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by J. Ballmann (Author)
THE MARVEL SUPER HEROES ON TV! BOOK ONE: IRON MAN, A COMPLETE EPISODE GUIDE TO THE 1966 GRANTRAY-LAWRENCE ANIMATION CARTOON SERIES. In 1966, the Marvel super heroes blasted their way onto television screens across America for the first time. And now the story behind these Grantray-Lawrence Animation cartoons is finally told. This book on the IRON MAN show is the first in a series of episode guides that will chronicle each of the five heroes' shows, with upcoming volumes featuring Captain America, Hulk, Thor, and Sub-Mariner - each in their own books. Best of all, the research for this project is based on the meticulously-preserved personal archives of the show's executive producer, Robert L. Lawrence. Over 700 full-color pictures are presented in this 205-page first edition. Pictures include over 300 color photographs from the show and of its creators. Also included are 63 pages of original storyboards, with each page featuring four to six storyboard panels per page, and many of these include handwritten notes and revisions by Marvel Editor Stan "The Man" Lee himself. Additionally, this book presents 20 pages of script material that includes two complete scripts and 16 pictures of original script pages, some of which include the penciled-in names of the voice performers who worked on the show. Photographs and biographies of producers, directors, and voice performers are provided. Many of those who worked on IRON MAN were not listed in the credits, and their work on the show has remained unknown and uncredited for over five decades - until now. This book presents the most comprehensive biographies written to date of the legendary Grantray-Lawrence Animation founders Grant Simmons, Ray Patterson, and Robert Lawrence. Chronicled here also is the complete story behind the long-lost opening sequence "The Marvel Super Heroes Have Arrived!" - with color pictures of the sequence, an early version of the lyrics, the final version of the lyrics, and 24 panels from the animation's actual storyboards. Two versions of Jack Urbont's famous IRON MAN theme song are featured as well: the first version, and the final version - and the famous opening to the IRON MAN show is broken down into color panels so an entire new generation of fans can appreciate this classic opening sequence that marked the debut of IRON MAN to a television audience of millions. In addition to all the visuals, this book examines - in depth - how the classic IRON MAN comic book stories from TALES OF SUSPENSE were transcribed into storyboards and scripts that underwent many stages of review by producers and script supervisors - and even Stan Lee himself - before the stories were placed in the hands of veteran Disney animators Grant Simmons and Don Lusk, who - between them - directed all 39 IRON MAN cartoons. Data is provided for each show, and this includes the credits for writers and directors, studio synopses, the original sources of the stories and art, information on which art and story sequences were newly created for the cartoons, and commentary on each show as well. The commentary focuses on the similarities and differences among the cartoons and the comic books, and it also brings up points of interest, such as the appearance of Tony Stark's "MMMS" rocket in Show #35, the Chameleon's collection of Marvel masks in Show #38, and countless other gems that appear in the cartoons but not the comic books. If that's not enough, this book includes special features on Iron Man's masks and gadgets and settings and villains. In other words, this book is both the first word and the last word on anything and everything concerning the 1966 IRON MAN television show: It is brimming with color pictures, behind-the-scenes information, storyboards, scripts, memoranda from both Marvel and the Grantray-Lawrence Animation studio, and never-before-seen writing by Stan Lee. In short, this book is for any fan of Marvel, Iron Man, animation, or television hist
