Tag Archives: Amazon

From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: The Remaining (2014)

Posted on by
Reply

Welcome back to Rotten Ink and to another “From Horror Movie, To Horror Comic” update. This time around we will be taking a look at a religious horror flick that would end up getting the graphic novel treatment from Kingstone Comics! this is a sub genre of horror that I think is often over looked by fans as most just think that they will be preachy and lack the scares of your normal horror feature, but that’s not true. While yes, they all tend to have a very faith based message, some of them truly bring some scares as who doesn’t find the end of the world scary? And the fright flick we will be looking at today is The Remaining, a film about the end of days. So if you are ready, let’s dive into this film as well as the graphic novel based around it.

The Remaining 1

Before we get too deep into our look at The Remaining, let’s take a look at the Demons who are our killers and death bringers in this film. When the Rapture happens and the second trumpet echoes out into the air, The Fallen, who are winged demons, come upon the Earth and attack the remaining people left behind. The demonic Fallen fly around in the darkness and stormy sky and swoop down to attack their prey. The Fallen truly love to torture their victims as they feed on people’s fear and misery. Their appearance is very ghastly, and this puts fear into the hearts of those who see them. They are very strong and can lift a person into the sky to either kill them or injure them before dropping them back down to the ground. They also make horrible noises and at times you can hear them in the air above you before they come down to snatch you up. They hunt humans mostly during the night and are drawn to people who pray or find faith in God as they want to wipe his teaching and word from this world. Their main tool to deal death are their tails that are much like a scorpions as they can impale a person as well as sting them that inflicts as very nasty wound that has poison inside it and also gets infected very easily. The Fallen Demons will kill individually but also will kill in a horde, and they truly are very dangerous. The Fallen Demons do not have any known weakness, and once they are called to Earth, there is no way to defeat them. So as you can see, these demonic Fallen truly are very dangerous and could even be unstoppable.

The Remaining 2

Now that we have seen what the Demons can do to those humans that are left behind, we should take a look at the film they are from! Like always, I will be taking the film’s write up from our friends at IMDB and then I will write about the film’s production as well as my thoughts about it. So if you are ready, let’s see what would happen to those who would remain.

The Remaining 3The Remaining 4The Remaining 5

The Remaining (2014)

“A supernatural thriller that addresses questions of life, love and belief against an apocalyptic backdrop. A group of close friends gather for a wedding, but the celebration is shattered by a series of cataclysmic events and enemies foretold by biblical end-times prophecies. The survivors face a horrifying, uncertain future as they scramble for safety, but as their world collapses around them in chaos and terror will they choose real life through faith, or just try to survive?”

The Remaining was a film that was created by Casey La Scala, who was the producer behind such films as Donnie Darko and Amityville: The Awakening and was inspired to write and direct his own horror film after visiting the set of Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones. He wanted his film to be on a bigger scale for the scares and that’s when he decided to base it around The Book of Revelations and the rapture that is said to take place when believers all over the world will be called to Heaven and those left behind will face the end of days. The film was picked up by Triumph Films for release and then such names as Johnny Pacar, Shaun Sipos, Alexa Vega, Italia Ricci, Liz E, Morgan and Bryan Dechart was brought in for lead roles, and Nathan Whitehead was brought in to score the film. The film was released on September 5, 2014 in limited theaters and would end up grossing $1,169,603.00 on a unknown budget and come out alongside other horror films as Tusk, The Pyramid, The Quiet Ones, Devil’s Due, As Above So Below and Dracula Untold, to name a few. The film would also be shown around the world and was well reviewed by fans and critics to very mixed reviews with many praising the terror but hating the dialogue. While it’s not a popular nor cult film, it does have its fans and has left its mark on the horror genre and is one of the biggest film in the faith-based horror subgenre in the last few decades.

The Remaining is a film that I have overlooked for years and did not really pay attention to it until 2022 when I found that the film also had a comic book based around it. So I knew I had to see it and cover the graphic novel here, and it would be 2023 before I would both watch the film and read the graphic novel. On a lazy summer Sunday I put the DVD of The Remaining in the player and sat back and watched it, and I have to say that over all I enjoyed it as I feel that the film had some great visuals and used darkness and shadows really well in many of the scenes. The first picture in this update is one of my favorite shots in the film as it has a very dark and spooky mood that truly says horror. Those who are looking for The Fallen Demons to be a big part of the film as far as being seen will be a little disappointed as they are not seen hardly at all and when you do it’s seconds. I really do wish that we would have seen more of them as they are truly the main villains of the film as they stalk our heroes across the city. The film’s writer and director Casey La Scala was raised religious, and it was clear that he wanted to make a horror film that could be faith based but yet not be so forceful in pushing a message, and for the most part he pulls it off. But with that said, much of the meaning of put your trust and faith in God is very present and only slightly in the end truly pushes that message home. While I do also agree that some of the dialogue is a little bland, I did find that I liked the bond the actors seemed to have making this film as it showed up on screen. I also liked actress Italia Ricci who I think could have made a go at becoming a horror actress, she did play Silver Banshee in the TV Show Supergirl for five episodes and she is one of my favorite Superman villains next to Parasite and Doomsday. Also for those who are wondering actress Alexa Vega who plays Skylar is best known for playing Carmen Cortez in the Sky Kids movies and has been in other horror films like “Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008)”, “Mother’s Day (2010)”, “The Devil’s Carnival (2012)” and “Machete Kills (2013)” to name a few. And let’s be honest, I feel that one sub genre that gets over looked is faith based horror and I would like to see Kingstone Comics along with artist Kyle Holtz to team up and make more comics like this based off these type of films. Over all this is not a groundbreaking film but was a creepy end of days film that brought some scares as well as makes you wonder what would happen to you if the end of days happened in your lifetime.

The Remaining 6

So as you can see, The Remaining have their hands full with The Demonic Fallen that want to bring them death and a part of the destruction of the world as we know it. But now we are at the part of this update that we take a look at the graphic novel adaptation of the film that was released by Kingstone Comics, you remember them the Christian comic publisher that we covered when we did an update on Samson that you can read here. I would like to thank Amazon for having this graphic novel in stock and making 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 if you are ready, let’s take a look at The Remaining and see how well this graphic novel stays true to the film it’s based on.

The Remaining GN 1

The Remaining GN  ***
Released in 2014     Cover Price $9.99     Kingstone     # 1 of 1

It’s Dan and Skylar’s wedding day, and Tommy Covington is filming it walking around the venue and getting video of their friends and family wishing them good luck and this includes Jack, Ally and Lauren. The ceremony goes smooth but Dan needs to tell Skylar something but all the guests keep interrupting. The reception is filled with joy and prayer, but Ally seems to be down and Jack notices as they are dating, and they break up that very night as she does not think he truly loves her. And just like that the air gets cold and people at the wedding just drop over dead, and Tommy is able to find a few of the living that include Skylar, Dan and Jack, and they are scared and shocked as outside planes are falling from the sky and crashing to Earth and the earthquakes start happening as the group of friends flee the venue in order to try and find Ally, but to their horror they find a massive storm is in the air and the streets are littered with death and destruction and all the while Tommy keeps on filming. The group also find that others are still alive and people are trying to help one another, and what is on everyone’s mind is why this happened and why are they left alive. Skylar tells the others that she thinks this is the End Of The World as told in the Bible and that the dead are the good people called to heaven, and she wants them all to find shelter as what is coming next will be very bad. Just then the sky turns weird and massive hail falls from the sky and causes them to hide in a library where they meet a teenager name Sam who ends up joining them as they continue their quest to find Ally, and now there is loud noises coming from the sky and so do demonic creatures that try at attack them, but they once more find shelter this time in a church as Skylar is injured by the creatures and needs medical help. And at the church they also find Ally who is happy to see them but also upset about the death of her friends and Skylar being injured. The priest is still at the church and fills in the friends about the Rapture and Tommy shows them his video that shows the demons in the sky that hurt Skylar as Jack and Ally make up and confuse their love for one another. Skylar’s wounds are getting infected and Dan goes out to the parking lot to get more medicine from the nurses van to help her, and they are able to get it and escape the sky demons that are all around. Tommy gets talking to Sam and they two bond over food and Tommy telling her about his love for Ally, and then all the friends start telling each other their dirty secrets like Dan had an affair, Tommy tells Ally his feelings for her and Jack is filled with anger. The Demons break into the church and kill the priest and the nurse, leaving everyone afraid in the basement. In the morning Dan, Jack, Tommy, Ally, Sam and the injured Skylar make their way to the hospital to get treatment for her as she is dying and while Tommy and Jack search the hospital for medicine, Skylar dies in Dan’s arms as Ally and Sam are with them in this moment of grief. Dan goes outside and curses the name of God and is killed by a demon, as Tommy and Jack return to the body of Skylar they find Ally has been killed as well by a demon. Now its only Tommy, Jack and Sam left, and they make their way to the bridge were many people have gathered. And Tommy makes the connection that everyone of his friends that have just died got attacked once they found a link with God, and Jack right then is at the prayer tent and gets ripped apart by demons. In the end Tommy and Sam are running for their lives as the demons are all around and have to make a choice.

The Remaining is a creepy look at the end of days and follows a group of friends who are at a wedding when the rapture happens and they stick together looking for safety and to get answers and along their way they see lots of death of destruction, pick up a new friend name Sam and even encounter demons in the sky that want to make humans dead who try and find faith now. And in the end many of the friends do not make it and the ones that do have to make a choice find God and be ripped apart or stay neutral and watch as Earth turns into Hell. For a faith based horror comic based on a horror film, this is a pretty great read as all the spooky elements come from The Sky Demons (The Fallen) as well as just the atmosphere of the world coming to an end and the fear of those left behind. Our main focus of the film is Tommy Covington, a man who was hired to film his two friends’ wedding and who by the end of this graphic novel confesses his love for a woman dating his best friend, becomes friends with a young woman he meets that a fellow survivor and lastly tries to be the peacemaker in the high tension environment that his friends find themselves in. Jack and Ally are a couple that have been dating for seven years, and while she wants to get married, he seems to just be happy with the way things are, and right before The Rapture, the two break up and he spends his time trying to find her as he truly does love her. Sadly they both meet their end at the hands of The Demons as both end up finding faith and guidance in God. Sam is a younger lady who has found herself alone and hiding in the library before she ends up joining up with Tommy and his friends, and she truly becomes part of their group and goes along the quest to find and save others. The newly married couple are Dan and Skylar who are deeply in love and things get bad when she is attacked by The Demons that cause terrible wounds that get infected and as well filled with poison, and she dies of her wounds and Dan turns on God and faith all together and gets killed. And that is the thing, all of these friends have their own secrets and these could be what has kept them from being brought to Heaven during The Rapture as many are not close or have to faith. The Demons are truly evil as they attack anyone who mentions God as their goal is truly to bring on the end of times, and all those who are sinners or faithless will be the target for their deadly attacks. The graphic novel does have some blood and violence, but is by no means a bloodbath. The cover for this graphic novel is pretty cool ,and the interior artwork done by Kyle Hotz is top notch as Kyle’s style is perfect for this style of faith based horror comics…in fact I wish Kingstone Comics and Kyle Hotz would team up more often and make more comics and graphic novels based on faith-based horror films! While many readers might be turned away from the religious tones and messages in this graphic novel, I for one was not as I found it to be a entertaining read that was filled with some spooky moments and did its job of making a group of friends come together under extreme stress in order to try and watch after each other. And I want to also say that I feel that this graphic novel did a great job of staying true to the film its based on with the major change being they show The Fallen more and I am ok with that change! Checkout the artwork below to see the style of Kyle Hotz used in this graphic novel.

The Remaining GN Art 1

The Remaining is one of those horror films that is not known but has its share of fans, and I am sure this graphic novel helped bring attention to the film as that is what comic books based on the fright films of the cinema and home media are good for, and I really do wish that more filmmakers and studios would work with comic publishers to make these types of comics for readers. I really do give Kingstone Comics respect for doing this comic series as this is totally out of the norm for them, and I hope that they do more comics like this as I would like to see them do a comic based on the 2023 film Nefarious as I think it could have made a great spooky read, make this happen Kingstone and Kyle Hotz! But our time with The Remaining has come to an end, but our time with horror comics based on horror films has not as our next update will take us to the Motel Hello or I mean Motel Hell as I will be revisiting that film as well as the IDW Comic series based on it. So until next time, read a horror comic or three, watch a horror film or two and as always support your local horror host. I hope we get in time to the Motel to get some fresh Farmer Vincent jerky!

Motel Hell 1980 Movie Comic Preview Logo

Spend The Holiday Season With The Roman Holidays!

Posted on by
Reply

Welcome back to Rotten Ink. For this update I have decided to cover another comic series that is based off of a Hanna-Barbera cartoon series and have chosen a mostly forgotten one called The Roman Holidays! Wait what, you have never heard of The Roman Holidays? Well don’t feel bad as it was a very short-lived cartoon that disappeared as fast as it appeared on Saturday Mornings and barely made its mark when it comes to Hanna-Barbera cartoons. When planning these updates for 2025, I knew that I wanted to cover more comics based on the toons of Hanna-Barbera as they were such a big part of the entertainment for kids of the 70’s, 80’s and even 90’s, and I have been slacking a little here showcasing them so if you have not read my past updates about Yogi Bear, Grape Ape, Inch High Private Eye, FooFur and Go-Bots make sure to do so. But if you are ready, let’s head to Ancient Rome and spend some time with The Holiday Family. Oh and Merry Christmas Eve to you all!!

The Roman Holidays was a Hanna-Barbera cartoon that was made to air on NBC for Saturday Mornings and would follow the Holiday Family who was living in Ancient Rome and dealing with all the crazy things going on around them. The cartoon would run from September 9 – December 2, 1972, with the series running for one season and a total of 13 episodes. The toon would have many classic voice actors working on it with names like Dave Willock, Daws Butler, Judy Strangis, Harold Peary and Shirley Mitchell making up most of the main cast. The show would end up being rerun in the 1980’s as part of the USA Cartoon Express that of course ran on the USA Network. And after that it would be shown on Cartoon Network through the 90’s and Boomerang in the 2000’s with it finally getting a home media release in 2013. The cartoon is mostly forgotten and is mostly remembered by those big fans of the cartoons created and released by Hanna-Barbera. I for one barely remember it thanks to its time on the Cartoon Express! I should note that The Holiday Family did appear as manatees on the HBO Max series Jellystone in 2022, allowing them to be discovered by a new generation of cartoon watchers.

Lets now talk about the Holiday Family as this Marble Age Family was the main focus of the cartoon series. Gus Holiday is the father who is a good natured and a very stressed man who works for the Forum Construction Company and is always on the bad side of his boss. Laurie Holiday is the mother and they have two children teenage son is Happius Holiday and Precocia Holiday is their young daughter. They also have a pet lion named Brutus who is a troublemaker. The Family lives in the Venus DeMilo Arms Apartments in A.D. 63 and their neighbors are Herman along with his wife Henrietta and teenage daughter Groovia who is dating Happius. The landlord is Mr. Evictus who has a daughter named Snobbia, and they are rude and hate Brutus who they do not want living in the building. And Mr. Tycoonius is the boss at Forum Construction Company and is the stress in Gus’s life. This is a crash course of the cast of The Roman Holidays, and really you should track down the DVD Complete Series that was released by Warner Archive to get the full dose of who these characters are.

The Roman Holidays was clearly Hanna-Barbera trying to capture the magic that they had with The Flintstones and The Jetsons that were set in the Stone Age and The Future respectively, but unlike those two very iconic cartoons, The Roman Holidays just never caught on with the viewers. But while the cartoon was very short lived that did not stop Gold Key Comics from giving it the comic book treatment. I would like to thank Lone Star Comics and an Amazon Seller for having these issues in stock and making 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 with that, let’s head to Ancient Rome and spend some time with the Holidays Family.

The Roman Holidays # 1   **1/2
Released in 1973     Cover Price .15    Gold Key    # 1 of 4

“Double Date” The Holiday Family are home with Gus trying to watch the football game, but things get crazy for them when Brutus, the pet lion, runs across and even smashes Mr. Evictus into wet cement as the family’s landlord was putting in a sidewalk at the apartments, and he is not happy and storms to the Holiday’s apartment and after the family lie to try and cover for Brutus, with the lion being caught with cement on his paws Mr. Evictus decides that they are being evicted! That is unless the Holiday’s can find a date for his daughter Snobbia to the prom and she must have a great time, and Gus takes that deal and sets out to find his landlords daughter a date with the help of his son Happius and his girlfriend Groovia. As Gus talks to the teens of the town he finds out that none of them are willing to date Snobbia, so he even gets desperate and calls his nephew Clodius who turns out to be a goofy hillbilly and they worry he is not right for this prom date. So the new plan is for Gus to dress and act as a teenager complete with wearing a metal girdle, wig and sunglasses and calls himself Smoothius. After picking up Snobbia they all arrive at the prom and Smoothius is proving to be a lame date, and it gets worse when he tries to dance and his metal girdle flies off and smashes the bands amplifier causing their to be no music! The Prom is a bust as is the date and it looks like The Holidays will be homeless, that is until Clodius fixes the amp and Snobbia falls for him and the two are now each others dates and their home is now safe, and Brutus shows up to the Prom and even wears the metal girdle and dances around.

