BlogTalk. Do you do this and if not why?

Answer: No, I have never used a service like BlogTalk. For one reason when I got started they did not exist. Secondly depending on the the level contract you have them they have the right to insert adds into your shows. That is something that I wanted to avoid like the plague. The third and most important reason is that I like to produce my own show and have total control over it. In this way I can make sure it sounds, flows and reflects me. I have, of course, looked at them. I do believe them to be a safe way to do a podcast, but it just is not for me.

Question 2 from Mark Johnson (Seattle WA.): What sound editing software do you use. How do you get your voice to be so clear?

Answer: Free is always better. I use a battery of utilities to do the podcast, but only one sound editor, Audacity. It is free software, developed by a group of volunteers and distributed under the GNU General Public License (GPL). It does everything that Audition, Sound Forge and Final Cut do and more. It is supported by the best of the best in the music/podcast world. And again is FREE! How I get my voice so clear? That is simplest answer yet. Be a spendthrift on everything, but your microphone. I use a mid-level mic by Blue Microphones.

Question 3 from Sally Freedman (Chicago): What is the best advice you can give a new podcaster like myself? If you had it to-do all over again what would you change?

Answer: Change? Not a thing. I loved the time spent learning my my craft. All of the mistakes I have made, problems encountered and painful decisions have all made me me a good podcaster. The best advice I can offer is this: Make sure that your podcast content represents you and is something you’re passionate about. If you don’t do that you are doomed and you will lose interest like so many others have.

Question 4 from unknown: At what bitrate and type do you output your podcast at?

Answer: That is a fairly technical question, but hey, I will answer it. The podcast that goes out on the internet is set at a constant bitrate of 80 kbps and 44100 Hz sample rate. Of course the radio version is a totally different animal and is at a much higher quality. One piece of advice I will offer here is to never save your podcast using a variable bit rate. You will lose compatibility with some providers and can cause other issues.

Question 4 from @bjohn302 on twitter: I just published my first book and I want to do your show to promote it.

Answer: I don’t take guest requests from Twitter. I can’t make a qualified decision if your work fits my listenership. If you want to promote your book on the show please head to main website at RASpodcast.com, click on the contact tab and fill out the form. With the 140-character limit on twitter there is no way to tell me about yourself, your work and alike.

That’s is all the questions I have from you about the podcast. I hope that you found it interesting and fun to read. If you have questions for me on any subject, I am open to it and would love to hear from you.

-Ron

This Week’s Podcast:

On this Thursday’s episode of Ron’s Amazing Stories, we will have two great westerns for your enjoyment. The theme will be scandals and cheats. The first is called Bag ‘o rocks from Gunsmoke and we follow that up with one from the Challenge of the Yukon. If that was not enough Jim Richards from Atlanta shares his story of lost time at remote airport in Texas.

You can listen to the podcast right here at Ron’s Amazing Stories, download it from iTunes, stream it on TuneIn Radio or listen on your radio Friday night at 8pm Eastern time. Check your local listing or find the station closest to you at this link.

The Calendar:

August 06: Suspense Classic – The Last Letter of Dr. Bronson
August 13: Gunsmoke Tale – Box ‘O Rocks
August 20: An interview with Patty Wiseman author of the Unlikely Beginning series.
August 27: A new story from the Blue Beetle introduced by our friend Jacob Edwards!
September 03: We will have a horrific old time radio gem.