From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: Satan Place A Soap Opera From Hell (1988)

Posted on May 2, 2026 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink for this “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” update that will be a fast one as we will be talking about a 1988 shot on video anthology horror comedy film that has been long forgotten by many and only got a VHS release back when it was completed, and that film is called Satan Place: A Soap Opera From Hell! And shockingly enough, this 1988 film would get a comic book in 1992 showing that no matter how small your horror film is in budget and viewers, it still can make for a great horror comic release. This is one that has been on my list to cover for many years now and I feel it is a perfect fit for this two year long look at horror comics based on horror films. So with that, let’s dust off the old VCR and put in the VHS tape as it’s time to take a look at the silly low budget anthology film known as Satan Place.

Let’s take a look at Sally Satan, a lady of the night who is a serial killer! Sally is a very beautiful blonde woman whose looks are stunning and cause men who see her to turn to perverts as well as forget common sense and ignore warning signs all around them. She can use her looks, sexual charm, and she is so hot that it can burn the chest hair off her male dates. She is also very kinky and likes to tie up her dates. She likes to also scare them by claiming she belongs to Satan and speaking in a demonic voice and then use plastic knives to try and scare them to death. Sally is also the bringer of bad luck and misfortune as when she interacts with other people they find themselves in very weird and bad situations that mostly end with them killing or being killed. But while Sally is a killer, she is also very much human and can be killed like any normal person like being shot, stabbed, drowned, crushed or even have a whole blown through her chest by Satan himself for playing games using his name. While not the most dangerous killer we have ever covered here, Sally Satan still has a body count and has help lead to others dying just by people crossing her path.

So now that we have taken a look at Sally Satan and her ways of tormenting and killing, I think that it’s time that we take a look at the film she is from and that is Satan Place: A Soap Opera From Hell that was released in 1988 via VHS. And like we do with all the From Horror Movie To Horror Comic updates, I will be taking the films plot from our pals at IMDB and then I will write about the film’s production as well as my thoughts on the film, so let’s get to Satan Place and see what spooky laughs are to be had.

Satan Place: A Soap Opera from Hell (1988)

“A horror anthology, in which the beautiful bleach-blonde Stephanie Spencer fields a series of crude remarks from belching, T-shirt-wearing, pickup-driving character actors, then watches them die in grisly blood-spurting closeups after being visited by zombies, so that in the big final story of the video, she can dress up in black lingerie, tie her weenie boyfriend to the bed, and summon a demon into her body.”

In 1988 two directors came together to write and direct a horror comedy anthology film. They were Alfred Ramirez and Scott Aschbrenner and they had Melanie Johnson help them with the script and this would be the only film the three would ever work on. The film was clearly shot on video with a low budget and they would bring in such actors as Stephanie Spencer, Warren Andrews, Mark Rackstraw, Nora Miller, Sonja Etzel, Jon Kay, Marsha Malone, Lisa Hatter, Alice Ashbrenner and Mark Blouin to name a few. The film would feature four stories and would have backyard style special effects and once done would be released on home video. And sadly as fast as it was released, the film fell into obscurity and never was able to find its audience. In 1992 the filmmakers would continue Satan Place on with a comic book and this as well never found its footing and most horror comic readers do not even know about it. But those who do know about the film seem to really enjoy it, so it has what could be said a Micro Cult Following. The film would only be released on VHS and never get a DVD or Blu-Ray release yet as of this updates posting. The film in 1988 was released alongside such other horror movies as A Nightmare On Elm Street 4: The Dream Master, Return Of The Living Dead Part II, Killer Klowns From Outer Space, Pumpkinhead, Waxwork, Rabid Grannies, Night Of The Demons, Howling IV, The Blob, Child’s Play, Halloween 4, Maniac Cop, Phantasm II, Friday The 13^th Part VII: The New Blood, Critters 2, Hellbound: Hellraiser II, Sleepaway Camp II, Return Of The Killer Tomatoes, Poltergeist III, Dead Heat and They Live to name a few showing that 1988 was a great year for horror.

Satan’s Place: A Soap Opera From Hell is one of those 80’s shot on video films that was released on VHS with hopes of it being on rental store shelves that faded away before it could even be discovered and even to this day a very small amount of horror fans know about it. I first heard of the film many years ago when I was part of an indie horror group that talked about small budget films and this one was brought up a few times, and then a short time later I found out that it also had a comic book based around it that was used to help promote the film. While the comic was easy for me to find, the film was not as used copies of the VHS were rare and when they did pop up they would sell for hundreds of dollars. So I would have to search the grey market and that is where I found a copy to watch, and spent one hot summer evening eating chicken wings and checking out this forgotten humorous fright flick. And the first thing that came to mind when watching it was the old Public Access films I use to watch as the production value was around that same quality. For me the best segment in the film was called “Disposable Love” were a terrible husband kills his wife over beer and then cooks here body as soup to put down the garbage disposal, and yes it has lots of twists and turns and a fun mix of Horror and Comedy. The other three segments are great and Satan in the final tale “Sally Satan” is amazing cheesy stuff that I love about SOV Horror films. I also really like the films score that was done by Scott Aschbrenner and Jon Kay as it has that sound that made so many of those style films special back in the day. And I am sure I am not the only one who thinks that actress Stephanie Spencer who plays Sally Satan looks like she stepped out of a 80’s Hairband music video, and with her looks she should have been in more indie Horror films! While Satan Place is not the greatest horror anthology in the world it is a fun little 80s watch that has some silly humor mixed with some backyard Horror that should get a release on modern physical media in my opinion.

Now that we have taken a look at Satan Place: A Soap Opera From Hell as well as Sally Satan, I think now we should take a look at the comic book based on this 80s flick that was released by the people who made the movie! More indie filmmakers should do this as so many of these awesome indie horror films in the world should get the comic book treatment! And for those of you creators that do just that, good on you and for those who don’t you are missing a great tool to promote your film and give the fans of your film something cool to collect and add to their collections. But enough of that as we have a comic to review so first I would like to thank a Ebay seller for having this comic in stock and making this update possible. I would then like to remind you all that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. So with that, let’s knock on the door at Satan Place and see if Sally is home.

Satan Place: A Soap Opera from Hell # 1 **1/2
Released in 1992 Cover Price $3.50 Thunderhill #1 of 1

Sally is new in town and is looking for the apartment complex she is to be moving into and meets a real jerk named Eddie who gives her the directions and then creepily hits on her…Sally gives him a punch for his attempt. “Disposable Love” Eddie comes home from work and his wife Doris and makes her feel like crap over what she made for dinner, he then starts drinking beer and watching wrestling on TV and is demanding more cold beer and when Doris refuses over his health, he hits her so hard that she dies! Eddie chops up his wife and cooks her remains and then puts her down the garbage disposal, with the bones being tossed in the trash truck. But things get spooky for him when the ghost of Doris appears and keeps haunting him even causing his fingers to be chopped off! In the end Eddie dies of a heart attack and you find out that Doris is still alive and she now is being haunted by his ghost as he even mean in death. Sally’s car has broken down before she can get to the apartment and Johnny just drives on by her “Say Goodnight Sophie” as Johnny keeps on driving as he is heartbroken over his lady breaking up with him, and while screaming at his ex on the phone he hits a old man with his truck. Johnny is able to get the old man to the hospital were he later dies as Johnny hits the bar to get drunk. That night on his way home Johnny finds the body of the old man in the road and freaks out and takes it home. In the morning after waking up Johnny takes the old man’s body out and buries it, only for that night to find that the old man is now a zombie and with his zombie lover Sophie they start eating the face of Johnny! Sally has finally made it to her apartment and meets the landlady Enid who is very rude and leaves for home. “Too Much T.V.” as Enid gets home her teenage daughter Lisa is ingnoring her as she is watching her favorite show that is hosted by Richard Slasher and as he keeps showing bloody movies Lisa keeps imagining that all the violence is happing to her mother as Richard Slasher is telling her to kill her mom via the TV! In the end it’s Enid that ends up killing her daughter by slashing her throat. “Sally Satan” Jonathon goes to the apartment of Sally as the two have a date, but once inside things are very weird as he finds a disgusting meal in the microwave, newspaper clippings about Sally being blamed for a murder and she herself is just acting odd when she ties him up to the bed. Sally then pulls out knives and tells her that she is with Satan and stabs him…but the knives are fake and she was pulling a prank. But Sally’s life comes to an end when Jonathon is Satan and kills her for playing games.

Satan Place is a comic adaptation of the film and is clearly being used to not only push the sale of the movie on VHS but also to help launch Thunderhill as a comic book publisher. This comic features Sally a woman new to town who when she comes across people bad things seem to happen for them that night and she is almost out host of four ghoulish tales that feature zombies, ghosts, killers and even Satan himself! The best story in the comic is “Say Goodnight Sophie” as I think it was the one that translated from movie to comic the best, plus you can never go wrong reading about face eating zombies! And I think that the one that did not make the leap very well was “Too Much T.V.” as that one is defiantly better on tape as the whole segment is about the movies Lisa is watching and the host telling her to kill her mom, on panels that spooky feel is lacking. The team behind this comic really did do a great job of bringing this shot on video film to the pages of the adaptation comic and it really reminds me of such indie Horror Comic titles like “Vault Of Doomnation” and even “Campfire Stories” with the later having a indie film made about it. The comic has blood and violence and the Horror comes from not only that but also the creatures and monsters that are roaming around with Satan and the Zombies being my favorites. I have to praise the makers of this film and comic as they understood the power of promotion via a comic as throughout the issue there was ways for readers to order the film on VHS, plus they also showed the films cover box at the start of the comic. The cover for this issue is really cool as it shows Satan’s eyes looking over a mound of fire. The comics interior art is a mixed bag as several different artists helped on this issue and these artists include Alfred Ramirez, Jackson Guice, Al Val and Jeff Guice. Some of the art is very classic Indie Horror style from the late 80s and early 90s, while some was a little more amateurish. But with that said I will say that I really do dig the style and feel of this comic as I feel they creators did a great job of staying true to the film its based on. If you are a fan of the film Satan Place or just enjoy Horror Anthology Comics make sure to track down a copy of this one as I think you will truly enjoy it. Check out the artwork below to see the styles used in this comic.

As you can see Satan Place: A Soup Opera From Hell is once of those micro films made in the late 80’s that made its way into the world of comics in the early 90s and for the most part it made a small impact in both as it really is a fun combo to checkout if you like micro budget films as well as comics that bring a series of spooky stories. But sadly our stay at Satan Place has came to an end but our time with Horror Comics based on Horror Films is still going strong as our next update will be about the indie film A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night and the comic book released about it. So until next time read a Horror Comic or three, watch a Horror Movie or two and as always support your local Horror Host! See you next update as we take a walk with the vampire called The Girl.

From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: Two On A Guillotine (1965)

Posted on April 12, 2026 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink and to another from Horror Movie To Horror Comic” updates. This time around, we will be taking a look at a classic 60’s film that featured a crazed magician who is a master of illusions and tries to bring fear to those he has decided to torment and I am of course talking about the film Two On A Guillotine! And what a cool and strange film to get the comic book treatment, but that was the thing about Dell Comics, they made some very interesting and cool comics based on all types of horror and sci-fi films, and I for one miss them as who knows what kind of cool comic adaptations we could have gotten over the years if they would have lasted past 1974. But if you guys are ready, let’s head to the update show as the great John Harley Duquesne is performing, and I heard that tonight he is going to o one killer guillotine trick!

Let’s start by taking a look at John “Duke” Harley Duquesne who was driven mad after a performance act gone wrong. The Great Duquesne was a masterful illusionist and magician who was well loved by his fans and who made lots of money performing alongside his wife, but after an accident that killed his wife, he stepped away from it all even gave up his own daughter, and after seeing a picture of his daughter grown up his mind snapped as she looked just like his dead wife that he lied to the world about saying she ran away. The Great Duquesne is a charming looking man in appearance, but his mental break makes him very dangerous as he is unstable and will do whatever it takes to prove his guillotine act will work and his wife’s death was truly an accident. But The Great Duquesne can shock people who see him after he faked his own death as they think he is a ghost and this can chill people to the bone. He is also very skilled with his illusions and the help him pull off his grand plan of faking his death to lure his daughter back home. Because he is mentally broken, this makes him unpredictable in nature as who knows what he is capable of all to make amends with the spirit of his wife. One of his main ways of getting into the minds of his “victims” is making it seem like he will rise from the grave and leaving little spooky tricks all around making you scared and feeding into your nightmares. He is also a skilled fighter when it comes to throwing fists and can handle himself in a fight. The Great Duquesne is not a violent man as his attacks are more mental and are not coming from a vicious place but more from madness. The Great Duquesne is a living person who can be killed like any normal person so being stabbed, shot, poisoned, crushed, burnt and all other manners of death can end his life. While The Great Duquesne has claimed one life due to accident, he is still a dangerous man as his mental break and illusions make him delusional and insane.

Now that we have talked about John Harley Duquesne and his way of dealing death and fright to those who find themselves apart of his crazed plans, I think that we should now take a look at the 1965 film that he is from and that is Two On A Guillotine. I will be taking the film’s plot from our pals at IMDB and then will write about the film’s production as well as my thoughts. So if you are ready, the house show lights are dimming so that means it must be show time!

Two On A Guillotine (1965)

“The daughter of a psychotic magician must stay in his mansion for seven nights in order to inherit his fortune.”

In the 1960’s Warner Brothers decided to make movies that would have directors brought in who mostly worked on TV Shows as they worked cheaper, and they wanted to see if they could find the next big movie maker. And Two On A Guillotine was one of those films as William Conrad was brought in to direct. He had worked directing such shows as The Rifleman, The Rough Riders, Bat Masterson, Route 66 and Gunsmoke to name a few, Conrad would also produce the film. The script was written by John Kneubuhi & Henry Slesar and was given a lower budget with such actors as Cesar Romero, Connie Stevens, Dean Jones, John Hoyt, Parley Baer and Virginia Gregg making up the main cast. The film would only have a three-week shoot time and once done the legendary composer Max Steiner would score it. For those who don’t know, Max is the one who did the music for the 1933 classic King Kong as well as Son Of Kong, Gone With The Wind and Casablanca and these are just a small amount of examples of his work. The film would be released to theaters on January 13, 1965 and it is unknown how well the film did at the box office. The film was met with very mixed reviews from both critics and viewers, but it was actress Connie Stevens and composer Max Steiner who both let it be known that they thought the movie was a stinker. The film was released in 1965 along side such other Horror Films as Color Me Blood Red, Die Monster Die!, The Embalmer, Monster A Go-Go, Orgy Of The Dead, Planet Of The Vampires, The Skull, Gamera The Giant Monster and War Gods Of The Deep to name a few.

So “Two On A Guillotine” is a film that I am not sure if I had seen before watching the DVD in 2023, as it seems like something I would have watched but I remember nothing about it…so maybe watching it for this update was my first time seeing it….but I am not sure. The first thing I want to say is that Cesar Romero is fantastic as John Harley Duquesne as I truly think he is such a underrated actor, most of you readers will remember Romero from the 1966 TV show Batman where he played The Joker and a small amount of you will remember him from the horror films such as The Specture Of Edgar Allan Poe (1974), Judgment Day (1988) as well as playing Count Dracula on an episode of Night Gallery. The film is often looked at as being a low budget throwaway film but when watching it again (maybe first time) I have to say that I found the film to be pretty dang entertaining as it is a mix of haunted house terror as well as crazed killer thrills. Also I have to point out that actress Connie Stevens is absolutely beautiful and is a great actress as she does a great job as Cassie in the film. The film while a slow burn does a great job of making you bond with both Cassie and Val as they stay in this haunted mansion, fall in love and uncover her family’s dark secret. Also for fans of rabbits this film has a white rabbit that runs around the mansion and is a character all it’s self, he even has his own theme song! I am not sure why this film over the years has gotten harsh words from viewers and critics as I found it to be a very fun watch and hope that someday it builds a bigger cult following than it has now. If you enjoy 60’s style Horror and have not seen this one track down the DVD from Warner Archive as well as the Dell Comics adaptation and give them a watch and a read as who knows you might just find yourself drawn into the world of Two On A Guillotine and find the breakdown of The Great Duquesne interesting as I did.

