Spend The Holiday Season With The Roman Holidays!

Posted on December 24, 2025 by bloodlinematt

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

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

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

The Roman Holidays was clearly Hanna-Barbera trying to capture the magic that they had with The Flintstones and The Jetsons that were set in the Stone Age and The Future respectively, but unlike those two very iconic cartoons, The Roman Holidays just never caught on with the viewers. But while the cartoon was very short lived that did not stop Gold Key Comics from giving it the comic book treatment. I would like to thank Lone Star Comics and an Amazon Seller for having these issues in stock and making this update possible. I would also like to remind you that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. So with that, let’s head to Ancient Rome and spend some time with the Holidays Family.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

American Summer Hero: Popsicles

Posted on July 4, 2025 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink! I don’t know about you, but I both love and hate Summer time! I am all about the bright skies and the lazy evenings but what I do not like is when it’s way to0 hot and muggy out and it just makes your day miserable! But you know what makes for a great treat and a way to cool down during the heat of the summer sun? You guessed it, a good old fashioned Popsicle, the classic frozen treat that has been a staple of American summers for decades! And today’s quick update is about Popsicles and the Marvel Comic based on them…that’s right, in 2015 Marvel Comics did a promo comic for Popsicles that had a superhero team of them fighting the summer heat. And this of course had to get the Rotten Ink treatment at some point. So sit back, relax and let’s take a fruity frozen treat trip with the Popsicles that saved summer…wait, I wonder if they could stop global warming? We need to call The Flavor Force and find out! Oh and Happy July 4^th!!

Popsicle started way back in 1905 when youngster Frank Epperson left a flavored drink with a stir stick still in the liquid outside over night and it froze over into a tasty treat! When Frank grew up he would in 1922 make some of his frozen treats for a fireman’s ball and they were a big hit and this caused him to start selling them at Neptune Beach an amusement park in California and they were called “The Epsicle Ice Pop” back then as Epperson was very proud of his tasty mistake. But after a short while he would name it Popsicle as they were being marketed as frozen drinks on a stick. But in 1925 Frank would find himself at odds with Good Humor a frozen ice cream like products who felt that some of Frank’s tasty snacks were to similar to theirs and this caused him to have to pay them a fee, and later Frank would sell the Popsicle to Joe Lowe Company who by 1989 sold the rights to Good Humor who would in the end be the rulers of Summer Time treats! As once Good Humor took over the classic Popsicle would spin off into such things as Fudgsicle and Creamsicle both that are just as iconic as the treat that spawned them. And Popsicle is still a very popular treat that is a staple item for most Ice Cream Trucks and Carts all over America and Canada. I should also say that in 1939 Popsicle had a mascot with Popsicle Pete who was just a normal kid who loved his Popsicles and made his first appearance on the radio show “Buck Rogers In The 25^th Century”.

We have to take a moment to also talk about ice cream and other frozen treats as the small village I grew up in did not see the ice cream trucks very much, and we would have to get our frozen treats from the grocery stores like Big Bear or hit up the Dairy Corner. But when we would go to Kettering, the place my grandparents lived, we would get some ice cream from the trucks and some of my favorites to get was the WWF Superstars ice cream bars that would feature a wrestler on the snack and would also come with a collectible trading card. I would also get the Firecracker Popsicle, the classic Baseball Glove ice cream bar and another favorite was the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ice cream bar! Also while in town, we would sometimes get some ice cream from UDF (United Dairy Farmers) where I would want Superman Ice Cream and we would get milkshakes from Jet Freeze, one of my favorite ice cream shops that I still go to. But when chatting with my friend Marc Gras, who lives in Spain and is a comic book artist that has worked on such titles for Sparkle and Blood Scream Comics as Final Revenge # 1-2, Black Lion # 0, Don’t Look In The Basement # 1 and Bone Hill Road # 1-2 to name a few, about ice cream and snack food mascots, he brought up that in Spain they have Dracula ice cream….yes ice cream bars that are named and inspired by the vampire Count Dracula that is black ice cream with a red center….this is awesome, and I wish we had this brand of ice cream here in America! Way back when we had a similar ice cream bar called “Vampire’s Deadly Secret” that was made by Good Humor for ice cream trucks, but it was long gone before I was a kid, but ours was more of a cherry flavor while many of the European ones have a more strawberry flavor. Come on Good Humor, bring back the Vampire Secret bars, they would make a perfect treat for the Halloween season!

Man I really do hope that Dracula ice cream or Vampire’s Deadly Secret or whatever you want to call it does make a return to American stores and ice cream trucks as it’s about time we put a little scare into our ice cream again! But let’s get back on topic and talk about Popsicles and the Marvel Comic based around them as superheroes! I want to first say that I love when companies do promo comics and really do think that more fast food restaurants and other food products that have mascots should be doing this! And then I would like to thank Mavericks Cards And Comics who saved me a copy of this comic way back in 2015 and made this update possible. I would also like to remind you all that I grade this book on a standard 1-4 star system and am looking for how well the comic stays to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. So with that, let’s grab a Popsicle and sit back and see how The Flavor Force saves the world from a very hot summer.

Popsicle # 1 **1/2
Released in 2015 Cover Price FREE Marvel # 1 of 1

The issue starts with a brief history of Frank Epperson and how he created the first Popsicle in 1905, and the three Popsicle Heroes pay him respect! Next Cherry Popsicle is out hanging with some kids when Lord Weather Vane, the leader of the Anti-Flavor Foundation, strikes and is causing massive heat that melts Cherry! But thanks to his electric super powers he is able to freeze up again and cause all the air conditioners to work hard and help keep people cool and this angers Lord Vane! Some time later Lord Vane is in his hideout and is plotting more ways to try and ruin summer but his plot is over heard by Orange Popsicle who is super smart, and when he thinks he has frozen her, Orange makes a ice statue of herself and escape the hideout to alert her friends and it’s only sometime later that Vane figures out he has been tricked. We then join The Flavor Force on top of a building were Orange and Cherry ask Grape how he got his super powers and the purple hero mumbles about heat, humidity, and Lord Weather Vane and then coughs when he says what his power is as they others just go along with it as they fly around the city trying to save people from the summer heat. Lord Weather Vane meets The Flavor Force in the park with his own group of frozen treats that he calls The Freezer Burns that include Grass, Sea Water and Turkey Gravy and they are looking for a fight! And a fight they get when Cherry uses his electric powers to melt them and as they are puddles they thank them for saving them as they know that they were gross flavors! Lord Weather Vane then decides that he will attack a cruise ship next and this is quickly stopped when Grape knocks him over board and into the cold water below. Mad cause he keeps getting beat, Lord Weather Vane decides to make his robots build him a space ship so he can ruin summer in space, but Cherry stops him this time and throws a disco rave for the bots who stop working to party! The Flavor Force then travel to space as it appears Lord Weather Vane has made the sun even hotter trying to ruin summer, and Orange is able to use a cooling beam on their ship to make it cooler and saving summer for the time being. But Grape is finally the one who stops Lord Weather Vane as he asks him why he hates summer and is able to talk him down and leave summer alone! And then Grape showcases his power is laser eyes!

This is a very silly and basic kids promo comic that is used to promote a food product that most kids eat all the time for a treat during those hot summer days, and teaming with Marvel Comics to give away for free at Comic Shops was a very wise move to help spread the word even more that Popsicles are where it’s at! This comic’s plot is about three super powered Popsicles who are trying to save summer from blistering heat that is being created by Lord Weather Vane, a bitter man who can control weather who wants to ruin the summer fun for everyone! And of course by the end of this comic, our frozen pop heroes end up talking the baddies down and learn that he is doing this because his feelings were hurt by people who complain about the weather. The heroes of this comic go by The Flavor Forcem and while they do have names I just call them by their flavoring as I did not catch what the name of Cherry Popsicle was but he does have the power of electricity, while the female Orange Popsicle who is super smart is named Mandy and the Grape Popsicle who has laser beam eyes is named Pete. They all got their powers when facing Lord Vane and each use their powers to try and stop him and for good deeds. I think my favorite hero is Pete the Grape Popsicle as he is kind of a strange dude who does not share his powers nor how he got them with his friends until the end of the issue…and he is the one who really ends the summer heat as he just talks with their nemesis and learns to understand his sadness. The main villain is Lord Weather Vane, an older guy who can control the weather and seems to hate the happiness of others, he also clearly likes making things as hot as Hell and can even create his own beings that he tries to get to help him in his quest to ruin summer. But while he starts out evil it’s clear he is not a bad guy, just a sad one who feels people do not respect him and what he does. The Freezer Burns are a trio of gross flavored Popsicles that Lord Van created in order to fight The Flavor Force and also ruin the tastebuds of those who eat them! As who wants a frozen treat that taste like Turkey Gravy, Sea Water and Grass! But they are no match and our heroes take them down with ease. The action aka fights are more done with words with some time action as there is some melting going on and the jokes are as corny as you would think they world be, but I have to say I did really enjoy this as it made me think back to when I was a kid and read comics based on the Quik Bunny, Cap’n Crunch and Sugar Bear and brought some fun stories to the junk food I was eating. The cover for this comic is very eye catching and looks like a true kids comic that you would have found on your local comic shop shelves, and the interior art was done by Tom Grummet and is really good stuff and looks like a classic kids comic from the early 90’s. Speaking of classic kids comics, I wish that Marvel would have brought back the Star Comics brand to do this comic and would have continued making promo comics based on food mascots as well as cartoons to give away at shops and events…in other words bring back Star Comics! Over all this was a fun silly read and did it’s job as after reading it I wanted a Popsicle! Check out the artwork below to see the art style of Grummet used in this kids promo comic by Marvel.

While Popsicle the comic book was not Earth shattering stuff, it was a fun and quick entertaining read that did a great job of promoting the frozen treat and brought some life to a product that has been around for many decades and as well gave the company new mascots for a while as poor Popsicle Pete, the human version, had been in the mascot retirement home for many years…and you have to give them some credit as naming the Grape Popsicle Pete clearly was in honor of their first mascot. I would really like to see Marvel Comics do more promo comics like this in the future as items like this do help younger readers find their way to comic books and lord knows that the comic industry needs to draw in younger readers again. But now that we have cooled off and have had a Popsicle or two I think its time that I tell you readers about our next update that will take us away from The Flavor Force and back into the world of Horror as we will be taking a look at the 1896 Silent Horror Film “House Of The Devil” that is said to be the first horror film made as well as the first Vampire film! So until next time, have a great July 4^th, read a comic or three, watch a movie or two and as always support your local Horror Host. See you next update for a spooky silent good time!

Mythology Gods: Zeus

Posted on December 24, 2024 by bloodlinematt

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

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

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

Zeus has always been interesting to me as growing up I was a big fan of Greek mythology and can remember checking out books at the local library to read as well as would watch any classic film that featured the likes of Hercules, Zeus and all the others. And it makes you wonder what it was like in the time of his rule in Greece and just how people lived in the fear of his wrath or felt safe under his watch, and it would have been amazing to see all the shrines to all the different Gods in the villages all around…it must have been something to see. But as I said, I am going to make this update a fast one so I think we should get to the review part of our Christmas Eve Holiday update. First I would like to thank Amazon for having this graphic novel comic in stock and making this update possible. I would also like to remind you all that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. So if you are ready, let’s head to the top of Mount Olympus and see what Zeus has in store for us.

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

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

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

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

Thanksgiving Looney Tunes Style Starring Sylvester & Tweety

Posted on November 28, 2024 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink. As you can see, it’s Thanksgiving 2024, and I think it’s time to once more take a walk into the world of cartoons and more specifically Looney Tunes as these cartoons were such a big part of so many people’s childhood and make for a fun holiday update. Who doesn’t want to talk about the likes of Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig and Daffy Duck, all characters we have covered before here on Rotten Ink, but for this Turkey Day update, we will be talking about Sylvester and Tweety, who are some of the biggest stars in the world of cartoon duos. This will be a fun and silly update that will add some fun and silliness to your Thanksgiving, and as the turkey and ham are still in the oven and the potatoes have yet to be mashed, let’s sit back enjoy this holiday and see what Tweety and Sylvester have in store for us. I also want to thank you all very quickly for spending apart of your Thanksgiving with me here at Rotten Ink, and I truly hope that these Thanksgiving Day updates make your holiday just a little more fun.

Sylvester Pussycat Sr. first appeared in 1939 as an early version of the character in the cartoon “Naughty But Mice,” and the Sylvester we all know and love came around in 1945 in the toon “Life With Feathers,” and the character was created by Friz Freleng. Sylvester is the sworn enemy of Tweety Bird and is a tuxedo cat whose fur is black and white with a red nose. He has a speech impediment and has several different personalities. Sometimes he’s sneaky and other times he’s more of a caring feline. He is has son named Sylvester Jr. and also is the mentor for Furrball. Besides starring in the regular Looney Tune cartoons, he is also featured in the films “Who Framed Roger Rabbit”, “Space Jam”, “Lonney Tunes: Back In Action” and “Space Jam: A New Legacy”. Sylvester over the years in his many different appearances has been voiced by the likes of Mel Blanc, Bill Farmer, Jeff Bergman, Terry Klassen and Eric Bauza, to name a few. Tweety is a yellow canary who has a high pitched voice, big blue eyes and long eyelashes and made his first appearance in 1942 in the cartoon “A Tale Of Two Kitties” and quickly became one of the series most loved characters. Tweety is a sweet character for the most part, but also really does love getting cats that are trying to eat him in trouble or even causing them harm! Tweety was created by Bob Clampett and over the years has been voiced by such actors as Mel Blanc, Jeff Bergman, Bob Bergen and Billy West. Tweety has appeared in films as well as many other merchandise and even at one point a very popular tattoo for women. So as you can see, both Tweety and Sylvester are very iconic and popular characters in the Looney Tune universe and are at the top of the pack just behind Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Porky Pig for most toon fanatics.

