From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: The Abomination (1986)

Posted on June 23, 2026 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink and to yet another “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” update. This one will be a truly blood splattered one as we will be talking about the 1986 Super 8 shoot beastly creature feature The Abomination and the 12-page comic adaptation that came inside the Blu-Ray release of the film done by Visual Vengeance! This is one that I have wanted to cover since it was released in 2023 but waited as it is a perfect fit for our themed year! I am also hoping that this update will not only make fans of the film happy but will also introduce more horror fans to it, as we all know that many of you readers love the horror flicks of the 1980’s and this is one that is often over looked. So if you are ready, let’s dive into the blood splattered world of The Abomination and see what gore awaits us.

Let’s start off by taking a look at The Abomination itself! The Abomination is a parasitic demon that grows in a person’s body as a tumor and once vomited out it grows into a massive creature that wants to destroy all of mankind. As the tumor it smells horrible, pumps like a heart and can slide to move to enter a person’s body once more. Once grown The Abomination is red in color with a big mouth filled with razor sharp pointed teeth…and its appearance is truly horrific and can frighten a person into hysterics or even death. The Abomination will control its host to commit murder as it feeds on human meat, flesh and blood and will drive the person crazy as well as into fits of rage making them act out towards their family and friends. The Abomination also reproduces inside its human host causing it to have offspring that will grow to be just as vile as it, and that will also want to consume human flesh and with this offspring it becomes even more deadly for anyone that is in its path. The Abomination also has its human host that is willing to kill for it as well as feed it whenever it gets hungry, making a poor soul its mind controlled murderous minion. It also has tentacle arms that it can use to pull victims into its mouth making them food to try and stop its hunger. And that is the thing about The Abomination and its offspring, it seems to have no weakness as when it starts growing, reproducing and feeding it looks as if it cannot be stopped! It’s a safe thing to say that The Abomination could be one of the most dangerous and deadliest demonic parasite creatures we have ever covered here on Rotten Ink. That is if you think this creature is real, and not just in the mind of Cody who is being investigated for murder.

Now that we have taken a look at The Abomination and its way of killing and eating humans, I think that we should now take a look at the film he is from and that of course is also called The Abomination and was released in 1986 to the home video market. 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 see what terror awaits us.

The Abomination (1986)

“An old woman coughs up what she believes to be a tumor. While asleep, the thing crawls inside of her son and reproduces inside him, then causes him to go on a killing spree to feed it.”

In the 1980’s the video rental business was booming and many directors were making horror films to get onto the shelves and into the hands of viewers as horror was a big part of the boom and fans were always looking for the next big scare to watch over the weekend with friends and family. Enter Bret McCormick, a young director and producer. He had a vision and a dream, and that was the film Abomination that was released on video in 1986, McCormick was a longtime horror fan who even made his own films as a child using a Super 8 camera. The film was shot in Texas and his father was the one who put up most of the film’s budget, as McCormick was told that distributors wanted gory horror films and he being a fan of that genre he wanted to make it and get the VHS out into the rental stores. Also during this time McCormick had a filmmaking partner in Matt Devlen who was developing a movie called “Ozone: The Attack Of The Redneck Mutants” that also has budget money provided by McCormick’s father. When casting the film actors like Scott Davis, Blue Thompson, Jude Johnson, Rex Morton, Suzy Meyer and Brad McCormick were brought in to be apart of the main cast. The film was shot in a short amount of time and spent lots of time in the editing processes before being finished and then struggling to find a distributor, and later would finally find a small distribution company to release it and it would gain a cult following thanks to being found in rental stores. Over the years, this splatter flick would become a very underground cult film with copies of the VHS selling for hundreds of dollars and being talked about in many cult magazines. The film in 1986 was released with such other horror films as Chopping Mall, Zombie Nightmare, RawHead Rex, Night Of The Creeps, Spookies, Deadtime Stories, Slaughter High, Class Of Nuke’em High, Street Trash, Neon Maniacs, Sorority House Massacre, King Kong Lives, Blood Hook, Demons 2, Psycho III, Friday The 13^th Part VI: Jason Lives, Troll, Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2, Little Shop Of Horrors, Gothic and From Beyond, to name a few. And for those wondering, Bret McCormick would go on to make other horror films as Highway To Hell, Children Of Dracula, Bio-Tech Warrior and Repligator.

The Abomination is one of those films that I can remember seeing in the pages of the horror magazines and fanzines that my brother would buy and it always being talked about for its gross nature and special effects…but of course with the VHS being rare, it would be a very long time before I got to finally watch it. It would be via the gray market that I would finally get to see this film as my friend and film mentor Andy Copp hand it via his Nightcrew Video label, and it was a very fun watch and helped fuel my fire in making indie films with my friends via Independent B Movie. The film, for its small budget level, had great special gore effects and one great looking creature, and really the gore in this film is that of a Herschell Gordon Lewis film. Plus for this level, the acting is also not that bad and I have to say that actress Blue Thompson should have been in way more horror films through the 80s and early 90s as she truly had a great look to her suited for the genre. And while I enjoyed this film back then and even now, I will say that it is not for everyone as it has a weird pacing, some scenes go on for way to long and at times it kind of makes no sense…so I think that horror fans that don’t like the more backyard and DIY style productions might not enjoy it as much. This is a film that I am shocked never got a sequel after it gained its cult following as it is one that could have easily became a franchise. In fact when watching the film in 2023 working on this update, it came to me that the film would really go well showing alongside films like Basket Case, Street Trash, Slime City, Deadly Spawn, C.H.U.D. and Video Violence at a horror movie marathon. If you have not seen this film, make sure to get yourself a copy of the Visual Vengeance Blu-Ray as they packed it with extras and it’s the best this film has looked in decades. And spoiler, I was not that down with the idea that The Abomination was only in the head of Cody who is the true killer of all the victims as he is just insane.

Well I think now that we have talked about the film The Abomination as well as the parasite meat-eating creature from it, we should now review the mini promo comic that came with this great Blu-Ray release of the film. And I have to say that while I really do dig the idea of mini promo comics inside DVDs and Blu-Ray cases based on the film it is an extra for, but I do wish that this would have been a full sized comic as it would have been great to see Visual Vengeance/Wild Eye Releasing just open up a comic publishing branch as so many of the films they release would make for great adaptation comics. I would like to thank Diabolik DVD for having this Blu-Ray with Promo Comic in stock and making this update possible. And while I did slightly help on the making of this comic as I helped with some of the dialogue, I would like to 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 head out to Texas and see what The Abomination has on the menu to eat.

The Abomination # 1 ***
Released in 2023 Cover Price $0.00 Visual Vengeance # 1 of 1

Cody’s mother is sick with a tumor and she is obsessed with an evangelist named Brother Fogg who is on TV preaching and trying to get his followers to send him money. And as Cody goes on a date with his girlfriend Kelly, his mother ends up puking up the tumor that she gives credit to Brother Fogg and his healing words. That night as Cody gets home and falls asleep he thinks he has a nightmare as the tumor crawls into his mouth and makes him wake up scared, shaken and before breakfast, he coughs it out and places the tumor under his bed and heads to eat breakfast. Later that day Cody feels off and drives around only to end up at his friends house where he kills her with a camping knife and then takes her corpse home and as well hides it under his bed, and learns that the tumor is growing into a Abomination (a creature with a big mouth filled with sharp teeth) and ate the flesh and meat of his dead friend. His mother goes to Brother Fogg for help as her son is acting so weird and she thinks he might need an exorcism. He agrees to it, and they make an appointment. But Cody is angered by this and feeds his mother to The Abomination and also gets Brother Fogg at his office and then kills a few more people to feed this carnivorous creature. But Cody meets his maker when his girlfriend Kelly shows up and uses a pitchfork to end his life, but she soon is grabbed by The Abomination and becomes more meat for the beast.

This is a very cool adaptation promo comic for a very underrated 80s fright flick, and while I wish it would have gotten a full size comic and more than 12 pages to tell its story in…it does do a good job of getting the story in the short page count. The plot is about Cody, a man who ends up having a demonic, human eating tumor creature growing and taking over his mind causing him to kill people in order to feed it. Cody starts off as a normal guy who worries about his mom, dislikes the fake religious figure on TV and enjoys spending his time with his girlfriend Kelly, but once The Abomination enters his body, he becomes a killer driven by the beast to kill as it needs to feed on human meat and flesh. Poor Cody also stops caring about his family and friends and even feeds his own mother to The Abomination! Cody’s Mother and his girlfriend Kelly care about him and want to get him help when is attitude changes, but they both end up finding hell in the belly of the beast. Brother Fogg is a TV Preacher who is truly a fraud and only does his healing and preaching for money, and he as well gets what’s coming to him when he becomes eaten by this tumorous creature when he is sitting on the toilet. The Abomination is a disgusting demon tumor creature that loves to control, infest, kill and eat humans and has the large teeth and massive mouth to do so. With this comic only being 12 pages some of the films plot, kills and oddness had to be cut, but the creators behind it do a good job of trying to make it all fit and feel like the film on the pages. The comic is packed with lots of blood as well as gory kills and the horror truly is The Abomination as that thing is creepy and brings the scares to the readers. I really do wish that Visual Vengeance/Wild Eye Releasing would think beyond just making 12 page promo comics for Blu-Ray releases, as it would be great to have many full size adaptations of not only this film but many others of their releases…but sadly I don’t think they will do this and it’s a shame. The cover for this mini comic is really cool and eye catching and of course the interior artwork done by my friend Marc Gras is fantastic stuff. I dig the way he draws The Abomination, and he does do a great job of making the characters look like the actors who played them! To sum it up, this is a very cool comic that is a must have for fans of this 1986 film as who would ever think this comic would have been made! Check out the artwork below to see the style used by Marc in this promo comic.

As you can see, The Abomination really is a very underrated 80’s direct to video film as it is packed with so much bizarre moments, a creepy creature, lots of gore and should have way more fanfare than it gets, and I am glad that it got this promo comic as it allowed me to cover it here on Rotten Ink on a “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” update. And do not worry, I will cover the other promo comics that they released as those films as well deserve to be talked about and given The Rotten Ink treatment. Our next update will keep us in the world of horror comics based on horror films, and we will also be celebrating July 4^th as we take a heroic splattastic journey with The Toxic Avenger and his Marvel Comic adventures. So until next time, read a horror comic of three, watch a horror film or two and as always support your local horror host. See you next update as I think The Toxic Avenger is the perfect American hero to cover for this From Horror Movie To Horror Comic update marathon.

From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: Little Shop Of Horrors (1986)

Posted on September 23, 2025 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink. Our countdown to Halloween 2025 continues! Horror films come in all types of sub-genres, and one that is often over looked and not talked about is the horror musical. One of the best hands down for me was the 1986 film “Little Shop Of Horrors” that truly set the bar for all those that followed. And of course this film was base off the Off-Broadway musical that was based off the Roger Corman film from 1960! And as you noticed, this is another PG-13 film and ends our updates for September. And with that I think it’s time that we start this long overdue “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” update that is all about that mean green mother from outer space named Audrey II, and the Little Shop Of Horrors he’s hiding out in.

So let’s start off by taking a look at the killer plant from this film named Audrey II and it’s ways of dealing death to mankind. Audrey II is an alien from outer space. When it first lands on our planet during a total eclipse of the sun, it is very small in size, but grows in size when it gets fresh blood and human meat to eat. The more blood it eats, the bigger it can grow and it can grow to be Kaiju size as well as can sprout more of its kind. Audrey II when small is cute and can draw people into its trap, but as it grows the more frightful it looks and can truly shock the weak. Audrey II as well has a mind of its own and is super smart and can use it to plot out evil plans, it can also talk and sing and can uses its words to get one simple minded florist to do its bidding of bringing him blood and people to eat with the promise of fame and fortune. Audrey II has razor sharp teeth that can rip apart flesh, vines that can grab and pull plus grow smaller heads with teeth and a mouth big enough to eat a person in one or two chomps. Audrey II also has a very mean temper and a wicked attitude and has goals of taking over our planet and does not care how many humans it has to eat to complete this goal. But while Audrey II is a big green mother from outer space that is bad, it can be hurt and even killed as it needs blood to live and without it will shrivel up and die, you can also crush it, burn it and possible chop it up into little pieces but that is only before it grows to Kaiju size. The main way to destroy Audrey II is use high voltage electricity, as this will cause the alien plant to explode, and end its reign of terror. Audrey II is a truly dangerous alien plant from outer space and if not put in check his species could easily take over the planet.

Now that we see just how dangerous that Audrey II is and just how easily it could take over the world and make every human dinner, I think we should take a few moments and talk about the film its from and that of course is the 1986 Musical Horror Film Little Shop Of Horrors that was a remake of a cheesy 1960 fright film. And I would like to remind you that I will be taking the film’s plot from our friends at IMDB and then I will write about the film’s production and then my thoughts on the film. So with that, let’s avoid becoming plant food and head to this little shop of terrors.

Little Shop Of Horrors (1986)

“A nerdy florist finds his chance for success and romance with the help of a giant man-eating plant who demands to be fed.”

David Geffen was a music executive that was producing a off-Broadway musical show based on the 1960 Roger Corman film Little Shop Of Horrors and he had the want to turn the stage show into a big production musical film to release in theaters and even at one point in time had big names like Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg and John Landis attached to the film, and this was causing it to have a big buzz around it. But the film stalled for a while due to Charles B. Griffith, the original film’s script writer and voice of Audrey Jr. tried to sue Geffen in a failed attempt. And once the lawsuit ended, Frank Oz was hired to be the director and he even helped writer Howard Ashman with the script to bring the Broadway show to the big screen and this meant adding and subtracting some of the songs to make it have that big theater event film feel. When casting the film, Rick Moranis was hired to play Seymour Krelborn with Levi Stubbs from the musical group The Four Tops being the voice of Audrey II. Other names attached to the film in supporting as well as cameo roles include Steve Martin, Vincent Gardenia, Jim Belushi, John Candy, Bill Murray, Christopher Guest, Vincent Wong and the trio of Tisha Campbell, Tichina Arnold and Michelle Weeks acted as the singing chorus who act as the stories guides. When it came to casting Audrey, it was given to Ellen Greene who had played the part for the stage, but the roll was also offered to pop singer Cyndi Lauper and even rumored to Barbra Streisand. The film’s main villain Audrey II took many puppeteers to control and filming would take place in England at the 007 Stage. The film was given a $25million budget with Warner Brothers stepping in to distribute the film in theaters and home media. The film’s ending had to be re-shot after the test screens did not like the original downbeat ending of Audrey II growing to giant size and taking over the Earth as Seymour Krelborn failed in the final fight and was killed. The film would be released on December 19, 1986 and would bring in $39 million and was well loved by fans as well as critics and would become an even bigger hit for Warner Brothers when it was released on video. The film was released along side such other Horror Films as Class Of Nuke’Em High, Demons 2, Friday The 13^th Part VI: Jason Lives, The Hitcher, Maximum Overdrive, Night Of The Creeps, Psycho III, Rawhead Rex and Trick Or Treat to name a few.

Little Shop Of Horrors is a film that was a big part of my childhood as it was one I watched all the time and I knew almost all the songs by heart as they are just so damn catchy. I can remember seeing the film’s TV spots for coming to the theaters and also remember the poster being printed in the newspaper and really wanted to go to the theater to see it. My parents did not take me but to hold me over till it came out on home media, they did buy me the trading cards and candy based around the film. And when I finally did get to see the film, I was a fan as the acting, songs, special effects and monster were all fantastic and helped draw me in as a viewer. The film’s star Rick Moranis was a big star of the 1980’s and 1990’s as most people know him for his roles like Bob McKenzie from Strange Brew (1983), Louis Tully from Ghostbusters (1984), Dark Helmet in Spaceballs (1987), Wayne Szalinski from Honey I Shrunk The Kids (1989), Barney Rubble from The Flintsones (1994) and the voice of Rutt in the Brother Bear franchise to name a very few. As you can see, Rick Moranis was a big star for kids of that time and was one of the big draws for the young Monster Kids of 1986 to want to see Little Shop Of Horrors. The puppet used for Audrey II is amazing and the puppeteers who controlled it are masters of their craft as he really does seem like a living thing! I should also note that Levi Stubbs, the voice actor and singer for Audrey II is known of course for being the lead vocalist for the group Four Tops but I also should point out that he was the voice for Mother Brain for the cartoon “Captain N: The Game Master” that ran from 1989-1991. And this is the movie that made me have a crush on Tisha Campbell that would continue when she was also on the sitcom Martin were she played Gina, and in fact she is still a very beautiful woman to this day and one talented actress. If you have not seen this film, I really thank that you should not only for the great songs, a top-notch lead cast, amazing special effects but also for all the cameos from some of the top comedians going at that time. And really this is one of my favorite films and is one I have watched so many times over the years and of course own on home media. And over the years the film has been slated for a remake that never gets out of the talking stage, and I for one say if they cast it they should have Lady Gaga play Audrey, Rami Malek as Seymour, Jared Leto as Orin Scrivello DDS, John Leguizamo as Mr. Mushnik, Poppy, Mya and Charli XCX as the Chore Ladies and lastly Bruno Mars as Audrey II…just saying.