Now that we have taken a look at the crazed magician John Harley Duquesne as well as the film he is from Two On A Guillotine I think now that we should look at the comic adaptation of the film that was done by Dell Comics a classic comic publisher that made so many amazing comics based on Horror and Sci-Fi films. And when it comes to these adaptation comics in modern time I feel that Dell is often over looked but they really shouldn’t be as they made so many great spooky reads with many of them being based on films that starred Vincent Price. I would like to thank a Ebay seller for having this comic in stock and making this update possible, I would also like to thank Warner Brothers for releasing the film on DVD as apart of there Archive collection. I would like to also remind you all that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, it’s entertainment value and its art and story. So if you are ready, let’s head to the mansion and see if we can last for the seven nights with this psycho magician.

Two On A Guillotine # 1 ***
Released in 1965 Cover Price .12 Dell Comics # 1 of 1

Magician and Illusionist John Harley Duquesne along with his wife Melinda Duquesne are a big hit as their magic show is the talk of the town, and after a show John Harley Duquesne brings his press manager Buzz into a room to show him a new trick he is working on that would involve his wife being “beheaded” by a guillotine as he thinks this will take them to the next level for their tour of Europe. Many years have passed and John Harley Duquesne has passed away and his daughter Cassie shows up to watch her fathers coffin to be locked up with chains as his final words is that he will return! At the funeral she also meets many people including Dolly, a woman who has been a helper to the family for decades, Carl Vickers her fathers lawyer and Val Henderson, a fan of her father’s work who is also a member of the press. And with Cassie’s mother missing his estate is turned over to her, but only if she stays seven nights in his old mansion as he claims he will come back and speak to her…if she fails to, all will go do Dolly and other people who have helped him through his career. Cassie heads to the mansion and Val is waiting for her and the pair walk through the spooky mansion that has been rigged with all types of tricks that are sure to scare from plastic skeletons to weird plants the two wonder around as Cassie remembers back to growing up not known either of her parents. Days pass and Cassie and Val are becoming close and keep find more spooky tricks throughout the house, Val also in private confronts Dolly and Buzz as the pair are trying to spook Cassie to leave so that they can collect the estate. But when Cassie finds out that Val is a reporter she kicks him out of the mansion and that night has bad nightmares and wakes up to find her father is alive and is crazy as his guillotine trick back in the day killed his wife and now he thinks his daughter is his wife as they look alike! Dolly returns to the mansion and tries to save Cassie but fails and calls Val to hurry back to the mansion as John Harley Duquesne is going to try his beheading trick again this time with his daughter as his assistant. Val is able to get there in time and even after the trick works, John Harley Duquesne breaks down in tears as the police enter and arrest him for the murder of his wife those many years ago.

This is such a fun read that does justice to the film it is based on as the moments of the haunted mansion works as does the suspense of John Harley Duquesne being alive and well…not to bring up the fact that the shocking truth about John Harley Duquesne comes to light with perfection on these panels. The plot is very simple and has a daughter coming to town for her fathers funeral as she grew up not knowing her parents and now must stay in the families old haunted mansion in order to receive her fathers money and estate…but there is a trick as her father claims he will come back from the grave in seven days! Our main character in this story is Cassie Duquesne a young woman who was raised by her aunt after her mother went missing and her father became a recluse and leaving his illusionist act behind. You have to feel for her as the press is harassing her, her father fakes his own death and thinks she is his dead wife and she grew up with a strict aunt…plus she is almost killed by her father who is trying to pull off his guillotine act. Val Henderson is also kind of a hero here as while he first starts off as a pressman looking for a story, soon finds himself in love with Cassie and wants to protect her from anyone or thing he thinks is out to get her. Plus I feel in the comic he is more likable of a guy than he is in the film. Plus he does try his best to save Cassie even if he is the one who bumps into the guillotine and causes the blade to fall. Buzz and Molly are good people and while it looks like they are trying to scare off Cassie they are really just trying to watch out for her. John “Duke” Harley Duquesne was a master of magic and illusions who set the world on fire with his act, but after by accident killing his wife and hiding her body he was become a crazed person who wants to fake his own death, lure his daughter back to him as he thinks she is his wife returned in order to pull off his trick to prove it would work…he is a broken man. The comic’s horror comes from the suspense of the haunted mansion and if John Harley Duquesne would truly return from the grave and for those wondering the comic is bloodless. I really like how it has a classic horror feel to it and it really is a fast read that does have a few spooky moments. The cover is great and features John Harley Duquesne grabbing Cassie who is over taken with fear. The interior artwork is done by Unknown Artist and its really good as you have to love that classic Dell Comics style where the characters kind of look like the actors who play them and while the style is simple its prefect. Over all if you enjoy the film and or like classic style horror stories, make sure to check this one out. Check out the art below to see the style that is used by Unknown Artist for this comic adaptation of a classic 60’s horror film.

Two On A Guillotine is a spooky film and comic, and once more I have to give credit to Dell Comics for making some of the 60’s best horror comic adaptations made for comic readers to chill their blood to. While both the film and comic are not for everyone, if you like classic style horror from the 60’s that is a mix of haunted house, mystery, crime and even a possible deranged killer make sure to check it out. But as you can see The Great Duquesne’s show has ended and that leaves us having to leave the theater and as we make our way out I would like to take a moment to let you know that our next update will about that 1973 cult classic film Don’t Look In The Basement and the Blood Scream Comics adaptation of it! So until next time, read a horror comic or three, watch a horror film or two and as always support your local horror host. See you next update for a crazy good time with the patients at the Stephen’s Sanitarium.

From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: I Come In Peace (1990)

Posted on February 12, 2026 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink and to another “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic update as this one we will be taking a look at the 1990 hybrid genre film I Come In Peace, a film that for some reason kids I know and myself were obsessed with when it was released. We will also be taking a look at the indie comic adaptation of the film that most horror comic readers didn’t even know existed. And it’s very cool that this film got the comic book treatment as I feel that so many classic horror and sci-fi films over the years that should have never did so its nice when some of these cult b-films do. So if you are ready, let’s dive into I Come In Peace aka Dark Angel and see if the comics are as entertaining as the film.

Let’s start off by taking a look at Talec, a massive 6’5” alien who likes to kill and steal the endorphins of his victims to sell as a street drug on his planet only after he pumps them full of drugs to overdose them to make his task easier. Talec besides being very tall has long blonde hair, blue milky eyes, wears all black and has a straight forward intimidating face making his appearance alone scare the hell out of the humans he is tracking as he is not like any other person on Earth. Talec is super strong and can kill with his bare hands if he choose to and is skilled in hand-to-hand fighting. It takes a lot to hurt Talec as he is built for fighting and has a strong pain threshold. He is a fast runner as well and does not run out of energy making him a threat to any person he has set his sights on. He also can speak as he can say “I Come In Peace” with a raspy voice, he also growls and snarls when angry and this as well can scare your basic human. He also has many tools of dealing death at hand as he first has a rapid firing gun that when bullets hit things they explode and the gun itself has levels you can turn up for more impact, he has a arm gadget that fires off blades that are attracted to humans and will cut and kill very fast as it can jump from person to person in a room, he has a tube that fires from his wrist gadget that enters the chest of his victim and injects them with a drug to induce a overdose and lastly he has a knife like object that he rams into the skull of his victim to steal their bodies endorphins! He is very cold and does not care about the lives he takes and almost gets joy out of the killing. He as well is a drug dealer on his planet and a wanted criminal. While Talec is one mean mother from outer space, he can be injured and killed like any living thing as it seems being shot, blown up and impaled will truly stop Talec once and for all and make his white chunky blood flow. He also becomes very sloppy and fights with anger if you mess with his drug supply and this leaves him open for attacks and to make mistakes. Talec is a truly deadly alien and looks to get his drug supplies for his planet by taking the lives of people on Earth.

So as you can see, Talec is a very dangerous alien who truly knows how to deal death to any human that he chooses. And I am sure we all agree that if a massive 6’5” alien with white eyes and an arm blade was coming after us it would be a pretty scary and crappy day! But now I think that it’s time we take a look at the film he is from I Come In Peace! And like before I will be taking the film’s plot from our pals at IMDB and then I will write about the film’s production and then will write about my thoughts of the film. So if you are ready, let’s see why this alien truly didn’t visit Earth in peace.

I Come In Peace (1990)

“A Renegade Cop is forced to work with an FBI Agent in order to bring down a group of Drug Dealers with sinister plans.”

I Come In Peace, or Dark Angel as it is known outside of America, is a film that was written by David Koepp and Jonathan Tydor that was released by Triumph Releasing Corporation that was slated to be a big sci-i, horror and action film hit. It was directed by Craig R. Baxley who was just coming off filming Action Jackson and would go on to direct such other films as Stone Cold (1991), Storm Of The Century (1999), Rose Red (2002) and The Diary Of Ellen Rimbauer to name a few. When casting the film such actors as Dolph Lundgren, Matthias Hues, Betsy Brantley, Brian Benben, David Ackroyd and Sherman Howard who horror fans would know as Bub from Day Of The Dead. When filming it would go over two weeks beyond the filming schedule that took place in Texas with a $7 million budget and was supposed to be called Dark Angel but the production company for the American release didn’t like the name so it was changed. Jan Hammer was brought on to score the film and it would get a theatrical release on September 28, 1990 and would do very poorly only doing a little over $4 million. The film when first released was panned by the critics as well as fans and would not build its cult following until after it was released on home media and aired on cable. The film would be released in 1990 alongside such other horror films as Arachnophobia, Tremors, Nightbreed, The Exorcist III, Child’s Play 2, Predator 2, Blood Salvage, Maniac Cop 2 and Silent Night Deadly Night 4 to name a few.

I Come In Peace is one of those weird hybrid movies that does a entertaining job of blending sci-fi horror with action and every kid I knew who saw the film all quoted the lines “I Come In Peace” “And You Go In Pieces Asshole” as I can remember my cousin Norman saying it all the time after he saw the film…what a fun memory. And at the time of this release Dolph Lundgren was a big action film star and he had already done the films Rocky IV, Masters Of The Universe and The Punisher so of course the youth of the time wanted to see I Come In Peace! Really it was odd as when this film was released it kind of was like “A Nightmare On Elm Street” as kids on the playground would brag if they had seen it. Matthias Hues who plays the alien drug dealer Talec was prefect in the role as he was creepy looking and he as well already had many roles under his belt that made him a favorite of the youth at the time like No Retreat No Surrender 2, Big Top Pee-Wee and Cage. I first saw the film thanks to it airing on HBO or Cinemax as my parents had no interest in seeing it on the big screen and cause of its R rating they would not allow us to go on our own. Think about this, the main baddie in the film was a drug dealer from outer space who came to earth to sell his deadly goods…all the while a space cop is also on the case to try and bust him…weird and delightful. While the film is very cheesy and not for everyone, if you enjoy some action in your horror you should check this one out as you might find a new favorite cult classic for your collection. Oh and on a side note for several years a sequel had been spoke about by actor Matthias Hues, but it never was made.

So now that we have chatted about that intergalactic drug pusher Talec and the film he is from I Come In Peace (Dark Angel) I think that it is time that we take a look at the comic book based on them…and to be honest in 1991 when this comic was made I had zero clue about it and it would be many several years before I found out about it. I would like to thank both Lone Star Comics and an Ebay Seller for having these comics in stock and making this update possible. I would like to also remind you all that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. So if you are ready, let’s see if this alien really does come in peace or if he is just one mean dark angel.

I Come In Peace # 1 **1/2
Released in 1991 Cover Price $2.50 Greater Mercury # 1 of 2

Evil alien and drug dealer Talec arrives on Earth looking to harvest his raw materials for his drugs and wanders around the big city looking for it. Meanwhile members of a drug ring called White Boys ran by Victor Manning have gotten into a police station and stolen lots of drugs and even killed a few cops and even set off a bomb injuring many others. Detective Jack Caine and his partner later are trying to set up Manning by booking a meeting with him to try and buy, but as Caine is listening in via his partner’s wire he also has to stop a store robbery and is late to save his partner who is discovered to be a cop and is killed by Manning’s men who are in turned killed by Talec who uses a metal flying disc to slaughter most of them and then steals the drugs, and later he also attacks a shop owner and kills him in his own business. Caine is in trouble with his boss and is forced to take a vacation but is quickly back on active duty when he is paired with Agent Smith of the FBI in order to crack this case and find Manning as well as who killed many of his men. And after shaking down a criminal at a strip club he Caine finds out that Manning thinks that he is the one that killed his men and stole his drugs, and Caine and Smith even return to the scene of the crime and find the disc stuff in a stereo speaker. We also learn that Caine is dating the city coroner Diane Pallone and the two have a very rocky relationship due to Caine’s obsession with his job and busting criminals. Also arriving on Earth is Azeck, an alien police officer who is hunting down Talec to arrest him and bring him back home to face the punishment for his crimes. Talec continues his killing ways and ends up running into Caine at one of the scene of the crime and they two start fighting in a dark ally with Talec getting the upper hand.

This comic adaptation of I Come In Peace is awesome but also very much a big mess as the story is kind of all over the place and nothing links the change of “scenes” together as things almost seem to be randomly happening. The comic also starts off with a very weird fight on a alien planet where Azeck and his father have a small and quick chat, its weird and really is out of place. The plot has a drug dealing alien coming to Earth and killing people to get supplies for his drugs and is being hunted down by both a alien police officer as well as a tough as hell earthling and his FBI Agent partner. Detective Caine is a officer who truly wants to bring down crime and even breaks the rules to do so as he goes outside the box to crackdown on them and that even includes killing them. He is also very skilled not just with his gun but also in fighting as it’s clear he knows martial arts and that the crime world hates him. Agent Smith is a young agent for the FBI who is trying to do everything by the book, and seems to be taken back by the antics and ways of Caine. Diane Pallone the city coroner and lady of Caine is the one who has to be the one who is seeing the bodies of the victims of Talec and figures out that some one is stabbing into their brains as well as making them overdose on heroin. Drug lord Manning and his goons are a major annoyance and are causing issues for the city as well as the cops, but are also in the path of Talec and that means death could be coming their way. Talec is a very massive and dangerous alien who says “I Come In Peace” as he is murdering you, he does not care who he kills as long as he gets the supplies he needs for his drugs that he will sell on his home planet…and here is a spoiler, the supplies come from his human victims! He also does not care if the people he kills are good or bad and nor does he seemed bothered that he is being hunted down by the police of his home world as well as Earth. The fight between our hero Cain and drug pusher Talec thus far is very one sided as the cop is out powered by the massive alien, but you have to give him credit as he is still fighting back. The comic has some blood and the horror comes from Talec wandering around the city and massacring people as a massive alien with a sharp blade object on his arm is pretty scary! The cover is very cheesy and yet eye-catching and shows Detective Caine, Agent Smith and Talec letting you see the main cast of characters. The comics interior art is done by Darryl Cobbs and is very odd as it looks very much like a indie comic from the late 80’s and early 90’s and the characters look nothing like the actors who play them and I am sure his style will not be for everyone. Over all a entertaining first issue even though its confusing and sloppily put together, so let’s see what the second issue has in store for us and how Caine escapes the attack of Talec as they leave us on a true cliffhanger.