This is a pretty fun first issue as it is just an adaptation of the first episode with a few additions to help flush out the story. The plot of this kids comic has The Holiday Family in trouble with their landlord over the actions of their pet lion and must find a way stay in their home and that is by finding a date for his daughter, and for father Gus that means trying to become a teenager again! The humor for this issue is truly that classic Hanna-Barbara style with goofy situations and characters that are all around silly like Gus Holiday is a goof, but also a very good man. Speaking of Gus Holiday, he is a husband and a father who really cares about his family. He has a pet lion who, while a troublemaker, Gus still cares about and will eve lie for to cover up his antics. Gus also likes sports and will even be willing to make a fool of himself in order to try and protect his family from living in the park. Mr. Evictus is a heartless man, who has no issues of throwing people out of their homes in the apartments he owns and seems to almost take pride in his meanness towards people, plus I have the feeling that he really does hate animals! The hero of this issue is the silly hillbilly Clodius who while is a big goofball is the one who saves the day as he not only gets the music back playing at the prom but also has Snobbia fall for him and his good nature attitude. On a side note I want to point out that Happius Holiday is willing to have himself and his family go homeless because he does not want to not play in the band at the Prom and break his date with Groovia…what a sport willing to put himself out to help others…well doing the opposite of that. The main comedy and drama of this issue comes from The Holiday’s threat of being kicked out of their home and having to make their landlord’s daughters prom a good one. The cover for this issue is very cool and eye catching and the interior art by Unknown Artist is really great and captures the look of the cartoon! And if I had to pick a favorite character from this issue I would say that it would be Gus Holiday as he is just a likable dad who is even willing to act like a teenager and make a fool of himself in order to save his family from having to live in a park. And some of the changes I noticed from the cartoon that this comic made is Brutus is shown running through the wet cement and even smashes Mr. Evictus into it being the biggest one I noticed. Over all this is a pretty good first issue of Roman Holiday’s and really does do the cartoon series justice, so let’s see what issue two has in store for us.

The Roman Holidays # 2   **1/2
Released in 1973     Cover Price .15    Gold Key    # 2 of 4

“Friends, Romans And Cassius” Happius and Groovia are teaching Brutus how to dance and it’s clear that Happius is starting to get a cold, and as Gus gets home he informs them that work gave him free five tickets to the Davey Cassius concert! So Gus, along with his family head to the concert and are caught in a traffic jam, and once at the arena Happius’s cold gets worse and he heads home with Brutus by his side, when they run into Davey Cassius who is tired of all the fame and just wants a small break! And when Davey’s wig falls onto the head of Happius the fan girls come flocking and the three have to run back to Davey’s dressing room were Davey’s manager comes up with an idea that will allow Davey to get some needed rest and for Happius to take his place on stage by wearing the wig and lip synching to a record…and it works as the fans don’t catch on and go home happy! But Happius and Brutus are stuck at the arena as Davey ends up going home with The Holidays as they think he is their family member and treat him well as they think he is sick from the cold. Meanwhile Happius is having a terrible time as being famous is more work than he thought and he quits and goes home only for the Holidays to discover that Davey Cassius has been living with them, he thanks them for a fun and relaxing time and heads to the TV Station to be the music star he is.

The second issue is really the third episode of the cartoon turned into a comic book and is a pretty fun and entertaining read that’s plot has pop rock star Davey Cassius needing some time off from performing as his agent Max is just running him ragged, and when they find that Happius Holiday looks like the star the two switch places for a short time in order for Davey to get rest and Happius to get a taste of fame. This issue truly focuses on Happius and Brutus as the two are stuck in the arena and having to take orders from Max who is all about fame and money and does not seem to care about the wellbeing of his stars. And poor Happius was kind of conned into being the stand in (or Shemp if this was a Sam Raimi project) as he is sick with a cold and being forced to dance around and lip synch another persons songs! And Brutus The Lion is kind of just stuck as he was with Happius when this discovery and plan was made. The rest of The Holiday Family are around but do truly play bit parts to the storyline and that’s a shame as Gus Holiday is the man and should have been in the story more. The downside to this issue is that while it is a fun one, it also slightly drags as much of it is the same thing over and over and that’s Happius having a bad time while Davey is having a good time, plus I just don’t find the character of Happius that entertaining. The cover for this issue is fun with Brutus in the bathtub and Gus looking mad as this was to be his bath water, and due to the coloring it really is eye catching. The Unknown Artist did the interior art once more and its great stuff as it again looks just like the cartoon, and it’s a shame that many of these old Gold Key Comics do not have credits on who wrote, drew or inked the issues. Over all another good issue that I would say is slightly not as good as the first issue, but does make me want to read issue three and also does show that Hanna-Barbera really was trying to push The Roman Holidays as their next big hit.

The Roman Holidays # 3   **1/2
Released in 1973     Cover Price .20    Gold Key    # 3 of 4

“Switch Is Which?” Gus Holiday stays up all night working on blueprints for Mr. Almalgamated the biggest client the company he works for has, but cause he stayed up all night he is fast asleep by the early morning and his family can not wake him up! So his wife Laurie and their young daughter Precocia head to the construction site and hand over the blueprints, but soon find that if Gus does not make it to work soon he will be fired! While at home Gus is so tired that he is half asleep when his landlord does an inspection, and even takes the phone off the hook in order to get more sleep and this blocks the call from Laurie who is trying to call him to go to work. So Laurie thinks fast and cuts some of her hair to glue to her face and acts as Gus for Mr. Almalgamated and does such a good job that she gets her husband a raise and gets his blueprints passed. When Gus finally wakes up he rushes to work in a panic only to get the good news and later that night The Holiday family have a big party. “Lost But Not Leashed” Brutus is being chased around by the tiny dog of Snobbia who acts as if the lion is a bully and has to go, and Mr. Evictus agrees with his daughter and tells Gus that either they get ride of Brutus or the whole family is being thrown out of the apartment! Gus is thinking of ideas for Brutus with one being sold to the coliseum in order to be a fighter and this causes the lion to run away from home, unknown that Gus is really going to fight this threat and being forced to get ride of his pet. Brutus has an idea to sneak on a ship headed to Africa so that he can return to his birthplace, but he is quickly ran off by a mouse and finds himself by accident in the coliseum were he by accident beats a Bull that is a championing! And once back home Mr. Evictus welcomes him back with open arms as he is a champion and even charges the public to enter the building of a champion….but then also ups the rent for the Holidays cause they live with a champion!

This issue is based on episode 7 of the cartoon series and also has a second story that is short and is all about Brutus The Lion, with the first being about Gus’s wife having to save the family and his job by acting like a contractor when he is to worn out to get to work. And with the first story the true hero really is Laurie Holiday as she is the one who gets the blueprints to his job on time, and then even cuts her own hair to make a mustache so that she can act like her husband around a top client from his job…plus she does such a good job that she gets him a raise and the plans he drew up are now in motion! While Gus who stays up all night to draw up the blueprints is dead to the world with sleep and it takes him almost all day to wake up and realize he might have just made a terrible mistake by sleeping in! The second story poor Brutus can not catch a break as once more they family’s landlord is on their case and is hating their pet lion, and this causes Brutus to try and run away but ends up finding himself a champion when by accident he wins a match in the fighting coliseum making the landlord finally find respect for him. And with this issue we also see that while Brutus is a lion he is very goofy and also scared of all types of things like even small mice. The humor of these two stories work very well as like before it’s that classic Hanna-Barbera style and the stuff with Gus being so sleepy that he misses work and sleepwalks through interaction with people is the kind of silliness us kids of the 70’s and 80’s laughed at. The cover for this issue is good and eye catching as it shows Brutus hiding as a painting in order to avoid The Holidays landlord who is telling Gus that he is making a new rule no pets allowed! And like with the past issues the Unknown Artist did a fantastic job on the interior art. And with two stories instead of one this issue is entertaining and leads us to the fourth and final issue in the series, so let’s see what it has in store for us.

The Roman Holidays # 4   **1/2
Released in 1973     Cover Price .20    Gold Key    # 4 of 4

“The Man-Tamer” the morning scroll is delivered to The Holiday Family and Gus is happy to see that his old school friend Hammus Terrificus the world famous lion-tamer is in town with the circus and while Gus and his family are exited to see his act, Brutus gets scared as he does not like the idea of a lion-tamer and stays home. While at the carnival Gus and Hammus talk about the old times, but their old club house handshake goes wrong and Hammus throws out his back, and this forces Gus to have to take his place for the lion-tamer act. So they rush home and get Brutus to be the lion for the act and soon while in the center of the ring Gus and Brutus get into it and the lion ends up using the whip and Gus does the tricks and the fans love it! After the show Hammus wants to take Brutus on the road with him and call him the Human-Tamer…but Brutus rejects this once he finds out it will be hard work with poor food to eat. “Father Of The Year” Gus gets home from a hard day’s work and finds that his kids have nominated him for the Father Of The Year award and his only competition is Mr. Evictus who threatens that if Gus beats him for the award he will throw the Holiday Family out of their apartment! Happius, Precocia and Groovia are campaign for Gus as he is worried about winning and loosing his home, so he tries his best to throw the election. In the end Gus and Evictus both win via a tie and both are now Fathers Of The Year!

This comic’s first story is based off episode 8 of the cartoon that is called “That’s Show Biz” with the second story being episode 13 that used the same name, and its fitting that the final issue in the series also featured the final episode. The Man-Tamer is a very silly story that has Gus hurting his friend with a handshake and this causes him to have to make a fool of himself in front of a live audience, all with the help of his pet lion Brutus who hams it up for the people. We get to also meet Hammus Terrificus, the old school friend of Gus who has made it as a big time circus performer, he also seems a little annoyed by Gus who is clearly trying to impress his family by knowing him and speaking of their past adventures as kids. I do also like how this story allows Brutus to show that when pushed with threats of having to sleep outside he will fight back in anger, showing he is not always a scaredy cat. The second story is all about Gus and Mr. Evictus both going for the Father Of The Year award and having to try to win it with of course Evictus threatening to toss the Holiday Family out of the home if Gus one ups him…but in the end they both win the award in a tie. In this one it is great to see just how loved and respected Gus by his family. Both of these stories in this final issue are about Gus Holiday and that is fitting as he really is the main character of the cartoon series, and it is also cool that this comic series was released a year after the cartoon had been canceled showing that Hanna-Barbera was still trying to push this series, or I guess it could also be that Gold Key Comics was just that far behind. I would say that throughout this comic series I would say that Gus Holiday and Brutus The Lion are my two favorite characters as they really did remind me of a off brand version of Fred Flintstone and Dino. While the humor in these comics is very dated in spots, it still does kind of have that classic silly kid kind of humor that is timeless making for a very odd read when it comes to comedy. The cover for this final issue is pretty cool and showcases Brutus making Gus to silly circus tricks and you guessed it the Unknown Artist once more did the interior art and did a fantastic job with it as they really did capture the look of the cartoon. Over all this really was a pretty fun kids comic series that should make the fans of the cartoon happy. Check out the artwork below to see the style used by Unknown Artist for this comic series.

I am not going to lie when first doing this update I barely remembered The Roman Holidays but during the writing of this update I found myself really enjoying it as it really is a bizarre cartoon that I am not sure why Hanna-Barbera would think it would become their next mega hit. But for me I could see Gus Holiday sitting at a bar having a drink with Fred Flintstone and George Jetson as they talk about sports, family and work. But with that its time for use to leave Rome and head to the world of cinema, as it will be my best of 2025 films I saw in the theater. So until next time, read a comic or three, watch a cartoon or two and as always support your local Horror Host. Also make sure to spend a little time this Holiday Season with your family, friends, pets and planets! See you next update as we talk the cinema of 2025!

Mythology Gods: Zeus

Posted on by
Reply

Merry Christmas Eve! And welcome back to Rotten Ink, and man is it just me or did 2024 just seem to fly by as it’s crazy to think that tomorrow is Christmas and that Santa Claus is on his way! So you younger readers make sure to leave out some milk and cookies and get to bed early, oh and asked a loved one to read you The Night Before Christmas to help you drift off to slumber. And now to what this holiday update will be about and it will also be one that will be a fast and entertaining read as we will be talking about the Greek God Zeus! That’s right nothing says Christmas like Zeus the God Of Thunder, who was the King of the Gods when it comes to Greek Mythology…wait, you don’t think of Zeus around this time of the year? Well I do, as Christmas time is that time I think back to the stuff that I enjoyed when growing up and mythology was something I loved to read about. So with that, let’s grab some lightning bolt shaped cookies and a tall cold glass of milk and sit around the fireplace and chat about the one and only Zeus!

Olympians Zeus 1Olympians Zeus 2Olympians Zeus 3

Zeus is The God Of Thunder and is one of the most powerful of the Gods in Greek mythology as he led his brothers and sisters into battle to bring down the Titans who had tormented them as well as mankind. He also was the first to survive his father Cronus’ hunger for eating his own offspring so that they could never challenge him for his throne, as he was a Titan who was cruel but Zeus is able to defeat him as well as free his brothers and sisters that had been eaten alive when they were just infants. And from that moment on, Zeus became the King Of The Gods and would rule both his fellow Gods and Mankind with an iron fist as he was truly one that demanded respect. Zeus and his fellow Gods would sit atop Mount Olympus in Greece and would watch over the people and as well would look for the tributes given to them from the mortals. And during this time when thunderstorms would come to the area they would think that it was Zeus who was doing this as he was angry with them or was in battle. As time would pass Zeus would start to lose his worshipers and other religions would enter the area and become the main source for mankind to follow with Christianity and Islam being the two big ones, and Zeus and his fellow Gods would find themselves being viewed as myths and legends and would fade away from minds and would become stories told around fires, heroes in books and later movies and shows and their statues and shrines would be art in museums. Even Mount Olympus is now a tourist attraction in Greece that thousands of tourist visit every year. But while it is a smaller group, now Zeus does have cults that still follow and worship him, and that is one thing about Zeus while his reign has long came to an end he still has those who follow him and his ways of ruling.

Olympians Zeus 4Olympians Zeus 5Olympians Zeus 6

When I think of Zeus when it comes to movies and TV, a few names come to mind with the first being Anthony Quinn who played him in the hit TV Show “Hercules The Legendary Journeys” and the made for TV films that aired before it became a full series. He was sauvé, a prankster and a ladies man and for some reason I think he is my favorite version of Zeus in media. I remember being very disappointed when Toy Biz never released a Zeus figure in their action figure line based on the show. Some of my other favorites include Laurence Olivier who played Zeus in the 1981 film “Clash Of The Titans”. Rip Torn, who lent his voice to play Zeus in the 1997 Disney animated film “Hercules”. Claudio Cassinelli who played Zeus in the Lou Ferrigno films “Hercules” and it’s sequel “The Adventures Of Hercules”. And I also have to say I enjoyed Russell Crowe who played Zeus in the 2022 Marvel movie “Thor: Love And Thunder”. I will say that it’s odd that back in the day of the sword and sandal film boom of the 1950’s -1960’s that no film that stared Zeus as the main hero was made, and in fact I cannot think of one film or show that has Zeus as the main hero…odd. So if you are an indie filmmaker and are making films about Greek gods, make one about Zeus as I am sure I am not the only one in the world who would enjoy it.

Olympians Zeus 7Olympians Zeus 8Olympians Zeus 9Olympians Zeus 10

Zeus has always been interesting to me as growing up I was a big fan of Greek mythology and can remember checking out books at the local library to read as well as would watch any classic film that featured the likes of Hercules, Zeus and all the others. And it makes you wonder what it was like in the time of his rule in Greece and just how people lived in the fear of his wrath or felt safe under his watch, and it would have been amazing to see all the shrines to all the different Gods in the villages all around…it must have been something to see. But as I said, I am going to make this update a fast one so I think we should get to the review part of our Christmas Eve Holiday update. First I would like to thank Amazon for having this graphic novel comic in stock and making this update possible. I would also 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 to the top of Mount Olympus and see what Zeus has in store for us.

