EPISODE 8

"Myriad are the worlds of the multiverse, O traveller. Some are shining utopias, others are blasted, irradiated hellholes while others still, jostle for a foot-hold on the precarious verges toward dystopia," intoned the man in the rain-drenched grey overcoat and slouch hat, sitting at the far end of the counter in the diner.
Outside, the November rain thundered against the windows and roof while a freezing wind howled and bellowed.
The man's words seemed to be directed at no-one and everyone simultaneously. He took a sip of his steaming hot coffee, as if letting the words soak in as much as the chill rain on his garments.
Sitting at his usual perch, three stools away from the draughty doorway, was Doctor Cal Meachum, about to pull an all-nighter in his lab at the Air Force base. Meachum turned to look at the mysterious stranger, whose features were hidden in the shadows created by his upturned collar and the brim of his hat.
Meachum's pale blue eyes, with flecks of grey, narrowed. He glanced at Wanda the waitress, her face caked in thick make-up, who was engrossed in a phone call.
"Is that so?" asked Meachum of the enigmatic figure sipping coffee.
The man put down his cup and raised his head. Two black eyes staring straight at Meachum.
"Ah, it's rare to find an audience in this push button age," said the man.
Meachum got off his stool and approached the man, extending an open hand as he did so.
"Doctor Cal Meachum," said the scientist.
The man shook Meachum's hand and the scientist noted the absence of any temperature to the man's flesh.
"A man of science. It's been a while since I had the opportunity to talk with the progeny of Da Vinci. Let me see, I think the last scientist I spoke with was Doctor Franken..." began the man until Wanda interrrupted by bringing over a slice of cherry pie and whipped cream.
The man thanked her for the pie.
Meachum was intrigued by the man, saying: "You said something about other worlds and a multiverse?"
The man regarded Meachum with those black eyes and nodded. Then he looked around the diner.
Wanda had disappeared into the kitchen, talking to the owner Gino. At a table near the corner, where the diner branched off to the customer payphone and rest rooms was a tired-looking, overweight truck driver finishing off steak, French fries and tomatoes.
Noting where everyone was positioned, the man stepped off the stool and stood with his arms at his sides.
"Other worlds, yes. But why tell you when I can..." he whispered.
"Show you!" he shouted dramatically, raising his arms. And as he did so dazzling red and orange energy cascaded from the man, swirling around the room.
Meachum stared intently as the lightstorm increased. Wanda and Gino dashed from the kitchen, mouths agape at the sight.
The truck driver had come over just prior, hoping to get a coffee refill and had dropped his cup when the tornado of light had been unleashed.
Enveloped in the energies, the mysterious traveller said: "Lady and gentleman, I am The Walker and I bid you welcome to but the merest glimpse of the multiverse!"
Meachum and the others gasped as the Walker twirled his hand and a glowing purple and blue portal opened amidst the wash of light.
The portal appeared to increase in size, enveloping all within the diner.
Seemingly now within the portal but somehow still rooted to their spot in the diner, Meachum, Wanda, Gino and the trucker observed Richard Nixon, arms aloft, his fingers gesturing V for victory. Behind him, a banner festooned with his name and the legend '68.
The Walker spoke: "On a world a stone's throw from your own, Richard Nixon won the White House during a terrible war that divided America.
In the portal the image changed to show American troops with rifles, machine guns and flamethrowers; artillery and tanks attacking brightly-clad figures.
These figures were young men with very long hair and women, some naked, who either flew or hovered high above the ground,
One by one, these fantastical beings were shot down, blown apart or set ablaze by the unrelenting hordes of troops.
The Walker spoke again: "It was called The Eve of Destruction. It was the summer of 1969."
Wanda had to look away as a tank shell ripped a boy to pieces and a tank crushed two women who were embracing and kissing.
Meachum asked: "Why...why would American troops kill Americans?"
The Walker replied to the scientist's query: "On the world in question, the 1960s turned sour and the American dream died. Nixon, half-mad with paranoia and bloodlust, saw enemies everywhere. Especially in the superhuman counter culture and devised a plan to eliminate them."
As the Walker spoke, Meachum's head swum with the concepts of superhumans and a counter culture. They sounded like terms from a science fiction novel or something that a beatnik would come up with. Yet everyone has lived through the War of the Worlds and had experienced costumed crimefighters.
Perhaps it was the death and carnage he was watching now that made the Walker's words resonate so with Meachum...
"But the super-people fought back. Led by Sunshineman, Meta-Americans, as they called themselves, stood against Nixon and the military," detailed the Walker.
And, as if to illustrate the point, a plethora of sleek figures, men, women, black, white, red, yellow in form-fitting flashes of red, blue, neon green and white, some with armour, some with armour. cowls, visors and helmets, soared toward the troops and tanks.
"Mellow Yellow, Clear Light, Speed Avatar, Karma Zero and the Chemical Brothers were the vanguard," explained the Walker.
It was then that the portal dimmed and faded to black. Meachum and the others were gasping for breath.
When it re-opened the scene had changed once more. This time it showed The Devil's Tower  and a battle atop the famous monument.
It was night time and among the machinery of some secret government base on the Tower, a man seemingly clad in the American flag, wielding a metal shield emblazoned with red, white and blue rings and a white star fought alongside a black-garbed cowboy armed with two six shooters.
The duo battled American troops while in the night skies, strange lights and glowing mist were visible.
The Walker spoke: "Most Meta-Americans died on the Eve of Destruction. However, a number escaped. They either fled the country or went into hiding. A few continued to fight on, such as The Weathermen. The resistance fought into the 1970s and in 1974, Captain America and The Midnight Cowboy finally smashed Nixon's hold on the country."
In the portal, Captain America slams his shield against a group of heavily armoured machine men.
"He and the Midnight Cowboy defeated The Enforcer and the Magnum Force," said the Walker, "On the night that the Space Gods returned and the Age of Aquarius began."
TO BE CONTINUED...

