Tube Toons: Incredible Hulk (1966)

Posted on September 4, 2023 by bloodlinematt

Do you remember waking up early on Saturday Mornings to rush to turn on the TV in order to watch your favorite cartoons? Or maybe for you it was rushing home from school to catch a few cartoons before prime time TV started for the evening. As if you grew up in the 1960’s-1990’s I am sure you have memories of the cartoons of your youth and just how much they meant to you at that time, I mean heck many of these cartoons also helped shape what toys we bought as well as at times what comics we read. And while Comic Book reviews will always be the Bread and Butter of Rotten Ink I do have fun branching out and doing other media themed updates like “Horror Host Icon”, “R.I.W Wrestling Legend”, “Wild West Round Up”, “Made For TV” “Forgotten Reels” to name a few and that is why I have decided to add “Tube Toons” to Rotten Ink updates that allows me to look back and review classic cartoon series from the past. And we are going to start with a cartoon series from 1966 that was based on the Marvel Comics character The Incredible Hulk! So grab some cereal or a soda from the fridge as its time for use to go back to the past when Cartoons was king in kids entertainment.

In the 1960’s cartoons was very popular as stations tried to get more kid friendly programs on the air in order to get viewership up and to build the market. In 1966 Marvel Comics was gaining popularity and Grantray-Lawrence Animation decided to turn the comic heroes into cartoon heroes and so “The Marvel Super Heroes” was created and was a 30 minute show that would feature 7 minute chapters for the hero that was the subject of that episode. The Heroes that made up this series was Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Namor and The Incredible Hulk and the show would last for 1 long season and a total of 65 episodes and would be syndicated. The cartoon was very odd as it was very cheaply done and was really just copied images from the comics crudely moved around to tell the story, but with that said it was also very cool as they used the artwork of such iconic comic artists as Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and Don Heck. And from all accounts Marvel’s publisher Martin Goodman is the one who made the deal with Grantray-Lawrence Animation and is the one who selected what heroes they got to use. And Jacques Urbont was hired to write the theme songs and they became super iconic and in these modern times out shadow the cartoons themselves. The cartoon was liked by kids at the time and over the years has built a cult following with fans like the simple nature of the animation and cheesy voice acting and theme songs. And an interesting side note is that when this cartoon aired on WNAC-TV in Boston the station shot live action segments that features actors as Captain America, Hulk and others and they were scripted by Jerry Siegel who was the co-creator of the DC Comics superhero Superman! And for this first Tube Toons update I choose to cover The Incredible Hulk cartoons from The Marvel Super Heroes series as you long time readers know that Hulk and Captain America are two of my all time favorite Superheroes. The Hulk was voiced by Max Ferguson who was a Radio DJ while the voice of Bruce Banner was Paul Soles who is best known for voicing Hermey in the 1964 TV Special Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer as well as voiced Spider-Man in the 1967 cartoon series. And other voice actors involved included Vita Linder as Betty Ross, Paul Kligman as Thunderbolt Ross and John Vernon as Major Glenn Talbot. And growing up I had some of these episodes on old VHS tapes and loved watching Hulk as it captured the classic feel of the first few issues of the comics.

So we are now at the point of this review that we will be reviewing the 13 episodes of this cartoon series and this is going to be a fun ride to the past when cartoons was more simple and were must watch TV for kids. First I would like to thank an Ebay seller who had this and other Marvel Cartoon series in stock and made this themed update possible. For these Tube Toons updates I will be telling the plot and then reviewing each episode as well as giving the episodes a star rating of ½ – 4 stars. I will also be showing screen grabs from the episode to help give you a look into these cartoons. So with that lets turn on the TV sit back and see what kind of adventures we are going to go on with The Hulk!

Incredible Hulk
Year: 1966 Type: Animated Brand: Marvel Episodes: 13

Episode 1: The Origin Of The Hulk

Bruce Banner along with fellow scientist igor are watching a test on a gamma bomb and General Thunderbolt Ross is growing impatient on the delays of the test and starts to get lippy with Bruce, that is until Ross’s daughter Betty enters and calms him down and apologizes to Bruce for her fathers manners. As the general and his daughter leave Igor lets his rage be knows that Banner should have shared the secrets of the bomb with him. Right before the gamma bomb is to explode Banner notices teenager Rick Jones driving into the test site and rushes off in a jeep to try and save him, but Igor does not tell them behind the launch to stop the bomb as this is his way to get Banner out of his way. Banner is able to get Rick to safety but he himself takes a big hit of radiation. Banner wakes up in a doctor office alongside Rick and later in the night he turns into a green skinned beast called The Hulk who is ragged that he is locked in a room and busts his way out with his super strength and even attacks some of the army men on his way out. Rick follows the Hulk as he wants to try and help the confused creature. The Hulk heads toward the military cottage of Bruce Banner and inside he finds Igor who is looking for all the gamma bomb notes of Banner and when seeing the Hulk he pulls out a gun and fires. The Hulk takes down Igor as Rick finds the gamma bomb formula notes and wants to turn it into the army as Hulk tries to remember who Bruce Banner is, not remembering he is in fact Banner. And when the Hulk gets angry he attacks Rick and just before he is about to smash him he turns back into Banner just as the army comes in looking for the Hulk. Once the army leaves Rick and Bruce try and figure out what happened and why he turns into the Hulk as Igor is taken to a jail cell and is thinking of revenge and sends a message to the evil Gorgon about The Hulk and this makes the strange super deformed being mad that one in the world might have the same power as he. The Gorgon makes his way to America while Banner turns back into the Hulk and makes his way towards the home of Betty Ross and when he finds her outside she faints just as the Gorgon shows up with a gun that shoots a will destroying pellet! The Gorgon fires two bullets and both The Hulk and Rick Jones are now his mindless minions who follow him back to his ship, while Betty wakes up Thunderbolt swears he will find and stop The Hulk. When The Gorgon gets to his base The Hulk has turned into Banner and he know knows that the two are one and the same, this also makes Gorgon sad as he does not want to be like he is and wishes he could turn normal. Banner turns the Gorgon back to a man using gamma rays and then he and Rick are sent back to America as the now human Gorgon blows himself and his army up in their castle base.

Review: This first episode is awesome and does it’s best to capture the first issue of The Hulk but man do they make changes as they cut the fact the Banner turns into the Hulk at night like a werewolf and they also do not use the grey skin at first as they go straight to the green. And while the animation is very crude by todays standards I for one love every cell of it as it brings be back to the golden age of comic collecting and made me feel like a kid all over again as it was the origins of Hulk done as a cartoon using the comic panels moving around to do so. The main villains in this episode are the jealous and scientist spy Igor who is the one that gets Banner struck by gamma radiation, the deformed and monstrous Gorgon who wants to control The Hulk and as well bring down America and lastly would be Thunderbolt Ross who is in control of the US Army and views the Hulk as a monster that must be destroyed. And if I had to choose who the most dangerous one in this episode would be I would say Gorgon mostly because of his pellet gun that weakens the minds of those he shoots and turns them into his slaves. The love spark between Bruce Banner and Betty Ross starts in this first episode as does Banner’s friendship with Rick Jones the teenager who had no one in life. I have to also point out that Max Ferguson’s voice for The Hulk is clearly inspired by Boris Karloff’s voice for The Monster in the film Bride Of Frankenstein and that makes it even more awesome. Over all I have to say that this is a great first episode for the first every Hulk cartoon every made.

Grade: ***1/2

Episode 2: Terror Of The Toad Men

A spaceship filled with Toad Men aliens is making its way to Earth, while The Hulks is causing chaos in a town just by his appearance as the police are warning people to get off the streets and are even firing their guns at him and this makes Hulk go on the attack and Rick Jones has to sneak in and lure him away before anyone gets hurt. As the sun comes up The Hulk turns back into Bruce Banner and he and Rick figure out that the transformation takes place at night and set out and find an mountain cave that will act as a research base for them as well as a holding spot for The Hulk. The Toad Men have arrived at Earth and use a beam to hold Bruce and Rick in place as they have came for the mind of Bruce and they kidnap them and head back to space, but they have no use for Rick and send him in a capsule back to Earth as Bruce is relived that his friend is at least safe. Once night falls Banner turns into the Hulk and beats up the Toad Men and even uses one of their own guns against them before locking them up to explore the ship. While on Earth General Thunderbolt Ross notices the Toad Men ship just above the Earth and sends missiles to blow it up and when it crashes to Earth the Toad Men escape and Hulk turns back into Banner and is accused of being a spy by Ross. Meanwhile a fleet of Toad Men spaceships are now invading Earth as Betty begs her father to let Bruce Banner out of his cell as she knows he is no spy nor traitor to his country. But when the night comes Banner turns back into The Hulk and goes on a rampage and heads back to the home of Betty and kidnaps her as Rick follows Hulk to try and rescue Betty as well as get Hulk to safety. The Toad Men’s attack on Earth starts as they use the moon to cause destruction and chaos, and this even knocks The Hulk out until morning. Once back as Banner he attends to Betty and gets her home safe, then uses his gamma ray bomb gun to shoot the Toad Men’s ship that sends them all away. In the end Thunderbolt Ross thanks Banner for his work with some pushing from Betty and Banner and Rick hurry back to their mountain cave base to lock Banner up for the night.

Review: This second episode is a fun one as it pits Bruce Banner and his monstrous side The Hulk not only against the Army lead by Thunderbolt Ross but also the invading aliens The Toad Men who are hell bent on destroying and then ruling the Earth. The Hulk in this episode wants to straight up kill people and threatens the life of Rick Jones as well as Thunderbolt Ross and even uses a gun at one point to shoot some of the Toad Men. Meanwhile as Bruce Banner he hates his life as The Hulk and fears what he might do when he is no longer in control, as it’s more and more clear that he has major feelings for Betty. Its also cool to see the gamma bomb now a ray gun being used to defeat the aliens showing that good things can also come from that invention. Rick Jones keeps up on trying to watch over and protect both Bruce Banner and The Hulk while Betty Ross tries her best to protect Banner from her own fathers judgment. The episodes baddies are of course Thunderbolt Ross who once more wants to use the army’s might to stop The Hulk and uses his own opinions to try and belittle Banner as it’s clear he is no fan of the scientist. And the Toad Men are the other villains as they are mean men from outer space who have no issues killing, kidnapping and destroying and have the weapons and means to do so. Both of the episodes villains are on equal ground for me as they both try and ruin things for Hulk as well as Banner, but I guess I would have to give the edge to Toad Men as they have the bigger and badder weapons. Over the second episode is good it just lacks a little something that would make it as good as the first, and in this one you can also notice lots of re-used animation in order to save on the budget.