Olympians Zeus Comic GN 1

Olympians: Zeus # 1   **1/2
Released in 2010     Cover Price $12.99     First Second     # 1 of 12

Mother Earth Gaia took Ouranos the sky as her lover and husband and together they birthed the Titans who would go to run the Earth and those who lived on it. Kronos, was the youngest of the Titans and is also the one to took down his own father, imprisoned his Cyclops brothers in the dark ground and truly became the King Of The Gods at his time. Kronos would take the Titan Rhea as his wife and they would have a total of six kids together with Kronos eating five of them whole and eating a stone wrapped as a baby for the sixth as his younger son Zeus was hidden away by Rhea and Gaia to live in a cave. You see Gaia was upset about Kronos for defeating his father, imprisoning his brothers and of course eating his own offspring as it is said that they would be the ones to bring Kronos’s rule to an end and he could not stand for this. Zeus grows up and has great powers including the ability to change into any animal and is given a plan by Gaia in order to free his brothers and sisters from the belly of his father by making him eat a special plant, and with the help of his lover Metis they pull this off! Now out of his stomach the Gods are Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, Hades and Hestia and they join Zeus in a war against the Titans in order to be the new rulers and Gods of Earth and even Gaia herself tries to still help Zeus in his war by sending him to free the Cyclops, but before he can do that, he has to kill the dragon Kampe. Zeus along with his brother, sisters and uncles the Cyclops have a final battle against the Titans where Zeus defeats them by using his new powers of Thunder and Lighting to take down Kronos for good. Once Zeus gets the power and the title King Of The Gods he marries his sister Hera, imprisons his uncles the Cyclops again and enjoys his Kingdom and the powers he now holds…but his grandmother Gaia is not happy with his actions.

So as you can see, this comic about Zeus features his birth to defeating his father in battle to claim the Earth as his own to rule over, and it’s done in a fast way that brings in elements of superhero comics as well as tries to do it’s best to make it more interesting for younger readers. Zeus from the start of the issue is showcased more as a hero who was tasked with being the offspring of Kronos that would end his cruel rule over the Earth as well as would be the one to free his bothers, sisters and uncles from the cruel imprisonment that was holding them. Zeus once grown up is a true ladies man and is learning how to use his new powers that changing into any animal, being indestructible and later learning how to use lightning bolts and thunder as weapons. We also see that Zeus is a great leader who takes control and is able to get his brother and sisters to work together, but we also see that once Zeus gets power he is no better than his father in some aspects as he continues to imprison his uncles and rules over mankind with an iron first and makes them fear him at times. It’s also clear that he was built to be The King by his Grandmother Gaia, only to disrespect her by killing off some of her children and as well treating other of her children with disrespect. The main villain of this comic is of course Kronos who was a Titan that was cruel and would not only treat his own offspring bad but also truly scared the hell of humans, and would eat them as well as offerings that were given to him in order not to be eaten! And even when the odds are against him and his fellow Titans Kronos still has a massive ego! The final fight between Zeus and Kronos really does feel like a battle in a superhero comic from DC or Marvel and that is why I have to say Greek Mythology is so cool and like the creator of this comic George O’Connor says these really are like the original superheroes. The cover for this graphic novel comic is ok and pretty eye catching as it shows Zeus raging with lightning all around him and the interior art is done by George O’Connor and is pretty cool, not the style of comic art I like but I can still respect it. While this is a very fun read I do wish that it would have dove a little deeper into the legacy of Zeus as truly this issue only covers his battle with his father and ends with he and his siblings taken control of the Earth and teaching humans how to take care of themselves. But to be fair to this comic as well it is also geared toward young readers as well, so George clearly did not want to dive to deep into the more mean side of Zeus. Check out the artwork below to see the style O’Connor used in this comic. To sum this up, if you want a read a comic based on the early life of Zeus that is for young and older readers give this a read.

Olympians Zeus Comic GN Art 1Olympians Zeus Comic GN Art 2Olympians Zeus Comic GN Art 3

This was such a fun update to do and if you want to learn more about Zeus as well as the other Greek Gods make sure to head to your local library and check out some books on the subject, or you could also look up their legends and tales here on the net. And I think that in the future I might do a few more of these Olympians graphic novels for updates, as this was a fun one to do. I also hope that you enjoyed this faster paced update as I think when I cover more of the Greek Gods in the future they will be done in this format. And I have to say a big Thank You for spending a small part of your Christmas Eve here at Rotten Ink with me and I hope that you have a great and safe Holiday Season and an amazing Christmas day. I also would like to let you know that our next update will be my Countdown for Films I have seen in the Cinema in 2024 and will be the first update in 2025! So until next time read a comic or three, watch a Christmas film or two and as always spend some time with your loved ones. See you soon as we need to talk Cinema and I am looking forward to sharing my Horror Movie Countdown! Oh and I have to say Merry Christmas!

Films of 2024 Logo Preview

Man Of Steel vs. The Mole Men!

Posted on by
Reply

Welcome back to Rotten Ink. For this update we will be chatting about something very cool, “Superman And The Mole Men,” the first film to feature the Man Of Steel and starred George Reeves as Superman who would go on to play the character in the awesome TV series from the 50’s! The thing about Superman is that the character is truly iconic and is a big part of Pop Culture in America and when thinking about topics that needed to be covered for Rotten Ink’s 10 Year Celebration, I knew that Superman had to be one of the topics as growing up the character was a. part of my childhood as I not only watched the George Reeves show but also read the comics, played the video games, had the toys, wore the shirts, watched the cartoons and even loved the films that have been released. And what is really cool about this Superman update is that I get to talk about the movie that started it all for many young fans in the 1950’s who loved Superman already from comics, radio show and even the movie serials, and soon after the movie’s release they got to see him every week in action on the TV show. So hold onto your seats as we are going for a quick update adventure ride with the one and only Superman as played by George Reeves.

Superman And The Mole Men 1

Let’s first start off by taking a look at the film that the Photo Comic Graphic Novel we will be covering is based on, the first film to feature Superman. I want to remind you readers that the film’s write up will be taken from our friends at IMDB and that I will be writing about the film’s production, legacy and my thoughts. So let’s dive in and talk about Superman and his run in with the Mole Men.

Superman And The Mole Men 2Superman And The Mole Men 3Superman And The Mole Men 4

Superman And The Mole Men (1951)

“Reporters Clark Kent and Lois Lane arrive in the small town of Silsby to witness the drilling of the world’s deepest oil well. The drill, however, has penetrated the underground home of a race of small, furry people who then come to the surface at night to look around. The fact that they glow in the dark scares the townfolk, who form a mob, led by the vicious Luke Benson, intent on killing the strange people. Only Superman has a chance to prevent this tragedy.”

Superman was one of the most popular superheroes and most read comics of the time. This meant that other media was in his future like radio and movie serials, and in 1951 he made his way to the silver screen with his first full fledged movie! The film was written by Richard Fielding and was distributed by Lippert Pictures and was a quick and cheap production as they really wanted to cash in on the popularity of Superman with young comic book readers. Lee Sholem, who before this film had directed “Tobor The Great” as well as two Tarzan films with “Tarzan’s Magic Fountain” and “Tarzan And The Slave Girl,” was selected as he knew how to make kid friendly Adventure Fantasy films. The film’s plot was based on the Red Scare that was gripping America at the time and even has elements of classic Universal Monster Sci-Fi films thrown in to a comic book feel. When casting the film they casted George Reeves as Clark Kent aka Superman, Phyllis Coates as Lois Lane and Billy Curtis and Jerry Maren as two of the Mole-Men. The film was shot in only 12 days at RKO-Pathe Studios in California and survived a double purpose as they wanted to have a hit that would bring kids to the cinema and it was also used to try and see if people had interest in Superman so that a TV Show could be made. And it did both of that as the film was well loved by kids in the early 1950’s and later in 1951 “The Adventures Of Superman” hit TV screens as a syndicated show. The film was scored by Darrell Calker and later the film was cut into a two part episode with changes when the show was released. The movie over the years has been released on VHS, Laserdisc as well as DVD so if you want to see Superman’s first movie adventure it is out in the world for you to be able to do so. And for those of you wonder in 1951 this film was joined by such other Sci-Fi and Horror Classics in the theater and dive-in screens as “The Day The Earth Stood Still”, “The Thing From Another World”, “The Man From Planet X”, “Abbott And Costello Meet The Invisible Man”, “The Son of Dr. Jekyll” and “Bride Of The Gorilla”.

Growing up I was a big fan of George Reeves as Superman as the old classic TV Show would air all the time in reruns on “Nick At Night/TV Land” and I would watch and as a kid I do remember wondering where Lex Luthor, Braniac or Mister Mxyzptlk were, but somehow it never bothered me enough as I was always looking forward to watching Superman bring down the bad guys and save the day. I saw the movie “Superman And The Mole Men” after I had already been a fan of the show as I remember some local area TV Station aired it some Sunday afternoon and my brother and I were glued to the TV and enjoyed every cheesy moment. I mean how can you go wrong with Mole Men running wild in a small town and Superman must save them from an unruly mob who wants them dead cause they look different and have been accused of crimes they did not do all out of fear. The one thing that annoyed me for the longest time is how long this film took to get a proper DVD release that was not just an extra on another Superman release, and even the one that is out now is by Cheezy Movies so it has no extras of its own. And while this film is not the best Superman film made, it is a good one and I would have loved to have seen this film in the theater in 1951 as I could imagine just how awesome that must have been for the youth at the time.

Superman And The Mole Men 5

The Mole-Men who live under the Earth are the “Bad” guys of this first Superman movie but are they really all that bad as they are brought to the up to the surface world due to the actions of mankind who affected their world with their quest for oil and gas. And because they feel they are being attacked they go on the attack and come above ground with their weapons and are looking for answers when one of their own is shot and injured by a mob of humans who hate them because they look different. The Mole Men also have their skin glows in the dark and they are short in height. The Mole Men in the film are played by actors Billy Curtis, John T. Bambury, Jerry Maren and Johnny Roventini all who do a great job in the role and while Mole People might not be the meanest or deadliest foes Superman has fought in the movies they sure are strange and interesting ones.

Superman And The Mole Men 6Superman And The Mole Men 7Superman And The Mole Men 8

George Reeves was born on January 5, 1914 in Woolstock, Iowa and had it semi rough growing up as his father left the family almost after his birth and he and his mother moved around and stayed in Kentucky as well as Illinois. And finally they settled in California and that is when Frank Bessolo entered their life and he married George’s mother and adopted him at the age of 13, and after 15 years of marriage the two separated and his mother would lie to him and say that Frank committed suicide…when in fact he was alive and well and would pass away many years later and George was unaware of this fact for many years. And starting around 1939 is when George Reeves started his acting career and even landed a small role in the film “Gone With The Wind” and through the 1940’s would be in many films including titles like “The Fighting 69th”, “Torrid Zone”, “Dead Men Tell”, “Jungle Goddess”, “Samson And Delilah” and “The Good Humor Man” to name a very small few, as while he was never a main leading man he had that star quality. And in 1951 his luck changed when he was casted as Superman in both the film “Superman And The Mole Men” as well as the TV Show “The Adventures Of Superman” that would last 6 seasons and a total of 104 episodes and was a super popular show among kids and adults and George Reeves was Superman in the publics eyes. And this big role would also be a curse while he would get some small work during and after his run a Superman much of his roles had him playing the superhero such as his 1957 appearance on “I Love Lucy” on the episode Lucy And Superman. But in is personal life Reeves was said to be depressed over the typecasting of the Superman role and on June 16, 1959 it is said that George Reeves committed suicide by gunshot, while other do think that he was murdered and it was cover-up. George Reeves is one of the best actors to ever play Superman and is for me on par with Christopher Reeve as I think both of them embodied the heroic nature and character. While George Reeves was gone from this world way to soon his work lives on and his biggest cursed role is why he is still a well-loved actor to this day.

Superman And The Mole Men 9Superman And The Mole Men 10Superman And The Mole Men 11

The tragic death of George Reeves was really a bummer to his fans and sadly for some has tainted the joy his portrayal of Superman brought them as it’s been rumored that that role is what drove him to depression, but please do not allow this tragic event to ruin your love for the show as it really is a fun and wholesome entertainment that is still enjoyed to this day. And now we are at the part of the update that we will be reviewing this Photo Comic Graphic Novel that was released by Fanzine and thanks to Amazon for having this graphic novel in stock and making this update possible. I also would 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, it’s entertainment value and it’s art and story. Now if your are ready lets look up to the sky as is that a bird? A plan? Or is it just Superman done as a Photo Comic?

Superman and the Mole Men GN 1

Superman And The Mole Men GN  **1/2
Released in 2020      Cover Price $13.00      Fanzine       # 1 of 1

Lois Lane and Clark Kent travel to the small town of Silsby to write about the worlds deepest oil well, but when they arrive to cover it they are shocked when they are told by foreman Mr. Corrigan that the well has been shutdown and word had come down from the top of the company to do so. As Clark and Lois are about to leave he notices that all of the workmen’s tools are thrown into a hole and this intrigues him. When the Oil company puts them up in a motel for the night and keys the a company car Lois and Clark decide to visit the Oil Well again and head toward it, meanwhile at the well three little Mole Men come out of the ground and scare the old night man to death! And when Lois and Clark show up and find the body, Lois spots the Mole Men and freaks out and the sheriff is called up and she has to tell him what she has seen and that she thinks the Mole Men she spotted is who killed the watch man, and when the Doctor shows up he rules the death a heart attack. And while Lois heads back to the hotel Clark stays with Mr. Corrigan to wait for the Undertaker and when everyone is gone Clark gets the truth out of Corrigan about the well closing and that they found possible radiation, living organisms as well as that the center of the Earth is hollow! And things get worse when the townspeople find out about the creatures Luke Benson feeds them all fear and creates mobs in order to kill the visitors as they all now think that they are dangerous because the stuff they touch starts glowing. And when the Mole Men make the mistake of trying to befriend a young girl who’s mother freaks out, the townspeople are filled with rage and go on the hunt, and even when Clark sneaks away to turn into Superman he can not get them to calm down as Luke is the issue as he keeps winding people up. Luke and his mob end up shooting one of the Mole Men that Superman has to rush to the hospital, and they think they burn the other alive in a shed who by luck escapes and goes back down the oil well. As Luke and his mob head toward the hospital when the find out the wounded Mole Man is there as they want to kill him Superman runs them off just as more Mole Men appear with a laser gun in order to get their wounded friend back, and Superman is able to return the would Mole Man to his people as well as save Luke from a laser blast and in the end Superman and Lois watch as the Mole Men blow up the entrance to their world as they just want to be left alone.

What a fun and simple Photo Comic GN that does a good job of bringing the film to the pages and feels like a quick read and is truly a wholesome Superman adventure. As the plot is very simple and has Superman trying to teach a small town that just because someone is different does not mean you should hurt them. Superman does his best to try and keep law and order as a town goes wild and crazed and mob rule is the mindset all do to one mans hate filled words. Superman also does a great job of saving the Mole Men and the town people from being killed and shows that he hates bullies as well as the miss use of guns as at one point he takes all of them from the mob when someone almost shoots Lois Lane by accident. Luke Benson is a total idiot who hates to hate and over takes the town by making every one afraid of the unknown and they even over take the law as they over power and lock up the sheriff! And even after being a scum bag to everyone and causing injuries Superman still saves Luke from taking a laser blast to the chest. The Mole Men are not bad at all and are just discovering the upper world and mean zero harm, and because of their strange look they are hated and hunted and one is injured badly and his own people are forced to try and rescue him and when they do so they blowup the entrance to their world as they want nothing to do with mankind. This Photo Comic also took a black and white film and took stills and added color to them and oddly it works in a charming way, as the colors are basic but some how it adds to the fun nature of this story. And once more I have to stress this comics plot just like the movie is very simple and yet now in days has that classic feel of being good and understanding is what is right. The cover for this graphic novel is a little boring and underwhelming and the interior is stills from the film that have been colored in and dialogue added in, so that is good if you like photo comics. Over all this is a great read if you like the film its based on or just very kid friendly Superman stories, while I do think the cover price is a little high I do say its worth a buy for fans. Check out the photo art below to see they style used in this comic.

Superman And The Mole Men GN Art 1Superman And The Mole Men GN Art 2Superman And The Mole Men GN Art 3

So as you can see, this Photo Comic Graphic Novel is a pretty good and entertaining read, but I know for many of you readers the fact that it is a Photo Comic will scare you away from checking it out, and I do understand as these type of comics are not for everyone. But I say if you like Superman as played by George Reeves I would give this at least a chance no matter how you feel about the style of comic. I should also note that Anthony Koontz is the man behind Fanzine and these Photo Comic Graphic Novels and he has also done ones based on “Invasion Of The Body Snatchers” and “Brain The Wouldn’t Die” and yes both of those will be getting the Rotten Ink treatment sometime in the future. So we are now getting even closer to our big Christmas Eve update and the next topic is something that many of you fellow kids of the 80’s will remember as it will be SilverHawks! So until next time read a Superman comic or three, watch a Superman film or two and as always support your local Horror Host…and I know those of you from Cleveland, Ohio did as you guys had Superhost! See you next time for a screeching silver metal hawk good time.