AMERICA DREAMING INTERLUDE DU JOUR No.1

From the author: "Some of my favourite American music comes from the 30s and 40s. Big band, swing, some jazz, bluegrass et al. Setting a chunk of America Dreaming in that era allows me to feature a plethora of my favourite tunes.
Stormy Weather has been mentioned in episode 7 with, in my opinion, the definitive version by Billie Holiday. Although Sinatra's take is lush and laced with a melancholy all its own.
Another all-time fave of mine is Blues In The Night. I defy you to find a sexier, sassier number. This is the sort of song that Amy Winehouse and Adele should have a crack at. Smoky, late night attitude crackles and sizzles throughout the song. Ella Fitzgerald breathes life into the song on her Ella Swings Lightly album, however, for real 40s punch you can't top Dinah Shore's version. This is the version that I first discovered back in 1986 thanks to my grandad, who had a huge collection of 30s and 40s swing and jazz. It simply blew me away! In fact, the summer of '86 saw me spending endless afternoons and evenings listening to these superb voices and tunes from a bygone era. Couple that to reading Steranko's History Of Comics all that long, hot summer and I was in some 40s twilight zone that I never wanted to leave!
Of course, Frank Sinatra had to take a swing at Blues In The Night. His version oozes orchestration and puts a male spin on the song but my money's still on Ms. Shore.
Other top-notch numbers from the days of the Great Depression, FDR and WWII have to include In The Mood - if one number could define American spirit in the war it's this one; Tuxedo Junction, Pennsylvania 6-5000, Gal In Kalamazoo, Woodchoppers' Ball, Little Brown Jug, Moonlight Seranade, American Patrol, Don't Sit Under The Apple Tree and Begin The Beguine.
I hope to include as many of these as I can as America Dreaming sprawls seemingly out of control over the coming weeks. Don't worry, there is a plan, except no-one's told me what it is!"
LEE DAVIS,
SOUTH OF THE RIVER - PINING FOR ANOTHER TIME AND PLACE.

AMERICA DREAMING EPISODE 7

FLASHBACK 1932...

Teddy and Paulie sat on a couple of old apple boxes on the sidewalk, heads sl;ouched into their hands as they thought about how to deal with Dagger Donovan.
"Shame we ain't got special powers like da Sentry," mused Paulie.
Teddy nodded slowly in agreement then raised his head, an idea sparking in his brain.
"That's it, Paulie!" he said loudly.
"What? What's it?" asked Paulie.
Teddy was up on his feet now, smiling.
"What's da ruckus, fella?" asked Paulie., "Youse ain't t'inkin' o' gettin' da Sentry t' help out?!"
Teddy shook his head quickly then revealed his plan.
"We get Big Boo to dress up as the American Sentry. He's the right size and everything. Then we use some tricks to scare Donovan and his creeps," enthused Teddy.
Paulie laughed and lit up his pipe.
"Sounds plain crazy t' me," he said. Then said to count him in.
And somewhere overhead, from a tenement block apartment window came the strains of Stormy Weather...
TO BE CONTINUED