I Come In Peace # 2 **1/2
Released in 1991 Cover Price $2.50 Greater Mercury # 2 of 2

As Talec is choking the life out of Detective Caine, our hero seems powerless against this massive alien and his life is saved by Azeck who arrives and has a shoot out with his bounty and the two run off into the night just as Agent Smith shows up confused by everything as he notices a hand print around the neck of Caine. Once they are both safe Caine explains to Smith that he thinks that they are up against an alien drug dealer and that another alien is there to help stop his path of death and destruction, but when talking to the Chief about getting extra help Smith does not stand by his partner and Caine is told he has to take a long overdue vacation. That night Talec attacks again killing people inside a store and Azeck shows up once more and the pair have another exchange of gunfire, but Azeck is shot and injured badly. The crime scene is cut off from the police as Secret Agents are looking around and will not let Caine nor his girlfriend and city coroner Diane Pallone enter, and this causes Caine to embrace the vacation idea and he tells Pallone to go home quit her job and get ready for a long vacation…as she leaves Caine and Smith get into it over being bad partners and as they enter their car Azeck is in the back seat dying and passes his gun to Caine as well as tells him who Talec is and warns them that they must kill him before he leaves the planet, and with that Azeck dies and even explodes as he fades away. Smith ends up taking the gun and turning it over to his boss at the FBI who is corrupt as he is going to kill Smith and later Cain as they want to save the alien to learn from him! But Caine saves Smith when he shoots his boss and the pair then head off to do the right thing and that’s track down and take down Talec and when they track him down they are also joined by members of The White Boys we are taken out really fast by Talec, and in the end after a dangerous fight Caine uses the alien gun to blow up Talec with a single shot and then heads out to start his vacation with his lady.

In this final issue of the adaptation of I Come In Peace, the plot has Caine and Smith finally being on the same page and heading on a great manhunt to bring down the alien drug lord before he can return home and turn Earth into a bloody battlefield as his drug selling buddies would come here to harvest people to make their drugs. And they have to do so alone as the police force does not believe the story of aliens and the FBI are wanting to collect the alien in order to study and learn from it. Detective Cain is truly a hard ass who plays by his own rules in order to get things done and bring done the criminal filth that plagues his city, he is also while at times it does not seem it very loyal to his girlfriend and partners as his harsh demeanor causes those around him to think he is a total jerk. But when he push comes to shove, he is the kind of friend you would want on your side. Agent Smith is very loyal to his job and bosses at the FBI and at times clearly plays everything to by the book, but when he finds that sometimes you need to think outside the box in order to save lives and bring bad guys down. Poor Diane Pallone is around and is caught up in this alien invasion and it’s clear all she really wants to do is spend some time with Caine. Azeck does his best to save the earthlings from being killed and turned into street drugs on a alien planet, but his best was not good enough as he finds himself dying from a gunshot wound and has to trust two earthlings to save the planet. Talec is cold blooded and truly just wants to kill people to get their endorphins to sell on his home planet, and all he can say is “I Come In Peace” as he murders people very violently. But while he is a massive alien with raw power and lots of tools to deal death, he as well ends up meeting his maker by a well placed gunshot. The comic does a pretty good job of staying true to the film with some changes being in the pacing as well as the cut back panels of Azeck’s home planet and these changes do make the read seem like a new experience based around the story we the fans of this film all know. The comic’s horror elements come from Talec and his killing ways and the issues does have some blood being spilt, but noting to major. The cover is pretty cool as it shows Talec and Caine and the interior artwork done by artist Darryl Cobbs and is pretty good stuff, but keep in mind it is very indie in style and the characters look nothing like the actors who played them in the film. Over all this is a enjoyable adaptation that I would say is not for everyone but if you are a fan of the film I would say make sure to track it down and give it a read. Checkout the artwork below to see the style used by Cobb in this comic series.

I Come In Peace really is a cult classic film and many people never knew that it got the comic book adaptation treatment, and while the comic might not have been perfect, it was a fun read and if you’re a fan of the film, it might be something that you would want to checkout as it is very weird and does make some slight changes to the film’s plot. So with that our time with Talec has come to an end and it’s clear he did not come in peace as almost all those he said that to ended up in a body bag. But don’t worry, we will be staying in the world of horror and our next update will have us looking at The Fallen that come during the end of days as we will be talking about the 2014 faith based horror film The Remaining. So until next time, read a horror comic of three, watch a horror film of two and as always support your local horror host. See you next update for a scary good time!

The Slimy TMNT Knock-Off’s Known as The Snailiens

Posted on December 7, 2025 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink. I think that it’s time that we once more take a look at a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles knock off. I mean nothing says holiday season like quick knock off versions of something that was super popular at the time like TMNT was in the late 80’s and early 90’s! And what I will be covering today had action figures and of course a comic book…but never made it to getting a cartoon, and this knock off was called The Snailiens. Yep…fighting humanoid mutant snails! Long time readers know that over the years here on Rotten Ink we have covered many of the clones of the TMNT such as Biker Mice From Mars, Toxic Crusaders, Stone Protectors, Cold Blooded Chameleon Commandos and Geriatric Gangrene Jujitsu Gerbils and had a blast talking about them. So with a glass of eggnog in your hand and sitting in your favorite place to read blog updates, let’s dive into the world of Crawlspace and see what these Snailiens have to offer the world when it comes to being heroes as well as if they can break the mould of just being your normal knock off toy that is lost to time but live on in the hearts of those who got these figures over the years as gifts. I mean if Turtles can be heroes, why can’t Snails?

JPI was a very small toy company that was mostly known for making cheap novelty toys and whose main office was based out of New York. In 1992 they made their biggest attempt to make a figure series that would capture the boy market and that was a line called Snailiens. You see by 1992 Playmates was killing it with their Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles figure series that was of course based on the cartoon that was in turn based on the comic book series, and JPI wanted to captures some of that money So they made Snailiens that featured four snail like humanoid heroes all with a different color scheme to go with their yellow skin who suit up in armor to fight evil tick like monsters. Each figure would come with a sidekick character, suit of armor, trading cards, mini comic, a popper “bounce shell” and ammo for the bounce shell. You see the bounce shell was one of the figure line’s big selling points as it claimed to go up to 30 feet and would allow kids to use it to fire projectiles at other figures…this of course did not go over well with parents. The figures themselves were made of rubber, were not posable at all and stood a little taller than Matchbox’s Wave 1 of Monster In My Pocket figures. JPI pushed really hard for Snailiens to be a hit even making a commercial for them to run during cartoons after school and Saturday mornings. The series would have a total of eight figures released with four Snailiens and four Lunar-Ticks making up the complete series as it sadly would only last one series before disappearing and ending up in discount bins in the toy departments. And as quickly as they came, the Snailiens would fade away to be mostly forgotten. They can be found loose on sites likes Ebay and Etsy for cheap loose but they can go for a bigger price if they are still in package.

Let’s now take a look at our heroes The Snailiens, the four aliens who try and make their world and beyond safe. These heroes are named after the American presidents that are featured on the coins as their real names are to hard for the worlds to pronounce. They were on a mission for their part of the underground galaxy when they come to The Crawlspace to answer a call for help and are stuck there when their ship is taken by a young human child as it looks like a colorful shell. Washington is the leader of the group (wears red) and he is joined by Lincoln (wears green), Jefferson (wears blue) and Roosevelt (wears purple), and together they try to keep not only the snails of The Crawlspace safe but also the children of Earth. They are joined by the snails of The Crawlspace who live in Snail Francisco who are named Sparks, Charger, Cruise and Jet, and these smaller snails are ready to protect their world from the evils ticks. The Snailiens are truly brave and heroic and will never give up in their fight to do what is right.

The villains of the Snailiens universe are called the Lunarticks and are lead by Zug The Supreme, who is very evil in his ways and wants nothing more to take over Crawlspace world as well as wants to be the ruler of Earth in general. He is joined in his quest to rule by his tick henchmen named Blastar, Drool and Armokillo, all of whom follow his orders and have the same wish to destroy and conquer. The Lunarticks are also joined by their fellow evil insects in their battle to take over the worlds with such ones as Itchy, Blister, Wart and Drippy all joining the war to conquer it all. The Lunarticks are all mean looking and are purple in color and are fearsome fighters who hate the world below as well as above.

I am a kid of the 1980’s and 1990’s, and I do not remember Snailiens at all! I mean I can remember going up and down the toy aisles at such stores as Hearts, Hills, Gold Circle, Children’s Palace, Kaybee Toys, K-Mart to name a few and do not remember seeing these on the shelf nor do I remember even one of my fellow classmates having them. In fact I really knew very little about them until my friend Chris of Time Warp Toys talked about them on a YouTube video. And once I found out about them and that they had a mini comic book that came with them, I knew I had to track down not only the comic but also all the hero figures in the series. A thanks to Ebay, I was able to track all the figures down as well as the comic! These figures are really cool and while I like the armor they wear, I think the basic figures are cooler without it! Check out the picture below to see my Snailien collection of the basic good guy figures.

I have to say I really do like the Snailiens figures as I find them pretty cool looking and while as basic as can be, they still have a charm to them that make them their own thing. Yes, they were a cash in on the fame of the TMNT, but they tried their best to be something a little different. And I would like to first thank my friend Chris who owns the toy store called Time Warp Toys for making me aware of these figures and then would like to thank the seller on Ebay that had this mini comic in stock and making this update possible. I want to also remind you all that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, their entertainment value and their art and story. So if you are ready, let’s head to the sewers…I mean to the Crawlspace…and see what The Snailiens have in store for us.

Snailiens # 1 *1/2
Released in 1992 Cover Price $0.00 JPI # 1 of 1

In San Francisco live three young siblings Max, Mabel and Monty, and unknown to them, right under their home is a world called Crawlspace. That world’s capitol is called Snail Francisco, and it is under attack as Zug and his group the Lunarticks plan to first take down Snail Francisco and then will infest Earth’s kids with blood sucking ticks! They even get help in their evil quest from a group of bad insects that call themselves The Infects! As they start the attack, the snails call for help as they are being slaughtered and their city is about to fall to the Ticks! But the call for help is picked up by four snail aliens from another planet who come to Earth to save the city, but during their fight with the Lunarticks their ship, the S. Cargo, is taken by Max who thinks it looks cool and this leaves the Snailiens stranded on Earth. They are quickly welcomed by the snails of Snail Francisco who give them the names Washington, Jefferson, Rossevelt and Lincoln, all named after the American leaders that appear on the coins. And these Snailiens swear to help protect the people of Snail Francisco as well as the human kids by fighting the ticks and all their allies.

This is a very cheesy comic that is really a mini comic that showcases one page of artwork with the other page being dialogue making the comic read like a kid’s story book. The comic’s plot is that of a group of Ticks and some other rogue insects that are wanting to take over the small under the Earth world called The Crawlspace with an idea to later take over the above world by attacking the Earth’s children. But a group of alien snails answer the call for help and are now stuck on Earth and dedicate their lives in the battle against the ticks. In this mini comic we learn that there are three kids that live in a house with the older boy Max being the one who takes the ship the S. Cargo, forcing the Snailiens to be trapped here on Earth, as to him their ship looks like a very cool looking shell. We learn that Zug is a tick that leads all the evil ones and who is obsessed with taking over the Crawlspace world as well as Earth in general and his main plan is to attack kids…yeah, he is that kind of evil! And we learn that our four heroes, The Snailiens, are really aliens who are good hearted and want to protect those who are being bullied and want to stop the ticks from taking over. And while we get some information about the Snailiens and their universe, this comic is very basic and sadly does not do a great job of introducing us to any of the members at all as none of them get a chance to showcase their personalities or their fighting styles making one truly have to use their imaginations when playing with the toys as a kid. I was a little disappointed that the comic was more like a story book as I think they could have told a way better story if they would have just made a traditional comic with panels. The cover for this mini comic is pretty cool and shows Washington fighting Zug, and the interior artwork is cool and well done but is done by an uncredited artist. Over all, this was a fast and basic read that is for fans of the toys while I think those who do not know or like the toys will most likely dislike this mini comic and find it very bland. Check out the artwork below to see the style of the unknown artist used for this comic.

While I really like the figures, I cannot say that I liked the comic that much at all as I really did find it to be a lackluster read that did not do its jobs well of promoting the figures and making those who read the comic want to collect the figures as they did not really allow the readers into the world of Crawlspace, and as I said, did a terrible job of showcasing our heroes The Snailiens. But with all that said I will once more say that while they are very much a knock-off and clone of the TMNT, they did try to make themselves something slightly different and if I had these figures growing up I would have had them as part of the Toy War battles as well as would have just added them into the TMNT adventures I had. Our countdown to Christmas Eve 2025 continues with our next update as we take a look at that zombie film Dead Snow 2! So until next time, read a comic or three, watch a movie or two and as always, support your local horror host! See you next update as we watch the epic battle between red and the dead.

Tube Toons: Captain America (1966)

Posted on May 12, 2024 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to another Tube Toons update here at Rotten Ink, the themed updates where we take a look at the complete run of a classic cartoon series. For this one we are continuing our look at the 1966 Marvel Super-Heroes series and will be looking at the cartoons of Captain America! It’s a shame that today’s youth does not get to experience the joy that was Saturday Morning Cartoons. The morning was filled with so many great cartoons. They would be based on the toys or comics that were on the shelves at your local stores, and the commercials played was for toys, cereals, fast food, video games, candy, junk food and movie releases all things that us kids thought we needed. In modern times kids get their cartoons from stations like Nickelodeon, Disney Channel and Cartoon Network and many watch the streaming services that have cartoon on tap making Saturday Mornings lame on stations like ABC, NBC and FOX. But here at Rotten Ink Saturday Morning Cartoons will live on with these Tube Toon updates, and with that, let’s see what Captain America and his mighty shield has in store for us!

The Marvel Super-Heroes was a cartoon series produced by Grantray-Lawrence Animation that started to air in 1966 and featured such Marvel Comics Superheroes as Iron Man, Thor, Namor, Hulk and Captain American. These cartoons would be 30 minutes long with each hero’s segments being done in 7 minute chapters, and this animation was used around the classic comic book art that they would crudely animate. With Captain America, much of the artwork used was that done by the legend Jack Kirby making the cartoon a much see for fans of The King. The series would run for just one season and would be pretty popular with the kids at the time and would even gain kind of a cult following over the decades for fans of Marvel Comics and classic animated shows. Sandy Becker was the voice actor for Captain America and had lent his voice to such other cartoons as “King Leonardo And His Short Subjects”, “The Beagles” and “Go Go Gophers”. While Paul Kligman would voice Red Skull, Vita Linder would voice both Peggy and Sharon Carter and Gillie Fenwick would voice Baron Zemo with other voice actors like Henry Ramer, Jack Creley, Max Ferguson, John Vernon and Paul Soles lending their voices to characters. In the Boston area actor Arthur Pierce would dress like Captain America and would film live segments to add to the awesomeness of the airing. The cartoon is very iconic and is one you have to track down and see if you are a fan of Cap like I am. Also the theme song for this cartoon is awesome, and if you don’t know it make sure to look it up on YouTube and be ready for it to be stuck in your head all day long!

Growing up I had seen many of the 1966 Captain America cartoons thanks to them being released on VHS, and I can remember being really into them as they featured the classic looking Cap as well as many of his big villains like Red Skull and Baron Zemo. You would also get cameos from many of the other classic superheroes. And to be honest I am very much looking forward to watching these cartoons again for this Tube Toons update as it’s been way too long since I last watched them, and I truly hope they keep their charm like they did for me when I was a youth. I would like to thank an Ebay seller for having this DVD in stock and making this 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 let’s turn on the TV and see what kind of adventures Captain America has in store for us.

Captain America
Year: 1966 Type: Animated Brand: Marvel Episodes: 13

Episode 1: The Origin Of Captain America

World War II is going on, and America is having a draft. The government is working on a secret project that is taking place in a lab basement underneath a storefront. Steve Rogers is a very small man who volunteers for the experiment and drinks a secret formula that turns him into a muscular super soldier, but sadly the doctor who created the formula is killed by a Nazi Spy before Steve could stop him. Steve Rogers becomes the masked superhero Captain America and enters the fight of World War II, and even keeps his identity a secret, as around Camp Lehigh he is Steve Rogers, a clumsy private. As Captain America, he stops and brings down many of the attacks attempted by the enemy, but he makes a slip one night and young Bucky Barns finds out Steve Rogers is Captain America! The two end up becoming Nazi bashing partners as Bucky Barns puts on a mask as well as a costume and becomes hero Bucky. The two even stop a Nazi submarine by beating up its crew and then using explosives to blow it up! Meanwhile back in the states at a theater show, Sando and his freak friend Omar perform a hypnotist act and predict the future and the events happen. This causes Captain America and Bucky to investigate this act and soon Cap finds out that they are frauds! But Sando and Omar have help as they areapart of the Nazi party and have taken Bucky and a female news reporter hostage, who is really Agent 13 (Peggy Carter). While across town a Major in the army is attacked in his study by the sinister Red Skull who uses a gas to wipe the mind of the military man. Meanwhile Captain American, Bucky and Agent 13 end up beating up Sando and his men after Cap and Bucky find out about the attack on the Major. Cap and Bucky start looking for who could be responsible for this attack, and they split up with Bucky finding the hideout of the Red Skull. He is attacked, but Captain America soon finds him and comes to his rescue and starts beating up the baddies as the Red Skull is furious that his men are failing and makes his escape. The next day a new fighter plane is being tested and while in the air its engines blow and it crashes as Steve and Bucky watch on. Later that night as Cap and Bucky, they find that Red Skull and his men were the ones behind the crash, and before they can capture Red Skull, he makes his escape again thanks to his men who open fire on the superheroes. Later back at Camp Lehigh, Bucky and Steve are peeling potatoes and thinking of ways to stop the Red Skull.

