Mid-November 2023 Edition
Welcome to my new newsletter, where I muse about what's on my mind, share some cool links, and talk about what media I'm consuming.
What's On My Mind
Space, that’s what has been on my mind lately. From Three Body Problem and the other two books in its series, to the For All Mankind season 4 premiere last week, heck even the just-announced Aliens 4K remaster! But it is Frank Borman’s passing that makes me ruminate the most on our cosmos.
Col. Borman was one of the heroes of Apollo 8, my favorite of the moon missions (even though it didn’t involve a landing). You may not be aware of just how daring it was!
In 1967, NASA published their original plan for the Apollo missions that would incrementally lead up to an attempted landing. Apollo 8 was scheduled for December 1968 and would be the 2nd crewed mission (the previous being unmanned booster tests).
At the time, no one had a clue just how much of a shit-show 1968 would turn out to be. America was reeling, and the Apollo program was slipping. Earlier that year’s summer, many defects were found in the Apollo 8 hardware, threatening to jeopardize landing on the moon within the decade.
Then in August 1968, just mere months before its scheduled launch, the mission was replanned — shifting from its original goals (testing the lunar & command modules) to a trans-lunar flight! It would be the first time humans truly left earth for another world.
The story of how this came to be — and the ramifications it had on both accelerating the Apollo program & boosting American morale — are detailed in the wonderful Jeffrey Kluger book Apollo 8: The Thrilling Story of the First Mission to the Moon that I implore you to check out!
If reading Kluger’s tale whets your appetite for space, another great read is Andrew Chaikin’s unabridged history A Man on the Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts. I especially recommend the audiobook version as narrated by Bronson Pinchot (yes, that Bronson!).
Some Interesting Links
Frank Borman was a war hero, trailblazer, and businessman. He did it all — including living a long life. The reason he's on my mind above is because he passed away last week, not long after we also lost the great Ken Mattingly. This leaves us with just eight surviving Apollo crew members. Godspeed, gentlemen!
Steve Erwin, one of my favorite comic book artists growing up, also passed away recently. He was a local artist (living between Oklahoma and Texas), so he was a regular presence at local comic conventions. Back then, the Dallas Comic Con was presented twice a year (spring and fall). I’d show Steve my drawings at one event and get his advice, spend the time until the next event incorporating his feedback, meet with Steve again, and repeat the cycle for several years. Rest in peace, Steve!
America’s favorite family game: is this the name of an antidepressant or a Tolkien character?
One more week until new episodes of Doctor Who featuring the 14th Doctor premiere in the U.S.!
My friend Becky created the original Celtic Roach back in 1993, which served as the unofficial logo for UNT’s Bruce Hall for nearly two decades. Becky is now selling her design as new merchandise to benefit the Music Maker Relief Foundation. Visit her online store & stock up on your t-shirts and other swag today!
Recommended Media
I maintain a record of everything I watch & read, to encourage me to do more of both. You can follow along with my current progress on my Media Diet website. I'll occasionally recommend a specific title here.
In my September and November editions, I did highlight some media nuggets, but I appear to have skipped doing so in October. Maybe it's because my nose was buried in a good book!
This morning, I finished the last volume from Grant Morrison's run on the main Marvel title New X-Men. They are one of my favorite writers, penning such memorable works like All-Star Superman, Arkham Asylum, and Animal Man.
His stewardship of my favorite super-hero team was no exception, helping to fill the two-decade gap in my X-Men knowledge that was caused by my collecting burnout in the mid-90s. I bore witness to some iconic stories for the first time, such as the affair between Scott Summers and Emma Frost, introduction of characters like Xorn and the Stepford Cuckoos, and art from favorites like Frank Quitely and Phil Jimenez. Although both I and Grant Morrison's writing were exhausted by the end of his four-year arc, it was still a breathtaking experience to fully-consume the 1000+ page omnibus!
That's all I got, my dudes. Keep me updated on anything cool or interesting you encounter!
Word,
MMc...