Spidey Visits Dallas

In the 80's Marvel Comics did the coolest thing ever and produced special comics for the now defunct Dallas Times Herald.  These were free in the Sunday paper and they took place in Dallas.  The third one starred Spider-Man and was titled "Danger in Dallas"!

The story involves a scientist who invented an anti-gravity device.  His wheelchair bound son uses it to fly around for some reason and Peter Parker is covering the story for the Daily Bugle.  And they are all headed to Dallas to catch a Cowboys game.

On the way, Peter reminisces about his last trip to Dallas when he wall crawled and web spun on and around Reunion Tower:

Once in Big D they apparently drove from the Airport (presumably DFW Airport) to downtown Dallas to check out the sites.  The site of the JFK assassination didn't seem to interest them nearly as much as the John Bryan Neely Cabin:

Here's a real world shot of the same location:

I could quite get the same angle but you can still see the Cabin, the Old Red Courthouse and Reunion Tower in relatively the same places.  I really wish those dead trees weren't in the way though.

So our heroes make their way to Texas Stadium where the scientist's son is immediately kidnapped.  Spidey leaps into action and he is soon joined by hall-of-famer Randy White:

Long story short:  they got it all sorted out.  The crew then sat back and enjoyed a Cowboys game:

Let Them Eat Cake

Here's a 1983 Skaggs Alpha Beta advertisement for Dallas Cowboys Cake!

Robocop Visits City Hall

Most people know that the original Robocop was filmed in Dallas.  The filmmakers weren't shy about showing Dallas landmarks like Reunion Tower in the background of what what supposed to be futuristic Detroit.

But the building that arguably gets the best part in the movie is Dallas City Hall.  It plays the part of the headquarters of the evil OCP company.  Here are some standard "then and now" side-by-sides:

 
Looks like not much has changed (except for the Omni Hotel popping up in the background).  So the next time you want to strap on the old Robocop costume and play Robocops and Robbers you know where to go.

CornyGate!

We can all agree that Fletcher's Original State Fair Corny Dogs are the alpha and omega of the corny dog world. 

That being said, recently an innocent trip to the Fort Worth Zoo brought a huge corn dog conspiracy to my attention.  As I walked into the Texas Wild! exhibit (which is great, by the way) I noticed a Fletcher's Corny Dog stand. 

This was surprising as I thought they were only available at the State Fair.  I tweeted my surprise and it wasn't long until the fine folks as Fletcher's set me straight:

 So take a closer look at that picture.  Notice it says "Fletcher" instead of "Fletcher's".  That lack of "S" makes all the difference.  The Fletcher's guys may be able to take this in stride but it's quite the controversy to me.  Who is the False Fletcher?!?  More investigation is necessary.

Thank God I didn't eat one!

Route 66 Detour

Route 66 was a fairly well received TV series in the 60's that followed the exploits of two adventurers as they traveled American roads solving problems and finding themselves in a series of weekly adventures.  Despite the title, the pair frequently ventured off the Mother Road and one such journey took them to a small Texas town that seems to be a magnet for production crews.

Crandall, TX is a tiny town approximately 30 miles southeast of Dallas.  Despite being relatively unremarkable, it has been used as a filming location for the movies Bonnie & Clyde and Boys Don't Cry.

The Route 66 episode "1800 Days to Justice" sees the boys getting caught up in a little small town justice.  It also features two future TV icons as guest stars:

That's Mrs. Cunningham from Happy Days and "Bones" from Star Trek.  The other gust star is Main Street in Crandall.  Here are some comparisons between the episode and today's Main Street:

Not a lot has changed.  And it's probably just a matter of time before the next film crew shows up.

The King of Texas

One of the best TV shows of all time was King of the Hill.  Over the years the Hill family traveled across the Lone Star State and some things weren't terribly accurate but some things were surprisingly accurate.  Let's take a look.

In the Season 13 episode "Nancy Does Dallas" the show heads to, you guessed it, Dallas.  Check out the "cartoon-ized" version of the downtown skyline:

The did a pretty good job of matching the skyline details. (By the way, it's very difficult to take a picture of downtown from this angle without getting hit by a car.)

Later in the episode Nancy and her new co-workers check out a basketball game (between the Mavericks & Spurs, no less) at the American Airlines Center:

Again, they got lots of the details right (with the exception of the "AA" logo).

Here's some video we shot awhile back about the building's architecture and some of the science behind it:

At the end of the Season 11 episode "Hank Gets Dusted," Cotton's beloved Cadillac is buried at the world famous Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, TX along the world famous Route 66!


The occasion is event is even more Texas-centric with he inclusion of ZZ Top. The non-animated version of the Cadillac Ranch looks like this:

Other stops on the King of the Hill tour include the Marfa Lights, the Alamo, South Padre Island and many others.

Dallas Times Herald Ads

For over a century the Dallas Times Herald brought North Texans all the news worth reading.  They closed up shop in 1991 but the memory remains.  Here's an ad from the 80's that breaks down the economic benefits of buying a subscription:

The youth of the past also benefited economically from a sweet Dallas Times Herald paper route:

I'm not sure why the kid in the ad seems so horribly uninterested or why he's sitting on a skateboard in a belly shirt and holding what may or may not be an Oreo.  But, hey, it was the 80's.