Tik-Tok of Oz: The First Robot

Some consider Frank Baum's Tik-Tok from the Oz books to be the first robot to appear in literature, though he was not called a robot. (The word robot was first used in print by Karel Capek in his play titled R.U.R (Rossum's Universal Robots) which opened in Prague in 1921.)

Tik-Tok re-imagined in Marvel's OZ comics

Tik-Tok was created by the brilliant inventors Smith and Tinker. They only created one such mechanical man and, alas, did not pass along their knowledge. He worked by three different sets of clockwork that had to be wound: one for speech, one for movement, and one for thinking. He was certainly "magical" in the sense of being incredible and a product of the land of Oz (yes, I know, he actually came from Ev not Oz, so sue me), but what makes him the first robot and not some enchanted creature is, I believe, twofold.

First of all he was not enchanted, but simply beautifully engineered. He was purely mechanical and not created, as some folks in Oz like Jack Pumpkinhead, by using the powder of life. And as for reason two, he is not alive. The Tin Woodman, in contrast, was at one time a "meat man" but his body was replaced by tin as he kept chopping off his own limbs. The fact that Tik-Tok is even in the plaque his inventors labeled him with (emphasis added):

Smith & Tinker's

Patent Double-Action Extra-Responsive

MECHANICAL MAN

Fitted With Our Special Clock-Work Attachment

Thinks, Speaks, Acts and Does Everything But Live

Manufactured Only at Our Works at Evna, Land of Ev

All Infringements Will Be Promptly Prosecuted

According to Law

We are also reminded again and again by other characters that Tik-Tok is not alive. Although he's not alive, Tik-Tok doesn't long to be (like Pinocchio or many literary robots that would come later). He seems content not to be. 

So there you have it. The World's first Robot, created by Smith and Tinker in the land of Ev. (He now resides in Oz.)

Awesome Wonder Woman Cover

Not sure if this qualifies as retro, but Wonder Woman will be 70 this December.

Wonder Woman

Everyone knows Wonder Woman.

But do you remember the make over she got back in the late 60's? Wonder Woman became a mod boutique owner with no super powers. She gave them up to stay in the world of men. She had to learn martial arts from a blind guy named I Ching.

It's alright, girl friend. I don't know how much I would have wanted to wear American flag panties in the late 60's either.

Hugo Man of 1000 Faces

Remember Hugo?

He was a little creepy.

The Six Million Dollar Man Intro

The gems that are available on the interwebs.

Here's the intro for the TV show, this is the one I remember.

Here's the intro for the movie that came before the TV show (with Dusty Springfield singing from what I understand.)

And here is a perfectly geeky remix...

WE HAVE THE TECHNOLOGY.

And They Had Dolls....

..... And there were dolls you could get (this was before we coined the term action figure to make playing with them all the more manly)

And you could look through the back of Steve's head and it was just like you had your own bionic eye 

c

6 Million Dollar Sasquatch

I was trying to explain to a younger friend exactly how cool the Six Million Dollar Man was the other day. Here's the basic conversation.

Me: The Bionic Man was named Steve Austin.

Him: Like the wrestler.

Me: He was hurt in some kind of accident. He was like an astronaut or something and they had to give him bionic limbs and a bionic eye. Actually he's the six million dollar man, not the bionic man. It was The Bionic Woman.

Him: She probably cost more than that.

Me: She was a school teacher; I don't know why they picked a school teacher. She was in an car accident I think.

Him: You think they would have picked an astronaut or something.

Me: I guess it was the 70's. Woman were only allowed to teach school or be receptionists or secretaries back then. (I was kidding, mostly. But I was trying to be funny, not an asshole. I'm naturally and asshole but I have to try to be funny.) She didn't have a bionic eye; she had a bionic ear. You could always tell it was working because she would brush her hair back behind her ear, I think there was a switch behind it to turn it on. Oh and there was a bionic dog named Maximillion.

Him: Really?

Me: And a bionic Sasquatch, I think the Soviets made the bionic Sasquatch. It was the Cold War and all.

Him: Now you're just making this shit up....

I shit you not.

It's hard to believe that all that awesome is all but forgotten.