Little Shop Of Horrors was slated to be a big film and with that when released lots of cool merchandise was made to promote it before, during and after the film’s release as cool items are still being made based around it to this day. When the film first came out, you could buy the soundtrack on CD or cassette, trading cards from Topps, DC Comic adaptation, a paperback adaptation, posters and a very cool candy dispenser of Audrey II, and I had many of these things with my favorite being the Audrey II candy holder. After the release and through the decades the film has also gotten shirts, art prints, buttons, cups, bed covering, Funko Pops and so much more as this film’s popularity is still very strong and it has a huge cult following. So if you are a fan of Little Shop Of Horrors, there are lots of cool things for you to collect and add to your collection.

So as you can see, Audrey II is a very dangerous plant from another planet and the film it’s from Little Shop Of Horrors was an awesome film that spawned some great merchandise and was a big part of so many kids lives in the late 1980’s and also showed that Musicals and Horror can really mix! And I am really happy that DC Comics gave this film the comic book treatment as you readers know I always say that comics make great promo items for films, and I wish more companies would see this and make more in these modern times. I would also like to thank Mavericks Comics and Cards for having this comic in stock those many, many years ago to make this update possible. I would also like to remind you 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 head into Mushnik Florist and see what that strange and unusual plant in the window is all about.

Little Shop Of Horrors # 1 ***
Released in 1987 Cover Price $2.00 DC Comics # 1 of 1

Seymour lives and works at Mushnik Florist owned by the grumpy Mr. Mushnik who also employs Audrey who comes to work late this day and is sporting a black eye that he boyfriend gave her, and after Seymour trips and breaks some flower pots and its now 6pm and they have not seen a customer all day Mushnik threatens to close the shop down for good. But Seymour and Audrey have a plan and that is to put some strange plants in the widow to attract new customers and Seymour brings up a flytrap of sorts that he calls Audrey II and once in the window a customer comes in asking about it and Seymour tells the story of how he bought it after it mysteriously appeared at a sidewalk plant shop after a total eclipse of the sun. And Audrey II does its job as more customers keep coming in asking about it and before they leave they are buy flowers and plants causing the shop to make some money! But after the store closes and Audrey and Mr. Mushnik leaves for the night Seymour has to stay behind as Audrey II is sick and that is when he learns that the plant needs human blood to feed in order to grow. A week later Seymour and Audrey II are a guest on a local radio show in order to promote the shop, and at the shop Audrey and Mr. Mushnik listen as it’s clear that her boyfriend once more beat her up. Once back home Audrey thinks about a life she could have if only she would be dating Seymour. Days pass and Seymour is tried as he has to keep feeding Audrey II his blood, and while the shop is packed and the money is coming in Seymour just cannot build up the nerve to ask out Audrey. Meanwhile her boyfriend the motorcycle-driving dentist Orin Scrivello who torments his patients and huffs the nitrous oxide as he enjoys causing living things pain, and that night he heads to the shop to pick up Audrey for a date and Seymour witnesses how bad he treats her. That night Seymour sits next to Audrey II all sad about Audrey being treated bad when he learns that Audrey II can talk and needs fresh blood, and promises Seymour fame and the two decide that Orin will be the victim after they see him smack Audrey after their date. And when Seymour goes to the office of Orin Scrivello to kill him the dentist dies from an overdose of nitrous oxide gas and Seymour drags his body to the shop and chops it up to feed to Audrey II but unknown to Seymour his boss Mr. Mushnik witnesses him chopping up the body! The next day Audrey finds out her boyfriend is missing and she and Seymour bond as they both let their feeling for one another be known, but once Seymour gets back to the shop he is confronted by Mr. Mushnik who in turn is eaten alive by Audrey II. The days that follow lots of pressure falls on Seymour and he buckles under it all as in order to keep up the fame that means he needs to get more blood for the now massive planet, but when he finds out that Audrey would still love him even if he was broke he comes up with an idea to marry her that night and for them both to run away. Later Seymour heads to the butcher shop to get Audrey II some bloody meat, but while he is away Audrey II uses the phone to call Audrey into the shop with the idea of eating her…Seymour arrives just in time to save her and then knows what has to be done Audrey II must be destroyed. Seymour goes inside the shop and tries using a gun first and it does nothing but make Audrey II mad and he brings down the walls but this exposes an electrical wire that Seymour uses to zap and fry Audrey II killing the man eating plant. In the end Seymour and Audrey get married and but a little house together…but unknown to them another Audrey II is in their very flower garden.

The comic adaptation of the 1986 Musical Horror film Little Shop Of Horrors is a very fun read but it does lack something that makes it amazing and that is well the musical numbers as all the songs as well as many characters are missing from this comic and the changes are very noticeable. And for me the biggest missing element from this comic is the characters of Crystal, Chiffon and Ronette as they are not around to move the story forward nor are they even around to interact with the characters…they are just gone. But while this is just one of several changes the comic is still a fun read and captures the story of the film with out the musical numbers. The plot is this a man working and living on skid row has a crush on his co-worker and after finding a strange plant after a total eclipse of the sun his life turns hectic but also more positive as fame and money start coming his way, but he soon finds out that the plant is really an alien who eats blood and human meat and grows and has world conquest on its mind! When it comes to the hero of this comic you would have to give that role to Seymour who is the one in the end that stops the alien plant, but to be fair he is also the one who ended up given it the human blood and meat it needed to grow into the super dangerous creature all because of fame and wanting to try and get the attention of his crush. Audrey is a sweet woman who sadly has poor taste in men who abuse her, but her sweetness and caring nature is what helps Seymour stand up and finally defeat Audrey II who of course is the evil alien plant who was sent to Earth with the idea of taking over once he can get large enough as well as sprout offspring. Audrey II is very smart as well as manipulative as he can use his words in order to get Seymour to do what he wants him to do and that includes feeding him the dead body of Audrey’s boyfriend! And when Audrey II gets big enough and finds out that his hold over Seymour is weakened he decides to kill him and start his quest to take over the world! This film has some blood but nothing major and it of course has death as several characters find themselves plant food. The cover for this comic is pretty dang cool and has the main cast around a baby Audrey II with the interior art being done by Gene Colan being great stuff, but I also have to say that the characters sadly do not look like the actors who play them. This is a pretty great comic adaptation and while there is big changes the spooky and fun nature of the core of the film are here and make for a great read for fans of the film as well as Horror Comic readers in general. Checkout the artwork below to see the style Colan used in this comic, and I have to say make sure to grab yourself a copy of this comic for your collection.

The 1986 Horror Musical version of Little Shop Of Horrors was a very odd choice when you think about it to be turned into a comic book as the musical songs just could never be done well on the pages of a comic, but somehow DC Comics made it work here. And it’s a shame that DC did not do more comics based on Horror Films that their parent company Warner Brothers was making at the time like it would have been great to get comics based on such films as Deadly Friend, The Lost Boys, A Return To Salem’s Lot, It’s Alive III: Island Of The Alive to name a few from 1986-1987 from them and all would have made for some very cool and creepy comics. While our time at this little shop of horror has come to an end, we will be staying in the world of horror as our next update we will be taking a look at Horror Host Jeepers the host of Jeepers Creepers Theatre out of California. So until next time, read a horror comic or three, watch a horror film or two and as always support your local Horror Host. See you next update as we spend time with a true icon of Horror Hosting.

R.I.W Wrestling Legend: Crypt Keeper

Posted on August 4, 2025 by bloodlinematt

The Halloween season is almost upon us, and as you can see, we are once more here at the Rotten Ink Arena for a spooky “R.I.W Wrestling Legends” update that is sue to chill your blood as well as gross you out as today’s subject is a hardcore death match wrestler who is truly a horror themed wrestler as his name is The Crypt Keeper (or Crypt The Keeper), and he is based on the Tales From The Crypt host of the same name. He terrorized the federations of Japan, and now he is the main event update for this countdown to Halloween update. So let’s head to the snack bar and grab some witch’s punch to drink and maybe some candy corn to munch on, and then let’s get to our seats as I can hear his sinister laugh echoing all around and that’s the sure sign that this event update is about to start. Try not to get to scare.

Jose Estrada Jr. started his Pro Wrestling career in 1986. Hould work for World Wrestling Council (WWC) in Puerto Rico as Super Medico III and would team with his father Super Medico I as the Super Medicos, and they would even capture the company’s tag team titles. In 1991 he would find his way to Japan and would start working for FMW as Jose Estrada Jr. and would have hardcore street fights against the likes of Atsushi Onita, Tazan Goto and Ricky Fuji. Jose would also go back to working under the Super Medico III for a short time in FMW as well as in WWC where he would be apart of a tag team called Solid Gold. But in 1993 he would become the wresting horror grappler named Crypt Keeper who wore a TV show Crypt Keeper mask as well as a skeleton mask. He would work for WING and became a hardcore wrestler who did death matches and would have battles with Jason The Terrible, Crash The Terminator, Leatherface, The Headhunters as well as Shoji Nakamaki. During this time as well Crypt Keeper would also make small stops in Mexico even working for CMLL. And in 1994 he even would even return to work some matches in Puerto Rico. Crypt Keeper quickly became a heel that fans feared and opponents knew that they would be involved in a brutal match. In 1995 Crypt Keeper would start working for more federations in Japan including IWA and BJW as well as would work small shots in America as well as more matches in Mexico’s CMLL and would wrestle against the likes of El Canek, Arlantis, Dos Caras, El Rayo de Jalisco Jr., El Dandy and Silver King. In 1996 he would head to FMW and become one of the company’s biggest heel stars and was considered a draw and would also start working for them under the ring name Halcon Negro and would start using that name more often from them. In 1997 he would have a house show tryout match for the WWF losing to Miguel Perez, and when working for FMW at the time he once more changed his name to Black Hayabusa. And while he worked under many names and gimmicks, his most well loved in Japan was Crypt Keeper.

Jose Estrada Jr. would then leave Japan and head to WWF to become a member of the Savio Vega lead group Los Boricuas and would feud with The Nation Of Domination as well as The Disciples Of The Apocalypse starting in mid-1997. His run with the WWF would mostly see him teaming with his stable mates Jesus Castillo, Miguel Perez and Savio Vega, and they would have matches against the likes of The Legion Of Doom, The Head Bangers and The New Age Outlaws. And while Jose Estrada Jr. would get some wins, he and his fellow Los Boricuas members found themselves falling down the card and racking up more losses. During his solo matches in WWF he would lose matches against the likes of Goldust, Edge, The Godfather and El Hijo Del Santo (on the short run show WWF Super Astros), and by late 1999 Jose would be out of WWF and find himself retired for a few years. But around 2001 he started working the indies around the world again and would work as The Crypt Keeper again off and on for many hardcore matches. Today while he is pretty much retired, he can from time to time be seen at conventions. Over his years as a wrestler he would capture some gold mostly in Puerto Rico but would be a two time WING World Heavyweight Champion. He is not in the WWF Hall Of Fame, and sadly I do not think he ever will make it in.

I was a big fan of FMW when I was a teenager and one of the wrestlers that stood out to me was Crypt Keeper as he was a brawler who wore a HBO Tales From The Crypt mask (or sometimes just a skeleton one) and would team and even fight the other horror themed wrestlers in the company in matches like barbwire, coffin and death matches. And when Crypt Keeper would cackle and laugh he became even more awesome to me as it added to his creepy, spooky persona. You could see that he was trying to do something a little different with his version of the character and this was also seen in his wrestling attire as it was very baseball themed and made him standout, but I will also say I liked when he would also wear the back suit. And like many masked wrestlers, during his run some knock off wrestlers using the gimmick popped up and worked the indie’s around the world pretending to be him or just straight up stealing the gimmick. While Jose Estrada Jr. was a good worker in the WWF during his run, I have to say I enjoyed his time as Crypt Keeper way more as I found it to be way more interesting. And I know that he was not as hardcore as most of the other horror themed wrestlers of that time, but dang it, he was an entertaining one who seemed to get into scaring the fans as well as being as “hardcore” as he could get in the ring. From the first time I saw Crypt Keeper in the ring, I always thought it would be cool to see him join the WWF and have a run against The Undertaker as it would have been great to have him pop out of a coffin and go after Taker with a barb-wired baseball bat! I mean Crypt Keeper could have fit well into the Attitude Era and could have been a great addition to the Hardcore Division. While the Crypt Keeper gimmick didn’t last all that long in the world of wrestling, it did leave its mark and was the best thing Jose Estrada Jr. did in wrestling in my opinion as I find it very memorable.

We are now at the point of this review where 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, sadly I only have 3 solo matches of his on my best of DVD. I want to thank HyperDevil for having this set in stock and also want to thank Crypt Keeper 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, let’s step into the ring with Crypt Keeper.

Best Of Crypt Keeper

Match 1: Crypt Keeper vs. Keisuke Yamada

As the bell rings, Keeper is the aggressor and starts hammer Yamada with hits in the corner and then hits a clothesline as well as some well places stomps and repeats this attack in another corner until Yamada is able to escape his attack and with a backslide gets a two count and then starts beating up Crypt with hammering hits and knocks him out of the ring and then dives out on him. Once back in the ring Yamada remains in control even locking a step over toe hold on Crypt trying to get him to tap, Crypt gets to the ropes but still takes a beating for a bit by Yamada the two start smacking the hell out of each other until Crypt makes a mistake and finds himself in a arm lock on the mat, and like before once out of the move Yamada keeps up his attack. The fans are clearly behind Keisuke Yamada as they cheer him on as Crypt Keeper rolls out of the ring to shake off the butt kicking he has been getting, and once back in he continues to get beat up on that his until he is able to hit a big boot and a running bulldog, and now Crypt is in control, and goes for many pin attempts. Crypt keeps Yamada on the mat and works over his limbs trying to get him to quit and even trying to get the quick pin. The two once more exchange punches and moves Crypt hits a massive power bomb and it did not keep Yamada down, nor does a top rope fameasser. But after Crypt Keeper hits a power slam he is able to get the win via pin. This is one of those odd matches from Japan that has bursts of hard hitting impactful moments that is then slowed down with rest holds and it makes for a fun and yet some what dragging match. Keisuke Yamada looks good in the match as he is in control for most of the match and even comes of aggressive and his chops are loud and brutal looking. Crypt Keeper hits some really hard hitting moves but does not showcase his more hardcore death match style moves. The two’s chemistry was a little off and at times the match come off a little botchy in spots, but the live fans seem to enjoy it and even with those moments its an average entertaining match.

Grade: **1/2

Match 2: Crypt Keeper vs. Jason The Terrible

This is a spiked nail death match that pits two horror themed wrestlers against each other! Crypt attacks Jason as he is making his way to the ring and the two fight into the fans and Crypt knocks off Jason’s hockey mask and rams his face into the bed of nails and tries to push the nails deep into the flesh of Jason, and does it again as Jason starts to bleed. Once in the ring Crypt keeps the beating up and tries to knock Jason out of the ring and onto the bed of nails. Jason fights off the attempts and while he is getting beat up he just keeps coming after Crypt who is clearly the more aggressive of the two this far and keeps trying to toss Jason out and onto the nails. When Jason finally gets the upper hand he as well tries to toss Crypt out of the ring and onto the nails and both at this point are using mostly brawling moves to do so and from here the two go back and fourth with taking the momentum and failing to toss the other onto the nails. Jason during this time does hit some big choke slams that get’s the fans to pop. And it’s Jason who is finally able to knock his opponent onto the bed of nails as Crypt lands hard on them after being knocked out of the ring and with that Jason wins the match. This was a very slow paced Spiked Nail Death Match as most of the time is spent with them trying to toss or kick the other out of the ring and onto the nails, and besides a few cool movies like the choke slams from Jason and the fameassers from Crypt the match is pretty much just punches, kicks and stomps and I know that is pretty normal for these types of matches but at times these two seem like they are moving in slow motion. The match also only has Jason bleeding and it’s a shame that the hockey mask is removed right from the start as it takes a little away from this monster vs. monster match. Over all an ok death match that sadly was nothing that special, and it did seem the live fans did enjoy it for the most part.

Grade: **

Match 3: Crypt Keeper vs. Shohji Kakamaki

This is a coffin match where you have to get your opponent into a coffin for a 10 count. As soon as the bell rings Crypt Keeper goes on the attack and rips at the injured head of Shohji and starts kicking him in the head and causes him to bleed. Crypt keeps up a fast paced attack landing a big power slam and then tossing him into the coffin, Shohji escapes and goes after Crypt who takes big head butts that rock him. Shohji takes him outside the ring and beats Crypt up in front of the fans with punches and knees and Crypt fights back with a chair. Once back in the ring Crypt is now in control and with a laugh he pile drives Shohji into the mat and back into the coffin he goes for a nine count, Crypt makes him pay for getting up with a big drop kick. Crypt beats him up some more and back in the coffin Shohji goes for once more a nine count, this angers Crypt even more who turns up the beating and power bombs him onto the coffin lid before tossing him back into the coffin and letting out his trademark laugh. Shohji cannot escape the coffin this time and looses the match given the big win to Crypt Keeper. This was a very entertaining coffin match that for the most part had Crypt Keeper in charge and allowed him to pull off some basic and yet impactful moves like his drop kick, power bomb and pile driver, and while being dominate most of the match he still allowed Shohji to look like a fighter and even sold really well for him. The coffin was made of very cheap pressed wood and from the moment it comes into the match it is falling apart, and this added to the enjoyment of the match. The fans in attendance also seemed to really be into the match and cheered and clapped when needed and my favorite moment of the match is the pile driver due to not only it looking impactful but also the fact that Crypt Keeper is doing his crazy laugh! Over all this is a fun match and while not the best coffin match I have ever seen it is one that entertained me lots.