Silverhawks preview logo

Forgotten Reels: The Lost World (1925)

Posted on by
Reply

Forgotten Reels is a new update theme here at Rotten Ink and will take us to the Rotten Ink Theater to sit around and talk about Silent Cinema! As I am sure you all know by now, I am a major fan of all types of films and genres, but did you know that I am a huge fan of Silent Films? And when it comes to Silent Horror Films as well as Silent Science Fiction films, I am a major geek for them and have been trying to figure out a way to cover them here on Rotten Ink and thanks to the success of the “Wild West Round Up” updates I have found the formatting that would work to share my love for them! When covering the Silent Films, I am also going to cover a different bag of my favorite kind of snack food and I am talking about potato chips! And like before, I will be given a star rating to both the film and the chips. For these Forgotten Reels updates I will be covering releases from companies like Alpha Video, Grapevine Video, Creature Feature Video and Madacy Entertainment. And yes, I know that Kino Lorber and Criterion a lot of the times has the way better prints that have been restored and re-mastered, I just feel that the companies above have the look and quality I remember seeing these types of films for the first time as a kid. I also want to give my friend and amazing artist Jason Gilmore a big thank you for the Forgotten Reels logo that will be used for these Silent Film themed updates. Oh, I almost forgot the first film we will be covering for Forgotten Reels is a real classic in cinema as it’s the 1925 film The Lost World! So let’s find our seats and get ready to talk some Silent Cinema!

Forgotten Reels Lost World 1925 Logo

The Lost World is a 1925 film that was based on the novel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and was released by First National Pictures and had a budget of $700,000.  Harry O. Hoyt was brought on the production to direct as he was the man in the director chair for such films as “The Moth (1917)”, “The Rider Of The King Log (1921)” and “Sundown (1924)” to name a few, and they had screenwriter Marion Fairfax in to adapt the novel for screen as she had a long history of being behind the pen for many classic silent films. The film brought in classic actors like Wallace Beery, Bessie Love, Arthur Hoyt and Bull Montana to fill roles, and the film is considered one of the first in cinema to use stop motion special effects.  Willis O’Brien, the godfather of this style, was the man behind these amazing dinosaur effects, and he is one of the all time great effects masters and would go on to work on the 1933 King Kong among many other iconic films of cinema. The dinosaurs of the film were based on the artwork of Charles R. Knight and decades after the film, it’s said that Forrest J. Ackerman had many of the O’Brien models in his private collection. Ackerman was a true lover of classic Horror and Sci-Fi cinema and saved many items like them from being lost to time. The river scenes of the film were said to be shot behind MGM studios in an open sewer area, or so the Hollywood story goes. Another great story about The Lost World is that in 1922 Conan Doyle showed a ton of magicians including Harry Houdini test footage of O’Brien’s dinosaurs and would not tell the origins of the footage while they all viewed it and they as well as the press was said to have been blown away by the effects. The film over the years is said to have made $1.3 million dollars and was the first film to be shown on a flight in 1925 via a nitrate film reels and is as well what kicked off the dinosaur movie craze that is still going to this day. Over the years some prints of the film have fallen into the Public Domain and have been shown on many Horror Host programs as well can be found on many budget VHS, DVD and on YouTube. And over the years Lost World has had some lost footage found as well as has been re-mastered.

Forgotten Reels Lost World 1925 1

The chips I chose to pair with this film are “Grippo’s Bar-B-Q,” a chip that I have loved since I was a young kid and a potato chip company from the great state of Ohio. Growing up as a kid, popcorn, Andy Capp’s Hot Fries and potato chips were the snacks of choice for my brother and I as we watched USA Saturday Nightmares or WWF Monday Night Raw, and one of our favorites hands down when it came to chips was always Grippo’s! You see my father has always worked in the grocery business and he would from time to time bring home different styles of snack food for not only him to eat but also for my brother and I to try, and Grippo’s was always a popular eat at our house during movie and TV watching. Grippo’s started in 1919 and is based out of Cincinnati, Ohio and was founded by Angelo Grippo.  The company over the years has made all types of snack foods from Pretzels, Sugar Cones and their most popular item is Potato Chips that comes in many flavors from the overly popular BBQ as well as Cheddar, Salt & Vinegar as well as a few others. Grippo’s is still going strong to this day and so many of my friends love these chips. Below is a shot of a freshly opened bag so that you can see these BBQ Grippo’s in their natural habitat.

Forgotten Reels Lost World 1925 2

Forgotten Reels is a themed update that will be sticking around for a very long time here on Rotten Ink as being able to share my thought and the wonders of Silent Films is something that I really like to do! And I will be grading both the film and the chips on a classic 1-4 star scale. I also want to say on my film rating, I am basing it on a scale that is for silent films of all budgets and eras. So sit back in your theater seat, grab some chips and a soda and let’s travel to The Lost World with Alpha Video. And yes, the stills used in this review update are indeed taken from the Alpha Video print and the DVD that I own.

Lost World 1925 DVD

Lost World
Starring: Wallace Beery and Bessie Love      Directed: Harry O. Hoyt
Not Rated     1925   63min   Alpha Video   DVD   Full Frame

We open in the office of the London Record Journal, and the Editor is upset as he has just gotten word that Professor Challenger is going to sue them over the paper doubting his story of living dinosaurs, and they are also worried, as Challenger has attacked three reporters just that day! In order to get the interview with Challenger, they send eager reporter Edward Malone who stumbles into the editor’s office and has to hurry to Zoological Hall to cover a lecture that Challenger is giving and try to score the sit down interview for the paper, as well as sneak in as reporters are banned from the lecture. At the Hall many people are in line for the lecture including Sir John Roxton who is an explorer and hunter who wants to disprove Challenger’s claim of dinosaurs. And it seems like many of those attending are there to mock Challenger and his claims. Malone is able to easily get into the lecture thanks to Roxton who brings him in on his pass. As he starts the crowd mocks Challenger, who in turn wants to get a committee and a group together to head to the Amazon and to this Lost World with him! And some in the crowd who believe and disbelieve take him up on this chance to see the Dinosaurs and they are Professor Summerlee, John Roxton and Edward Malone. But when Malone alerts Challenger of his profession, the Professor goes into a rage and tries to attack the young man and chaos breaks out. And Challenger, mad that a reporter got in, returns to his home.

Forgotten Reels Lost World 1925 3Forgotten Reels Lost World 1925 4Forgotten Reels Lost World 1925 5

As Professor Challenger gets home for the night, still mad over the lecture, he soon finds that Edward Malone has entered his home via a window, as he would like to talk to the Professor and says that he really needs to go on the expedition in order to impress his fiancé who will not marry him until he faces a major challenge, and this means nothing to Challenger who attacks Malone and they two fight and struggle so much that they end up in the street! A Police Cop witnesses the fight and when Malone refuses to press charges and even takes blame for the fight, Challenger ends up listening to Malone when he finds out that he is also close friends with Sir John Roxton. Once inside the parlor, Challenger has his butler call upon Miss Paula White, and also Roxton comes to the house and they talk about the diary of Maple White and as Paula shows up the story of the Lost World that is populated with Dinosaurs is discussed.  Paula explains how her father discovered a plateau in the Amazon alone as she was back at camp sick from a fever, and as she speaks Malone flips through the pages of the diary and sees the explorers drawings of Dinosaurs that he said he saw! And then Paula claims that she has seen them herself and that her father is lost on that plateau as his crew left him behind in fear of the beasts. And as they talk, Mrs. Challenger enters the parlor and is upset that her husband has kicked out everyone up to this point has come to the house to help. Edward Malone then comes up with the idea to get the paper to pay for the rescue mission as he can pass it off as a good human-interest story as they might think that the talk of Dinosaurs is fake but saving an explorer in a exclusive story they would bite on. Challenger agrees to this pitch and everyone is happy. Malone asks Roxton to go talk to the editor with him, and before they leave Roxton tells Paula that he is going on this mission for her. Paula looks both happy and taken back by this, but is happy they help is on its way for her father.

Forgotten Reels Lost World 1925 6Forgotten Reels Lost World 1925 7Forgotten Reels Lost World 1925 8

The London Record Journal funds the rescue mission and Professor Challenger, Sir John Roxton, Professor Summerlee, Paula White, Austin and Edward Malone meet up with some natives and boat down the river to the secret location deep in the Amazon. Once they reach the plateau they all make camp and Malone is writing to his editor as everyone else is enjoying the rest and wildlife around the area. But watching them is a strange apeman who is monstrous in nature and watches and Roxton talks of how Paula said her father used a fallen tree in order to get to the plateau and Challenger says in the morning they will knock down another tree and get across. The apeman then pushes a bolder off the cliff and tries to crush the rescue party, his attack fails and causes the men to look around and they see a massive Pterodactyl flying around and then landing and eating, and Challenger then declares that everything in Maple’s diary is true.

Forgotten Reels Lost World 1925 9Forgotten Reels Lost World 1925 10Forgotten Reels Lost World 1925 11

The next morning Challenger leads them to the top of the plateau and chops down another tree to make a bridge across a cliff and while doing all this dinosaurs start to pay attention to the noises being made by these human invaders. One by one they cross the fallen tree and then watch as a Brontosaurus feeds on leaves. They are scared and yet also so amazed by this sight. The massive creature then does the unthinkable and knocks their tree bridge off the cliff and causing them all to be stuck now. All the while back at the camp native Zambo with his pet monkey Jocko and Austin, the butler of Challenger watch on and are helpless to save them from being stranded.

Forgotten Reels Lost World 1925 12Forgotten Reels Lost World 1925 13Forgotten Reels Lost World 1925 14

As night falls, the group starts a fire to stay warm and try and come up with a plan, and unknown to them the apeman once more is watching them this time from the trees. Malone heads to Paula and tries to find out what is on her mind. She tells of the worry she has that something bad has happened to her father as she feels he would have made his way to the fire if he was still alive. Malone tries to comfort her as Roxton watches on and is not pleased that someone else talking to the woman he loves. But before anything else can be said, the whole group gets a scare as a T-Rex appears and attacks and kills another dinosaur before their eyes. They then watch as the T-Rex’s path of murder doesn’t stop as it goes after a Tyrannosaurus and its baby. He fails in his attempt to kill and gets a horn would to his side that makes him even more mad as he heads out into the jungle and into the camp! Challenger and Roxton armed with rifles open fire on the T-Rex and Malone throws a lit torch at it scaring it off and back into a battle with a Tyrannosaurus. As the group then finally spots the apeman and Roxton shoots him in the arm scaring him away. Meanwhile the T-Rex kills the Tyrannosaurus as well as then kills a Pterodactyl. Meanwhile at the base camp, Zambo and Jocko are drinking water when Austin has an idea that they can make a giant rope from the hammocks and have Jocko climb the mountain plateau to give it to them.

Forgotten Reels Lost World 1925 15Forgotten Reels Lost World 1925 16Forgotten Reels Lost World 1925 17

After all the excitement of the T-Rex attack, Challenger and the group find a cave to seek shelter in from the craziness of the jungle. They decided that this cave would be their home until they are saved or for the rest of their lives and then Challenger tries to design a catapult weapon out of bent down trees in order to fight off dinosaurs. While in the cave Roxton is looking around and finds a skeleton of a human that has a locket, and inside that locket is a picture of Paula…the hunter thinks he has found the remains of her father Maple White, he then also finds an open at the back of the cave that leads straight down the mountain and fires his gun and gets the attention of Austin and Zambo who yell back and fourth with Raxton that they will be turning the rope into a ladder and will send Jacko up with it in the morning, but the monkey needs to see Paula to make the climb. Meanwhile alone in a part of the cave Malone tells Paula that he loves her, and is breaking his promise to his fiancé as he wants to be with her. Roxton walks in on the two embracing and sharing loving words, Malone informs his friend that he and Paula are going to marry each other in the cave as Summerlee was once a minister before he was a professor and goes off to find him. As Roxton says he needs to tell Paula something very important.

Forgotten Reels Lost World 1925 18Forgotten Reels Lost World 1925 19Forgotten Reels Lost World 1925 20

In the jungle Challenger and Summerlee are watching a Brontosaurus feed and are following it, as back in the cave Raxton gives Paula the locket and tells her the bad news of her father’s death. The T-Rex shows up once again and this time goes after the Brontosaurus and knocks the massive creature over the cliff, the T-Rex is mad that he did not get to eat his victim and wonders off into the jungle. Meanwhile in another cave the apeman along with his chimpanzee friend sulk over the humans being around and him being wounded by a bullet. Paula and Raxon are waiting for the others to return as they have been gone for hours now and they are worried, but Raxton tells her they must wait for them in order to lead them to the cave opening so they can all escape. And also a volcano on the plateau is about to erupt adding more danger for Challenger and his crew as the lava starts to flow the dinosaurs start to stampede and it’s making it hard for Challenger, Summerlee and Malone to get back to the cave for shelter. The T-Rex is attacking his fellow fleeing dinosaurs as fire is breaking out all around in the jungle! And they are finally able to make their way to the cave as the volcano calms down and the fires stop and the dinosaurs go back to their normal lives.

Forgotten Reels Lost World 1925 21Forgotten Reels Lost World 1925 22Forgotten Reels Lost World 1925 23

Back in the cave Raxton shows Paula the opening as she calls for Jocko, the little monkey, who with the ladder makes his way up the mountain to get to her, and does so delivering their way to escape the Lost World. The Brontosaurus who fell from the cliff is shown to be alive and stuck in mud, and it’s the mud that spared its life and cushioned the landing. With the ladder now in place Paula White starts making her way down the mountain, Jocko the monkey is next, then Professor Summerlee, Professor Challenger, Edward Malone and lastly Sir John Roxton gets on the ladder. But the apeman and his chimpanzee friend and a score to settle with Roxton and they start to pull the ladder up with him still on it as his friends below try to pull it back down, but the apeman is just too strong. They fire a rifle up at the mountain and hit apeman in the chest and Roxton makes it down to land safe. As they are heading away from the mountain, Challenger spots the wounded Brontosaurus and with the help of Major Hiddard of Brazilian Geodetic they get the dinosaur out of the mud in a month’s time with a one-way ticket to London.

Forgotten Reels Lost World 1925 24Forgotten Reels Lost World 1925 25Forgotten Reels Lost World 1925 26

In London Professor Challenger is giving another lecture to a roomful of people and he tells them that they are brining a living Brontosaurus to London and that reporter Edward Malone is on the ship that is bringing the creature to them in mere moments. Challenger then gets a phone call from Malone who informs the professor that during unloading at the dock the straps on the cage broke and now the Brontosaurus is loose in the streets and causing panic and chaos. In the streets people are running and driving away in fear as the dinosaur is on a rampage. Challenger tells the crowd at the lecture to stay inside as his dinosaur is free in the streets, and the crowd starts to think that this is a scam and begin to boo and turn on Challenger who they think is a liar. All the while the Brontosaurus is stomping around the city causing destruction and ends up on the London Bridge and it ends up breaking under its weight and it falls into the water and swims away. After the dinosaur is gone Paula and Malone come together and Roxton pushes his feelings for her aside and is happy for the couple. And Professor Challenger sits on the bridge and watches as his dinosaur fades away into the horizon.

Forgotten Reels Lost World 1925 27Forgotten Reels Lost World 1925 28Forgotten Reels Lost World 1925 29

Review: The Lost World is a truly amazing early cinema film that allowed the team of Harry O. Hoyt and Marion Fairfax to truly bring the novel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to life on the big screen and offered thrills, chills to movie goers who left the theater wondering if they had just seen footage of real dinosaurs! The film really focuses on reporter Edward Malone and his quest to cover the big story of the lost world as well as him falling in love with Paula White who his own friend famed hunter Sir John Roxton also is crushing on. And all three of these characters are great and their story is interesting and helps add more drama to the story and also adds a good amount on tension to a group that is already stuck in a land of dinosaurs who want to eat them for dinner. But I think like most people who have read the book as well would agree that the real star of the film is the eccentric Professor Challenger whose anger, passion and personality sets him apart from the rest of the cast of characters and Wallace Beery was the perfect actor to cast in that role. The Dinosaur effects were done by the true legend and godfather of early day special effects Willis O’Brien and this film was a great warm up for him as in 1933 he would bring us the masterpiece of cinema King Kong. And the T-Rex in this movie is such a jerk and gets his jollies in just killing other dinosaurs as well as trying to kill our heroes. And let’s not forget to point out the awesome Brontosaurus rampage in London, a scene that influenced many Kaiju and Giant Monster movies over the decades. One thing I have to point out is that actor Bull Montana played the Apeman on the Lost Planet and he is one of cinema’s early creature actors as he would wear that suit or one just like it in the 1920 Horror Comedy Film “Go And Get It” and had the movements of creatures down, but that I am sure this is due to his years of being a Pro Wrestler. This film is also very much the inspiration for the Jurassic Park book and film series, and The Lost World is one of the world’s best Silent Films from that era as it brings so many emotions with it and best of all its super entertaining from start to finish. If you have not seen this film, do yourself a favor and get yourself a copy from Alpha Video or another home media copy and give it a watch.

