From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: Motel Hell (1980)

Posted on March 3, 2026 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink and to another “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” update. For this one we will be revisiting a series that I covered way back in 2013 as I feel that I could have done better and that it deserves this update formula treatment. The film and comic series I am talking about is the 1980 film Motel Hell and the IDW comics based around it! Farmer Vincent deserved better as he was an icon of my childhood when it came to horror just because of the image of him wearing a pig head holding a chainsaw that was on a cover of Fangoria Magazine…but that story will come later. And this will be only the first of many that I revisit as I also want to cover Strangeland, Pumpkinhead, Dr. Giggles, Jason Goes To Hell, Psycho and Terminator 2 better so look for them to get the “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” treatment over the coming years! So if you are ready, let’s pack our bags and head to the Motel Hello and stay for a bit as I hear they have fantastic smoked meats!

Let’s start by taking a look at Farmer Vincent Smith, the owner of a motel as well as the maker of fine smoked meats and his ways of dealing death to those travelers that end up on his ingredient list. Farmer Vincent Smith is a businessman who owns a motel as well as a smoked meat company alongside his sister Ida. Farmer Vincent Smith is sort of a local celebrity because of his smoked meat as it is considered some of the best in the world, and this makes people not look at the older man as a killer or a psycho and with his friendly good nature many people fall into his trap as he has a calming manner when around the public. But it is said that Vincent does suffer from syphilis of the brain and this makes him act very odd and violent at times and gives him an odd look on life. Vincent kills humans to use in his smoked meat, as it is one of his secret ingredients that make his meat taste better than anyone else’s, Vincent is very clever and sneaky as he lures his victims in by using traps alongside the road like shooting out tires, leaving fake road blocks and even spike strips to cause accidents. Farmer Vincent Smith, once he has a person, he will bury them up to their necks in his secret garden where he will cut their vocal cords and then feed them via a tube, and when it is their time to be turned into smoked meats, he uses hypnotizing lights to put them into a trance and then breaks their necks with nooses attached to his tractor. Vincent is also very skilled with many weapons that can help him deal death like knives, scalpels, rifle, shovel and even a chainsaw plus he uses knockout gas to sedate some of his victims out cold. And when it comes to killing these humans for his meat treats, he has no emotions and truly thinks he is doing great work, almost like gods work. He is also joined in his killing ways by his younger sister Ida who is just as crazy as he is and also seems to love killing, running the motel and helping him smoke meats! And once fully crazed Vincent loses all control and his brain turns wild as he wears a Pig Head as a mask and this sight is enough to scare a person half to death as he laughs like a madman while swinging a chainsaw. He is also a cannibal as he eats human meat and truly sees nothing wrong with doing so, nor feeding it to other people. And while Farmer Vincent Smith is very dangerous, he is still just a man and that means he can be killed by all methods like being shot, stabbed, crushed, burned, natural causes and all other ways a person can die. He also has other weaknesses that make him open for attack or heartbreak as he is a fool for a blonde as he falls in love with one of his would be victims, and this clouds his judgment. He is also very upset that he lies about his meats as he does use preservatives, and this weighs heavy on his twisted diseased mind. While Farmer Vincent Smith is a dangerous cannibal killer, when he fully mentally breaks he is also downright scary with his laughter and Pig Head Mask.

Now that we have chatted about Farmer Vincent and his madness and ways of dealing out death to those who are in his way, I think that its time we take a look at the film he is from and that Motel Hell! And like always, I will be getting the film’s plot from our friends at IMDB, and then I will write about the film’s production as well as my thoughts on the film. So if you are ready, let’s grab some beef jerky and head out to the motel and see what kind of terrors await us.

Motel Hell (1980)

“Farmer Vincent kidnaps unsuspecting travelers and buries them in his garden. Unfortunately for his victims, they are not dead. He feeds his victims to prepare them for his roadside stand. His motto is “It takes all kinds of critters to make Farmer Vincent Fritters”.”

The brothers Robert & Steven-Charles Jaffe decided to work on a horror film script together after being inspired by films like Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974). They wanted to mimic its dark family weirdness, but they added comedy to their story and they got it done in 1977…but it took many years for a studio to decide to take the film on as many of them hated the script and wanted nothing to do with it. At one point the film was going to be made by Universal Pictures with them even going to bring on Tobe Hooper to direct, but they backed out once more due to them having issues with the script. Things looked hopeless until United Artists decided to give it a go even after passing on it before as horror films were becoming big again at the box office and they wanted something cheaply made that could bring the gross scares that they could make money on. The film was given a budget of $3 million by United Artist and Frank Cotolo and Tim Tuchrello touched up the script. The Jaffe Brothers would also act as the producers, and they would hire Kevin Connor to direct the film as many of you readers will know him for directing such horror & sci-fi films as From Beyond The Grave (1974), The Land That Time Forgot (1974), At The Earth’s Core (1976), The People That Time Forgot (1977), Warlords Of Atlantis (1979) and The House Where Evil Dwells (1982). When it came to casting, Rory Calhoun was hired to play Farmer Vincent Smith with Nancy Parsons casted as Ida Smith his sister. Other names hired for the cast included Nina Axelrod, Paul Linke, Wolfman Jack, Rosanne Katon and Monique St. Pierre to name a few. Filming would take place in California and would last a little over two months and once done Lance Rubin would score the film before it was released in theaters on October 18, 1980 and would be a semi hit for United Artists bringing in $6.3 million dollars at the box office. The film at the time of its release was meet with mostly positive reviews from both critics and viewers as they all praised its use of dark humor and weird characters. The film would gain a cult following thanks to Fangoria Magazine as well as its home media release on VHS as it was a big rental for stores, and later would be a must own DVD and Blu-Ray for horror film collectors. The film would also spark much merchandise over the years like t-shirts, toys and yes the IDW Comic series. The film in 1980 was released alongside such other horror films as The Fog, The Shining, Humanoids From The Deep, Mother’s Day, Terror Train, Friday The 13^th, Fade To Black, Prom Night, Island Claws, Alien Dead, Alligator, Maniac, Inferno, City Of The Living Dead and Nightmare City to name a few showing that this was a great year for horror!

Motel Hell is a film that I first learned about thanks to Fangoria Magazine as they had Farmer Vincent wearing his pig head with a chainsaw in his hands as one of the covers for their issues, and it became a film that I was obsessed with as I had no clue what the film was about but new that the Pig Head Guy had a chainsaw and looked liked he knew how to use it. As I said way back in 2013 when I first covered Motel Hell, I had no idea what the film was about and in my mind it was a slasher film that had a mutated pig running wild killing beautiful scream queens who would try to escape the blade teeth of his chainsaw. And it would be thanks to Commander USA’s Groovie Movies and USA Saturday Nightmares that would let me see the film for the first time, and I can remember thinking this was nothing like I thought it was…but also loved the weird and strange plot of the film plus the ending of Farmer Vincent wear the big head swinging the chainsaw and laughing like a mad man was awesome stuff and was always in my memory after seeing it. Rory Calhoun was the perfect choice to play Farmer Vincent as he is truly able to play the two sides of the character that is the sweet old country gentleman and the other is a human meat jerky making psychopath! And it’s crazy as Rory was mostly known for his roles in Western films and shows and was a popular leading man in the 1940-1960’s cinema, and was over all a really great actor. It’s sad to say that he passed away on April 28, 1999 at the age of 76 from the combination of diabetes and emphysema. In fact sadly Nancy Parsons who played sister Ida Smith who was a great actress and who was known for her role in the Porky’s films as Beulah Balbricker was a great choice as well for the part sadly passed away on January 5, 2001 at the age of 58, making Paul Linke who played the sheriff brother Bruce Smith the only one still with us of the Smith family. And as a kid I geeked out when I seen Wolfman Jack in the film and funny enough he was playing a Reverend and he had such an iconic voice. One thing about this film as well as when I was a kid I always thought that it was way more bloody then it really is, as don’t get me wrong the film does have blood being split and some gruesome deaths but its not a bloodbath like I remembered it being. Over the years I have owned the film on VHS, DVD and Blu-Ray and it remains one of the films I watch at least once every year or so. I even have the Farmer Vincent action figure from Trick Or Treat Studios that is in my horror collection, as this truly is a film that I have enjoyed since I was a kid. And in these modern times I am shocked that Motel Hell never got a remake or sequel film as in my opinion it would be easy to do a sequel to this film as you could have more of the Smith family taking over the family business of the motel and jerky making. But if you have never seen Motel Hell, make sure to give it a watch if you like horror films with a dash of dark comedy that is a slasher film from the 80’s with a crazy farmer and his sister who harvests human meat and try and run a motel in the middle of nowhere.

With that, we have talked about Farmer Vincent and his way of killing people to use for his meats as well as the film he is from and that is of course Motel Hell, and now it’s time for us to re-visit the comic mini series that was released by IDW Comics in 2010 as part of there Midnite Movies line, that sadly was very short lived. If anyone from IDW is reading this please bring back this line of comics, as it was great for us horror comic readers who enjoy comics based on films. And I would like to start by thanking Mavericks Cards And Comics, Bell Book And Comic and Game Swap Kettering for making this update possible by having these issues in stock. I would like to also remind you all that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. So if you are ready, let’s check into our room at Motel Hell and talk about comic books.

Motel Hell # 1 ***
Released in 2010 Cover Price $3.99 IDW # 1 of 3

Farmer Vincent Smith has now taken to making his own wine that sells for around $500 a bottle and he and his sister Ida Smith have just taken out a family to make into smoked meat, as Idea with a hatchet ends the husbands life and Vincent uses drugged wine to knock out the wife and the fate of the two young sisters is unknown. Meanwhile reporter Holly Bell has been chosen as a guest to stay at the Motel Hello along with the likes of shamed football player Freddie Stanford, oil man and sleaze ball Rupert Godrey, rich snob brat Desirae Childs, mortgage conman Joss Warburton and wannabe rockstar Gage Hardmiller and Holly is grossed out by all of the fellow guests. They are all ushered onto an old plane that is being piloted by Vincent and Idea as the guests are given lots of wine, smoked meats and drugs with Holly not consuming as she is working on her story about the experience for the paper she works for. Farmer Vincent leaves the cockpit and talks to his guests, with Gage rubbing him the wrong way when he uses the lords name in vein and snaps at him in front of everyone. Once they land and they are shown their rooms, Holly finds herself in the same room as Desirae and late at night they watch as the plane takes off, unknown to them the plane is filled with dead bodies as well as Gage who is strapped to a seat and Ida alerts him that he has to be the first to die as he annoyed her brother! And Ida uses a flamethrower to set the bodies on fire and then she puts on a pig head and parachutes out of the plane as it explodes killing Gage, and all the other guests look on in horror and Holly gets scared when she notices in the shadows Farmer Vincent in his pig head thinking he is a monster and freaking everyone out when she screams.