Both Sylvester and Tweety have had their fair share of cool merchandise for fans to collect that include shirts, posters, trading cards, action figures, plush dolls, drinking glasses, board games, video games, coloring books, key chains, home media, comic books, candy, masks, hats, stickers, buttons, school supplies and so much more! No joke, if you are a fan of either of both of them you can have so many cool things to collect. Growing up I had lots of cool things that mostly were Sylvester as I was never a fan of Tweety, but I do know I had a Tweety drinking glass from Pepsi. For Sylvester, I had the Pepsi drinking glass, a big plush doll, a figure from an Arby’s kid meal, an eraser and trading cards. And stuff that featured them both I had the comics, coloring books, giant Sylvester stuff doll as well as some video games, they appeared in as well as home media releases of the cartoon. I have lots of great memories of being a kid and drinking chocolate milk from my Sylvester glass! So if you are a fan and a collector, make sure to check out some of the stuff I mentioned above.

Growing up I watched lots of Looney Tune cartoons on TV as well as on VHS that we would rent from the public library as well as buy at garage sales and dollar stores. I always enjoyed the antics of Sylvester as I am a cat person and his silly lisp and plans on how to capture and eat Tweety always cracked me up…and come on, we all know that Tweety was a pain in the ass and we all wanted to see him get eaten. Sylvester is in my top 5 favorite Looney Tune characters of all time! There was always something very special about pouring a bowl of cereal as a kid and watching a Tweety and Sylvester cartoon, and even to this day when I see an episode it makes me remember back to those days, and I get really nostalgic for not only them but for Looney Tunes in general as they were a big part of my childhood as the cartoons and comics always seemed to be on and around. In fact, I can even remember reading a Tweety & Sylvester comic one year right before a SuperBowl Game, and right before we chowed down on some chicken wings…while I can remember the comic, I cannot remember who played and won the game that year, showing that Sylvester and Tweety was bigger than the NFL Superbowl that year for me. The thing is Looney Tune characters like Sylvester & Tweety are kind of immortal when it comes to their impact and longevity in the world of entertainment as they seem to always be able to reinvent themselves in new cartoons or films that make that day and age kids become fans.

One of my favorite episodes of Sylvester and Tweety was called “Hyde And Go Tweet” that is super funny and ads a dash of horror to the humorous nature of a Looney Tune Cartoon. And honestly when you think about it Horror and Looney Tunes have crossed over lots in the classic days of the series with all types of monsters and ghosts making appearances and scaring the characters silly. But back to the cartoon at hand in this one Tweety is being chased by Sylvester and finds himself in the lab of Dr. Jekyll and after drinking some of a formula Tweety turns into a giant Hyde like monster bird and laughs and chases Sylvester around all the while turning back and fourth between regular Tweety and Monster Tweety. In the end it turns out have been a terrible nightmare that Sylvester was having but while awake it looks as if Tweety could get into the lab and turn into the monster and this cause Sylvester to run through a brick wall in order to escape the situation. Such a goofy spooky watch as Tweety as the Hyde Monster looks crazed and like he really could kill a cat and laugh while doing it. It’s great that Sylvester at the end of the cartoon is so overtaken by fear that he is willing to run through a brick wall in order to get away from a possibility. If you have never seen this episode, make sure to do so as you can find it on DVD, VHS and even streaming. Also they made a figure of the Tweety Hyde Monster and it was awesome as well.

As you can see, Tweety And Sylvester are true icons when it comes to the world of cartoons and just American culture in general as they have entertained for decades now and have proven to still be popular to this day. And talking about them both really has brought me back to my childhood and made me feel like a kid again, and reading these comics will also be a flashback to my youth as between my brother and I growing up we had so many of these Looney Tune comics that we would get from garage sales. I would like to thank Bell Book And Comic, Game Swap Kettering and Mavericks for having these issues in stock and making this update possible. I would also like to remind you that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, their entertainment value and their art and story. So with that, let’s get ready to laugh at the zany adventures of these two cartoon icons.

Tweety & Sylvester # 21 **1/2
Released in 1971 Cover Price .15 Whitman # 21 of 121

“Survival School” Sylvester is a nervous wreck as Tweety has opened a school for birds to be able to defend themselves against cats and every time Sylvester tries to capture a bird with his old tricks, the birds fight back and always escape with him looking like the fool. Sylvester gets an idea to dress as a bird and enroll so that he can have a chance to capture and eat some birds, but during classes Tweety uses the disguised Sylvester as an assistant and beats him up as it’s clear he knows its his enemy. “South Pole Cat” winter is coming and Tweety is about to head south to stay warm. Sylvester is upset that he has to stay and freeze so he buys a bird call whistle to use and keep Tweety around as he knows he will try and help a fellow injured bird! Tweety dodges Sylvester’s attacks and finds out that his feline friend is making the calls with the whistle and messes with it’s settings and this causes Sylvester to call all types of birds, who end up taking him south with them…but his joy in the sun is short lived as the larger birds run him off and he ends up in the South Pole running from penguins! “The Relaxed Cat” poor Sylvester is stressed and not sleeping well, and after reading a book he finds out that the tweeting songs of a Tweety Bird will help relax you, so he tries to force Tweety to sing for him so he can sleep. Tweety refuses to do so and gets Sylvester to all types of favors for him, from getting him seeds to taking him to the bird bath. Finally Sylvester climbs under a table and Tweety is about to sing and lets out a loud screech that causes Sylvester to jump and bump his head on the table and knocking him out cold.

This issue has three silly tales that features Tweety and Sylvester doing what they do best and that is entertain! And what is shocking is that this issue has zero guest appearances from any other Looney Tune characters and for this time for these comics, that is very shocking! Tweety in this issue is a teacher of self-defense, a would be savior to an injured bird, a tool to relax to and a little bird who is able to hold his own against a very hungry and angry cat. Sylvester in the issue tries his best to trick, capture an eat Tweety and is foiled at every attempt and even gets beat up by not just Tweety but other birds. The best of the three stories is South Pole Cat for me as I found it fun that Sylvester does not want to be the only one having to suffer through the cold weather of winter and tries to trick Tweety into having to stay and deal with it as well, and instead he gets taken south with the birds and gets bullied by them and forced to hide out in the South Pole that is colder than the winter he fled from. To be honest, I could not pick a weak story as I found the other two stories to be very fun as well and were on equal ground of fun. The cover for this issue is cool and has Sylvester trying to eat a plate of spaghetti as Tweety is playing a pungi and making the noodles act like hypnotized snakes. The unknown artist does the interior artwork and who ever they are they did very good job of bringing Tweety and Sylvester to the pages of comics. Reading this issue for this update was a lot of fun and made me feel like a kid again, and I am looking forward to reading the next issue.

Tweety & Sylvester # 33 **1/2
Released in 1973 Cover Price .20 Whitman # 33 of 121

“Look Before You Leap” In the living room of Granny, she and Tweety watch as Sylvester shows them is dance moves as he is going to ballet dance classes. As Sylvester and Tweety take naps after he danced for them, Granny heads out to try and get a surprise for her well behaved cat. But when she is away, Sylvester goes after Tweety who uses a firecracker to hurt his hand and this causes Sylvester to leave the home and blow off steam. As Sylvester dances down the ally, two cats trick him into jumping over a fence and get chase by a guard dog so that they can get inside the house and steal food from the refrigerator, and this causes him to even crash into the home owner and hurting the man. Meanwhile Granny gets home and tells Tweety that she has signed Sylvester up to be on a TV Show’s talent show…and Tweety finds him and once at the station Sylvester leaves in a hurry when the injured home owner was the sponsor. “Good Friend Charlie” Sylvester is hanging out with his owl friend Charlie Wiseowl in a tree, and Charlie tells Sylvester that the stars say that today is going to be his day and this causes the feline to go after Tweety who keeps dodging his attacks and causing Sylvester to be an annoyance to the people around him, all who end up beating him up! When Tweety makes it home to Granny’s he finds that a giant red parrot is in his cage as Granny is babysitting the mean bird for the neighbors, and Sylvester going on the good luck statement from Charlies rushes in and grabs the Parrot thinking it was Tweety and the mean bird beats him up! In the end Sylvester, who is injured, is told by Charlie Wiseowl that he misread the stars and that today is a bad day for him. “The Model!” Tweety is going to model for a marble statue for artist Jim, and Sylvester is hungry and tries to eat Tweety but things goes wrong for the feline as he keeps getting crushed by the chunks of marble, but in the end Jim wins a contest an the Tweety statues is now on display at the local museum.

Man in this issue poor Sylvester gets beat the heck up by so many different things as besides Tweety he also gets beat up by a dog, a red parrot, normal humans including a baby and he gets crushed by lots of marble. It is almost like in this issue Sylvester has switched place with Wile E. Coyote on the amount of abuse he takes throughout it. Tweety also goes from being a “friend” to Sylvester to being kind of cruel to him and enjoying watching him get smashed. It is nice to see Granny in this issue as she was a big part of many of the cartoons we all grew up watching so it was nice to have her in the mix. The best story in this issue for me had to be “Look Before You Leap” as it is a really zany story that has Sylvester learning how to dance and by accident ruins his chances of winning a contest all because he allowed some ally cats to con him into being a distraction while they steal food and the main judge is the man the cats robbed and Sylvester by accident is injured. And for my least favorite, while it is a fun read, it would be “Model!” as it is a very basic and quick story with a silly ending of Sylvester being booted out of the museum cause he wants to eat the marble statue of Tweety. The cover this time around has Tweety stealing the cherry off the top of a cupcake that Sylvester is trying to eat, and the unknown artist returns and does another great job of drawing these characters. Two issues in, and so far these comics hold up how I remember them and while they are different from the cartoons, they do have that touch that makes them feel like they sort of fit in.

Tweety & Sylvester # 54 ***
Released in 1976 Cover Price .25 Whitman # 54 of 121

“Afraid Of Flying” both Tweety and Sylvester are watching the news and they show a new roller coaster ride and this causes Tweety to be afraid to fly as he is dizzy and don’t want to crash! Sylvester comes up with an idea to keep scaring Tweety from wanting to fly again that way he can capture him and eat him! But all attempts backfire on the hungry cat as he keeps getting hurt in trying to chase the running Tweety. In the end Tweety is cured of his fear of flying, and Sylvester becomes afraid of walking but is cured quickly by the smart ass Tweety who gets the cat to once more chase him. “Door To Door Dummy” Sylvester decides that he wants to become a door-to-door salesman as he applies for free samples of the product that is little birds. Sylvester does not want to sell the samples but eat them and when the box arrives inside is one mean and angry vulture who is wise to the cats plan and picks him up and drops him off in front of a bulldog who wants to beat up the cat, and as the vulture flies off Sylvester is running from door to door trying to sell himself to a safe home to get away from the dog. “Nine Lives To Live” after chasing Tweety for around three hours Granny yells at them for making so much noise and Sylvester decides to watch some Soap Operas with Granny and falls asleep while watching them, and in his dream Tweety is like Cinderella and being mistreated by others and keeps getting bad news and when he wakes up he feels bad for Tweety and treats him well and stops chasing him around. “In The Middle” has Tweety being chased by Sylvester who is being chased by a dog when a scientist uses his change gun on the running animals that changes them in size it soon turns into Tweety chasing Sylvester who is running after the dog and poor Sylvester is still in the middle of this chase! Tweety then wakes up from his dream and feels bad for Sylvester and brings him some cat food for not even winning in dreams. “Don Catsonova” Sylvester is dressed in a Don’s outfit and captures Tweety in a box to give away to Chi Chi Cat a feline from Spain that he has fallen in love with, and when he tries to win her heart her bodyguard Diego tells Chi Chi that he loves her and goes after Sylvester who is saved by Tweety who bashes the bigger cat over the head with a vase and the two are able to escape as Chi Chi checks on the dazed Diego.

This issue of Tweety & Sylvester features five stories featuring the two frenemies with only Granny being the other Looney Tune character to make an appearance. This issue’s stories all flow really nice together and delivers a really fun read and I would say the best issue I have read up to this point as I feel all five stories are silly good reads with I think my favorite being Don Catsonova as seeing Sylvester dress up and try to win the heart of a Spanish lady cat only to be challenged for her heart by a bigger meaner cat was classic cartoon stuff. Plus I like how when Sylvester is on his way to his lady the other cats around the area make fun of his outfit that is until he pulls his sword on them and they back down and praise his look. Imagine if Sylvester would have been able to swoon Chi Chi, makes you wonder if she would have been featured in more comics? I also like that Tweety saves Sylvester from the bigger cat and as they flee from the fight he alerts him that Granny and himself love him and they should get home…very cool. If I had to choose my least favorite story in this comic I would pick In The Middle, as it is a one-page gag that is based around a silly dream that Tweety is having. This issue has lots of silly laughs and the cover features Tweety taking a bath via a water hose that he has poked holes in as Sylvester looks annoyed, and like before unknown artist does the interior and is great stuff as they once more captured the look of the characters so well. Let’s see if the next issue will continue the great work that these comics have showcased this far.

Tweety & Sylvester # 84 ***
Released in 1978 Cover Price .35 Whitman # 84 of 121

“First Class” Sylvester is crushing on Wanda, a cat who was born with class and is way out of his league, so he heads to be taught class by his friend Sissy Fenwick who teaches him the basics and even dresses him up in the finest hipster gear. Sylvester ends up talking Sissy into going with him when he tries to ask Wanda out. The next day Sylvester comes home and is happy and Tweety asks how it went and Sylvester says well only after he punched Sissy in the eye after he tried to flirt with Wanda and she was so impressed with Sylvester’s manly attitude that they have a date for that weekend. “Cat And The Giant” the chores are all done around the house and Granny sits in the living room to read Tweety and Sylvester the story of Jack And The Beanstock and as the story starts Sylvester drifts off to sleep. In his dream Sylvester and Granny are poor and live in a small shack and Tweety has been missing for days…and this makes Granny sad and she gets mad when Sylvester uses their last dime to buy a bone. But Sylvester ends up being a hero when he finds that the giant dog Butch has Tweety and thanks to tossing the bone and having Butch chase it he is able to save Tweety and return him to Granny! But when Sylvester wakes up he is back at it chasing Tweety around the house as he is now hungry. “Back Seat Driver!” Granny has to re-take her drivers test, and Sylvester and Tweety are worried about her passing as they think they will starve to death if she cannot drive to the store, so they two hide in the car to try and help her pass but they really end up helping her fail! And its Tweety and Sylvester that end up having to walk to the store to get the food, as she was to wait a week to take the test again. “Save Our Cats!” a representative for the group Save Our Cats is visiting the Knights Of The Alley Cats as they want to spread the message that cats need help, and they need volunteers to hand out flyers. Sylvester and Weezy are selected and have a terrible time doing so as people rough them up and they both end up getting hit by a car putting them in the hospital!