Now let’s briefly talk about the Grippo’s Bar-B-Q Potato Chips, a snack food that has always been a favorite in my family’s household growing up. When eating this bag I can see why I loved them as a kid. The BBQ seasoning on these chips is very flavorful and have a nice spice taste that makes it so easy to eat a full bag in one sitting. They have a taste like no other BBQ chip and that is why those who have tried Grippo’s always put them at the top of their shopping list for snack food. And they are not afraid to coat the chip in the seasoning and hands down these are some amazingly good potato chips!

Movie: ****
Chips: ****

Forgotten Reels Lost World 1925 30Forgotten Reels Lost World 1925 31Forgotten Reels Lost World 1925 32

The Lost World really is a fantastic Silent Film. The effects that they pulled off in 1925 are amazing and set the guidelines for special effects to come in Hollywood, and really the film is a mix of Adventure, Sci-Fi and Horror and really was one of the early versions of a Giant Monster movie as the end of the film has a Dinosaur running wild in a big city that would go on to be a staple of the kind of films. And as you can see, this first Forgotten Reels update starts off with a perfect Silent Film as well as a perfect bag of chips. But the house lights have been turned on and that is our cue to head out, but before we do, I would like to let you all know that our next update will take us to New York and the time that Dracula visited it as the topic is the 1979 film Love At First Bite and the photo comic book based on it! So until next time, read a comic or three, watch a Silent Film or two and as always support your local Horror Host. See you soon as we continue our countdown to Halloween 2022 and spend some time with Count Dracula.

love-at-first-bite preview logo

From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: Godzilla vs. Kong (2021)

Posted on by
Reply

Welcome back to Rotten Ink. For another “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” update and for this one I will be taking a look at the battle of the worlds two most popular Kaiju those being Godzilla and King Kong and their battle that took place in 2021 in the theaters thanks to Legendary Pictures, and like all good monster movies this film spawned not one but two comic graphic novels to help promote the film and each one showcased the individual monsters before they even meet up on the silver screen. And before we get into this update I want you to think about which of these Giant Monsters is your favorite now and growing up even, as truly here in America these two are the Titans that made the biggest impact in not only movies but culture and they still have massive loyal followings and both have made impacts worldwide. So with that let’s take a look at Godzilla vs. Kong and the two graphic novels this film spawned.

Godzilla vs Kong 1

So to start this off right lets take a look at both Godzilla and King Kong and their styles of battle and killing! And we will start off first with Godzilla who stands at 393 feet tall and weighs over 90,000 tons and is a massive destruction Kaiju who lets nothing stand in his way. He is very aggressive as he wants to be the Alpha Titan and will attack any creature or human base that stands in his way of ruling as if he views you as a threat he will kill. Godzilla is massive in size and can crush people and things under his feet, his massive tail can also kill and destroy people and can be used as a weapon against other Kaiju’s that he comes across. Godzilla’s look also is very scary and this can freeze people in fear and this could lead to their deaths. While Godzilla don’t target humans for the most part those who are in his way learn that he can deal them the death card. Godzila also has super powerful atomic breath that can burn through the Earth, can level buildings and can burn humans to bits as well as can cause serious damage to fellow Giant Monsters that get into his way. Godzilla will also use his teeth and claws to attack and they both as well can cause some big damage to his fellow monsters. He can be fast on land when in a rage, but is always super fast in the water swimming. Godzilla is also smart but one of his weakness is that he is driven by instinct and as well ego as he wants to be the top Alpha among Kaiju and will kill any other creature that gets in his way and opposes his rule. But because of this drive he also heads straight into battle and will not stop until he or the other creature is dead. Godzilla can be hurt as well by atomic blasts, giant battle axes as well as attacks from other Giant Monsters. Godzilla does not have much weakness and this is why many call him King Of The Monsters.

Godzilla vs Kong 2Godzilla vs Kong 3Godzilla vs Kong 4

King Kong while more friendly to mankind still is a Kaiju and can deal death to those that cross him or those he cares about. Kong is super powerful as he can use his strength to overpower his fellow Kaiju as well as can smash human war machines like planes. And do to his size standing 335 feet and weighs around 50,000 tons and this size alone makes him a wrecking machine if he chooses to be. Kong’s look that is a massive gorilla can also strike fear in the hearts of humans as they fear that he could smash them with his feet, hands and his razor sharp teeth is a frightful sight as Kong lets out his massive roar. Kong is super fast and moves much faster then Kaiju like Godzilla, and Kong is also very smart and can use his environment to his advantage. Kong also uses weapons wither it’s something like a tree or his trusty battle-axe that he finds in Middle Earth he is truly a force of nature that can deal death to humans and Kaiju if he chooses. He is an Alpha when it comes to Kaiju and he knows that he really is a King among them. But while Kong is massive he does have some weaknesses like that fact he is caring towards humans he bonds with, he can be hurt via atomic breath, he can be cut by fellow Kaiju’s teeth and claws and because he has normal skin he can be hurt badly by this. Kong also can be sent into a rage as he is a Alpha and that means he does have an ego that can lead him into fights that he might not win if not planned out. Kong also can hold his breath for a while but can be drowned and smothered, as he does need air in his lungs to survive. While Kong has some weakness it’s a matter of luck in order of getting the best of him and he truly is one of the most powerful Kaiju’s due to his smarts, strength and speed.

Godzilla vs Kong 5Godzilla vs Kong 6Godzilla vs Kong 7

As you can see both Godzilla and Kong as super dangerous if they want to be to humans, but to be honest they both in the Legendary Monsterverse series acts as protectors to humans and only kill them when attacked or protecting…and well by accident. But as you can see when it comes to other Kaiju’s they can and will kill them to be the Alpha and to be the protectors that their instincts tell them to be. Well I think its time to take a look at the film that pitted these two against each other from 2021 and as always the films write up will be taken from our pals at IMDB and after that I will write about the films production as well as my thoughts on the film. So if you are ready, let’s chat about Godzilla vs. Kong an epic Kaiju film for the ages.

Godzilla vs Kong 8Godzilla vs Kong 9Godzilla vs Kong 10

Godzilla vs. Kong (2021)

“Legends collide as Godzilla and Kong, the two most powerful forces of nature, clash on the big screen in a spectacular battle for the ages. As a squadron embarks on a perilous mission into fantastic uncharted terrain, unearthing clues to the Titans’ very origins and mankind’s survival, a conspiracy threatens to wipe the creatures, both good and bad, from the face of the earth forever.”

Godzilla vs. Kong had seeds planted in 2015 when Legendary Pictures was able to get Universal to let Warner Brothers release the King Kong reboot that they were working on as they had already done Godzilla with WB in 2014 and fans knew that Kong would be joining the planned Monsterverse and finally they announced that yes a Godzilla vs. Kong film would be in the works after a few films would be released based on them both in order to build up the showdown. And this caused Kaiju fans to be cheering so loud for this giant monster showdown, but they were told it would not come out until 2020…so a wait was in store for us all as they confirmed this in late 2015. The next major news came in 2017 when they hired Adam Wingard to direct the film and he was a good choice as he already had films “A Horrible Way To Die (2010)”, “You’re Next (2011)”, “Blair Witch (2016)” and “Death Note (2017)” under his belt and at one point he was even selected by Peter Jackson to be the director of his never made sequel to the 2005 King Kong remake. Next they started working on the script and after many ideas and rewrites it was Eric Pearson and Max Borenstein who got the job based on the stories of Michael Dougherty, Terry Rossio and Zach Sheilds and they all added elements from the past three films in the shared universe. And in 2017 through 2018 they started also casting parts in the film with Millie Bobby Brown and Kyle Chandler coming back in their roles and names like Julian Dennison, Alexander Skarsgard, Rebecca Hall, Eiza Gonzalez and Brian Tyree Henry among others all getting roles in key parts. The film began filming on November 12, 2018 and took place in Hawaii and Australia and was your normal big budget film shoot with reshoots coming later to even add and help to the story. And from there the film had the visual effects added by a massive team-up from companies Moving Pictures Company, Scanline VFX and Weta Digital and this had to be done by so many companies as Warner Brothers really wanted to release the film in 2020 like they first promised. And then the film was scored by Tom Holkenborg who did a fantastic job of adding new sounds to already iconic songs in some pieces and his new songs are fantastic. The film had big promotion around it and posters were shown and Comic Con even got to see a clip and the buzz around the film was at a fever pitch as fans wanted to see it bad, and when pictures of the toys by Playmates based on the film leaked on line it was on as new character where shown and fans started wondering what these new Kaiju were. But sadly Godzilla vs. Kong was not released in 2020 due to the pandemic and movie theaters world wide had to shut down in order to slow down the virus. And the film was pushed to 2021 and even then people thought that it might not even be release until 2022! But the film did make it to the theaters on March 31, 2021 and even with the annoying pandemic still being around it did really well at the Box Office, but on the same day released in theaters Warner Brothers and there parent company AT&T also decided to put the film on their terrible streaming service HBO Max and this was cool for people who was scared to go to theaters due to the virus and was understandable at the time. The film did $467,863,133.00 worldwide via its theater run and was # 2 for the year at the Box Office in America and was released alongside other films like “The Conjuring: Devil Made Me Do It”, “The Suicide Squad”, “Candyman”, “Mortal Kombat”, “Snake Eyes”, “The Green Knight”, “Chaos Walking” and many more. The film was pretty well loved by both critics and fans and was the first big movie for theaters once they were able to open once more. And once on home media I of course bought it and have watched a couple of times sense its release.

Godzilla vs. Kong was one of the films of 2021 that I was most looking forward to as it was one that my gal Juliet and I would talk about all the time as well as many of my friends as we all debated and took sides on who they wanted to win the big fight! And our household was split as Juliet was team Godzilla and I was team Kong and even before the films release I ordered us both shirts that featured the Kaiju we were cheering for, and yes, we wore them when we went and seen the film at a Cinemark Theater. I invited many of my friends as well to watch the film and it was a blast seeing it in the theater and all of us had a great time eating popcorn, snacks and having some drinks all the while watching the monsters battle on the silver screen for our entertainment. And while Kong should have won the fight I enjoyed the heck out of the film and that’s why it ranked #2 on my Matt Goes To The Movies 2021 update in the Horror section. The film made me feel like a kid again in the theater as watching two of cinemas biggest iconic giant monsters fighting on the screen was something very magical and truly was a film that needed to be seen in theaters and not at home via streaming! And it was great as everyone of my friends who came with me to watch the film enjoyed the hell out of it and the best part really being is how split we all were on who should have won, and even in the end when the winner was shown no one was rubbing it in the other sides face. The effects of the film were great and I think that Legendary Pictures has done a great job of showing the age progression of both Titans in each film and have done a fantastic job of also giving them personality and growth over the films that make up the Monsterverse. The thing that really worked in the film is that several times Kong and Godzilla fight and after each battle one of the Titans has the upper hand given fans of each of them something to cheer and feel good about and making neither look weak. I am glad that Legendary Pictures was able to get Toho, Warner Brothers and Universal Pictures to come together and allow this and the other films in the series to be made as they truly are “Event” films that are super enjoyable to watch in the theater and with friends. I hope that this is not the last we see of Godzilla or Kong as both have many more battles to be had in the Monsterverse. To sum it up I really enjoyed Godzilla vs. Kong and while in my opinion the wrong Kaiju won the battle it took the two to really bring down the threat that was a giant tech company and their Mecha monster.

Godzilla vs Kong 11

As you long time readers know, both Godzilla and King Kong are big time favorites here at Rotten Ink as both are characters I grew up watching and will always be covered here and with Legendary Pictures and Legendary Comics making new media about both of them this is great news as they will always be covered here. And I want to thank Amazon for having both of these graphic novels in stock and making this update possible. 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 with that, let’s head to the world of Titans and see who has the better graphic novel!

Godzilla Dominion GN

Godzilla: Dominion # 1  **1/2
Released in 2021     Cover Price $16.99    Legendary     # 1 of 1

Godzilla is trying to protect his territory and find a new home and comes across the Titan Scylla who has been driven mad with hunger and has set her sights on a bomb at the bottom of the ocean and Godzilla knows that if the bomb goes off it will hurt the Earth as well as people and fights Scylla and makes her retreat into the ocean. Godzilla next appears to break up a fight between Amhuluk and Behemoth as they two are fighting over territory as well as are both hungry and as Amhuluk takes down Behemoth with plans on eating him Godzilla steps in and breaks up this could be feast and Amhuluk and Behemoth go their separate ways. Godzilla returns to the ocean and lets a strong current carry him as he rests and remembers back to a time long ago before man took over the world, and he then is attacked by meat eating giant fish that he ends up using his atomic breath and fries them. And as he continues his quest to find a new home Godzilla even remembers back to Mothra giving her life for his and that is when he runs into the Titan Na Kika as well as Warships and Helicopters that are attacking him once he surfaces, after defeating the war machines he once more finds a place to rest and recharges. Godzilla then finds his new home and must fight the Titan Tiamat in order to claim it and after a big fight Tiamat bows down and leaves Godzilla deep in his thoughts that is all about his real rival the one known as Kong.

Godzilla Dominion is a fun read and has some cool fights as well as features some other Titans that make up the Monsterverse. The Idea of this basically being a day in the life of Godzilla as he tries to find a new home is kind of a fun concept, but it is also flawed. While I really do want to stress that it’s a fun read and fans of Kaiju or should I say Titans will really enjoy all the monster fights as well as seeing many of the ones we are briefly introduced to in the 2019 film “Godzilla King Of The Monsters”, but the downside is that the comic feels like just scenes put together and at times it feels slightly underwhelming and also disjointed in spots. But while flawed in my opinion the comic still is a fun time if you love monster fights. Godzilla in this graphic novel is very much trying to be a protector to Earth as well as King of the monsters as he is trying to get them to behave as well as understands that their food source and territories are over lapping causing them to be at odds with each other. He also shows that he is a Titan who is always thinking as his past as well as the past of his bloodline is always on his mind and his hatred for Kong and his race is also boiling in his blood. The GN also has many other Titans with the coolest one for me to see being Behemoth the giant wooly mammoth with the long tusks, even though he looses a fight with a fellow Titan and almost becomes a meal, he still is my favorite of the other original Titans shown in this comic. I also like that this really feeds into the hatred that Godzilla has for Kong and it really does have to do with the history of war between the two races. The cover is really cool and has artwork by Art Adams and showcases Godzilla in all his glory. The interior art by Drew Johnson is really good and I love the way he draws all the Titans and also the way he draws battles is pretty interesting and well done. Over all this is a good read if you are a Godzilla fan and I cannot wait to see what the Kong graphic novel has in store for me. Check out the artwork below to see the style of Drew.

Godzilla Dominion Art 1Godzilla Dominion Art 2Godzilla Dominion Art 3

So now that we see what Godzilla has brought to the table in this Graphic Novel showdown lets head to Skull Island and see what Kong has in response.

Kingdom Kong GN

Kingdom Kong # 1  ***
Released in 2021     Cover Price $16.99   Legendary     # 1 of 1

Monarch have called in their top pilots and are sending them to Skull Island on a secret mission as they might have found a new entrance to the Hollow Earth and they need a team to go in and secure the area so that scientist can enter and study the believed birth place to all the Titans. Audrey Burns a woman with a past dealing with Titans is selected to lead the group and they all run drills on Skull Island to get ready for the mission. Meanwhile Kong is around and a little annoyed by the new group of humans but still protects them from the likes of a Spirit Tiger that he ends up breaking the neck of. Worse a massive storm is heading the way of Skull Island and if it reaches the island it could cause death of many of the species that live on the island including the tribe of humans. The scientists also are starting to wonder if Kong is out growing Skull Island as he seems to be growing to large for the land to supply him with enough of a food source among other issues. When the drilling team starts to uncover the cave that could be the vortex to lead to Hollow Earth they soon find out that they have all made a big mistake as the winged Titan Camazotz is what was in the hole and he wants to challenge to make Earth his Kingdom! Meanwhile Captain Audrey and her men have a moment to chat about how Titans have effected all of their lives before they are sent out to check on the drilling crew that has went silent…and to make things worse the massive storm is now at Skull Island! Kong fights off Camazotz as Burns and her team enter the fight to help Kong against the Titan and his smaller minions while other get the drilling team out and safe. After Burns uses her airplane to hit Camazotz with a sonic boom, Kong finishes the beast off with a hit that crushes his skull and kills the evil creature. Once the battle is over Burns takes a leave to visit her best friend who was hurt in a Titan attack, the Skull Island Hollow Earth portal is closed as its unstable, Dr. Ilene Andrews takes over as head scientist watching over Skull Island and Kong and Kong himself gets fired up when he thinks about his bloodline’s past and knows Godzilla is out in the world.