Grade: **1/2

Episode 3: A Titan Rides The Train

The Leader is sitting in his lab and we see that he was once a normal man who after being hit by gamma rays in a accident has turned him into something beyond human and highly smart and has created humanoids that he will use to take over all the governments in the world and wants to start first at the military base that Thunderbolt Ross is in charge of and the one Bruce Banner lives on! While on the base a new nuclear device needs to be delivered by train and Bruce Banner is sent along with Major Glenn Talbot to make sure it gets delivered safely, while The Leader sends one of his humanoids to fetch the device and bring it back to him. As the humanoid drops from a helicopter to the train Talbot locks up Banner and the stress turns him into The Hulk and starts to attack The Humanoid who is made out of a kind of rubber that he can not hurt. And during the fight the nuclear device breaks free and is in danger of exploding and The Hulk knows this thanks to the memories of Banner and after he defeats the Humanoid Hulk is able to get the device safely on the sand and turn back into Banner just as Talbot shows up and puts him under arrest. Banner is later let out in order to supervise the test of the nuclear device under the strick watch of Talbot, while The Leader is mad and wants to pit his mind against the power of the Hulk and is building an army of his humanoids to do so and even gets information from super villain and master of disguise The Chameleon on were Banner is now. While on the test island Banner gets nerves and runs away to turn into the Hulk as Talbot is now alone with the monster, and unknown to the both of them The Leader has the island surrounded by the humanoids. As Talbot hides inside the test lab behind steel doors, The Hulk is outside being attacked by the Humanoids who have orders to capture him and bring back to The Leader. The army shows up on the island as well and attacks Hulk who is already got his hands full with the Humanoids who are shrugging off his hits. The Hulk falls into the ocean and swims away as he is about to turn into Banner and the Humanoids return to The Leader as the army is confused. Once the Hulk turns into Banner he is kidnapped at ocean by enemies of America and is going to be forced to work for them that is until he turns back into The Hulk and these fools learn not to mess with him after he uses his thunder clap to knock them all away. Meanwhile Talbot gets word that Banner was spotted on an enemy ship and he now really thanks he is a traitor to America.

Review: This episode ends on a cliffhanger as Bruce Banner is looked at by the army as a spy and a traitor to his country, all because he cannot let them know he is The Hulk and because of this he has been kidnaped by baddies and is being seen as one himself. Meanwhile The Hulk is being hunted by not only by the American Army but also by The Leader and his humanoid men and this is why The Hulk hates everyone as they all seem to always want to cause him harm. The baddies in this episode are The Leader and his humanoids as well as Major Glenn Talbot who for some reason really seems to hate Banner and wants any reason to lock him up and call him names. And you would have to be crazy not to think that the episodes main threat is not The Leader as he is fueled with a big brain and the means to bring nations down and even be a pain in the side of the powerful Hulk. The animation of The Leader at times had me laughing as the mouth movements and the animation made him at times look very silly. Over all I just feel that this is a good solid episode and brings one of The Hulks biggest bad guys into the world of cartoons and the fact we now have both Hulk and Banner as fugitives of America makes the next episode be even more important in this saga.

Grade: ***

Episode 4: The Power Of Dr. Banner

Thunderbolt Ross is having a big conference with fellow military and government workers about Banner turning on his country and Talbot volunteers to go behind enemy lines to get him back, Ross shoots down the idea for now. Meanwhile The Hulk has destroyed much of the enemy’s base and the evil Captain armed with a powerful proton gun and when he misses The Hulks rampage continues that is until he turns back into Bruce Banner and now fighter plans and tanks are firing at the scientist who must run for his life. But after the bad army kills innocent people the rage comes back to Banner and once more The Hulk comes out to smash, while back in America Thunderbolt Ross gets the location of Banner and he and Talbot stick to the idea that Banner is a traitor while Betty tells them they are wrong. Meanwhile The Hulk destroys all the baddies tanks and uses his thunderclap to destroy many of them, and then Hulk tries to leap his way back home to America, but gets tired and takes a break in the Himalaya Mountains. Once Hulk is turns back to Banner he finds himself taken hostage again and this time the new kidnappers want ransom money from America and Ross ends up having to send Talbot with money to pay it and get the scientist back. Talbot arrives and gets Banner and as the two flee the area rocks give way and Banner falls off the side of a mountain, but lucky for Banner he turns into The Hulk and is also able to save Talbot who as also fallen over now. Talbot blacks out as The Hulk leaps away and when the Major awakens he thinks that Banner is dead from the fall. The Hulk is able to find the home of Bruce Banner and when he rests he turns back into the scientist and is found in the home by Thunderbolt Ross who once more has him arrested, but the Pentagon calls and tells Ross to let him free. Meanwhile Banner is ragging mad that Talbot is telling the press that he is a spy when in fact he is not and before he is freed from jail he once more gets mad and turns into The Hulk and busts out ready for another rampage on the army base and this time he takes Talbot as a prisoner and heads into the nearby mountains that Ross then has blow up with a sun beam blast. As Thunderbolt along with Betty and soldiers head to recover the believed dead body of Talbot they are shocked to find him alive as well as Banner who is with him and this truly clears Banners name as they all think he saved the life of Talbot.

Review: This is another fun episode that has poor Bruce Banner being put through all types of stressful situations from being kidnapped twice, to being called a traitor to his country, being arrested several times, turning into The Hulk after mass amounts of stress and finally looking bad in the eyes of Betty. The main baddies in this episode are the kidnappers as well as Thunderbolt Ross and Talbot who I think are the more dangerous as they want to not only kill The Hulk but also ruin the life and reputation of Bruce Banner. And I think out of the two army men its Talbot who has a more weird hatred from Banner as he almost seems gleeful to have him arrested as well as he is so wanting him to be found guilty at a trail. Both of the kidnapper groups are just into power as well as money and Banner is just the means to obtain both and The Hulk is just an annoyance to their plane. And The Hulk is shown in this episode that if he gets to tired from battle he will return back to being Banner and that leaves him open for some bad situations. Over all this was a good entertaining episode that allows Thunderbolt Ross and Major Talbot to shine at being the main pain in the side of both Banner and The Hulk.

Grade: ***

Episode 5: Micro Monsters

Bruce Banner and Rick Jones have a chat about The Hulk and how Bruce must travel back to the island to work on his nuclear device and needs to be safe doing so. Meanwhile The Leader has set his eyes on the device and wants to sell it to a foreign terror and use the money he gets to help his goal of running the world, and to get it he shrinks his humanoids to micro size and sends them to the island and when he zaps them from affair they will grow and do his bidding. Once on the island Banner finds the micro men that look like an odd sand all over and also finds that Talbot is once more on duty to watch over him as he still does not trust Banner even after he thinks he saved his life. But once the humanoids grow they knock out Talbot and attack Banner who turns into The Hulk and starts the brawl with them all to the delight of The Leader who also wants to capture his foe and they do so when the use lots of knockout gas. Back and the secret mountain base Rick Jones gets worried when he does not hear from Banner and knows that something must have went wrong on that island, as the army from the sea watch as The Leader uses a beam to zap up the nuclear device and The Hulk and they try to blast them out of the sky…and they fail. And once on the island the army find Talbot and they all think that Banner and The Hulk are working together and stole the nuclear device. Once back at The Leaders base he starts running tests on The Hulk that he keeps knocked out with the gas, as he want to control him and his power. When The Leader leaves his lab The Hulk turns back into Banner who thinks quick and uses some gadgets to send a Morse Code message to the army that is heard by Rick Jones as well as the army who trace the massage and lead by Thunderbolt Ross and Talbot the whole base heads to the location as does Rick Jones. Meanwhile The Leader returns to find The Hulk missing and in a few moments thanks to the returning gas Banner becomes The Hulk again and destroys the nuclear device and the lab catches fire and traps The Hulk as The Leader escapes via his little aircraft ship. The army enters the base and opens fire on The Hulk as Rick Jones rushes in to try and save his friend as Talbot tells Rick that both The Hulk and Banner are traitors. Meanwhile Hulk escapes and starts to track down The Leader who is talking to powerful dictators about the destroyed nuclear device and how he can offer them something better a Giant Humanoid and to prove its power he sends it to destroy the military missile base and as the army tries to fight off this Giant they are joined by The Hulk who goes after it as well. The Army uses a Super Missile and kills the Giant Humanoid with it and they think The Hulk as well, but he got away as he grabbed Rick Jones and leaps away.

Review: This is another fun episode that has The Hulk and Bruce Banner once more in the sights of The Leader who wants to take over the world using not only his Humanoids but also Banner’s nuclear device as well as The Hulk himself and of course he fails at this task, but what he does do is get Thunderbolt Ross, Talbot and the rest of the army to once more turn on Banner and think he is a spy. It’s like Banner just can not catch a break in this cartoon series as no matter what he does the villains always seem to manage to make him look like scum to the military. The Leader and his Giant Humanoid are super dangerous in this issue and do cause destruction, and we should also not rule out his micro growing Humanoids who also are a pain in the butt to whomever they are sent after. Rick Jones is as always a loyal friend to both Banner and his monster side The Hulk and even almost dies, but some how The Hulk’s transformation back to Banner heals him…strange stuff. Talbot and Thunderbolt Ross are as angry as ever and just seem to get joy at being bitter and rude towards Banner. What a fun and silly episode and has enough Hulk fighting action to bring the entertainment.

Grade: ***

Episode 6: Brawn Against Brain

Thunderbolt Ross is in his office telling his daughter that Banner is really missing cause his giant red robot he built is a flop, but Banner shows up and starts working more on the robot as it has a showing the next morning. The Red Robot is more like an armor that will allow who ever is inside it to withstand even an atomic bomb and if this can be perfected it will be a game changer for the army. As Banner works on the robot late into the night he notices a shadow watching him and gives chase fearing it’s a spy, but the excitement triggers the change into The Hulk who leaps away allowing the unknown person not now get inside the robot on the test day and uses the robot to attack the army who all think its Banner inside. When The Hulk arrives back he and the Robot have a big fight, that leaves Hulk turning back into Banner and being found by Thunderbolt Ross and cleared of being in the war machine Robot that is wondering away into the desert, and who finds Banner’s hidden mountain cave base. Meanwhile Banner is in his lab trying to find a way to bring down the Robot as Thunderbolt Ross and Talbot are having a meeting about still trying to pin Banner for a spy. Banner heads to the mountains and tracks down the Robot, as Betty and Talbot also show up an the Robot flings a big rock at them that is smashed by The Hulk after Banner gets worked up and Betty thinks Talbot is who saved her life. The Hulk and The Robot start fighting again and The Hulk stops a missile that his foe as launched in order to blowup the army base, and when doing so he also knocks the Robot into a bottomless pit! The Hulk is knocked out by the missile blast and the army shows up and takes him prisoner, and Thunderbolt Ross wants answers from our chained hero. The Leader meanwhile does not get word back from his agent that he sent to steal the Robot so he sends in the master of disguise The Chameleon to find him, and once at the base Chameleon makes himself look like Thunderbolt Ross and sets out to meet The Hulk who has now turned back to Banner and has escaped the chains that held him. The Chameleon next knocks out Banner and makes a mask to look like the scientist to try and get more information, and when Betty visits the lab and figures out he is not the real Banner he starts to attack her and this triggers the real Banner to change back into The Hulk who saves Betty as well as many of the soldiers on the base as The Chameleon sets off a bomb in order to escape and The Hulk takes the blast.

Review: This is a pretty fun and entertaining episode as we have The Hulk going up against not only a Robot created by Banner and now controlled by a enemy spy but also that’s sinister Chameleon who can look and act like anyone! And The Hulk being the monster hero he is somehow out smarts and beats them both with the poor Robot spy falling into a hole that he will never return from. Plus we also get a very small cameo from The Leader who is still a pain for Banner and The Hulk and of course Thunderbolt Ross, Talbot and The Army are around with one strange thing being is tat in this episode Ross acts as if this is the first time really meeting Talbot…very strange. Betty Ross is around but we do not see Rick James at all. The fights between The Hulk and The Robot are great as this is the first time we see Hulk having to outsmart his enemy as his punches are not doing anything. Lots of reused animation in this episode and I really think that while cheap it does help give this cartoon its charm. I also like that this episode plays up on the fact that The Hulk is a hero but yet never gets the credit he should, plus we also kind of set up the romance tension between Betty Ross and Talbot! Over all a really great episode and has two really good cheesy fight scenes.