This is another really good issue that has a total of four stories featuring our star duo and each of them bring their own humor and entertainment! The thing about these comics is that after running so many issues, you know that the creators had to be stressing over ideas to make them fresh and funny and with this being issue 84 it seems that they still had their minds working on making one solid kids comic series based off of popular cartoon. I also like in this issue that many of the stories have Sylvester and Tweety working together and while at times they do have the chase around the house in a odd way it’s clear that they are friends of sorts. Plus this issue has Granny around again and she always helps add to the wacky stories. The best story for me is Cat And The Giant as I find it to be a fun one and I like how it had a basic retelling of Jack And The Beanstalk just missing the Beanstalk and its Tweety that the giant has taken. And I could not choose a bad one as I think these all are great takes and none of these are lacking in the entertainment department and all brought on some chuckles. And to be honest First Class almost took the top spot as I love that Sylvester gets a date after punching another cat in the eye as the lady feline thanks that he his macho! The cover for this issue is pretty cool and has Tweety sleeping on a TV Set, and the unknown artist strikes again with his great interior artwork. Over all another great issue that made me feel like a youngster again. Also Weezy Cat is a cool side character as he has cool hair and sleeps lots.

Tweety & Sylvester # 87 **1/2
Released in 1978 Cover Price .35 Whitman # 87 of 121

“Cat Encounters Of The Bird-Kind” Tweety is sitting with his young relatives and tells them about a time when the Earth was ran by birds and this was long before man and cats came to be, but something was making birds disappear and it was the first cat! The cat is tricking all the birds in order to eat them, but one Scientist Tweety figures it out and saves the others. And as the story ends Sylvester tries to attack Tweety and he tells his young nephews how easy it is to out smart cats. “Hans Clicker And The Silver Skates” Tweety and Sylvester are in Holland and chat about Han Clicker a feline relative of Sylvester who was strange and wore wooden sneakers, but when he gets a pair of ice skates he by accident saves the town and becomes a hero when he plugs a whole in the dame with his thumb. “The Catnapper” Granny’s friend is going on vacation and his cat Reginald is staying with them until he gets back, and Reginald is a help around the house, plays chess with Tweety and even makes meals for them to eat and this attention is getting under Sylvester’s skin so he decides to attack this new cat at night only to get beat up himself as he did not know that Reginald knew Judo! “Merry Music Maker” Sylvester is being made fun of by his cat friends as well as Tweety for his guitar playing and singing and every time he starts people leave, but he swears that he will make money with his guitar and does when it bonks a robber on the head and he collect the reward money.

This issue is a really mixed bag as I did not fully enjoy the first two stories as I found them a little bland and generic, but the last two stores were super fun and silly and is what I would want from a comic book based on Tweety and Sylvester! This issue showcases the origins of cats trying to fake UFO’s in order to eat birds, showcases the hero relative of Sylvester who lived in Holland, has Sylvester getting jealous of another cat and getting beat up for it and lastly shows our feline friend’s lack of musical talent that still gets him paid! Tweety besides in the first story is very much a supporting character as most of this issue showcases Sylvester and his strange life, and I am ok with that as I think he is the more interesting character between the two. My favorite story is Merry Music Maker as I enjoy the fact that Sylvester is walking around town with a guitar and trying to make money by street performing and only buy luck does he make any money and that is cause a robber runs into him causing his guitar to flip in the air and bonk the crook on his head and knocking him out and then comes the sweet reward money. My least favorite story is Hans Clicker And The Silver Skates as its really kind of boring and while silly just does not bring in any laughs. The cover is cool and has Sylvester playing golf but Tweety is pranking him by putting gum on his club causing the ball to stick to it. With the unknown artist once more doing the interior art and doing a great job as one of my favorite panels in this issue has Sylvester and Tweety by a campfire and Sylvester calling his friends cowards! While not the best issue in the series I have read for this update, it still had two really good stories.

Tweety & Sylvester # 87 ***
Released in 1978 Cover Price .35 Whitman # 87 of 121

“Guests Not Pests” the owner of a small traveling circus has fallen sick and while he is in the hospital Granny takes in the animals as guests! And while Tweety likes having them there Sylvester does not and keeps trying to escape the house so he does not have to do any chores. And when Sylvester finally escapes he runs into Linda Cat who is hiding in some bushes as some mean kids have been throwing things at her and chasing her around the streets, Sylvester saves her and gets back to Granny’s house and the Circus Animals come outside and scare the kids away! In the end when an alley cat mocks the Circus animals Sylvester punches him in the eye as he respects them now for their help. “Jar Wars” Granny is making preserves and has to run next door to get a missing item as Sylvester goes after Tweety and by accident spills the preserves on himself and the chase continues into the near by woods where Sylvester is grabbed by a massive bear who wants to lick the sweet preserves off him, as Tweety mocks him as he knows that when they get home Granny is going to be really ma about her preserves being spilt. “Matter Of Habit” Sylvester is watching TV and sees about habits and learns about a boy who when he hears a bell will climb over pillows to find cookies to eat, so he comes up with an idea of using a gong to leave bird seed for Tweety in order to capture him and make him into a sandwich, but when the gong goes off bother Tweety and Sylvester snack and they figure out to never use the gong again besides for regular meal times as they both have gotten chubby and into a bad habit. “Friendly Fellows” Sylvester has built a skateboard and while learning to ride it looses control and crashes into the cat Friendly Fred and this causes Fred to break his glasses, later Sylvester is carring lumber to Granny’s house as he wants to build himself a small home outside to relax in and once more by accident smacks Fred in the face with the lumber knocking him out and when trying to help Fred, Sylvester drops him into the lap of a female cat who’s boyfriend punches Fred knocking him even more silly. In the end Sylvester gets his little house built but Fred appears with an axe and chops it down out of rage.

This is yet another fun issue and I really do think the creators behind this comic series deserve some praise for bringing the classic Looney Tune characters to the pages of comics and while the core of the cartoons are present the comics also kind of build a new world around them, like I feel that the stories in the comics is what took place between the cartoons. And I need to point out that in this issue a group of kids are tormenting a cat by chasing it and throwing object at it, and those kind of kids are terrible and if you have any of them in your neighborhood who do things like this call your local authorities on them as they are clearly youths who need mental help. And I like in this issue that once more most of the stories are about Sylvester as Tweety is more of side player and this issue our feline star goes from being lazy, to learning respect, to trying to be a protector, to being covered in food and being a treat for a hungry bear, becoming a jerk and of course chasing Tweety around as he wants to eat him for a snack. While Tweety showcases that while he does sometimes bait Sylvester into chasing him he also clearly looks at him as a friend and even tries to get him out of trouble. The issue also introduces use to a few more the neighborhood cats as we meet Linda Cat and Friendly Fred, and I like that in all these issues so far we do get to meet these other cats that roam around and know Sylvester. The best story in this issue for me was Friendly Fellows as I enjoyed the story of poor Fred getting beaten up and Sylvester being kind of a jerk about all the pain he has caused his fellow feline friend, only for Fred in the end to be pushed to far and armed with an axe he chops down a small home Sylvester spent time and money on to build. While the rest of the stories are good if I had to choose the weakest I would say Jar Wars as it is a short and silly story, but I do like that when the preserves fall on Sylvester he looks like a gooey version of the Pink Panther. The cover is goofy and has Sylvester and Tweety standing behind a photo stand, and yep you guessed it the interior art by unknown artist is great stuff and has that classic Looney Tune comic look that is iconic for those who grew up reading them. So with that lets see what the next issue has in store for Tweety and Sylvester.

Tweety & Sylvester # 94 ***
Released in 1979 Cover Price .40 Whitman # 94 of 121

“Count Me Out” Tweety and Sylvester are walking down a street as they find a poster that says if a cat can survive three rounds with Slugger Sam they will win $100! And after some pushing Sylvester takes the challenge and steps in the ring with Sam who wants to knock out his opponent fast. Sylvester acts silly for two rounds and is able to survive but the third round he runs into the fist of Sam and is knocked out, and while Sylvester did not win the prize money he does win free dance classes! “Color Scheme” Granny wants to get a new oil painting for the living room and as she goes for a walk to get it, Sylvester and Tweety think that she means to paint the walls an the two start doing so and cause a massive mess and the walls look terrible and once Granny get back home with the painting she is mad over the mess made of her walls. “Movie Buffs” Sylvester opens up a movie theater in the garage and is showing old bird watching videos that Granny made, but when the mean alley cats show up they refuse to pay and Tweety goes and gets a dog to be the door man and makes them all pay as they leave the showing. “Sleepwalker” in this one Sylvester is sleepwalking through the city as Tweety follows and makes sure he is not hurt, and in the end Tweety gets Sylvester back home safe so he can nap some more.

This issue has four adventures starring Tweety and Sylvester and is another really fun and entertaining issue that has some of my favorite stuff mixed into the stories as you long time readers know that I am a fan of seeing films in the theater and one of my favorite sports in boxing! And we also meet a few more of the alley cats around the town with most not having any names but they are bullies and try and steal movie tickets and the other is Slugger Sam a very strong cat who is a boxer. And my favorite story in this issue is Count Me Out as I love that Sylvester tries to box a massive cat named Sam to win some prize money and only takes the match cause Tweety is the one pushing for him to take the match and last the three rounds. And man Sam with one stiff punch knocks Sylvester silly and causes our favorite feline to not win the cash. The weakest of the stories is also one of the shorter ones as Sleepwalker while fun it is also very basic and has been done even then many times in cartoons and comics as one character sleepwalks around dangerous sites while the other character tries to keep them safe. The cover has Sylvester mowing the grass as Tweety is mowing the welcome mat and it’s a fun sight gag. The interior artwork is done by Unknown Artist again and is like before very cool stuff and I like the way they drew bother Sylvester and Tweety as well as all the side characters. And once more I have to say that I am shocked we have yet to come across a cameo for such other Looney Tune characters as Porky Pig, Bugs Bunny or even Daffy Duck! With that lets get to the next issue I own and see what’s next.

Tweety & Sylvester # 95 ***
Released in 1979 Cover Price .40 Whitman # 95 of 121

“Making Dough” a group of crooks run a bakery and in the back of the shop they are making fake money, but the mice are eating the money and this causes one of them to nab Sylvester off the street with orders to kill the mice! But Sylvester notices the counterfeit machine and money and with the help of the mice and the outgoing cakes he is able to get the attention of the police and the crooks are arrested. “Out With The New And In With The Old” Sylvester is damaging furniture to try and make it look like an antique cause he thinks he can sell it for lots of money, so Tweety follows and had his woodpecker friends help damage some furniture. “Tough Mutt!” Sylvester is watching a hypnotist on TV and falls under his spell as he watches and thinks he is dog and the TV is turned off by Tweety and this causes Sylvester to not be snapped out of it and he walks around barking like a dog and even starts a fight with Butch the bulldog! And after walking around town as a dog it is Butch who snaps him out of it when he snaps his fingers and Sylvester ends up running away a scare cat! “My Life As A Cat” Sylvester is sitting down to write a book about his life when both Tweety an Butch demand to be in it, and when Sylvester is done and leaves the pages on the table both Butch and Tweety add to it and this causes the book to be mostly about them and even the Publisher changes title name to feature their names. “A Lazy Crazy Day” it is Sylvester’s day off and when Granny calls for him he hides for her as he does not want to do any chores, and it’s Weezy that alerts him that he has seen Granny an Tweety drive away before Sylvester goes back home and falls asleep in his bed! But a little later Tweety awakens Sylvester and tells him Granny was looking for him to go to the amusement park with them and he of course missed out going by hiding.

In this issue we are treated to five stories with many of them once more being a bigger showcase for Sylvester with Tweety playing the supporting character. And you have to love the fact that Sylvester is catnapped in one of the stories and with the help of some mice and cakes is able to bring down a criminal counterfeit ring and be a hero as well as truly show that while he wants to kill his friend Tweety he still is a good feline…for the most part. And also in this issue Butch the Bulldog plays a bigger part and alley cat Weezy Cat also returns for a small cameo, and it was cool seeing both in these roles as they both now feel like apart of the series with Butch being in many issues up to this part. The best story in this issue is Making Dough as I like the fact that Sylvester is a reluctant crime fighter and uses his mind in order to stop crime! While the other four stories are good I would say Out With The New And In With The Old is the weakest as it was only a one page gag story over furniture and woodpeckers, but keep in mind this one page gag is even really good and is more cleaver than most modern kids comic being released in these modern times. And it is clear at this point that the creators of this comic series new that they could do more and better stories with Sylvester than Tweety and that is why he is given more panel time and more stories that revolve around him. The cover is cool and is a gag on exercise with once more the Unknown Artist bringing their great artwork to the interior pages of this comic. And with that let’s head to the next issue and see what it has in store for us.