In this first issue of Motel Hell, the crazed Farmer Vincent and his sadistic sister Ida have added making wine to their businesses and have invited many rich and corrupt people to stay at the motel in order to get a look at the wine making, but also invited is Holly, a reporter for a newspaper who is looking at this gig as a fluff piece, but is clearly starting to see that this might be something more sinister, and when the plane that brought them in explodes in the air that night and she thinks she sees a monster in the dark…her suspensions could be true they are all in danger. Holly Bell is a reporter who is looking for a big story that will make her a bigger deal in her field, and while she is annoyed at first over this wine story she soon finds that it really could be the story of a lifetime. The rest of the guests are rich and weird people who have not been fully flushed out yet with one Gage already killed as he is blown up in a plane and crashes to earth on fire while strapped to his seat. It’s clear that the guests thought this was going to be a fun time of drinking wine and eating smoked meats, but are now a little scared as they watch the plane explode and cannot find Vincent nor Ida! Farmer Vincent has clearly decided to make some big changes to his business as while smoked meats are a big part of what he does, he has turned the motel into a spa retreat and his next big thing is making wine, and he is just as nice and yet crazy as ever. Ida is still around as well and doing what her brothers wants her to do, but for some reason now she wears a pig head a lot and even makes pig noises…just a strange change for the character from movie to comic made here. But what is nice is that the Smith siblings are just as weird and murderous as you would want them to be, and still think they are doing Gods work with all the killings. But one other puzzling thing about this comic is how did the Smiths live after the events of the film and who the heck are all the women that are working for them on the plane? The issue has two bloody deaths with one being a hatchet to the head and another being a man on fire falling to his death. And the horror of this comic of course comes from The Smith siblings as well as just the Motel Hello it’s self as it’s so far away from everyone and gives off a true spooky vibe. The cover for this issue is really awesome and showcases both Farmer Vincent and Ida looking all crazed and American Gothic styled. The interior art is done by artist Chris Moreno and is good stuff and while the characters don’t look like the actors that played them in the film, it’s close enough and you know who they are supposed to be. Over all I would say that I liked this issue a little more than I did back when I first reviewed it as I found it a great build to the story and a way to introduce our cast of characters, even if it does leave a lot of unanswered questions. With that, let’s see what issue two has in store for us once again.

Motel Hell # 2 ***
Released in 2010 Cover Price $3.99 IDW # 2 of 3

Farmer Vincent and his staff alert the guests that the plane was stolen and crashed by Gage Hardmiller who was high on drugs and that they are all stuck there for the time being. Over breakfast of smoked meats Farmer Vincent during the morning prayer insults each of his guest and this angers Freddie Stanford who is then tased by Vincent and then again by Ida and this leaves the rest of the guest confused and scared. As Vincent takes the others for a hike around the farm an vineyard to show them all that there is no escape, Ida puts on her pig head and goes to work on Freddie as in the corner in a cage is the two young sisters who are now captives. Vincent mocks his guests and will not allow them to have any water and Holly Bell calls him out for his cruel actions to zero effect. That night the guests are all locked in their rooms as Freddie wakes up in a caged ring as Ida lets loose a massive wild hog named Hogsquatch that ends up hurting the football star. In the end Vincent and Ida have to pull the massive hog off Freddie as they need him alive in order the planet and turn into smoked meat later on.

The terror for these guests goes into full effect as they watch as their only way to escape exploded in the air and now learn that Farmer Vincent and his sister Ida have tricked them all into coming with the idea of teaching them a lesson and not allowing them to leave alive! And reporter Holly Bell now has the story of a lifetime as she tries her best to figure out what is truly going on as well as standup to Farmer Vincent when he tries to bully her and the other guests with harsh words and threats. The other guest all seem to be trapped and confused besides poor Freddie who ends up getting shocked by a taser twice and then mauled by a giant hog for trying to stand up to these demented Farmers. Farmer Vincent is a delight as he is crazy as ever and uses his religion as well as his own warped morels to try and “teach” his guests a lesson of two, he even allows a small dog to die of dehydration and does not think that he was cruel as he was not the one to bring the dog even though he is the one with the water that he did not share during the hot hike. Ida is just as twisted as she has went full pervert as she likes to do sexual acts with many of the male victims before they murder them or even planet them for meat. And the brother and sister also have a massive pet hog named Hogsquatch that seems to enjoy trying to kill humans. The issue has blood as well as violence with the hog attack being the most gruesome. This is a very fun and bizarre issue, and while Farmer Vincent and Ida are around, it also kind of only some what feels like a comic based on Motel Hell as the characters are slightly off as is the plot of a vineyard and a massive pet hog…now it’s not a bad thing for the most part, I do have to say that mega fans of the film might be a little more annoyed by these changes in feel and mood. The cover for this issue is ok and showcases mostly our series villains, and like before the interior art is done by artist Chris Moreno and is good stuff, but again I have to stress the characters look nothing like the actors. With the cliffhangers being the remaining guests trapped in their rooms and poor Freddie being injured and ready to be planted in the earth to be harvested for meat later on, it makes me look forward to reading the third and final issue once again.

Motel Hell # 3 ***
Released in 2010 Cover Price $3.99 IDW # 3 of 3

With Farmer Vincent and Ida out in the fields burring Freddie up to his neck, the other guests take this time to escape their rooms with Joss and Rupert escaping via a broken window and Holly and Desirae using a credit card to unlock their door, but before the two ladies can escape they run into Farmer Vincent who they knock out of the way to get their freedom. The two old con men Rupert and Joss do not get far as they run into Ida and her sledgehammer, the ladies however end up finding the secret human crop and the hidden barn were they set the twin girls free but Desirae is killed by Ida who strangles her to death and even causes her eyeball to pop out! Farmer Vincent ends up killing two cops that come to the motel looking for answers about the plane crash and the he arrives just in time to save Ida who has been hit with a hammer by Holly. Vincent and Ida end up going out to the farm and removing the eyes of the humans they are harvesting as they use them for the wine as Ida stomps on them, and they send Hogsquatch free in order to track down the twin girls who have found the dead cops and taken the gun and free Holly to give it to her so she can save them all from the giant hog and the crazy farmers. Holly allows Hogsquatch to bring her back to the farmers and she then pulls out the gun and kills the hog, she then shoots Ida in the face and shoots Vincent who is now in his pig head and slinging a chainsaw! As Vincent is dying he tells Holly he used anti-freeze in his wine as well as he got the idea of doing all this from cult leader Charles Manson. Holly and the twins then set the farm and crop on fire just as a police helicopter is arriving to help save them.

Farmer Vincent and Ida have meet their end…again in this third and final issue of Motel Hell as they are killed by reporter Holly Bell, who escapes their motel and is able to use a gun to end their reign of terror…but not before all her fellow guests end up killed! But you have to give Holly credit as she is able to save the two young twin sisters, plus I am sure she will become a big star with her report on this motel of terror. The fact that Farmer Vincent uses human eyeball for his wine is great and gruesome stuff as we get to see Ida stomping on the eyes that are in a tub to make them into liquid. And while he is still very loyal to his motel and smoked meats, its clear he things that God wants him to also make wine from people. I am not sure why Farmer Vincent also acts as if he got some of his idea from cult leader Charles Manson, as he keeps talking about how the two wanted to slaughter the piggies of the world. The one puzzling thing about this comic is that they never explain a lot of things like how Vincent and Ida survived the events of the film and who all the pretty ladies that helped them throughout the comic are and were they went by the final events. And again I think many fans of the film would possibly enjoy this strange mini series, but they might also get very annoyed by the extreme changes in the Smith siblings who do act slightly different than they do in the film. But one thing that will make fans of the film happy is that Farmer Vincent wears his pig head and his sister Ida does as well! Missing from the comic is the killer’s police officer brother Bruce Smith as well as the films female survivor Terry, it would have been nice to have seen them involved in this weird plot. The issue has lots of blood and gore with Ida squashing the eyes being pretty gross and Ida’s death being shot in the face is the issues best kill. The cover is very eye-catching as it shows Vincent and Ida with a gun pointed at them, and like two times before the interior art is one by Chris Moreno an is pretty good stuff as I like the way he drew Famer Vincent with the pig head on. Over all I have to say that I really enjoy this comic series more now than I did when it was first released, as while it is a strange take on Motel Hell and the characters from the film it adds a new tale for them, and I am ok with that as maybe this is how The Smiths would be in 2010! If you like the film, I think you should check this comic mini series out and I also think that if you like Farmer Horror stories also give it a read. Check out the artwork below to see the style used by Moreno in this series.

Motel Hell is a truly cult classic and one strange horror film that I have been a fan of since I can remember and even before I seen it thanks to Fangoria Magazine. And when this comic was released by IDW, it once more helped spark my interest in comics as during that time I was reading a little less than normal as I was not getting into anything Marvel or DC was releasing. And I really do hope that IDW will return to making comics based on classic, cult and current horror films as for readers like me we miss them. So in other words, IDW, bring back the Midnite Movie Comics as MGM has lots of great films to choose from that should be getting the comic book treatment. Well our revisit to Motel Hell has come to an endm and I hope that I did it more justice with this one and I am looking forward to going back and covering a few more in the future. Our next update will of course keep us in the world of horror comics based on horror films as we will be talking about Final Destination and the comic mini series based on it. So until next time, read a horror comic or three, watch a horror movie or two and as always support your local horror host. See you next update as Death has lots of strange ways to deal it’s self out for us to read about on the pages of a Horror Comic.