Grade: ***

The Crypt Keeper was a wrestler that scared the fans as he would cackle with evil laughter as he attacked his opponent with his violent brawling style, and while in America he never did find his place, in Japan he was a feared mid-card heel who could draw. And while WING and FMW were his home federations, I will say it again, it would have been great if they would have brought him in to the WWF as this gimmick and not just a generic henchman for Savia Vega in the team Los Boricuas, as I feel a feud with The Undertaker and or Kane would have been great…or even making him a member of the Ministry Of Darkness back in 1998 as this masked menace could have been great alongside The Brood, Viscera, Acolytes and Mideon as he cackled his way into the feud with The Corporation. But the lights are flickering and the Jack-O-Lanterns are blown out, so that is our cue that this spooky update event is over and it’s time for us to head out of the Rotten Ink Arena, but before we head out into the cold night air I would like to tell you that the next update will take us to the world of cheesy horror films as we will be talking about Sharknado 3! So until next time, read a horror comic or three, watch a wrestling match or two and as always support your local wrestlers. See you next update as the sharks are flying and the chainsaws are revving.

R.I.W Wrestling Legend: Outback Jack

Posted on April 12, 2025 by bloodlinematt

Thanks for joining me once more at the Rotten Ink Arena as today’s R.I.W Wrestling Legends update is about a Superstar that took WWF in the late 80’s by storm but in a short amount of time fell down the card and his career fizzled away like dust in the Australian wind. And now that we have found our seats right here in the front row, I think our subject is in the opening bout and if you have not guessed it yet, we will be talking about the one and only Outback Jack, a grappler who had action figures, trading cards and shirts released by WWF and once he was let go they never spoke of him again. But I can hear his song playing now so let’s sit back and enjoy our time with this Wrestling Legend.

Outback Jack started his wrestling career in1986 after being trained by Les Thornton and started to work for Stampede Wrestling out of Canada and was quickly brought into the WWF that same year, as Vince McMahon wanted to bring the Australian superstar in to capitalize on the popularity of the film Crocodile Dundee and they quickly started airing vignettes of Outback Jack in the Australian Outback and had him doing all types of things from driving a jeep around to claiming he learned wrestling moves from the Aborigines. They brought him in and the fans seemed to love him as he got the cheers and he would get some big match wins over the likes of Iron Sheik, Nikolai Volkoff, Iron Mike Sharpe and Barry Horowitz. But while he was popular, he started falling down the card and started to be used a jobber to bigger stars as he would loss to the likes of Ron Bass, Killer Khan, Sika and Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase, but all the while Outback Jack would still be getting wins over fellow enhancement talent it was clear that his days for WWF was numbered. The WWF was going to put Outback Jack in a tag team with Hillbilly Jim, and they were going to try and give the pair a major push, but they changed their minds as Outback Jack was let go in 1988 and that as well pretty much ended Outback Jack’s career as he would not have another match until 2019 as there has been a rumor he wrestled in a Tag Team match as a surprise for AWL (Australian Wrestling League).

Outback Jack was a wrestler who was over with the fans who was booked strong at the start but it’s clear the company lost interest and faith in him quick as he was starting to be used as a jobber to their Heel superstars in a pretty quick fashion. One would have to guess that Vince had lost interest in the Australian Outback culture that was made famous by the Crocodile Dundee film or that they just did not see the skill or superstar quality in Outback Jack. As a youngster I always remember being entertained by Outback Jack and remember some of his matches, but let’s be honest we wrestling fans remember his character more then we do his in-ring skill. I as well remember having his trading cards from Topps that was apart of the WWF series. I can also remember always wanting his LJN figure as it was a super cool toy and was always trying to trade with a friend on the playground who had it. One thing that I think works against Outback Jack for being a full Wrestling Legend is that he had a very short career and pretty much lasted only two years before retiring. I also have heard rumors that his time with the WWF was cut short due to the fact that he was not well liked by fellow wrestlers who found his personality to rub them the wrong way. He was also said to have been ribbed all the time by the British Bulldogs with many of the pranks being downright mean! While he might not have been the best in ring worker, Outback Jack was a great character in 80’s WWF that even with a very short run is still remembered and has fans to this day.

We are now at the point of this review where 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 Outback Jack 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, let’s step into the ring with Outback Jack.

Best Of Outback Jack

Match 1: Outback Jack vs. Rick Rude

After Rick Rude insults the crowd and posses for the ladies in the crowd the bell rings and he starts beating the hell out of Outback with some punches and forearms. Outback makes a small comeback but eats a boot to the face knocking him to the mat, and then Rude drives his face into the mat a few times before Outback tries once more to make a short comeback, but is cut off and Rick Rude gets Outback Jack into a back breaker submission hold and wins the match when Outback taps. This is a total squash match and Outback Jack is used as an enhancement talent jobber as he barely gets any moves in and when he does Rick Rude shrugs them off and continues to beat him up before easily making him tap out in seconds to a backbreaker. And as always Rick Rude is a great heel who gets great heat from the crowd as he is cocky and always has great insults to the fans. Outback Jack has the fans on his side and when he makes his small comebacks they cheer for him, its clear by this match he was not a major star in the WWF’s eyes but in the fans eyes he was a favorite. Over all a good squash match that highlights just how good Rude was in the ring.

Grade: **1/2

Match 2: Outback Jack vs. Butch Reed

As soon as the bell rings Outback Jack starts paying attention to Butch Reed’s manager Slick and that’s a big mistake as he is attacked from behind with a knee to the back, and then throws him into the ropes and makes him eat a nasty looking elbow, Outback is rocked but makes a small comeback before Butch makes him eat punches again and hits him with some powerful moves, and Outback attempts to fight back but is over powered and finished for the three count after Butch jumps off the top rope and nails him with a clothesline. This is another squash match as Butch Reed destroys Outback Jack and does so in quick fashion. Butch Reed looks like the powerhouse he was and uses big moves and strong looking hits, the fans also hate him and he feeds off that heat. Outback Jack looks like a total jobber as he starts the match paying attention to his opponent’s manager and then gets his butt kicked for the next two minutes before getting pinned. And worse, Outback looks weak as his comebacks are easily shrugged off and he is beaten down for his tiny efforts. A great match for Butch Reed to show his power and a bad one for Outback Jack who looks like a jobber.

Grade: **1/2

Match 3: Outback Jack vs. Frenchy Martin

As the bell rings they size each other up with each testing the water by pulling off small moves on one another. But as the match gets going its clear that the power of Outback is overwhelming Martin who is on the receiving end of some big moves. But Martin is able to make a comeback after he pokes Outback in the eyes and is able to land some big chops that knocks Outback to the mat and allows him to keep on beating on him. But Outback is able to comeback after reversing a whip into the corner and then is able to use his finishing maneuver the boomerang to get the three count. This is a very typical early on the card match that does a great job of building up the crowd by letting them see a fan favorite like Outback Jack as the fans are clearly on his side and are behind his victory. Outback wrestles a very brawling style in the match and plays off the crowd really well with his moves. Frenchy Martin does a great job of selling for Outback as well as does a great job playing the cheating heel when he is needed to get the heat. Over all a simple yet very entertaining match that proves Outback Jack could have been a really good mid-carder if they would have gotten behind him.

Grade: **1/2

Match 4: Outback Jack vs. Steve Lombardi

Hillbilly Jim makes the introduction for his friend Outback Jack as they two had just started to team up with each other, and when the bell rings Outback Jack overpowers Lombardi who gets frustrated over the power difference and takes his anger out by yelling at the referee, and his anger mounts as Outback Jack even out chain wrestles him! No matter what Lombardi does, he can not get the better of Outback who has a response for every move and hit he tries to pull off, that is until he kicks Outback in the gut and then starts biting him on the head and then uses cheap shots and eye pokes to keep the matching going his way. But after taking a beating for a short time Outback Jack takes back over the match and after some clotheslines and a running bulldog Outback gets the pin and wins the match. This is a match that allowed Outback Jack to look like a solid mid-card face as he was able to beat career jobber Steve Lombardi in a mostly one sided match, and Outback even is able to show off his strength by throwing around and over powering his opponent. And while Outback Jack was very limited in skills, he knew how to play off the crowd and did just enough in this match to be entertaining. And Steve Lombardi while a jobber always could get passable to good matches out of limited wrestlers.

Grade: **1/2

Match 5: Outback Jack vs. Ted DiBiase

Ted attacks Outback before the bell rings and even when it rings he keeps the assault going, but Outback with a massive clothesline turns the table and starts pounding on DiBiase who changes the tide with a boot to the face that rocks Outback. DiBiase then lands a middle rope elbow and then a drop fist to the downed Outback who is clearly in trouble now, as DiBiase drops another fist its clear that Outback is dazed. DiBiase continues to beat up Outback and with the Million Dollar Dream DiBiase gets the win as Outback is put to sleep and after the match gets the money shoved into his mouth. This is another squash match as Ted DiBiase makes short work of Outback Jack and puts him to sleep pretty easy and even makes the downed Aussie eat a hundred dollar bill. DiBiase looks great and hits all his signature moves and even does a good job of making Outback not look like a total jobber. Outback does a great job as the fans love him and by getting his butt kicked he helps get DiBiase even more heat as let’s face it, DiBiase was one of the best wrestling heels in 80’s wrestling. Over all a good match that was entertaining for a squash match.

Grade: **1/2

Outback Jack was a lower mid-carder who was originally brought in with bigger plans but his limited in ring work and the company’s faith in him dropping fast made him a fan favorite who did a great job of putting over the company’s heels, and having one of the companies catchiest songs at the time. But the event is over and I see that Joker and Mr. X, part of the cleanup crew, are coming out to sweep up the spilt popcorn so we should head out before the Rotten Ink Arena doors are locked for the night. But as we make out way out of here, I should tell you that out next update will have us meeting once more here at The Rotten Ink Arena as we will be watching Earthquake in action! So until next time, read a comic or three, watch a wrestling match or two and as always support your local wrestlers. Do you feel that? The tremors have already started!

SilverHawks Soar Into This Christmas Season

Posted on December 14, 2022 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink. As you can see, we are in December and the weather is starting to get really cold and that also means we are getting very close to Christmas! And what better way to get us ready for the holiday then to take a look at a cartoon and toy series that spawned a Star Comic and for this one I choose SilverHawks a very cool and sometimes over looked toy and toon series that is over shaded by the more popular ones like Thundercats, Masters of The Universe, Transformers and G.I. Joe when people talk about the 80’s. So before we get started go get yourself a glass of eggnog or a mug of hot chocolate as its time to talk cartoon, toys and comics and head to space with the SilverHawks! And to be honest I really am looking forward to doing this one because as a kid I was a big fan of these characters and talking about them has been long overdue.

SilverHawks was a cartoon created by Rankin-Bass with the animation being done by Pacific Animation Corporation with Lorimar-Telepictures being the distribution company and was a syndicated show that started airing on September 8, 1986. The show followed a group of heroes called SilverHawks who along with Commander Stargazer are trying to stop the evil Mon*Star and his henchman that are causing chaos and crimes in the galaxy. The SilverHawks are Quicksilver, The Copper Kidd, Bluegrass and the twins Steelheart and Steelwill and sometimes our heroes are joined by their SilverHawk’s that include Hotwing, Flashback, Condor and Moon Stryker. Meanwhile Mon*Star has his own band of baddies that include Yes-Man, Windhammer, Mo-Lec-U-Lar, Mumbo-Jumbo, Buzz-Saw, Poker-Face and Melodia to name a few. The SilverHawks as well as some of the baddies also have weapon-birds that are birds of prey that are part metal and they include Tally-Hawk, May-Day and Shredator among many others. The series would last for one season and have 65 episodes that would later have some episodes being released on VHS and later DVD. The series was popular with the youth but did not bring in enough merchandise sales as well as top other cartoons in the ratings and with production coasts they decided to end the series. The Silverhawks main baddie Mon*Star would appear in a episode the 2011 remake cartoon of Thundercats in a cameo and in 2021 it is said that a remake of SilverHawks is in the works. Growing up I loved SilverHawks and watched the cartoon every time it was on and was sad when it go cancelled for those wondering my favorite characters were Mon*Star, Mumbo-Jumbo and Quicksilver. If you have not seen SilverHawks and enjoy cartoon like Thundercats and even Voltron I would say check it out as you might find yourself enjoying it.

The SilverHawks action figures were made by Kenner in 1986 and lasted only one wave and had 18 basic figures and six vehicles made with three being life size versions of Tally-Hawk, Sky-Shadow and Stronghold. Some of the figures was just different suited and different accessories like several Bluegrass and Copper Kidd had been released, but all the major cast of character got a figure and many came with their Weapon Birds. In Waynesville I remember many kids having these figures and my friend Jeremy Patton even had the Tally-Hawk and it was amazing as he let everyone play with it, he was the king of the playground that day. I as a kid had many of these figures as well like Quicksilver, Mon*Star, Steelwill, Windhammer and Buzz-Saw who was my first figure from the series I got. Sadly in my area they did not last long in the stores and I can remember being super bummed when I could got get Copper Kid, Steelheart and Mumbo-Jumbo as they were all on my must have list. The figures all had cool action features and looked pretty much like they did in the cartoon. The downside to these figures was that they were made very cheaply and the paint would come off of the SilverHawks leaving their faces and suits to look like a blotchy mess. But while the figures paint jobs was flawed they still were very cool figures and at the time among my classmates they were popular for a short time. I should also note that I remember my cousins Dino and Norman also having SilverHawk figures and Dino even had a sticker of Copper Kid on his door for the longest time. And now that I am thinking about it I think I still have a few SilverHawk figures in my toy collection, they are not the ones I had as a kids as sadly they are long gone but ones I have picked up at Comic Stores, Thrift Shops and Used Media stores over the years. I would have taken a picture of the ones I have but they are buried in the basement and it would take Indiana Jones, Pitfall Harry, Explorer Joe and Lara Croft to find them. And in 2022 Super7 released new figures of SilverHawks to the fans with high detail, but they do have a hefty price of around $56.00 a figure.

Besides the Kenner action figures and Star Comics other cool merchandise was released when SilverHawks was on the air including a board game, stickers, fast food prizes, coloring books, lunch box, Halloween costume, fighting tops, tooth brush holder, kite, party favor bags, stamps, pencils, home media and much more like all good cartoons of that era had. And even now in modern time fans have made cool collectible items like shirts, posters, pins, buttons, statues, hats, cake toppers and more showing that fans who grew up watching SilverHawks still love them to this day. And who else reading this remembers the SilverHawks kids meal at Burger King?

In 1987 a weird stage show took place around America that was for kids and featured actors dressed up as cartoon characters from popular shows of the time. The main attraction was Thundercats but joining them was Gumby & Pokey, Karate Kat, Street Frogs, TigerSharks and of course SilverHawks! They would perform skits and would interact with each other and kids just loved this production as the costumes looked great for the time and it was a great way for Rankin-Bass to show off their cool cartoon properties. And while many of us remember Disney or Nickelodeon stage shows, how many of you remember this cartoon jamboree? From the memories of those who went and seen the show it seems like it was a blast and that the actors did a fantastic job in their roles, and lets be honest we just don’t get this kind of stuff as often as the soulless Tech Companies that has taken over most of our entertainment just lack the love and vision to deliver stuff for fans. But while this stage show is lost to time it still is a very cool part of the SilverHawks legacy.

Really Christmas time makes me think of all the cool toys, cartoons and movies that made up my childhood and I hope these updates I do in the month of December do bring back good memories for you as well, and I also hope that for those who do not know the topics learn about them and find a love for them. SilverHawks also was a perfect cartoon for Star Comics to tackle as the universe very much as that comic book feel and the characters are the perfect fit for the Marvel Universe at the time. Reading these comics will be lots of fun as I have not reread them for decades and am looking forward to seeing if they hold up as I was a fan of them when I was younger. I would like to also remind you readers that I these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, it’s entertainment value and it’s art and story. So if you are ready to travel to space and save the day with the SilverHawks lets get to it.

Silverhawks # 1 ***
Released in 1987 Cover Price $1.00 Star Comics # 1 of 7

something very bad has happened and that’s the criminal Mon*Star has escape prison and has busted out all of his gang including the likes of Hardware, Melodia, Windhammer and Mumbo-Jumbo and they are ready to make the worlds pay for their time spent in a cell. The Earth responded by getting a group called The SilverHawks ready for battle and to send to space, and there are five members with Quicksilver being the leader and the other members being Copper Kidd, Bluegrass, Steelheart and Steelwill and they have a ship that’s called The Mirage. Once the SilverHawks arrive at HawkHaven they are introduced to Tally-Hawk a half robot half real hawk that acts as a scout, they also learn of Brimstar the home planets of Mon*Star who is just being told by Yes-Man about The SilverHawks arriving. Mon*Star gets his mob together and heads to HawkHaven in order to take down the SilverHawks before they can get settled in and filled in, but Mon*Star and his men are quickly out moved and defeated by the SilverHawks and this causes Mon*Star to call for a retreat while Stargazer welcomes The SilverHawks home and to the war to save the galaxy.