Tweety & Sylvester # 110 **1/2
Released in 1981 Cover Price .50 Whitman # 110 of 121

“A Case Of Canary-Itis” Sylvester is walking down the street and sees Alfie Cat passing him by with a extreme tummy ache and Professor Cat tells him that he thinks Alfie has Canary-Itis a sickness that felines get after eating canary birds! Once home Sylvester sees Tweety and tries to avoid eating him as he does not want to get sick, but later in the day Sylvester and Tweety see Alfie and he is fine and Tweety tells Sylvester that the reason Alfie had a tummy ache was no sickness it was cause a canary he was chasing punched him in the gut! And this news gives Sylvester relief and he once more starts his chasing Tweety was back up. “Soft Landing” its snowing outside and Tweety wants Sylvester to go ice skating with him, but the feline refuses as last winter he slipped in the ice and got hurt…but after some encouraging words and some tied on pillows Sylvester heads to the ice with his friend Tweety. “Keep Calm!” Sylvester and his friend Bernie Cat are hanging out and before they part Bernie lends him a book about how to stay calm, and Sylvester rushes home to try and read it. But while at home Tweety keeps annoying him and no matter how hard he tries to ignore him the pesky bird just keeps getting under his skin. In the end Sylvester snaps and throws the book at Tweety and wants to have him for lunch! “Not For Sale” Granny is on the phone talking about selling some items at a bazaar and Tweety and Sylvester miss-understand her and think they are for sale and run away, but after wondering around trying to find a new home they are picked up by Granny a few minutes later who settles the misunderstanding and they all head to the sale to have fun. “One Life To Go” Sylvester is chasing Tweety around town and has an accident that has him hit by a truck and Tweety alerts him that he is on his last life of his nine! Sylvester runs home and hides in a closet as he does not want to die, but after chasing Tweety around the house and a bookshelf falling on him Sylvester thinks his nine lives have reset and is now wearing hockey pads in order to protect his next nine lives better.

This issue of Tweety and Sylvester is a pretty fun one but is a little basic when it comes to the five tales featured here as they bring some laughs but they also just seem like all are really just backup stories. And like before Sylvester is the main star of the comic but I will say Tweety also seems important in many of the stories. We also meet the ally cats Alfie Cat, Professor Cat and Bernie Cat with all of them being friendly with Sylvester and it’s clear that Bernie is one of Sylvester’s friends. The issue also features Granny and Duke with the later being super mean as when Sylvester and Tweety run away from home when they think they are being sold and need a place to stay Duke will let Tweety stay with him but not Sylvester. The best story in this issue is One Life To Go as I like that Sylvester is worried about his last life when he lost most of the others doing silly things like trying to get an apple from a tree and even gets killed four times by Butch the Bulldog! Plus the end laugh of Sylvester’s nine lives starting over again and him now wearing hockey gear to chase after Tweety is just fun cartoon stuff. The one story that did the least for me was A Case Of Canary-Itis as it was just kind of rushed to build the story of Sylvester being scared of eating a canary, but I do think the payout of the sickness really being that a mad canary punched a cat in the gut. The cover is great as I like that it has Sylvester and Tweety eating Chinese Food as it looks like Sylvester himself is eating some fried rice and that is one of my favorite things to eat! And you guessed it unknown artist once more did the interiors and killed it as they made them look like the cartoon characters but also have their own comic style and look. Over all a good issue that did it’s job as I was entertained reading it.

Tweety & Sylvester # 111 **1/2
Released in 1981 Cover Price .50 Whitman # 111 of 121

“Butch’s Party” Sylvester gets a letter in the mail that is a invite to the Birthday Party of the bully cat Butch who is so mean that if he does not like his gift he will beat you up! Sylvester goes and talks to some of his alley cat friends like Weezy and Norris to see what they are getting him, and then he panics when they have good gifts and he only has .36 for a gift! So he tries to make him a kite that ends up flying away and Tweety comes up with an idea to make it look like Sylvester was in an accident and can not attend the party, but it backfires for everyone as Butch now is going to have a second party later so Sylvester can attend! “ The Funaways” Granny has taken Sylvester and Tweety to the beach and as she takes a nap Sylvester chases Tweety around as he wants to have a juicy snack! But Tweety tricks Sylvester into following him into the beach’s amusement park and this causes Sylvester all kinds of pain and excitement and once back to Granny she is mad that Sylvester is passed out, as she wanted him to stay awake and watch Tweety. “The Photo Story” Sylvester has found Granny’s old box camera that only has three pictures left to take as he wants to enter the Knights Of The Alley Cats Photo Contest and his three subjects are Butch The Bulldog, Weezy and Tweety and all three end up getting hurt when the pictures are taken. And in the end Sylvester wins a prize that is about what not to do when you take photos. “Black Belt Birdie” Sylvester walks past a window and sees birds learning karate and gets scared of the idea of Tweety taking classes and beating him up! While walking home he finds that bulldog Butch’s house is destroyed an his arm is in a sling, and once inside Tweety’s cage is smashed up and this scares Sylvester silly. Sylvester goes to the basement and tries to learn to defend himself but when he finds out that Tweety does now know karate and that Butch’s injury was just an accident…and this means Sylvester chases Tweety around as he is hungry and doesn’t have to fear being beaten up! “Flight Of Fancy!” Tweety is outside in his cage with the door open in order to get some fresh air and Sylvester is trying to figure out away to capture him so that he can eat him! Sylvester uses all types of tactics from being fired out of a cannon, to swinging on a rope and even springs on his feet and each attempt ends the same way and that is with Sylvester being hurt! In the end covered in bandages Sylvester kicks some rocks that end up hitting Butch the Bulldog who chases the injured Sylvester up a tree. “Pills And Spills!” Granny has decided to give Tweety some vitamins to help him grow and Sylvester mocks it and even by accident knocks himself out while beating his chest. Meanwhile a tired and injured eagle crashes into a bucket of yellow paint and decides to rest on the roof of Granny’s and when Sylvester wakes up he thinks that the Yellow Eagle is Tweety who had already grew thanks to the vitamins, he uses a rope to wrap around the eagles leg that ends up taking him for a ride that see him crash through a window of a house that a realtor was showing who looses the sale and punches Sylvester for the lost house sell.

For this issue we are treated to six stories featuring Tweety and Sylvester and they are up to all types of mischief from heading to the beach to trying their hand at photography and of course sometimes the pair are friends working together and other times they are under each others skin and Sylvester is trying to have a birdie sandwich! And that is one of the more fun aspects of these comics as each issue from story to story the friendship between Sylvester and Tweety is present even when they are trying to annoy the other, as always when one is in need of help the other is their to do so. This issue also has cameos from Granny and Butch The Bulldog who both at this point are clearly supporting characters. For me the best story of the bunch was Butch’s Party as I like that the neighborhood bully cat throws himself a birthday party every year and makes all the alley cats attend and give him gifts, and this year Sylvester has no money to get a gift so he and Tweety try and figure out a way for him not to attend the party and get beat up…great silly stuff. If I had to pick the weakest story I would say Flight And Fancy and while it is a funny tale, it is also the one that feels like you have seen the gags many times in other kids comics. The cover is fitting for this issue as its about photography and yep Unknown Artist was at it again doing the interior art, but I will say you can tell different artists worked on this issue as many of the stories look different from each other. Over all another solid issue and one that I enjoyed reading!

Tweety & Sylvester # 113 ***
Released in 1982 Cover Price .60 Whitman # 113 of 121

“Elecronicat” Sylvester has created a robot cat to use in his attempt to capture Tweety, but things get crazy when Sylvester looses control of the robot cat and it destroys the house and even knocks down Granny as Tweety leads it outside! Finally Butch the Bulldog breaks the robot cat and stops it’s rampage as Sylvester is in big trouble and is forced to clean up the house. “Quarantined” Sylvester is chasing Tweety around and they end up in the kitchen when Tweety uses pepper to make his feline attacker sneeze and this triggers Granny to take him to the vet, and later Sylvester uses the pepper trick on Tweety and now Granny thinks both her pets are sick and place them in a room together! But Tweety thinks fast and uses the vents to get more pepper and uses it on Granny and now the three of them have to quarantine for 10 days together and this saves the birds life as Sylvester wanted to eat him! “World’s Fastest Feline” Sylvester is chasing Tweety around the block when the feline is asked to join a race for cats were the winner gets their face on a cat food box and gets me meet the companies female feline spokes lady! And in order to stand a chance Sylvester has Tweety fly in front of him in order to gain the speed, but things turn south when Tweety goes off the track in order to talk to a friend and this causes Sylvester to loose as well as all the other cats who end up following his lead! In the end in anger the cats are chasing Sylvester who is chasing Tweety. “Meating With Defeat” Sylvester is craving meat and cannot stand to eat anymore dry cat food, so he attempts to steak a steak from Butch the Bulldog and on his first attempt he gets tossed over a fence and his second one he by accident pulls the hot grill on himself with a fishing pole! In the end out of anger he once more starts chasing Tweety around the alleys. “Hooligan’s Island” Sylvester and Tweety have grabbed some snack food to sit an watch their favorite TV Show but the picture is bad, so Sylvester and climbs to the roof and tries to move the antenna around but things go wrong when it gets hooked in a helicopter and carries the frightened feline away. “Magic Madness” Sylvester is reading a book about witchcraft and learns that cats are the favorite pets for witches and he thinks that he has magic powers and when trying to use them things around start to move around! In the end Tweety figures out that the construction next door is what is causing the items to move and Sylvester still believes he has powers and walks around like a goof trying to use them. “It’s Okay, Chief” tiny aliens come to Earth and meet Tweety and Sylvester and by mistake both of our stars get stuck in the UFO and fly around town! And in the end the Aliens think that Earth and its people are silly and head back home.

Holy Cow we have seven stories in this issue and shocking all of them are really fun and many of them are all about the chase between Sylvester and Tweety and then a few others have them being friends and going on adventures together! And lets us also not forget to mention that this issue also has a few Horror and Sci-Fi elements as they add one story that is about witchcraft and another that is about aliens and UFO’s and this is what also made this issue very cool for me! And of course Granny and Butch The Bulldog show up and add to the humor and each have their moments to shine. When it comes to the best story in this issue it was really hard to pick as I liked several of them lots but I think I would choose Quarantined as my favorite as you can not go wrong with the classic pepper causing people to sneeze bit, plus I like the fact it was a war game with that pepper as using it at the right time is what made this story move and bring the chuckles. Almost taking the best was Magic Madness as it was so cool to see Sylvester thinking he was a witch and had magical powers, it was fitting to have a dash of Horror in kids comics at this time. And if I was forced to pick the weakest I would say Hooligan’s Island as while it was fun and silly it was very short and the payout was cheesy. The cover for this issue is bright and eye catching and classic comedy stuff and I know you are sick of hearing this but Unknown Artist did a great job on the issues interior art. So with that ,let’s head to the next issue and see what is in store for us.

Tweety & Sylvester # 119 **1/2
Released in 1984 Cover Price .60 Whitman # 119 of 121

“The Cat On The Flying Trapeze” Jenny Lush is a canary who works for the circus and Sylvester decides that he wants to eat her for dinner and tracks her down to a hotel and ends up getting beat up by her Hawk bodyguard. Meanwhile Tweety has fallen in love with Jenny and the two have dinner, and while having dinner Sylvester tries to attack the two but falls out of the window and is sent to the hospital as Tweety and Jenny end up having a relationship. “Canary Clean-Up” an alley in town is messy and Tweety and the Canary Scouts decide to clean it up and when Weezy and the other alley cats show up they find their home clean and all their trash food gone. They find Tweety’s scout cap and head to threaten Sylvester that he better have Tweety mess the alley back up or they will mess him up! Sylvester does not know what to do as Granny is happy with the alley being clean but he don’t want to be beat up by his fellow felines. Tweety heads back to the alley for his hat and meets the alley cats and shows them that they moved their old cans to a better location and all is well between them…well besides Sylvester who gives chase to Tweety once he figured out that he made him stress for no reason. “One Night Stand” Sylvester is trying to join a feline singing group and his voice is bad, and this causes him to not get the gig but as one of the cats goes to his house to tell him he stinks, Tweety is listening to an album and the cat thinks that the singing is Sylvester and he is hired in the group. But when they play their first gig Sylvester sings and they are booed off stage and he is quickly fired. “Final Fate” Sylvester finally captured Tweety and is heating up the oven and getting all his spices ready, and while this is happening Tweety reminds him they are friends and all the bad things that will happen if he eats him, and this gives Tweety enough time to escape and for Sylvester to fall out a window and wind up in the hospital.

Okay, first thing I need to say is this issue also has three shorter stories just called “Sylvster and Tweety” that are clearly reprints from another Looney Tunes comic book, one of these has Sylvester and Tweety on a farm and it’s a funny read. But it is clear by this point that this comic series was running a little low on stream as each stories are a little shorter and seem to rush to a ending with many at this point ending with Sylvester getting hurt and winding up in the hospital or wrapped in bandages. Also with them reprinting old strips shows that they were just trying to fill the pages. But with that said this issue still is really good and almost all of the stories bring a few chuckles and laughs as we go along with Sylvester as he tries to become a singer as well as try and kill a celebrity bird! While we also see that Tweety is super smart as well as supportive and a friend to Sylvester no matter how many times the feline tries to eat him. The best story in this issue for me was One Night Stand as watching Sylvester sing terrible and yet do to a miss understanding somehow able to join a singing group and in one night with less than one song gets them booed out of a feline night club is funny and epic. I would say the weakest would just be the reprinted stories as they are fun just a letdown that they took this route. The cover is cool and has Sylvester and Tweety listen to records and the interior art by Unknown Artist is great like before. Over all another fun issue that did its job of entertaining me, but up next is the final issue I have ready for this update.

