Something in him surged to his throat, and he exhaled audibly. Standing in the doorway of the projection room, I noticed Buckaroo stir. The Caucasian woman and the remaining Oriental embrace him warmly, and the film changes scenes. Young Banzai is a boy like any other, racially mixed, wearing a red hat and a six-shooter, possessing what all children most require, a pair of loving parents. He is in fact the young Buckaroo Banzai, a precocious boy of four years, and he now comes into view as one of the Orientals walks forward to take the camera. The operator of the camera shifts its focus repeatedly amongst the companions, his hand not the steadiest, and shooting from a lower angle relative to the subjects. In one corner of the picture I recall surveying instruments, a theodolite. The sun is sweltering, thermal waves rising off the desert floor which is a dry lake basin. Comprising the group portrait are two Oriental men, two Caucasian men, and a single Caucasian woman. Certainly there is no presage of what is to come, not the faintest hint of danger. It looks more like an outing in the country than a scene of any scientific expedition. In my mind's eye now I see them smiling, waving at the camera. On the screen, a Texas vista, made broader by the sweep of the camera, served as a backdrop for a 1950-model Ford automobile and an expedition of five individuals dressed in the style prevalent in that arid habitat, in boots and hats of the American Southwest. It was only days before the scheduled test run of the new Jet Car in Texas, and the events on the screen took on a special meaning, bearing as they did on the present. It was a sight I had witnessed on more than one occasion, the man alone with his thoughts and whatever memories the images on screen rekindled, and I mention it here only because of the fortuitous timing. One evening I made my way down from the bunkhouse, as the top floor of the Banzai Institute is called by those of us fortunate enough to be residents, and on passing the projection room looked in to see Buckaroo Banzai sitting alone while a faded eight millimeter home movie print flickered on the screen. A bit of history may be helpful here for our youthful readers. For this, the world has to thank Buckaroo Banzai, that rare combination of cunning and civilized breeding, who was contacted by representatives of the Nova Police, whose very existence until that time was unknown to us but perhaps I'm getting ahead of myself. Sitting here safely in the stained-glass enclosed study of the Banzai Institute for Biomedical Engineering and Strategic Information, I am at last able to look back on the events of the twelfth and thirteenth of June past with a certain remove and, I may say, a sense of profound relief that the worst did not occur when it seemed as though it might. This special edition features a new introduction by the author and a color insert featuring photos and illustration seen here for the very first time! Pray that Buckaroo will succeed, knowing only too well that if he fails the Earth itself will be blown to dust!įor the first time in nearly twenty years, Pocket Books is proud to present The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai. Emilio Lizardo, the diabolically alien dictator. Join Team Banzai on their two-fisted, action-packed assault against the evil red Lectroids from Planet 10! Experience the horrors of the Shock Tower and the Pitt deep within the walls of Yoyodyne Propulsion Systems as Buckaroo Banzai fights against impossible odds to rescue Penny Priddy from the clutches of Dr. His musical sidekicks the Hong Kong Cavaliersó Rawhide, Reno, the Swede, Perfect Tommy, Flyboy, Big Norse, Pecosóare one of the toughest, most popular hard-rocking bar bands in east Texas. A happy man whose life has been marked by great tragedy, who speaks a dozen languages and writes songs in all of them. In his spare time designer and driver of the electrifying Jet Car, a speed machine faster than sound! Buckaroo Banzai. First and foremost an extraordinary brain surgeon. A strange, elusive figure, his name whispered in barrooms and boardrooms, his advice sought by pashas and presidents, his exploits recounted in movies, novels, and comic books that seem somehow more real than life itself.īuckaroo Banzai. "I speak Spanish to God, French to women, English to men, and Japanese to my horse."īuckaroo Banzai.
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