Grade: ***

Episode 7: Within This Monster Dwells A Man

The Leader is looking via a view screen around the army base and spots Banner working in his secret cave lab, but this villain is looking for The Hulk. Banner meanwhile has figured something major out but his excitement turns him into The Hulk and a bullet that ricochets from soldiers target practicing hits him in the head given Hulk a bad and painful headache and he passes out. The Leader uses a beam to zap The Hulk to his lab so that he can study him and his power. Once at the lab The Leader and his Humanoid henchmen remove the bullet from The Hulks head saving his life, but The Leader has to use sleep gas on Hulk and keep him prisoner when he turns down leading his army in world domination. When The Hulk wakes up he starts destroying the lab and even fights with the Humanoids who are blasting him with rainbow rays, The Leader rushes to stop them as he during the bullet removal placed a device that will help him mind control Hulk. Once saved The Leader puts The Hulk through all types of tests he sends Hulk to another world to steal from a powerful being named The Watcher who welcomes Hulk on his arrival and allows him to walk around as The Leader tells The Hulk to steal a sphere that he thinks is going to be the ultimate machine, but Hulk is attacked by a big red alien who as also been sent to steal that object! The Hulk and this alien fight as The Watcher sends them to another part of the planet so their fighting does not destroy his machines, after a hard fought battle The Hulk beats the red alien and is able to grab the ultimate machine and return to Earth, The Leader is happy and thinks he will have all the knowledge of the galaxy but its to much and The Leader “dies” from it all, The Watcher comes to Earth and takes his machine back and The Hulk is now free of The Leaders control.

Review: First thing I have to say is that the colors used in this episode are great as they are bright and give life to the animation. This also has a great plot that has The Leader saving as well as controlling the life of The Hulk and forcing him to fight a Red Lizard Skinned Alien as well as steal from The Watcher who all you Marvel Comics fans will know from Fantastic Four and What If comics, and having The Watcher in this episode made it feel a little more epic and as well opened up the world as we know that aliens and other worlds are now out there. I like that The Hulk knows that The Leader is a scumbag and even when forced to work for him you can tell he does not care for him, plus The Hulk and the Red Alien fight was great and also reminded me of Star Trek for some reason. The episode also marks the death of The Leader who’s brain shuts down, even though us comic readers know he will be back. We do not see Betty Ross, Thunderbolt Ross, Rick Jones or Talbot in this episode as this one is mostly all about The Hulk and we even get very little Bruce Banner and this was a nice change of pace and made for one very fun watch. Really enjoyed this one and I would say The Leader is the meanest and most heartless of the villains we have seen this far in the cartoon series.

Grade: ***1/2

Episode 8: The Space Phantom

The Hulk is at a meeting for The Avengers at Tony Stark’s mansion and on hand is Iron Man, Thor, Giant Man and Wasp and unknown to them the Space Phantom has came to Earth looking to take it over and even takes on the appearance of a normal man of the street that he sends to limbo. The Space Phantom makes it to Stark’s Mansion as he was watched them from space and knows their secrets and is greeted by The Hulk who is zapped and sent to limbo as well so that Space Phantom can look like him and get close to the other Avengers members and when doing so he causes them all to fight among themselves by acting out as Hulk. Still looking like The Hulk the Space Phantom is roaming the streets and causing chaos when he is stopped by Rick Jones who The Space Phantom alerts to the truth of who he is and leave Rick stranded out in the middle of nowhere as he goes back to cause more damage to The Avenger’s friendship and first he starts a fight with Iron Man and as the fight starts The Space Phantom runs away and this makes Iron Man attacking the real Hulk who is back from limbo, just as Rick Jones is able to send a message to Giant Man and Wasp about The Space Phantom and his powers. Giant Man breaks up the fight between Hulk and Iron Man as The Space Phantom attacks Wasp and then takes the identity of Giant Man and then jumps to looking like Iron Man causing confusion for The Hulk and the other Avengers. Wasp goes and gets Thor and they take down Space Phantom who is still acting as Iron Man, and soon Space Phantom finds himself in limbo after failing to take over the look of Thor who is a God. After it’s all over The Hulk quits The Avengers as he thinks all his teammates hate him.

Review: This episode brings The Avengers into the cartoon world and features The Space Phantom doing his best to break up and bring down the team and while he mostly fails he does lead to The Hulk leaving the team, so I guess he kind of wins in the end. The Space Phantom can take the appearance and gain the powers of who ever he chooses as well as they are human and the real person is sent to limbo until he changes his look again. And because of his powers Space Phantom is one very dangerous alien who really wants to take over the Earth. The Avengers are around and Giant Man and Wasp are the ones trying to keep it together and the egos of Iron Man and Thor are out of control and lack of trust and respect is what makes them think The Hulk is a monster on the loose. The animation in this episode is the weakest it has been the whole series and at times characters are not even colored in right and also the episode has kind of a dark tint. And something about the pacing just feels off to me, with the highlight of the episode being the brief fights between Hulk and Iron Man that sadly do not last long. While it was a fun watch and it was awesome seeing The Avengers I do think this far this is the weakest episode in the series, but again have to stress it is still a good watch. Plus this episode did also make me look forward to watching and covering the 1966 cartoons for Iron Man and Thor, and yes in the future they as well will be getting the Tube Toons treatment.

Grade: **1/2

Episode 9: Incredible Hulk vs. Metal Master

Thunderbolt Ross is angry that Bruce Banner is late to test a missile launch as his daughter Betty and Rick Jones try to calm him down, The Hulk is around and is trying to figure out how to get to the mountain cave base without being seen by the army that is out on patrol. The Hulk is getting frustrated as the army gets closer and he knows that he needs to turn into Banner, but for some reason he cant. The army gets a code red alert and head back to base as The Hulk enters the cave and uses a ray to turn back into Banner and for a brief moment Banner gets the body of a bodybuilder before it fades. Once back at Banner he checks in on his missile only to see it melting at the hands of Metal Master an alien who is from another galaxy who can damage and destroy anything metal that was banished by his world and has set his sites on ruling the Earth! To show off his power Metal Master destroys a tank as well as army helmets and as he leaves he makes a point once more of his power, Rick Jones who was at the scene the whole time rushes to the cave base to try and get The Hulk to help. But things are bad for The Hulk as well as when he changed this time he has the face of Bruce Banner and must wear a rubber mask to hide his appearance, and then sets out to find Metal Master. The Hulk finds Metal Master who throws tons of metal at him but the Hulk keeps on smashing the objects, and its only by tricking him that Metal Master is able to knock him out. The Army finds the knocked out Hulk and take him to a cell that he cannot break free from as Rick Jones tries to tell Thunderbolt Ross that The Hulk is their only chance of beating Metal Master. Rick Jones tries to enlist in the army and is shot down by Thunderbolt Ross for being to young and when seeing Hulk he is threatened as Hulk thinks Rick told the army about his mask. The Hulk ends up escaping and returns to the cave lab and turns back into Banner and Rick Jones joins him and they use his CB Radio club the Teen Brigade in order to following the movements of Metal Master who is destroying cities. Banner turns back into the Hulk and is now caring a massive gun that is made out of plastic and with the help of Rick and the Teen Brigade they lure Metal Master to them and when he can not melt the fake weapon the stress gets to him and after a threat from Hulk he turns things back to normal and rushes back to space. After returning to the cave and becoming Banner again he knows he must see Betty who has been worried sick about him.

Review: This is a very interesting episode as not only do we see The Hulk fight Metal Master and use a mixture of his might and brains to defeat him, but we also see that his transformations between Hulk and Banner is getting more out of control and unpredictable and even at times he becomes a hybrid of his two sides. And The Hulks mood as well is very up and down as at times he even threatens his friend Rick Jones with a beating and death. Poor Betty Ross who cares about Banner is also left in the dark so much by her love who disappears and puts himself in dangers way and yet never goes out of his way to alert her of his safety. Thunderbolt Ross who loves his military life you can tell is at his wits end with both Bruce Banner and The Hulk and he wants both to go away. Metal Master is an alien who can destroy all things metal, and while dangerous he is also not very bright as he was scared of plastic…a plastic gun painted to look like metal. I also like that this episode introduced the Teen Brigade the friends of Rick Jones who uses their radios to help him and The Hulk on cases an to avoid the army. This is a good episode and man I really am enjoying re-watching these cartoons.

Grade: ***

Episode 10: The Ringmaster

Thunderbolt Ross really wants to stop The Hulk from having anymore rampages and even tries to get Rick Jones to tell him the location of the green skinned hero. When Rick will not tell him, he has the army follow him to his home and try to break in as Rick tells the Hulk to get to the cave base. Meanwhile in a nearby town two FBI Agents find that everyone in town is frozen in place like statues and that some one has robbed the town of all its wealth, while The Hulk saves kids on a bus that has stalled on train tracks. Meanwhile we meet The Ringmaster and his band of evil circus workers who have an idea of kidnapping Rick Jones in order to gain control over The Hulk who would come looking for his friend. Rick meets Hulk at the cave base and tells him good work on saving the kids and then heads to the circus that has just gotten to town and this leads to Ringmaster kidnapping him and leaving many of the towns people under his trance. Word gets around that Rick Jones is missing and Thunderbolt Ross alerts the army to be on the look out for him as Hulk turns into Bruce Banner and he and Betty also worry about the missing young man. Bruce then rushes back to the secret cave base and turns into The Hulk to find Rick as the circus keeps up its crime wave. Finally The Hulk finds the circus and makes quick work of many of the performers who try and attack him, but finally he is blasted with a very high-powered water cannon and is chained up. The Hulk breaks free and lets Rick Jones go who goes to get the FBI as Hulk plays along in being an attraction for the circus. As the FBI shows up Hulk helps capture Ringmaster and then is swarmed by the army lead by Thunderbolt Ross and has to leap to escape capture himself.

Review: This is another great episode of this cartoon series that has The Hulk going after The Ringmaster and his circus that have been robbing people blind from town to town and make the mistake of thinking they can use him as an attraction by kidnapping his good pal Rick Jones! The Hulk and Rick in this episode have a bond that allows Hulk to hear the thoughts and screams of Rick to alert him when he is in danger, this is odd and yet is the key to make this episode work and allow Hulk to find his missing friend. The Ringmaster can use his hypnotizing ways to steal, and the voice actor playing him is fantastic and brings charm to this otherwise cheesy comic villain. I also like that the circus has many weird performers like a lion man, a guy dressed as the devil and one who looks like Tarzan Lord Of The Apes! Thunderbolt Ross and the army are also thrown in to be a pain in the butt for Hulk. Some of the animation for Betty Ross is terrible as they glued one of her eyes on weird and it makes for some humors moments. Over all an action packed episode that could have had a slightly better ending as Hulk makes way to quick of work of Ringmaster and his goons.

Grade: ***

Episode 11: Enter Tyrannus

Thunderbolt Ross is showing video of The Hulk to Bruce, Betty and Rick and tells Banner he needs his help to capture Hulk! Meanwhile in another world Betty is being watched by Tyrannus The Lord Of Darkness who has a plans on kidnapping her to force Banner to not use his nuclear bomb knowledge against him as he tries to take over the world, and after taking a drink from his fountain of youth he starts working on his plan that has him act as a scientist and get Betty to escort him around and then he lures her into a cave and keeps her prisoner. But Banner follows and turns into The Hulk to go into the cave and try and get her back, while Tyrannus sends Thunderbolt a message that if he fights back against his approaching army that he will kill Betty. The Hulk and Rick Jones find Betty but they are quickly defeated when Tyrannus uses a gas to knock them out and then keeps them prisoner as well and Hulk is turned into a gladiator and must battle his fire-breathing robot for his amusement. The Hulk destroys the robot and then goes after the crowd who watched the fight, only to be zapped by Tyrannus he threatens to once more kill Betty if Hulk does not listen to orders. Days pass and Hulk is now being used as slave labor but Tyrannus has grown bored with him and gives the orders that he is to be killed, but Rick is able to get Betty and they rush to Hulk’s cell and tell him he must fight back as this is the only way they will all survive. The Hulk does just that and after beating up guards he is able to get Betty, Rick and himself back to the army base. But just as quick The Hulk is taken back to Tyrannus’s castle to find him old and needing his help as he is dying of old age as Mole Man has taken the fountain of youth! The Hulk takes the job after he once more finds that Rick and Betty are captured by Tyrannus who is dying and goes after Mole Man who’s army puts up a good fight, but soon learn that nothing can stop Hulk! And as the armies of Mole Man and Tyrannus go to war The Hulk turns back into Banner and watches as Tyrannus finds some water from the fountain and turns young again, he also learns that he sent Betty and Rick back home. And once turning back into The Hulk he finds his way home as the war between the two sides continue underground.