Tweety & Sylvester # 120
Released in 1984 Cover Price .60 Whitman # 120 of 121

“The Jolly Joker” Sylvester has sent away for a Genie in a bottle in order to help him capture Tweety, but he soon learns that the Genie is a prankster and uses his magic to help but in weird ways that always ends with him getting joy out of the anger and chaos it is causing. Finally Sylvester and Tweety team up and trick the Genie back in his bottle to end his silly ways as they send him back. “Cat With A Hat” Sylvester is watching a magic show and returns home wanting to learn magic, and by mistake Tweety takes a nap in a box and Sylvester thinks his magic made him appear! But after a few tries Tweet ends up trying to help Sylvester with his magic but his help causes him to get be up by a bunny thats kids wind up in his hat. And Sylvester mad after getting beat up chases Tweety through the woods who ends up finding a bulldog to protect him. “School Daze” Sylvester decides to go to school in order to learn and use what he does learn in ways to capture Tweety, but of course Tweety comes to the school and causes trouble and Sylvester is blamed for it and ends up by the end being apart of the football team as he is a kicker and the team paints pictures of Tweety on the ball! “ Borrowed Trouble” Sylvester has lost his money purse and is now in need of cash and tries to borrow some money from Tweety who in turn plays up that he has lots of money and makes Sylvester get him food, draw a bath and even fight off another cat! In the end the money he gives Sylvester is his own as Tweety found his money purse and this causes Sylvester to be mad and chase him around! “Birdwatcher” Granny has Sylvester watch after Tweety while she is gone for the morning and Tweety acts as if he is sleepwalking in order to get outside and see his bird friends, and when Tweety gets away Sylvester buys a new cage and captures him at the pet store, but because he bought the cage he gets a free gift that is another canary and the two are now driving the feline crazy.

This is the final issue I currently own of Tweety And Sylvester and this issue is also the one before the series would come to an end at Whitman Comics and I have to say this issue was lots of fun and it seemed like the creative minds behind the series knew that it was coming to an end and tried to deliver a very fun and entertaining issues for the readers. And that is one thing I have to say that Tweety and Sylvester as well as all the other Looney Tune comics that was released by Whitman and Gold Key Comics were very well done kids comics as they did the characters justice and kept them close to the cartoons but also did a great job of building a comic book world around them. Sylvester throughout this series really is the star as we follow him through many adventures as well as his weird friendship with Tweety as well as the alley cats that live around his home. Tweety in this series loves to push the buttons of Sylvester but also very much looks at him as a friend as he does what he can most of the time to help him out of trouble as well as point out that they are friends. And their friendship that is on and off again is what makes this comic work as it brings lots of the humorous situations throughout the series. This issue featured five stories with all of them being really fun and for me the best being The Jolly Joker as I like that both Sylvester and Tweety get sick of the Genie and his pranking ways and team up to get him back in the bottle and sent back via the mail were he came from. But I also really liked School Daze as Sylvester going back to school and joining the football team reminded me of the Adam Sandler films “Billy Madison” and “The Waterboy”. I would say that Birdwatcher was the weakest story as while it had some great cartoonish moments I feel the payout of the new canary joining the house was just kind of meh. The cover for this issue is fun as it has Tweety and Sylvester playing with a train set, and the blue background makes it very eye catching. The interior artwork was done by the Unknown Artist as was the whole series and I like the different styles used throughout while some times I was not a fan of how the artist drew Sylvester as some would make him look super chubby I have to say over all I really dug the art in the series. So as you can see, Whitman comics back in the 70’s and 80’s really did bring great comics to the hands of Looney Tune fans and delivered some very fun and silly reads. Check out the artwork below to see some of the styles used by the Unknown Artists.

The Tweety and Sylvester comic series by Whitman and Gold Key Comics is lots of fun and reading these made me feel like a kid again as my brother and I use to read these all the time growing up, and these comics are truly great Kid Comics that are based on cartoons of the time. And thank you for spending a little part of your Thanksgiving with me here at Rotten Ink as doing these updates I hope make your holiday just a little more fun. And before we end this I also really want to say if you like Sylvester and Tweety track down a few of these issues and give them a read. Well for our next update and the start of our countdown to Christmas Eve 2024 I will be taking a look at ManTech a forgotten toy series from Remco that got the comic treatment from Archie Comics! So until next time read a Looney Tune comic or three, watch a Looney Tune Cartoon or two and as always support your local Horror Host! See you next update and eat a little more mashed potatoes for me today and I hope you are ready for some ManTech in your life next update.

American Hero: Prez Rickard

Posted on July 4, 2024 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink. I am sure you are like me and the 2020 Presidential Race drained you mentally as it was a crazy one that split the nation and had many Americans at each other’s throats, but I am not going to lie, I love the history and excitement of the race for our nation’s next president later this very year. And what better way to talk about July 4^th and an American Hero, than to cover an American comic president that was part of the DC Comic Universe. I am talking about Prez Rickard, who was elected President at the age of 18 thanks to a massive youth movement in the government. So let’s all gather around the grill and make up some burgers, dogs and even some veggie burgers, and let’s talk about the American Hero Prez before the fireworks fill the sky and allow us to celebrate our Independence. What a fun holiday this is as it’s really a way for family, friends and neighbors to come together with great food, great conversations and fun entertainment.

The United States started way back on July 4, 1776 when we broke away from British rule and our Constitution was created on September 17, 1787 and presented to the people on September 28 and these are the foundation and rules that we live by the real voices, rights and freedom of our people. Our first President was George Washington, a man who had fought in wars and was a true hero and he came into office on April 30, 1789 and would remain there until March 4, 1797! And as of this update we have had 46 Presidents lead us with the current one being Joe Biden. Over the years we have had many greats like our 16^th President Abe Lincoln, who was in charge and tried to hold our nation together during the Civil War and wanted to put an end to slavery! He was also a great amateur wrestler! And he was only one of many great Presidents and while some are better then others they all have left a mark on our Nation. Nowadays we have two big political parties and they are Democrat and Republican and we also have Green and Independent among a few smaller ones. And I am sure you all know that our President lives in the White House that is located in Washington D.C. and they can run for two four year terms and have a Vice President as well as a Cabinet members that help them during their terms. Plus Presidents have Congress that helps on big decisions that can affect Americans as well as foreign relations. I have voted in every Presidential election since I have been of age to do so and I will always do so as long as I am alive, as I find it to be very important to our nation as well as to yourself as an American. I am not going to get into who I voted for or what party I lean more toward as that’s always a red hot topic that causes tempers, arguments and fights among people and this blog is more about fun! I will say that my favorite President to read about is George Washington, and I have been to D.C. and seen the White House and our Government buildings and monuments. And one day I hope to do a Sparkle Comic based on George Washington.

William Henry Harrison was the 9^th President Of The United States and was a well respected Congress Man, Military Man and so much more. And he was an Ohio Politician and was a Senator for the state. And was an over all interesting politician and one that you should read up on if you are into American History and seriously after you read this blog update give his history a read. But William Henry Harrison is best known for being elected as our 9^th President and was apart of the Wig Party and was only in office from March 4, 1841 to only April 4, 1841 and had the shortest term in office! You see while in the White House for a short amount of time he fell very ill on March 26, 1841 and by the 28^th he had a high fever and doctors came in to try and help him, but all their treatments failed and he continued to get weaker and weaker that lead to his passing on April 4^th making him only President for a month. His illness and death was said to be from many things from septic shock, pneumonia as well as just a cold that got out of hand. But one thing is for sure that he was President for the shortest time and with his passing John Tyler his Vice President stepped into the role.

Prez Rickard is a 18 year old kid who grew up in a small town that was known for having so many clocks throughout town but the downside was that they were all off on time, and after fixing them all and getting some press, he is selected and tricked into running for government offices by a corrupt politician as a youth movement is sweeping over America. While at first he was going to be used as a pawn, they soon learn that Prez has a pure heart and wants to do what’s right for America and takes on all threats to freedom and safety! While the old geezers of Washington do not like him, he is well loved by the people as they see his good heart and his want to do the right thing. He takes on all issues that are affecting Americans and even fills his cabinet with youthful minds to make a real change. His best friend is Eagle Free, a Native American teen that he meets in the woods and later makes him the head of the F.B.I. Over the years he has had four issues released and has appeared in many other comics over the decades and even has been seen alongside superheroes like Superman. Prez even had a re-launch comic mini series in 2015 and this time is a teenage girl named Beth Ross who is elected President via Twitter in 2036, this was only 6 issues and was meet with mostly positive reviews. While Prez Rickard is not a super iconic DC Comic character he is one that has left his mark in that Universe and also is truly a forgotten hhero.

And with it being July 4^th and us talking about Presidents I would also like to take a moment to chat about a classic toy series that I have been collecting and as of this update have all of them that have been released and I am talking about the Marx Presidents line that are mini plastic American Presidents from George Washington to Joe Biden that can be set on a base that looks like the steps to the Lincoln Monument and to me are super cool and remind me of my youth as my grandparents on my dad’s side had an old set of these in their basement for decades. The original Marx series ended with Richard Nixon but after that an awesome fan going by historic figures has kept it up and picked up finishing the line had has released Gerald Ford to Joe Biden and these are fantastic and fit in with the originals so well. And who knows maybe this year I will be able to get a new Marx president for my collection depending on the outcome of this year’s election. But I just wanted to share my love for these underrated and often over looked toy series and wanted to share this picture of my collection.

As you can see, Prez is a young hip teenage president who has a vision and that vision is for a peaceful loving America! And I am sure you can smell those burgers cooking on the grill so I think its time for us to get to the reviews! And I would like to thank Game Swap Kettering for having these comics in stock and making this American Hero update possible! And I would also like to say that this will be a first time read for me and I am very much looking forward to this as I am a fan of Joe Simon as he is the co-creator of Captain America and he will always have my respect. I need 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, lets’ see what kind of platforms and bills this young President has in store for us.

Prez # 1 ***
Released in 1973 Cover Price .20 DC Comics # 1 of 4

Prez Rickard is a teenager who is the head of the stock car club, drives a blue race car he calls Lollipop and lives in the small town of Steadfast, the downside to this town is that its filled with clocks that are all off and give the wrong times and this cause chaos in the town, and his mission is to fix all the clocks to make them on time. Meanwhile in the crime ridden city of Central City things are getting out of hand as water ways are polluted, people are being robbed, cops have been bribed and the teens are being beat up in the streets during protests about the corruption that is all being done by Boss Smiley who wants more power and goes to his cousin Misery Marko who is a ad genius who is going to help them find a teen candidate to run for senate that they can control. Once they read about Prez fixing the clocks they visit him at his home and trick him into being their candidate, and on the way back to the city Boss Smiley almost causes a forest fire by discarding a cigar and the fire is put out by a Native American teen names Eagle Free who has a bad feeling about the cars that just passed. Some time passes and Prez becomes a senator and on Boss Smiley’s word they hold a press conference that has Prez blowing up some forest to build a highway and that’s when Eagle Free and his animal friends to attack the construction crew and as Prez gives chase he is wised up by Eagle who informs him of the evils of Smiley, and they two even break into his office and find all the evidence. Prez is elected to the senate and then very quickly to President as the age is lowered from 35 to 18 and he wins running under the Flower Party. Once in office he makes Eagle Free the head of the F.B.I and has a vice president that they hide in shadow.

What a strange comic that comes from the mind of Joe Simon, one of the co-creators of Captain America that is all about the youth running the world as America has been taken over by greed, corruption thanks to big business and how both Democrats and Republicans have allowed it as they have became rich from doing so. Prez Rickard is a good kid who tries his best to help his small town by fixing their clocks, as well as entertains then with his race car club. It’s clear that while being conned into getting into Government he is tricked into doing a few bad things that hurts nature and makes rich people richer, but once he finds out the truth he does what he can to right the wrongs and gets elected to President really fast. Eagle Free is also a good kid who is close friends with animals, tries to protect nature and befriends Prez and becomes the head of the F.B.I allowing him to look into the evils of corruption. While Boss Smiley is a total scumbag who cares nothing about people and is all about money and keeping people down, he will use anyone to gain control and power and has no respect from animals and nature and would destroy it all in order to turn a profit. The comic has a part political message mixed with humor and they even break the fourth wall as our cast know they are in a comic book and even want you to guess who the Vice President is! I have no real guesses besides maybe John F. Kennedy or Clark Kent (Superman) maybe? The comic has an original feel to it and does its job at being entertaining, yet also makes you think of the state of our politics back then and even still to this day. And this far I like both Prez and Eagle Free as characters as they both seem like honest teens who care about doing the right thing and fighting the evils of Boss Smiley who is everything that is wrong with the world wrapped up in once character. The cover is really cool and eye catching and does a great job of capturing the fun nature of the comic, and the interior art by Jerry Grandebetti is great and captures a playful superhero meets kids comic look. Over all a good first issue with an interesting concept and I am looking forward to see what issue two has in store for me.

Prez # 2 **1/2
Released in 1973 Cover Price .20 DC Comics # 2 of 4

Prez and Eagle Free are traveling all around the world and trying to bring world peace, but every nation puts on a front that they are happy as violence and war is raging all around. Once back to the White House he has a meeting with Chessking a weird world-class player who won the gold in the Olympics against the Russians and is set for a press conference along side Prez, as the press interview goes on Chessking comes of as a cocky jerk. Meanwhile the Russian Coach Krudnik and the Chess Queen are mad at the remarks of Chessking and challenge him to a game of live action chess, and he accepts! The chess game takes place in a arena and in attendance is Prez and Eagle Free as well as many fans as well as the press, and during the match Krudnik zaps Chessking with a wave gun that drives him crazy and causes America to loose the match, and be taken away by the police. Prez wants Eagle Free to look into this madness, a few days latter Chess Pawn Knight robots that are really bombs start attacking the landmarks around Washington and all fingers are point at the Chessking as the man behind the attacks and Senator’s Ebeneezer and McNitty are calling for impeachment hearings as they want Prez out of office! Eagle Free and Prez head to the mansion of Chessking and soon find themselves under attack by pawns and once they escape and get inside the find that the Chessking is really a prisoner in his own home and that it has been Chess Queen who has been sending the bombs out, and they of course stop and arrest her and set the King free. In the end as Prez is in his office listing to a Senator yelling at him a sniper fires and hits someone in the office, and we end on that cliffhanger.