Review: This first episode of the 1966 Captain America cartoon is a very cool one as we get a very fast origin story on how Steve Rogers became Captain America and how the government is keeping his identity a secret, all the while he is busting heads and kicking butts. The one downside to the cartoon is that at times you are not sure if it’s taking place in America or overseas as they do a poor job of really explaining that. We also see in this episode that Captain America gets a sidekick in Bucky after the youngster finds out the secret of Steve being the man behind the Cap mask. Captain America in this episode is very proud of America and will do whatever he can to protect it as well as deal out justice to those who mean to do it harm as well as harm the innocent people. Cap leaps into action at the drop of a dime and is such a skilled fighter. He makes short work of many of those who get into his way. Bucky is a great sidekick as he as well loves America and fights hard, but in this episode he does get captured twice by the enemies and has to be saved. Agent 13, who is Peggy Carter, shows up and alsowants to bring down the spies that are infecting the area with their sinister plans. The main villains of this issue are Red Skull, Sando and Omar, who of course are all part of the Nazi party and who have sinister plans for the world as they do what they can to cause fear, panic and destruction for America and it’s allies. Of course Red Skull is the most evil of the baddies, and while he is run off this time, he is not fully stopped. One scene in this cartoon that made me laugh is when Red Skull runs and jumps out of a window. It’s so stiff and weird. This first episode is packed with lots of action as well as some great humor as The Sargent’s dislike for Steve Rogers is slapstick level as at one point the Sargent even trips over a bowl of peeled potatoes that Steve left on steps. A super fun episode and a great kick off to the series as we get an origin story, lots of fights and even showcases Red Skull who is the biggest villain in the history of Captain America.

Grade: ***1/2

Episode 2: The Sentinel And The Spy

The Red Skull is at his hideout and is planning his next attack, to steal the American secret weapon called Project Vanish by using a spy prisoner they have in a camp who gets to go on supplies runs after the the original prisoner is shot and killed trying to escape. While in the army truck the spy prisoner uses a hidden gas grenade to make his escape as Steve Rogers and Bucky Barns go after him. The spy prisoner uses more of the gas to knock out the guards watching over the Project Vanish that is a massive gun that with one shot makes whatever it hits disappear. By the time Steve and Bucky get there it’s too late as the weapon is in the spy’s hands and he is not afraid to use it! As Bucky heads to get help, Steve becomes Captain America and is going to try and stop this madman from getting the gun to Red Skull. Captain America uses his shield and even a shot from a tank does not bring the spy down, but it does end up hurting the leg of Cap. The spy ends up blowing himself up by accident when he turns the Project Vanish gun on full blast and it over loads, but Captain America is hurt and Bucky has to sneak him his army uniform so when he is found it’s Steve Rogers who’s injured. A few days pass and on orders Steve, Bucky and the rest of his platoon are sent on a rest break, and this angers Steve who is being taken away from the war and finding Red Skull…plus he knows that it also removes Cap from the war. While on the ship heading to their rest area, an enemy submarine attacks and sinks it, and while the others get away, Steve and Bucky are hit by the torpedo and are left behind injured, but they were at least able to change to become Captain America and Bucky. The Red Skull sends his men to the ship and after using gas they are able to take Captain America prisoner, and Red Skull tells of how he became the crimson-headed villain that serves on the side of Germany. And then with the help of a mad scientist, the Red Skull is able to brainwash Cap into following his orders! While outside Bucky is lined up with other prisoners to be killed via a firing squad, but Bucky leads the prisoners in a escape. Meanwhile Captain America on the orders of Red Skull is set to kill a top ranking American military leader and before he can carry out the order, his friend Bucky is able to stop him and together they bring down a group of German soldiers.

Review: This second episode once more has Captain America and Bucky clashing with the sinister Red Skull, who this time around is hell bent on stealing a top secret weapon as well as having one of America’s top military men assassinated by a brainwashed Cap! And of course his plans are shut down and he is once more defeated, but again not captured. Captain America in this episode goes through a lot as he is injured in three explosions, is taken captive, is punched, gets brain washed and must fight to save America from the evil doers. The one thing you can say about Cap in this episode is even when he is down, he is not out. Bucky is a hero in this one as he helps not only snap Cap out of his mind control but also saves the lives of prisoners when he leads them in a escape. With the Red Skull once more being the main villain, we are treated to his backstory of why he is who he is, and also we see that even his own side fears him and his crazed madness for power and respect. We also get to see that Red Skull seems to enjoy toying with his enemies as well as he likes to sometimes be short to the point with wanting them dead. Some of the animation in this episode for the Red Skull in his hands and facial expressions make me wonder if some of Ren Hoek’s animation from Ren & Stimpy Show was inspired by it. The action is pretty hard hitting in this episode as Captain America even gets injured, but because he is such an amazing superhero he still is able to shake it off and save the day. A really fun episode, and it’s great to see Cap always shutting down Skull on all his antics.

Grade: ***

Episode 3: Midnight In Greymoor Castle

Steve Rogers and his platoon are called into action, and Bucky Barns is forced to stay back at the camp due to his young age. After most of the soldiers are gone, the camp is attacked, and Bucky must put on his mask and try to stop this attack on his own…he fails and is taken as bait to a castle to lure in Captain America. Inside the castle is Dr. Rollins, a man who has turned on America as he wants fame, money and power and doing science for his own country has left him with a metal hand. While in battle Steve Rogers finds a telegram about Bucky’s capture that is to the Red Skull and it calls for the young hero’s death. Changing into Captain America, he heads to the castle to rescue his friend. While at the castle Dr. Rollins gets word that Cap is on his way and starts using Z-Rays on Bucky as part of an experiment. Captain America hijacks an enemy’s plane and heads for the castle as Dr. Rollins sets a trap for the hero by using an explosive tank hidden on the table they have Bucky chained to, and all the while Dr. Rollins’ own sister tries to talk him out of turning on America to serve Germany. Once Cap gets to the castle and inside, he is warned by the Dr.’s sister that it’s a trap but after beating up some soldiers, he tries to free Bucky. The room fills with gas from the hidden tank, and Captain America is knocked out. When he awakens he finds himself in chains alongside Bucky and the Dr.’s sister. They are then loaded into a rocket to be blown up all the while Dr. Rollins begs for them to not to do this to his sister…they just smack and mock him. Cap is able to wake up before being loaded in and starts fighting back against the Germans, and this gives Bucky time to recover as well and fight off his attackers. During the fight, the sister is shot and as she is dying she is able to tell Cap that his fellow soldiers are being attacked. As she dies, Rollins uses his rocket to attack the Germans that have surrounded Cap’s men and as this happens, the castle catches fire and crumbles with Cap and Bucky being the only ones to escape.

Review: In this episode, Steve Rogers and his fellow rangers are sent on a mission that they complete, but soon he has to turn into Captain America when he finds out that Bucky has been taken prisoner to a castle and is to be killed on the orders of Red Skull. Once inside the castle, our hero of course saves the day and also sadly has to watch as an innocent woman dies and her brother who was a traitor burns to death, but not before he makes things right for America. In this episode, Cap is hard hitting and really wants to bring down the Germans as they have caused harm to so many, and when they once more try and kill his teenage sidekick, he is pushed to fight even harder to save his friends life. Bucky as well in this issue fights hard against his enemies and is very much a help to Cap in several fights. Dr. Rollins is an American who has turned on his country as he feels that they did not respect his work even when it cost him his own hand, and his own sister begs him to not to help the Germans…and this of course costs him his sister who dies, his sanity and well as his respect as the Germans mistreat him worse! And if you think about it, Dr. Rollins would be the main villain of the episode as his castle and his weapons are what come into play to try and take down Captain America and the American Rangers, and after two episodes of Red Skull, it is nice to see that Cap has made other strange baddies who wants to bring him down. This is a fun paced episode that truly feels like the comic from that time coming alive, and much of the action is lots of fun! I should also say that the cartoon does not say that the Germans are Nazis and even Hitler is replaced as the leader by just a generic looking guy, so I give them credit for trying to not show any logos or people that are connected to hate.

Grade: ***

Episode 4: Return Of Captain America

On a submarine Iron Man, Thor, Wasp and Giant Man find the floating body of Captain America and bring him inside, and when the masked hero wakes up he is confused and goes on the attack…but finally calms down and tells his new friends of his last memories before waking up in their sub. His memory was falling from a missile into the water. As it exploded, it killed his sidekick Bucky who was holding onto the missile trying to deactivate it. The group of heroes do not at first believe that he is the real Captain America as he was missing for over 20 years, but after they test his fighting skills they learn that the masked hero is still alive and in great shape as it appears he has not aged a day since his disappearance. The heroes introduce themselves to Cap and tell him that they are known as The Avengers and that they fight for what is right, and they welcome Cap into their ranks. As The Avengers arrive back home in New York, they are meet by the press and among them is a criminal who fires a gun at them and turns Iron Man, Wasp, Thor and Giant Man into stone statues! Captain America was asleep on the sub, and when he wakes up he sees the statues and is confused by why they left him and all the big changes to the city, and heads to a hotel and meets Rick Jones who asks Cap to help him find The Avengers. Cap and Rick do some research and find a clue that shows the man with the gun who turned The Avengers to stone. Cap then follows leads and tracks him down, and after beating up some evil henchmen, he gets the man and forces him to return The Avengers to normal. And while The Avengers go looking for the madman with the gun who’s name is Bull is able to slip away after he turns them back. Captain America is welcomed to stay at The Avengers Mansion. That night Bull and his gang try to attack Cap in the mansion but soon learn they made a big mistake as they are defeated with lighting speed.

Review: This episode is the first one that removes Captain America from World War II and places him in then-modern New York and has him meeting and then joining The Avengers! It’s pretty fun as in the cartoon Cap is not even in a block of ice, and they just find him floating in the ocean where he has been for over 20 years! They also kind of make Cap a sad sack for a bit as he seems to be really depressed by the loss of Bucky and even thinks Rick Jones is him for a very short time. The Avengers are around but are turned to stone pretty early on, and they return in the very end to fully welcome Cap to the team. The main bad guy is Bull, a crime boss who has a gun that turns people to stone, and while he is dangerous, and while the gun is pretty dangerous, he is defeated pretty easily! In fact The Avengers are defeated really easily by Captain America as well when he awakens on their submarine and is confused about where he is. While it is cool to see Captain America in New York and the war being over, it still is a little strange as I feel that we still had lots more adventures during the war that seem unfinished. Plus the episode is humorless as gone are the silly moments between Steve Rogers and the Sargent. And I have to say while I enjoyed this episode, I do feel it is lacking something that made the past few episodes special, and The Avengers really do just seem like a second thought in the episode as they are around and are mostly statues throughout.

Grade: **1/2

Episode 5: Zemo And His Masters Of Evil

Baron Zemo is at his jungle hideout reading a science journal that was brought to him by a pilot who flew in to deliver it as Zemo is looking for a way to get the glue that holds his mask in place off his head. He then tells the story of how it got glued on to the pilot after seeing a picture of Captain America in the journal. You see, Zemo created the glue foam that is unbreakable and it was to be use as a weapon of destruction, but Cap found his hideout and during the fight his head was covered in the glue causing his mask to forever be sealed to his face. Zemo then gives the order to set The Masters Of Evil loose on New York in order to get Captain America to appear so that they can kill him once and for all. First to attack the city is Black Knight who sprays the glue foam all over the streets! Meanwhile Melter is using his powers to melt metal as well as spray the glue foam all over while Radioactive Man as well is spraying the foam with the hopes to draw out Cap. And this plan works as Cap alongside Thor and Iron Man appear and try to stop the super villains. But while Thor and Iron Man are held at bay, Cap finds himself foamed glued to the street! Iron Man is able to cut out some of the concrete around Cap’s feet and lift him away so that they can free him at The Avengers lab. Once in the lab, Iron Man gets the idea that the only person who can free Cap from the foam glue is Paste Pot Pete, who knows all things to do with sticky stuff, and he gives Iron Man a formula that works and now Cap is free again. After tricking Melter, Radioactive Man and The Black Knight into spraying the un-stick formula around the city, our heroes defeat the villains and Zemo escapes…sort of as Thor uses his hammer to create a tornado that carries Zemo and his pilot away after they shoot Cap with the bullet only fazing him.

Review: This is a pretty fun episode as Baron Zemo is in a full rage when he finds out that Captain America is still alive and wants nothing more than to finally kill his arch nemesis! In order to try and get his revenge, he hires the help of super villains Radioactive Man, The Black Knight and Melter who are all armed with guns that fire the foam glue that Zemo created and is what has caused his mask to be stuck to his face forever. A part that made me laugh is how easy Thor and Iron Man give up the fight at the start of the battle, as they just kind of half heartedly try to defeat the baddies, and Iron Man even gives up on trying to save Cap from the glue with Melter only firing one shot at him. But in the end both Iron Man and Thor prove that they are heroes and not only help defeat all the super villains but also save Captain America from being stuck in the foam glue for the rest of his life. Baron Zemo is so overtaken with rage and the want for revenge that he even tries to fist fight with Cap as he wants to end the hero’s life so badly as he truly blames him for his life of torment of wearing the mask that is glued to his face. And because of his rage he fails to see that a way for him to remove his mask is there, but he looks past in in order to try and kill his foe. The episode has lots of action and Captain America is focused on saving New York as well as bring down Baron Zemo, and that is why this is a very cool episode as I also think that it brings back Thor and Iron Man back to being heroes.

Grade: ***

Episode 6: The Revenge Of Captain America

Time has passed, World War II is over and his friend Bucky is long been deceased as Cap has a workout where several pro wrestlers try and attack him. He of course is too much for them and tosses them around. Once home Captain America is lost in his thoughts and depression as he feels he failed Bucky all those decades back, and it is because of him that Bucky passed away at the hands of Baron Zemo! And when Rick Jones makes the mistake of dressing in Bucky’s old uniform, he sets Cap off in a rage who swears that he will bring Zemo to justice and get revenge on him. Meanwhile in the jungles Baron Zemo is in control of a tribe and is using them to harvest gold so that he can hire a team of mercenaries to help him kill his enemy Captain America. The next day one of Zemo’s agents attack Cap and Rick at the park. As they try and kidnap Rick, they open fire of Cap who blocks the many bullets with his shield, and all the while our hero knows that Zemo is the one who set up this attack. Rick Jones is taken to Zemo’s hidden jungle empire as Captain America follows them in order to rescue his friend, and even in the sky Cap in his plane must fight off Zemo’s planes who have orders to try and kill the masked hero. Once Cap beats the plane he then out maneuvers the tanks that are trying to blow him out of the sky. Cap lands to the ground after a scary parachute accident and finds himself trapped in a deadly pit. Zemo goes and gets his men to help finish off the American Hero, but Cap escapes the pit and uses Zemo’s own weapons against him and this causes Zemo’s men to flee leaving their leader screaming with anger. Cap is able to free Rick, and together they defeat the mercenaries and Cap is able to defeat Zemo who is crushed to death under falling rocks.

