That's when it happened.
That's when THE ADVENTURES OF BUCKAROO BANZAI: ACROSS THE 8TH DIMENSION was originally released (limited - it would go wide - at least, as wide as it got, on the 15th).
I'd say that's the day that changed my life; that's the day I became a fan, but that's not right.
In a lot of ways, I'd become a fan some years earlier when I discovered Doc Savage (first via the Ron Ely film, then the Golden Press hard back reprints and finally the Bantam books reprints) in grade school.
Doc Savage was a physical and mental marvel, the perfect pulp hero of the 1930s, and a character who quickly influenced a few other heroes you may have heard of. Fortress of Solitude? Doc had it before Superman. (His first name was also 'Clark' and he was The Man of Bronze before anyone ever heard of a Man of Steel.) An independently wealthy man who was both a perfect physical specimen and an expert in many mental disciplines who used his fantastic gadgets and vehicles to fight crime? All Bruce Wayne did was add a bat suit to the mix.
Doc also had a crew of adventurers helping him in his quest. Five men, each experts in their own fields of study, who traveled the globe with him, righting wrongs and punishing evildoers.
So yes, by the time THE ADVENTURES OF BUCKAROO BANZAI (or TABB as it's affectionately known to fans) came out, I was ready for it.
Some seriously random musings on my history with Dr. Banzai follows. It's long and a bit rambly but there are some cool websites at the very end if you want to skip down to those.
