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The sci-fi comic book story that inspired ‘They Live’
12.01.2017
08:52 am
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Ray Nelson’s short story “Eight O’Clock in the Morning,” on which John Carpenter based They Live, was first published in the November 1963 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. But Carpenter first encountered the story 23 years later, in its comic book adaptation, “Nada.”

The seven-page story illustrated by Bill Wray ran in Alien Encounters #6. The comic follows Nelson’s story pretty closely, and there are strong resemblances between the stories of They Live and “Nada,” especially the “storming the reality studio” climax (of which Nelson’s acquaintance William S. Burroughs would surely have approved) common to all versions of the story. But there are differences. Only Wray’s includes a Circle Jerks poster.
 

The opening panels of ‘Nada’ (available in its entirety here)
 
More significantly, the famous Hofmann (i.e., LSD) sunglasses do not appear in Nelson’s story or in Wray’s comic. Nelson’s hero, George Nada, goes to the theater to watch a live hypnosis act, and when he hears the command to awake at the show’s end, he suddenly realizes that he’s surrounded by outer-space aliens. The Fascinators, “the rulers of Earth,” are reptilian beings with too many eyes who control human beings through suggestion. In Nelson’s story, Nada doesn’t just see their awful stomach-turning alien monstrosity after waking up from his trance, he hears the terrible croaking alien language they speak to one another, and a constant stream of subliminal commands delivered in “bird-like” voices. The aliens tell him to “obey,” “work,” and—now that he’s on to them—die:

Suddenly the phone rang.

George picked it up. It was one of the Fascinators.

“Hello,” it squawked. “This is your control, Chief of Police Robinson. You are an old man, George Nada. Tomorrow morning at eight o’clock, your heart will stop. Please repeat.”

“I am an old man,” said George. “Tomorrow morning at eight o’clock, my heart will stop.”

 

 
George Nada’s cruelty to his girlfriend (fiancee, in the comic), Lil, makes him an unsympathetic character and suggests that he might be seeing space reptiles everywhere because he is a delusional nutcase, not a possibility Carpenter’s movie entertains. When he sets out to “awaken” others, Nada first tries beating up the woman in his life. After violence doesn’t work, he steals her car, leaving her bound and gagged on the bed, alone in her apartment with a dead body, terrified. There is none of the comradely spirit or cheerful good-fellowship of the fight scene in They Live.

Ray Nelson’s bio is recommended reading. He claims to be the inventor of the propeller beanie and says that, as a young man, “he worked with Michael Moorcock smuggling Henry Miller books out of France.”

And John Carpenter still has some They Live sunglasses left over from his bubblegum-lacking, ass-withering Anthology tour. He forcefully repudiated anti-Semitic interpretations of They Live on Twitter earlier this year:

 
Read all of “Nada” at SAP Comics.
 

Posted by Oliver Hall
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12.01.2017
08:52 am
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‘They Live’ Donald Trump mask will make Halloween great again
02.22.2016
02:31 pm
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Yep, this is pretty much perfect. A They Live Donald Trump mask by Trick or Treat Studios. You can pre-order it now for $69.99.  By next Halloween, Trump is gonna be YUGE.

Now you can get the first in a very limited collection of They Live Alien Masks made to look like the Presidential hopefuls, the Donald Trump They Live Alien Mask.

Again, this is a very limited run, so make sure to get your Donald Trump They Live Alien Mask today.

Please note that this is a Preorder and the mask will ship between August and September.

Trump’s signature combover could be a bit more severe, IMHO. But I’m sure you could style that on your own. You can pre-order the mask here.


 

 

 

Posted by Tara McGinley
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02.22.2016
02:31 pm
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‘They Live’ selfie
03.05.2014
12:00 pm
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I don’t know who’s responsible for this lil’ masterpiece that’s been floating around on the Internets this morning, but it’s a good ‘un.

Via Geeks of Doom on Facebook

Posted by Tara McGinley
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03.05.2014
12:00 pm
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Terrific ‘They Live’ Halloween costumes
10.30.2011
08:12 pm
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Wow! Phenomenal They Live Halloween costumes by Kiersten Essenpreis. There are step-by-step photo instructions for making the masks over on Kiersten’s website. I think I may have to make one these next year—they’re just too good! 
 

 
(via Super Punch)

Posted by Tara McGinley
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10.30.2011
08:12 pm
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