Review: The sixth episode of the series takes Captain America out of World War II and drops him into the 60’s with a new teenage partner this time it being Rick Jones who you readers will also remember from the Hulk cartoons from 1966. And Captain America is very much filled with rage, anger, sadness and pride throughout this episode as he has been thinking lots about his now gone friend and sidekick Bucky and wants nothing more than to avenge him by taking down the baddie who killed him way back when. Rick Jones is a hip modern teenager who once followed the Hulk around and is now following Captain America around and wanting so badly to be a hero like him. Baron Zemo is a very evil man who treats his own men poorly as he beats them with whips and gives sharp toned orders, he also has lots of gold and will hire blood thirsty mercenaries as well to do his bidding! And because Zemo is crazy and driven by ego, he is responsible for his own death as he fires the shot that brings the rocks down that crush him. While this episode is a fun watch for some reason for me it just lacked something to make it a great episode and it kind of just putted along. I think also the harsh time jump from Cap being in the war to now being in then modern time with zero explanation also was a very odd choice for the cartoon series to do and as well makes the episode a little jarring (well I guess I should blame episode 4 for this time jump). The one cool thing about this episode is that it’s our second appearance of Baron Zemo in the cartoon series and it also looks like it might be his final appearance.

Grade: **1/2

Episode 7: Let The Past Be Gone

Captain America is alone at The Avengers Mansion and looking through a photo album of his past as butler Jarvis brings him a cup of coffee. After drinking it, he checks the mansion and finds an intruder that looks like an enemy he faced in World War II that had been dead for years who quickly disappears, and then he starts hallucinating even more thinking he is kicking German butt with Bucky and even finds his old Sergeant in the Mansion given orders for soldiers to march! Captain America passes out and sees war all around him gunfire, explosions, death and destruction and it’s Jarvis who snaps him out of it, or is it Jarvis? We find out that Super-Adaptoid was posing as the butler, and this imposter had slipped something into the coffee of Cap and has taken the real Jarvis hostage. The Adaptoid then takes the appearance of Captain America, and we learn that this creature is working for A.I.M, a group of rogue scientist and creators who want to destroy Captain America once and for all! But shortly the real Cap wakes up and fights with his Adaptoid Clone knocking him out and keep him captive so that the now returning Avengers can see this odd new villain….and once they see him Giant Man, Wasp and Hawkeye all leave once more and this gives the Super-Adaptoid the chance to clone bits of all the Avengers and he once more makes a play at killing Cap. The two fight on land and in the air with Super-Adaptoid showing just how powerful he is, but Cap finally finds out Super-Adaptoid weakness is water and the two fight near a large body of water and in the end both fall into the water with Captain America surviving the fall and Super-Adaptoid meeting his end.

Review: This episode has Captain America with Jarvis at The Avengers Mansion on watch, and after drinking some coffee he feels odd and starts having visions and flashbacks and we learn that those creeps at A.I.M are to blame as they have created and sent a Super-Adaptoid to attack and clone himself to be Cap and as well learn and steal the powers of the other Avengers in order to stop all our heroes once and for all. And of course Cap is not having it as he goes after this cloning villain with extreme force and even brings him down for the count. Super-Adaptoid is truly a foe that could be a force to be wrecking with, if he did have the weakness of water that is! I like that Super-Adaptoid cloned all the powers and strengths of The Avengers he seen and for some reason decided to turn himself green! And his fight with Cap in the final really does show that he could be a threat, but also it showed his mind was not as sharp nor was he as smart as Captain America. I do like that for some reason Hawkeye has shown up and is in The Avengers and that Thor seems to be lost to the sands of time as they at least mention and show Iron Man’s suit. Also we see that A.I.M has it out for Captain America and that they have the feared Cosmic Cube at their headquarters, and if you readers know, that is a very dangerous item in the Marvel Universe. Over all this is a really fun episode as we get to see Captain America fight and out smart his foe, and we also clearly are taking the series in the direction of A.I.M being his new major foes for a bit, a very entertaining episode.

Grade: ***

Episode 8: Coming Of The Swordsman

The Swordsman has broken into The Avengers mansion and has a quick fight against Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, claiming he wants to join them, but also is fighting them with cheap shots. Finally Scarlet Witch brings him down with her magic, and Captain America shows up after the fight, and once they find out that the Swordsman is a criminal he is able to escape by cutting the power and slipping away in the dark. A few days later Cap decides to become a part time Avenger in order to help fight evil around the world, and this angers his fellow Avengers…but soon Hawkeye finds out that this was an evil plan from Swordsman and rushes to help Cap who has stepped into a trap. In a warehouse Captain America and The Swordsman have a big fight that leaves Cap on the losing end, and when the rest of The Avengers find him the Swordsman has him prisoner and will kill him if they do not name him the new leader of the team. But Cap breaks free and along with his fellow Avengers they fight with Swordsman…while in a castle in China, The Mandarin watches and uses his 10 Rings to bring The Swordsman to him. As Hawkeye and Cap argue and the archer explains he knows the Swordsman and once feared him as he tried to kill him as a youngster. Meanwhile The Mandarin wants The Swordsman to kill Iron Man and bring down The Avengers Mansion, and if he does so, he will make sure he leads the superhero team! The Mandarin upgrades his sword and sends him back to New York with the tools to fight The Avengers only after using a fake Iron Man to planet the seed of the team accepting The Swordsman. But once inside the mansion and a bomb placed, The Swordsman has a change of heart and removes the bomb and comes clean with The Avengers…in the end The Mandarin is mad over this betrayal.

Review: This is a very fun episode as Captain America is pushed to his limit by a foe that is skilled with a sword, but like always, no matter how hard this baddie tried, he is defeated by our hero. But to be fair, The Swordsman does get the upper hand several times and it takes The Avengers to truly stop him, that is until he has his big change of heart and decides to save their lives instead of end them. I also find The Swordsman to be a very strange villain as he does not think he is a baddie even though he acts like a heel and all he really wants to do is join The Avengers and most important to him is lead them. We also get a second villain in this episode as The Mandarin appears and tries to get an ally in his quest to kill Iron Man, but of course his ego is what causes the team up to be short lived and his evil plot to be unfinished. We also get the first cartoon appearances for Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver and we also get Hawkeye and they build up his jealous nature for Captain America. We also see Iron Man, but it is a fake one just merely a hologram. Lots of fun action and drama in this episode and another very entertaining one, also I have to point out throughout this cartoon series there are times that the animation is so bad as they try to add mouths and hands in spots that just look awkward and weird and even laughable at times.

Grade: ***

Episode 9: Bitter Taste Of Defeat

At The Avengers Mansion it seems that tempers are out of control as both Captain America and Hawkeye are always at each others throats while poor Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver have to get in the middle to cool down the situation. We soon find out that The Enchantress along with her muscle bound goon Power Man are who is causing this drama with her powers. She then starts using her magic to create monsters that only they can see, and when doing battle with it they are causing damage and fear in New York as on one is seeing what the heroes are. Power Man even uses his might strength to knock out Quicksilver and leaves him on subway tracks to be run over, but lucky for him, his fellow Avengers show up to save him…but this is all an illusion as well and ends up costing The Avengers lots of money as well as respect…and as a fight breaks out between Cap and Hawkeye they get a letter from the government that says they must disband The Avengers! They all part ways as Captain America tries to keep them together as he has figured out that the stuff they are seeing and the sour mood are the work of The Enchantress. Captain America is mocked by The Enchantress and our hero ends up fighting off her magic and tracking her down but not before she is able to take Hawkeye hostage. But once Cap tricks the villains into telling their crime, he frees Hawkeye and along with Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver bring down the villains and clear their name and become a team again.

Review: This episode features the disbanding and the reunion of The Avengers and also builds up the rivalry between Captain America and Hawkeye on who should be the one leading the team into battles, and of course it is shown that Cap is the better leader and by the end the two become friends. Captain America is the first of the superheroes to figure out that he and his team have been tricked into not only fighting among themselves, but also into seeing things that are causing them to attack delusions in the own minds that is causing destruction and fear around New York as people thing that the heroes have lost their minds and are causing chaos in the streets. But of course all the bad stuff is being done by the very sly and powerful The Enchantress who is teaming with the power house fighter Power Man to try and defeat Captain America and The Avengers for her own amusement. She fails of course and Power Man proves to be no true threat to The Avengers. They also show that Scarlet Witch is the member who tries to keep The Avengers together and from fighting and that she truly does respect Cap. Meanwhile I have to point out that Captain America fakes his own suicide by jumping from a bridge all to get into a disguise and trick Power Man into bragging about the sinister plan they are pulling off on The Avengers. Over all this is a fun above average episode that’s main attraction for me was the heated fights between Cap and Hawkeye as well all want to see Cap book the hot shot archer in his place.

Grade: **1/2

Episode 10: Doorway Of Doom

Captain America is standing watch at The Avengers Mansion and informs Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver that he has been given thought on retiring from the team. They try and talk him out of it as they all then head out for the evening. The Avengers get a call from an Asian country that is calling for help on the words that they are under attack, as in reality this is a trap done by their mountain of muscle General who is stealing money from his own people and wanting to show his power by bringing down the heroes of America. Once in the country The Avengers soon find out that it was a trap to get them there and they start fighting off the Generals men with each hero showing their power and bringing down these criminals. But with the help of a trap door the baddies capture Scarlet Witch and keep her prisoner as the other three Avengers try and save her they are knocked out with gas! When they wake up they find that Scarlet Witch will be killed unless they fight the General one at a time, first up is Cap who he defeats and then Hawkeye is the next to fall…but Quicksilver’s speed tries and also fails. But in the end it’s Scarlet Witch that beats The General who turns out to be a robot! Once back home Captain America decides not to quite and stay on as the leader of The Avengers.

Review: This episode is very weird and clearly is out of order as in this one it says that Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver are brand new members of The Avengers when as we have seen they have been around for several episodes now. And Captain America is once more talking about stepping away from The Avengers and it also is kind of the start of the bad blood between he and Hawkeye. The mission they are on pits them against a mountain of a man who has the power of The Hulk, but turns out to be a robot an is destroyed in the end giving all the people it ruled over freedom. And truly the main hero of this episode besides Cap is Scarlet Witch who uses her hex power to save the day several times. While the bad guy in this episode is not an iconic villain he serves his purpose well and is a true challenge for our heroes. And it’s odd to see Captain America in his own cartoon not be the one to save the day and in fact is beat in combat by the robotic General! Not much more to say here besides a fun episode that takes our heroes to Asia.

Grade: ***

Episode 11: The Sleeper Shall Awake

Captain America in Avengers Mansion is telling Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver and Hawkeye old war stories and about his fights with Red Skull. That night Cap has a terrible nightmare about his last battle with Red Skull during World War II and how even an exploding hand grenade did not stop his foe, and he remembers that Red Skull warned him that in 20 Years he would return and that his sleeper agents as well will awaken and cause chaos. The first Sleeper awakens and his a giant robot, and Cap flies to it and tries to slow it down from meeting with the other two. Sleeper 1 is very powerful and all Cap’s attempts fail to slow it down but he has an idea to use missiles against it and races to an old military base just as Sleeper 2 awakens and can fly and is causing lots of damage to the surrounding towns. And Cap is helpless as he watches as Sleeper 2 and Sleeper 1 combine into an even more destruction machine! Captain America is able to get the help of the US Army and they attack the Sleepers with all they got while in another location Sleeper 3 is about to be awakened that is a mechanical head that looks like that of the Re Skull and is a bomb! The now full combined Sleepers head towards the North Pole with the plan to dig into the center of the Earth and explode the bomb that would explode the world! But Cap armed with a blowtorch is able to blow up the bomb in the air stopping the rampage of The Sleeper and saving the world from the Red Skulls final plan.

Review: This was a fun and strange adventure for Cap as he flashes back to his past and his then final battle with Red Skull were the villain on his “death bed” threatened the world with big end of the world destruction but only 20 Years from that day that he was defeated…a very strange plan indeed that involves robots and the Earth’s core and agents that are loyal to Red Skull for two decades after he has “died”. Most of the episode has Captain America following and trying to stop the Sleeper robots from pulling off their plans and only by luck and a blowtorch is Cap able to stop them and save the day. The Sleeper Robots are very cheesy looking and yet so fitting for the 1960’s versions of bots, Cap for the most part is being out muscled by these machines, but thanks to his quick mind and battle strategies they are defeated and brought down. One strange part of this episode is that The Avengers do not join him on this mission and they would have been very helpful in trying to help stop The Sleepers. Over all not much to day about this one besides it entertained me as it is one of the more cheesy episodes in the series and Cap is a hero who uses a blowtorch.

Grade: ***

Episode 12: The Girl From Cap’s Past

Captain America is lost in his thoughts of being a hero out of time, and worse is when he watches a TV Documentary about World War II that shows a picture of him looking shocked, and Cap starts to remember back to the day he lost his true love during one of the final battles of the war as she lost her memory. While in modern times a group of very bad men have lost their powerful weapon Inferno 42 that can burn a city down in seconds to a secret agent of S.H.I.E.L.D and send Batroc The Leaper to get it back. Meanwhile Cap decides to go for a walk and sees a girl that looks like his lost love who does a hand off for a package and is confused by it all as he thinks is it really her and what is in the secret package. Batroc ends up going after the mystery woman and this causes Captain America to fight with him to protect her and the package. As Cap and Batroc fight the woman runs away with the package that is the missing Inferno 42 and later the two fighting masked men must work together to try and get it back as the package has cracked and the weapons awesome power could be released at any moment killing everyone in the city. As Captain America and Batroc give chase the woman who is an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D uses all types of traps to shake them off her trail, as she does not realize her life is in danger…until its to late as she passes out from the leaking Inferno 42 and this causes Batroc to turn on Cap and kick him out of a window to make an escape with the package an deliver it to his shady bosses. But Captain America finds the criminals hideout and fights with Batroc and beats him up but the masked criminal is able to escape, Cap then rushes back to find the woman very sick and being taken away by paramedics and just like that he feels that he lost his lady love once more.

Review: In this episode we learn that Captain America had kind of a girlfriend during World War II and he lost her during a celebration after a hard fought fight when she was injured and her mind goes blank and she wondered off, but in modern New York he sees a woman that looks just like her who is working for S.H.I.E.L.D and once more he fights to save the world…but possibly loses her again when she falls very ill due to the mission she was on that had to do with a very dangerous chemical. While Captain America’s love life is the biggest part of the episode for me it was great to see Batroc The Leaper make his first appearance in this cartoon series as he was one of Cap’s big iconic villains in the early days of the comic series and it was cool to see him and Cap go at it all over a package that holds a world changing weapon…not pressure on Cap at all to get it back safely. It is really weird that they will not say the name of the woman Cap is in love with throughout the whole episode, nor do they say the S.H.I.E.L.D agents name that looks like her. And for those wondering, the original woman was Peggy Carter and the woman in modern times would be her niece Sharon Carter. Over all this is a good action packed episode that has some drama thrown in for good measure.

Grade: ***

Episode 13: The Red Skull Lives

A rocket ship lands in New York and a group of masked men start running wild in the streets, but oddly Captain America is the only one who can see them and chases them off. He then wonders if he is losing his mind and visits a Doctor and while at the visit one of the mask men attack again and like before only Cap sees him and the Doctor thinks the superhero is cracking. We soon learn that Red Skull is still alive and is working with A.I.M, and thanks to a special helmet, he is the one behind these masked men attacks as the helmet blocks everyone else from seeing the attacks! The next goal is to commit a murder and then blame it on Cap, but our hero stops the attempt and is able to knock the helmet off the mask man showing that these creeps are real to the New York crowd. Later Cap even saves the life of an A.I.M worker who warns that Red Skull has the powerful Cosmic Cube in his hands and this could be very dangerous for the whole world! Captain America makes it to the island were Red Skull is and has many obstacles to over come as he becomes temporarily blind due to a gun shot flash and even is knocked out by gas! In the end Red Skull is controlling the powers of the Cosmic Cube and Captain America fights with the madman and is able to knock the Cube into the ocean and Red Skull dives after it but is buried under rocks in the water and is presumed dead. Captain America stands victorious as he as stopped the Red Skull and Cosmic Cube for now!

