Rob Price
In the 1960s we had several superhero cartoons, many of them were based on well established comic book characters, but there were a few that were original to their own show. The animation style was crude to today’s standards and the storylines were simple and intended for children. Many of the less known shows diminished into obscurity, but a couple of them found new fame and evolved into more adult comedic characters in revamped shows. Featured below are two characters that saw new life as comedy elements in their own unique program.
Space Ghost (1966):
Space Ghost (Gary Owens) was originally an intergalactic crime fighter from the Ghost Planet and along with his sidekicks, Jan (Ginny Tyler), Jace (Tim Matheson) and Blip (Don Messick), would fight several different alien villains and creatures. Space Ghost’s powers stem from accessories worn with his costume. His belt gave him the power of invisibility, flight and being able to survive in space, while his wrist bands shot several power beams which included, heat, cold, magnetism, energy, and force. His primary villains were Zorak (Don Messick), an insect like creature and Brak (Keye Luke), a feline based alien and Moltar (Regis Cordic) The original series ran from 1966 to 1968 and a new series appeared in 1981, with Gary Owens reprising the role, but new actors taking over for Jan, Jace and Blip. Crossovers between the Herculoids and Teen Force were common.
Space Ghost Coast To Coast
The character remained dormant until 1994 when the Cartoon Network created Space Ghost: Coast to Coast having the character spoofing late night talk show hosts with Moltar and Zorak has his sidekicks. Chad Lowe took over the voice of the character and the show ran from 1994 to 1999 and then again from 2001 to 2004 on Adult Swim. The show used Hanna-Barbera archival footage mixed in with actual interview footage of well-known celebrities often with comedic results. The show was revived one more time in 2006 for the “Animation” channel for the GameTap service and ran until 2008 when GameTap shut down. The Space Ghost: Coast to Coast version of the character also appeared as the host of the 1995 show Cartoon Planet, an hour long block of cartoons. The segments in between each segment consisted of skits and songs. The songs became so popular that two albums were released featuring them. In the 2000s, the character has once again returned to its more serious roots as a mini-series by DC Comics and most recently is currently running in a comic series by Dynamite.
Birdman (1967)
Raymond “Ray” Randall (Keith Andes) was endowed with superpowers by Ra the sun god and can shoot solar rays from his fists and project solar shields to defend himself. He also has wings that grow from his back that give him the ability to fly. He is recruited by Inter-Nation Security, a top-secret government organization and along with his pet eagle named Avenger, and Birdboy (Dick Beals) he fights the many villains that threaten humanity. His eyepatch wearing government contact, Falcon 7 (Don Messick) gives him his missions and away he flies. Each episode of the series which played on NBC between 1967 and 1968 had three segments. Two starred Birdman, and the third, usually the middle segment starred the Galaxy Trio, three aliens with superpowers that patrol the universe and help those in need.
Harvey Birdman Attorney At Law 2001
Technically a spin-off of the aforementioned Space Ghost: Coast to Coast, Harvy Birdman: Attorney at Law is an Adult Swim cartoon series that sees the retired superhero now practicing law for the Sebben and Sebben firm having been founded by his old government contact Falcon 7. The comedy series sees other Hanna-Barbera characters being plaintiffs of defendants within the show, and often plays on popular myths and jokes about such characters, like Scooby and Shaggy being recreational drug users. Birdman is still a good heroic character, but the law firm seems a bit more dubious. The series ran from 2001 to 2007 with a special, Harvey Birdman: Attorney General, premiering in 2018. A spinoff series entitled Birdgirl, premiered in 2021 and ran for two seasons. It continues the story of the Sebben and Sebben law firm and the daughter of Phil Ken Sebben the original founder of the firm, who inherits the firm when her father dies, but she also fights crime as BirdGirl. Birdman was also featured in several comic books over the years including DC Comics Future Quest which saw the character along with several other Hanna-Barbera characters.