Kingdom Kong feels more like your traditional Kaiju comic and follows humans on a mission as well as the featured giant monster doing what they do best and that’s fight, protect and be a giant scary creature in the eyes of humans. And in this comic Kong is as awesome as ever as he tries to protect life but also has no regrets on taking lives of threats to him or what he views as those in need of his help. The way he snaps the neck of the Spirit Tiger shows that Kong does not mess around, and the fact he fights off another Alpha Titan shows that he is not one to turn away from a fight. The main evil Titan in this issue is the winged terror called Camazotz who hides in the dark and wants to make the planet Earth his kingdom and also feels that by beating Kong he as well will become a Alpha Titan, and while he is a threat to Kong he ends up dead thanks to a crushed skull! The human parts of the story do drag a little mostly in the Scientist stuff, with Captain Burns and her crew being a little more interesting due to their PTSD over Kaiju attacks they faced in the past. The Titan fights are great and while at times in some panels the fights do loose a little of the impact as the art sometimes is mudded up with other elements. It was cool to see characters from the film make appearances like Dr. Ilene Andrews, Jia and we even see Dr. David Lind the brother of Nathan Lind who dies trying to enter the Hollow Earth as spoke about in the film. The cover is great and eye catching as its Art Adams artwork again and his stuff always looks amazing. The interior artwork is done by Zed and is solid stuff and I love the way he drew Kong as he captures the Titan very well. Over all this is a really good comic that captures that magic of Kong and tells a pretty interesting story that leads into the events of the film pretty well and also builds the hatred that Kong has for Godzilla. Check out the artwork below to see the style of Zed used in this comic.

Kingdom Kong Art 1Kingdom Kong Art 2Kingdom Kong Art 3

So as you can see, while Godzilla might have won the battle in the film Kong won the showdown between the two Titans in the world of Graphic Novels as his was just a better read and had a more solid plot that did not have that random scenes thrown together feel like Godzilla’s did. But I do feel that if you are a fan of either or both of these classic giant movie monsters you should give these graphic novels a read for sure as both are entertaining in their own ways and are a great lead in to the epic film and act as a fill in for the gap that takes place between the film series. But with that we have all survived another Kaiju attack here at Rotten Ink and our next update will take us all to a place to relax around a camp fire enjoying a bowl of chili and watching a classic western film released by Alpha Video and the first of our new Wild West Round Up update theme. So until next time read a comic or three, watch a Kaiju film or two and as always support your local Horror Host. See you on the ranch for a War Of The Range!

War Of The Range Preview Logo

For the Honor of Greyskull: She-Ra Through the Ages

Posted on by
Reply

Greetings readers – it’s Juliet, reporting back in for blogging duty. Back in the early days of Rotten Ink, 2013 to be exact, Matt asked his friends what franchises they thought should have been made into comics.  Interestingly several of my picks have become comics since then with one franchise in particular enjoying a reboot and subsequent relaunch into popular culture.  That franchise is She-Ra, and today we’ll be taking a look at both the classic Princess of Power and the modern Princesses of Power series including a modern comic for younger readers.  So saddle up your flying horse, grab the Sword of Protection and let’s head to Etheria for the honor of Greyskull!

In 1985, Filmation launched a spinoff to it’s animated series He-Man and the Masters of the Universe.  Geared at young women, She-Ra: Princess of Power followed Princess Adora, the twin sister of Prince Adam (aka He-Man), who was kidnapped by Hordak at birth and was taken to Etheria where she served as Force Captain of the Horde.  After being saved by He-Man and reunited with her family, Adora then chooses to return to Etheria as a freedom fighter in the rebellion, taking up the Sword of Protection and the mantle of She-Ra.  

She-Ra: Princess of Power introduced many supporting characters, some of whom were created by Filmation and others by Mattel, presumably so they could add toys and other merchandise featuring the new characters. The series made its debut on TV in 1985, and the five episode introduction was packed as the film He-Man and She-Ra: The Secret of the Sword. She-Ra: Princess of Power would run for two seasons and a total of 93 episodes. 

The original She-Ra series is one of those cartoons that’s just always existed for me.  I was so young when it debuted, that I can’t actually remember the first time I saw the show, rather, it was ever-present throughout my childhood.  Even after it went off the air, I had a VHS copy of He-Man & She-Ra: A Christmas Special taped off TV that I’d regularly watch.  I loved the characters, but moreover, I loved the idea of the characters and their world.  These were the types of characters that I’d make my own stories about while daydreaming (hello, future fanfiction and original fiction writer). Like many cartoons of its era, it faded away for a while but saw a huge resurgence of interest with the rise of nostalgic pop culture in the late 90s/early 00s.  And of course, the release of the show on DVD helped fuel that fire.  I have the DVDs, and it’s been fun getting reacquainted with the series, especially getting the watch the entire run in order, something I didn’t get to do as a child.  

In 2018, a new version of She-Ra debuted on Netflix.  She-Ra and the Princesses of Power was developed by Noelle Stevenson, already well known for her Nimona and Lumberjanes comic series.  It focused on a teenaged Adora’s journey of love and friendship from being a Horde force captain to taking on the mantle of She-Ra, the savior of Etheria. This series ran a total of five seasons on Netflix to wide acclaim for both its storytelling and its inclusive characters and relationships.  

I had heard good things about She-Ra and the Princess of Power since its launch, but being notoriously late to the game on Netflix shows, it took me until the fifth and final season was released to start my watch.  In all honesty, however, my timing couldn’t have been better.  I watched the entire run of the show in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic and was fairly awestruck.  It was amazing to see beloved, albeit sometimes one dimensional characters from the original series reborn with intentional stories and personalities all their own in bodies and with identities that reflect the varied and awesome realities of our world with a fantasy backdrop.  And then there’s the storytelling.  I have such appreciation for shows that are geared towards younger folks that don’t shy from complex stories and don’t pander to their intended audience.  Watching She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, I was moved to tears on more than one occasion and could imagine my younger self feeling all of the feelings when watching it.  

One thing that really surprised me going from She-Ra: Princess of Power to She-Ra and the Princesses of Power was which characters became my favorite from each show.  In the original show, I was a huge fan of Adora/She-Ra but also loved the looks of Peekablue and Frosta.  In She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, I totally adored Mermista and, mostly surprisingly of all, became a diehard fan of Scorpia.  Both of those characters grow so much through the series, and with Scorpia, you just want her to win and find happiness.  

Before we go on, I have to talk for a moment about music.  Both She-Ra series have memorable theme songs.  The original 80s theme is a riff on the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe theme with a voiceover from titular hero and a chorus of their name, though I find the She-Ra theme to be much catchier.   The theme for She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, however, takes catchy to a whole new level with the song “Warriors” performed by Aaliyah Rose.  It’s such a great anthem that’s guaranteed to get stuck in your head.In addition to the original run of Mattel figures and their accompanying playsets upon which the show was launched, the 80s version of She-Ra had plenty of merchandise both then and now including t-shirts, coffee mugs and cups, sticker and coloring books, board games, backpacks and Funko Pops. Starting in the 2000s, Mattel began to cash in on toy collectors’ nostalgia with several series of reissued He-Man and She-Ra figure sets, beginning with Masters of the Universe Classics.  This first series ran from 2008 until 2016 and featured She-Ra characters scattered among those from He-Man throughout the line.  These were good looking collectors’ figures that were based on the original Masters of the Universe sculpts rather than the original She-Ra figures (so they were bulkier and all plastic with sculpted hair).  My own collection includes both Adora and She-Ra as well as Teela from Masters of the Universe. There have been several additional reissue series in the same vein of Masters of the Universe Classics over the years with a new one that just started (the She-Ra from that series was released in February, 2021) and a line of ReAction figures.  Like its predecessor, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power also has its share of cool merchandise including t-shirts, enamel pins, stickers, a line of books and graphic novels aimed at younger readers, and an awesome line of Target exclusive figures.  

I had many of the original She-Ra figures growing up including She-Ra and a Crystal Swiftwind.  I remember always wanting the Crystal Castle playset, but alas, never actually had it (though my extensive Jem and the Holograms collection more than made up for that), but I do still have my childhood She-Ra coloring book.  I haven’t gotten any merchandise from the new show yet – save for the topic of our review, but I blame that on having watched it entirely during the pandemic and having not set foot in a Hot Topic in over a year as of this posting.  

So let’s talk about what we’re going to review today — in 2019, Scholastic (who you may know from your childhood book fairs) released a chapter book designed for grades 1-5 called She-Ra: Origins of a Hero.  Written by Tracey West, this book kicked off an unconnected series of books for the same age group that took place in the world of the Netflix show.  The fourth book, released in early 2020, however was a graphic novel called She-Ra: Legend of the Fire Princess.  It was written by D.G. Gigi and illustrated by Pauline Ganucheau with input from Noelle Stevenson.  That graphic novel, which was a gift from Matt, is the subject of today’s review. As a reminder, here on Rotten Ink, we grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and are looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. So get ready for an adventure of friendship and wonder as we look at She-Ra: Legend of the Fire Princess

She-Ra: Legend of the Fire Princess  ****
Released in 2020   Cover Price $12.99   Scholastic   #1 of 1

The Spirit Ember is the hot topic of the day as both the Horde and the Rebellion are seeking this lost rune stone.  As Entrapta and Catra plan their search, Glimmer tells the other princess of the legend of the Fire Princess, whose years of solitude trying to master the secrets of the Spirit Ember ended up destroying her kingdom.  Adora is disturbed by the legend, but soon her attention shifts as a Horde vehicle is reported outside Thaymor.  Queen Angela sends Adora, Glimmer and the others to investigate and permits them to search for the Spirit Ember. Meanwhile, Catra and Scorpia are on their own search, but are decidedly not on the same page about their objectives for the day.  As both teams race toward the Spirit Ember, it becomes clear that everything is not as it seems with the lost runestone and each team will have to not only decide if the rune stone is worth it, but also confront issues of trust and friendship along the way.

Comics based on cartoons (as opposed to cartoons based on comics) can really go either way: they can provide fans with additional stories that are faithful to the shows they love or they can utterly pale in comparison with the source material.  Lucky for us, She-Ra: Legend of the Fire Princess is the former. Just like the show, while this graphic novel is aimed at a younger audience, it’s a great read for fans of any age.  The story of a quest for a lost rune-stone would fit perfectly in the middle seasons of the show and, like all of the episodes, manages to balance the “quest of the day” with the larger things the characters are dealing with emotionally and interpersonally.  You can tell Noelle Stevenson had a hand in this because the tone is just right.  Gigi D.G.’s script is well-paced and gives each character time to shine, and Paulina Ganucheau’s art, which you can see below, fits perfectly with the style of the show.  Given that it is aimed at young readers, this will be a quick read for most, but it still manages to pack in a lot of story and a lot of heart.  If you’re a fan of the show and are craving more She-Ra content after the final season, definitely check this one out.

What a fun trip down the nearer and further stretches of memory lane.  When I proposed a She-Ra comic back in 2013, I had hoped that it would provide context and depth to the 80s characters.  Never could I have imagined a show as amazing as She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, and I’m so happy we have it.  For our next update, I’ll be handing the blog back to Matt, but we’ll stay in the world of nostalgia as we visit the 90s for a look at Malibu’s Prototype.  In the meantime, support your local comic shop, be strong and be brave.

American Hero: Super Green Beret

Posted on by
Reply

July 4th is a very special day for America as way back in 1776 we as a nation declared that we were no longer under British rule and that we would be our own nation and the United States Of America became one of the world’s biggest and best. This day every year since has been filled with fireworks, friends & family time and of course grilled out food! This year for July 4th my lady Juliet and I decided to hang out and enjoy the day and good conversation about movies, comics and of course Horror Hosts and times like these are what make memories that will last. For this Independence Day American Hero update, I have chosen an obscure war hero named Super Green Beret who lasted only two issues and is a character that fits perfectly for Rotten Ink. So if you are ready to spend a little of your holiday time with me here at Rotten Ink and chat about Super Green Beret, then let’s grab a cold drink and get ready for the fireworks to celebrate our freedom.

The United States Army Special Forces, known as The Green Berets, were founded on June 19, 1952 and are the best of the best when it comes to Army soldiers. Growing up in a small village during the Gulf War really exposed me to the military as American Pride was very high. I mean sure, before that I knew a few people in the military like my Grandpa Salyers, but he would never really talk much about it. This was my first real look at military pride as in school for months we had to sing “Proud To Be An American” by Lee Greenwood and our music teacher acted like our Soldiers would know we were singing this for them. When I was older and in my early 20’s, the tragic events of 9/11 happened and once more pride in our military was high as they waged war on terrorism and nations who supported it. And of course this war still rages on to this day as many of our troops are still in areas of high fighting. Also here in our area is the famous Air Force Museum as well as Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, making the area very big for military personal as well as those who are into the history of our fighting forces. So here is to all the brave men and women who have served in our military and have fought for our freedoms and in their own way helped make this blog and update possible.

I’m just going to very briefly touch on the origin of this amazing American Hero known as Super Green Beret! Thile working for Lightning Comics, the team of C.C. Beck and Otto Binder created a war character called Tod Holton Super Green Beret that first hit comic racks in 1967 and was a way for them to deal with the Vietnam War as well as the stress of the time of war that was rippling through America. Super Green Beret lasted a total of two issues before Lightning Comics went out of business, and this was the only comic series made from the company. The character Tod Holton is a high school student who, when he wears a magical Green Beret and salutes, turns into the ultimate hero solider Super Green Beret! When thinking of War Comic characters, names like Sgt. Nick Fury, Sgt. Rock, The Unknown Solider and Enemy Ace come to mind, and sadly Super Green Beret really is a Forgotten Hero who in the world of comics is an American Hero.

Before we get to the comic reviews and before the fireworks fill the sky, I would like to chat a little about a cool toy line that I remember from my childhood that was made by Mattel in 1986 and featured soldiers as well as ninjas! This toy series was called GUTS! and they were all the rage for a very short time among my friend group. I can remember these little guys being everywhere when I was a kid. From the playground all the way to my cousins’ house, it seemed these army toys were super popular. I even owned some of them and can remember playing with them outside in the yard. To be honest, I think that the kids of my generation really liked them as they were a cooler version of the classic Green Plastic Army Men that have been must-have toys for generations. The series would not only feature Army Soldiers and Ninjas but also Laser Fighters and Underwater Attack Forces and not to even mention it had two vehicles released in the series. And the crazy thing being, with about 58 figures made, they all came out in the same year and the toy line only lasted that one year. It was clear Mattel wanted these figures to be a big hit as each character in the series got its own name. The downside to the figures was they fact they were not pose-able and had zero moving parts; plus they were only about 3” tall, a size that did not make them fit in with G.I. Joe figures and was bigger than even the M.U.S.C.L.E. toys making them a very awkward size. It makes one wonder if Mattel will ever try and release a new series of GUTS! and if they will change they style in order to make them more modern. Below are some pictures of GUTS! that include the back of a package that showcases some of the soldiers, an ad for the figures on sale and a group of the figures that was at Game Swap Kettering a year back.

Well at this point I hope you have a grilled cheeseburger or hot dog in hand and your favorite beverage by your side as it’s time for use to take a look at the comic series Super Green Beret from Lightning Comics. I need to first thank YouTube show Comic Tropes for bringing this American Hero character to my attention, and I also would like to thank sellers on Amazon and Ebay for having these comics in stock making this 4th of July update possible. I want to remind all you readers that I grade these issues on a standard 1-4 star system and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, their entertainment value and their art and story. So let’s see what Super Green Beret brings to the world of war hero comics!

Super Green Beret # 1  **1/2
Released in 1967     Cover Price .25       Lightning     # 1 of 2

“Super Green Beret” Captain Roger Wilson is on leave from the Vietnam for two weeks and visits his nephew Tod Holton and gives him a gift that is a glowing green beret that was given magical powers by a Monk that Roger saved from a wild boar. And when Tod puts the beret on, he becomes an adult that is in complete Green Beret Gear, and he and his uncle find out the magic is real and that Tod has now become Super Green Beret! After his uncle leaves, Tod finds out his magical beret also can pick up war transmissions, and he rushes to Vietnam to save American soldiers that are pinned down inside a cave using his magic to get them out and back to base safely all the while bringing down the enemy. “Rebel Rat-Hole” the President of a Latin American country is under attack by rebels who want to end his life as he wants freedom for his country, and when Tod hears about the attack he puts on the beret and saves the life of the President but also loses his beret to a rebel who steals it and runs away. With the magical beret gone, he turns back into Tod and gets captured and taken to the rebels camp where he is to be shot and killed and asks to die with honor of wearing the green beret and turns into Super Green Beret and beats up the rebels and turns them over to the government. “White Magic In The Black Forest” Tod is at home and working on his history homework about World War II when he gets a message from the past and decides to time travel to the Black Forest of Berlin to aid some American Soldiers against a band of Nazis, and the ultimate payout for this mission is to stop Hitler from getting on a plane the day before he kills himself! The final story is “Sorcery Against Saboteurs!” Tod nexts picks up an evil plot by the Vietcong that has them wanting to blow up a bridge that American trucks are driving on, and when he gets there to stop it his beret falls off and into the water and he is once more taken prisoner but not before he stops the explosion! They then throw Tod into the river where the beret is and with the help of an alligator he is able to get the beret back on and stops a suicide boat that next tries to crash into the bridge. In the end Super Green Beret is able to save the Army Truck filled with soldiers, repair the bridge with magic and then lead the US Soldiers to the enemy base and once more Super Green Beret saves the day!