From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: The Shining (1980)

Posted on October 2, 2023 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink! As you can see, it’s the start of October, and we are ever so much closer to Halloween 2023. What better way to kick off this month than with a From Horror Movie To Horror Comic update that will take us to the Overlook Hotel in Colorado that needs a new caretaker for the off season, as the last one well…you know. Finally we have a comic based on The Shining thanks to the company Evil Genius Artworks who did a fan made comic featuring Jack Torrance and his family, and this is one I am very much happy to do as I am sure this will make your 2023 Halloween season a little more spooky. So let’s head to the Overlook Hotel and see what is in store for us, and if the spirits have decided if we will always be here.

Let’s first take a look at the killer that makes The Shining so scary, the crazed Jack Torrance! Jack is a family man who takes a job of being a caretaker for the Overlook Hotel that closes down in the winter due to bad storms. Jack himself has had issues in his life, mostly being an alcoholic that has caused him to go into rages and become abusive to his family. Jack is highly smart and is a teacher as well as a writer and has a wife Wendy and a son named Danny who is special as he has what is called The Shining, a gift that gives him powers like telepathic abilities and premonitions. Jack Torrance is also very unstable, and when in the Overlook Hotel, the evil spirits that call it home take over and turn him into a lunatic who can and will commit murder. Jack is very mean spirited and loves to use hurtful words in order to break down his victim; he likes to get into their mind and cause them to be afraid of what he wants and plans to do to them. He has no super strength or powers and is just your normal middle aged man when it comes to his abilities and endurance. But I should also say that at times the evil spirits of the hotel will make themselves known to the victims and will add more fear to the situation at hand. Jack also loves to use sharp objects to deal death and an axe is his weapon of choice to hack away at his human target. Jack’s mental state also makes him very dangerous as he has no feelings when it comes to his mental and physical abuse of his family and gets enjoyment from their fear, that is of course once he is fully mad as a hatter. But Jack Torrance, while dangerous, is still just a normal man who is driven insane by evil spirits and mental illness, so any normal ways of killing a man would stop Jack from being shot, stabbed, burned or even freezing to death. While Jack Torrance is not the most brutal or most powerful killer we have seen on a From Horror Movie To Horror Comic Update, he still is very dangerous and can deal death with his trusty axe.

Now that we have talked about Jack Torrance, the killer of The Shining, I think it’s time we take a look at the film version that sparked this fan-made comic we will be taking a look at. So if you are ready, let’s wander around the halls of the Overlook Hotel and see what horrors await us.

The Shining (1980)

“A family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where a sinister presence influences the father into violence, while his psychic son sees horrific forebodings from both past and future.”

Stephen King is considered one of the world’s top modern horror writers, and Warner Brothers optioned the film rights to his 1977 novel The Shining. This was because director Stanley Kubrick wanted to make the film after reading the book and disliking a stack of other horror novels. The film was in development as he liked the idea of the human personality. The film was written by Kubrick as well as Diane Johnson and was based on parts of The Shining novel by King as the screenplay added elements not featured in the book, as well as even took away characters and situations. The film was mostly shot on sound studios with the sets being created in order to capture the look of an old hotel with the exterior shots being filmed by a second unit. The sets were used as Kubrick liked to work with a small crew as this allowed him to push everyone harder and in his mind, helped him get the performances and look that he wanted to see on the screen. When casting the film the main decision was who would play the character of Jack Torrance and the first pick was Jack Nicholson who would end up taking the role but other names considered included Harrison Ford, Robert De Niro and Robin Williams with Stephen King wanting Martin Sheen, Jon Voight or Michael Moriarty to play Jack. Imagine just how different the film would have been if one of those actors ended up in the role. Other cast brought on were Shelley Duvall, Scatman Crothers, Danny Lloyd, Anne Jackson and Lisa & Louise Burns. It is said that during the filming Kubrick treated actress Shelley Duvall terribly and was downright abusive to her, causing her life long trauma. The film was scored by Wendy Carlos & Rachel Elkind and is very iconic and is always considered one of the best scores in Horror Cinema. The film was released in theaters on May 23, 1980 and was meet with mixed reviews from both critics and fans, with Stephen King being the one who was not that fond of the film due to the changes as well as Kubrick in general being a monster of a director who was a control freak. But over time the film has built up respect and is now one of the genre’s most well loved films. The Shining was # 12 at the American Box Office for the year 1980 brining in $44,017,374.00 and beating out such other Horror Movies as Friday The 13^th, Motel Hell, He Knows You’re Alone and Guyana: Cult Of The Damned. The film would later be released on all types of home media from VHS to Blu-Ray. And this was a micro write up about the production of this film, and if you want the whole scoop make sure to check out the many books and documentary films about the making of this classic fright flick.

The Shining really is one of those iconic Horror Movies that has even gone beyond just being well loved by the genre fans as many non-Horror fans have it listed as one of their favorite films. The first time I saw the movie was via VHS that my brother and I rented as we had always heard about it via the Horror books and magazines we read and even our parents mentioned the film to us. When we finally saw it, we both ended up being a fan of it with my brother even having at one point a T-Shirt of Jack’s face grinning from behind the chopped up door! And let’s also not kid ourselves, we have all at least once in our lifetime said “Here’s Johnny” and have seen a parody of this film done on film and TV like The Simpson’s who had the super funny “The Shining” segment that was part of the Treehouse Of Horror V episode or even the South Park episode “A Nightmare Of Face Time” that has Randy Marsh going crazy and possessed by the evil spirits from the Blockbuster Video he has bought…both are super hilarious and are worth tracking down and watching if you have not seen them. At one time in my life while I truly like and enjoyed The Shining I did find that it was overrated when it came to making my friends Top 10 Horror Film lists as many of the folks I knew personally who placed it on their list when we were all teenagers only did so as they thought adding a Stanley Kubrick film to their list made them look like a genre fan who had taste and understood the art of filmmaking. It was more about the director than the film itself, as they would later admit to me. I think what makes the film work so well is that the Overlook Hotel setting is very grim and isolated giving you a feeling of dread, and when you learn of the pervious murder committed by the last caretaker, it makes the outlook even grimmer. And I agree with what so many other fans have said: the Overlook Hotel is a character itself in the film and really is the hub for bad vibes and even more sinister spirits. Jack Nicholson is delightfully crazy in the role of Jack Torrance, and his performance is outstanding as we watch an unstable man get more and more crazy as the film goes on, and the look of insanity in his face is chilling. And while some folks are hard on her performance, I think Shelly Duvall did a great job as Wendy Torrance. Plus let us not forget all the wonderful evil spirits of the Hotel from the creepy Grady Twins to the rotting Old Woman In The Bath. They truly help add to the Horror of this film. Is The Shining one of the scariest movies of all time? No, but it is one of the creepiest ones that is well acted, well directed, well scored and has great spooky atmosphere.

The Shining is a film who took the source material and mixed in the vision of a filmmaker who was set in his ways, and while he and the books writer might not have seen eye to eye, what was created is a film that Horror and non-Horror fans can enjoy for centuries to come. So first I need to thank Evil Genesis Artworks and his Etsy shop for making and having this comic in stock and making this update possible. I want to also remind you all that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. So let’s open the door to Room 237 and hope the old naked lady doesn’t choke us!

Boulder # 1 ***
Released in 2022 Cover Price $6.79 Evil Genesis # 1 of 1

Wendy Torrance walks outside and finds her son Danny sitting by his bike on the curb, and she goes out to check on him, only to find that he is worried that the family’s car will breakdown on his father Jack who has a big job interview to be a caretaker for a hotel. Wendy does her best to calm him down when Danny next asks why his father lost his job, and Wendy tells him that while teaching Jack cut a student from the debate team for not being good, and that the student claimed that he was only let go due to the teacher not liking him. The student then slashed the tires of Jack and was caught by him, and Jack lost his cool and beat the student up and this made him lose his job teaching. Danny remembers back to when his drunk father lost his cool and broke his arm for spreading out school papers. Danny then asks his mother if she wants to live at the Hotel for the winter, and she says sure if that is what your father wants. Wendy then asks Danny if he wants to live there, he says sure as the neighborhood has no kids to play with anyway. Wendy goes inside and tears up as she drinks her tea, and Danny stays outside waiting for his dad to return home.

This comic captures the moments that take place for Wendy and Danny as the movie The Shining starts and follows Jack heading to the hotel for his job interview to become the caretaker. The story is the mother and son having a chat outside about the actions and possible move due to the father of the family who has a bad temper and a drinking issue. The main character in this issue is Wendy Torrance, who is a mother trying to keep her family together and answer the fears of her son as well as try her best to be supportive of her husband even though its clear he is unstable. Danny Torrance is a young kid who has no friends, and is dealing with being special as he has powers he does not understand and also both loves and fears his father who broke his arm at a young age. We also get a look at Jack Torrance as a teacher and see what lead to his firing and that was beating a former student up who made the mistake of slashing his old teacher’s tires. The mood of the comic is dark, and while it does not have gory, bloody moments it’s the dread that each page brings that makes the comic creepy as you know that both Danny and Wendy’s lives are about to truly change for the worse when Jack gets home and tells them he has the job. The comic is a very quick read and is well written and does capture the mood of the film very well as it does feel like a missing scene. The cover is pretty cool and has a crazy looking Jack standing behind his baby son Danny, and there is something uncomfortable about it. The interior art is done by Paul Payne and is fantastic stuff as his art captures the look of the actors and this helps add to the mood of the comic he created. This is one of the better fan comics I have read, and I really do look forward to getting more comic from Payne and reviewing them here at Rotten Ink. If you like the film The Shining, make sure to track down a copy of this limited released fan comic as it is a great read and is a very cool idea. I look forward to more fan comics from Paul Payne in the future. And with that checkout the artwork below to see the art style of Paul Payne used in this one shot comic issue.