This second issue of Prez is a very strange and silly adventure that takes our teenage President on a journey to figure out who is using chess pawn knight robots as bombs to attack places all around D.C. and cause chaos and panic in America. Prez in this issues still shows that he is a good guy who cares about people and American Pride, but that he is also clueless to the wars and terror that is happening around the world. Prez also is clearly fearless and investigates and rushes into danger in order to save lives and solve crimes. Eagle Free who is the head of the F.B.I has his office outside in the woods as he does not trust his own employees, but he is clearly very wise and is the one smartest character in this comic series. We also find out that the vice president is Martha Rickard that is his mother and who worries about his health and still treats Prez as her son and not her boss. Cheesking is a greedy, ego driven slimy guy who is smart and great at chess but only plays in order to get money. And the Chees Queen and her Russian Chess team are silly villains, but they do manage to destroy some of our countries biggest landmarks like the Lincoln Memorial. This comic is super silly and while it is humorous there is a message to it all as many parts are laced with political statements that is trying to get us readers thinking about politics and the issues that can effect us all. I also must point out that this issue has a big Scooby-Doo vibe of who is the phantom person that is behind the attack on the monuments. I also have to say I was WAY off on my guess who the Vice President was and I have to say it’s a little lackluster that it’s his Mom. Now let me try and guess who the Sniper will be and I am saying it will be a masked man that is form a company that the government is no longer turning a blind eye to their terrible doings. The cover for this issue is ok and not all that eye-catching and I could see how if could have gotten lost on the spinner rack. The interior art is done by Jerry Grandenetti and is good stuff just like last issue. While not as great as the first issue this second issue still has lots of charm and makes me look forward to reading the third issue in the series.

Prez # 3 **1/2
Released in 1974 Cover Price .20 DC Comics # 3 of 4

The White House is under attack by the Minute Men who is lead by the great, great, great nephew of George Washington named Gregor Washington and they fire a shell through a window and inside is little person Baron Von Stomp who warns the president not to ban firearms, and Senator Fireside enters as well and agrees that the bill should not be signed. After the dust settles Eagle Free goes to look into the Minute Men as Prez now wants to sign in the gun banned more then ever. While at camp Gregor and his men are freezing as its winter and their supplies are super low and it’s clear he is a little crazy. Before Prez can sign the bill a sniper fires into the White House and everyone is being super quite on weather or not Prez is alive, and the nation awaits the news in sorrow. Gregor Washington and his Minute Men decide to attack the White House now that the fate of Prez is unknown and even take down the National Guard, while in the forest Prez is injured but alive and is meeting with Eagle Free and Generals about what’s the plan to stop the Minute Men as he does not want blood spilled. Prez challenges Gregor to a fight to the death to prevent any more innocent lives lost, and Gregor cheats and gets his man Hood a martial arts expert to dress as him to enter the fight. Prez wins the fight but the Army and Minute Men clash any way, in the end Hood knocks out Gregor as he was really a F.B.I Agent working for Eagle Free and this uprising comes to an end. In the end Prez and Eagle Free are hanging out in his office and wondering whom the assassin is that tried to take his life.

This third issue is lots of fun and has the old government war machine clashing with the 70’s war machine and tackles the subject of does talking win wars or does weapons win them. The Prez is anti guns in this issues and wants to sign a bill that makes owning and selling them off limits, but soon has to grow as a person and realize that guns as defense are important and that cool words and catch phrases only get you so far. He is also once more shown to be brave as he fist fights a bigger opponent in order to stop a war and save lives, as well is slightly in fear as a unknown person wants him dead! Eagle Free is once more the smart one as he has a spy Agent Hood join the other side and stage it that he would be the one that fights the Prez. The Assassin is still unknown and does hit Prez with a bullet, and who knows at this point if we ever will find out their identity. Gregor Washington who is a distant relative to the 1^st American President George Washington is my favorite bad guy this far as he is clearly crazy and wants to dress and act like his ancestor! Gregor is so nuts that he wants to have war with America with his Minute Men and even has wooden teeth! The fact that this silly comic series shows war and clearly has people dying is crazy and not fitting for the normal mood of this series, and yet I love this more harsh reality element. The pacing of this issue is a little weird and some elements seem very disjointed and the story is kind of all over the place. I would say that this cover is good and eye catching and interior art by Jerry Grandenetti is great as always. Over all another solid issue in this series with hands down the silliest and coolest bad guy we have meet this far in the Prez universe is Gregor Washington! Lets see what the fourth and final issue has in store for us.

Prez # 4 **1/2
Released in 1974 Cover Price .20 DC Comics # 4 of 4

Prez and Eagle Free are in Moravia and have helped them build a canal that helps water their crops and will help them grow as a nation. Once back at the White House the Prez finds out that China is not a happy about the help to Moravia and late that night a helicopter shaped like a bat lands at the White House and a werewolf named Ambassador Wolfman comes out and his attacked by the secret service, and the fight lasts all night and finally Wolfman tells Prez he is here for business as he represents Count Dracula and the people of Transylvania and they are really mad over the canal as its stealing water from them and they want it dismantles, Prez refuses and Wolfman alerts them that this means war as he storms out. That night as Prez goes to bed for the night a tiny coffin that was hidden in the White House opens and a legless Count Dracula comes out from it on a rolling board and tries to attack Prez, who is saved by Eagle Free. As Count Dracula escapes into the night Prez knows that this really does mean war and he tells Congress his plan and they think the youngster has lost his mind talking about Vampires. While in the war room with the Army word gets to them that Count Dracula and Ambassador Wolfman are on their way with a plane full of bats with rabies! Eagle Free has an idea and he and Prez head to the woods and Eagle tells him that his bird friends are going to go on a suicide mission and bring the plane down, and they do just that many birds fly into the planes engine and causes it to crash into the ocean and this also brings an end to Count Dracula and Ambassador Wolfman who were on board. And after the threat of the rabid bats is over the drama for Prez and the nation starting to turn on him is one the horizon.

This fourth issue brings the strange world of Prez and adds a little bit of horror to the mix to make a very strange issue that oddly brings the end of the series. It’s very clear that this issue was not the planned last as the issue ends on a cliffhanger of Prez having a backlash over his issue of war declaration as well as talks of vampires. The plot of this issue is very silly and lots of fun and Prez and Eagle Free make enemies of Count Dracula and his Wolfman by helping a near by nation that takes away the drinking supply of the nation of Vampires, and it’s the Americans birds that give their lives in order to stop a rabies attack on America. Prez who is young thinks that he can help everyone in the world and does not really realize when you have this kind of power one action of friendship could cause equal amounts of enemies. And Prez looses his cool when an attempt at his life is made and he goes straight into war mode and wants to destroy those who wish him dead. I also like that because of his brash young ideas and emotions that both the young and old in America are starting to question if young eighteen year olds should be the President. Eagle Free the young Native American teenager who is also the head of the F.B.I is the best character in the series and is the one who saves Prez from the vampire attack and is also the one who talks his bird friends into given their lives in order to stop an attack on Washington. Count Dracula is angry, legless and wants to fight a war using bats that have rabies to infect American people, and this is all due to his nations drink supply being cut off. Dracula also has a werewolf as his nations Ambassador. This is a very strange series and Joe Simon does a great job of bringing in comedy as well as messages that make you think about the topics at hand, I also think that his strange humor was a perfect fit for this political comic in the 70’s. It’s a shame that the comic series came to an end with no real closing and final issue leaves all us readers on a cliffhanger. And who would ever think that a comic about politics and a fake American President would be so entertaining! The cover for this issue is ok and looks more like a Horror Comic then a comedy one and the interior art by Jerry Grandenetti is fantastic and I love the way he draws Dracula. So if you like 70’s Comics, Weird Comedy, Count Dracula, DC Comics, American Politics, Joe Simon’s Writing and Good Reads then check out Prez as its all of the above and more. But check out the artwork below to see the style of Grandenetti and see if you like his Dracula as much as I do.

So as you can see, Prez is an American Hero in his own way as he fixed a town’s clocks, helped solve crimes and even defeated Count Dracula all to help save America! But speaking of America I am sure all you friends and readers are gearing up to head to fireworks and celebrate America’s Independence so I think its time for me to wrap up this America Hero update so we can all enjoy this holiday, and I want to think you all for spending a part of your Fourth with me here on Rotten Ink and I hope that you all enjoy these American Hero updates and they help make your holiday even more special! And before we go head our separate ways, I would like to let you know that our next update will be one that celebrates the Monster Bash Convention and will be about Creepshow, the amazing film that had George Romero teaming with Stephen King! So until next time, read a DC Comic or three, watch a movie or two and as always support your local Horror Host! See you next update, and let’s hope we don’t get any meteor sh** on us!

Voltron Defender Of The Comic Universe

Posted on December 24, 2023 by bloodlinematt

Merry Christmas Eve readers and friends! It’s hard to believe that it’s already one day away from Christmas 2023! And I know that the older you get, the less magical this holiday gets for you, but for me there’s something about the lights, trees, family dinners and even gift giving that just makes it a super fun time and always floods me with memories of past years and makes me feel nostalgic for toys, cartoons, movies, music and comics from my past and that is why this year I chose Voltron to cover as this Defender Of The Universe is something that was part of my youth as I watched not only the cartoon but also had several of the figures. This holiday season I am feeling a little nostalgic for toys from the past, and I feel that Voltron needs his time to shine here at Rotten Ink. Plus I know many of you readers have great memories of this Defender Of The Universe and got the figures under your Christmas Trees and even maybe have great memories of watching the cartoon during the winter months. So I will try and make this one brief and will try not to take you away from your holiday as we all know Santa Claus is on his way, so grab some hot chocolate and place another log on the fireplace as it’s time to talk Voltron!

Voltron was a syndicated cartoon series that started airing in 1984 and would run for a total of 124 episodes in three seasons. It was be distributed by Universal Television, and each episode was 25 minute long episodes. The series is set in space and features five pilots that control lions that once they come together build a sword-swinging robot named Voltron who must fight off a evil King and his followers who wants to conquer the universe. The show was super popular with young viewers as well as gained a viewership from adults who enjoyed the Sci-Fi Space Adventures. The cartoon would even get re-launches and new series over the decades with one even being for NetFlix. The original show is still be best one in my opinion as it is the one I grew up with and the one that always comes to mind when I hear people talk about Voltron. And for those who don’t know Voltron is really just a dubbed, reedited and rewritten version of Japanese cartoon series “Beast King Go-Lion” and that cartoon became Voltron here in America by mistake as the producers wanted “Future Robot Daltanious” but were sent Beast King by mistake. And this was just a quick crash course about Voltron Defender Of The Universe. If you have not seen the original series, make sure to do yourself a favor and give it a watch as it has been released on home media.

In 1984 toymakers Panosh Place made action figures of Voltron for fans of the cartoon series that included two versions of Voltron himself with one only being sold at JC Penny. The series had a total of twelve figures that included the good guys Keith, Hunk, Lance, Pidge and Princess Allura as well as the bad guys like King Zarkon, Hagger The Witch, Doom Commander, Prince Lotor, Skull Scavenger, Robeast Scorpious and Robeast Mutilor. Also in this series were two ships as well as the Castle Of Lions playset. These figures were very awesome and were on many kids’ must have lists in the early 80’s. And I was one of those kids that had to have some of these figures. Growing up I had Robeast Mutilor, Robeast Scorpious, King Zarkon and Hagger The Witch as well as The Blue Lion, The Yellow Lion and their pilots that were Hunk and Lance. I always wanted Princess Allura and Doom Commander. These figures always were part of my Toy Wars, and while they were slightly taller than my Star Wars and G.I. Joe figures, they fit in so well. Many of my friends growing up also had these Panosh Place Voltron figures in their toy collections, and I can remember many of us bringing them to school for some recess play on the playground. And for those wondering, the Voltron figure I had was the LJN release as many companies were making figures based on the cartoon during this time. To this day Voltron figures are being made and collectors have lots of action figures to collect. Oh and also I should say I still do have a few of these figures somewhere in the basement.

Voltron was so popular that tons of other merchandise besides the toys was made including items like Coloring Books, Lunch Boxes, Home Media, Books, Comic Books, Posters, Magazines, Halloween Costumes, Shrinky Dinks, School Supplies, Buttons, Shirts, Board Game and so much more. I myself had some much Voltron stuff as a kid as besides the toys I also had the board game, a pencil topper, many of the books, the coloring book as well as a some buttons. And I can remember some of my fellow classmates wearing shirts that featured Voltron. In other words, if you are a big fan of Voltron you can find lots of great merchandise to collect and add to your collection. Now that I am thinking about it when growing up many kids I knew had Voltron school supplies…not sure why that was popular it just was…for me I always had He-Man or Looney Tunes school supplies like erasers, folders and such.

So as you can see, Voltron was a very popular cartoon and toy line from the early 1980’s that took Japan and America by storm and lead to Voltron being a household name. Now by the late 80’s into the 90’s Voltron had lost steam and new cartoons and toys had taken his spot of being must watch and have, but his legacy was always still around as friends of mine would talk about him and I can even remember a few drawing him. And I have to also say that Voltron was one of many cartoons and toys that was based on robots as Transformers and Go-Bots were also two very big ones when I was a kid. But as you can see, we are almost out of hot chocolate and Santa Claus is out delivering presents so I think we should get to the review portion of this Christmas Eve update. I want 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, their entertainment value and theirs art and story. So if you are ready, let’s get defending the universe alongside Voltron!

Voltron # 1 ***
Released in 1985 Cover Price .75 Modern Comics # 1 of 3

Hagger The Witch has found a machine that allows him to control the mind of one single person at a time and after Prince Lotor makes them test it on one of his guards and it works, he comes up with an idea to use it on Keith the leader of the Voltron Force! Hagger does what he is told and uses the machine on Keith who in a trance takes the Black Lion to the battle ship of Lotor who thinks he now has the power to win the war. The next morning the rest of the Voltron Force gather to have breakfast when Pidge notices that Keith is nowhere in sight and also finds that the Black Lion is missing and after tracking the location they find that Black Lions location is inside the battleship of their enemy and the Advisor thinks that Keith might have turned traitor. The Voltron Force rush to their Lions and head to the ship to try and rescue their friend as they think he has been captured, while inside Lotor tells him men to get ready for battle and then orders Hagger to send Keith out to fight alongside his army…Hagger tries to argue this as he does not know how well the mind control will work for this order, but he is ignored. As Keith heads out to fight with his friends hearing their voices snaps him out of the mind control and they combine Lions to become Voltron and this causes Lotor’s army to retreat! Lotor blames Hagger for the loss as Keith returns to base and his friends are happy to have him back.