Review: Captain America in this final episode showcases all his skill and proves why he is one of the world’s best superheroes as he uses his fighting skill and his mind to bring down the Red Skull as well as get rid of the Cosmic Cube for now. The Red Skull who for a brief time is teaming with A.I.M is very sneaky and uses hypno-waves in order to mess with the mind of Cap as he sends masked goons around New York to cause some trouble, but once Cap figures it out and learns of the Red Skull’s return the menace’s time is ticking down. The two bitter enemies have a showdown on a beach, and like always, good brings down evil as Cap is able to trick and defeat the Skull who even haves great cosmic powers on his side. I also like in the episode how A.I.M quickly learns that they made a mistake on trusting Red Skull and tries to stop him and when that fails they alert Captain America to his sinister plan. The final episode has lots of action and fighting, and I feel that it is very fitting that the final baddie he faces is Skull who is his most iconic villain in the comics. And what really makes this a great final episode is that it ends with Captain America looking into the sky while on top of some rocks that are in the ocean. While the animation style and voice acting might not be for everyone I myself really did enjoy this classic Captain America cartoon series and it held up after all these years.

Grade: ***1/2

The Marvel Comics 1966 cartoons are really an acquired taste, and compared to modern cartoons they are very, very primitive, but to me they have lots of charm and hold that classic Marvel feel that I love. And what I really liked about this Captain America series is that it featured all of his top villains that included Red Skull, Baron Zemo and Batroc The Leaper. Plus fans of The Avengers get many guest appearances from Iron Man, Thor, Hawkeye, Scarlett Witch, Wasp, Giant Man and Quicksilver! And while I myself wish the episodes had way less of The Avengers, it was nice having them around. Captain America has always been one of my all time favorite heroes in comics, and it was great to take some time and watch his first ever cartoon series again as it has been decades since I had seen them last thanks episodes being on old VHS tapes. And with this being the second in my Tube Toons updates, I want to remind you all to please check out my first update that covered the 1966 Incredible Hulk Cartoon here, and if I had to choose which was better between Hulk or Cap I would say slightly over all I enjoyed Hulk more but story wise Cap was better. But as you can see, this Tube Toon update has come to an end, and I really enjoyed this one and I think will continue on with this themed update series, but speaking of updates our next one will keep us in the land of cartoons but will take us far away from superheroes as I will be chatting about Grape Ape! So until next time, read a comic or three, watch a cartoon or two and as always support your local horror host! GRAPE APE, GRAPE APE!

R.I.W Wrestling Legend: Uncle Elmer

Posted on April 22, 2024 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to the Rotten Ink Arena. As you can tell, this “R.I.W Wrestling Legend” update has a theme as the bales of hay are being used as seats and the fried pig parts are at the snack bar and all the people in overalls are square dancing. It’s not the Arena’s normal look, but it’s a perfect atmosphere for tonight’s main event star as the one and only Uncle Elmer will be making his way to the ring and will show us all a good old hillbilly good time! So I am not sure about you, but I think I am going to go buy some fried pig parts as well as a Mountain Dew to drink and then will find our seats as this is clearly one of those themed events that you have to take part in as where else can one eat such a great cuisine? The house lights are going down and the music has started, so let’s get to our seats and see what Uncle Elmer has in store for us.

Uncle Elmer started his in ring pro career in 1960 and would mostly work the Southern territories as the Country Plowboy and would be booked strong as he stood over 6’10” and weighed almost 500 pounds! Early on he worked for many NWA promotions and would not only wrestle as Plowboy but would also wear a mask and a stripped uniform and call himself The Convict and would work as a heel. And during this journeyman routine he wrestled many big names like Bobo Brazil, Gentle Ben The Wrestling Bear and The Satan Medics before having a good run as The Convict for NWA Hollywood and tangling with names like Ernie Ladd, Mil Mascaras and Chief White Eagle. He found his next big run in 1976 working for NWA Mid-America where he would team with Jerry Lawler as Plowboy Frazier and would be used by Lawer as a hired muscle. He would first be a heel until he found out he was being used and would turn baby face and feud with Lawler. In 1977 he would start working for CWA still as Plowboy Frazier and would stick around until 1980 before having a run in GCW (Georgia Championship Wrestling) before returning to CWA in 1981. Once in CWA again he would work under many names like Stan Frazier, Plowboy Frazier as well as Kamala II, The Giant Rebel and The Lone Ranger with the latter having him dress as a out of shape mask wearing hero. He would stick around CWA up until 1985 and would have matches against names like Tom Prichard, The Rock N Roll Express, Jerry Lawler, The Phantom, Mr. Onita and Gypsy Joe to name a few. He even got to wrestle in Japan as The Convict character. But being a man of many gimmicks and being over with fans and a big attraction wrestler due to his size and weight, it was only a matter of time before New York came calling. But keep in mind during his run in the NWA territories, he would win many Tag Titles!

Starting in 1985 and now going by Uncle Elmer, he would work in the WWF as a member of the stable called The Hillbillies that included Hillbilly Jim, Cousin Luke and Cousin Junior and he would wrestle the company’s top heels, dance in the ring and even eat from a giant bucket that read “Uncle Elmer’s Fried Pig Parts” and was well loved by fans who could not get enough of this mountain of a man. He would work the house shows at the start and would get wins over names like Tiger Chung Lee, The Spoiler, Moondog Spot and even Big John Studd! He would make it to TV as well and would be featured in matches as well as segments including getting married on “Saturday Night’s Main Event II” that aired in 1985. And during the marriage angle he would be made fun of by Jesse Ventura and as well Roddy Piper and this would find Elmer on the loosing end of many of the matches. He would then go on to have a match against Adrian Adonis at “WrestleMania II” in a losing effort and shortly after he would have his final match for then in early 1986 against King Kong Bundy on “Saturday Night’s Main Event VI”. During his WWF run he would have matches against the likes of Greg Valentine, Brutus Beefcake, Rene Goulet, The Hart Foundation, Iron Sheik, Iron Mike Sharpe and Bon Orton Jr. to name a few. While in the WWF he was a super popular baby face whose good nature and big man brawling style made the fans cheer.

After leaving the WWF in 1986 Uncle Elmer would head back to Continental Wrestling Association (CWA) and would change his name to Giant Hillbilly Elmer and team with Jerry Lawler and would even win Tag Titles with him. He would stick around CWA until around 1988. While working in CWA he would be featured in some big matches but was not an upper-card draw as his health was starting to fade. He would however have matches against names like Austin Idol, The Red Demons, Bam Bam Bigelow and The Mod Squad. He would then start working for USWA after CWA and it merged and would stick around until 1989 before fully retiring from wrestling in 1991. And in the end of his career, he also had his own small promotion and would have a hand in training Bob Holly. Uncle Elmer who suffered from lots of health issues due to his weight as well as diabetes and on July 1, 1992 he would pas away from kidney failure at the age of 54. Over his career, Uncle Elmer would win many titles including the CWA World Heavyweight Title twice. He is not as of this updates posting put into the WWE Hall Of Fame.

Uncle Elmer is a wrestler I remember as a kid and was never a big fan of as I found him to be boring in the ring as he wrestled a very slow and sloppy big man style and besides Hillbilly Jim I just was not much into the whole mountain folk country boy gimmicks that took place in that time in the WWF. But I should say that I did however enjoy Uncle Elmer and his Hillbilly family’s antics as their simple nature made for cartoonish good times. And while I do still laugh about his Fried Pig Parts bucket of food, I still could never get past just how very below average he was in the ring and yet some how he was booked strong and was beating guys way more talented then him! And I get that his massive sized made him limited in the ring and that he was more of a character then a worker, I just could never imagine why he was a bigger mid-card worker for awhile in companies like the WWF. While I mostly know him as Uncle Elmer his work as Lone Ranger, Kamala II and even one of his many Plowboy names is just as silly and as limited in his move set showing that he never made a effort to try and get better over his many years in the business and never learned how to use his size to his advantage to at least have good matches. There is also lots of bad stories about Elmer that include him selling bootleg products to even treating some different race workers badly, and it was also said that many of his opponents hated working with him because he was to sloppy and hard to work with. And while I was never a fan, Uncle Elmer had his fans and was a memorable Superstar who helped make the 80’s WWF what we all know and love, as I mean come on he got married on TV and the fans ate it up!

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

Best Of Uncle Elmer

Match 1: Uncle Elmer vs. King Kong Bundy

As soon as the bell rings the two lock up and neither get the advantage and they keep locking up and then breaking apart as Elmer flexes up. Bundy then hits the ropes and tries to shoulder tackle Elmer but it has no effect as he is just to heavy to move like that. Bundy tries again to hit the ropes and shoulder tackle him, but like before Elmer does not move. Bundy then racks the eyes of Elmer and this drops the big man and Bundy then starts pounding on him as well as chokes him…keeping Elmer on the mat. Bundy kicks Elmer in the face and the big country boy is hurt, he does try and make a comeback as he fires off some punches and his butt corner bumps but Bundy cuts it off after Elmer misses a corner splash. Bundy then hits a dropping elbow and gets the win via a three count. This is a hoss fight as Bundy does his best to work with the very massive, limited and slow Uncle Elmer who mostly just throws a few punches and hits his big butt bumps in the corner. Bundy’s elbow drop looks good and packs an impact and really Bundy carries the match and has to even work a slower move set than normal. The fans in attendance are kind of into the match as they pop for Elmer’s silly antics as well as his corner butt bumps, but over all they are not overly loud throughout. The match is what it is and if you like matches that are slow that pit two massive men against one another then this one is for you, for me it was just kind of around and an attraction match that was to showcase the power of Bundy and the size of Elmer.

Grade: **

Match 2: Uncle Elmer vs. A.J. Petruzzi

Before the match Uncle Elmer dances around the ring with Hillbilly Jim and the fans are eating it up, and once the bell rings A.J. hits the ring ropes and runs into Elmer and bounces off him. Elmer and A.J. then lock up and Elmer is able to turn the lock up into a headlock and he keeps the move on and works it. Elmer breaks the hold and bonk’s A.J. on top the head and also rams his head against his belly. Elmer then drops a leg drop and then goes for the pin and gets the three count and the win. This is pretty much a squash match and yet it was kind of entertaining as Elmer even with his limited moves as able to hit some moves that looked impactful like his leg drop and headlock and A.J. does a fantastic job of selling for his massive opponent. The fans seem to be into the match and on the side of Elmer. The bad in the match is Elmer’s hits and belly bump look very off and cartoonish in a cringe way. But while the match is not perfect it still did its job of entertaining me.

Grade: **

Match 3: Uncle Elmer vs. Bigfoot

When Elmer gets into the ring he chases Bigfoot out of it as the bell rings, Bigfoot gets back into the ring and they lock up and Elmer wins and knocks him to the ground. They next do a test of strength and Elmer shows he is the stronger of the two and even pulls Bigfoot into his belly and Foot ends up bumping. Elmer gets Bigfoot then into the corner and lands some big splashes, and Elmer even does a backdrop on Bigfoot. As Bigfoot is down on the mat Elmer drops a leg drop and gets the win via pin. This is another squash match that allows Uncle Elmer to use his power moves and brawling style to make quick work of Bigfoot who by the way is better known as Rip Morgan to wrestling fans. Elmer uses his size to hit moves like splashes, belly bump and leg drop. While Bigfoot gets no time to shine as he throughout the match just gets beat up and beat. This is a silly and goofy match that was used to promote and push Uncle Elmer and the fans really did get behind Elmer throughout it. I really think that they should have had Bigfoot join the Hillbilly Family as he would have fit in! Over all an ok match that is booked well to work around the limitations of Elmer.

Grade: **

Match 4: Uncle Elmer vs. Jerry Valiant

The Hillbilly Family come down to the ring and all dance around as the fans cheer, as the bell rings Jerry charges in and Elmer catches him and slams him to the mat and then goes for the pin and gets the win! This is 100% the definition of a squash match as Uncle Elmer gets the win in seconds and only hits one move a body slam in order to get the win, the fan in attendance loved this super quick match. The bodyslam while sloppy was effective from Elmer and we see nothing that Jerry brings to the table as he is able to do nothing. The fans love the quick win and the pop for his win making the match effective for the most part. This match did a great job of showing the power of Elmer as well as mask his limited in ring moves. Nothing special here but did its job for sure.

Grade: *1/2

Uncle Elmer was a massive man both in weight and height and because of this it made him very limited in the ring. He was like the second coming of Haystacks Calhoun when it came to his in ring work, but I feel Elmer did not have the personality of Haystacks who I think should have been part of the Hillbilly Family in WWF at the time as he could have been a cousin and the patriarch of the family. And with Uncle Elmer, you knew you were never going to get 3-5 Star matches out of him, but you did know that you would at least be entertained by his matches. Well this R.I.W Wrestling Legend update event is over and this also wraps WWF WrestleMania Month 2024 up so as we make our way to the exit doors, I would like to tell you that our next update will bring us back to the world of Horror Comic Books as well as Silent Horror Cinema as I will be talking about the 1925 film Wolf Blood: A Tale Of The Forest and the Blood Scream Comics adaptation of it! So until next time, read a comic or three, watch a wrestling match or two and as always support your local wrestlers! See you next update for a spooky good time with a Canadian Werewolf!

R.I.W Wrestling Legend: Haystacks Calhoun

Posted on December 5, 2023 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink Arena. The night’s wrestling card looks to be a good one. As you can see, we have a sellout crowd as the main eventer that will be the topic of this “R.I.W Wrestling Legend” update is considered by many to be one of the greatest Big Men of wrestling of all time, and when I say Big I mean Big! As tonight’s wrestler will be Haystacks Calhoun, the massive country boy who packed in fans and entertained them for decades. This massive hillbilly would be booked as an attraction and was a household name when active. To this day fans speak of his legacy. So in honor of Haystacks, grab some popcorn, some hot dogs and a double fist some soda and let’s talk about Calhoun!

Haystacks Calhoun started his pro wrestling career in 1955 working for a small indie promotion that was run by Orville Brown in Texas. Haystacks would turn pro in 1956, and he was an attraction out the gate as he stood at 6’4” tall, was a hillbilly weighing around 600 pounds and would travel the territories like Texas, Kansas and Canada and would even at this early part of his career would be featured on the variety TV Show “House Party” and amazed viewers as he could toss full bales of hay high into the loft of barns. Hence why he was called Haystacks almost his whole career. The fans loved Haystacks as the massive lovable hillbilly was always standing up for what was right and was a brawler who entertained them in matches. Promoters at the time would not book Haystacks into title bouts as he was used more as an attraction wrestler who would enter battle royals, fight in handicap matches and would be pitted against other massive wrestlers who was going at the time. While a very large man in weight, and somewhat limited in his skills Haystacks Calhoun worked past his limitations and proved to be one of NWA’s biggest draws at the time. While working for the WWF (then known as WWWF) in the early 1960’s, he would be booked into matches at Madison Square Garden against Happy Humphrey who weighed over 750 pounds and the two big men would put on some real slobber knockers, and over the many matches they had Haystacks would come out the winner of most matches, mostly wins by count out.

Haystack Calhoun would not stay in one territory for very long as he knew that he need to keep on the move in order to become a major attraction and not overstay his welcome with promoters and fans. In the early 1960’s he would have a feud with Nature Boy Buddy Rogers for the NWA United States Heavyweight Title and would try for the belt many times, but could never take it off Rogers. In one match Rogers dropkicked Calhoun into the ropes and the middle rope broke from his weight causing the massive Haystacks to fall out of the ring and be counted out. Also during this time, while he mostly would wrestle in America, he would make trips to Canada as well as Australia in order to compete in matches and entertain the fans. During this time he would also find himself winning some Tag Team Gold with partners like Don Leo Jonathan and Amazing Zuma. In the late 1960’s the WWF was having issues, as they were having a very rough time and the money was not coming in, but thanks to the returning Haystacks Calhoun and a handful of others they helped bring in the business and helped make the WWF one of the biggest and best territories. Haystacks would stick around WWF until 1979 and after leaving we would go back wrestling around the territories before retiring in 1980, and during his career he would win a few belts but was another example of a true icon of the sport that didn’t need a title to draw money and become one of the biggest well loved wrestlers of all time. And I should also note he did have some runs as a heel. Haystacks retired in 1980 due to his health declining bad and his weight was getting out of control, in 1986 he even lost his left leg from diabetes and sadly he would pass away on December 7, 1989 at the age of 55. After his death in 2017 the WWE (WWF) would put him into the Hall Of Fame.