The Shining is an iconic Horror Movie that brought the character Jack Torrance played by Jack Nicholson to the big screen off the pages of Stephen King’s novel and will forever be one of the genre’s most loved films. And I have to say that Paul Payne and his fan comic does a great job of bringing the film character versions to comics, and I hope that he continues making these fan Horror Movie inspired Horror Comics as I could think of many that I would love to see him do. For those wondering, his biggest series is “Rambo vs. The Blair Witch” and yes it’s as cool as it sounds. Well as you can see, the wind is turned chilly and that is our cue to leave the Overlook Hotel behind, as we need to get back to the Rotten Ink Arena as Kamala will be in action this Halloween season. So until next time, read a Horror Comic or three, watch a Horror Movie or two and as always support, your local Horror Host. See you next update as we take a look at one of my favorite big man wrestlers of the 1980’s!

R.I.W Wrestling Legend: Corporal Kirchner

Posted on July 4, 2023 by bloodlinematt

The doors of the Rotten Ink Arena are open as it’s time to celebrate July 4^th, the American holiday that allows us to celebrate our independence, and that is why the R.I.W has decided to hold this “R.I.W Wrestling Legend” holiday update event special! And of course the wrestler we will be taking a look at has to be an American Hero and that is why the real life military veteran and popular mid-card babyface Corporal Kirchner is in our main event! So as you can see, the snack bar is selling hotdogs and burgers and they have many beers on tap so let’s grab our seats and before the night’s fireworks let’s watch Corporal Kirchner enter the squared circle and do so for America.

Corporal Kirchner was trained by Verne Gagne and started his in ring career in 1980 and by 1984 was signed to WWF and worked under the name RT Reynolds. He was used as a jobber and enhancement talent and would be beat up by names like Jimmy Snuka and David Sammartino. By 1985 he would have a name change and be called The Axe and was still being used to put over bigger stars. But by late 1985 he would be Corporal Kirchner the military hero who loved America and would feud with heels that cheated and put down our nation, he was a true veteran and served in the Army when he was a young man. He also filled the void that Sgt. Slaughter left when he left the WWF and they needed a flag-waving hero and Corporal Kirchner was the man for the job as fans got behind him. To help build up Corporal Kirchner the WWF would shoot some vignettes and have him interviewed by Mean Gene Okerlund to get across his message and showcase his skills. They would also start having him wrestler matches against lower card heels like Steve Lombardi, Terry Gibbs and Mr. X but they would also put him over bigger named heels as well like Don Muraco, Moondog Spot and The Spoiler. He would however also take a few losses to Randy Savage at this time. His major feuds would be with Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff and this feud would see him loosing many of the matches as the feuds dragged on. He would have a series of Boot Camp matches against Volkoff and would come out on top. By 1986 Corporal Kirchner would start falling down the card and would be used as enhancement talent to put over the companies rising and established heels, as he was getting a bad reputation of being really stiff to work with in the ring. He would be involved in a match at WrestleMania II as he would beat Volkoff in a flag match and this being his biggest match during his WWF run. By 1987 the writing was on the wall as Corporal Kirchner would start pilling up the losses as he would be defeated by names like Rick Rude, Killer Khan, King Kong Bundy and Harley Race, and after failing a drug test he was suspended and Corporal Kirchner would not return to the company and just as fast as Corporal Kirchner came he was gone from the WWF.

After leaving WWF he would have a very small run in Stampede that would only be through 1987. And on a side note he also had a few matches for UWF in 1991. He then would start working in Japan and would have two short runs for New Japan Pro-Wrestling in 1989 and 1990 before landing in W*ING in 1992 and dropped being Corporal Kirchner and would become Leatherface who was inspired by the villain in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre series and would become a Hardcore/Death Match wrestler and would have many bloody matches against such names as Jason The Terrible, Mitsuhiro Matsunaga, Mr. Pogo and Crash The Terminator. During his run in Japan Leatherface would get into a fight with a fan and this would cause him to be locked up in jail for six months as he hurt the man pretty bad, and W*ING would have wrestler Rick Patterson become Leatherface in order to keep the character alive as it was a big draw for them. And when returning Original Leatherface would team with the current Leatherface and would be called Leatherfaces and would wrestle in IWA Japan that is until late 1994 when he would leave the promotion after shooting on Shoji Nakamaki and Hiroshi Ono in a Double Hell Deathmatch when Original Leatherface placed a bed of nails on the neck of Ono and stomped on it and then powerbombed him then on the nails his time was up for the company. And in 1995 Leatherface would become Super Leather and would sign with FMW in Japan and this is were he would really make a name for himself in Hardcore Wrestling and would become a major draw for the promotion and would have high profile matches against many of the companies top stars like Mike Awesome, Mr. Pogo, Masato Tanaka, Hayabusa and Ricky Fuiji to name a few. Super Leather would work for FMW till around 1999 and still would make random appearances for them in 2001 and 2002. In the 2000’s once more going just as Leatherface he would take matches in American companies like JCW and XWF and his final major match came in 2009 for PWR as he would win over Joey Vengeance. Sadly Corporal Kirchner passed away on December 22, 2021 from a heart attack at the age of 64.

Growing up Corporal Kirchner was a wrestler I remember as he was on TV at the time of my youth and most kids I knew had the LJN figure of him, and that is the odd thing he was never a wrestler that was super popular with my friends who watched wrestling and yet we all had his figure…strange looking back at it now as every kid who had the WWF LJN figures I knew really did have him. Corporal Kirchner was clearly a wrestler that WWF at first had faith in as they booked him pretty strong and would give him some solid wins over mid-card and lower card heels, but you can tell when they soured on him and his losses started to pile up and he was given the jobber treatment. But even when being booked on the loosing end of matches it was clear that he was well loved by fans as he would get good cheers, and during the time it was clear that he was not only in the WWF to take the place of Sgt. Slaughter but also because the Rambo films was super popular at the time and Kirchner was the perfect choice to fill that role as he had not only the background but also the look. And while I liked Kirchner I was a fan of his when he turned into the brutal Leatherface as I was a big watcher of FMW that I would buy the DVD and VHS releases as well as had a few tapes from the grey market and Leatherface was one I always enjoyed and when I found out it was Kirchner behind the mask it made him even cooler as who would have ever thought that the Pro-American Hero was the same guy wearing the Leatherface mask and throwing opponents into barbwire. Plus for those of you who didn’t know Kirchner got into wrestling after meeting and befriending Hulk Hogan who was raising as a superstar at a gym and the two spent time chatting about the fame of being a pro wrestler and Kirchner was hooked and knew he wanted to become one. I also find it interesting that during his time in the WWF many of his opponents complained about Kirchner being to rough and stiff and with many of them not wanting to work with him is why he fell down the card, and is why he became enhancement talent much like many names before him…looking at you Outback Jack. And imagine what could have been for Kirchner if he would have stayed in WWF instead of quitting way back in 1987 and I think that when Sgt. Slaughter came back to WWF in 1990 the two would have had a small feud. But also kind of glad he did leave, as then the world of hardcore wrestling would not have had Leatherface! While Kirchner was never one of my favorites I did find him entertaining and a good babyface for the federation at the time when American heroes was a big theme in wrestling. Oh I should also note once he walked around from full time in ring work he became a truck driver.

We are now at the point of this review were we will be taking a look at the DVD set and review some of the matches on the discs like always between 4 to 8. I want to thank Coliseum Of Wrestling & Boxing for having this set in stock and also want to thank Corporal Kirchner for his hard work in the world of wrestling. I also want to remind you that I will only be breaking down randomly select matches from this set and will be breaking down the match and will be rating the matches on a 5 Star rating system. I also only choose from Single matches, as I want to break down his matches that showcase his style. Here is what the stars mean ½ Means a really terrible match, * Means a bad match, ** Means a below average match, **1/2 Means a good average entertaining match, *** Means a good match, **** Means a great match, ***** Means an epic match. So if you are ready lets step into the ring with Corporal Kirchner.

Best Of Corporal Kirchner

Match 1: Corporal Kirchner vs. Paul Orndorff

As the bell rings Kirchner and Orndorff lock up and its shown that while the two are strong it’s Orndorff who is the stronger as he keeps backing Kirchner into the ropes, and after doing so three times when the pair break apart Orndorff slaps Kirchner across the face. This fires up Kirchner who ends up pushing Orndorff against the ropes, and for doing so Kirchner takes a cheap shot as the referee breaks them up. And Orndorff then starts beating the hell out of Kirchner with hits, kicks, knees and moves all done super aggressive as the fans boo. Kirchner changes the tide with a hip toss and a series of dropkicks that even knocks Orndorff out of the ring. But Orndorff takes back over the match and delivers a powerful suplex as well as a knee to the head of the downed Kirchner, Orndorff places on a chin lock and when Kirchner tries to get out of the hold he is beatdown for making the attempt he is even thrown outside the ring and has his neck dropped on the railing. Once back in the ring Kirchner makes a small comeback but is pined when Orndorff hits him with a piledriver. This is a really good match as the top heel Mr. Wonderful Paul Orndorff does a great job of wrestling dirty, getting the fans fired up with boos and is able to showcase his strongman style in the ring all the while proving why he was one of the best heels at that time to step foot into a WWF ring. And while he comes off the true star and attraction of the match he does not bury Kirchner and does make him look strong in spots. It’s clear that Kirchner was being used as a upper card enhancement talent as he is able to get some great moves in before finally taking the loss. Orndorff’s piledriver is on point and in the 80’s he was the master of the move for me as the impact that his version just seemed always so brutal, I also have to say the series of dropkicks by Kirchner was also very well done and looked good. A solid match and both guys looked good and for the most part they had really good chemistry together.

Grade: ***

Match 2: Corporal Kirchner vs. Kamala

Before the bell rings Kirchner gets the fans cheering for him and America, and when the bell finally rings the two run the ropes and Kamala knocks Kirchner down on the mat and this happens twice. And every time Kirchner tries to attack he is taken down by Kamala who is using massive head butts, ripping at Kirchner’s face and even uses chops. Kirchner makes a comeback and uses his punches and headbutts to try and rock the Ugandan Giant. But after missing a dropkick Kirchner is crushed by Kamala who lands two big splashes and gets the pin victory. After the bell Kamala climbs to the top rope and lands a big splash that makes Kirchner twitch in pain, and he keeps splashing him over and over. This match was a squash one and while Kirchner tries to fight off Kamala he is easily taken down and defeated and then continues to get his butt kicked after the bell and is made to look like a total jobber. Kamala is clearly the main star of the match and uses chops and his splashes to win and as always Kamala looks like a monster heel threat. Kirchner at times over sells and even when landing moves he flip’s around and at time it looks silly. The fans are for Kirchner and they boo Kamala and this is a good quick match that is clearly a way to build him as one of the companies top heels. This is a good squash match that was super quick and did its job of telling its story.