Review: This is a cool episode mostly as I find the underground war between Tyrannus and the Mole Man over the fountain of youth to be interesting as both men are driven by ego and have mindless followers that will die for them. And what makes it even more amazing is throwing in The Hulk, Rick Jones and Betty Ross in the middle of this war and even seeing Gladiator Hulk for the first time outside of comic media! While Tyrannus is evil as he wants to rule the world as well as threatens to kill a woman in order to get his way, you do have to feel for him once he starts to turn old and death is at his door and he tries to bribe and use those he tormented to help him live longer by getting the fountain back. I also like that Thunderbolt Ross is also put into a bad spot when he is threatened not to fight the invasion or his own daughter is dead…very cruel move by Tyrannus. While this episode is very entertaining it is also flawed in spots as some of the animation is terrible and looks like construction paper being used to animate arms and hands, plus I think the ending is a little lackluster as its Hulk returning to the surface world and screaming for Rick…just a little anti climatic as we do not see Hulk fight Tyrannus nor Mole Man. But with that said, while it might be one of the weaker episodes in the series I still very much enjoyed it.

Grade: **1/2

Episode 12: Terror Of The T-Gun

Thunderbolt Ross and Talbot are getting frustrated with Bruce Banner as they need him to test his newest invention the weapon called the T-Gun, but that night the stress gets to Banner who turns into The Hulk and has the army after him as once more he goes on a rampage and starts to figure out that he is truly stronger than any man or weapon, and Hulk finds himself alone in the desert thinking about things. Thunderbolt Ross is given the task to test the T-Gun with or without Banner around and he has even put Rick Jones in a jail cell do to the youngster’s connection to The Hulk, Rick begs them to let him go as he knows he is the only one who can get stop The Hulks rampage who now is on the hunt for Rick who is his only friend. The Hulk makes it back to the military base and Thunderbolt Ross shoots him with the T-Gun that sends Hulk to another place that is destroyed and the only thing he can see is a statue of himself that looks hundreds of years old. The Hulk finds himself being attacked by futuristic knights who have laser guns, and he must use all his power and strength against them. The Knights end up capturing Hulk as they want to study him as well as know of the legend of him, while back at the army base Thunderbolt Ross is in trouble when his superiors find out he used the T-Gun on Hulk, as they knew it was a Time Gun. King Arkham is the leader of the knights and when Hulk awakens he is taken to see The King who tells his captive that he would like for him to join him in the fight against The Executioner a man who has been killing the knights, Hulk refuses and Arkham has his knights attack; once more The Executioner sets an attack on the Kingdom and The Hulk brings down his robot war machines and challenges The Executioner to a fight and the two start to have an epic battle. Meanwhile back in our time Thunderbolt Ross is questioning Rick Jones on the location of Banner, and Thunderbolt rips him apart and sets him free all the while calling him names. The Hulk ends up being a pain in the side for The Executioner who ends up sending him back to his normal time, while Rick Jones makes the mistake of telling Major Talbot that Bruce Banner is The Hulk! The episode ends with The Hulk now back in his own time and he is very mad and wonders if he should challenge the whole human race.

Review: This is a odd episode as The Hulk finds himself in the future being attacked by futuristic knights as well as the Thor villain The Executioner all the while trying to find a way back home, while Thunderbolt Ross in our time is in trouble for using an experimental weapon that caused the time travel for the green skinned hero. This episode also shows that no matter what time it is The Hulk will always be hunted and attacked by people and that his anger toward mankind is well warranted. The biggest plot twist in this episode is that Rick Jones spills the beans of the Banner and Hulk connection to Talbot after he thinks his friend is dead, as now Banner is in even more danger as Talbot has always had it out for him and now knows his terrible secret. The fight between The Hulk and The Executioner is fast and yet very fun as both are super strong and will now allow themselves to be defeated, and its cause Hulks power that The Executioner is the one to send him back to his time as he did not want to put up with his might. It was cool to see Major Talbot back in a episode as he has been gone for awhile, plus it was cool to see a Thor baddie being the main villain in this episode with The Executioner. Over all a pretty entertaining and good episode that added action, drama and sci-fi elements together well for a cartoon from the 1960’s based on a comic book from Marvel Comics.

Grade: **1/2

Episode 13: A Man Called Boomerang

The Secret Empire have gathered for a meeting and watch video of The Hulks attacks on the base ran by Thunderbolt Ross, but why they are watching is cause they want a powerful missile that is at the base to use in their own evildoings. And to get this missile for them they hire the super villain called Boomerang who is paid a very large sum of money. Meanwhile at the army base The Hulk is once more annoyed as the army attacks him, while Thunderbolt Ross alerts Major Talbot that his daughter Betty is missing and that he thinks The Hulk is who has done it and wants him and the other soldiers to get her back…unknown to the Rick Jones over hears this plan as well as claim and is able to tag along with Talbot. A short time later Talbot and Rick find Betty who was just out for a walk, but Boomerang is also watching and gets an idea that he will kidnap Betty himself to use as leverage to get the missile, and he does just that as Talbot and Rick are helpless to save her. Once back at the base Thunderbolt Ross is beyond mad that his daughter has been kidnapped and is even more mad at Talbot and Rick for allowing it to happen. As Boomerang makes his escape with Betty she is able to beg Hulk for help who does just that as he goes to rescue her from this super villain who throws discs with perfect aim and speed, and The Hulk finds that his foe will not be a pushover as Boomerang finds out that nothing can stop The Hulk! The army spots the fight and heads that why as Boomerang in order to escape Hulk gives him Betty and then gets into a secret helicopter that shows up piloted by The Secret Empire. The Hulk is please that he has rescued Betty and as it starts to rain he even makes a shelter for them on the side of a mountain in order to get her out of it, she asks him to now take her to her father Thunderbolt Ross, Hulk refuses as he reminds Betty that her father tries to kill him and she agrees that he has never given him a chance. After the rain stops Hulk leaves to get Betty and himself food, but runs into the army who attacks him even after he tells Thunderbolt where he can find his daughter who is now safe, and its Rick Jones who once more defuses the situation from getting worse and The Hulk brings Thunderbolt Ross and Rick Jones to Betty. Meanwhile Talbot is able to bluff and save the missile from getting into the hands of Boomerang who leaves after a threat of Talbot blowing up the whole base killing them both is played. In the end The Hulk is brooding on a mountaintop when Rick Jones joins him and lets his friend know that he is a hero.

Review: The final episode in this cartoon series is a good one and has The Hulk proving to Betty Ross and even the army to a point that he is not a monster but a hero as he not only saves Betty but he also helps delay and stop the stealing of a missile by Boomerang who is working for a terrorist group called The Secret Empire. The main baddie in the episode is Boomerang who uses his discs to try and keep Hulk at bay, but soon finds out that he is out matched and is forced to retreat and even once back on track he is force to leave again by Talbot who stands his ground. Rick Jones is once more tries to be the voice of reason as he tries to bring Thunderbolt Ross and The Hulk together in order to defeat a common enemy and get Betty Ross to safety. And really while Hulk is a hero in this episode so is Talbot as both of them together is who bring down the plan of Secret Empire that could have spelled doom for America if they would have gotten their hands on that missile. The final episode was a cool one to end on as well as The Hulk is able to somewhat redeem himself in the eyes of the army as well as all the baddies are defeated and all ends well for our cast of characters.

Grade: ***

The was such a blast to watch again after all these years and I have to say they held up very well for me as I found myself loving every second of these very basic cartoons that where as cheesy as one would think they would be coming from the 1960’s! Sure at times the animation is bad and reused in spots that do not fit, and sure the series is very disjointed as major plot developments seem to disappear from episode to episode as do some characters…but these elements add to the charm. Some plot points that come and go with no explanation from episode to episode are Banner’s transformation to The Hulk starts off as only doing so at night to being stressed to even having to use a gamma ray gun and this sometimes changes from episode to episode and I could see being confusing for young viewers. Talbot as well comes and goes and the fact he finds out that Banner is The Hulk never comes into play and that’s also odd. Some of the animation parts that made me laugh out loud is when Betty Ross’s eyes were put on mis-centered making her look like Sloth from the movie The Goonies as well as when at times they would use what looked like green construction paper with crude thumbnails drawn on them to act as Hulk’s hands…funny stuff. And Tube Toons will be here to stay for awhile as I really want to cover the 60’s cartoon series of Captain America, Thor, Iron Man and Sub-Mariner as well here at Rotten Ink so over the next few years look for those updates. I also and here to say that these theme updates will also break off and cover a few more cartoon series in the future. But with that, let’s leave cartoons behind as the next update will take us to the lab of Dr. Frankenstein as we take a look at the 1994 film Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and the Topps Comics adaptation of it! So until next time, read a comic or three, watch a cartoon or two and as always support your local Horror Host! This next update should be a spooky good time as we get closer to Halloween 2023.

Marvel At The Mighty Black Goliath

Posted on January 24, 2016 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back, my friends, to Rotten Ink. It’s amazing to think we are in 2016, and my little place on the web has been going for over three years now with my first official update being about The Smurfs and the Marvel Comic series based on those little blue guys back on September 10^th 2012. It’s grown so much from there and has allowed me to cover such topics as horror hosts, movies and video games as well as talk about my life as a child and adult and cover things from making no budget movies to old school crushes and everything in-between! People have asked me over the years what my favorite update I have ever done is, and while I have enjoyed them all and have put my thoughts and memories into each, I would have to say it was “Start Halloween With The Universal Monsters!” as I got to cover Dell Comics takes on the classic monsters like Dracula and The Wolf Man as well as got to talk about what the Halloween season reminds me of, a great trip down memory lane for sure. Lots of readers and friends have also asked me what my favorite comic company is to cover. That’s an easy one as I have to say classic Marvel Comics. While I do love companies like DC, IDW and Dell, Marvel has always been my top choice to read as all my favorite superheroes come from that company: Captain America, Incredible Hulk, Spider-Man, Conan and Man-Thing. Another question I get is what horror host am I most looking forward to covering on a Icon update. My top two that I knew that were a must for me, I have already done,Commander USA and Dr. Creep, but as for the ones I have not covered it’s a tie between Sammy Terry, Joe Bob Briggs, A. Ghastlee Ghoul and Grandpa Munster, all of whom have influenced me in the world of horror hosting as well as no budget filmmaking. The question that I always look at is what your most read topic is, as of this update, the top three go like this Hellraiser III, Smurfs and Rob Zombie’s Bigfoot. One last question I will answer is people ask what of my old media projects would I like to see turned into a comic book series, and while of course the answer is Baron Von Porkchop’s Terrifying Tales Of The Macabre that wish could be coming true thanks to my friend Damien Brunk so out of the other stuff I would say my old slasher film The Sadness who is a killer who murders women and video tapes it all the while doing these horrible acts to please his fathers voice that echoes in his brain. So in closing, if you are a long time reader or just discovered me, I want to say thanks for taking the time to check out my little place on the web, and here is looking forward to the next three years and beyond. This update we will take a look at Black Goliath, a classic 70’s Marvel Character who was a cash in on the Blaxploitation cinema of the time. So here is looking on to the future and bringing more fun updates to you my friends and readers.