Growing up a wrestling fan I knew the name Haystack Calhoun not just because of the old wrestling magazines and books my brother and I had, but because I remember by dad talking about him! And whenever fans who make lists of top big men of wrestling Haystacks is almost always on them, and help keeping his memory alive as well as making him be apart of my fandom. For me as well Haystacks Calhoun is one of the best Hillbilly characters to step in a WWF ring only rivaled by Hillbilly Jim and I loved that Haystacks would wear a horseshoe on a chain around his neck and Jim would do that same thing later in his career. Haystacks really was a larger then life wrestler who weighed over 600 pounds and was so massive that he was a sight to behold and he was smart as he knew he was limited and his style would wear thin fast if he stayed to long in one area so he made himself an attraction that fans would pay to see in action. Plus promoters and Haystacks was super smart as he would hardly loose matches cleanly and he was protected in order to keep his stock high in wrestling, and this also once more made him seem like a big deal in fans eyes. And during his career he would also only hold Tag Team Titles in the territories, as they never felt he could be the face that runs the place in any territory. One other cool thing about Haystacks was that he played himself in the 1962 film “Requiem For A Heavyweight” that was written by Rod Serling and starred Anthony Quinn, Jackie Gleason, Mickey Rooney, Jack Dempsey and Muhammad Ali! And that’s one other thing about Haystacks as besides wrestling his appearances on TV Shows, Movies as well as other forms of media made him an even bigger star. While Haystacks might have been very slow, not technical in the ring, a massive human being and a over all a attraction wrestler he hands down is a true legend and icon of the sport and I think all wrestling fans would agree with me on that.

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

Best Of Haystacks Calhoun

Match 1: Haystacks Calhoun vs. Buddy Rogers

Before the bell rings Haystacks is upset that Roger’s manager is in the ring and makes the referee kick him out of the ring so the match can start. Once the bell rings Haystacks shows that he has the power, but Rogers shows that he has the skills and even angers Haystacks when he out maneuvers the big man. But once Haystacks gets Rogers into a headlock its hard for him to escape the bigger mans grip, he is finally able to break free once he stops on Haystacks bare foot. And then after some moving around Rogers is able to get Haystacks into a chin lock and tries to wear the big man down buy putting as much pressure as he can. When the referee is not looking Rogers will change the chin lock into fully chocking Haystacks as the crowd works themselves up over the cheating. And even when Haystacks tries to fight out of the lock, Rogers quickly gets the move back on him. Once the hold is broke both Rogers and Haystacks attack each other’s eyes, with Haystacks getting the better of the exchange and almost getting a couple of pin falls that are only broken up thanks to Rogers getting his foot on the ropes. In the end Rogers is able to dropkick Haystacks who falls into the ropes breaking the middle rope and getting counted out. This is a great match as both are very entertaining, and Rogers is able to work around the limitations of Haystacks and is able to make the big man look good as well as himself. This match is one of the most legendary of Haystacks career and while he lumbers around the ring and lands your typical big man moves, he still shows that fans loved him and that he was really an attraction in the ring that you paid to look at and his wrestling ability was secondary to his larger then life appearance. This is a solid match mostly due to the work of Rogers and because Rogers this match will get three stars.

Grade: ***

Match 2: Haystacks Calhoun vs. George Cannon

This is the battle of two big really big men as Gorge Cannon himself weighs almost 400 pounds making this a pure attraction as it becomes a “Big Splash” match and the pair exchange words in the ring and then a coin is tossed to see who splashes first with Haystacks winning the coin toss and as Cannon goes down to the mat for the splash he is attacked by Haystacks to drops a lumbering knee to his neck and then uses his horseshow chain to beat up his opponent. He then delivers two terrible looking splashes to Cannon and leaves the ring as this match is thrown out. This is TERRIBLE as the “match” is more of just a jumping and the moves that Haystacks uses look bad and his splashes are awkward and very poorly done. It’s clear that Haystacks is the heel in this match up and this is so bad that I am done righting about it. Nothing really good to say about this “match” at all besides Cannon is slightly good on the mic. and that Haystacks is clearly way past his prime as he looks bad and his in ring work is even super sloppy.

Grade: ½

Match 3: Haystacks Calhoun vs. Dick Cole

This match starts with Haystacks getting booed by the fans and when the bell rings he gets Cole tied up into the ropes and unloads kicks and punches on him knocking him silly. He then untangles Cole and bounces him off the ropes and hits him with a standing elbow, once Cole hits the mat Haystacks lands a big splash and gets the three count in this 100% one sides squash match. This is another match that clearly Haystacks is way out of shape and is having a very hard time moving around the ring as all of his kicks, punches and even his big splash just look really bad, so bad that at one point the commentator makes a remark that all his moves look like they are being done in slow motion. Dick Cole is clearly just a jobber who does his job well as he gets beat up and pinned. It’s a shame that this match I selected is another bad example of this classic big mans work.

Grade: ½

Match 4: Haystacks Calhoun vs. Bill Steele

Steele tries to start the match off by charging and then body slamming Haystacks and this does not work in his favor as Haystacks just goes off on Steele and starts pummeling him with kicks and punches. Haystacks then knocks Steele to the mat and sits on him causing the much smaller man much pain, and then Haystacks ends the match with his massive big splash for the pin. This is once more a total one sided quick squash match that is ended fast in order to save Haystocks the stress of a longer match as he was clearly not in the best of health and shape. But unlike the last two matches I reviewed he does seem to be getting around better and is able to make his moves and punches look more strong and powerful. I give Bill Steele some credits as he tried to do his best to put on a good TV match with Haystacks that was clearly just a throw away opening contest.

Grade: *1/2

Match 5: Haystacks Calhoun vs. Nicolai Volkoff

Before the bell even rings Volkoff tries to attack Haystacks and this only angers the big man as the bell rings Volkoff who is the faster of the two goes on the attack and the both of them exchange hits and brawler moves. And even though Haystacks is the way bigger man Volkoff is able to hold his own and even able to land some hits that rock the 600-pound hillbilly. But of course during the match Haystacks would use his weight to gain the advantage. In the end Volkoff backs Haystacks into the corner and hits him with punches and kicks to the face, but Haystacks dodges a charging knee strike and as Volkoff falls to the mat Haystacks lands a big splash and gets the three count. This is a pure brawling match that allowed both men to throw massive hits and neither looked super weak in the fight and Volkoff’s style masked the limitations of Haystacks ability. Most of the match is Volkoff working, but Haystacks does what he needs to do in order to draw the fans into the match. Over all while it was just a sloppy brawl it was very entertaining and was a fun watch.

Grade: **1/2

Haystacks Calhoun was a massive man who had a larger then life personality and was a perfect attraction for the Golden Age of wrestling, while he was not super skilled in the ring and by the end of his career was a shell of the superstar of his early day he still was a draw and fans loved to see him in action. He was loved as a baby face and was hated as a heel when he had a brief run as one and while if Haystacks Calhoun was around today he would be booed out of the building for his sloppy and limited move set, he is a great throwback attraction wrestler who was a star in the simpler days of wrestling. But the matches are over and the clean up crew have started their jobs so I think it’s time for us to leave the arena, but before we do I would like to let you know that for the next update we will be travel to the world of Marvel Comics and Tyco Toys and take a look at the super underrated Dino Riders! So until next time read a comic or three, watch a wrestling match or two and as always support your local wrestlers. See you next time as the war machines of dinosaurs will be coming our way as we countdown to Christmas Eve.

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.

R.I.W. Wrestling Legend: Bobo Brazil

Posted on August 14, 2023 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink as well as the Rotten Ink Arena. As you can see, it’s another sell out house as fans have come from all over the world to see this “R.I.W Wrestling Legend” in action as he is a trailblazer and one of the biggest African American Superstars in the world of wrestling, a man who paved the way for many who followed in his footsteps. Of course this wrestling icon is Bobo Brazil, a man who worked for decades and was a huge draw for every promotion he worked for. So let’s head to the snack bar and grab a beverage and some popcorn and find our seats as I think this update event is going to be a great one.

Bobo Brazil started his pro wrestling career in 1951 and was trained by Joe Savoldi and would spend time working in Canada for MLW and was a big star from the start as people paid to watch him. He was a baby face that all races got behind. But before this run in MLW, he did have a few matches in small territories starting in the late 1940’s. Bobo would travel around the NWA territories and would wind up working for such companies as AWA, MLW, NWA St. Louis, CSW, WWF and many more and every place he worked, he was a big draw and would be placed in high profile matches and even at this time when racial tensions were still a thing, Bobo was so good that white wrestlers wanted to get into the ring with him as they knew they would have a great match as well as a big gate which meant a good payday. During the 1950’s and 1960’s, he would have matches against such names as Firpo Zbyszko, Yukon Eric, Great Togo, Killer Kowalski, Gorgeous George, Lou Thesz, Hans Schmidt, Mike Sharpe, John Tolos, The Sheik, Ernie Ladd and so many more. And also during this time Bobo would cement himself as being a main eventer both as in singles and as a tag team worker. And during this time as well Bobo would start winning belts including the WWF United States Title and would become one of the biggest baby faces in wrestling as fans got behind him as he worked big matches. And he would spend much of the 1960’s in matches against and for The Sheik and his Big Time Wrestling (BTW) promotion. And in the late 60’s, he would find himself in matches in Japan against Giant Baba among many other top stars. From the start of his career Bobo was a natural and a true wrestling star.

In the 1970’s Bobo continued his success and continued being a journeyman working for the NWA Territories in America and Canada. At this time he would also wrestle in Japan but it was clear that Big Time Wrestling was his home base as he worked many top matches for the promotion. And in 1973 he had a small run in All Japan Pro Wrestling and also started taking more work in the WWF, all the while still having small runs in other promotions like the AWA, but during the 70’s he would also fully become a huge star in Japan as he would be brought over for many tours and always found himself in main and big attraction matches. And starting in the 1980’s he still working hard and traveling, and while he found himself losing more matches, he still was always brought in as a main eventer and both fans and promoters respected his work. And in 1984 his last big run took place as he worked for the WWF and would have matches with such names as Roddy Pipper, Mr. Fuji, Greg Valentine, Big John Studd and Bob Orton. He would work for a few indies as well as once more would appear for WWF in 1987 as part of a Battle Royal at a house show that featured all legends including names like Killer Kowalski, Nick Bockwinkel, Chief Jay Strongbow and Sailor Art Thomas. Bobo Brazil would retire from wrestling in 1993 and in 1994 he would be inducted into the WWF Hall Of Fame. Bobo also ran a restaurant called “Bobo’s Grill” and it was in business for over 20 years, but sadly on January 20, 1998 Bobo passed away at the age of 73 after suffering a series of strokes. Even after his passing the legacy of Bobo Brazil lives on in the sport of wrestling and still to this day he is talked about fondly from fans and fellow workers.

Bobo Brazil is a true legend and icon in the world of Pro Wrestling and is a wrestler that I have been a fan of since I started watching wrestling as I can remember reading about him in the magazines as well as books and he always just seemed like a main event star even in his old age. And when you think about it, Bobo has wrestled almost every big name that worked in the 1960’s all the way to early 1990’s and worked in almost every big promotion going from the NWA-WWF and was a huge star in each and every one of them, and to be fair Bobo Brazil was really the first African American to win the NWA Heavyweight Title (before Ron Simmons who is credited as the first) as they did an angle that had Bobo win the title after an accidental low blow and he refused to win the belt that way and would lose in the rematch against Buddy Rogers. The thing about Bobo is that he was a great worker in the ring and his moves looked great and impactful and he turned a normal head butt into an opponent feared and crowd-popping move he would call the Coco Butt and when he would land them they looked like he was about to cave in the skull of the heel and truly the fans would cheer to see this. I would love for you readers to go and read more about Bobo and even look up some of his matches on YouTube as while I am proud of this update it does not fully do justice to this man’s career. And you cannot downplay how much of a positive impact he also had in the world of wrestling when it comes to African America superstars, and he really did break down race issues in the sport when he started. He was a trailblazer and a superstar that proved wrestling is for everyone no matter what their race, religious beliefs and gender is…in other words, wrestling is awesome.

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

Best Of Bobo Brazil

Match 1: Bobo Brazil vs. Moose Cholak

This is two out of three falls match and as the bell rings the two lock up and Bono shows that he is the stronger of the two as he backs him into the corner, but quickly Moose and Bobo end up trading punches and each get the upper hand as they just really start brawling. Finally Bobo takes Moose down and starts working on his face trying to crush it, but Moose is able to break free and land some big hits on his opponent before Bobo once more takes over and starts putting pressure on Moose’s face. But Moose then gets free and starts landing some head butts that rock Bobo who in turn lands one of his own. Moose is finally able to shoot in and take down Bobo and starts working on his leg, but when Bobo breaks the hold he returns the favor and works over the arm of Moose. But after going back and fourth Moose ends up getting the pin and the first fall after a big splash. As soon as the second round begins the two start throwing punches again and exchanging holds and after a back flip Bobo gets the second fall by pin. The third fall starts with Moose being aggressive and even getting a wrist lock on Bobo and then locks him in leg scissors keeping him on the mat and trying to drain his energy. But once Bobo is back up he starts beating the heck out of Moose and the two go back and fourth again trading holds and hits. But the third fall goes to a time limit draw making the whole match end in one as each man had one fall each. This was a pure hoss fight and had two big men just brawling and exchanging hits and holds as the live crowd loved every second and clearly they wanted Bobo Brazil to win the match. Both men looked good throughout the three falls and they both sold for each other well with them also playing the gimmick of Moose wearing headgear to protect himself from Bobo’s famous head butts. Very good old school match and Bobo looks great in the match and his Coco Butts are awesome and I think ending the match was a good idea as they could get more matches out of this feud.

Grade: ***

Match 2: Bobo Brazil vs. David Price

As the bell rings the two lock up and Bobo shows that he is stronger and backs David into the ropes and from there lands some chops and moves that keeps David injured and with no momentum. Bobo locks in a chin lock and David is clearly in trouble, but racks the eyes of Bobo and continues to do so to keep the stronger man blinded. David’s attack does not last long as Bobo regains the match and floors David with an elbow and a knee lift and then Bobo starts working over his arm and it’s clear that David is just no match for Bobo as every time he tries to make a comeback its cut off and Bobo just makes him pay for it landing big hits and powerful moves. But David will bot give up as Bobo hits two side suplexes and each time he kicks out of the pin attempt, but when Bobo hits the Coco Butt he is able to keep David down for the pin. This is pretty much a one sided match that shows the power and skill of Bobo Brazil who dominates most of the match and lands some big hits and even uses his Coco Butt to keep his opponent down, and while it is one sided for the most part it is nice to see Bobo sell and let David Price at least attempt to turn the tide several times throughout. And I had to pop when Bobo busted out his finisher the Coco Butt to put his opponent away. Over all a good TV Match that pitted a legend against a young enhancement talent.

Match: **1/2

Match 3: Bobo Brazil vs. Ric Flair

From the start Flair does not want to lock up with Bobo and when he finally does he is able to back Bobo into the corner, and does so again before Bobo has had enough and unloads some punches on Flair who tries to get away and finally Flair gets out of the ring in order to get his barring’s. Once back in the ring Flair finds himself in a headlock, Flair breaks the hold with a punch to the gut and then throws Bobo into the ropes but instead of getting the match going his way he ends up eating a dropkick from Bobo and gets placed in a headlock again. Flair breaks the hold this time by hitting Bobo in the gut and both men are hurt, Flair drops a knee on the head of Bobo and injuries himself and this allows Bobo to regain the momentum and even hits a Coco Butt knocking Flair out of the ring. Once back in Flair takes back over with some punches and then keeps Bobo on the mat working on his arm as the fans are starting to get mad as Flair keeps injuring his arm, and even hits a big standing suplex and is unable to get a pin. Flair then body slams Bobo and goes to the top rope and takes to long as Bobo is able to get up and toss Flair across the ring. Bobo then goes on a move and punches rampage trying to keep Flair down, and finally Bobo is able to get the three count and wins by pin. This match has some parts missing as you can tell its via the master tape, but for the most part its all there and is a good match between Bobo and Flair that does a great job of building up Bobo as a massive Baby Face and that Flair is a Heel who tries his best to cheat to win. Both wrestlers look great in the match and Flair hits all of his trademark moves and bumps and the live fans was very much into the match. And Flair’s selling for Bobo’s Coco Butt is top notch as he flops himself out of the ring. Over all a good match and I wish the master tape flaws were fixed but over all very cool match and shows just how big of a star Bobo Brazil was in wrestling as he gets a pinfall win over Ric Flair.