This is a fun first issue as the plot is very simple and it builds on the world that the cartoon has created as it showcases that Keith is the leader of the Voltron Force and that Prince Lotor will do whatever it takes to try and win the war and rule the universe. Keith in this issue is showed to be respected by his peers and is the true backbone of the team as he is in control of the Black Lion. He also shows that his mind is way too strong to be controlled and that he is feared by his enemies because he is such a great leader. Pidge is the one team member who seems to be the most bothered when Keith is missing as he knows that his disappearance is not like him to up and disappear. Prince Lotor is truly an ego driven man whose want to win this war clouds his judgment and causes him to make mistakes and blames others for his defeats. Plus it’s clear that Lotor fears the wrath of his father King Zarkon who puts pressure on his son to defeat the Voltron Force. Hagger The Witch, while very evil, is also one that Lotor should listen to as he tries to warn his leader that the mind control might not stick, and when it all falls apart he is blamed for the loss. This does a great job of capturing the mood of the cartoon and does the source material justice. The cover is very eye-catching if you are a fan of Voltron, and the interior art is done by Dick Ayers and is great stuff and looks like the cartoon. Over all a great first issue that fans of the cartoon should really check out, as it’s a fun read and a great kick off for this series.

Voltron # 2 ***
Released in 1985 Cover Price .75 Modern Comics # 2 of 3

At the Castle Of Lions a celebration is going on and Lance is bored as the Voltron Force has not seen battles in a while, so he decides to go on patrol in the Red Lion to get away from the party and finds a coffin ship in the wasteland and a Robeast attacks him and damages the Red Lion pretty badly before wondering off. Lance is able to get the Red Lion back to the castle and he warns them of the attacking Robeast and that his lion needs repaired so they start that night as they know they will need Voltron in order to battle this rampaging enemy. The next morning the Robeast is attacking the villagers and Keith leads the rest of the Force to fight the monster as Lance is left behind to keep trying to repair his damaged lion, and the battle for Keith and the others is not going well. While back at the castle, the advisor Coran speeks to the spirit of the castle’s old king who helps repair the Red Lion faster and this gets Lance into the battle and the Lions are able to come together and become Voltron and they defeat the Robeast! Meanwhile Prince Lotor ends up blaming the monsters defeat on Hagger The Witch who created the beast.

This second issue is great like the first and has a simple story that fits really well into the cartoon it’s based on and does a great job of bringing a solid adventure to the readers. The plot is pretty much a Robeast is out of control destroying things and The Lions have to try to fight it off as one Lion is damaged and they can not become Voltron…but with some help of a spirit, the Lion gets repaired and Voltron is able to kick the butt of the Robeast and once more Prince Lotor is defeated. Lance is the main focus of this issue who is craving a fight with the enemy and being sloppy leads to his Lion being damaged and almost the destruction of his teammates as well as the planet. But of course he learns not to be a hot shot and is able to save the day and sees that his teammates are proud of him. The Robeast is a yellow monster with a sword that is pretty much a creature of destruction and can defeat the Lions when they are their own, but does not stand a chance when he comes face to face with Voltron. And I like that like before the ego driven Prince Lotor blames Hagger The Witch for the defeat! The fight between Voltron and The Robeast is pretty cool and I like that Voltron uses his sword to destroy the creature. The cover for this issue is pretty great and has Voltron fighting a Robeast even if the one shown on the cover is not the one in the issue. The interior art this time is done by Chuck Wojtkiewicz and is great stuff and his art as well looks like the cartoon the comic is based on. This is a great read and this far Modern has made the best Voltron comic series as I feel they truly do the characters justice. Now let’s see what the final issue in the series has in store for us.

Voltron # 3 ***
Released in 1985 Cover Price .75 Modern Comics # 3 of 3

An Ambassador for another planet has arrived at the Castle Of Lions and speaks to Princess Allura and Coran about getting help for his planet as its being attacked by King Zarkon and they will have to give up if they cannot get help. Princess Allura tells him that they have done battle with Zarkon’s army as well and if not for Voltron they would have fallen, she then allows him to take a look at the Lions. The Ambassador then takes Princess Allura onto his rocket ship to show her his planet, but she soon finds out that The Ambassador was really Prince Lotor in disguise and that he is holding her captive and worse he has stolen all the keys to the Lions leaving the chance of Voltron to save the day slim to none! As a fleet of enemy ships head towards The Castle Of Lions the Voltron Force lead by Keith get into normal battle ships ready to defend their home planet and the people on it. The battle is not going well as both Keith and Lance are injured in their old ships, but Huck is able to get to Princess Allura and save her as well as get back the Lion keys! Once back to the castle the Lions come together and is able to defeat the battle ships as well as a giant robot that was originally Lotor’s ship. And once more Zarkon tastes defeat in his battle with The Castle Of Lions thanks to Voltron and the brave men and woman that make up the Force.

Well the third and final issue in the Voltron mini series was a great read and a nice way to end the series as it brings not only action but also drama as it looks like the Voltron Force just might lose this battle do to the underhanded tactics of King Zarkon’s army. In this issue we have Princess Allura kidnapped, the keys to the Lions stolen, both Keith and Lance injured and worse of all lots of the enemies starships and a giant robot attacking the Castle Of Lions…I mean those odds look very bad for our heroes! But the real heroes of this issue are Pidge and Hunck who are the ones who set up a plan that allows them to save the Princess and get back the keys that turns the tides of this battle. Princess Allura should have been more cautious when getting on a ship alone with a stranger who is playing the part of a friend…like she really leaves her people and kingdom behind to look at a planet with this man who turned out to be her worst enemy in disguise. The Voltron Force shows that even without their Lions, they still have heart and are super brave as they head towards a battle in run down ships knowing that they did not stand a chance of winning but knew they at least had to try…and clearly luck was on their side as they end up surviving and winning. Voltron showcases why he is the best choice to Defend The Universe as he makes short work of a giant robot that was set to destroy the castle, and his sword is one devastating weapon as it brings everything down it slashes. I think King Zarkon’s and Prince Lotor in this issue think that they have finally won this war, but soon find out that they counted the victory way to early as they once more are handed a defeat and this one had to sting pretty bad as they had the upper hand. This whole mini series was a great read for fans of Voltron as the adventures in the issue are lots of fun and do justice to the cartoon series it was based after, and for me they held up after re-reading them after all these years. The cover for this issue is pretty cool and eye catching for fans of Voltron and Dick Ayers returned to do the interior art and like before, it’s great stuff and his art looks like the cartoon. Over all if you are a fan of Voltron and like classic kids comics based on popular toys and cartoons then make sure to check this series out! Check out the artwork below to see the styles used in this series.

Voltron The Defender Of The Universe was a great cartoon, an awesome toy series and also a very cool comic mini series and I know that Voltron was a big character from my childhood as I am sure he was for many of you readers. It’s a shame that Modern Comics stopped this series after only three issues as they should have made many more comics in the series as they had the right creative teams behind it. Well I can hear the sleigh bells off in a distance and that must mean Rudolph had guided Santa to my neighborhood so I better get to bed quick so that he leaves some presents under the tree! Our next update will of course be after the New Year and will be my Best Of Cinema Films of 2023 as you know me and my love for seeing films in the theater! So until next time, read a comic or three, watch a Christmas film or two and always support your local Horror Host. Also make sure to spend some time with your loved ones this Christmas whether that be family, friends, co-workers, pets or plants as it’s that time of the year to come together…see you next year.

From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: The Giant Gila Monster (1959)

Posted on November 23, 2023 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink, and Happy Thanksgiving. For this update we will be taking a look at The Giant Gila Monster, a cult classic film from 1959 that was an early b-movie giant monster film or better yet a Kaiju film, and is considered a Turkey of a film by those who are not educated in the art of B-Movies! This update we will also be taking a look at the Blood Scream Comics adaptation of the film, and for the first time on a “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” update we will not be giving the comic a star rating as I feel that would be lame as I am part of Blood Scream Comics and even edited this comic when it was released. But if you are ready, let’s head to the sock hop and dance the night away and wait for that Turkey to cook in the oven as we also dodge a very Giant Gila Monster.

Let’s first talk about The Giant Gila Monster and the creature’s way of killing those pesky humans that get in its way. The Giant Gila Monster is around 70 feet long and weighs multiple tons, and his size alone strikes fear into the hearts of humans who happen to be in his path of destruction. The Gila Monster can also use his massive size to crush humans into paste under his size or to bulldoze and get into buildings and places that his human prey might try and hide. He also has sharp claws that he can use to rip into places and things and has massive jaws with teeth that pack a deadly poison to normal size humans. The Giant Gila Monster also eats humans and can eat up to one third of his body weight, and that is a lot of humans and animals to stop his hunger! And because his size small weapons like guns cannot hurt Giant Gila Monster as his skin is kind of tough due to his scales. But while he is massive in size and is super dangerous, The Giant Gila Monster does have his weaknesses with his biggest being that he cannot survive massive explosions as they will kill him, and this weakness would make him hurt or killed by tank fire and other big weapons and bombs for sure. But without having those major weapons on hand The Giant Gila is one dangerous Kaiju that can deal death with the best of them.

So as you can see, The Giant Gila Monster is a massive killing machine who not only crushes his victims but also eats them! But now it’s time for us to take a look at the movie he is from and like always I will be taking the film’s write up from our friends at IMDB and after that I will be writing about the film’s production as well as my thoughts on it. So let’s head to Texas and make sure to look out for a Gila Monster, that might be looking for a late night snack.

The Giant Gila Monster (1959)

“A couple of teenagers are reported missing in a small Texas town, and it is thought they eloped. Sheriff Jeff turns to his friend Clarence Winstead, a garage mechanic and leader of a hot-rod gang, for help. After a series of tragic motor accidents, it becomes apparent that a giant Gila monster is roaming the area depleting the town of its citizens and visitors, including two hot-rodding teens, and planning to attend the BIG record-hop party.”

The Drive-In Theater marker was huge in the 1950’s and Sci-Fi and Horror Films was all the rage with the teenage crowd who would flock to see them on weekend nights. Gordon McLendon was the film’s co-producer and a man who had a vision of making extra money on making his own films for the many southern Movie Theaters and Drive-In Theaters he owned. You see, he was a jack of all trades: radio, oil and even wrote books and was all about entertainment and making money. And with this idea of making movies, he produced two back to back to show as a double feature one being “The Killer Shrews” and the other being “The Giant Gila Monster” and he would also bring on B.R. McLendon and Ken Curits to help produce Gila Monster, and Jay Simms wrote the script with Ray Kellogg directing as well as doing the special effects. A real Mexican beaded lizard was used at the Gila Monster and they would used scaled down landscapes to show his massive size. Ken Knox a real life Dallas, Texas DJ for KLF was brought in to play Steamroller Smith, a DJ, and Don Sullivan was hired as the lead Chase Winstead. Other actors brought on board include Shug Fisher, Fred Graham, Gay McLendon and the stunning Lisa Simone who was a Miss Universe contestant in 1957. The film had a budget of around $138,000.000 and was filmed around the Dallas, Texas area, as they wanted a fast turn around between filming and getting it onto the silver screen. Once the film was done, Jack Marshall, who is best known for his work on the TV Show The Munsters and the film Munster Go Home!, was brought on to score. The film would get released not only in America but would go on to have a run in foreign markets and was a semi hit and turned a profit. The film was met with a mostly positive remarks from fans and critics and would over the decades would gain a cult following that would even get a remake film in 2012 called “Gila!” from director Jim Wynorski and would also be hosted by Mystery Science Theater 3000 in season 4 along with many other Horror Host over the years. In 1959 The Giant Gila Monster was released along such other Horror Films that year like “Night Of The Ghouls”, “The Tingler”, “The Giant Leeches”, “Return Of The Fly”, “House On Haunted Hill”, “Plan 9 From Outer Space” and “The Giant Behemoth” to name a few. While the film has fallen into the public domain, it still remains a favorite for many classic monster movie fans.

The Giant Gila Monster is a film I can remember seeing many, many time over the years from watching it on VHS to DVD but mostly seeing it hosted by Horror Hosts like A. Ghastlee Ghoul, Halloween Jack and of course MST3K, and it has always been one of my favorite cheesy films from the late 50’s as the effects are great for the time. The musical numbers are out of place and yet so fitting for that time in cinema. Lisa Simone was so beautiful and she should have gotten way more work in Horror and Sci-Fi films. I mean Lisa did star in the film “Missile To The Moon” from 1958 as Moon Girl, and this was released a year before Gila Monster. The special effects were well done for the time and the use of a Mexican beaded lizard as the Gila Monster was a fun touch as it clearly was more easy to work with and made some of the slow movements look good on camera. The film is also filled with deaths as well as really has the small town feel as all the citizens seem to know each other and both young and old meet up and have sodas at the shop. Now that I am thinking about it creator and director Ray Kellogg should have made a film that pitted The Giant Gila Monster against the Killer Shrews…or even maybe radiation cases a Killer Shrew to grow giant and they two could have fought, now that would have been a great film to see on the big screen! Say what you will about this film, but you know that if you have seen it you were entertained and some of the songs are stuck in your head even to this day…My Baby She Rocks…She Rocks And Rolls.

Giant Gila Monster really is one of those classic Drive-In cheaply made B-Movies that I think is over looked when it comes to the early days of Giant Monster or Kaiju Cinema. While the acting might be very cheesy, in my opinion one, it’s of the best late 50’s Horror Films that must have been a great experience in the Drive-In Theaters. I want to of course thank Blood Scream Comics for making this comic and making this update possible, and I want to remind you that I will NOT be grading these comics on s star scale as like I said I was involved in this comic being made. So sit back, relax and while we wait for Thanksgiving Dinner, let’s see how Chase and the teens can survive this giant monster attack.