This first issue is a great read and was a great way to introduce all the characters in the SilverHawks universe to the readers and did a great job of bringing the cartoon and figures to the pages of a kid’s comic. The plot has the sinister Mon*Star escaping jail and also setting his loose his mob that is some of the worst criminals in the galaxy and conquering every planet is what is on their minds. So Earth sends up a team called The SilverHawks that are cyborgs to even the odds and give the galaxy a fighting chance. The main hero Quicksilver is very brave and already taking charge of his team and most importantly leads them to a win over their enemies in a very quick battle. The rest of the SilverHawks come off as good people who understand that they are on a very important mission and have no fear on bringing down the baddies that threaten the lives and freedoms of the planets. Mon*Star is very mean and very powerful as he clearly craves fear and power and seems to know that he a the might and power to shake the universe to the core, and it’s also clear he rules his mob with an iron fist as these criminals will do whatever he orders. Sadly besides the spineless Yes-Man none of the other villains personalities are flushed out and that is something I hope is worked in the next issues. I also have to say I like that Commander Stargazer is very much a take no crap kind of hero who wants to have his new team stomp Mon*Star into the ground as the two clearly have much heated history. The action and story are easy to follow and I have to once more stress how great of a job the creative team did of capturing the mood and feel of The SilverHawks cartoon and action figure line. The cover is super eye catching and showcases the whole team and I know it did it’s job as the younger me had to own this comic based on my love or SilverHawks and just how awesome the cover was. The interior art is fantastic and is done by Mike Witherby who truly must have watched the show and studied that characters as they look perfect, with his Mon*Star being epic. Over all a really great first issue and showcased that Star Comics understood how to make a top quality kids comic and that SilverHawks was a great cartoon for them to adapt into a comic series. Lets see what issue two has in store for us.

Silverhawks # 2 ***
Released in 1987 Cover Price $1.00 Star Comics # 2 of 7

Mon*Star is mad and wants revenge and sets his sights on Stargazer as he wants to kidnap him and bring him to Brimstar in order for him to murder him in front of all of the mob and he thinks this will scare away the SilverHawks and make them beatable as the thinks the lack of leadership will confuse them. And with that Hardware enters the room and informs Mon*Star that he can get to HawkHaven and enter the base and deliver Stargazer for a price as he has created a lock pick that also shuts down alarms! Mon*Star hires him to do so and Hardware along with Windhammer and Mo-Lec-U-Lar set out to do this plan that includes hijacking a taxi cab to get close to HawkHaven. But unknown to the bad guys the whole plan has been over heard by Tally-Hawk who reports it back to Stargazer who has came up with a plan of his own that will allow Hardware to kidnap him and the SilverHawk will sneak into BrimStar behind them in order to steal all the mob secrets of the crime families computers before making an exit, as what they could learn about from those files could truly help them stop Mon*Star and his mob forever. Hardware makes it to HawkHaven and kidnaps Stargazer and is able to get him into the base, but not before his backpack is knocked off by Stargazer and left outside the gate. But the SilverHawks are late to make the rescue as Windhammer notices The Mirage and attacks them with his tuning fork slowing them down, but once on Brimstar Quicksilver uses the lock pick left in Hardware’s backpack in order to enter the base of Mon*Star and they save Stargazer who is also able to get the files off the computer and they make an escape and get back to HawkHaven and even return the stolen taxi to the driver. Meanwhile Mon*Star is lava level mad at his team who was not able to stop the rescue.

The second issue is more about Mon*Star and Hardware and their plan on how to kidnap and murder Stargazer in order to try and make quick work of the forces of good that oppose their quest of dominating the universe. But they do not know that on the other side Stargazer and The SilverHawks have a plan of their own in order to get the secrets of the mob off their computer system. I love the fact that Mon*Star in this issue once more shows just how evil he is as his main goal of the issue is to murder a man in front of his goons, like really he wants to kill someone as a show of power. Hardware in the issue shows that he has the skills to make tools that could be very useful and he cares more about money then ruling the world as his goal is to pull off a kidnapping and getting paid. I also have to give credit to Windhammer and his tuning fork as he is the one that is able to hijack the taxi as well as slowdown the SilverHawks from their rescue mission. The main good guy in this issue is Stargazer who uses his mind in order to turn a kidnapping plot against him into an Intel gathering mission for himself. The SilverHawks themselves are more of the backup this issue as they do what they are told by Stargazer in order for his plan to go down. The plot of this issue was lots of fun as I like the idea of a evil plan being over heard and a good plan being planned around it, that way as the bad guys think they have won they in fact are the ones that have been played and end up on the loosing end. The cover is great as it shows Mon*Star with a captured Stargazer as The SilverHawks are coming in for the rescue. And the interior art is done by the great Mike Witherby again and like before his work is top notch and truly does justice to The SilverHawks. Another fantastic issue that held up to me after all these years, and with that lets see what issue three has in store for us.

Silverhawks # 3 **1/2
Released in 1987 Cover Price $1.00 Star Comics # 3 of 7

An old Prospector and his mechanical mule has found gold on a weird planet and is robbed by Bandit who knocks the old man down a hole and scares off the mule. Bandit then goes to a local bar and gets two of his friends to head back to the site to get more gold, but the bartender over hears this and alerts Mon*Star who wants 99.9% of the gold and sends Melodia to go and get his cut. Meanwhile Bluegrass is on a patrol when he finds the runaway mule and gets information on who owns it from Stargazer and then heads to his last location to return his pet, but once on the planet Bluegrass is ambushed by Melodia, Bandit and his goons and is as well knocked into the hole where he and the Prospector are trapped as the bad guys above keep taking all the gold. Bluegrass sends out his guitar bird Side Man to go back to HawkHaven and get help from his fellow SilverHawks, who end up rushing to the aid of their friend and save him and the Prospector as well brings down Melodia and the bandits and they also return all the gold to the Prospector. In the end the old man is rich and is retiring as all The SilverHawks return to base with another win over Mon*Star and his mob.

This third issue is a fun adventure that mostly showcases Bluegrass as he goes on a solo mission and finds himself out numbered and captured and must find a way to escape his captors as well as save the life of an old prospector that has been targeted by space bandits do to the gold he has found. Bluegrass even when the odds are against him tries to do the right thing, and sadly from the moment he lands the odds are against him but he never backs down or losses hope even when he is tossed into a hole. The issue also shows that Bluegrass is teaching The Copper Kid on how to fly the ship and this comes in handy for situations like this. Also you have to give credit to Side Man the guitar bird that is able to escape the hole and get help when the odds were looking grim. The hole filling with oil and pushing Bluegrass and The Prospector out was also a little silly. The rest of The SilverHawks are around and do what they do best and that’s save the day. Melodia does her best to get the gold back to her boss Mon*Star, but she fails when the tide turns with the heroes being in charge. Speaking of Mon*Star I love that as soon as he hears about some bandits finding gold he wants his cut that amounts to basically all of it! The story in this issue is entertaining, but does lack something that I can not put my finger on…maybe it’s the fact it seems like the stakes of the fight are just not really that high…or maybe its that The SilverHawks make quick work of the baddies in just a couple of panels. The cover is ok and has Bluegrass being blasted out of the hole while Melodia is firing at him. The interior art by Witherby is as solid as ever and I have to say I like the way he drew the Space Bandits. Over all a good issue that adds fuel to the fire between The SilverHawks and Mon*Star’s Mob, so lets see what happens in issue four.

Silverhawks # 4 ***
Released in 1988 Cover Price $1.00 Star Comics # 4 of 7

Percunnius Wadsworth Wellington The 62nd is a gambler who has come to HawkHaven in order to try and get the help of The SilverHawks as he tells them a story of gambling in a space casino and that some of Mon*Star’s Mob (Poker-Face, Hardware and Mumbo-Jumbo) have stolen all his money after he beat one of their rigged machines. Stargazer informs Wellington that The SilverHawks cannot help him because the casino is out of their jurisdiction and this angers the gambler who storms out. The Copper Kid feeling bad for the gambler offers him a ride, and ends up taking pity on him and heads to the casino as Copper Kid is a master of games as he uses math in order to win. Stargazer is furious as Copper Kid has disobeyed his orders, and even worse does not respond when told to return to base. It’s clear that Wellington has not been 100% truthful to Copper Kid and is tricking the young SilverHawk to fight his fight. After dodging his fellow SilverHawks that were sent to bring him back by Stargazer the Copper Kid arrives at the casino. Poker-Face makes a deal that if Copper Kid wins he can have all of Wellington’s money back and if he looses he must join Mon*Stars Mob…and of course with his skills The Copper Kid wins! But Poker-Face is a sore loser and sends Mumbo-Jumbo to smash the SilverHawk, and as the odds look bad for Copper Kid, but it’s the quick mind of Wellington that saves the day as he moves the casino over the line given the SilverHawks legal action to save their friend as well as bring down another of Mon*Stars operations. In the end Wellington understands what it means to have a friend as he and the Copper Kidd are now truly friends.

This is another very good issue and acts as a showcase for SilverHawks member Copper Kid as he takes the star position and saves the day. The plot has Copper Kid head to a casino planet in order to get back money that was stolen by Mon*Stars mob from a very shady gambler who ends up learning a lesson and understands that friendship is very important. The Copper Kid might be the youngest member of the team but he shows lots of heart as he disobeys orders in order to help someone in need, as to him doing the right thing is what is important. Plus you have to give the Copper Kid credit as he not only out maneuverers his fellow teammates but he also holds his own against three of Mon*Stars Mob members! Percunnius Wadsworth Wellington is clearly a conman who loves to gamble and lies to the SilverHawks hoping they will help him recover his lost money, but along his con game he ends up becoming not a bad person at all as he risks his own life and money in order to do the right thing. Poker-Face is the lead baddy of the issue and helps raise mob money by using crooked casino games, while he is not a fighter his brains and trickery is what make him dangerous. It was also nice to see Mumbo-Jumbo in a side roll as the casino’s bouncer. The rest of the SilverHawks are torn as they think that Stargazer is wrong for not helping Wellington and are more puzzled when they are sent out to capture him before he reaches the casino, but they also understand orders are orders. The cover art is great and eye catching and in fact reminds me more of a cover that you would have seen on a Spectacular Spider-Man or Incredible Hulk issue at that time, in other words great work. The interior art like before is top notch and done by the talented Mike Witherby who is very underrated for his work. Over all another great issue that was super entertaining to held up after all these years.

Silverhawks # 5 **1/2
Released in 1988 Cover Price $1.00 Star Comics # 5 of 7

Steelwill is called to a planet to have a meeting with his secret informant that gives him leads on the plans and plots that the Mon*Star Mob has in store, but he soon finds out that it was all a trick by Hardware and Mo-Lec-U-Lar as they lead him into a giant TV that wipes his brain clean and turns him into mindless slave who now is working for Mon*Star! This action causes his sister Stillheart to know something is wrong and Stargazer sends them out to find their missing friend, while Tally-Hawk spies on Mon*Star and his mob and reports back to the team about the mind control TV and what has happened to Steelwill. The SilverHawks head to the TV to destroy it so that is can do no more harm as well as they hope will free the mind of their friend and teammate, but when they arrive they are greeted by an ready to fight Steelwill who has been given orders to keep them at bay as Hardware gets the TV ready and Mon*Star is also on his way to watch the event of The SilverHawks getting their minds wiped, and after a sneak attack Quicksilver, Copper Kid and Bluegrass join Steelwill into becoming mindless goons and it’s Steelheart who uses her skills and mind link to her twin brother to break the hold Mon*Star has on her brother and the two smash the TV that frees the minds of the rest of the SilverHawks and causes Mon*Star and his goons to retreat.

This is a pretty solid issue that this time around acts as a showcase for the twins Steelwill and Steelheart and allows the only female member of the team to be the true hero of the day as she is the one that saves her team from becoming the mindless drones of a criminal madman! Steelheart is awesome and she is as strong and tough as any of her male teammates. Its also shown that all the male teammates that had been brain smashed all have the same fantasy and that is to be turned into Tally-Hawk and to bring down Mon*Star…your going to tell me not a one of them had some sort of weird fantasy about Steelheart? Mon*Star so wants him to kill the SilverHawks and thanks to Hardware he came the closest to finally almost reaching the goal, and who would have thought it would have been a fantasy granting TV that made peoples brains into mashed potatoes that would have been the tool. And while the action of this issue is cool and I like the idea of the TV brain destroyer it just kind of sadly an average issue and like with issue # 3 I can just not put my finger on why. As I like that the Twins have the spotlight and I also like that for the first time The SilverHawks seem like they could be defeated. The cover is pretty cool and the interior art as always is done by Mike Witherby and is good stuff. To sum it up this is a good issue that was a fun read and shows that even the weaker issues in this series are better than most comics being released for younger readers today.

Silverhawks # 6 ***
Released in 1988 Cover Price $1.00 Star Comics # 6 of 7

Melodia along with Windhammer and Mumbo-Jumbo are robbing a ship of all the money and jewels it’s hauling when The SilverHawks along with Stargazer arrive to stop them, but things go wrong as Stargazer is caught by the bad guys who mock him for his age and use him in order to escape. Back at HawkHaven Stargazer is questioning his usefulness to the team and sends The SilverHawks to stop Hardware and Buzz-Saw from destroying a small shop who will not pay them protection money. As The SilverHawks bring down Hardware and Buzz-Saw their leader Stargazer answers mail and gets the idea that he needs a vacation, and takes some time away from HawkHaven. When word spreads that Stargazer is away Mon*Star thinks that it’s time to attack The SilverHawks as he thinks without their leadership they will be easy to defeat, and he goes after them quickly with his mob and bring down Quicksilver, Bluegrass, Ironheart and Ironwill and Copper Kid with Tally-Hawk are the ones who escape and send a SOS message to Stargazer who is on Earth at a bar with his friends, he returns to find the galaxy under Mon*Star rule and he comes up with an idea to wait for Mon*Star to return to Brimstar in order to take him out, and does so with a big punch and with that StarGazer is able to lead to the arrest of all of Mon*Stars Mob as well as he save all The SilverHawks, showing he is not old and outdated and truly is a hero.

This issue goes from Star Comics to Marvel Comics on the price box and also changes some of the creative team behind it and for the most part the new team does a solid job of keeping the high quality of the series going. This issue is mostly about Stargazer who is feeling old and out of date when he seems to be a factor in some bad guys getting away during a robbery, and must find his faith in himself once more in order to save The SilverHawks from Mon*Star and his Mob. And I have to say seeing Stargazer drop Mon*Star with one punch to his jaw just shows how badass this old Commander is. And it also is very odd that as soon as Stargazer leaves to return to Earth the SilverHawks are defeated by the Mob very easily and loose control of their own base even. I guess proven that without Stargazer they truly do lack guidance and can be defeated. A very cool think is that almost every major Mon*Star Mob member makes an appearance in this issue and by the end they are all arrested ending their evil grip on the galaxy…well for now. The cover is pretty cool and this time reminds me of a cover from The Avengers that would have been released by Marvel at this time. The interior art this time is done by Howard Bender and is pretty solid stuff as he as well does a good job of making the character look just right. Over all another issue that shows just how good SilverHawks was in the world of comics and how great Star Comics was even if they dropped the brand name off the cover.

Silverhawks # 7 ***
Released in 1988 Cover Price $1.00 Star Comics # 7 of 7

Lord Cash who is in charge of the Bank World lets who he thinks is Quicksilver onto the planet only to be attacked and taken prisoner! Earth thinks that The SilverHawks has turned bad and orders Stargazer to disband them, but thanks to Tally-Hawk they soon find that the SilverHawk who attacked the Bank World is really one called Darkbird and he was created by Hardware for Mon*Star who wants to use him to ruin The SilverHawks as well as kill them! The SilverHawks rush to the bank world and are able to run off Hardware and Mumbo-Jumbo who were set to steal the planets wealth, but they are attacked and Ironwill is hurt by Darkbird. Quicksilver sends his fellow SilverHawks home as he goes after his doppelganger, but unknown to Quicksilver is that Mon*Star is also on his way. Quicksilver and Darkbird fight all around and it’s Quicksilver in the end that takes down is evil clone, but just as he wins Mon*Star arrives and starts his attack on the lone SiverHawk…that is until the rest of the team show up and chase off their enemy. In the end Quicksilver finds and sets free Lord Cash who is sorry for blaming Quicksilver for the robbery to Earth, and all is forgiven.

This is the final issue in the SilverHawk series and while it is a very good issue, it sadly also is not a very fitting ending one as the story is more about mistaken identity and having Quicksilver facing a evil version of himself that was created in a lab and the human side of him removed to make a emotionless being who does what his creators tell him to do. The issue really is about Quicksilver who is the leader of the team and will always do what is right, and that includes sending his team away from extreme danger and he himself going into it in order to right the wrongs being done. Darkbird is mean and careless and not only tries to ruin the reputation of the SilverHawks but also adds kidnapping to his charges as he takes the ruler of the bank world hostage. And what is cool is that both Darkbird and Quicksilver are evenly matched making their fight very close. Stargazer and the rest of the SilverHawks know that Quicksilver is no bad guy no matter what has been reported to Earth, and thanks to Tally-Hawk they see that of course all the bad stuff being reported has been done my one of Mon*Stars minions. Speaking of Mon*Star I do like that he comes into the battle at the end and while he is chased off he is able to stress that they might be winning the battles but that they will not win the war with him and his mob…and the thing is I can believe it as unlike so many other main villains from cartoons and toys at this time Mon*Star was not a goofy character who surrounded himself with goofy henchmen making his threats seem way more impactful. In other words look at Mon*Star just like you do Mum-Ra from Thundercats as both are mean spirited baddies who would kill to get what they want and have an army of henchmen who do what they are told. I also think what this comic series did that was very cool is that it feels like every member of The SilverHawks got an issue that showcased them just a little more than the other team members and allowed for their personalities to shine, plus you know each member had their own following and this allowed some of the issues to feel like they were written just for that characters fans. The cover art for this issue is really cool and has Quicksilver and Darkbird punching it out and it was also cool to see artist Mike Witherby return to the series to end it, as I think his artwork really helped bring this comic series alive. Over all I would say that SilverHawks is one of Star Comics best lines as you can tell those behind it cared and delivered some great issues for readers back then and to discover now. Checkout the artwork below to see the style of Mike Witherby, and bask in its “Hey That Looks Like The Cartoon” glory!