This first issue is King Sized and featured 4 action packed Super Green Beret adventures and one just normal war story and gives the readers a full dose of a war comic hero that Lightning was hoping would have been a major hit with comic fans and would have been their top character and could have launched them into a major player in the comic industry. Each of these stories featuring Super Green Beret are different and yet still the same as it follows a very simple formula of Tod getting a message from the beret, he puts the beret on and uses magic in order to help American soldiers and from time to time he loses the beret during the battle and turns into normal teenage Tod who most of the time easily gets it back. And while by modern comic standards this would be considered a very boring issue, I enjoyed the fact that it was clearly a product of its time and tried its best to deliver a message of USA is the best and anything is possible in a world so seriously strange…wait isn’t that the catch phrase of YouTube star Rob Gavagan? Tod Holton is a teenager who wants to grow up and be like his uncle and become a war hero, and when he gets a magical green beret he becomes a supernatural soldier hero that always saves the day. Tod is a smart kid who knows his history and can think quick in order to problem solve and have a plan to defeat the enemies of freedom. Super Green Beret is really just an adult version of Tod that is protected by magic and can use this magic in order to protect American Soldiers and use against the foreign armies. Over all Super Green Beret appears during the battle or event, uses his powers and like a phantom in the night is gone and returns back being Tod. The bad guys are the Vietcong and even the Nazis and the ones they show are bloodthirsty, terrorist freedom hating goons who are dangerous and dumb. The cover is pretty great and is eye catching at is show Super Green Beret kicking some butt and the bright yellow background makes it stand out. The interior art is done by Carl Pfeufer, and while very classically simple and not ground breaking, I like it for the most part besides some of the over exaggerated features of the comics bad guys, I could do without that. Over all Super Green Beret # 1 is a fun read, and while not amazing, it’s a great American Hero style comic that’s perfect for your July 4th holiday.

Super Green Beret # 2  *1/2
Released in 1967     Cover Price .25       Lightning     # 2 of 2

“The Lion God Of Mokuru” A pair of American Peace Corps members are about to be thrown into lava on the orders of Simba The Lion God as they want to bring electricity to a small village, and Simba is not having it. The Monk that has the beret power calls on Tod to become Super Green Beret who saves the two men and fights off the villagers, who now are begging him to protect them from Simba’s rage! Super Green Beret starts looking around the volcano and ends up getting poisoned and taken prisoner by Domo Yamata, who is the President using the legend of Simba to make his people fall in line. Domo then tries to murder Super Green Beret by placing him in an active volcano with dynamite that will explode and set off some rumbles that will scare the villagers to think Simba is mad at them. Super Green Beret escapes the trap, but the explosion sets free Domo’s pet lion who goes after the Presidents son with Super Green Beret arriving at the right time and saving the young man, stops the lava from hitting the village and these actions make Domo the leader of his people he should be and that includes allowing the electricity to come to the village. “Dawn Of American Freedom!” Tod is hanging out with his classmates at a soda shop and remembers he needs to write a paper on 1776 and rushes to the library only to find it closed! He then decides to do the next best thing and that’s put on the magical Green Beret and time travel to 1776 in order to learn about that years history and battles. And right off the bat saves some Americans against British Soldiers and meets Martha Page and takes her to a ball hosted by General Howe. Once there he is found out to be an American Spy and is set to die via firing squad and escapes just in time in order to help the American Soldiers defeat the British ones. “Ambush” a small village in Vietnam is supporting US troops, but the North Vietnamese keep stopping any and all food shipments making the American Soldiers and the villagers starve. Super Green Beret arrives in time to save the village’s leader who sadly turns out to be a spy and has been helping the enemy all along as he is getting food while his people go hungry. Super Green Beret figures this out, but is attacked by the Village Leader’s Wife and they drop him off to the General of the bad guys that wants to kill him after they stop the next food drop off attack. But thanks to a young kid, Super Green Beret escapes and sets up his own plan and along with American Soldiers they take down the Vietcong with their own ambush. Super Green Beret gets the soldiers and villagers food and then returns home and his life as teenager Tod.

Wow, this second issue of Super Green Beret is really bad, and for the most part, sad to say, is super boring with poor storytelling! Some of my biggest problems with this issue are the fact they cannot keep their own lore straight as in the story “Dawn Of American Freedom” Super Green Beret walks around with the magical beret off, when every time before this made the hero turn back into a teenager, not to even mention his magical powers seem to go away for the most part and are replaced with super strength, and the Monk who placed the magic in the beret seems to be the one now who contacts Tod via the messages coming from the magic hat…like they really needed to get their character folklore down. While in the first issue I found myself enjoying every adventure equally as they each had a fun nature to them, in this second issue I found that I really was not much into any of the stories and “Ambush” would be the only one I can say had a glimmer of hope at being a solid War Hero comic story. Tod in this issue seems to kind of just have a smirk on his face at all times and has no issues blowing off his school work to go play hero, and even at one point turns into his alter ego just so he can try and catch up on a history paper he was slacking off on. So in other words Tod has changed and is not the teen that we meet in the first issue. Super Green Beret also has gone through a change as he is no longer super magically charged and now has the power of a weight lifting steroid addict! He also for some reason delivers some really bad one-liners while he is fighting the baddies even at one point talking about how he is from the Pepsi Generation…just terrible. The bad guys in this issue as well come off as dummies that have the upper hand and are defeated quickly when they fumble around. The cover for issue two as well is pretty dang good and eye catching, not to even mention the interior art is once more done by Carl Pfeufer and is great simple classic style stuff. Over all while I have never been a major fan of War Comics, I did find the first issue to be an enjoyable read and Super Green Beret to be a noble and patriotic character that was worth a read, and found the second issue to be the opposite and very much a boring poorly comic adventure. So Super Green Beret is a comic American Hero, and while he is no Captain America, he did do his part to fight for Freedom! Check out the artwork below to see the style of artist Pfeufer.

So I hope that you enjoyed this look at Super Green Beret on this 2020 July 4th Holiday update! And I hope that during this virus crisis we are all going through together, you are getting to spend some safe/socially distanced time with your loved ones and eat some great grilled out food and that there are some fireworks in your area to fill the night sky. While this crisis is scary, I do also hope that it’s made us all appreciate our family, friends and co-workers even more than ever have before. For our next update, I am going to keep The American Hero theme going as I will be covering a DC Comic One Shot issue called Battle Classics that brings together many of their War Comic Heroes including Sgt. Rock! So until next time, enjoy your holiday and tell your family and friends that you care about them. See you next update for another round of War with comic book heroes.

 

Earthworm Jim Saves Christmas Eve!

Posted on by
Reply

Merry Christmas Eve! It’s crazy to think that another year is almost over and that we are about to celebrate another Christmas here at Rotten Ink. This time of the year is always very special for me and makes me think back to my youth and all the cool toys, games, music, comics and books I used to get for the holidays as well as always makes me think about how lucky I am to have so many amazing people in my life as I have a great family, amazing friends and am blessed to be able to have so many creative outlets like Game Swap Kettering, Sparkle Comics, Bloodline Video, Terrifying Tales Of The Macabre, Radio, Rockstar Pro Wrestling, Rotten Ink and so many other top notch projects that allow for me to have an outlet. As I have said here before, one of the coolest Christmas gifts I ever got was the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and that’s why I always think about classic video games around this holiday as if brings back great memories of playing them with family, friends and even trying to beat games myself! So for this update I have decided to take a look a video game character that made his major splash on the Sega Genesis that spawned a cartoon and even a comic series, and this cheesy character is the one and only Earthworm Jim! So if you’re ready to take a trip with Rotten Ink, Marvel Comics and Earthworm Jim this Christmas Eve, you should find a comfy chair, pour yourself some eggnog. and as we all wait for Santa, I think it’s time to have a classic game flashback.

Earthworm Jim was a normal worm on the planet earth that spent his days digging around in dirt and avoiding being eaten by birds. Meanwhile in space Psy-Crow, a feared bounty hunter, accidentally drops a cyber space suit from his ship that falls to Earth and Jim who is on the run from birds looking to make him a meal hides inside it and the suit evolves him into a more human-like life form with intelligence and a goofball charm. But with his new found power and mind, he becomes a marked worm as Psy-Crow on the orders of the evil Queen Slug-For-A-Butt is set for death and Jim himself now wants to meet the Queen’s lovely sister Princess What’s-Her-Name! And so began Earthworm Jim, space explorer and hero, who armed with his ray gun has saved worlds as well as those who are in need. Earthworm Jim in his cyber suit weighs around 154 pounds and stands about 5’8” and has super strength and a heroic heart, but he also is a little goofy as he still is a worm! Say what you will about Earthworm Jim, but he is the hero we didn’t know we needed.

Earthworm Jim is a side scrolling game that was created by Doug TenNapel and was a fun silly concept that captured the attention of not only gamers but also game publishers. The first Earthworm Jim game was released in 1994 for Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo and has Earthworm Jim avoiding his enemies and trying to save Princess What’s-Her-Name! The game over the years would go on to be on many other systems like Sega CD, Sega Game Gear, Nintendo Game Boy, PC and Game Boy Advance. The game was super popular and by 1995 the sequel Earthworm Jim 2 was released and continued the story of the first game and was released for Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis, PC and the Sega Saturn to name a few. This game was a hit but was not fully embraced by gamers and critics as the game did not change enough to warrant its quick release to cash in on the popularity of the original. The game series took a break for a while, and it was not till 1999 when the world got Earthworm Jim 3D that was only released for the Nintendo 64 and has Jim fighting to wake from a coma and must battle his rogues gallery who have all entered his mind. This game was not well received and marked the end of the series for home consoles.

In my youth, I can remember spending many of hours playing both Earthworm Jim and Earthworm Jim 2 for the Sega Genesis at my friends houses as well as at my cousins Dino and Norman’s. Shocking enough, I never did ever buy my own copy of the game and always just played it with them or borrowed it from them for a short time. Sadly I have never played Earthworm Jim 3D as it just never was on my radar as by the time it was released I was all about the Sony Playstation when it came to playing games. One other thing that is crazy to think is that games like Earthworm Jim helped spawn many other weird themed games like Conker, Crash Bandicoot, Banjo-Kazooie and Boogerman to name a few, and yes I know Boogerman was released the same year as Earthworm Jim. Say what you will about the Earthworm Jim series of games, but one thing is for sure, if you grew up in the 90’s and played video games they were on many of our must play games list.

Did you know in 1995 a cartoon series was released based around the adventures of Earthworm Jim? Released by Universal Cartoon Studios and airing on Kids WB starting on September 9, 1995, this series followed Earthworm Jim as he is being attacked by all types of baddies who want his power suit for their own evil plans! This cartoon was part action, part adventure and part silly as it played up on the over all goofy nature of the character and its universe. Voice actor Dan Castellaneta played Earthworm Jim, Jeff Bennett played Peter Puppy and Kath Soucie voiced Princess What’s-Her-Name showing they had some great voice talent on this show. The series only lasted for 23 episodes and ended its run on December 13, 1996 making it a very short run cartoon that built a very small cult fan base from those who grew up in the 90s. The cartoon has made its way to home media on both VHS and DVD with the latter being the complete series. This was a cartoon I can remember seeing from time to time, but was not something I watched often as I was a little older when it was released and was more into other shows at that time. But if you like this cartoon, make sure to do yourself a favor and get the DVD set put out by VEI and relive this classic toon.

In the late 80’s and throughout the 90’s toy company Playmates was one of the kings of the toy aisle as they delivered figures based on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Star Trek, The Addams Family, Toxic Crusaders, The Simpsons, Dick Tracy, Skeleton Warriors, Flash Gordon, Coneheads and Zorro to name a few and along with these figures they also did Earthworm Jim ones based on the cartoon and video game! These figures were released in 1995 with a total of eight figures being made with three of them being different versions of Earthworm Jim. Also in the line was Princess What’s-Her-Name and Peter Puppy as well as baddies Psycrow, Henchrat and Bob! Each figure also came with weapons as well as a mini character like goldfish # 4 and Snott! The series of toys never made it to a wave two even though they made an appearance at Toy Fair with figures of Evil Jim, Queen Slug-For-A- Butt and The Hamstinator all planned. The figures were really cool and fit alongside Playmates other figures. Growing up I did not own any of them but do remember them in stores, to be honest it’s a little crazy that I did not at least buy Earthworm Jim as I was a fan of the game even in 1995!

Back in the 90’s Marvel Comics had already closed down their kids comic branch Star Comics and absorbed many of those titles under Marvel Comics proper like Muppet Babies and Thundercats to name a few. But they also had Epic Comics still going as it was a creator owned branch that was founded in 1982 and featured comics based on Horror Movies like Hellraiser and Nightbreed. In 1994 they tried to open a branch called Marvel Music that was comics based on musical acts like Alice Cooper, Rolling Stones and Billy Ray Cyrus and this was very short lived as by 1995 this branch was history and all titles canceled. But out of the ashes of the weirdness of Marvel Music and the cool kid friendly comics based on cartoons and toys of Star came Marvel Absurd a branch that would have issues of weird teen style comics based on popular toons and video games of the time. Some titles in this branch was just carry overs from Marvel Titles like the Nickelodeon cartoon “Ren And Stimpy” plus the hit MTV cartoon “Beavis & Butthead” that switched over to this branch way into their series. And the new title launched for this branch was “Earthworm Jim” based on the popular video game at the time not to mention the silly parody comic “Marvel Riot” that lasted only one issue. But like most things at Marvel Comics at the time as soon as it started in ended as its whole run was from around 1994-1996 as the brand was just not super popular for Marvel. But I want to take a moment to let you readers know that in 2020 I will do a Top 10 Countdown Of Things That Should Have Gotten An Absurd Comic!

So as you can see, Earthworm Jim was a perfect fit for the short lived Marvel Absurd comic line as he was wacky, weird and over the top! And not so surprisingly, this comic series is a little hard to get and the issues hold a decent price on them to get so I want to thank sellers on both Ebay and Amazon for having them in stock and making this holiday update possible. I 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 to see what Marvel Comics and Earthworm Jim have in store for us, let’s get to the comic review section of this update.

Earthworm Jim # 1  ***
Released in 1995     Cover Price $2.25      Marvel      # 1 of 3

Queen-Slug-For-A-Butt, Major Mucus and Doc Duodenum have entered Heck and asked the underground ruler Evil to let them hire an army of evil lawyers so they can sue Earthworm Jim for all the years of stopping their evil schemes! Meanwhile Jim himself is on a “date” with Princess What’s-Her-Name and they are attacked by Psy-Crow and Professor Monkey-For-A-Head who take them prisoner, as Professor wants the cyber space suit and Psy-Crow wants to eat Jim once he is out of the suit!!! As Jim escapes the grip of Psy-Crow his suit runs amuck in the lab while talking goldfish Bob and his catmen have Princes What’s-Her-Name prisoner and force her to agree to marry him as they fake that they will kill Jim if show don’t! Meanwhile the escaped worm Jim finds himself in the prison area and meets many failed experiments that are being locked up and that includes a small puppy man named Peter Puppy, and once Jim finds these creatures need help he returns to the lab and gets his suit back by beating Psy-Crow and Professor Monkey-For-A-Head, heads to the dungeon and frees the creatures and along with Peter jumps on a rocket to stop the wedding of Princes What’s-Her-Name and Bob!

This comic is super silly and really is Absurd and that’s a great thing as a comic based on Earthworm Jim needed to be this way. The plot has all of Jim’s bad guys wanting to defeat him with some trying to hire lawyers to sue him with others wanting to kill him and steal his suit to build an army of super soldiers! But while the lawyers do not find Jim in this issue, they are still on the lookout for him as his main nemesis are Psy-Crow and Professor Monkey-For-A-Head who kidnap him and his Princess girlfriend and want him dead in the ground! Earthworm Jim in this issue is heroic and slightly goofy but shows that he will always stand up for the little guy and do whatever it takes to do the right thing! I love how Jim in this issue also finds his inner hero when he meets a group of freaks that have been created and kept prisoner and knows he must set them free! Princess What’s-Her-Name also shows that she is a great person that is able to take care of herself as she mops the floor with many catmen! I also feel bad for her as she thinks her man Jim has been tortured and even cut by his captures, and this makes her agree to marry a goldfish. Professor Monkey-For-A-Head and Psy-Crow are the issues main bad guys as they are teaming up with the idea to finally bring down Jim once and for all and they are cruel and seem to get joy in this sick game they are playing. Bob the goldfish as well is a sick man who is a terrible creature who is trying to force love in order to gain power. We shall see how the lawsuit goes if the Lawyers of Heck come into play in one of the further issues. Over all this is a very fun action, adventures, comedy and silly comic that brings the video games/cartoon character to life on the pages of a comic book. The cover is fantastic and very eye catching and captures that 90’s style, the interior art is done by Barry Crain and is top notch and does capture the fun nature of the Earthworm Jim universe. So with this first issue being great, let’s see what the next issue has in store for us.