Once many centuries ago, it was believed that giants could have walked among us, even the Bible has Goliath a giant warrior who was killed by a stone from David’s slingshot. It’s been said that giants even battled early settlers here in America and that when their bones are found, the Smithsonian covers it up! In pop culture giants are among us from pro wrestler Andre The Giant to comic character Giant Man. But one giant that has always peeked my interest is The San Diego Mummy, a giant mummified body that measured 8 foot 4 inches and was found in a cave by prospectors in the early 1900’s. It’s said that you could see the twisted teeth and giants ribs trough the skin and it looked like the Aztec Mummy from the classic south of the border horror film series to me. The Smithsonian was all over this discovery and even bought the body for a large sum of money. They came and looked at it and were hyped by what they saw, but the story goes that once they tested parts of the giant’s skin they found it to be a hoax and made of gelation and claimed the remains were a fake and deposed of it. This is where things get crazy as many people claim that the Smithsonian was on a fever pitch to buy large skeletons and many people claim they claimed hoaxes on many that are believed to be the real deal including the San Diego Giant! The odd thing about San Diego Giant is where is it now? Did they dispose of it? If he is real, why are they storing him and not sharing him with the public? And why are the people of Smithsonian trying to buy and hide all the giant skeletons in the world? So many questions un-answered! On a side note, the body also reminds me of the Atlas Comic character The Brute…could this be the body that inspired that comic series?

WWE 2K16 came out on October 27^th 2015, and this year the main attraction was that it had the largest roster in the game’s history as well as had a spotlight on the career of Stone Cold Steve Austin, whom I have never been a fan of during his WWF/WWE run but the possibilities of other wrestlers he had faced made for a interesting wait to see who was announced. Plus they added a ton of names from NXT and this as well made me hyped and ready for the game. The downside was the pre-order bonus wrestler, as it was the T-800. Yeah, that’s right, a Terminator…a fake movie character who has never been in a WWE ring…Arnold Schwarzenegger, the actor who plays the character has and at least would have made a better choice as he is in the WWE Hall Of Fame…yeah, terrible bonus for sure. But terrible bonus and all, this was one game I was super hyped to play as I found that the new additions of Finn Balor and Kalisto and legends like Bret Hart, Sting and Ultimate Warrior made this a must-have video game for me. Plus any wrestling game that sports the largest roster in WWE game history, I had to play!

But like THQ before, 2K has also been snubbing wrestlers that should be showcased in the game! I know that WWE has lots of say on who is in the game and who is left out but so does the company who is distributing the game, and the following 3 wrestlers are my picks of wrestlers who were down right snubbed and should have had a place on the 120 on-disc roster or at least DLC. So sit back and take a look at my picks and in the comments feel free to leave your list of snubbed wrestlers from WWE 2K16!

Hulk Hogan

Let’s start off this list with the biggest and most iconic name left out of this game, as well as one wrestler who was slated to be in the game but pulled amidst controversy. First we should talk about why they pulled him from the game; in 2012 Hogan was recorded making dumb and hurtful raciest comments that were centered around his daughter Brooke’s personal life and music career. It should be noted that he made these commits at the lowest point in his life when he and his wife were splitting, he was sleeping with one of his best friends wife and he was suicidal. Hogan has done his best to do damage control and clear his name of not being a racist person; wrestlers and stars have come to his aid and yet WWE has washed him from their records and fired from his deal, canceled all his upcoming merchandise and pulled him from WWE 2K16. Now let’s look at why Hulk Hogan should have been in the game and the reasons are many! I mean he was a top wrestler not only just in WWF/WWE but also AWA, WCW and TNA as well was an actor in movies and TV. He has been WWF/WWE champion as well as World Heavyweight Champion a number of times, has headlined not only the first Wrestlemania but many more over the years and is one of the biggest icons in the business. While he should have been let go from his WWE contract or even suspended and made to make his dumb decision right, his fans should not be punished by taking him out of the game as he would have been a great grappler to have in the world title mix against the likes of Triple H, Roman Reigns, John Cena and Kevin Owens.

Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka

Jimmy Snuka, much like Hulk Hogan has had a bad 2015 as he was diagnosed with stomach cancer and then picked up on murder charges of his then girlfriend in 1983! While I’m not sure if he was suppose to be in the game, I am sure if he was he was pulled out of the mix pretty quickly. But like all crimes Jimmy is innocent until proven guilty, but to WWE and 2K he is guilty until proven innocent. Jimmy Snuka was one of the biggest wrestlers in the 1980’s and was a top draw for WWE over his career and had epic matches against the likes of Don Muraco and Roddy Piper, and even when coming back in 1989 he was a solid mid-card worker who took on the likes of The Honkey Tonk Man, The Undertaker and Rick Rude! Jimmy even had a good run in AWA and WCW and remained a fan favorite. If Jimmy Snuka would have made it into WWE 2K16, I would have put him in NXT and would also use him on the main roster as matches against Chris Jericho, Daniel Bryan, Kalisto and Seth Rollins would be booked for many of my Raw’s and PPV’s! The sad thing is even if proven not guilty, I see Snuka not being in any upcoming WWE games.

“Hacksaw” Jim Duggan

It’s crazy to think that Hacksaw has not been in a WWE main game in years given that during the 80’s and 90’s he was a huge fan favorite and is on great terms with the company and has had no run ins with the law in decades. Hacksaw had a great run with WWF/WWE from 1987-1993 and had great matches against the likes of King Harley Race, Andre The Giant and Bad News Brown. In 1988, he was even the first winner of the Royal Rumble that aired on the USA Network. When Hacksaw’s star started to drop in the WWF, he moved onto WCW and became a major draw once more winning many belts and having matches with the likes of Stunning Steve Austin, Bunkhouse Buck and Diamond Dallas Page. He left WCW in 2002 and worked some independent federations before returning to WWE in 2005 for another short run that would have him being used to put over younger talent. This run ended in 2009 but for many years after, he appeared from time to time one WWE programing. I would love to have Hacksaw as part of my roster and would make a new tag team with him and Jack Swagger that would be trying to win Tag Team Gold! Very disappointing that Hacksaw seems to have been forgotten by not only WWE but also 2K.

It’s a shame these legends of wrestling have been left out and only time will tell if any of them will be in WWE 2K17, and I want you all to keep in mind none of these guys made it into the game but the T-800 did…shameful.

So in 2015, four of my favorite artists released new albums and of course I had to buy all three of them on CD from Amazon. So let’s start off with the softest artist on the list and one that I have been a huge fan of since the 1995 release of her first album called “Pieces of You.” Of course I am talking about Jewel; her new release is called “Picking Up The Pieces” and this her counter piece to her first release. The first thing I noticed after listening for a few minutes is that Jewel’s voice is as soothing as ever and made me fall in love with her all over again. The sound was a mix of folk and country and is clearly a record to work out some of her personal issues and as always her heart is in every song. I really enjoyed the whole CD, and I think my two favorite tracks off the disc have to be “Everything Breaks,” a song of changing love, and “My Father’s Daughter,” a sweet song about family that is a duet with Dolly Parton. I also really liked the song “Mercy” and for the most part liked every song on the disc. I cannot praise Jewel enough as I feel she is one of the best singer songwriters of my generation, not to mention she can blend pop, country and folk together so well that it shows just how talented she is. I recommend this CD to fans of hers as well as fans looking for a heartfelt album with outstanding songs. The other artists that we will be covering at a different update are Danzig, W.A.S.P. and Alice Cooper with his all-star band called The Hollywood Vampires! So make sure to check back in and see my thoughts on their newest releases soon.

When I was younger I had lots of Marvel Comics as did my brother Bryan, and I spent lots of late nights reading issues before bed or just kicking back in my room on a rainy day and reading them as the rain hit the widows. One character that I saw a lot of over the years is Black Goliath. I always had this idea that he was good friends with The Thing as I mostly remember his from issues of Marvel Two-In-One that had The Thing of Fantastic Four fame teaming up with a fellow Marvel hero. One other thing I can remember about him was that he was dying from an illness that was caused by his ability to change size and The Thing was really upset by this. But this is all I really knew about the character until I did some research over the years, so here is a quick bio of Black Goliath. Bill Foster is a biochemist who is from Los Angeles California who works for Tony Stark’s Plans And Research Division and was Hank Pym’s lab assistant who helps Pym turn to normal size when as his alter ego Giant Man he was stuck being a giant. Sometime later, Bill Foster starts taking the formula Hank did so that he as well can grow and takes on the name Black Goliath and teams with the likes of Luke Cage Power Man, The Thing and even Spider-Man to take on and defeat all types of super baddies. Black Goliath even joined the superheroes team The Champions and would later go on to change his name to Giant Man taking over the role from his friend Hank Pym. As Bill Foster, he at one point found himself working in the Savage Land for High Evolutionary and once he figures out that his employer is up to no good he calls in the West Coast Avengers and they put a stop to his evil scheme of a genetic bomb. Sometime later Bill Foster loses the power to grow and becomes a staff member for Centers For Disease Control and lend his brain to The Avengers to stop a bio-weapon. Later he once more regains his growing powers and joins a short lived team alongside Luke Cage, Brother Voodoo, The Falcon and Iron Fist as well as teams with the likes of Spider-Man and The Thing on separate missions. During the Civil War of Superheroes, Black Goliath took the side of Captain America in that heroes should not have to register their identities and during this conflict he is killed by a clone of Thor. His death changes the balance in teams as many leave Iron Man’s side to join Captain America’s. Up to this point Bill Foster aka Black Goliath is still dead and that’s a shame as I feel he is a great classic Marvel Character who had many more adventures to bring us readers. I should note that during the Dark Reign storyline Black Goliath’s clavicle bone is stolen by Norman Osborn in hopes to be used to track down Hank Pym and his spirit can be seen in Erebus, a realm in-between life and death alongside Baron Zemo, Jack Of Hearts, Jack O’Lantern, Wasp and even Elvis Presley!

So now I am sure if you didn’t know who Black Goliath was, you do now as I hope my little history of the character helped. I really would like to thank Mavericks Cards and Comics who in June 2015 bought a huge comic collection that contained so many amazing issues and full runs from companies like Marvel, DC, Charlton and many more and Black Goliath was one I was lucky to be able to buy for this update! I was lucky enough as my friends Jason Young and Jeremy Hoyt both work for Mavericks and allowed me to go in the back and look through the boxes before they were priced and put out for the masses! I was able not only to get Black Goliath but also issues of Amazing, Spectacular & Web of Spider-Man, Incredible Hulk, Jungle Action with Black Panther, Master of Kung-Fu and a few other titles. So a big thanks goes to Mavericks and their crew for making this update possible. I should also note that while as I stated before I mostly knew Black Goliath from his appearances in “Marvel Two In One” and “Marvel Team Up”, growing up my brother and I did have issue # 3 of this series and I remember very little about it. So let’s grab a glass of milk so we can grow up to be big and strong and set out for a five issue adventure with the one and only Black Goliath.