As you can see The SilverHawks was a great series by Star Comics an would easily be on my Top 5 comics they released based on a Cartoon or Toy as I think the minds behind this series truly understood the characters as well as respected it’s fan base, something I fear that is lacking in most modern comics by the Big 2 these days. I also really do wish that the series had lasted longer than only seven issues as they could have had so many more comic adventures. SilverHawks in general is an often overlooked 80’s Toon and Toy line that I think should get more respect, and lets hope soon it finally does build a bigger cult following and maybe we can even get a live action film or even a video game finally. But its time for us to leave space and HawkHeaven behind and we head to spend Christmas Eve at 29 Acacia Road in Nuttytown as we have a holiday adventure planned with the one and only Bananaman! So until next time read a comic or three, watch a cartoon or two and as always support your local Horror Host. See you next update for a goofy superhero good time!

U.S. Acres Down On The Farm!

Posted on March 23, 2022 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink and for this 10 Year Anniversary update and for this update I figured why not vist the Sunday Funnies and take a look at a comic strip that I loved as a kid that also spawned a cartoon series that was must watch TV for me and better yet it was created by Jim Davis the mastermind behind Garfield and I am of course talking about U.S. Acres the fun farm set and animal led strip that was all the rage for a very short amount of time. And you guys know me I have a soft spot for the old comic strips of my youth as well as even discovering new ones so one of these updates had to be featured. So grab a glass of milk, coffee or orange juice sit at the place you eat breakfast and lets dive into the world of U.S. Acres and see what Orson Pig and his friends have in store for us!

U.S. Acres was a comic strip created by Jim Davis the man behind the Garfield strip and was set on a farm that featured talking animals and their times living on the farm as well as dealing with each others zany personalities. The Comic strip started in 1986 and would run in Newspapers all over North America and was a hit with young kids as well as adults would get a chuckle from its silly humor. Jim Davis would work on the strip with his assistant Brett Koth who was also helping on the Garfield strip at the time. The cast of characters include strip star Orson Pig a good natured Pig who was the leader of the barnyard, Booker was a small chick who was saved as an egg and hatched and cared for by Orson who Booker calls Mom, he has a little attitude but is a good kid. Sheldon is bookers brother and has the same back story of being found and saved by Orson, he however is still stuck in his shell and is super smart. Bo and Lanolin are brother and sister sheep with Bo being nice and Lanolin being a mean loudmouth. Wade Duck is a duck who is scared of water and wears a pool inner tube around the farm, is one of Orson’s friends. Cody is the farms puppy and Blue is the farms kitten. Filbert is a worm who has a family with wife Estelle and son Willy. And lastly is Roy Rooster who is a joker and is kind of the series bad guy as he lives pranks and teasing, but also is a friend to them all. The comic strip was so popular that it would spawn merchandise as well as a cartoon (but more on them a little latter) and would run until 1988. The strip would make a comeback as a WebComic in 2010 and in 2019 Viacom would buy Paws, Inc. from Jim Davis and they would now own Garfield and U.S. Acres and the comic strip would end again in 2020. Now in the hands of Nickelodeon the fate of U.S. Acres is unknown at this time, and lets all hope the strip makes a comeback.

Garfield And Friends was an animated show that aired on CBS for Saturday Morning Cartoons and started on September 17, 1988 and would run for seven seasons with 121 episodes made and the show would end in 1994. The show was 30 minute episodes (later two back to back episodes) and would feature segments of Garfield as well as U.S. Acres and would be a super popular cartoon that was must see TV and one that I can remember watching as a kid as well as talking with my friends at school about. And this is the case of all segments being good and both the Garfield and U.S. Acres being on equal ground, even if Garfield was the main star of the cartoon. Garfield And Friends was must see Saturday Morning Cartoons TV as it was super popular and was even as popular when reran after the shows run came to an end. Episodes of the show was released on VHS and later the whole series was released via DVD volumes, and these sadly are out of print and are going for high prices. But fear not the first three seasons of the show have been released again and are budget priced. If you grew up when this showed aired or discovered it on home media decades later you know how much fun this cartoon was and is one that showed be viewed still to this day.

Besides reprints of the comic strip U.S. Acres would get a good amount of other merchandise for fans that would include kids story books, key chains, stickers, posters, shirts and plush dolls. Its crazy to think that U.S. Acres is not as well knows as Garfield and that the merchandise is way harder to find then Garfield’s as I feel that both are amazing comic strips and should get more love then they do in the modern times. As a kid I had many of the paperback books as well as a keychain of Orson Pig. I would love to get some of the plush dolls now and have them in my classic toy collection. But if you are a fan of U.S. Acres there is lots of cool stuff for you to collect.

So as you can see U.S. Acres was a big part of my childhood and even still to this day I love these characters and the world that Jim Davis created for them. Plus I mean fans of Garfield should also enjoy this comic strip as they are set in the same universe. But we are now at the time for the review for this update and I first want to thank the Etsy and Amazon sellers for having this book in stock and allowing me to read these again, as book 6 is the one Paperback version that I remember owning as a kid! I want to also 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, it’s entertainment value and it’s art and story. So if you are ready lets take a stroll around U.S. Acres and see what Orson and his friends have in store for us.

U.S. Acres: Take This Rooster Please! ***
Released in 1990 Cover Price $2.50 Berkley Books # 6 of 6

This book is tons of one-page stories of the U.S. Acres crew having silly and loveable adventures! So while I cannot cover each one I will select 10 of my favorite strips in no real order. First: Roy Roster is on the barn roof and is mad when the weathervane that looks like a rooster will not talk to him, making Roy thinks that the other rooster is snubbing him. Second: Orson Pig uses earplugs so that Roy Rooster cannot wake him with his early morning call, but Roy has another way of waking up Orson as he pours a bucket of water on him. Third: Orson Pig is making a garden with Booker and Sheldon, and when he calls for the seeds to planet we see a big belled Booker passed out with a empty big box that reads seeds. Fourth: Sheldon is looking at himself in a trick mirror and he gets worried when he sees that he no longer looks like an egg but a peanut. Fifth: Orson, Roy, Booker and Sheldon sneak into the Farmers home to borrow some Christmas ornaments for their barnyard tree and they find Sheldon in the refrigerator kicking out eggs saying he is setting them free. Sixth: Sheldon and Booker try and stay awake Christmas Eve so they can see Santa Claus, but when they fall asleep Santa ends up putting them to bed and tucking them in. Seventh: Sheldon is wearing an Elvis wig and big lift shoes and has Orson write a thank you letter to Santa, as well as ask for help on how to walk in the massive heeled shoes! Eighth: Cody Dog is walking around with feathers in his mouth and Orson asks him why, and he says he ate Roy but before he can finish that he at his Pillow Orson freaks out and runs around screaming that Cody ate Roy! Ninth: It’s bedtime and Orson heads to brush his teeth when he tries his toothbrush bounces all over, he is supper mad, as someone has slipped him a rubber toothbrush. Tenth: Booker and Sheldon have made a small snowman when Roy runs by and kicks it, so the brother make another bigger one and as Roy runs over to kick it he smashes into a tree as the brother built it around one to teach the rude Rooster a lesson.

This Paperback Book that reprinted some of the classic comic strips is a great read and an amazing flashback for me as it made me remember just how much I loved these characters as a kid. This book does a great job of giving every character a time to shine and have some funny moments. The only one that I feel is a little left out is Wade Duck who has less panel time then the rest. I do like that they also give a little attention to side characters like Blue The Kitten and Cody The Puppy as for most of the time they are the characters that seem to be forgotten and are not aloud to shine as brightly as the main cast, but here they are given respect and time to bring some chuckles. Orson of course gets lots of the pages dedicated to his zany life as does Booker and Sheldon and they are clearly the comic strips main stars and are some of the most loved characters. Roy Rooster who is my favorite gets some great gags in this book and his terrible jerky rude attitude is in full effect as he is mean and yet also friendly too much of the cast! The cover is great and eye catching and is the one I remember the most as a kid, with the interior art by Jim Davis being topnotch comic strip stuff. Over all if you love U.S. Acres like I do get this Paperback Book and enjoy the flashback of barnyard humor. Check out the artwork bellow to see the style used in this book as well as almost all of the characters.

I love Comic Strips and it’s a shame that they are not as big as they once were and that modern day kids will not understand the excitement of Sunday Mornings rushing to read the Funnie Pages as well as look at the Toy Ads from your favorite department store all the while eating breakfast. And its sad also that this generation of Kids who do love comic strips will not get to enjoy U.S. Acres and if they do they will have to find the strips online or track down one of these books that tend to be a little pricy, but its worth it if you like light hearted humor of comic strips and Davis. But as you can see we are at the end of this Funnie Page update and for our next one we will be heading to the world of Lucha Libre to take a look at the first in the “Indie Luchador Files” series and I promise it will be a fun one! So until next time read a comic or three, watch a film or two and as always support your local Horror Host. See you next update at the Rotten Ink Arena!

The Voyage To Star Trek IV

Posted on January 13, 2021 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink. Once more we will be heading to space with the crew of the USS Enterprise as we take a look at Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home and the DC Comic adaptation of it! Many Trekkies find this film to be one of the best sequels in the series only slightly behind Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan, and I must say this film is fantastic and is one that I have seen many times. I know I have said this before and I will say it again, back when these original cast Star Trek movies were released in the late 70’s and all the way to the early 90’s they were big deals and I can remember the TV ads talking about them being in theaters. I also remember the ads in the local newspaper when they would show theater air times complete with mini black and white posters that I would cut out keep. Sadly Star Trek has lost steam at the Box Office for the most part, but has found a new life on CBS All Access with new series being made. So if you are ready, let’s step foot once more on the Enterprise and go on a space adventure with Captain Kirk and his crew.

So let’s start this off the way we should and begin our talk about The Voyage Home with taking a look at the film itself. As always, the film’s write up will be taken from our good friends at IMDB and after I will be writing about the film’s production as well as my thoughts on this fourth Star Trek film. So let’s take a look at this fourth and iconic Star Trek flick.

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)

“The most acclaimed Star Trek adventure of all time with an important message. It is the 23rd century, and a mysterious alien probe is threatening Earth by evaporating the oceans and destroying the atmosphere. In their frantic attempt to save mankind, Admiral Kirk and his crew must time travel back to 1986 San Francisco where they find a world of punk, pizza and exact-change buses that are as alien to them as anything they have ever encountered in the far-off reaches of the galaxy. William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy return as Kirk and Spock, along with the entire Star Trek crew.”

Before Star Trek III was even finished and out, Paramount Pictures was already talking about a fourth film in the series, and they wanted Leonard Nimoy to return to direct and come up with the story as they liked the way his ideas were going. You see at this time Paramount was very much behind the Star Trek property and knew they had something special in their hands and started to truly understand that it has a majorly loyal fan base…unlike most modern Star Wars fans. At first the fourth film had a rocky start as William Shatner was not wanting to return to play Captain Kirk and only agreed to after a massive raise that got him $2.5 million to do the film. Nimoy wanted to make a more fun picture as the first three films were very serious and filled with drama, and this go around he wanted to add a little humor. The original idea had the Enterprise Crew returning to Earth to stop a virus whose only cure was destroyed way back due to the cutting of the rainforests in the past…but people dying this way was not the way they wanted to go and so they went with the idea of returning home to get a whale to sing its song to save Earth from being destroyed by a weapon that only responds to their calls. The original script had a part for comedian and actor Eddie Murphy, who is a Trekkie, to play a professor who believes in aliens…but he disliked the role and went on to make the film The Golden Child instead. The script for this film also had lots of issues as not only was William Shatner displeased with many of them but so was Paramount Pictures who brought back Nicholas Meyer to help rewrite it and he joined names like Daniel Petrie Jr, Steve Meerson, Peter Krikes and Harve Bennett all of who, had ideas and wrote parts of this script! And after rewrites, Paramount was finally pleased with the scripts, and the film went into the filming stages. Leonard Rosenman ended up doing the score for the film and when released it was met with great reviews from critics and fans, and over the years it’s rated as one of the best films in the series. When released in 1986, it was the # 5 to grossing film in America bringing in as of this date $109,713,132.00 on a budget of only $21 million and beat out other films like Aliens, Short Circuit, Pretty In Pink, Friday The 13^th Pat VI: Jason Lives, Howard The Duck, Legend and Labyrinth to name a few. And when released on home media, it was a top selling film showing that this fourth film in the Star Trek series really is a great film that has kept over the decades its popularity with Trek fans.

When Star Trek IV was being released in theaters, I can remember seeing the ads in the paper as well as commercials all over TV as this one seemed to have more hype around it and to be honest is the one I remember the most from the early films as I was the perfect age. The first time I ever saw the film was in science class in Middle School in Waynesville as my science teacher Mr. York was a big fan of Star Trek and college football and would often uses a Star Trek reference during teaching. He wanted the class to watch the film to show how actions have reactions; he was an awesome teacher. Plus it was a great way to spend a few classes taking a break and watching a Sci-Fi film with your classmates. I remember liking the film as it was cool to see them in more of a modern setting as well as tackling the issue that was the world killing whales and limiting their population, something that is sadly still a struggle to this day thanks to over fishing and whalers killing them to sell the blubber for cosmetics and other products. Kirk and Spock are fantastic as they try and figure out a way to bring a whale to their time, and Scotty talking to the computer mouse is classic stuff. Plus who doesn’t laugh seeing the Enterprise Crew trying their best to fit in to the late 1980’s society and being super awkward doing so. Over the years I would go on to get the film on VHS as well as later DVD and would watch pretty often along with the other films in the series featuring the original cast. This film as well is considered one of the best in the movie series and many place it right behind Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan as being the second best over all, I however would place it in my top three for sure, but at # 3! If you have not seen this one and want to watch Spock put the Vulcan Nerve Pitch onto a Punk Rocker on a RTA Bus after he flipped off, Kirk check this one out.

Like all the Star Trek movies that came before it, Star Trek IV had its fair share of amazing merchandise for fans to collect over the years like a paperback book adaptation, comic book, action figures, posters, magazines, soundtrack, trading cards, t-shirts and even buttons to name a few. This was the one Star Trek movie from my youth that when it was released I can remember the hype train being around and many of these items at stores my family shopped at like Hearts, Hills and Gold Circle. Star Trek IV had some great merchandise and I can remember over the years owning the film on both VHS and DVD. I had and read the paperback book, owned the comic book plus of course had the soundtrack on cassette and later on CD.

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home really is a great sequel in the Trek movie series and brought a more modern feel to the series that many younger viewers had started to see as dated. And while not my favorite of the sequels, it is one I 100% enjoy and have watched many, many times over the years. And we are now at the time of this update that we take a look at the comic adaptation, and I am very much looking forward to reading this one again as I have not since I was a very early teenager. I want to thank Mavericks Cards And Comics for having this comic in stock all those years ago and want to remind all 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, its entertainment value and its art and story. So if you are ready, let’s climb aboard the Enterprise once more and go on a trip with Captain Kirk and his crew and let’s save the world and the whales!

Star Trek IV: Voyage Home # 1 ***
Released in 1987 Cover Price $2.00 DC Comics # 1 of 1

The USS Saratoga is trying to communicate with a probe that is not responding and is draining the ship of all its power. We then cut to a Starfleet Court as Captain James T. Kirk is on trail for many counts that go against the fleet as well as the killing of the Klingon crew as well as stealing the Bird Of Prey ship. The Klingon spokesperson also accuses Kirk of using the Genesis Project and claims all the destruction it caused was part of his plan. Speaking on behalf of Kirk and his crew is Ambassador Sarek who gets the court to dismiss the claims of the Klingons who claim that they will never be at peace as long as Kirk lives! Meanwhile on the planet Vulcan, the crew of the USS Enterprise are stranded as Scotty works his magic on the Bird Of Prey so that they can return to Earth and face the courts. While getting ready to leave, Kirk allows Lt. Saavik to step down and stay behind on her home planet, as the re-born now adult Spock is learning the ways of his culture and decides to go to Earth with his former crewmates. Meanwhile the Probe is heading for Earth and is shutting down all the Star Fleet ships and even their bases and is causing the planet to be covered in a fog! As Kirk and his crew head to Earth, they get a message from the President who is warning all ships not to come close to Earth as a Probe has it under attack by creating mass flooding and can shut down any and all ships, Spock figures out that the Probe is trying to talk to a whale and that Earth is in trouble as they had all been killed in the 21^st Century! Kirk decides that the way they can help the Earth is by going back in time and bringing two whales back to their time in order to answer the Probe and save the Earth. Once they travel back in time they do their best to blend in and split off into groups as they not only have to find the whales but also build tanks for them to take back as well as they need a nuclear reactor to recharge the ship’s crystal that gives it the power needed to return! McCoy, Scotty and Sulu head out to try and find the materials needed to build the tanks and even change history a little along the way, Uhura and Chekov find the place to get the nuclear power needed and Spock and Kirk head out to find the whales! Dr. Gillian Taylor is in charge of two whales in captivity, and Spock and Kirk make their way to visit. Spock dives into the tank and mind melds with one of the whales and learns that the female is pregnant and they both hate how people treat them and they are willing to go to the future to save the Earth from the Probe. Kirk goes out to dinner with Gillian after she drops Spock off at the park where their ship is hidden. Meanwhile Scotty, McCoy and Sulu find a manufacturer and give them the idea to make a stronger plastic that they can use to transport the whales on the Bird Of Prey back to the future. Meanwhile Chekov and Uhura are on a ship trying to get the nuclear energy needed they are spotted by the military and while Uhura gets away, poor Chekov suffers a head injury. And now they have to get to the hospital to save him from surgery and Gillian also returns to the park and is beamed aboard as she has bad news that her boss has shipped off the whales to the ocean! Kirk and this crew get to the hospital and save Chekov and then track the whales and save them from blubber hunters and get them on the ship and along with Gillian they return to the future and the whales answer the probe and the Earth is saved! But even after saving the day Kirk and his crew must face the court, and what they get as punishment is Kirk is demoted from Admiral back to Captain and he is assigned a new ship with his crew and their adventures continue.

