RetroFan #44: Not as BOTNS-adjacent as recent issues but still fun

I am running behind on my RetroFan posts and just got another issue this week! I need to step it up.

My favorite magazine, RetroFan from TwoMorrows Publishing, gives us another winner with issue 44. I must say, though, it is relatively light on BOTNS-adjacent material. However, Will Murray's deep dive into The Rifleman is a great read about a show Mike and I enjoyed covering on the podcast a few years ago. Heck, we gave it a Batty for Outstanding Episode!

An interesting article covers It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Superman! The stage musical debuted in 1966 but had an ill-received TV version in 1975.

James Bond and the Monkees aren't exactly BOTNS subjects, but the latter was on in reruns a lot, and, hey, the Bond movies were on TV a lot! The coverage is welcome regardless. There are also pieces on Dr. Dememto and Little Shop of Horrors.

In #45, RetroFan goes all out to cover the Bicentennial. This is a tremendous issue that really summons good feelings and nostalgia for a different time, and I don't mean 1776. The musical 1776 has a feature article in here, but I was even more interested in Mark Voger's general look at the phenomenon of how America celebrated it's 200th anniversary. There is a cool examination of themed comics of the time, too.

The mag has a story on The Match Game, and my only qualm is that it doesn't address Richard Dawson's infamous grumpiness when he left the series. Ark II gets a two-part profile that begins here, and Will Murray contributes an informative account of The Green Hornet.

I always enjoy RetroFan, and issue 44 is no exception, but 45 is one of my favorite editions of the magazine's run! Now I need to dive into 46!