Black Goliath # 1 ***
Released in 1976 Cover Price .25 Marvel Comics #1 of 5

Bill Foster is walking in the rain down a ghetto road in Los Angeles remembering back to the days of his youth growing up in the neighborhood playing baseball in the streets with his friends as well as the old soda shop that he use to buy cokes from for a dime. While wandering the streets, he comes across some punks who try and rob him and turns into Black Goliath and teaches them crime don’t pay! Bill goes home and is torn between becoming a full time superhero or only focusing on his scientific career that was given to him by Tony Stark. While trying to come to a decision, he gets a call from Hank Pym who tries to push him into a career into crime fighting. After visiting his assistants called The Whiz Kids, Bill decides to become Black Goliath and stop the next robbery that will be for the lab he works! Atom-Smasher and his goons show up at a warehouse to steal some Radium and take out the two guard posted at the front and to their shock they run into Black Goliath who makes quick work of the goons, but is chopped down by Atom-Smasher who blasts him with a energy beam and is about to finish him off with an even more powerful one as our issue comes to an end!

This first issue is fantastic and captures the 70’s Blaxploitation cinema vibe and mixes it very well with the classic 70’s Marvel and is very much on par with Luke Cage Power Man! The plot of this issue has Bill Foster having a internal war with himself over becoming a full fledged superhero or being a full fledged scientist! And when robbers keep stealing shipments and breaking into labs, Bill decides that he must embrace his super powers and become Black Goliath to stop these crimes. Black Goliath is a very interesting character as he got his powers from helping Hank Pym when he was stuck as Giant Man and took that formula and improved it. What also makes him stand out is the fact he was once a ircus sideshow performer who lied to his girlfriend by telling her he could not control his size and was beaten up by Luke Cage who in turn walked away with Bill’s now ex! Black Goliath is a man who is quick witted and has an edge of take no bull attitude making this issue a fun read as it leaves you wondering what he is going to do. The Whiz Kids (Herbert Bell, Dale West & Talia Kruma) are nice back up characters who a being set up to be inventors of gadgets that Goliath can use in his crime busting. Atom-Smasher is a cheesy yet powerful villain who rocks his bald head and powerful energy well, in fact he seems not to be bothered by the size of Goliath as he fires an energy blast and cuts him down to size. Atom-Smasher can control matter and can use his power to go through walls and even fire powerful blasts from his hands. The cover for this first issue is fantastic and very eye catching. Plus the art inside is well done and is done by the talented George Tuska who does a fantastic job of capturing the mood and vibe of this comic. This first issue makes me hyped to read issue # 2 and see how Goliath gets away from the deadly hands of Atom-Smasher so let’s not waste anymore time and get to it!

Black Goliath # 2 **1/2
Released in 1976 Cover Price .25 Marvel Comics #2 of 5

Black Goliath uses all his strength to dodge a fatal blow by Atom-Smasher and turns the table on the high energy villain! But the fight doesn’t stay in Black Goliath’s favor for long as once more Atom-Smasher is able to beat him up as well as causes a huge fire that was heading toward the L.A. airport’s fuel tanks! As Smasher escapes, poor Goliath is weak and trying his best to not to catch fire or drown in the water from the firefighters’ hose, and passes out to wake up in the care of Celia Jackson who was a stewardess for the airport and saved him from being fried to a crisp. Returning home as Bill Foster, he gets The Whiz Kids to create a tracking devise to locate Atom-Smasher. He gets the drop on Smasher and his goons ending his reign of terror, but unknown to Black Goliath, an assassin is watching and getting orders from a hidden in the shadows crime boss to take him out!

This second adventure of Black Goliath is a very good follow up to the first and retains all the wonderful 70’s Blaxploitation action and one liners making fans of such films as Hammer and Foxy Brown happy as well as comic readers who enjoyed Power Man. In this issue Black Goliath suffers a terrible defeat, but it does not slow him down as he not only stops the bad guys in the end but also has time to make it with the young woman who saved his life! In this issue Black Goliath at first tries to only depend on his power to bring down the bad guys, but by the end learns that using his power as well as his mind is the best way to get the victory. While at first he does doubts how good of a superhero he will be, he turns it around in the end to embrace that he is new to the crime fighting game and can make mistakes. The Whiz Kids once more are used as helper characters and with their super smarts are able to make a tracking device to hunt down the location of Atom-Smasher. The tricky part is that Bill lied to them and said the device was made for the police. By this point we also are picking up on the personalities of the Whiz Kids with Herbert being the worry wart, Dale being the goofball troublemaker and Talia being the more private one who keeps her private life to herself leaving her open to be the most interesting one of them all. Celia Jackson seems like she could be a new love interest for Bill or could be just a one nightstand as the next panel after he leaves her house, Bill thinks to himself how he “scored” with her. At the warehouse Atom-Smasher puts up a fight that leaves the giant hero on his butt and proves he has power, but in the last battle when taken by surprise he goes down pretty easy as Black Goliath knocks machine parts on him and then bonds him in graphite. The Smasher’s men are about as helpful to him as cats would be in a fist fight against ninjas as they are knocked around and run like chickens. The cover is once more very eye catching, and the art done by George Tuska is fantastic. I should also note the story in this issue was done by Chris Claremont who is best known for writing Uncanny X-Men and is the brain behind so many of that series top arcs. So far I‘m really liking this series and am looking forward to each issue that follows! Let’s see if the third issue can keep up the charm of Black Goliath.

Black Goliath # 3 **1/2
Released in 1976 Cover Price .25 Marvel Comics #3 of 5

As Black Goliath is about to take Atom-Smasher to the police station, the sniper attacks and grazes Goliath in the forehead causing him to drop Atom-Smasher and try to find cover. Atom-Smasher breaks free from his bonds and tries to escape, but before he can he takes a bullet to the back showing that he was the target. Before Black Goliath can get to the sniper he is gone, but something worse happens as he starts to feel ill and as if he is dying! Meanwhile back at Stark Labs, The Whiz Kids are covering for Bill Foster as he is not at work and a very angry Tony Stark needs to speak to him, and worse a motorcycle gang breaks into the lab and steals a important package and causes mayhem to the workers including Dale and Talia who are injured in the attack. The cops give chase to the gang but soon meet their leader Vulcan, a super strong hunchback with laser shooting wristbands who kills a rookie and injures a veteran female officer. Black Goliath shakes off the sick feeling and goes after the gang to get the package back and makes quick work of the gang, even giving Vulcan a beating, but once more making a rookie mistake he goes for the stolen package and takes a laser blast from the downed Vulcan that causes a building to fall on him and let the bad guy escape. In the end some of the cops are mad about Black Goliath not saving the killed rookie and this makes Goliath mad as he has no plans on stopping being a superhero.

This third issue now adds the motorcycle gang craze of the 70’s to the mix and even adds a touch of horror as Vulcan the gang’s leader is clearly a weird looking hunchback. The plot of this issue is that someone hired an assassin to kill Atom-Smasher as they looked at him as a loose end. Black Goliath is still a rookie at being a hero and makes some mistakes but during this time he is also having some issues with his powers as he is feeling ill. Throw in a biker gang who has been hired to steal a package from the lab and you have this issue. Black Goliath is getting better at stopping crime and is not backing down from bad guys and will do anything he can to save a life, even if he is always late at doing so. The main question is what is making Black Goliath sick and feeling like he is going to die? My thought on this is that he is straining his body as he is using the powers more often and this is causing his insides to become damaged. The normal Bill Foster part of Goliath’s life seems to be spinning out of control as he is neglecting his day job and could be facing a pink slip if he isn’t more attentive to his work. The Whiz Kids are pretty helpful in this issue as not only do they try and cover for Bill, but Dale tries his best to fight the biker gang and protect his fellow workers, and we learn that Talia is the way she is cause she left a loved on to die in the jungle to save her own butt! The Sniper and the Shadowy Big Boss are still a mystery as their identities are still unknown, but I am thinking that the big boss could be The Kingpin. Poor Atom-Smasher after being captured tried to run to fight another day, but is killed as I think they felt if the cops got ahold of him he might snitch. Vulcan is a brute, and while he is good at smashing cars and killing cops, he is not so good at fighting people with above average powers as Goliath whoops him pretty good. While he packs some laser wristbands and leads a gang of bikers, he just does not seem like a major threat. I should also mention that Tony Stark who all Marvel Comic readers as well as the movie watchers know is Iron Man comes off as a butthead in this issue as he yells and screams and threatens to fire Bill for missing one day of work, talk about a horrible boss! The cover is once more top notch, and the team of Claremont and Tuska are back and proves that when the right team work on a book no matter how big or small the character is, they can make quality work. So with this let’s move onto issue number four.

Black Goliath # 4 **1/2
Released in 1976 Cover Price .25 Marvel Comics #4 of 5

Black Goliath stops some bank robbers and even breaks a stolen weapon that could kill many innocent people if used, all before heading to work where he gets chewed out by Tony Stark over the stolen package. That leaves the two at odds, and a man named Ballard being odd and wanting to keep what’s in the box from Bill. It’s clear the two have a past with each other. Bill changes into Black Goliath and heads to the police station where he gets news from Keith who is the nephew of Celia Jackson, the stewardess who Goliath “scored” with that the bank is being robbed. As Black Goliath and the cops arrive, they soon find that the robber is not a common man but the super villain Stilt Man who is mad and wanting to make a statement and does just that as he manhandles Black Goliath and to prove a point uses his new Z-Ray gun on Black Goliath, Keith and Celia making them vanish into thin air as the police look on in horror.

This forth issue is good but I will say slipped a little as I feel with this one they took away the cult feel and made it more of a main stream comic that could have as easy been an issue of Spider-Man or Captain America. The issue’s plot has Bill Foster being mad at Tony Stark his boss and goes head to head with a villain who matches him in size and power and by the end uses a ray that turns our hero into nothing as he just disappears. Black Goliath is pretty cocky now at being a superhero and seems not to be bothered by having to choose between it and his career. Plus it looks as if the cops are now on his side and want his help on trying to stop crime. Bill Foster seems to be blowing off his work in this issue and even mouths off and makes his boss Tony Stark wait. The Whiz Kids take a backseat with nothing major to do besides telling Bill that Tony is on the phone for him. Tony Stark is still acting as a terrible boss, but does show that he likes Bill as a person and a friend. Ballard, I am not sure what his deal is, but he seems to have a chip on his shoulder and have a strong dislike for Bill. Celia Jackson and her nephew Keith are clearly fans and friends of Black Goliath and it’s nice to see that she is just not a one night stand. Stilt Man is a major threat in L.A. and wants to be that town’s crime lord and starts his path of doing so by robbing a bank and beating the city’s protector with little to no effort. Stilt Man is proving that he is not a joke and while the likes of Daredevil and Captain America have beaten him, Black Goliath was just out matched. The way this issue ends and with only one issue left in the series it makes me wonder how in the heck are they going to wrap up who the shadow crime boss is, where is Black Goliath at and how will he get back as well as how will he defeat Stilt Man. This issue’s cover is great like the others, and while Chris Claremont wrote the script, they changed the artist as the team of R. Buckler and Don Heck take over and do a solid job. Well it’s time to move onto the final issue. Let’s see how Marvel wraps this one up or will it get the Steel: The Indestructible Man treatment where DC just upped and cancelled it before the story is finished. Well let’s see, shall we?