Grade: **1/2

Match 3: Corporal Kirchner vs. King Harley Race

Kirchner makes his way to the ring waving the American Flag and getting the fans cheering for him and the nation he loves. But before the bell rings with his back turned Race attacks and unloads on him with punches, moves and well placed knees. Race continues just beating the hell out of Kirchner who tries to make a quick comeback landing some big hits, but Kirchner climbs to the top rope and tries to land a flying elbow drop and misses and this gives Race the chance to climb the top rope and hit a clothesline, Race then hits a cradle suplex and gets the three count and the win. This is another match that is clearly to put over the heel King Harley Race as the match is short and Harley is able to defeat Kirchner cleanly in the center of the ring, and while Kirchner is able to get some moves in it’s clear that he is the enhancement talent in the match. And while the fans are behind Kirchner its clear he is not near the upper card. And while he gets fired up and lands some great punches he does not really get to showcase much of his talent at all. Race however looks great and his moves are pulled off flawless and his aggressive nature really did make him look like a major heel threat to any baby face. Not much to say besides a good enhancement match for Race and a match that proved that Kirchner while liked by fans was not climbing the card.

Grade: **1/2

Match 4: Corporal Kirchner vs. Iron Sheik

As soon as the bell rings Kirchner takes the action to Iron Sheik and unloads on him as the fans go crazy. But when Nikolai Volkoff comes to ringside Kirchner gets distracted and this allows Iron Sheik to attack and take over the momentum of the match and when getting Kirchner down he even spits on him. Iron Sheik then gets Kirchner in a abdominal stretch and cranks it in, but Kirchner is able to break the hold and lands a knees but misses a dropping elbow. Iron Sheik then drapes Kirchner over the ropes and then jumps on him chocking him on the ropes, after being tossed out of the ring and beat up on a little more Kirchner tries to roll up Iron Sheik to get a pin but it fails. In the end after they both go back and fourth its Kirchner that gets the win by DQ when Volkoff enters the ring to stop a pin and they two beat Kirchner up. As the two beat up Kirchner more it’s the Killer Bees that run in and make the save. This is a good match between two brawling style wrestlers that allows both to go back and fourth and each come out of the match looking good with Iron Sheik looking like the heel that he is and Kirchner looking like the American hero that WWF was building him up to be. While none of the moves in the match are overly impressive they get the job done and they get the right pop from the fans. It was nice seeing Kirchner get the win as Iron Sheik had to cheat in order not to be pinned and this was the right move to help build the feud they were in. Over all I enjoyed this match even if it was by no means a Five Star match as the two told a story in the ring even if it was a sloppy brawl style.

Grade: **1/2

Match 5: Corporal Kirchner vs. Mike Miller

This match takes place in the indie’s and Kirchner is the heel in the match! The two start the match locking up and it ends in a stalemate as neither gain the momentum, they need walk around the ring sizing each other up looking for the right time to strike. And when he can Kirchner does his best to take a few cheap shots at Miller who is getting fired up. And they two then exchange arm drags and this makes the fans pop as Miller is clearly now frustrating Kirchner. And Miller then gets Kirchner into an arm bar that is only broke when Kirchner is able to get his foot on the ropes. The two then get moves and escape moves on each other with Kirchner missing a big elbow drop causing him to be in pain. During a test of strength it looks as if Kirchner will be getting the upper hand that is until he takes several kicks to the gut from Miller who then takes over the match, that is until Kirchner stalls again slowing down the pace and gives him time to take charge. After going back and fourth Kirchner charges Miller in the corner who moves and this causes Kirchner to hit hard the turnbuckle and Miller is able to backslide and get the pin over Kirchner. This match is just ok as I feel that while both Kirchner and Miller are trying to tell a story in the ring you can tell neither are given 100% and that the match is plagued with lots of stalling and rest holds. And while I found it to be kind of boring the fans in the crowd seemed to be into the match as Mike Miller was clearly a big face for the OWF an indie promotion and its puzzling as he did not offer much in this match besides very basic movies and a limited brawling style. Kirchner did not look good either as being the heel he stalled and used rest holds way to much and never pushed the pace of the match and just really helped make the match kind of boring. Not much more to say besides it was cool seeing Kirchner as a heel and that the match just did not bring the entertainment to me.

Grade: *1/2

Match 6: Corporal Kirchner vs. Ricky Santana

This is another match that has Kirchner as the heel and is for OWF again. When the bell rings Kirchner hits Ricky with a knee to the gut and this drops him causing him almost to fall out of the ring. But Ricky uses his speed to land some hip tosses and a dropkick and the fans start going crazy with cheers. Both guys start working over each others arms when finally Ricky is able to get Kirchner to the mat still working his arm and even driving knees into it causing pain and damage, and even when Kirchner gets out of the hold he is quickly put right back into it. But Kirchner truly escapes with a jawbreaker and starts unleasing a beating on Ricky as the crowd tries to cheer to give their fan favorite a boost. Kirchner hits a suplex and goes for the pin but Ricky kicks out, Ricky then hits a flying back elbow and takes the tide until Kirchner tosses him out of the ring. Ricky is able to then roll up Kirchner and get the pin and the win, but Kirchner beats up Ricky after the bell. This match started out entertaining as Ricky Santana used his speed to take on and down the brawling Kirchner, but sadly it travels the route of rest holds and the pace is slowed so down that it starts to drag. But when it once more gets on pace the match picks back up and is a good TV Match that has both guys trying to tell a story in the ring even though its very basic and the fans in attendance are eating it up. Ricky Santana is good and reminded me of a mix of Tito Santana and Marty Jannetty as his moves and speed reminded me of them, while he was not as good as those two he had potential. Kirchner is the total heel as he is rough, gives cheap shots and uses his brawling style to try and beat up Ricky. Again no move stands out in the match as its not a fantastic one it’s just an enjoyable one that is clearly building Kirchner as a top heel as he attacks and even bags up Ricky after the match. Over all not bad and if you like mid-card matches from the indies in the 80’s this one is for you.

Grade: **1/2

Match 7: Corporal Kirchner vs. Adrian Adonis

Kirchner is able to get Adonis in the corner after the two lock up and from there is able to showcase his power to Adonis even knocking him out of the ring. Once back in the ring Adonis tries to take the action to Kirchner, but its stopped as Kirchner once more starts beating up Adonis to the fans delight. Jimmy Hart who is the manager of Adonis keeps trying to distract Kirchner to buy his man some time to recover. Kirchner gets Adonis is a headlock, but Adonis gets out of the hold with a side suplex and with that Adonis climbs the ropes and with a splash landed he gets the win via pin. This is a very quick match and while Kirchner is in charge most of the match using his brawling style he is done in with a suplex and a splash showing at this time he was 100% being booked as enhancement talent as the match was clearly to put over Adonis who has a big match against Roddy Pipper shortly at WrestleMania III. The down side being is that Adonis did not look all that great as he mostly got beat up by Kirchner who was being very limited in the moves he was trying to pull off. Over all this was pretty much a squash match that was booked oddly and did a good job of at least showing that Kirchner was a fighter.

Grade: **

Match 8: Corporal Kirchner vs. J.T. Southern

This match takes place in OWF and once more Kirchner is the heel. The two start the match squaring up and Southern is able to take Kirchner down as the fans go crazy. And Kirchner keeps getting beat up and rolls out of the ring. Kirchner’s leg is hurting and when he gets back in the ring the two have a test of strength and Kirchner gets the upper hand with a cheap shot kick and goes for the pin that Southern kicks out and delivers a nut shot that crumples Kirchner to the mat as the fans cheer like crazy. Southern goes crazy and unloads big punches on Kirchner who is still down, and even as Kirchner tries to get away Southern just continues to unload on him. Kirchner begs for timeout but Southern keeps up his attack and stomps him in the corner and then locks him into a chin lock. Once out of the hold Kirchner is able to take over the momentum and even hits a powerful clothesline from behind. Kirchner hits a few power moves and goes for the pin, but each time Sothern kicks out and this frustrates him as he wants to end the match. But Southern is able to get a small package rollup and get the pin and win. After the bell Kirchner attacks Southern as he was angered over loosing. He also puts Southern in the body bag and drops a top rope knee on him. This is a fun mid-card match and both tell a pretty good story in the ring as both throughout the match look good and have their time to shine. J.T. Southern is the ultimate baby face as he plays to the fans, gets fired up and really takes it to the heel. While Southern does nothing to impressive move wise in the match he is so over with the fans that it helps draw you into the match and look past any limitations he has in the ring. He is also the typical Rock N Roll wrestler who is complete with long hair and tiger striped tights. Kirchner in the match is a total chicken shit heel who begs for mercy, tries to cheat and gets the fans worked up with his ego and smirks. Kirchner hits a few really great looking impact moves and I do like his gimmick of putting his opponents in military body bags after the match has ended. Over all this is a good match that was entertaining.

Grade: **1/2

Corporal Kirchner is a wrestler who went from an American Hero to a chainsaw-swinging madman based on a Horror Movie character. The thing with Corporal Kirchner is that when he was in the WWF he was a popular mid-carder that got the fans to chant for America and as well always did his best to bring down the heels that he had to face. He was in the military and this helped him seem legit in the character he was playing in the ring. Well as you can see, just across the street at the Rotten Ink Staduim they are going to be setting off fireworks soon for the holiday and I am sure were ever you are from the fireworks will be going off soon so I think its time to head on out, and with that I would like to thank you for spending apart of your 4^th of July with me here and I would also like to let you know that our next update will take us to the land of Monster Bash Convention and we will be taking a look at the 2010 remake of the George Romero film The Crazies! So until next time read a comic or three, watch a wrestling match or two and as always support your local wrestlers. See you next update for a crazy spooky good time!

The Incredible Coloring Hulk!

