John Crowley's LJ (RSS Feed)
05-30-2008, 04:23 AM
Is there a term in SF -- not "robot," not "cyborg." not "android" -- for the Ironman concept -- a man-shaped thng, suit or suit of armor, inside which a human sits, manipulating it? The Userpic on this and the previous entry is one such, Bozo the Robot, who first appeared in the comics in 1939. Here's part of the entry in the invaluable Toonopedia site of Don Markstein http://www.toonopedia.com/bozorobo.htm
"Bozo the Robot was invented by a Dr. Van Thorp, whose plan was to use the innocent machine in a scheme to conquer the world. Like many would-be world conquerors, however, he was in the habit of talking to himself just a little too loudly. He was overheard by a stalwart young man named Hugh Hazzard, who thereupon vanquished the villain and glommed the robot for himself. From that day forward, Hugh has used Bozo only in the cause of thwarting evildoers. "That's how readers heard it in Smash Comics #1 (August, 1939), where the cover-featured story starred "Hugh Hazzard & His Iron Man". It was written and drawn by George Brenner (also responsible for The Clock, (http://www.toonopedia.com/clock.htm) the first masked hero in comic books), using the name "Wayne Reid". Hugh and Bozo shared adventures in no less than 40 subsequent issues, but their billing shifted. In fact, after several alterations, it became simply "Bozo the Robot" — which was the title used whenever the series was mentioned but not featured on the cover, even at the very beginning."
But is Bozo really a robot, if he's being operated from inside? If he isn't a robot, what is he?
(Original Post) (http://crowleycrow.livejournal.com/88324.html)
"Bozo the Robot was invented by a Dr. Van Thorp, whose plan was to use the innocent machine in a scheme to conquer the world. Like many would-be world conquerors, however, he was in the habit of talking to himself just a little too loudly. He was overheard by a stalwart young man named Hugh Hazzard, who thereupon vanquished the villain and glommed the robot for himself. From that day forward, Hugh has used Bozo only in the cause of thwarting evildoers. "That's how readers heard it in Smash Comics #1 (August, 1939), where the cover-featured story starred "Hugh Hazzard & His Iron Man". It was written and drawn by George Brenner (also responsible for The Clock, (http://www.toonopedia.com/clock.htm) the first masked hero in comic books), using the name "Wayne Reid". Hugh and Bozo shared adventures in no less than 40 subsequent issues, but their billing shifted. In fact, after several alterations, it became simply "Bozo the Robot" — which was the title used whenever the series was mentioned but not featured on the cover, even at the very beginning."
But is Bozo really a robot, if he's being operated from inside? If he isn't a robot, what is he?
(Original Post) (http://crowleycrow.livejournal.com/88324.html)