Black Goliath # 5 **1/2
Released in 1976 Cover Price .30 Marvel Comics #5 of 5

Black Goliath along with Keith and Celia find themselves on another planet called Kirgar, thanks to Stilt Man’s Z-Ray Gun that during the day the temperature is so hot and by night it’s freezing, leaving them will little hope of survival. One night while they are sleeping, they are visited by a friendly alien named Derath, who gives them clothes that will help with the severely changing weather and together they try to find a shelter area that has parts on it that can send them home! Along the journey they come across a Dune Cat who tries to make Celia lunch but is quickly dealt with thanks to a laser pistol blast from the gun of Derath. Once they make it to the shelter they soon have to tangle with Mortag, a giant of a man monster who is the protector of the shelter and kills Derath with his mighty axe! The murder of his alien friend puts Black Goliath into a rage and the battle leaves Mortag in pieces as they find out that he was a robot. In the end Black Goliath, Celia and Keith use the equipment around to try and get back home.

This final issue of Black Goliath feels like they mixed superheroes with Flash Gordon as it has a very science fiction feel to it. The plot has Black Goliath along with Celia and her nephew being stuck on a planet where they meet an alien who helps them and together they must try and find a way home and battle an ancient guardian who is protecting the only building on the planet that has they stuff to send them home. Black Goliath in this series really grows as a character as he starts off not being too sure of his hero-like abilities and by this issue he is a protector of his friends and ready to fight for what right. I can 100% say that my opinion of this character changed after reading this limited run series as he went from being a cheesy character who was friends with The Thing to being an interesting hero who brought so many genres together from Superhero to Blaxploitation and a little of everything in-between like bikers and sci-fi! Celia is very much like Pam Grier in the way that she is sexy and tough with a touch of gentle. It was cool to see her go from a one nightstand to a full fledged girlfriend for Black Goliath. Keith is kind of just a background player who is used to give Celia a little more depth and draw out that she is just a normal person with a family. The Whiz Kids are really cool background players who start out as bickering co-workers and by their last appearance, it’s clear they all are good friends and care about each other. I wish they had a little more to do before this series ended. The worst part of Marvel just pulling the plug on this series is that this issue ends with Black Goliath still on another planet and as he beats his final foe in passing he says something about them getting back home. It’s really lame that Marvel at least didn’t give this one last issue to really tie it all up. In the letters page in this issue they did have the courtesy to warn the readers that this series was cancelled due to low sales. This final issue’s art was done by Keith Pollard, and it looks great and holds up the quality that this series had. Pollard is a fantastic artist who is known for his work on Amazing Spider-Man, The Mighty Thor and Fantastic Four in the 70’s and 80’s. This issue’s story is written by Chris Claremont again, and as always he did a pretty great job of telling a tale of adventure the Marvel way. I should also note that throughout the series Black Goliath tangled with some powerful super villains like Stilt Man, killer robot Mortag, pure power Atom-Smasher and hunchback biker Vulcan each of which you can believe as a threat to our hero. Over all, I can say that I enjoyed this series from the great art, fun stories all the way to the rotten ink smell this was for sure a great way to spend a January day reading. Below is some artwork from issue 4 done by R. Buckler and Don Heck, enjoy!

Black Goliath is a Marvel Character that for the most part is forgotten or even misused and that’s a shame as he is a very cool and interesting character who could have held his own with other African American super heroes from Marvel like Luke Cage and Black Panther. But our next update we will be leaving Marvel behind and will be looking at a promo comic based on the 1992 film Dust Devil! So until then read a comic or three, support your local Horror Host and make sure to have a safe and fun February.

The Real Deal STEEL Of DC Comics!

Posted on June 19, 2014 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back! It’s been a very long time since I took a look at a DC comic series. In fact, the last one, and for that fact only one, I did was for Sherlock Holmes back on March 28^th 2013. I did talk about some of their characters when I covered the Marvel and DC crossovers that took place in the 1970’s, but that was not all about one of their homegrown heroes so I think its time to give them another look. Growing up I was a comic reader as I am sure you could have all guessed by now, but I always found myself reading more Marvel than DC. Given the option back then of reading Superman or Spider-Man, I would choose Spider-Man hands down. It’s not to say I didn’t read my fair share of DC issues, I just couldn’t get into the characters as much as I could Marvel’s. So one year when I was in my mid 20’s I decided to go out and buy a bunch of DC comics to read on a trip I was planning with my then girlfriend, Jennifer, who was from a small village called Oswego in Illinois. We were going to see her family who all still lived there. So I went to Mavericks and Bell, Book And Comic and grabbed some older issues of Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and found an issue # 1 for a super hero I had never heard of called STEEL The Indestructible Man that was only .50. So I took the chance on it and packed them with the rest of my luggage and looked forward to a great trip with my girl. I met Jennifer at work as both of us worked for Blockbuster Video at the time. While at different stores, we met up thanks to the fact BBV wanted to use the actual cover art for the DVDs they were renting out and not just generic logo inserts like they had been. So they had a team of two employees from every store in the district go from store to store and change them over. I worked at the store on Smithville and was chosen to be one of the team as was Jennifer from her store, and from the start I was considered the MVP of the team because I was a fast scanner and cover changer and hit it off with everyone else selected including Jennifer. By the end of the change over we went on our first date to see the movie Fantastic Four. But anyways, I always looked forward to our trips to Oswego as the car ride was a fun time that we would make late at night with music on the radio from mix CDs I made and trips to 24 hour Starbucks for a quick coffee fix, all great memories. The town was also a really cool place and had the very small town feel to it were high school sports were important and small locally owned businesses were all over downtown. But it was also in the small town that I read the first issue of STEEL and found myself really liking the character who I would say was DC’s version of Captain America. So in this update I am going to revisit STEEL # 1 and read the other 4 issues in the series and see how in 2014 at the age of 34 I feel about this character. And while Jennifer and I split up we still remain close friends to this day, and I still look at her in great respect and still have great memories of all the trips and adventures we went on.

Before I get into STEEL, I have to share with you readers a film I saw for the first time in April 2014 that could be one of the best/worst low budget horror films I have ever seen called Night Of The Demon. The film is not about Demons at all; it’s about a pissed off Bigfoot who murders anyone who dares get in his way! The film was released in 1980 and was directed by James C. Wasson, who on IMDB only has this film linked to his name, and stars Michael Cutt, Melanie Graham and stuntman Shane Dixon as The Bigfoot. Dixon went on to do stunts for many other great films like Lethal Weapon 1, 3 & 4, Rambo III, They Live, The Hunt For Red October, Maniac Cop 2-3, Death Warrant, Night Of The Demons 2, Godzilla and so many more. The guy was all over the place in Hollywood but this role as Bigfoot for me is his crown jewel. Sadly Dixon passed away in 1999 from cancer so while he may be gone his film work will live on for the world to enjoy. The film follows a professor and some of his students going into the woods where people have gone missing and a Bigfoot has been spotted, but they should have never have entered those woods because Bigfoot is on the prowl and doesn’t like it when people enter his homeland. The film ends with a clash between the humans and the Bigfoot that will leave you breathless with horror and laughter. The film is so over the top that I found myself drawn into it and truly enjoying every blood soaked bad acting moment. In the film Bigfoot does so many messed up things. From yanking a person’s penis off to ripping out someone’s guts and swinging them around a room, you realize that this Bigfoot plays for keeps. I don’t want to give away to much of the “plot” of this film because I really think if you like cheesy horror films then you should check this one out. For those wanting a little more push to see the film, watch James Rolfe’s Monster Madness review of the film for his 2010 line up that dealt with Campy Cult films. At some point I am hoping that I can get a custom comic book made that would act as a sequel to the film, and if I can pull it off, keep your eyes open because I will 100% review it for Rotten Ink. The film was also part of England’s Video Nasty list for all the blood and guts and here in the US can be found on DVD and VHS for those wanting to watch its amazing goodness. So this summer if you’re walking through the woods, for God’s sake please keep an eye out for Bigfoot because if this film has taught me anything, it’s that he hates it when people mess in his woods!

Now it’s main event time. We have talked about Jen and Oswego as well as a killer Bigfoot, but now it’s time for STEEL! As I said I have read issue 1 in the past and found it very entertaining so I am very hyped to read the rest of the series and see how his story pans out. I want to remind my readers I grade these issues on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comic stays to the source material, it’s entertainment value and it’s art and story. And I want to thank an Ebay seller for having the full set for sale dirt cheap. So with that let’s go and fight the good fight with STEEL.

STEEL: The Indestructible Man # 1 ***
Released in 1978 Cover Price .35 DC Comics #1 of 5

Hank Heywood along with his soon to be father in-law Dr. Giles are in Germany in 1939 as part of a medical conference and are run out when Hank saves an old man from Nazi thugs and Giles claim to make artificial organs gets sneers. When returning home Hank finds that his fiancé Gloria has bad news as Hitler’s army has invaded Poland, and this sets Hank off who goes and joins the Marines in order to help out in the coming war. During his time at boot camp Hank stops some Nazi spies but during the attack he is blown up with dynamite. Hank is in bad shape with broken bones, a lung gone and bad burns all over his body. He turns to Dr. Giles and his artificial organs and is rebuilt. Hank gets a new robo-lung, steel for bones, mechanical joints and even a devices to help his heart. When returning to the military, Hank must keep Giles’ secret that he used him as a test subject and is forced to take a desk job. Hank can’t just sit by knowing that he now has all these powers and makes a red, white and blue steel suit and calls himself STEEL! Meanwhile the Nazi’s have sent over a super powered goofy suited super solider named Baron Death who is to try and see if some new weapons could help defeat the Americans. Hank, dressed as STEEL, sneaks into an armory to take some weapons to upgrade for his one man war on Nazi’s and finds a group that was there to steal from the army as well and makes quick work of them, and by doing this he makes an oath to himself that he will do all he can to defeat Hitler’s crazed army and defeat Baron Death!

I have to start off by saying STEEL is just as good as I remember it, and in fact issue # 1 is even a little better than I remember. The plot in issue one is pretty standard World War II stuff and has an American who wants to do what he can to help in the war with the Nazi’s. After an accident he is left broken until, by a medical miracle, he is fixed and is better than before cause now he has super human strength. In fact the best way to describe this plot is just mix Captain America, RoboCop, Six Million Dollar Man and a touch of The Weapon X Project into a DC Comic stew and poof, out would pop STEEL. Hank Heywood is a strong headed college student who really wears his heart on his sleeve as he acts when he sees that something is wrong, even after being blown up and is at deaths door he still was more worried about helping in the war than his own health. As STEEL, he is a little more cocky and knows that his body can take all types of damage and almost seems as if when dressed up he doesn’t even fear death. STEEL is pretty strong and can easily lift half a ton as well as hold his breath under water for 30 minutes. Dr. Giles is your typical old scientist/doctor who has discovered a “cure” for many medical issues but is laughed at because it all seems too extreme. He also clearly loves his daughter Gloria and respects his soon to be son in-law. Gloria is a complainer and seems to be on Hank’s need to be a hero like white is on rice. She is kind of annoying and my least favorite character. Baron Death is a goofy looking bad guy with a yellow and purple suit on and a black and yellow mask. He is only in this issue for a few panels, and I look forward to seeing STEEL stomp him into the mud. The comic’s art is done by Don Heck and really has that classic 70’s looking DC comic style, making it feel just right. Heck’s work is great in this issue as is the cover that I find very eye catching. I can’t wait to read issue two for the first time and hope it holds the charm and old timey feel of this issue. So with no more wait let’s charge into issue # 2!