Earthworm Jim # 2  **1/2
Released in 1996     Cover Price $2.25     Marvel     # 2 of 3

Evil, the cat leader of Heck, is upset at his lawyers and orders them to get the job done this issue or they will all way the price! While Earthworm Jim and Peter are lost in space, as they cannot find the hideout of Bob and even after getting directors from a Gas Station planet it takes them sometime to find their way. Meanwhile Bob is gloating and bullying his soon to be wife Princess What’s-Her-Name, as a cat slips a bomb into the Princess bouquet! Meanwhile Earthworm Jim has found the directions to stop the wedding, as Bob now knows that Jim is on his way to stop the wedding! Even Queen-Slug-For-A-Butt the sister of Princess What’s-Her-Name shows up for the wedding as this will truly give Bob power. Once Jim and Peter arrive they take a mutated hamster and head to the ceremony to save the day. Jim just in time is able to save the Princess before they say the “I Do’s” and Bob climbs into a mega mech suit and puts a hurting on Jim, but lucky for Jim he is able to crack Bob’s fishbowl and wins the day! As Jim, The Princess and Peter celebrate the Heck Lawyers have arrived and worse the bomb in the bouquet is about to explode!

Earthworm Jim and his puppy friend Peter are on a mission to stop a forced wedding that will see Princess What’s-Her-Name being the wife of the cruel goldfish Bob…and along the way Jim must fight off catmen, not get lost and come face to face with Bob who also now has a massive suit that is more powerful! I like in this issue that Earthworm Jim once more has a good heart and so wants to be the hero, not to mention he is still shown to be a total goof who it seems by luck is able to save the day. Peter Puppy is shown in this issue that when pushed he can and will turn into a dog monster, making him a good ally for Jim to have. Princess What’s-Her-Name who is a great and loving character shows she is willing to ruin her life in order to protect the life of her wormfriend Jim! Bob is such a jerk and when he don’t get what he wants in this issue spends his time beating up Jim, oh and he also seems to love to boss around his catmen henchmen. The Lawyers From Heck at the end of this issue finally find Jim, but worse just as they have the bomb planted is about to blow. The issue is filled with dumb humor as well as some zany action and adventure moments making for a good read. I also really enjoy the fact that both Pinhead from Hellraiser and the Creature From The Black Lagoon have cameos in this issue and Pinhead is shown as one of the Lawyers of Heck and Gillman is the Preacher for the wedding. The cover for this issue is lots of fun and has a James Bond feel to it and the interior art for the start of the comic is done by Barry Crain and is great with the later part of the issue being done by Manny Galan & Carlos Garzon and is just so-so. Over all this was a good issue, and I cannot wait to see how this series ends.

Earthworm Jim # 3  **
Released in 1996     Cover Price $2.25      Marvel     # 3 of 3

Earthworm Jim is being surrounded by all his rogues gallery as well as Lawyers from Heck as they were their for the wedding of their evil friend Bob, but things turn good when Peter by accident sneezes the flowers with the bomb in it into the crowd of baddies and the explosion leaves most of them down and out! As Earthworm Jim, Princess What’s-Her-Name and Peter escape the planet the Lawyers try and figure out where he went now so they can serve him papers. Peter would like to go back to his home world and Jim agrees to take him, but he soon learns that Peter when hurt, scared, mad or even slightly annoyed will turn into a wild dog beast that is looking for a fight! They go back and fourth with Peter raging and threatening to fight Jim that is until the Princess has had enough and puts them both in their places. Now at Peter’s home planet, they have been followed by Evil and the Heck Lawyers who know have decided to kill Jim and just sue his estate! But before Evil and them can commit the murder Jim and his people are attacked by a giant red dinosaur and Jim is stomped into the ground and is loosing the fight, but lucky for him Princess What’s-Her-Name gets into Jim’s suit and powers up her already massive power and she beats the Dinosaur with ease. With Peter home and Jim back in the suit, the puppy ends up asking if he could just go home and live with them as he now knows that his planet is a terrible place to live. Jim and The Princess agree to take Peter to their home planet and while there Peter ends up saving the day as he attacks and eats Evil and chases off all the Heck Lawyers after becoming the dog monster! In the end Earthworm Jim and Princess What’s-Her-Name continue their date and all ends well.

This third and final issue is fun, but is the weakest issue in the series as I feel they waste so much time with the joke everything sets Peter off in becoming the dog monster…and while funny maybe the first couple of times it wears thin pretty fast when its back to back to back, making me as a reader kind of be annoyed with the Peter character. It almost seemed liked they ran out of story ideas and just made this final issue filled with lots of filler moments. The plot has Earthworm Jim and Princess What’s-Her-Name taking their new friend Peter to his home planet, and they are being stalked by Evil cat ruler of Heck and his demonic army of lawyers as well as trying to survive the planet that is filled with all types of creatures all want blood and kills. In this issue, Earthworm Jim is still a hero but also shows that he can be defeated and also can have a short fuse when annoyed time and time again. As I said before, Peter is pretty annoying in this issue and spends almost all the issue being triggered by everything and going back and fourth into becoming a monster and a normal puppy man. Princess What’s-Her-Name is as always a hero and shows that she don’t even really need Jim to be her hero as she has the power and mind to take care of herself. Evil and his Heck Lawyers are pretty silly and like in the other issues just kind of fumble around and miss their chances to strike. The threat in this issue is around but the stakes don’t seem as high as really this whole issue’s purpose is to get Peter home, and to this reader I kind of feel that this is just a average read with not real thought put into the story and was made to fulfill the contract made with the people who made Earthworm Jim. The cover on this issue is great and eye catching, and the art in this issue is all done by Barry Crain and is good but also seems rushed. To sum it up, this is an entertaining comic mini series based on a very goofy video game character, and I am sure will please fans of Earthworm Jim. Check out the art below to see the style of Barry Crain and enjoy.

So before we end this update, I really wanted to share some of the Horror Movie characters that have cameos in this series. The first one I spotted was Pinhead from the movie series Hellraiser in issue # 2 who is on the planet Heck and is one of the Lawyers that has been hired to bring a lawsuit against Earthworm Jim. It was pretty cool seeing him as Marvel Comics under their Epic line use to make Hellraiser comics. Also in issue # 2 was Gillman from the Universal Monster movie Creature From The Black Lagoon as he is the preacher that is marrying Bob and Princess What’s-Her-Name! Sadly I think these two are the only two Movie Monsters in this series, but I must say this is very cool and I wish more comics would add little Easter Eggs like this more often.

So I hope you enjoyed this Christmas Eve update all about Earthworm Jim and it helped add to your holiday season with great memories of playing the video game, watching the cartoon, playing with the toys and even reading the comics. This time of the year really is filled with magic and makes me always think of my youth and all the great memories of Christmas pasts. So I don’t want to take up more of your holiday with my ramblings, but do want to let you know that our next update will be my Films Of 2019 update and will be the first update of 2020! So until next time enjoy your time with loved ones, have fun opening your gifts and always watch out for each other. Oh and make sure to have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

The Turkey Day Labors Of Hercules!

Posted on by
Reply

Happy Thanksgiving friends, family and readers, and thanks for spending a part of your holiday with me here at Rotten Ink once again. As we all are sitting here waiting for the turkey, ham or whatever your main dish choice is to cook and while Football is on the TV, I want to reflect that this year will be the seventh time I have covered the one and only Greek Mythology hero Hercules. With this go round we will be covering a comic that showcases his 12 Labors! The tale of Hercules is one that I have always enjoyed, and I can remember renting many books from the library and even buying some all about Greek Mythology as it has always captured my attention as well helped fuel my creative mind, not to mention the classic Sword And Sandal films were staples of my viewing when I was a youngster. So if you’re ready to go on another Turkey Day Adventure with Hercules and myself, we should start our amazing adventure and see how Herc conquers his 12 labors and delivers another special update.

One of my favorite Hercules films of the 60’s has to be the one called “Hercules Against The Mongols” from 1963 that had Mark Forest play the role of Hercules! The film follows Hercules as he takes on the heirs of the conquerer Genghis Khan and shows why good always beats evil. But while this is a fantastic Sword and Sandal fantasy adventure film that showcases the power and noble was of Hercules, the sad fact of the matter is that this film was not originally a Herc film and was only dubbed one in the USA when distributers thought that the name meant more to movie goers than Maciste, the real hero behind this film as well as many of the Hercules, Samson and Goliath films here in America. The thing I like about this film is that Hercules takes on an army of bloodthirsty warriors who just want to conquer, take over and kill…and they don’t stand a chance against the pride of Olympus. Mark Forest makes a pretty good Hercules, and while he is now Steve Reeves, he captures the cocky hero nature of this demigod hero. This movie can be found on VHS, DVD and even plays on TV Station Comet TV from time to time, so if you love Hercules flicks, make sure to check this one out.

While we are talking about the film Hercules Against The Mongols, we should take a few moments and talk about actor Mark Forest who played the title role. Lou Degni was born on January 6, 1933 in Brooklyn, New York and began his bodybuilding career at the age of 13 as he knew that becoming a strong man was his calling. This lead to him opening his own gym in Long Island so that lifting would always be a part of his life. But during his adult life, he also tried his hand in acting and auditioned to play Tarzan in a film and did not get it but did end up taking a gig in Las Vegas playing one of Mae West’s musclemen and even helped earn his status of strongman by entering and winning weightlifting competitions including Mr. Muscle Beach in California. In 1958, the world of cinema changed when Hercules starring Steve Reeves hit cinemas around the world and the sword and sandal films became big business! And the second American actor approached to travel to Italy and make these films was Mark Forest who made his first film in 1960 with “Goliath And The Dragon” and many more would follow like “Son Of Samson” (1960), “Mole Men Against The Son Of Hercules” (1961), “The Lion Of Thebes” (1964) and “The Terror Of Rome Against The Son Of Hercules” (1964) and many more. During this time of course Lou Degni took on the stage name of Mark Forest, and this was the name he was best known for. Mark would ride the short lived popularity of the Sword and Sandal genre until the end, and afterwards got involved in opera in Italy and later became a vocal coach in California. Mark Forest is one of those classic actors that I hope someday soon Monster Bash Convention brings in so that I can meet him, while long retired from acting and weightlifting, Mark is a true legend of Cinema strongmen.

Remember in our first update about Hercules when we took a look at the DELL Comic and the Steve Reeve movies? Well we also talked about WWF Wrestler Hercules Hernandez during that update, and for this update I want to briefly talk about another Pro Wrestler who went by the ring name Hercules Ayala and was a monster of the squared circle. Hercules Ayala, whose real name is Ruben Cruz, was born in Bayamon, Puerto Rico on July 14, 1950 and upon moving to the mainland of the U.S., he meet NWA wrestler Angelo Savoldi at a gym and was trained by him to become a wrestler himself and had a very brief run in the WWWF. He then would go on to wrestle in such federations as Stampede Wrestling for around 8 years and even won the Tag Titles with Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart! Also during this run, he worked for smaller Canadian federation Lutte Internationale where he became their Heavyweight Champion beating David Shultz and losing it a month later to Abdullah The Butcher. He would return to Puerto Rico and would join WWC and as well would capture their World Title beating Randy “Macho Man” Savage! He would go on to feud with Carlos Colon and would lose a loser leaves town match in 1989 and was written off from WWC. A few years later, he would show up in AWF and become a World Champion again for a short time. He would go on from there to work sport appearances in Puerto Rico even for WWC again. While he is not a huge name here in America, he does have a big name around the world and his many title wins in many federations show that he made his mark in the world of Pro Wrestling.

So I am sure many of you readers are wondering about the Hercules Comic that I was writing and my friend Jeff Potter was doing the art for that was going to be released by Sparkle Comics as part of the Sword And Sandal Comic line…well sadly the comic has been placed on the back burner for now as the first release in the series Samson was not the mega hit we had hoped for causing some shifts in the production line, and Potter and I worked on bringing back classic superhero Black Jack back to the comic world instead! But while on the backburner for now, it does not mean that this Hercules comic is 100% dead as at some point Jeff and I will return to it and unleash it onto the indie comic reading masses as I am proud of the story I wrote and I know Potter’s art will kill it! So for those of you Hercules comic fans know that we will be releasing this comic soon it was just not in the cards for 2019. Below is some very early concept art that Potter did for the series so you can see the style we were aiming for.

So I think it’s time for this update that we take a look at the graphic novel of Hercules and the 12 labors set before him, and this one is a great pick to showcase Hercules in all his heroic glory. I want to thank Amazon for having this in stock and making this update possible. And as always I want to remind you all 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 if you are ready, let’s head out and see just how Hercules can complete his 12 labors!

Hercules: The Twelve Labors  **1/2
Released In 2007     Cover Price $8.95     Graphic Universe   #1 of 1

Zeus, the King of the Gods, had an affair with a mortal woman that spawned the demigod Hercules who was hated by his stepmother Hera! When Hercules was a youngster the evil Goddess even sent venomous snakes to his crib to kill him, but they were no match for his power. As an adult Hera, masking herself as Zeus, makes Hercules pledge himself to his cousin King Eurystheus who is jealous of his powerful cousin, and with Hera whispering in his ear, they come up with labors for Hercules to do. The first labor has Hercules going to Thebes and killing the man-eating lion with the thick hide with his bare hands, and when he does so, he skins the lion and makes himself a new cloak! His second labor is to go to the swamps of Lernea to take out the Hydra! Once in the swamp Hercules and his nephew figure our how to defeat the Hydra and do so. The third labor is to bring back a golden deer, that King Eurystheus thinks Hercules will kill and bring down the wrath of the gods for killing it…but Hercules is too smart and brings it back alive! After each finished task, King Eurystheus is getting more and more angry at his cousin and Hercules with ease finishes the next that are to kill a massive Boar, clean out multiple stables in a single day, chase off killer birds who are tormenting farmers, steal a angered white bull from a King, later steal a pair of horses that are being abused by a king that are now cruel and man eaters and his ninth labor has Hercules at was with the Amazon Women as he is tasked with getting the queens golden belt! And after each task King Eurystheus grows more frustrated, and Hercules himself gets more disappointed as he does not like being a thief for his greedy cousin. The tenth labor has Hercules stealing cattle from a Monster that he ends up killing. With his eleventh labor he must get a golden apple from a tree that he needs the help of Titan Atlas to do so and must switch places with him holding up the sky for a short time! With his twelfth and final labor, King Eurystheus send Hercules to Hades to bring back the three headed dog Cerberus and with the blessing of Hades, he tames the beast brings it to King Eurystheus and ends his labors!

This graphic novel is a great kid friendly read that brings the legend of Hercules alive for readers. The plot is simple and has Hercules having to do labors that are impossible for most in order to please his greedy cousin who is a King with the hopes that Herc will die as that is what Goddess Hara, who is the one who set this up, wants. Hercules is very prideful, noble and respectful to the demands of the Gods as he does what he is asked even if he disagrees with it. Plus I feel like the Hercules has the feel of Hercules from the old Sword And Sandal films, making it a very fun adventure to read. Hara is the issue’s main villain as she gets joy out of trying her best to kill and ruin Hercules and his legacy. She pushes so much for his downfall that she herself gets outsmarted by Hades who figures out that she is the one who has set this all up. The second baddie has to be King Eurystheus who is just a cruel and jealous man who hates his cousin cause he has the power and respect that he wishes he had! The side killer animals are great as well as who don’t love the Nemean Lion or Cerberus! The pacing of this graphic novel is also very fast and teaches you the story without dwelling on the small details, making it a cool action comics mixed with a little history in folklore. It’s also very cautious of showing any violence as it’s clear this is meant for all ages and to be used as a teaching comic. The cover reminds me of something you would find at a School Book Fair and is eye catching for youngsters, but not so much for adult readers. The interior art is done by Steve Kurth and is good stuff and has a real Marvel/Star Comics appeal. Over all this is a great read and one that could help get kids into Greek Mythology as it delivers a fun time. Check out the art below to see the style of Kurth!

Thanks for spending another Thanksgiving with Hercules and myself here at Rotten Ink, and as always Sword And Sandal comics will always have a home here on this site….but I am sad to say that next year will be the last time, at least for a while, that I will cover Hercules on a Thanksgiving update as I felt I have talked about almost all I can about this iconic mythology hero. Now don’t get too sad as I will continue to do Thanksgiving Day updates as many of you readers seem to enjoy them on this holiday, so next year I will be taking a look at Hercules Unbound from DC Comics and this will wrap up this tradition of Herc on Turkey Day! I hope you enjoyed this update and that you are having (or had) a great Thanksgiving as holidays with loved ones, something you should never take for granted. Our next update will start our countdown to Christmas Eve and we will be taking a look at the GoBots, those underrated changing robot toys from the 80’s! So until next time enjoy your turkey, watch a football game or two and as always cherish your loved ones. See you next update for a robotic good time!