Grade: ***1/2

Match 4: Bobo Brazil vs. Killer Karl Kox

As soon as the bell rings Bobo goes right after Kox with punches and even some Coco Butts and then whips him into the turnbuckles knocking him silly, it’s clear that Bobo does not like Kox and wants to hurt him before bringing an end to the match. Kox roles out of the ring as his bell has been rung by the turnbuckles and he needs a break, and out of anger Kox starts throwing chairs into the ring. Once back in the ring Kox cheats and pokes Bobo in the eyes and lands some massive punches, but he makes a mistake when he rolls out of the ring to grab a chair that allows Bobo to recover and atomic drop Kox on the chair, Bobo then hits Kox over the head with the chair. Bobo then lands a series of Coco Butts on Kox who is out on his feet swing wildly at the air. Bobo then starts choking Kox on the top rope and unloading more big hits on him, but Kox makes a comeback and hits a brainbuster on Bobo but only gets a two count. The two exchange hits and finally Bobo snaps and pushes the referee and lands a series of big Coco Butts on Kox who is really dazed, and the match is ruled a DQ win for Killer Karl Kox. This match is a brawl and a grudge match as it’s clear that both of these men do not like each other and just want to destroy one another and break the rules, cheat and in the end Bobo’s anger even gets him to loose the match. Bobo looks great in the match and his moves look impactful and he does a great job of selling for his opponent as well, and I like that Bobo even uses a metal chair in the match to try and scramble the brain of his opponent. Killer Karl Kox is a heat magnet and the fans hate him and so want to see him get beat up and hate when he wins the match, and while he is a great worker the only thing that I was against is how many Coco Butts he would take before he would hit the mat as it was almost as if he was downplaying the move at times. Over all this was great match that was clearly just a big brawl between two big names in wrestling at the time with one being loved and the other being hated.

Grade: **1/2

Match 5: Bobo Brazil vs. Crusher Blackwell

As the bell rings Blackwell refuses to lock up and makes the referee get Bobo away from him as he goes to the ropes, but once they do lock up Bobo is shown to be the stronger of the two. But Blackwell cheats and get the upper hand and even starts choking Bobo behind the referee’s back, but even when caught Blackwell keeps up the attack of choking, punching and even biting Bobo while he is down and injured. And even when Bobo tries to get up he is hit back down with clubbing smashes from Blackwell who has dominated the match this far. But when Bobo gets fired up he goes on the attack and smashes and rams Blackwell’s face into the turnbuckle and keeps ripping at his nose. Bobo gets Blackwell to the mat after beating up on him and places him into a sleeper hold, and once he lets go Bobo goes for the pin and gets a 2.5 before Blackwell kicks out. Blackwell then cheats and hits Bobo with a foreign object and then once more hammers away at the now groggy Bobo as well goes back to chocking him. But Bobo makes a comeback and lands a Coco Butt that floors Blackwell and Bobo is able to get the win via pin. This is a pretty slow paced match as it is clear that Bobo was working around the limitations of Blackwell as this match is filled with rest holds and just brawling moves over and over again as far as the action goes. The match goes back and fourth with lots of clubbing style smashes going on before Bobo ends the thing with his famous Coco Butt that makes Blackwell fall over like a chopped down tree. Blackwell is a good heel in the match as he cheats several times and the fans seem to dislike him, even though honestly they seem a little more quiet in this match then your normal Madison Squared Garden fans and only really come alive when Bobo lands his finishing move and gets the win, I am guessing they just could not get behind this brawling slow paced match. Over all it was entertaining but is one of the more lackluster matches on this set.

Grade: **1/2

Match 6: Bobo Brazil vs. Doug Gilbert

Doug attacks Bobo before he can fully get into the ring and as the announcer is given names, but once the bell rings Bobo goes crazy and starts smashing Doug who he has now forced into the ropes by his face and even Doug’s attempt at a comeback falls short as he backs away from the charging Bobo who hits two Coco Butts that cause Doug to fall out of the ring and he gives up and walks to the back as he has had enough and gets counted out and Bobo wins the match. This is a very quick pretty much squash match that has heel Doug Gilbert attacking Bobo before the match and ends up paying for it with a one sided butt kicking before running out of the match and causing himself to loose. Bobo looks like a true superstar as he beats the heck out of Doug and the fans are cheering for him like crazy, and of course his Coco Butts as always look good. Doug Gilbert does not get much time to shine and comes off as a very low carder as he does one of the biggest chicken shit heel moves of all time and that’s running for the match he is loosing. Over all a fun squash match that does a good job of showing why Bobo was a superstar and a draw.

Grade: ** 1/2

Match 7: Bobo Brazil vs. Big John Studd

As Studd pushes Bobo into the corner he shows that he is the stronger of the two, but Bobo unleashes some punches and this backs Studd into the opposite corner. The two exchange punches and Bobo even rams Studd chest first into the turnbuckle a few times hurting the big man. Studd fights back and even locks in the bear hug, but Bobo reverses the hold and locks in his own bear hug before Studd breaks it with an eye rack. Bobo then turns up the heat and lands a Coco Butt that knocks Studd off his feet and causes him to even roll out of the ring to shake off the effects. Once back in Studd and Bobo once more exchange hits and holds with Bobo hitting two Coco Butts, but Studd ends the match when he drops an elbow on Bobo and gets this win via pin. This was a great big man fight as both hit big punches, do some powerful moves on one another to try and get the advantage and win the match. Big John Studd even works in his bear hug and sells really well for Bobo and both look really great in the match. Bobo has the fans on his side and they pop every time he makes a comeback and really erupt when he hits his classic head butts. The match is very much a powerbase match and is more slow in pace, but it had the big match feel and both guys worked really well together and I for one enjoyed it lots as both wrestlers I am fans of.

Grade: ***1/2

Bobo Brazil is one of the all time greats when in comes to Pro Wrestling and over the decades he still is remembered and talked about as he is just such a memorial in ring worker who just had a way of connecting with the fans. And again I will say make sure to check out his matches and while it’s a brawler slower paces style it just has such a charm as the live fans and his ability to draw people in just make the matches great. But as you can see the matches are over and the staff at the Rotten Ink Arena are starting to clean up so that’s our queue to make our way to the exit, and as we do so I should take this moment to alert you that our next update will be about a Horror Hostess that was the talk of Manayunk and the Daughter of Desire as of course I am talking about Stella Desire! And for this update I will be turning Rotten Ink over to Juliet! So until we meat again read a comic or three, watch a wrestling match or two and as always support your local wrestlers. This next update should be a spooky good time.

From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: Survive This! (2005)

Posted on June 3, 2023 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink. As you can see, we are here to talk about the 2005 direct to DVD Horror Film called Survive This! and the promo comic that was given away with it. This is one of those films that very few people know about as it went under the radar when it was released and is long out of print now. And with that if you readers are ready for this “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” quick update, we will head to Pirate Island and see what erotic horrors await us. I do have to take a moment and say that I miss the days when home media would place mini comics inside as an extra and I think companies like SOV Horror and Scream Team Releasing should do this from time to time with their releases.

The Captain and his Ghost Zombie Pirates are the dealers of death in this movie and they have ways of killing off those who cross them on their island. The Ghost Zombie Pirates first use their swords and sharp tools and weapons in order to slash and stab flesh and are skilled with these weapons. Being ghosts, they can appear and use their grisly appearance to strike fear into the hearts of their victims and make them panic and easier to stalk and kill. They also have super strength and can rip people apart with their bare hands. They also can swarm and attack, but are also just as deadly on their own. They are also very quiet and can use this silence to sneak up and attack their attended target. They also can use the water to travel around as well as land making them deadly on both. The only weakness shown by them is The Captain’s love for his bride and if her stolen and removed heart is returned to her body, the Ghost Zombie Pirates will return to the sea and unharmed anyone left and by all accounts defeated and will not return. The Ghost Zombie Pirates and their Captain are a deadly lot and know how to murder and kill any foolish living human who makes the mistake of being on their island.

As you can see, these Ghost Zombie Pirates mean business and sure do have zero issues on taking a life! And now that we talked about them I think we should now take a look at the film that spawned them, and as always, our friends at IMDB will be the movie’s plots and I will write about the film’s production as well as my thoughts. So with that, let’s set sail and see what this film is about.

Survive This! (2005)

“Cory Lodge is the supreme scam artist, who put his world on the line when he baits the multi millionaire television producer Mr. Jillbralta into putting up 500K for a new reality TV show… “Survive This…” Cory and his beautiful assistant decide to film their show from the legendary haunted, Pirates Island. Soon Cory and the contestants learn the hard way why this island has be deserted… As the show’s super sexy contestants begin to die… one by one. Tune in and see just who may “Survive This…”

Survive This! Is your typical low budget direct to DVD release that flooded the mark in the early and mid 2000’s that mixed both Horror and “Erotic” elements together and would add a dash of bad comedy always with a loud soundtrack from bands most have never heard of. The film was released by Regain Records on home media and was co-written and directed by Ed Wahl who was coming off a kids show called “Zebby’s Zoo” and would bring together a strange collection of actors and performers together as cast in the film are such names as The Naked Cowboy, Gina Lynn, Sharissa, Dale Resteghini and Jennifer Pedersen among many others. The film’s production was the normal low budget fare and when released on home media it pretty much went unnoticed by Horror Fans. The film was pretty much meet with negative reviews. I should also note that Udi Harpaz was the man behind the score for this film.

This film is not great, but you can tell that the creators and actors behind this film did have a blast making it so that goes a long way, and I like that at least they ended up giving their film the comic book treatment so credit for that. I watched this film the same night I watched Nightwing, Rattlers and Willy’s Wonderland and this by far was the film that got lost in the shuffle as it was pure cheesy stuff that’s main highlights was the topless women and some of the bad dialogue, some of the gore effects are good and I have to say the score was not terrible and had its charm. But while the film is really bad on almost all most accounts it tried hard to bring at least the Erotic elements but failed on the Horror as the Ghost Pirates pretty much are just guys with cheap grease paint make-up smeared on and fake scars on their faces and just kind of lumber around. This is the type of film that would have played late night on Cinemax and would have been hosted on USA Up All Night and I think you know what I mean. Not much to say about this film besides dental floss this plot, boring characters, no Horror and is an indie film that I didn’t enjoy but I am sure it has its fans.

Well now that we talked about the Ghost Zombie Pirates and their killing ways as well as the film they are from I think we should now take a look at the promo comic based on this film. I want to thank an Ebay seller who had this DVD and Comic in stock and made this update possible and would like to also remind you readers that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. So if you are ready, I can see some undead Pirates down the beach here on Pirate Island and we should start walking the other way and chat about this comic.

Survive This! # 1 **
Released in 2005 Cover Price FREE Wallrocker # 1 of 1

A couple are running for their lives on Pirate Island late at night and both meet a fate at the hands of the Ghost Zombie Pirates. We then join Cory Lodge and his assistant Jillian as they are pitching a competition reality TV Show set on the haunted pirate Island to producer Mr. J who agrees to help but will only fund half the million dollars that would be used for production and Cory has to come up with the other half that would be the prize money. Cory don’t have that money but cons his way into the show going into production and even picks up a guide named Ralph who will work for free, the set up crew on Pirate Island find themselves being killed by a Ghost Pirate. Its cleat that Jillian and Mr. J are fooling around, and Cory starts crushing and a contestant named Amanda all the while Ralph seems to be getting nerves and talking redemption to himself. As the all make it to the island Jillian is picking on Amanda who does not fit in with most of her fellow cast mates and when looking around the castle they are staying in Amanda sees a painting of a young woman and Ralph gives her a book to read about the history of the island and how a Pirate Captain fell in love with the woman from the painting (Elizabeth) and he wanted to marry her, but she has to stop as the show has started and Amanda has to play volleyball as well as tug of war and she keeps looses and is picked in the bottom three and has to spend the night buried in the sand neck down with a bucket on her head, but when the crew prank her again she quits the show. Meanwhile all of the celebrities who are suppose to guest on the show and who are lost on the island are killed by the Ghost Pirates are as well two local ladies who wanted to find the shooting location of the Survive This show and Ralph tried to shave but could not. The shows production is falling apart and Jillian is mad that Cory is paying attention to Amanda and calls in Mr. J who pulls the plug on the show, meanwhile Amanda finds out the rest of the Pirate Island history from the book and finds out what happened to Elizabeth and The Pirate Captain who were set up and killed on their wedding night by her father and the people of the island, they even removed Elizabeth’s heart. And Amanda finds out that Ralph is the spirit of Elizabeth’s father who wants to make right his wrong, but as night time falls the Ghost Pirates arrive in full force and attack and kill most of the contestants, Jillian and even Mr. J! But Amanda has an idea to save her and Cory as she finds Elizabeth’s missing heart behind the picture and they rush to the beach and throw it in, the heart finds the rotten corpse of Elizabeth and she can be happy again with her Captain husband and this as well stops the attack and the Ghost Pirates return to the see and the night of terror is over. Ralph fades away a sad spirit as Amanda and Cory embrace on the now peaceful beach.

First thing I have to say is that I liked this comic adaptation better then the movie as if cuts out lots of the long dragged out parts of the film…but it is flawed as well as all of the nudity and most of the bloody kills have also been removed for the comic. And I wished that they at least had kept the bloody kills in and even maybe amped them up a bit! The story as you can see is very basic the restless spirits of pirates are tormenting an island over being wronged and if the heart of the Captain’s bride is returned they terror would stop, and a young woman who is kind of an outsider is the one to find the heart and stop the madness. Cory Lodge is a con man who wants to make quick money and uses a terrible crew and a lack of ideas to bring what could be the worst reality game show the world would have ever seen, and even though he is kind of scummy he gets the lady in the end. Amanda is a woman who enters the contest, is picked on, quits, learns the history of the haunted island and is the one who unlocks the secret to stop the Ghost Pirates from showing up and attacking. Amanda is the only interesting character in the comic and film as at least she shows some emotions. Ralph is the spirit of a father who back in the day had his daughter and her pirate husband and friends killed, and he is kind of a ego driven kook who things that his daughter in death should come back to him even though he murdered her! The rest of the characters are just filler and around and are not flushed out at all with Jillian and Mr. J being shown to be scummy people as well. The Ghost Pirates who is the comics main bad guys show up very little and when they do its just glimpses in panels for the most part. The comic is not scary, but does have a classic spooky campfire tale feel to it and that makes it a fun read. The cover is cool but is also just the cover for the DVD so not much thought put into the DVD cover as I feel that it was the comic cover idea first, but I could be wrong. The interior art is done by “The Zombie” and is pretty good stuff and has a very cartoony look and I do like the way he draws the Ghost Pirates. Over all a cool promo comic that was slightly better than the film it was based on and if you like tales of Ghost Pirates and Haunted Islands then check it out. See the artwork below to see the style of “The Zombie” used in this comic.

Survive This! is a low budget film that tried to cash in on the world of Horror and Erotic and really did fail on both accounts, even though I have to say the ladies in the film are all very lovely. And while the Pirates in the film come off more like Ghost Zombies and in the comic they are pure Ghosts they have their charm in both. And with that I think if you like no budget films that has a sub plot of a reality TV Show then give this a read and a watch, or if you like adult film actress Gina Lynn checkout the film for her cameo. But with that, let’s leave Pirate Island and head to the world of Pro Wrestling as we get to see the Master Of The Heart Puncher himself Ox Baker be in the main event! So until next time, read a Horror Comic of three, watch a Horror Film or two and as always support your local Horror Host! See you next update as our year of Wrestling continues.