STEEL: The Indestructible Man # 2 **1/2
Released in 1978 Cover Price .35 DC Comics #2 of 5

Lots of things have been going on in Hank’s life since he took on the alter ego of STEEL. For one he is trying to keep it a secret from Gloria and her father, and second he is trying to show the Army that as STEEL he could help them win the coming war with the Nazi’s. Meanwhile across town a scientist is ambushed by Baron Toten and Bruno, two Nazi spies living in America who shove him into a machine he created that gives animated life to objects like rocks and jewels. After falling into the machine, the scientist is turned into a blue skinned monster that can animate matter all around him into creatures. His name is The Mineral Master! While trying to impress the army with his skills STEEL is treated as a joke and a showman by the ones he is trying to impress and is left alone with his own angry thoughts, but his thoughts are broken when he finds Mineral Master in a hanger. The two have a fight that leaves STEEL one the losing end. Returning to desk work as Hank he hears Mineral Master’s voice over the radio as the crazed miracle maker has taken over a radio show. He changes to STEEL and rushes to the station and has a battle that in the end leaves Mineral Master weak and STEEL wondering when the time will come when he has to pick war or his love for Gloria.

This second issue is good but not as good as the original. While the first issue had a full fledged classic superhero feel to it, this second issue while good seemed a little forced and things changed in a kind of goofy way. Dr. Giles seems to have an issue that if Hank is STEEL, that’s a bad thing, Now if Giles is as smart as he is supposed to be, I cannot see how he couldn’t know that they are the same person. Plus in this issue Dr. Giles takes a back seat and is barely in it. Gloria is as annoying as ever just whining about war and how she doesn’t want Hank near it. Hank/STEEL is as noble as ever and really wants the green light from the army so that he can go overseas and kick some Nazi butt. Plus I do like in this issue while he plays the straight laced superhero for a brief time, he is telling jokes and making fun of his foe to anger them. Speaking of foe, Mineral Master is much like Doctor Doom in the aspect that he knows what’s good for us all and what’s good is not fighting a war with The Nazi’s. Mineral also seems to hate the government but yet loves the United States and wants it to live in a perfect world. The first fight between STEEL and Mineral shows just how powerful they both are and how while they both have different strengths they are very much equals. That’s why the second fight is more suspenseful as it makes you wonder just how STEEL will beat him. The only major downside to this issue is the fact that it’s getting a little eye rolling at this point with Gloria’s anti war feelings and the pro-war we have to stop them speeches of STEEL. We get it and know how each of them feels and don’t need to be force feed it over and over. I also would like to note that in issue # 2 I had many spots where the words are hard to read due to the ink being smudged and this made for some frustrated reading. The cover is pretty cool and shows action and almost has a monster comic feel to it. The art is done by Don Heck again and looks fantastic. Over all while not as great as the first issue, this one still was a fun and entertaining read. So let’s see what Issue 3 has to offer, shall we?

STEEL: The Indestructible Man # 3 **1/2
Released in 1978 Cover Price .35 DC Comics #3 of 5

STEEL arrives at a building that he has been called to by a newspaper owner named Edward Runyon just in time as a group of Chicago mobsters show up to end the guy’s life! STEEL makes short work of the gangsters that is until their giant fisted boss nicknamed Sledgehammer shows up and knocks STEEL into a bus and leaves as the police come to the rescue. STEEL gets free of the bus and has a talk with Runyon who tells him that once upon a time he and Sledgehammer were friends until the giant fisted freak was arrested for killing another kid on accident. STEEL tracks Sledgehammer to a rundown motel and takes him down and finds out the truth that he was there to kill Runyon because he is the one who turned him into the cops that lead to his arrest. Returning to base, Hank is upset and finds that Runyon is just as scummy as Hitler and questions why he even helped him, but his anger turns to sadness as he finds out the Dr. Giles has suffered a heart attack and he rushes to be by his bedside. Meanwhile Runyon is going on a date now with his girl but once more has caught the eye of a bad guy who has all types of gadgets and calls himself The Gadgeteer who robs him and his girl of all their wealth. After the crook leaves, it’s clear that Runyon’s woman has a crush on STEEL who she thinks will stop Gadgeteer and get her jewels back. When Hank gets to the hospital and talks to Gloria he finds out that her father had a heart attack while reading a story about STEEL that seemed to upset him and his final words before collapsing was Hank’s name!

Issue 3 is another fun issue that breaks the mold finally of WORLD WAR II drama and focuses on mobsters and home grown super baddies. STEEL this time around shows off some Batman type guns and even questions why he has given so much of his life to being a costumed hero. I love that aspect of the issue seeing how Hank is dealing with all the pressure of being STEEL and knowing that he has to save scumbags like Runyon from punishments they lead themselves to. I also like how the issue ends with a cliffhanger of Dr. Giles heart attack might be because of him finding out Hank and STEEL are the same person. Dr. Giles and Gloria both take a back seat in this issue and only come into play towards the end when Hank finds out he is in the hospital. Runyon is an ass who is a big shot around town that made his money by ratting out his one time friend for the reward money, and while a bad guy, he is not evil and for the most part has everything he wants money, power and women. Sledgehammer, the mob boss, is a pretty cool character that reminds me a lot of some Spider-Man villains like Hammerhead and Tombstone. Too bad he is beaten pretty fast and I am sure will never make another appearance in this short lived series. The second baddy is a waste. The Gadgeteer is soooooo lame. He wears a green spandex costume and has all types of silly little gadgets that he uses….I just can’t even waste my time talking about this goon. Speaking of Spider-Man, even the cover of this issue reminds me of a Spidey comic. I wonder if in some ways DC was trying to make STEEL a cross between Captain America and Spider-Man…makes me wonder. The issue’s artwork is once more done by Don Heck who does a fantastic job and makes the character come alive. Over all issue 3 is pretty good but nothing special and is getting closer to being just a plain silly comic with stuff like Gadgeteer leading the way to sudden dumbness. Well let’s see what is going to happen in issue four where we are going to find out about Dr. Giles’s heart attack as well as how will STEEL stop The Gadgeteer.

STEEL: The Indestructible Man # 4 **1/2
Released in 1978 Cover Price .35 DC Comics #4 of 5

At the hospital Hank finds out that if Dr. Gilescan make it through the night, he should be okay. He goes back to the base and gets caught in his STEEL outfit and is attacked by soldiers who think he is stealing government weapons! He breaks away and goes to Runyon’s office and makes a deal with him that if he takes out The Gadgeteer and gets back his and his girls riches, that in his paper he would run a pro-war piece about why America should get involved in the war against Hitler. Runyan agrees but has no intent of keeping his promise as STEEL goes after The Gadgeteer and finds him robbing an armored car. The two fight for a moment but the gadget using baddy gets away and the Cops blame STEEL for the robbery. STEEL breaks away and chases The Gadgeteer and once more fights him and just as he beats him The Gadgeteer tosses a grenade at our Hero, but things get bad as it explodes on his chest, and while he is alive the massive blows brings the Indestructible Man to his knees. It’s clear he needs help and his only hope is Dr. Giles who is in the hospital still!

This issue is a good solid comic, but the problem is that while good, it’s lost the classic hero charm that the first issue set in place. STEEL spends most the issue running around trying to find The Gadgeteer and once more goes to Runyon for a favor that he thinks he will actually honor. I will say that once more it’s nice to see STEEL doing something else besides talking about Hitler and the Nazi’s and focusing on a super villain that is a homegrown terror. STEEL also shows that he truly does care for Dr. Giles and his daughter Gloria as the Dr’s heartattack seems to really bother him. I can’t tell you how much I hate The Gadgeteer. He is a terrible character who reminds me of the worst Batman or Spider-Man villain whose only power is lame silly gadgets he uses. Even his back story is just so oh hum. I don’t understand why this character has been in two issues so far but Baron Death has only had a tiny part in the first issue and was never spoken of again. Once more Gloria and Dr. Giles have a smaller role and seem to take a backseat once more. While they are a big part of the over all story, I am fine with the smaller roles given to them. The art is done by Don Heck again and looks amazing, but this time around the cover is just so-so and not all that eye catching. This issue is good just not as good as the others in the series so far. The next issue is the end of STEEL’s solo run at DC and I can’t wait to see how they end the series..so let’s get to it.

STEEL: The Indestructible Man # 5 **1/2
Released in 1978 Cover Price .50 DC Comics #5 of 5

STEEL is injured and hitching a ride on a truck that has Olivia on board. She’s a young woman he went to college with who has a some medicine that can be used to help not only STEEL with his wounds but also help the now dying Dr. Giles. But the ride is cut short when a giant white furred swamp monster attacks the truck killing the driver, beating STEEL up and leaving him in quicksand and finally kidnapping Olivia. STEEL wakes up sinking deeper and deeper in the quicksand, and after freeing himself, he follows the track of the swamp monster to a mansion in the woods that belongs to the Hawk Brothers. Once inside, he finds it’s like a funhouse that has dangerous traps. Once he gets to the end of the line, that he gets to once he kicks out the glass to a giant aquarium he is stuck in, he finds that the monster is in fact one of the Hawk brothers who was once a silent film actor and now a mishappen monster and that the doctor down there is the other brother who watches after his brother hoping to find a cure. STEEL tangles with the beast and snaps its weak back with a well places karate chop and saves Olivia as the mansion comes falling down around them killing the brothers once and for all.

Well DC pulled the plug on this series and didn’t give it a full last issue as this one leaves itself wide open for an issue # 6 and nothing is settled with Dr. Giles at death’s door. The issue holds a little monster comic feel to it, and its nice to see a super hero fight a swamp monster and once more this formula reminds me for some reason of Marvel’s Man-Thing. STEEL in this issue is not as unbeatable as he has been in the past issues and for the most part is the underdog in the fight with the Hawk Swamp Monster. I also really liked the idea of him being trapped in the quicksand and having to use his special guns in order to save himself. The Hawk Brothers are more of the sad kind of bad guys as one brother is tormented by the accident that left the actor brother mangled and later a monster. While they are “bad,” they don’t have evil intentions. While mentioned Dr. Giles and Gloria do not appear in this issue, and by the end of this series all we really know is that he is going to die unless STEEL can get him this medicine. I really do hate the fact that DC just decided not to continue the series after this issue and find that when comic companies do this kind of stuff, it really shows a lack of respect to those fans who have bought every issue and are invested in the characters. I really wonder why they canceled the series. I am leaning toward poor sales. I just don’t think kids of 1978 really cared much for old style heroes who had a bone to pick with Hitler. I also find it funny that Baron Death is built up to be the series’ main bad guy and never even meets STEEL once. Sadly the only villain to show up twice in this series was the lame Gadgeteer. But out of all the baddies he fought in this series I would say my favorite would have to be The Hawk Brother Swamp Monster, just because well he was a white furred monster who put up a good fight till his spinal cord was karate chopped by STEEL. The whole series was drawn by Don Heck. I find myself really liking his style and feel he was perfect for making this comic come alive. The cover on the last issue is great and could have drawn in not only the super hero fans but also the horror comic kids. Over all I really enjoyed the series a lot and found that issue one really held up well after all these years of my first reading of it and that all the issues that followed while not as good were still very solid and fun. If you’re a fan of older school super heroes and are into World War II comic stories, then this comic would be up your alley, but if your looking for fast pace action and plots than I would say you would probably not enjoy this series at all. Below is some of Heck’s artwork that I find sums up the mood and feeling of the series pretty well.

So I would say that STEEL is a great comic series that holds lots of charm of classic super heroes and is filled with the American Pride and just old school Americana. So for those of you wondering what ever became of STEEL, let me sum it up for you real quick: he went on to join a team called The All-Star Squadron and did indeed made it and fought in World War II and was called Commander STEEL. When Hank retired as the hero, his grandchildren took up the mantel and after one of their deaths he returned as STEEL and died a hero setting off a device that killed the Super Villain Eclipso. So that was the dear old fate of this patriotic super hero. So next up we are going to cover a real life Egyptian feast so make sure you’re not late to dinner because it’s going to be a Blood Feast! Until next time, read a comic or two and enjoy life.