Posted on November 19, 2019 by bloodlinematt

When I was a kid I can remember sitting in my room, at the kitchen table or in front of the fire place with crayons in hand coloring in one of the many coloring books based on a cartoon, comic or movie character. Some of my favorites growing up was ones based on Batman, Inhumanoids, SilverHawks and Masters Of The Universe to name a few, but my all time favorite was an Incredible Hulk one that was released in 1979 that I would color in and give the crudely colored in pictures to my mom as gifts when I was a youngster. For this countdown to Thanksgiving update, I am feeling the need to get into a nostalgic frame of mind so I have chosen to take a look and review three old coloring books that featured original very kid friendly adventures of The Incredible Hulk! So get your Crayola Crayons ready as it’s time to color in a good time on this update.

Growing up the Incredible Hulk and Captain America were my favorite superheroes followed very closely by Spider-Man. And when growing up I had a subscription to all three of those comics at one point as well as Uncanny X-Men and looked forward to reading them as soon as they arrived in the mail…and I need to note that our Waynesville mailman did not listen to the “Do Not Bend” warning on the package and would fold it long wise to fit in our mail box! I can even remember renewing them to get more issues sent, and this is how I got to read such story lines like Cap Wolf and the first appearance of Carnage among many other great arcs. The Marvel Comics Subscription was a wonderful way for me to be able to read modern comics since I had to always wait until we could get to Big Bear to go grocery shopping in order to get the issues I needed to complete a story I had started sometimes even missing issues here and there. The good news is that for modern comic readers who don’t live around a comic shop and dislike digital comics like myself, Marvel Comics still offers the subscription service via their website! I just wanted to briefly talk about how much this helped my comic collection as a kid and how it helped me stay up to date on many of the storylines at that time. Below are some cool ads that used to be in the back of Marvel Comics that would tell you about your savings getting your comics this way. Oh yeah and also notice how two of them feature this update’s hero the Incredible Hulk!

The Hulk has been going strong for Marvel Comics for over 57 years and has had many ups and downs in his publication history and over the decades has turned from having a child like mind to having the mind of a genesis. He has turned from grey to green and back to grey to green again. He has tangled with the Army, The Hulkbusters, Abomination, The Leader and even Dr. Doom in many of his issues. But besides the Marvel Comics, The Hulk has also had many other fights and adventures as he has also graced movie screens with Hulk released in 2003, Incredible Hulk from 2016 as well as all four Avengers films! On CBS The Incredible Hulk became a TV Show that ran from 1977 to 1982 for a total of five seasons and had Bill Bixby playing David Bruce Banner and bodybuilder Lou Ferrigno as The Hulk! The TV Show started after a made for TV Film and would also go on to have three more movie specials that were The Return Of The Incredible Hulk (1977), The Incredible Hulk Returns (1988), The Trail Of The Incredible Hulk (1989) and The Death Of The Incredible Hulk (1990). He has also had his fair share of adventures in pop-up books, paperback novels, coloring books, video games, recorded audio, comic strips, cartoons and even the weirdest, toilet paper! And let’s be honest, this does not even count Fan Films and even your own adventures you made with your action figures, board games and Colorforms. So as you can see, The Incredible Hulk and his legacy in entertainment goes far beyond the world of Comic Books and has made its way into all types of media given fans even more ways to enjoy their favorite hero.

Did you readers know that in 1983 a game was being made based on The Incredible Hulk for the Atari 2600 that was going to be released by Parker Brothers? Well if not, you know now! The game would have had you play as Bruce Banner with your goal being to get through levels and avoid getting too mad and turning into The Hulk, but the trick was each level would get harder and harder. The game was to be the second in the team up between Marvel Comics and Parker Brothers with the first one being Amazing Spider-Man that was released for Atari 2600 in 1982, but sadly with the video game crash of 1982 came lots of games that never got released to consumers…and sadly The Incredible Hulk was one of those games. It would have also been a two player game meaning you and your sibling or friend could have taken turns playing as Banner and seeing how many points you could rack up. The game did have some press before it was set to be released that included ads and even a cover box design building the hype for gamers and comic readers. Over the years gamers have searched, begged for and hoaxed a prototype for this game and as of this update none have been found leaving the world without at Atari 2600 game based on The Hulk. Will a prototype for this unreleased Incredible Hulk video game ever turn up? This blogger, gamer and comic reader sadly doesn’t think so but if it ever does I for one will buy it on a cart and have an Atari 2600 Challenge update all about it. Below are some of the graphics used in the pre-promotion ads for this game so check them out and try to imagine what could have been.

So way back in the day I was one of the founders of a club called the “Dayton Board Game Society” and on July 11, 2012 at our first meeting we played the board game The Incredible Hulk and The Fantastic Four that was released by Milton Bradley in 1978. At the time we only had a total of three members as it was a private club and besides myself, Stephen Alexander and Josh Weinberg made up the group. I would love to share my thoughts from 2012 with you readers here about this Hulk board game so here is my review from back then: “This one was a surprise for me and I found myself liking the simple yet fun game and this would get my rating of 2.5 out of 4! Growing up I was a huge fan of The Incredible Hulk and this game has you being a member of the Fantastic Four trying to cure the Hulk as he rampages the board! While the game is a basic spinner game, it’s more fun as you the player is also forced to move the Hulk to block and steal other players cards. Very fun game.” At some point I should get the lads back together and play this board game again and see how an older me feels about it. Check out below for some cool pictures from that day.

So as you can see, The Hulk truly is one of Marvel’s most iconic characters and is one that has always captured my imagination as I have always found the character to be interesting and appealed to this Monster Kid as he always had a dash of classic horror to him like a little Frankenstein’s Monster and even some Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. So let’s get into the main attraction of this update, three coloring books made by Whitman Publishing that feature original very kid friendly stories centered around The Hulk. I really cannot wait to revisit the one I had as a kid as I have not seen it for well over twenty years at this point! So I want to remind you readers that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, their entertainment value and their art and story. I also want to stress I am going to grade these a little differently than normal comics as the stories in these are going to be really silly and goofy so I will cut them a little slack. So with that grab your green and purple crayons, and let’s get to these coloring books.

Incredible Hulk: At The Circus *
Released in 1977 Cover Price .49 Whitman/Marvel # 1 of 3

The Circus is in town and The Incredible Hulk is working for them doing all types of fun things like lifting heavy weights as well as setting up the tents. The owner of the circus is Mr. Barnes and as he is counting the money, a masked baddie named The Stuntman enters and steals it and sets the trailer on fire! The Hulk smells the smoke and sets into action and saves Mr. Barnes, puts out the trailer by throwing it into water and then starts to chase The Stuntman to get the money back! The chase goes all over the circus with The Stuntman always being a few steps ahead, and The Hulk gets a good idea along with fellow circus worker Rubber Man to roll him into a ball and crash into the villain, and it works leaving Hulk saving the day and getting the money back!

The first thing I want to say about this Hulk coloring book adventure is that it’s barely a story and for the most part makes zero sense as the plot is just laughably bad! No joke, the plot is The Hulk working for a circus and loving to entertain people, getting back stolen money from a cheesy masked bad guy. The Hulk in this book is always smiling and seems to be high on life, I mean why in the heck is he working….Hulk just wants to be alone not setting up tents and hanging out with clowns! This is like opposite day Hulk as he just does not seem himself at all. The Stuntman is super lame and is so terrible he even tries to use a child as a hostage in order to get away…this guy is better left out of the comics, and I am glad this is his only appearance as this coloring book adventure should never been spoken of. The cover for this one is also really bad and has The Hulk on a trapeze looking very misshapen, and the interior art is just ok and while looks nothing like the comic art it does have a very kid friendly look. Over all this first coloring book adventure is pretty bad so lets move onto the second and the one I had growing up! Oh yeah check out the art below to see the art style of this one.

Incredible Hulk: Dot To Dot **
Released in 1979 Cover Price .59 Whitman/Marvel # 2 of 3

Alien race The Greenies are attacking the planet Big Zero and blow it up and only one of its citizens escaped named 00-6 and he has chosen Earth to hide out. But he makes a mistake and lands at a speedway as a race is going on causing panic as he uses his number blast power to make a racecar disappear as well as a near by tree and the picnic basket of Bruce Banner who was about to enjoy his lunch. This angers Banner who turns into The Hulk who charges 00-6 who uses his number blast and figure eight spaceship to try and escape, but Hulk follows and the pair are soon both captures by the Greenie King who looks like the Hulk! He informs 00-6 and The Hulk that is plan is to steal the color green from Earth and replace it with other colors causing a green out all thanks to the robot that is called Green Machine! Hulk does not like what he hears and is ready to smash both Green Machine and Greenie King and knocks out the King with one punch but is late with Green Machine who is on his way to Earth! 00-6 uses all his life power to make a number three flying machine that Hulk rides and is able to cut off Green Machine in space and knock him out and return to Earth on it. In the end Hulk is happy to be back home taking a nap under a tree.

Dot-To-Dot was a coloring book I loved as a kid and now looking at it as a 40 year old man, I must say this is super cheesy and super simple and really just middle of the road when it comes to a kids comic style adventure. The plot has The Hulk teaming with a number alien against a race of aliens and their robot that want to steal the coloring green from Earth as they use it as energy. The Hulk in this coloring book goes from being ready to smash 00-6 to becoming his friend to being Earth’s protector in a short amount of pages and while he is not fully Hulk of the comics in attitude, he is close enough. 00-6 is a small goofy little alien who uses number to fight against is foes, he is a good guy but also a little goofy when it comes to who he thinks are his enemies as he sees a tree as a threat. I also like how he uses all his numbers in order to save the world and dies for doing so…he is the Earth’s unknown savior. The Greenie King looks like Hulk with a crown and is an ego driven ruler who cares nor for others and only his needs. The Green Machine is a robot man who is into stealing the color green on the word of his King. The story really is super simple and is hard to break down so I will say I enjoy how Hulk goes to space, I like how he rides a space board that looks like the number three, I dig when he drops the name of the Silver Surfer. The cons are that the plot is lame, the villains are no threat and 00-6 is super goofy. The cover is pretty cool and has the Hulk being surrounded by numbers as an Unknown Artist did the interior artwork that is pretty well done. Over all this coloring book I loved as a youngster did not hold up and is pretty cheesy and for Hulk fans only. Check out the art below to see what you get with this 1979 coloring book.