First things first, this could be the best Star Trek Movie adaptation we have covered thus far as it truly captures the adventure and nature of the film! The plot of this comic and the film is pretty simple: a Probe that can destroy a planet sends out a whale song that is not answered as mankind has killed them off in the future and now they are paying the price as the probe is causing a massive flood on Earth and it’s up to Kirk and the Enterprise Crew to travel back in time and bring whales from the past to the future to answer the Probe’s call. Captain Kirk in this issue is in deep trouble with Star Fleet as he disobeyed orders in order to save the reborn Spock and even blew up his own ship that was high jacked by Klingons that leave all the invaders dead! I also should note that Kirk is an Admiral for most of this issue and even though he is in trouble he and his crew take action and save many lives as well as Earth from becoming a massive swimming pool. Spock is starting to get his mind back after being dead, and is slowly remembering his friendships and memories of being Spock. He also as always he one who figures out how to save the day as well as has the skills to talk to the whales that are needed to save the day. Scotty as well is a lifesaver as his knowledge of space crafts and compounds make the transport tanks possible. Poor Chekov while trying to get nuclear power needed for the ships crystals gets a nasty head injury and must be saved from the hospital and treated by McCoy to heal him up. And the rest of the Enterprise Crew McCoy, Sulu and Uhura are all doing their part to get the stuff they need in the past to save the future. Dr. Gillian Taylor is a woman who loves her job and cares very much for the two whales that have been in her care, and I also respect that she leaves her life behind to travel to the future to stay with them and help teach the future about caring for them. DC Comics so far has delivered two very well done adaptations of Star Trek movies and this one does a top notch job of capturing the true fun, silly and sci-fi action of the film. The thing that works the best for me is the fact that this comic does a great job of capturing the humor of this film, and while “Hello Computer” is a little weak in the comic, other gags work great in ink. The cover is really good for the time and is eye catching as the interior artwork done by Tom Sutton is great stuff as he captures the look and attitude of each character. If you like Star Trek IV, this comic is one that should be in your collection as it will surely entertain you. And to be honest I am very much looking forward to reading the comic for Star Trek V next year as these update are truly a blast for me to write. Check out the artwork below to see the style of Tom from this issue, and I picked panels that are from some of my favorite scenes from the movie.

Star Trek IV is a fun film as well as a fun comic and for me. While I enjoy the other Star Trek shows like Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, Enterprise and Discovery, none of them are as good as the original series and the movies that followed with them. Captain Kirk is for me the best of the Captains, and I wish William Shatner would return one last time to Star Trek and unite with the remaining cast for one last voyage. But for my next update we will be leaving space and heading to the world of Horror Hosts for our first in our celebration of 10 Years of the Horror Host Hall Of Fame as we take a look at Miko Macabre of Cryptique! So until next time, read a Star Trek comic or three, watch a Star Trek Movie or Show and as always support your local Horror Host! See your next time as we cover one of YouTube’s best Horror Hosts from the past.

Wrestling’s Original Sunny Days!

Posted on May 16, 2020 by bloodlinematt

The world of Pro Wrestling over the ages has been filled with many great companies with WWE being the top and companies like IMPACT, AEW, Ring Of Honor, AAA, New Japan, NWA, CMLL, All Japan, Rock Star Pro, Wrestling Revolver and MLW as well delivering top notch wrestling to fans worldwide. Not to mention companies like AWA, WCCW, WCW, XPW, GWF and ECW all companies that are gone now but also brought so much to the table when it came to Pro Wrestling. But one federation brought female wrestling to the front and that federation was GLOW who had such talent as Little Egypt, Babe The Farmer’s Daughter, Corporal Kelly, Draculetta and Matilda The Hun to name a few. And this update is about one of the female grapplers from GLOW, the fan favorite Sunny The California Girl! This will be a short and fun update as her career was very short lived. So let’s get ready for some singing Knock, Knock jokes and see how well Sunny goes from the ring to the comic pages.

Gorgeous Ladies Of Wresling (GLOW) started in 1986 and was a pro wrestling federation that was made up of all female talents and was owned by Meshulam Riklis and was the brainchild of David McLane. Back in the day McLane worked for WWA and pitched his idea of a female run wrestling federation to owner Dick The Bruiser who turned down the idea as he thought that it would not work in their base area of Indianapolis. So after thinking about it, McLane decided to try it again and ran an ad in Hollywood and got a massive amount of responses. After casting and training done by Mando Guerrero they decided to hire wrestling veteran Princess Jasmine to wrap up the training as well as be a member of the roster with a name change to Pepper. GLOW would go on to then lock a TV deal as well as find a location for their events that was at the Riviera Hotel And Casino in Las Vegas. Most of the wrestlers on the roster were models, actresses and athletes who wanted to use this as a way to rocket their careers. And with the TV deal also came the signing of Sylvester Stallone’s mom Jackie Stallone who played the fake Owner of GLOW on screen. The live events for GLOW were used for the TV Show and over all it did well lasting 4 seasons and ending its first run in 1990. Glow would try and make a comeback in 2001 under new ownership, and it as well only lasted a short time. And in 2017 the wrestling federation became a show on Netflix that will air its fourth and final season this year. While GLOW is ranked among the worst wrestling federations, it still delivered some good matches and interesting female grapplers for viewers to enjoy.

Sunny The California Girl started her wrestling career around 1986 and was originally a model, actress, and athlete and worked as a councilor. Growing up watching pro wrestler and being pushed by her father, she join the new federation called GLOW. Sunny was known for her singing of knock, knock jokes and was one of the popular grapplers in the ring. She had a bubbly and easy going personality and a classic 80’s style female wrestler in ring work. While she was never a true main eventer she still put butts in the seats and worked hard to climb the rankings. After GLOW closed in 1990, she never did go on to work for the likes of WWE or WCW and would only make small appearances mostly at GLOW reunion shows. While she might not have been the biggest name in women’s wrestling nor was she ever a champion, one thing is for sure those who watched GLOW all loved Sunny and her cheerful jokes and in ring style.

So as you can see, both GLOW and Sunny The California Girl had a very short run in the world of Pro Wrestling, but both managed to make their marks in the industry. And now I think it’s time to dive into the comic book based on Sunny that was released by Squared Circle Comics. I got it via their Kickstarter to fund it. I would like to remind you that I grade this issue on a standard 1-4 star system and am looking for how well the comic stays to the source material, its entertainment value and it’s art and story. So if you are ready to step into the squared circle with Sunny, let’s see what this bio comic has in store for us.

Sunny The California Girl # 1 *1/2
Released in 2019 Cover Price $8.00 Squared Circle #1 of 1

Patricia Summerland was born in 1964 and was raised by her Aunt and Uncle with her cousins being like her brothers. Patricia was very athletic growing up and competed in so many sports, and while swimming, her never back down nature left her drowned and flat lined for four minutes before she was brought back my paramedics. With a new outlook on life she took up a modeling career and during this time as well she learned about her real parents and was angry and set on a life of partying in the LA scene. But once back home, she was pushed by her Uncle to tryout for a new wrestling league called GLOW and after some hard work she was selected for a roster spot and took the name Sunny The California Girl with her character being based on actress Jayne Mansfield. Her first match was a tag team bout that took place on a Nevada gambling boat where she lost due to her opponents cheating. Her biggest feud was with Big Bad Mama, a wrestler who used her voodoo powers to beat Sunny in their big match. In 1988 Sunny’s father fell very ill and she took time away from the ring to visit him on his death bed, and once he passed she attempted to return to GLOW, but the federation had closed and so ended her in ring career in 1989. While retired, Sunny wants the world to know that she could come back to the square circled any time and could once more try her best to climb the ranks of any federation that hires her.

This wrestling bio comic in my opinion is very loose and does not pack much of a bite, let alone really let us into who Sunny is and what she had done for the world of Pro Wrestling. In fact the comic has very little dialogue and does a very poor job of telling us readers anything really about her at all in and out of the ring. The issue’s story briefly touches on Patricia Summerland as she rises from model to wrestler and her part in GLOW before retiring just as quickly as she began. The little tiny amount we get to know about Sunny shows that she was a hard worker who grew up loving and respecting wrestling, she also was a family person who loved her adoptive parents. There is not much to say about this comic besides it pretty lackluster and that’s a shame as I enjoy all the other Squared Circle Comics I have read up to this point. The cover for this issue is pretty cool and eye catching for fans of Sunny. The interior art is solid indie art done by Rich Perotta who seems to be the company’s in house artist. Over all this is a so-so comic and I would say if you are a fan of GLOW and Sunny The California Girl give this a read, otherwise I would stay clear. Check out the art work below to see the style of Perotta.

While this Squared Circle comic was not very good, I do recommend them as they have done some great issues based on classic wrestlers like Bruno Sammartino, The Rock & Roll Express, Hacksaw Jim Duggan and The Fantastics to name a few, and yes many of these will be getting an update here on Rotten Ink. But for my next update I am going to leave the world of pro wrestling behind and will be taking a look at the world of short lived and overlooked superheroes as Black Bow and his friends will be the topic. So until next time, read an indie comic or two, watch a wrestling PPV or two and as always support you’re local wrestling federation! See you next time for an unknown hero good time.

Who Are The Cold Blooded Chameleon Commandos?

Posted on November 11, 2019 by bloodlinematt

If you grew up reading comic books like I did in the 80’s and 90’s, you remember the big boom that happened for Indie Comic publishers after the massive success of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for Mirage where companies sprang up like weeds with their own dreams of creating the next fighting animal based hero team. For many, as quickly as they sprang up, they soon found themselves debunked and just a grain of sand in the comic world. And worst of all, when the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles got their own cartoon and toy line many, companies tried to cash in that was as well, and while some found footing, many of these cash in’s also bit the dust. In fact I have covered some of these copycats here on Rotten Ink like Biker Mice From Mars, Toxic Crusaders, Stone Protectors and Old Age Green Fighting Gerbils over the years of writing this blog. And while searching the comic stores and online outlets, I discovered that one company cranked out more TMNT knock offs then any other indie company going and that was Blackthrone! So for this update, we are going to scrap once more some of the gunk off the bottom of a soggy comic box that is rotting in the basement of a long closed comic shop and cover the TMNT knock off series the Cold Blooded Chameleon Commandos! So if you’re ready to dive into the world of knock offs and generic rip offs, let’s see what these slimy green skinned heroes have in store for us.

In modern time comics, I feel like no indie comic series has changed the landscape like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles did back in the late 80’s as it made indie creators feel like they could bring the world the next big hit that was not made by DC or Marvel Comics that would be on readers’ pull lists and become a must own series that would spark movies, toys and cartoon. The only thing that comes to mind would be maybe Walking Dead by Image Comics as it helped usher in a rebirth of zombie Horror Comics and made Horror Comic creators feel like they could make a big scary indie comic hit series that would strike a nerve with readers. But to tell you the truth, while Walking Dead is a good series I still feel it has not reached the iconic level of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles who have spanned decades of being popular and in all types of media keeping them fresh and popular. Plus I feel that Walking Dead was not a fully original idea series and took lots from zombie comics made by Arrow and Aircel without properly creating them. Keep in mind I do very much enjoy Walking Dead even though I am not a big fan of Robert Kirkman or most of his other writing in comics. So with this update while I am covering a comic series that clearly was cashing in on them, I want to say that the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are clear icons of comic books and that they have to be at the top of any list when it comes to the most impactful characters to come out of the world of indie comics.

The Cold Blooded Chameleon Commandos were created by the team of William Clausen and Michael Kelley in 1986 as a way to parody as well as cash in on the popularity of the TMNT. They first appeared in their self-titled comic series the Cold Blooded Chameleon Commandos, and it was a moderate hit for publisher Blackthorne who wanted more and more issues to ride the successes. But while the readers were around and enjoying it and the publisher was happy with the series, it had issue keeping up to release dates and delivering new issues to comic shops, and this caused pressure as well as stress on the series production. In fact, when issues fell behind Blackthorne even created a new one-shot issue series called Rivit about a humanoid frogman to fill the void for radioactive enhanced animal people…and yes, I will cover it at some point here at Rotten Ink. But while Cold Blooded Chameleon Commandos was popular for a short time and lasted for five issue, it lost steam in 1987 and was canceled from Blackthorne’s releases. Now while looking up info on why it was canceled I found a number of different theories with one being the title dropped big in sales when readers got sick of the rip off TMNT titles and just stopped buying them. Another reason I heard was that the creators being behind so much and running out of ideas lead to the comic’s doom. And the last reason I found was that publisher Blackthorne was having financial issues and they were forced to cut many titles in order to save money and cut costs. No one will really know the reasons why Cold Blooded Chameleon Commandos was cancelled besides those who worked for Blackthorne, but what is known is that they made a mark on indie comics and entertained readers who enjoyed the spawns of the Turtles.

I first discovered the Cold Blooded Chameleon Commandos in the mid 90’s thanks to Mavericks Cards And Comics who had some issues in their back issue section for a little over cover price. I ended up getting a copy of the first issue when my parents took my brother and I to the comic shop to get a few issues to read one winter break, and while grabbing some Marvel Comics as well as Horror Comic and Rock N Roll Comics, it was in my stack and I can remember reading it and laughing it off as being very cheesy and never really tracked down the other issues until many years later. Like all kids of the time I was a massive TMNT fan and would watch the cartoon and movies, read the Archie Comic adventures and would get as many of the Playmates figures as I could grab. And while I was annoyed and made fun of all the Turtle knock-off products, I still for some reason also very much enjoyed them and Cold Blooded Chameleon Commandos was one of the comic rip-offs that has always stuck out to me. So it’s been really fun to revisit and reread this comic series for this update and see how I feel about them now as an older comic reader. But really this also makes me miss Blackthorne as a comic publisher as they did all type of knock-off books as well as very cool classic reprints and adaptations and media tie ins.

The Cold Blooded Chameleon Commandos might be a very cheesy fighting animal cash in comic series that never hit the success of the Teenage Turtles, but it did deliver its own tiny legacy to those who bought the issues and enjoyed reading the knock off comics. While writing this I must say I do miss Blackthorne Publishing and wish they would have lasted longer than 1990 as who knows what cool comic one shots and series could have landed in our hands. For this update I want to thank Bell Book And Comic and Lone Star Comics for having all the issues in stock. I want to remind all you readers like a broken record 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 see what these Chameleon Commandos have to offer when it comes to kicking bad guy butt!

Cold Blooded Chameleon Commandos # 1 **1/2
Released in 1986 Cover Price $1.75 Blackthorne # 1 of 5

The US Government has hired scientist Doctor Poindexter to work on a serum that will turn regular lizards into walking, talking, fighting machines and pay him lots of money to do so! His experiments work great, and so the team of the Cold Blooded Chameleon Commandos is born with members like Sarge, Rivit, Radion and Nerves all who have their own strengths and abilities. Poindexter ends up looking at these human sized fighting lizards as his own children and they look at him as their father, but one day a group of masked terrorist fighters from the Night Brigade enter the lab and kidnap him and leave our heroes ready to get him back! The Commandos also get a new Doctor to watch after them and help them on their mission to get Poindexter back by the name of Wurmhauser who gets them on a plan and to the location of the Night Brigade. Once at the terrorist base, the Cold Blooded Chameleon Commandos face all types of baddies and attempt to save a pair of Ambassadors that have been taken hostage. In the end the Commandos find out that Poindexter is not there, and they must go on another mission to save him as the Night Brigade prepare for war.