AMERICA DREAMING EPISODE 6

FLASHBACK: 1932...
As Teddy and Paulie neared the corner store, passsing the oh-so-tempting wares on the apple cart and the small dog yapping as water cascaded over it from a busted fire hydrant, they spotted the store owner, Mr Riley, putting out a new batch of pulp mags on the weather-beaten spinner rack.
"C'n ya see if he's got da noo 'Mazin' Stories?" asked Paulie, re-lighting his pipe.
"Not sure. But I can see a new issue of The Glass Spider!" replied Teddy.
Paulie shrugged at this and said: "Naah, that mag's a pile o' garbage."
Teddy disagreed , he had always enjoyed reading The Glass Spider.
"Hey, Paulie, wouldn't it be neat if they published an American Sentry mag?!" enthused Teddy.
The boys grabbed a handful of the store's new pulp mags and headed into the shop. It was always dark in Mr Riley's store. Shafts of dusty sunlight filtered across the interior.
Mr Riley busied himself with an ice box and nearby sat rown upon row of jars of brightly coloured candy.
Teddy had always loved the store and he had first met Paulie there when they'd been about ten.
Mr Riley looked up from the ice box and grinned. His usual smile was tainted by an ugly bruise on his cheek, a dark purple with black streaks.
"Cheez, Mr Riley, wha' happened?" piped Paulie.
"N-nothing, lads." came the shopkeeper's guarded reply.
Both boys' heads turned as in came Hannah, Mr Riley's daughter. Hannah was a couple of years older than Teddy and Paulie, and was the subject of their teenage daydreams.
"Dad had a run-in with," began the girl before she was cut off by Mr Riley.
"If you won't tell them, I will!" said the girl angrily.
Hannah put down the pile of fabric she was carrying and said: "It was Donovan and his goons. They want dad to pay protection money."
Paulie looked angry and Teddy was staggered. He's heard of Dagger Donovan but never thought that the small-time hood would try anything in his neighbourhood.
"Mr Riley, is Donovan coming back?" asked Teddy.
The shopkeeper didn't reply but Hannah did, saying that the thug would be back on Friday.
Teddy looked determinedly at Paule and whispered: "We've got to do something."
TO BE CONTINUED....

AMERICA DREAMING EPISODE 1

Imperator was nervous. He'd shuffled about in front of the mirror in the dressing room for what felt like ages. His costume seemed to be ill-fitting and chaffed around the collar. That never happened normally. Then again, normal for Imperator was fighting villains like Doctor Demento, the Doppler or thwarting bank robbers! 
This wasn't normal, being a dressing room in the Silver Spur Casino in Las Vegas. As Imperator fiddled with his brylcreemed hair for the umpteenth time that hour, a door opened and in stepped John F Kennedy.
The Democratic presidential candidate looked nervous too but had it under better control than Imperator, who would've rather faced an alien invasion than being about to take to the stage on JFK's campaign trail.
"You feeling okay, son?" asked Kennedy.
"Bit edgy, truth be told, sir." replied Imperator.
Kennedy smoothed down the front of his dark blue suit and smiled, saying: "Heh. This is just like falling off a log. You ever fallen off a log?"
The costumed crimefighter grinned and said no.
"Me neither," replied Kennedy.
Imperator didn't feel any better. He coughed to clear his throat and said: "Sir, did you see Regal on Johnny Carson last night?"
The Democrat nodded.
Imperator, as he adjusted his cloak, said: "It figures Regal would be backing Nixon but I'm a little surprised about The Million Dollar Kid."
Kennedy cocked his head to one side before replying: "Yeah, the Kid's a bit like Bob Hope. He's changable. Did I ever tell you that I met his grandfather?"
Imperator looked surprised and said no.
Kennedy smiled and picked up the story: "I must've been five or six. It was a county fair and there was a old geezer doing fancy Wild West trick-shooting and signing books.
I ran over to see what was going on and there was Buck Dollar, holsternig one of his pistols. What were they made of? Obsidian! Yeah, he was there, big as life, holstering one of his famous obsidian pistols."
Imperator laughed and told Kennedy how he used to read Buck Dollar comic-books as a kid. And then Kennedy admitted to reading those selfsame comics, watching the Buck Dollar chapterplay serials from Republic and clipping out the Buck Dollar newspaper strip. Both men laughed.
"Jeez, he must've been nearly a hundred when I saw him but he still had that undeniable Southern charm and an eye for the ladies, " said Kennedy, with a knowing twinkle in his eyes.


TO BE CONTINUED...