Incredible Hulk: Wisdom Of The Watcher **1/2
Released in 1980 Cover Price .69 Whitman/Marvel # 3 of 3

The Hulk is in the desert to get a break from mankind, and while lonely he at least is not being attacked, that is until a small craft appears and uses gas to knock him out! Hulk turns back into Bruce Banner and finds himself on a craft and confronted by his enemy The Leader who places a device on Banners neck that will allow him to take control of The Hulk and use him as a weapon to take over the world and beyond. The Leader after making Banner turn back into The Hulk runs him through some tests to see what his body can withstand and how strong he truly is and once his questions are answered he shares his plan with Hulk that will have him travel to the moon and steal an artifact from The Watcher who makes his home on the moon. The Leader sends Hulk to the moon, and he is greeted by The Watcher who tells him to look around as he will not interfere in his quest all the while The Leader is in Hulk’s head giving orders as old jade jaws is trying to fight off his mind control. The Leader pots a red orb and he knows that is what he needs and to take it Hulk must fight a massive alien who has also shown up to steal the orb! Hulk defeats the alien easily and takes the orb as The Watcher witnesses him vanish back to the lab of The Leader who puts the orb on his head thinking he can learn the knowledge of all the planets and instead it over loads his mind knocking him out and allowing Hulk to free himself from the mind control and wonder away all the while The Watcher knew this is how it all would end.

This final coloring book issue of Incredible Hulk I have from Whitman is a pretty fun read as it’s pure kids comic stuff! The plot is very simple and has The Hulk being tricked and mind controlled by his foe The Leader who wants to use his power and strength in order to travel to the blue side of the moon and steal a powerful orb from The Watcher. And things go bad for The Leader when he finds out some knowledge just can not be learned no matter how smart you are. The Hulk in this issue feels a little off as at some points he is the mad kid like hulking beast and others he is mentally trying to free his mind from the control and comes off super well spoken. It’s like the writer of this coloring book forgot from time to time on what comic character he was writing this story about. But while the writing is a little flawed on how The Hulk acts, it’s still great when he is the Hulk we all know and love and is complaining about mankind. The Leader is as sinister as ever and wants nothing more than to gain power and knowledge and to rule over the whole world…he is such a smart slimy character that is easy to hate as he just oozes ego. The Watcher is as natural as ever and while he could mess people and events up he decides to play by his races rules and just watch, even if people are stealing from him. The Alien thief is big and bad and is no match for the might of The Hulk and gets his butt kicked really quick! One thing I did like about this coloring book is the fact The Watcher stayed true to who he is and just sits back and watches as all the events unfold, when he could have easily sent The Hulk away and then went to Earth and smacked The Leader around. The cover for this book is great and has The Hulk punching an alien in the face as The Watcher watches while space is in the background as well as what I would guess is the moon. The art inside is once more done by the Unknown Artist and is pretty good with sometimes characters looking a little off. Over all this is a fun short and silly Hulk adventure that brought joy to the kids of the 80’s and beyond. Oh and this one only had one small part colored in and that was The Watchers eyes were colored in blue. Check out some pages below to see how this one looked.

While coloring book comic character adventures are not the best written nor drawn stories, they still are part of the character’s history and it was fun to travel back and give them a read for this update. Plus I always enjoy taking some time to chat about The Hulk who I should cover way more often here on my blog. I am not sure if I ever will do another coloring book update based on a classic superhero, but if I choose to do so, I will cover Captain America. For my next update I am thinking I am going to put up the crayons and gear up to once more spend Thanksgiving with the mythology hero Hercules as he does 12 labors of superhuman challenges! So until then, make sure to stay young at heart my readers, and make sure to read a Marvel Comic or three, watch a movie or two and as always support your local Horror Host! See you next update for another Turkey Day Herc adventure!

Flash Gordon Savior Of The Comic Universe!

Posted on December 14, 2016 by bloodlinematt

ROTTEN….INNNKKK….Savior of the Blog-verse! Yeah, I know that was super lame and not very clever, but this winter seemed like a good time to do a terrible parody of a classic Queen song as it fits today’s update as we take a look at the 1980 film Flash Gordon and the Whitman Comic adaptation. It’s pretty great adventure stuff to get the blood pumping this cold winter night! Can you believe we are this close to Christmas and our huge Christmas Eve update? This time of the year is always wonderful, looking back at things from your youth and fun times with family and friends, and that’s why I choose Flash Gordon as the film and character this time around. It’s something that always brings back good memories of when I was a kid. When we were young, my parents had a Beta player and this is how I first saw Flash Gordon as my Dad rented it from the video store for me and my brother. From start to finish I can remember we both were glued to it. Later, when it would showed on cable like HBO or Showtime, we taped it and would dust it off from time to time. I can also remember using our G.I. Joes and Star Wars figures to play Flash Gordon as figures based on this movie were never made in my youth. I miss those days of going to the video rental store with my parents and picking out a couple of films for us all to watch on a family movie night. I have one funny story about a Troma movie that was rented for the kids that I will share in an update in the future. So get your space suit on and bundle up as space is even colder than this winter night, and we’ll go on an adventure with the one and only Flash Gordon. Oh yeah, make sure to also bring a blanket, some hot chocolate mix or even some hot tea as the chill in the air will make them a must.

In 1980 an epic science fiction film was released by Universal and was slated to be the next mega hit in the genre like Star Wars before it. Best of all, the film was based on a character who already had a built in audience as he had comic strips, comic books, radio dramas, novels, movie serials and toys based around him so by this point Flash Gordon was a household name. So why didn’t it overthrow Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back as the # 1 film of 1980? Flash Gordon ended up at # 23 bringing in $27,107,960.00 on a budget of $20 million, beating out such cult films as The Elephant Man, Raging Bull, The Fog, Mad Max, Prom Night, Motel Hell and The Gong Show Movie. I think some of the issue started with the production of the film as the rights owner for Gordon in films was famed producer Dino De Laurentiis who, in the 70s, turned down George Lucas who wanted to make a Flash Gordon film. This sparked Lucas to make Star Wars. Meanwhile De Laurentiis wanted to make his version of Flash Gordon cheesy and humorous, and this angered Sergio Leone, who was slated to direct, as he wanted it to be more faithful to the comic strip. But after many setbacks, a director was found in Mike Hodges, and casting started with Sam J. Jones playing Flash Gordon, Melody Anderson as Dale Arden, Chaim Topol as Dr. Zarkov and Max von Sydow as Ming The Merciless, all of whom were wise choices for their roles. But once more, late in production drama reared its ugly head again and fights between De Laurentiis and Jones left the actor leaving prior to post production forcing lots of his dialogue to be dubbed by a voice actor. This drama also lead to a sequel never being made. But in 2015 rumors began going around that a reboot sequel might be in the works and that Sam J. Jones might be returning in the role of Flash! So what do you readers think, should they make a Flash Gordon 2 with Sam J. Jones returning in the title role or do you think a remake is the wiser choice?

The soundtrack to Flash Gordon is fantastic with the score being done by Howard Blake and the rest being done by the amazing band Queen! While the score is mostly forgotten, the song “Flash Gordon” by Queen is the first thing that pops into the people’s minds when hearing the characters name…you know at least a handful of times you yourself have done it while reading this update. That’s one thing the film always had going for it, the soundtrack was a popular album for people of the 80’s to have in their collection of vinyl and cassettes. Queen always did make amazing rock n roll music, and their work for Flash Gordon showed that they could also make the music of the movies and will always rank up as one of the most catchy theme songs for any science fiction characters. And for those wondering, I do play the score music from Blake on WYSO from time to time.

As I have stated, growing up me and my brother were fans of the film, and I would have loved if some company like Kenner or Remco would have made 3 ¾” figures based on this film as it would have been epic while playing Star Wars if Flash Gordon showed up and Princess Leia fell in love with this hero jock and he and Han Solo had to fight it out to win her heart. But in 2015, thanks to collectible website “Entertainment Earth” and toy company “BifBang Pow!” a series of figures was made. They released four figures this size that include Flash Gordon, Ming, Aura, Vultan and Barin, and each come with weapons and bendable knees and elbows. When I was just a youngster, the only things that I can remember that were released was a video game, the comic adaptation, the novel based on the film and the soundtrack. So for those youngsters reading this, and those young at heart, if you buy these Flash Gordon 3 ¾” action figures make sure to have them mix with your Star Wars toys as well as your Funco ReAction figures and have one hell of an epic Toy War!

While we might not have gotten action figures, 20^th Century Fox Games did release a video game based on the film for the Atari 2600 for all the fans to enjoy in 1983, but like most movie tie-in games, this one really had nothing to do with the movie and was in fact originally not even a Flash Gordon game as it was really just a redone port of a game called “Spider City” that was a popular PC Game in the early 80’s. But in this version you play as Flash Gordon who has entered Spider City to rescue missing spacemen and to destroy all the hatching spider pods. You of course are flying a ship, and by beating levels, the game will give you an extra life. The graphics are what you would expect from an Atari 2600 game. The first time I learned about this game was in 2009 when Game Swap Kettering was stocking the store, and one of the Atari games in the box was Flash Gordon and of course I had to buy it and play it. While very cheesy, it still was fun play and something that fans of classic gaming should try. Check out below for a screen shot of the game as well as the cover box front and back, and all you old school gamers who grew up playing this understand just how fun this and so many other Atari games can be.

So we have taken a look at Flash Gordon the Movie, the soundtrack, the video game and the toys, and now I think it’s time that we all climb aboard the Whitman Comic Rocket and travel to Movie Adaptation Land and see just how well this one holds up to the film. I want to thank Jason Young and his Mom for selling me these issues in a long box buy and must remind all you readers and astronauts that I grade these on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comic stays to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. So with that, let’s prepare for lift off! I should also note that the adaptation was placed many issues into the long running Flash Gordon comic series put out by Gold Key and Whitman so that’s why the numbering is high on these issues. So it’s take off time, get ready to have a fun adventure with Flash Gordon and friends.