I hate to say this, but I found Cold Blooded Chameleon Commandos to be a fun and solid TMNT knock off comic that had likable characters and a goof yet classic cheesy storyline. The plot for the first issue has a batch of lizards being injected with an experimental serum that turns them into human sized soldiers who are forced into battle in order to save the Doctor who created them when he is taken by terrorist. Once at the battle zone, they soon find that they are not the only super powered animals in the world as the terrorist group have their own army of them. The Cold Blooded Chameleon Commandos are a group of three mutated lizards that are skilled fighters and can not only use weapons but can also use their animal abilities. Thus far I think my favorite of the Commandos is Rivit who is a frog and seems like the badass of the group and who can use his tongue and mighty legs in battle. Doctor Poindexter is a skilled scientist who looks at his creations as his own kids, but I for one also get the vibe he is not the super nice caring man they think he is and if I had to guess I would almost be so bold to say that he is working with the terrorist and have created all their animal humanoid fighters. As for Doctor Wurmhauser I am not so sure what his deal is as he is the one feeding the Commando’s plans but also is the one who speed up their serum treatments, makes me wonder if he is as well not what he seems and has dark motives. But the answers to those questions about those doctors I hope will be answered later on in the series. The Night Brigade are a group of terrorist who are very feared, yet I am not 100% sure on what they do to strike terror in the hearts of the world as the only major act of terror they do is beat up and kidnap a doctor and I guess make mutated animal people to be their warriors for terror. The issue moves along at a great pace and delivers some great indie tongue in cheek action and proves that some TMNT Knock Offs can and are entertaining! The cover is eye catching and has that Blackthorne look, and interior art is done by Michael Kelley is well done. So let’s see what issue two has in store for us!

Cold Blooded Chameleon Commandos # 2 **
Released in 1986 Cover Price $1.75 Blackthorne # 2 of 5

The Cold Blooded Chameleon Commandos are now heroes and the world loves them, as they are now somewhat celebrities! They are being watched by the evil crime boss Overlord who wants them destroyed, and they also get a singing telegram from Doctor Poindexter to meet him in California and get a microchip and our heroes gear up and head out. While in California they are in disguise and run into a street gang who tries to rob them, but the gang soon ends up being slaughtered and left dead in the streets. The Overlord sends a group of Moles to follow The Cold Blooded Chameleon Commandos to Doctor Poindexter and to bring him the chip. When our heroes find the good old crazy Doctor, he is attacked and killed by the moles as Chameleon Commandos fight the moles and slaughter them all for killing their dear friend. In the end a Government agent shows up and takes the microchip to the President as the Chameleon Commandos find out that the Doctor Poindexter that was killed was an imposter and a man in a rubber mask, and now they want answers.

This second issue is a little sloppy and the plot is paper-thin showing that I think the creators truly did have no major plans for the characters and it really was just a quick cash in to get readers money who enjoyed the TMNT. The issue’s plot has Doctor Poindexter holding a microchip that is needed and the Chameleon Commandos come to get it only for them all be attacked by moles and more mysteries and questions come up! In this issue the Chameleon Commandos are filled with egos as they are being loved by the people of America and think they are the next Superman or Spider-Man, but they also still maintain their killer instinct as they do not show any hesitation when it comes to killing scum that gets in their way. Not sure why but Rivit comes off as the most ego driven Commando in this issue, and it’s a shame cause it plays down his character and makes him feel generic. The Overlord seems to be a man who wants powers and does not want any do-gooders to get in his way! One of the issues mysteries that I cannot wait to see how it plays out is who is the fake Doctor Poindexter and why did the good Doctor send a fake to deliver the microchip? The cover for this issue is good and eye catching, the interior art is done by Michael Kelley, and I must say in many spots comes off very rushed and lacks the charm of the first issue. Over all this is just a so-so issue with no real heart behind it I still cannot wait to read issue three!

Cold Blooded Chameleon Commandos # 3 *1/2
Released in 1986 Cover Price $1.75 Blackthorne # 3 of 5

The Cold Blooded Chameleon Commandos are upset and want to know what has happened to their dear friend Doctor Poindexter who is like a father to them and they get even more worried when they find that the mask the imposter was wearing was made of human flesh! Chameleon Commandos decide that they think the government and the workers at the lab might be in on this and hack a computer and find the locations of two secret labs and head to the first to see if they can track down Poindexter who they truly think is in danger. Once inside the lab they take out guards and find the prisoners who they set free to help bring down the remaining guards. Once the Chameleon Commandos find Doctor Poindexter in a prison cell they find he has been mutilated and his tormentor has been waiting for him!

This issue feels like a full fledge filler issue that is filled with massive panels and splash pages and it’s clear this comic series was being made part for artistic love and part cause they wanted to make that quick TMNT cash! The plot has the Chameleon Commandos breaking into a lab to save their creator Doctor Poindexter who is being tormented by a bigheaded worker for our very own Government. And that’s pretty much it most of the issue just has the Chameleon Commandos running around and beating up guards while also slightly infighting among themselves as who should be the leader of the group. None of the Chameleon Commandos stand out in this issue and all come off just as generic gun shooting late 80s knock off characters. And it’s a shame as the first issue had so much potential to be a stand out from the pack of other clones, but by this third issue it’s clear they steam ran out after issue 1. The Bigheaded Doctor who is the film’s villain does come off as a true evil madman as he seems to get massive joy in the torture and disfiguring of his prisoners. The action in this issue is one part slapstick and one part brutal as the two different artist bring their own flavor to the rescue fight. The cover is misleading as the Snake Monster on the front is not in the issue, and the interior art is done by both Michael Kelley and William Clausen which also goes for the past issue with one being good and one being not my cup of tea. Over all this is a pretty lack luster issue and there is not much to talk about with it, so let’s move onto issue four.

Cold Blooded Chameleon Commandos # 4 *1/2
Released in 1987 Cover Price $1.75 Blackthorne # 4 of 5

The evil Wurmhauser captures most of the Chameleon Commandos and forces them along with Doctor Poindexter to watch a movie he made that is about taking all of them and mixing their body parts to make an ultimate solider! Meanwhile Nerves is the only member to have escaped the trap and finds himself being held at gun point by an insect that has questions. But the unlikely pair join forces and rush into the lab of Wurmhauser who kills the insect man and uses a chainsaw to remove the arm of nerves! As Nerves lies bleeding on the floor, Wurmhauser moves in for the kill!

Sad to say this is clearly another filler issue as not much goes on and its over packed with the massive panels to use up the page count. The plots is the Chameleon Commandos being captured by Wurmhauser who wants to experiment and create a Frankenstein Monster soldier from their body parts. The groups only hope is a wheelchair bound fly and team member Nerves. I must say that Wurmhauser is truly an evil man and again will do whatever he wants to his captives. The Chameleon Commandos are the same as always with Nerves being the standout as he shows he will do whatever he can to save his brothers in arms. But like before the plot is so paper thing and nothing really at all stands out as its clear that they had a nugget of an idea here that they smashed out to make bigger and longer than what is really presented. The cover is fun and eye catching and the interior art is the same as the last two issues and is a mix of good and so-so. So not much to say about this issue besides the wheelchair fly man is murdered and our heroes are captured and Nerves is very much injured. Let’s see what the final issue has in store for us and if it will wrap up or leave us on a cliffhanger that more than likely will never be resolved.

Cold Blooded Chameleon Commandos # 5 ***
Released in 1987 Cover Price $1.75 Blackthorne # 5 of 5

The Cold Blooded Chameleon Commandos land in the Swamp Of The Dead and have lost all their weapons in the bad landing and soon find themselves surrounded by zombies who want our heroes dead! As they fight off the dead they are joined by Beastie Fly a voodoo master who uses his powers to blow up the zombies and save the hides of the Chameleon Commandos. They follow him back to his cabin in the swamp and eat a good meal and during the battle they all discover a little about themselves and the fact they also have special powers that can help them in battle. The Overlord however is not happy as he is watching this take place via his monitors and he has set up the wreck and lack of weapons and now he has a plan to bring them down once and for all. While in the swamp our heroes are visited by Hazel The Swamp Witch who is very angry and starts to attack when a ship from the sky falls on her and Dorothy and the Tin Man appear! After the visitors from Oz leave the ship opens and a killer robot comes out sent by The Overlord to kill them! The Chameleon Commandos work together and bring the machine down and turn its body into a ship and fly themselves to a pool to have a relaxing and good time!

Ok this is crazy as this fifth and final issue is the best in the series and while I like it, I also am confused as to why they did a hard reboot to the series and never talk about how they got away from Wurmhauser and how Nerves still has his arm and is alive…I mean I get his arm probably grew back but still a very cheesy way to just start the series over. The plot has the Chameleon Commandos having and accident set up by The Overlord that leaves them in a swamp that has them facing the likes of zombies, a swamp witch and a giant robot in order to survive. This time around the Chameleon Commandos have personalities and each are unique and interesting Nerves while always scared finds his inner strength when he learns he can shoot fire and characters like Rivit is the muscle who has a hothead and is always looking for a fight. What’s odd though is this issue makes zero reference to the events from issue four nor do they even mention Wurmhauser or Doctor Poindexter showing that they really did wipe the series after issue one. Our new hero Beastie Fly is a little cheesy and all we really know about him is that he lives in a cabin in a swamp in Haiti, and to be honest he adds nothing to the story and was just a so-so character…in other words could have done without him. The Overlord is a man who hates the Chameleon Commandos and will do whatever it takes to bring them down and does so while wearing his mouse mask. The issue does a great job of blending both humor and action with a dash of cheese and it works very well! It’s a shame that the series did not find the right formula until this last issue and its also a shame that the series just ended….but at least it ended with a none cliffhanger ending. The cover for this issue is terrible and just showcases the lame Beastie Fly in all his lame glory, the interior art is great and done by Michael Kelley who in my opinion was the best artist on this book. Over all this series was filled with a good first issue a run of three issues that were bad and a final issue that was the best in the series showing why the TMNT Knock Off comics get a very bad name! Check out the artwork of Kelley’s below to see his style in this series and check out The Chameleon Commandos if you love cheesy rip off comics like I do.

So as you can see, The Cold Blooded Chameleon Commandos is a comic series that has built a cult following on the facts it has a silly title and cheesy stories and while I am not a super fan of it, I still enjoy it even if many of the issues were below par and had no thought into them. But let’s leave the knock off world behind and lets take a look at one of my favorite comic heroes The Incredible Hulk! But we will not be taking a look at him in comic books, nor the movie and TV version…but we will be looking at him in the world of coloring books! Yeah you heard that right coloring books as Marvel back in the day teamed with companies and made comic like adventures with many of their heroes and I think its time we take a look at them. So until next time read a comic or three, watch a movie or two and as always support your local Horror Host! See you next time for a Hulk Smash colorful good time!

Rottweiler And His Indie Superhero Friends

Posted on February 3, 2019 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink! For this quick update I think I am going to take a quick look at a superhero I discovered in a cheap box at New Dimension Comics in 2018 and got the one and only issue of this hero for only .50! When finding this comic, it made me think about how many independent comic superheroes are in the world that only lasted a handful to even one issue. Take a moment and think of some of the comics in your collection that fit what I just said…go on and take a moment and look. It makes you wonder whatever hero you’re thinking of could have been if only they lasted longer. Would they have been super popular now if they would have lasted and have video games, TV shows or movies based on them? It really does make me wonder if these characters could have been bigger to readers if Marvel and DC did not hog so much space on comic shop shelves and newsstands with their mountains of Spider-Man and Batman titles. So if you have some local comic book shops in your town that carry old cheap back issues in .25 to $1.00 bins, do yourself a favor and dig through them and see what kind of independent comic treasures you can find of forgotten superheroes like Rottweiler. And make sure if you’re in the Cranberry, PA area and love comic books, make sure to check out New Dimension Comics as they have lots of great comics at good prices and not only have a big $1.00 bin but also have a room that’s filled with $3.00 comics from the Golden and Silver Age! But if you’re ready, I am ready to take a look at masked superhero Rottweiler!

The comic company who brought the world Rottweiler was called August Comics and what follows is all that I could find about it. The information I gathered is from multiple websites as well as hearsay and things that I pieced together. It looks like August Comics was created in 1987 and was a very short lived company with only two titles under its belt, Stormbringer that lasted three issues and Rottweiler that lasted one. From what I have found, I think Paul Burke was not only one of the editors but also might have been the owner of August Comics. The company had smaller print runs but did make it into Diamond Previews and was a speck on the industry. But while they might have been small and not known by most comic readers and collectors, they did have a small fan base and have left a legacy behind for readers to discover in discount bins comic shops wide. And I for one am glad I found out about them as while on vacation. This was one of the comics I bought and read that night.

So as you can see, not much is out in the world about August Comics or the people who created it, and that was all the info I could dig up when looking for information. So let’s take a look at some other cool things going on in my life from the past few months. Last year, I had to have a pre-show for my birthday horror movie marathon way early as I had to work the PPV for Rock Star Pro Wrestling on September 7th and would have gotten in way too late for any movie watching! So we had the pre-show on September 3, 2018 as it was Labor Day and both Juliet and I were off from work. We started it off with the 1970 Kaiju film “Space Amoeba” about beings from space coming to earth to trying to take it over by entering an octopus, crab and turtle and making them giant monsters. Next was “The Creeps” a Full Moon film about Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster, a Mummy and a werewolf coming to life thanks to a weirdo who wants to use them to take over the world, the only issue is they are all small! The 1987 shot on video film “Soultangler” was up next and is about a crazed doctor who is experimenting on putting part of his soul into young women he has kidnapped off the streets and can jump from dead body to dead body. And the final film of the night was the 2017 monster flick “Mountain Devil,” a documentary/found footage style film about a man and a Bigfoot he claimed to have killed in the hills of PA. Over all this was a pretty fun time as the heat outside was in the 90’s and the Horrors of the TV screen kept us entertained as we munched on a cheeseball. The Golden Turkey for this pre-show hands down for us both was Mountain Devil as it was so boring…and I mean boring, and worst it offered no scares at all. The Bigfoot is hardly seen, and it’s just mostly old white guys talking about Bigfoot. For me the best film of the Pre-Show was Space Amoeba as I found it to be a solid giant monster film, plus it was cool to see Gezora in action! And Juliet as well picked Space Amoeba as her favorite of the night! Fun time spent with some spooky Horror Movies and made me look forward to the main event day on the 8^th!

On September 8, 2018 I held a Horror Movie Marathon Birthday Bash that had Juliet and I loading up on snack food and planning good eats for the day as always we have breakfast casserole, potato chips, and I decided that I wanted home made Burritos for dinner! We started off the marathon with the 1957 Universal Science Fiction Horror Movie called “Monolith Monsters” that is about giant space rocks that grow when in contact with water that are taken over a small town as well as killing people as it drains them of their body water! The second creature feature was “Curse Of The Swamp Creature” about a crazed scientist trying to make monster slaves out of transformed humans. We next watched the 1993 film “Little Devils: The Birth” about pint sized devils running amok in a boarding house. The fourth fright flick was “The Suckling” about a baby fetus that is turned into a killing beast by toxic waste that sets its anger on people at a brothel. Our next film was suppose to be Blood Mania the final film of Herschal Gordon Lewis, but a messed up DVD made us watch “Conrad Brooks vs. The Werewolf” that has Conrad Brooks and his brother battle a werewolf to the death. “Evil Bong 777” was next and had the Evil Bong and her stoner allies in Vegas on the run from Sexy Hell! Shot on video film “Burglar From Hell” was next to scare up some deaths as a killer comes back to life to torment a neighborhood. The eighth film was “Mental Scars” about a masked killer slashing his way through people silly enough to be in his junkyard. The supernatural slasher film “Thorn” about a masked madman killing his way to get to a young woman that is special to him in some odd way. Horror Comedy “Pool Party Massacre” about a madman killing off pretty women at a pool party was the next shocker. We then watched the French Horror movie “Revenge Of The Living Dead Girls” about female zombies who rise from their graves to get revenge on those who lead to their deaths and more! And the final film of the night was the 1989 film “Shocking Dark” about a group of well-trained soldiers fighting for their lives on a mission against mutants! As always a fun time spent watching the horror pictures on a rainy day for my Birthday!

So after all the films were over, Juliet and I sat and talked about them and we both agreed that the Golden Turkey of the day was Evil Bong 777 as this film seemed to have no real plot and was only used to make something quick to open the way for a part 8. It was a real let down as this one was just really bad…minus the cute ladies of the cast who were the highlights. Now onto our favorite films of the day I would say that my # 1 was Pool Party Massacre as I really enjoyed this campy modern Horror Comedy that was filled with great kills and attractive women. My # 2 was Revenge Of The Living Dead Girls while not a perfect film and clearly cut in spots this French Horror movie had a gritty feel and I loved the looks of the films dead girls. And my # 3 was Little Devils as I found it lots of silly fun with mini monsters who have weapons like acid and flamethrowers to kill humans! Juliet’s top three are as follows # 1 Revenge Of The Living Dead Girls, # 2 Little Devils and # 3 Shocking Dark! Plus I want to also say the next day it was still raining outside so we watched the 1963 film The Slime People and the 1963 Kaiju film Atragon!

So I am sure you’re also wondering what killer won the Golden Chainsaw Award for the amount of kills they pulled off! The winner, with well over 10 confirmed kills, was Frank The Tank from the SOV Horror Movie Burglar From Hell! That’s right, the rotten undead burglar turned killer Frank racked up the body count and snapped a lot of necks to win it all! The best kill from this rotten faced killer was when he shoveled a man’s guts while he sat on a toilet…yep, Frank is one sick zombie! So here is to you Frank The Tank for making this Horror Movie Marathon a little bloodier!

So now that we chatted about August Comics as well as a Horror Movie Marathon I held for my Birthday, it’s time we take a look at Rottweiler, a superhero who was gone before he could really start. As I said I found this comic at New Dimension Comics in Cranberry and want to thank them for having this comic in stock and making this update possible and allowing a reader like myself to discover the character Rottweiler. And as always I would like to remind you that I grade this comic 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 let’s see what Rottweiler brings to the table of indie superheroes.