Flash Gordon # 31 ***
Released in 1981 Cover Price .40 Whitman # 31 of 37

Flash Gordon is a football player for the New York Jets and is on a plane with Dale Arden when their plane goes down and lands near a greenhouse where by gunpoint they are forced onto a spaceship and into orbit by Dr. Zarkov who believes that they all must stop an alien attack that he thinks is forcing Earth’s moon to crash into the planet killing everyone. He wants to find and stop the mastermind behind it. In space, the three pass out and are swept into a black hole and end up landing in the Mongo Kingdom run by Ming The Merciless along with his daughter Princess Aura and his golden metal masked adviser General Klytus. This is bad news as Ming wants Dale as his slave, Aura wants Flash as her slave, and Klytus wants all three Earthlings dead! Flash does not stand for this and fights with the guards, but all this does is give him a one-way ticket to a public execution that very night! Flash is given a shot and then gassed and is believed to be dead, but in reality Princess Aura changed the shot that let her new man live and uses her boyfriend’s (Prince Barin of the Treemen) planet as a hiding place for Flash. Meanwhile Ming has taken Dale as his own and has ordered Zarkov’s mind to be taken over and turned into a slave! But thanks to Aura’s crown, Flash is able to contact Dale and tell her he is alive. This causes her to escape Ming’s bedroom and start her escape and saving of Zarkov.

This comic adaptation does a good job of compacting the film into comic pages and moves the pace along really well! So far the story is the set up and has Flash, Dale and Zarkov traveling to space and crash landing on Mongo, the planet of galaxy warlord Ming, and finding out they are just pawns in his twisted game to destroy Earth. The comic has action, adventure, drama and romance as all these things were tangled together in ink and paper. Flash Gordon starts out as a hero jock who wins the attention of a young woman he is next to on a plane, but quickly turns into a hero as he is a prideful man who would clearly die to protect his new friends. Flash also has a charm as both Dale and Aura fall in love with him just by seeing him. I wonder if it’s because he is a pro football player who has money or if it’s his chiseled good looks? We also learn he is good at fist fighting as he handles many guards at once and seems to know how to defend himself. Dale Arden seems like a normal young woman who, when survival is on the line, will fight back and not just roll over and die. It’s also clear that Dale fell in love with Flash Gordon at first sight and that she will not be Ming’s love slave without putting up a fight. Dr. Zarkov is a crazed old man who’s outlandish behavior got him banned from NASA and his way of getting help on his rocket ship is to pull a gun on people who just survived a plane crash. It’s odd as both Flash and Dale seem to forgive him pretty fast and even look to him as a friend. Even more crazy is they would not be in the danger they are in if not for his crazy gun pulling ways. To be fair though, Dr. Zarkov did do all this to save Earth from doom that would be coming from the sky. Ming The Merciless is cold blooded, and life and death do not matter, as in his mind all that does is his rule over all. I think Ming is a great villain as he tries to murder outsiders on sight, forces women to be his love slaves and rules his Kingdom with such an iron fist that other planets are scared to feel his wrath. Princess Aura is a mystery at this point as she is a man-eater who clearly uses men to get what she wants but also seems to not enjoy her father’s wicked ways. General Klytus is clearly a man who loves to place judgment and punishment on anyone he feels is a threat to Ming and his rule. We don’t get much background on Prince Barin besides he loves Aura, and he is the leader of the Treemen. The winged leader Vultan of the Hawkmen is also around but is not given anything to make a judgment of his character. The cover is your typical cheesy photo collage mixed with art design that Whitman and Goldkey Comic used on most their adaptations, but the inside art is fantastic and done by Flash Gordon comic series artist Al Williamson who is an underrated artist who captures science fiction elements really well. This is a great start as on this cold day; I really enjoyed this first issue in the adaptation and I am really looking forward to seeing what issue 2 has contained.

Flash Gordon # 32 ***
Released in 1981 Cover Price .40 Whitman # 32 of 37

While escaping, Dale Arden runs into Dr. Zarkov who claims that his mind could not be beaten into being blanked, and the pair board a ship and try to leave only to be captured by the Hawkpeople lead by Vultan. They are about to deliver them back to Ming when Dale begs him to join forces with Flash Gordon, who still lives, and the Treemen to overthrow Ming who is they all hate. Meanwhile Klytus has heard that Gordon is alive and warns Ming who has his daughter who has returned home arrested and tortured in order to find were she has left Flash. Flash himself is being tormented and set up to be murdered by Prince Barin, who is jealous that Aura has fallen for the Earthman. During the fight, the Hawkmen attack and take both Flash Gordon and Prince Barin prisoner as Vultan is not going for an alliance against Ming and is delivering them all to the evil ruler. Prince Barin as a royal can challenge a duel before sentenced and picks Flash Gordon, and the two fight on a circle that has spikes. Flash wins and saves Barin from falling off the circle as Klytus arrives on the ship and demands all the prisoners come with him and this sets Flash off and he slams Klytus onto the circle of spikes killing him! Vultan and the Hawkmen fly away as they fear the wrath of Ming who now has shown up and has Dale, Barin and Zarkov taken to his castle, and after Flash refuses an offer from Ming to join his side our hero is left on the ship that is now blowing up.

Flash Gordon steps up his game and not only passes the Treemen’s log test that has a poisons beast inside it, but he also beats Barin in a duel to the death as well as murders Klytus by slamming him down on spikes! Flash didn’t even blink as he slammed a living person onto spikes, killing him in a terrible painful way. But to be fair, the man who he killed was Klytus, the evil right hand man of Ming who looks like he took fashion tips from Dr. Doom and had sent a number of people to their deaths. This second issue covers Flash fighting the odds and yet still some how turning the negatives into positives and starting an uprising against the rule of Ming. It’s great as Ming even mentions that his subjects are starting to talk about this man named Flash Gordon who has beaten all the odds. Ming The Merciless in this issue tries his best to corrupt Flash, and when he can’t, he wants him dead, not to mention he also is ok with the torture of his daughter as he is pissed she disobeyed his wish of having Flash killed. Ming is also claiming Dale as his future wife and adds forced love to his evil deeds. Prince Barin is a jerk who comes around once he finds that Flash is a good man. Vultan comes off as a coward and a lackey for Ming as Dale and Zarkov take a backseat and are just prisoners who are the driving force for Flash Gordon to fight and do the right thing to save them and the Earth. The cover is another photo collage/art mix and is cheesy good as the art inside is Al Williamson again who is doing a great job at capturing the looks of the actors as well as his backgrounds are really well done. This second issue is as good as the first. Coming up is the final in this adaptation, and I for one am enjoying every page.

Flash Gordon # 33 ***
Released in 1981 Cover Price .40 Whitman # 33 of 37

Flash Gordon escapes the blown up ship on a tiny glider and is able to contact Vultan and the Hawkpeople who now are on the side of good and set up one of Ming’s warships that they take over. Meanwhile Ming has set his wedding to Dale for that night and is forcing his daughter Aura to be the Maid of Honor and is going to kill Zarkov and Barin live for entertainment! Aura sneaks away and frees Barin and Zarkov from the prison, and the two flee into some tunnels. Flash, Vultan and the Hawkmen bring the fight to Ming’s kingdom. As Dale is being forced to marry Ming, the Earth is also on a path to doom as in only six minutes the moon will crash into the planet causing earthquakes and tidal waves. Flash crashes the ship into Ming’s castle and impales the evil ruler with the tip on the ship. Ming however does not die and Flash rushes him with a sword in hand as Ming turns his own power ring on himself ending is reign of terror. In the end Aura and Barin take over ruling Mongo, Vultan takes the job of royal guard commander and Dale, Zarkov and Flash stay on Mongo as they do not have a ride home.

The doomsday clock was almost at 12 for Earth, but thanks to the heroic act of Flash Gordon and his allies, we are all safe for the time being. The plot of this issue is this simple: Ming is having a shotgun wedding, Flash has brought people together to fight the power and in the end, good clashes with evil and as always, good wins. Flash Gordon once more proves how loyal and brave he is, as he takes his own life in his hands and crashes a ship into a castle that had a force field around it and was only saved by Barin who blasted the controls with a pistol. But what Flash did to save the Earth as well as Dale shows you that he is a real hero who puts the needs of others before his own. Dale and Dr. Zarkov do what they can to help with Zarkov trying to help turn off the force field and Dale bides them time to attack. Glad to see Vultan and the Hawkmen turn from cowards to right doers as they join the forces to bring Ming’s evil rule to an end. Prince Barin wins the most as he gets not only Ming’s hot daughter Aura, but he also gets to rule the planet! Ming does not put up much of a fight as after he has the ships front needle impale him, he then would rather zap himself with his own ring than to fight Flash Gordon. I always wished Ming would have been a more badass villain like Darth Vader in Star Wars in this film and comic as an epic fight between Flash and him could have been a major movie moment of the 80’s. I think what really make this comic adaptation work is that it feels like a grand space adventure that you’re on with an iconic character that is allowing you to tag along on. The comic does a pretty good job of working the movie into comic pages but like most adaptations, some of it feels very rushed with elements missing. One par that is removed is the silly comedy moments of the film and in its place are more serious action moments. The cover is like the others, and Al Williamson’s art is classic and captures the feel of not only the movie but Flash Gordon altogether. If you’re a fan of this movie or even just enjoy a good Flash Gordon story, I would say check out these issues as well as the rest in this comic series as they are a fun read and can hold you over till Gordon’s next big screen film hits your local cinema. Below is a piece of art from Williamson that I think showcases everything that this comic has to offer, so take a look at it and enjoy.

So yeah, Flash Gordon,, the film from 1980 as well as the comic adaptation of it are great ways to be entertained, and those of you who didn’t like the humor of the movie should check out this comic adaptation as it’s all the action elements. I really do miss the old movie adaptations from companies like Marvel, DC, Whitman and Dell as they always seemed like having something a little extra on the movie or even TV Shows they were based on. But it’s now time to reveal what our Christmas Eve update will be about. We will be leaving the Mongo Kingdom and instead enter Kingston Falls as we take a look at “Gremlins” and the Golden Book comic adaptation based around this iconic movie that was one of my all time favorites in youth! So until then, be safe this winter, spend some time with your loved ones, read a comic or three and make sure to return on Christmas Eve to spend some time with Gizmo and all his friends. See you all then!