Rottweiler **
Released in 1987 Cover Price $1.50 August Comics # 1 of 1

Masked costume superhero Rottweiler chases off a pack of dogs that are attacking another dog, and once the pack runs off, he stays with the dog who is bleeding and dying. Rottweiler remembers back to his past when he was Mark Evans, a man who was working as a janitor at a lab and is bitten by a dog and must fight for his life to escape and when doing so passes out from the bite and the loss of blood. Mark awakens in the hospital and is hallucinating and attacks a nurse before busting out the window and heading into the woods, and this upsets his girlfriend who had just came to the hospital to visit. Mark feels different and almost like a wild dog himself and it’s clear the government has done something to him or the dog who bit him as they have sent out soldiers to get him back. Mark is able to take out some of these soldiers but ends up being caught again and taken back to the hospital. Back to present day and the dog passes away in the arms of Rottweiler, who starts to leave when he sees a cat and chases it away.

Rottweiler had a great story and a character that could have had an impact in the world of indie comics if August Comics would have stayed in business longer than under a year. This first and only issues in this series had the ground work for the characters origin that has a young man being bitten by a dog and this bite as well as his health care turns him into a superhero with the instincts of a dog. Mark Evans is a man with a job to do and that’s be a janitor to a lab that houses dogs that have had tests done to them, and while he is a normal guy, you can tell he really does not dig his new job. As Rottweiler he is filled with rage and power and wants to stick up for the underdogs of the world. He also changes who he is as Rottweiler, wears a full body suit and has an attitude to boot. None of the other characters in this comic have any development with the only thing known about any of them is that the army knows what’s going on with Mark and want him unharmed so they can study him. While the comic is a good read and is a great one to set up the story of Rottweiler, it does have some minuses that take away from it all. For one the comic has no major villain in place for Rottweiler and besides holding the dying dog and the backup story in the comic, we hardly see him in his costume leaving us with just a whole lot of Mark. The cover for this issue is pretty generic and is black with blood splatter and almost looks more like a Horror Comic than a Superhero one. The interior art is done by Ted Whittenbarger and is pretty good solid independent stuff and has that late 80’s feel. The one thing about this comic as well that I should say is that only 5,000 copies were printed, and if you like small press superheroes, you should give this one a read.

I feel the need to cover more independent and forgotten heroes and companies, as this update is a celebration of these micro heroes. ME Comix was a very small micro comic company that seems to have been owned by creator Pierre R. McNeil and was based out of Atlanta, Georgia and had a very small go at it all. From the way things look, the company only released two titles that each only lasted a total of two issues and both were all done by McNeil who at one point had a call out for artist and writers to join his dream of what ME Comix could have been. The first comic series was T-Bird Chronicles that was released in 1986 and that was followed by Peter Risk Monster Masher in 1987. And after 1987 they seemed to have closed for good or only made comics on even a smaller level. I have to give McNeil lots of credit as he was a man with a vision and chased his dream to be in the comic world and did so no matter how small its impact was…he did it. It also really makes you wonder what could have happened for ME Comix if Peter Risk or T-Bird would have hit it big with readers, or if other artist and writers would have jumped on board and created new characters that could have been the next Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Spawn or Prime. Wonder what kind of stuff ME Comix would be making in 2018 if they were still around. And next let’s take a look at the comic shop that stocked the first issue of our next forgotten hero.

Bell, Book And Comic in Dayton, Ohio is one of my favorite comic shops in our area as it’s one that took the place of the Bookie Parlor in my eyes as it has amazing back issues as well as paperback books, toys and cool board games. The shop is run by Pete Bell, who has always treated me with respect when shopping and has helped me many times getting comics needed for this blog! The thing that sets them apart from the other comic shops in our area is that they have a massive Horror Comic section as well as section that has $1.00 number 1 issues and in this section on August 28, 2018 is where I found T-Bird Chronicles, which made me fully decide to make this update bigger and really showcase some amazing heroes from small time comic companies from the past. They also have a very cool cheap bin of comics that are three for a $1.00 as well as have a section for Milestone, Malibu, Valiant and other indie companies. So if you love comic books and live in the Dayton, Ohio area make sure to check out this shop as I am sure you’ll find something for your collection.

So I would like to thank both Bell, Book And Comic as well as Lone Star Comics for having these issues in stock. I also want to say I am very much looking forward to reading this comic as I have never heard of it until finding the first issue in 2018. So I am sure I do not need to remind you of my 1 to 4 star rating scale and if you’re ready let’s see what T-Bird Chronicles has in store for us!

T-Bird Chronicles # 1 *1/2
Released in 1986 Cover Price $1.50 ME Comix # 1 of 2

Thomas Bird works as a high priced security officer and not only drives an amazing thunderbird car, but also carries a very special super sonic gun and he is ready for action. Silver City is where Thomas lives, and he has a new assignment that will place him at the city’s nuclear power plant to look into drug trafficking. At the nuclear planet Leornodis Von Crock is working on a batch of radioactive steroids and cocaine and has to take matters into his own hands when worker Colleita Silverton is caught stealing info that could expose their criminal ways. Once he has captures the whistle blower, he keeps her captive and calls Carl to set up a meeting for them to buy large sums of money. As the pickup helicopter is showing up to get the drugs, Thomas Bird rushes to the power plant and uses his special super sonic stun gun to take out the workers and Leornodis Von Crock in a panic takes some of the radioactive steroids and turns into a hulking mass of muscle! Thomas Bird sets Colleita free and has her run to his car as he tricks the massive Von Crock follow him away from her, and to his shock Von Crock drops a bomb that will blow them both up! But Thomas Bird calls in his little flying robot friend A-1 and grabs on to it and is carried to safety as Von Crock is blown up. In the end Thomas is set to take Colleita home but not before he takes her to his place.

Wow this is one cheesy, silly and 80’s indie comic goofy book that showcases one smooth yet unprepared hero. Our story is very, very simple and has a doctor at the city’s power plant using his knowledge to make drugs more powerful and is found out by a hero who comes in to stop a massive sell of the drugs as well as save a young woman who has been held captive after she was captured finding dirt on the plant. Thomas Bird is a hero who has lots of tech at his disposal and uses a none-lethal gun that not only can stop humans but also mechanical things like cars! But the thing about Thomas is that while he has the means to stop crime, he really doesn’t do much in this issue besides stunning a few henchmen and freeing a young lady from captivity. In fact, he never once slugs it out with Leornodis Von Crock, he doesn’t even come prepared in his big fight as he only brought a half loaded clip for his special gun…in other words, he won this fight by luck and by his robotic friends and really didn’t even show up until way late in the dope selling game. Colleita Silverton is a young woman who wants to bring down the drugs coming out of Silver City and when she makes her big play, she ends up being knocked out and held captive and for some reason seems to fall head over heels for Thomas. Leornodis Von Crock is a smart and sinister man who uses all his knowledge to make a super drug made for the rich and powerful people. Also when pushed and near being busted, he has no issues using the super drug on himself to become a powerful hulking mass of muscle in order to smash his foe and get away from being busted. So let’s talk real quick about what I liked about this issue and that’s the indie style artwork of Pierre R. McNeil, really fun classic small press stuff. I also do for some reason like hero Thomas Bird…but also he is one of the dislikes I have for this issue as I found him to be a very ill-equipped hero who doesn’t do much to save the day and get the lady. I also found the plot a little weak and the climax a little underwhelming. The cover is great and has that 80’s small press charm, and as I said I like the simple art style of McNeil as it captures the true feeling of a true indie artist who was making a comic he wanted. Over all while I was not blown away by this first issue, I am looking forward to reading the second one to see how the final issue in this short-lived series carried on this hero.

T-Bird Chronicles # 2 *1/2
Released in 1986 Cover Price $1.50 ME Comix # 2 of 2

Thomas Bird is not doing so well during his training that is being done by robots as his mind and actions seem to be other places while many miles away a new car with a one of a kind engine that would change the automotive world for ever is being tested. The creator of this car is C.J and he knows he will be rich and make his car company bigger than all others with it and the plan is to ship it out the next day. But unknown to him his own worker Emilo Lorre is working for Mr. Matrix the owner of the rival car company who plans of stealing the car as well as kill off Emilo so no witnesses can come forward to his crime. The next day the plane that has the car on it has been hijacked by some of Matrix’s goons and worst the plane is filled with celebrities! When Captain Hook shows up he knows this is a very bad situation and calls in Thomas Bird who along with his fancy gun is able to take the plane back as well as knock out all the hijackers before its even takes off! In the end C.J wants to pay Thomas to drive the car across country for a large sum of money making our hero an offer he cannot refuse and so he is off to do his new job.

This second issue is very much like the first and is a silly, weirdly paced action comic that showcases gun for hire Thomas Bird as he saves the day with his own style of grace and charm. This issues plot is very simple and has Thomas heading to an airport to save a plane that has been hijacked and does so in a matter of minutes of showing up and after doing so gets a high paying gig to drive a one of a kind car across country. Once more its odd as we start the issue off with Thomas Bird failing as his training and is almost once more setting him up as a hero who falls backwards into winning, but by the end when it matters he is very skilled and fast and saves the day like a true hero. The one thing I also find weird about the character seems to sometime lack confidence and even when his talk is big he seems like he don’t believe his own hype. The main bad guy in this issue is Mr. Matrix who does very little besides orders the stealing of his rivals new car, the hijacking of a plane and the murder of one of his spies that works for his rival…and keep in mind this guy just runs a car company and he has all this evil plans in mind! The rest of the cast are just supporting who offer nothing more than to move along the plot, plus we have a very small cameo from Colleita Silverton the lady he saved in the first issue. The plot and pacing in this issue is pure micro independent stuff and is not groundbreaking but entertaining for sure as you can tell Pierre R. McNeil who also did all the work on this comic series really did love his characters and the universe he made for them. The cover on this issue is good and captures the true micro comic company look of the late 80’s. While a third issue was suppose to have been released it looks like this second issue was the final and that’s a shame as I would have liked to have seen were this story would have went. While T-Bird Chronicles is not the best indie comic I have read, I still found its simple stories entertaining and if you like cheesy indie comics from the 80’s give this one a read. Check out the art bellow to see McNeil’s style.

But guess what readers and friends I am not done yet as I feel like looking at one more hero from the independent world and this time I have chosen Blood Bath from Samson Comics! Unlike the other two companies we have covered here Samson Comics started in the 90’s as their first comics where released in 1994 with Phobos and Cosmo and the Big Bang both that only lasted one issue each. Over the next following years they released many other issue that as well only lasted one issue each. Samson Comics seemed to want to make a massive impact in the world of Indie Comics and tried to with a verity titles, but like many they ended up making a tiny splash before disappearing to the great Long Comic Box in the sky. Who knows what heroes and adventures could have been made if Samson Comics would have stayed in business.

So as you can see just like August Comics and ME Comix not much is known about Samson Comics as they seemed to have came and went like so many others before them and have all seemed to close before they could really make their legacies and build their characters. Well lets take look at one of Samson Comics superheroes that lasted only one issue and I want to thank Lone Star Comics for having it in stock to help add to this update. And just like before I grade on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comic stays to the source material, it’s entertainment value and it’s art and story. So lets see what Blood Bath had to offer the world of Indie Comics.

Blood Bath # 1 **
Released in 1995 Cover Price $2.50 Samson Comics # 1 of 1

Greg and Taylor are young boys who find a strange man Blood Bath in the abandon lot they hang out in and decide that they need to help him in order to be heroes. Meanwhile an owner of a newspaper is loosing his mind as his life is crashing down around him. While in space aliens have locked onto two beings they want and are sending a recovery team to get them including one powerful warrior named Starguile! When Blood Bath awakens he chases off the kids who become scared and his mind as well is filled with bad memories including the deaths of his father and brother plus cannot remember how he got the costume. Once back fully on his feet her hears a woman scream and rushes to her aid as two scumbags are threating to kill her and he makes short work of one them saving her life. But one puts up a fight as he is filled with drugs and is looking to kill. But someone fires a massive gun blowing up a piece of the lot and their stands Starguile with aliens warriors ready for a fight.

First thing I want to say is that Blood Bath here is a pure product of the 90’s and would have fit in well with most of the heroes of Image Comics and I would say I am sure he was inspired by them as well as he is a mix of many heroes from the time including Venom from Marvel Comics. The plot has Blood Bath being in bad shape and waking up in a back lot in America and saves a woman from some drug fueled punks only to himself be found by aliens who are on the hunt for him. Blood Bath is shown to be a skilled fighter who has superhuman strength and a costume the puts fear in hearts, but he also seems to be confused by why and who he really is. We don’t get much out of Blood Bath in this issue but if I had to guess I would say he is a human with a living alien suit and he can be hurt like a normal person. A cool character who I wished we would have gotten more of a backstory for as we really get nothing here to fully understand and get behind him. The rest of the characters seem like background players and add nothing besides filler to the story, and that includes the newspaper owner who clearly has a demon or alien living inside him. While we have not much character development in this issue I still found the atmosphere and over all mood of the comic to be entertaining and good and I would have liked to have seen were this story and character would have gone. The cover is great and eye catching and I am sure made many of comic readers of the 90’s buy it. The interior art is good and solid and was done by Jamie Biggs and while it looks nothing like the cover its still good. Over all not much to say about Blood Bath besides he looked like a character I would have enjoyed when I was younger and I wish the second issue and beyond would have seen the light of day. Below is some art from this issue to show you just what the style was. Oh I should also say I hate being this guy but I am almost 100% sure that some of the pages in this comic were printed in wrong order…oh Samson Comics did you have any quality control?

Man that was lots of fun to read comics of heroes who have sadly been forgotten by readers and in I am sure in most cases never even discovered by many of you yet. I mean I have been reading comics sense I was a kid and have been to many comic shops, websites, garage sales and conventions and seem to always discover something new. And that’s why I enjoy digging trough cheap bins and reading and reviewing heroes like Rottweiler, Thomas Bird and Blood Bath all who could and should have been bigger in the comic world if only given longer and a chance. With myself being the owner of Sparkle Comics and if the price was right I would love to get the rights to these characters and bring on some of my friends and Sparkle creators to bring them back into the hands of readers much like we have done with Jeff Potters character Spring Heeled Jack who is given a chance to get new readers onboard. But lets have even more fun and set up a Fantasy Warfare fight between our three heroes! Lets set it on 5^th Street in Dayton, Ohio on a boring day and follow Thomas Bird on his road trip to deliver the car. So lets pick up with Thomas in Ohio and see how this all plays out.

Our battle takes place on Fifth Street in Dayton, Ohio on a slow Monday night as Thomas Bird has made a pit stop at Blind Bobs and after eating a burger and fries, he goes back out to his car in order to get this high tech prototype car to its attend place when something catches his eye in the ally across the street and he springs into action and pulls out his sonic gun ready to bust what he thinks is a hired gun trying to steal the one of a kind car. He slowly and carefully walks across the street and peers down the ally when he spots a person wearing red and black hiding behind a dumpster they seem to also have spotted him! Thomas demands that the man step out of the shadows and show himself as he points his gun in the direction of the figure and fires a warning shot that is meant to stun the nerves of the figure for a short time. After a few seconds the person in the shadows steps out and it’s the hero Blood Bath, who now thinks Thomas Bird is a hired gun from the aliens who want to capture him as his weapon is nothing like he has seen on Earth! Before Thomas Bird can say “freeze” Blood Bath is on him and places a well placed punch to his jaw making Bird fly through the air and into the blind mouse statue on the side of Blind Bobs! Thomas Bird is dazed and can taste blood in his mouth and many of his teeth are now loose, and before he can rise again Blood Bath is on him and pulling him up from the ground so they can be eye to eye and informs Bird to leave him alone and to report that back to his people and before Bird can answer Blood Bath hits him super hard in the stomach and the hero crumbles. And before Blood Bath can hit his fallen defeated foe again his fist is grabbed and standing in front of him is masked hero Rottweiler, who says he “this man has had enough” and not knowing what’s going on Blood Bath reacts and starts throwing punches Rottweiler’s way! Blood Bath is in a blind fury as he just wanted to be left alone and was on his way out of town when he thought he was being attacked, and with this blind rage Rottweiler is able to out think and out move his new costumed foe and unleashes his own fury that is much like a rabid dog as he uses his fits, feet and teeth to destroy Blood Bath with the final blow bouncing his head off a brick wall causing him to be out for the count. Rottweiler goes to check on Thomas Bird who has made his way to the car and tries to drive away but only crashes into a near by pole…as Rottweiler shakes his head as the now one of a kind engine is wrapped around a light pole he heads into Blind Bobs to get himself some pickle soup and a B.L.T ending this weird superhero battle for the night and given Dayton something to talk about on a other wise boring Monday evening.

Winner: Rottweiler

So as you can see hands down for me the winner of a fight between these indie superheroes would be Rottweiler as I find him to be the one who would have the killer instinct and the skills to pull a victory off. So if any of these comics I have reviewed here on this update have peaked your attention, make sure to go to your local comic shop and see if you can find copies and better yet discover some Forgotten Heroes of your own, cause who knows what wonders await you in those long and short boxes of discount comics! For my next update though we are going to take a look at a Photo Comic Magazine that features the Universal Monsters The Mole People! And yep, it will be a From Horror Movie To Horror Comic update that is sure to please fans of classic monsters. So until next update make sure, as I said, to visit your local comic shop and get a few indie comics to read and enjoy the adventures of these none main stream heroes and horrors. See you next update for an underground spooky adventure!