The Giant Gila Monster # 1
Released in 2020 Cover Price $3.99 Blood Scream # 1 of 2

Pat and Liz are a couple in love and are on a date. They decide to pull over near some woods in order to make out when they hear a noise and soon see a Giant Gila Monster who attacks and eat them. The next day at the Soda Shop Chase and his girlfriend Lisa show up and ask about the missing couple and none of their friends have any news and are puzzled by their disappearance. As Chase and his friends continue to chat Old Man Harris enters the shop and turns down some of the kids who want to buy his old care, and Chase tells the shop workers that if they see Pat and Liz to tell them the gang is going to the Drive-In. Sheriff Jeff heads to the home of Mr. Wheeler who is the rich father of Pat and he wants answers on finding his son, and Liz’s parents have faith in their daughter and think she will return home soon. Meanwhile Chase is at work being a mechanic and gets a shock when his boss comes to work with jars of Nitro in his trunk that Mr. Wheeler is having stored outback in a shed. Later that night the Sheriff finds a wrecked car and Chase is called to come tow it away, while a poor hitchhiker down the road gets killed by the Giant Gila Monster who eats him. Later Chase and The Sheriff find the suitcase of the hitchhiker and are puzzled to why someone would leave it at the side of the road. Chase does get bad news as his lovely lady Lisa alerts him that Mr. Wheeler who is her sponsor to be in our country for school wants her to stop seeing him as he blames him somehow for his sons disappearance. The next day Chase is called out again and helps repair a wrecked car as well as gives it’s driver Radio DJ Steamroller Smith a place to sleep off being drunk, and also hears Chase singing as he did the repairs and likes what he heard. Steamroller tips the youngster for his help and also gives him a business card. That’s night Chase and his friends find Pat’s car and bring it back to the garage as the owner of the garage is on the road to deliver an oil shipment and is killed by The Giant Gila Monster. Chase gets home to find that Lisa has bought the leg braces his sister Missy needed to walk and he is so touched that he sings her a song.

The Giant Gila Monster was made for comic books as the characters themselves come off as characters you would have found in comics at the time. This first issue’s plot has people going missing from a small town that are not connected and the only law in the town is one Sheriff who gets the help of the towns youth to try and crack this case. Our main character is Chase, a youngster who drives a Hot Rod who works hard for his money at a repair garage and gets money to help his younger sister who has a disability that makes it hard for her to walk. But Chase also has a great life as besides loving his family he has a beautiful foreign exchange student girlfriend as well as a singing voice that was popular in the pop music of the time. Not to mention that his kindness towards others always seems to work in his favor as he is well liked by the town and the law. Lisa is Chase’s girlfriend and she as well is a very kind person who saves up all her money to buy the braces her boyfriend’s kid sister needed, and even goes against the wishes of the sponsor that allows her in this country showing that she truly loves Chase. And out last hero of the comic series this far is Sheriff Jeff who has lots on his plate when it comes to these missing people and the town’s most wealthy man Mr. Wheeler breathing down his throat for answers as his son in one of the missing! The Giant Gila Monster is dangerous as its massive size and equally big hunger make any man, woman, child and beast in it’s way food on the menu and it has no issues chomping down on flesh to fill it’s belly. And man does Giant Gila Monster eat as it snaps people in half. The comic adds way more blood, gore and violence that the film was lacking as we get to see the Monster chomping down on the humans. The cover for this issue is very eye catching as the yellow helps bring out the Gila Monster. The interior artwork is done by Don Stephenson and captures the cartoonish horrors of the film really well, and his detail on The Gila Monster is top notch. Over all this first issue does a great job of staying true to the film and yet added a more bloodstained modern touch. Let’s see what issue two has in store for Chase.

The Giant Gila Monster # 2
Released in 2020 Cover Price $3.99 Blood Scream # 2 of 2

As Chase is at home with his family and girlfriend, he gets a call from the Sheriff to meet him at the garage and gets the news that his boss’s might have passed away as the truck he was driving the gas delivery has blown up. Meanwhile The Giant Gila Monster is on the prowl for more humans and even causes a train wreck and starts eating the survivors as they try and flee. Old Man Harris sees the attack and reports it to the Sheriff and even more calls start coming in and he thinks that these people have to be drunk or their town really is under attack by a giant lizard. Chase after dropping his mom and sister off at a friends house heads to a barn dance party that is being hosted by Radio DJ Steamroller Smith with his lady Lisa and he even gets a chance to sing in front of all his friends as he is brought up on stage to perform. Meanwhile Mr. Wheeler is super mad and goes to The Sheriff and demands that he arrest Chase as he blames him for his son’s disappearance and also threatens to remove the officer from his job! As Mr. Wheeler and The Sheriff show up to the barn dance party the Gila Monster as well appears and goes on the attack busting through the wall and starts his rampage of terror, Chase and Lisa jump into his hot rod and head to the garage and gets the nitro and Chase wrecks his car into the beast and blows it up killing it! In the ends Chase meets back up with Lisa, his baby sister Missy, Mr. Wheeler and The Sheriff and they are all so happy to have this terror come to an end. We then flash to the future (2020) and The Undertaker from the now closed down Shady Rest Funeral Home is looking over giant Gila Monster eggs, and this leaves the question when these three eggs hatch, what horror awaits the world.

This second Issue has The Giant Gila Monster meeting his end at the hands of a hot rod car packed with nitro and the explosion from the two colliding blows the massive creature into chunks of meat and bone! But before this Giant Monster dies it does cause death and destruction and just imagine if it was able to make its way to a bigger city like New York or Los Angeles, now that would have been Godzilla level Kaiju destruction! Chase is our hero as not only is he a good singer and mechanic, but he is also very smart and uses his wits in order to stop the giant monsters rampage. As he knew the dangers of the nitro and even places himself in danger in order to bring and end to the terror and save the lives of all his fellow towns people. Lisa, The Sheriff as well as Mr. Wheeler and Old Man Harris as well do their parts of trying to save lives as well as piece together the truth of the giant creature and if it was real or just town gossip among the heavy drinkers. The feeling of a small town is still very much present in this issue, and I also feel Don did a great job of following the film as a blueprint but also adding his own touches to it to make if feel familiar but also new. The issue has some blood and gore with the death of the Gila Monster being the most gruesome, and is one of my favorite panels in the comic. The cover for this issue is pretty cool and the light blue background once more made it standout on the comic shelf when released. The art by Don is also very cool and has a cartoonish nature to it and that is why the more detailed monster and bloody moments standout. And I can’t not talk about the fact that The Undertaker from the 1966 film Undertaker And His Pals makes a cameo appearance in this comic and shows that for decades he has been watching over giant eggs of The Giant Gila Monster and we all know that he his crazy so no one knows what will happen once they hatch…well some know with one being Don Stephenson who will be working on this story arc soon! Say what you will, but the film The Giant Gila Monster but I have to once more say that it makes for a great comic book series. Check out the artwork below to see the style of Don used in this comic series.

It was such a blast working alongside Don Stephenson to bring The Giant Gila Monster to the world of comic books and for those wondering for Blood Scream Comics The Giant Gila Monster ties into a few other comic releases including “The Giant Skunk ”, “The Undertaker And His Pals” and “Raiga God Of The Monsters” and who knows if The Giant Gila Monster will rise from the grave it’s self for another comic rampage via Blood Scream Comics! Well I am sure that the Turkey, Ham, Stuffing, Mashed Potatoes and all the other sides have hit the table and you readers and your loved ones are gearing up for a feast and good conversation. So thanks for spending some of your Holiday with me here at Rotten Ink, and I hope this update added to your Turkey Day. Before we part I want to tell you our next update will take us away from giant monsters and will once more take us back to the world of Pro Wrestling as we step into the squared circle with one of the sports most legendary big men Haystacks Calhoun! So until next time, read an Indie Horror Comic or three, watch a B-Horror Movie or two and as always support your local Horror Hosts. Oh and I enjoyed talking about this Blood Scream Comic release and who knows in the future I might cover a few more of them here at Rotten Ink, and make sure to have one more scoop of mashed potatoes and gravy for me.

From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: Nightwing (1979)

Posted on October 31, 2023 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink, and Happy Halloween! For this update, we are heading to the desert of New Mexico and will have to be on the watch out for a pack of wild killer bats as we have a “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” update about a 1979 Horror Film that got a Fotonovel as well as tanked at the America box office. I am of course talking about Nightwing! This spooky nature Horror flick was slated to be a massive hit but after failing to bring in moviegoers turned into an almost forgotten dud. But here at Rotten Ink we are going to give Nightwing some respect and showcase that even films that are not solid gold should and could have gotten the comic book treatment. So let’s keep our eyes on the sky and head into the desert and look at those killer bats that make up Nightwing.

The Vampire Bats are the death dealers to humans in Nightwing, and these flying creatures have many ways to end lives, so let’s take a look at their methods of killing. The bats’ main source of dealing damage is their razor sharp teeth that can puncture skin and leave bite marks that can make the victim lose blood as they go down to the bone, causing pain and could lead to death. They can fly and are super fast as they catch up to a running human with ease. They can also use sonar hearing to pinpoint the location of their intended victim, and because of this sonar, they can even see in the dark. They drain and drink the blood of their victims and could even spread sickness like the plague that kills humans very painfully. They also attack in massive packs and swarm their victims and keep on biting and causing the human targets to panic and lead to accidents as fear takes over. But while these Vampire Bats are very dangerous, they can be killed easily as they are just living creatures, so you can smash them, burn them, shoot them, stab them, gas them, poison them and any other way you could kill a living animal. Also noises and frequencies can throw off their sonar and cause them to be confused. While they might not be the most deadly or vicious killers we have covered on a “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” update, one thing is for sure they are mean cold blooded killers that attack in packs and spread sickness and death.

So as you can see, these bats are deadly and are thirsty to murder. Now let’s take a look at the film these little night creatures are from. The film’s write up will be taking from our pals at IMDB and after that I will write about the film’s production as well as my thoughts on the film. So if you are ready, let’s chat about the 1979 fright film Nightwing.

Nightwing (1979)

“A colony of vampire bats terrorize a small Indian community in New Mexico. Standard “Nature goes berserk” plot takes a twist toward the end when supernatural forces are discovered working through the bats.”

Jaws was one of the biggest Horror Movies of the 1970’s, and when it was unleashed on movie goers in 1975, many other filmmakers and writers rushed to cash in on the Nature Run Amok film craze as theaters and drive-ins were flooded with films like Grizzly (1976), King Kong (1976), Orca (1977) and Piranha (1978) to name a few. In 1977, a novel called Nightwing was written by Martin Cruz Smith about killer bats, and in 1979 the novel was turned into a feature film! Martin Ransohoff would produce the film and the team of Martin Cruz Smith, Bud Shrake and Steve Shagan wrote the movie script, and they thought that they could have the next mega summer movie hit on their hands. Columbia Pictures would come on board to distribute the film and Arthur Hiller would direct. He was known for films like The Out-Of-Towners (1970), Silver Streak (1976) and W.C. Fields And Me (1976) and was not known for directing Horror at all. The film was shot in New Mexico and special effects artist Carlo Rambaldi would do the bats for the film, and he had made a name for himself on the films King Kong and Close Encounters Of The Third Kind. Actors brought into the cast was Nick Mancuso, David Warner, Ben Piazza, Stephen Macht and George Clutesi and the score was done by Henry Mancini who is known for his work on the Friday The 13^th film series and other music from Kenny Rogers and Crystal Gayle was used in the film. The film would be released in theaters on June 22, 1979 and was such a bomb at the box office that it was taken off screens really fast after its release the film was panned by critics and fans alike. The film in 1979 was released with other Horror Movies like Zombi 2, Alien, Amityville Horror, Phantasm, Tourist Trap, Driller Killer, When A Stranger Calls, Dracula, Savage Weekend, The Brood, Prophecy and many more, and I think that’s why it was lost in the shuffle as 79 was a good year from Horror Flicks! But in more recent times the film is starting to gain a cult following thanks the it getting a DVD and Blu-Ray release allowing fans to rediscover it.

Nightwing is one of those movies I remember watching when I was a kid but over the years had forgotten all about it. I am sure I saw the film on TBS or USA when I first seen it and was always into the Nature Runs Amok Horror Films from that time. The thing about Nightwing is that because it failed so bad at the box office as well as did not get much fanfare when released on home media is just kind of slipped through the cracks for many, I mean most of my friends who are pretty big fans of Horror Films have never even heard of this film showing that over the decades Columbia Pictures has done a really bad job of promoting and getting this film seen by fans of the genre. Bats have always been a symbol for fear in American as they are used in Halloween decorations, horror themed video games as enemies, have been the subject of other spooky films, and are always a symbol of the vampire. That is why it’s shocking that in the 70’s a film like this would bomb at the box office as moviegoers seemed to love the Horror Genre at this time and films based with animals as the killers were all the rage, but then again, this could have lead to this film failing as the market was flooded with these films and it could have been lost in the shuffle or just viewers had fatigue over these films and had enough. And the thing that they did with Nightwing to try and keep it different is add a layer of supernatural horror to the mix and you have to respect that they tried to make it standout from the pack. While Nightwing is not a household name for 99% of fans, those Horror fans that dig deep into the well and love classic Nature Runs Amok fright flicks they know the cheesy delight that is this film. And I watched this film again after not seeing it for decades and I have to say I really enjoyed it, as I liked the characters, the vampire bats and the effects are super silly and yet charming and the score is really great work from Henry Mancini and I made sure to order the score CD that same day.

So now that we have taken a few moments to talk about the film as well as the killer bats in the film, I think that it’s our time to take a look at this photo comic novel based on it. I have to say that I do wish that more companies would take the time to make comics based on Horror Movies and while I would prefer ones that are drawn, even photo comics would do and if you are a Horror moviemaker please get in contact with a comic artist and get a comic made based on your fright flick. And with that I want to thank LaCreeperieBookshop on Etsy for having this Fotonovel in stock and making this update possible. I want to also remind you that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. So if you are ready, grab a fly swatter as this is bat country and we are taking a walk through it.

Nightwing # 1 **1/2
Released in 1979 Cover Price $2.75 Fotonovel # 1 of 1

Early in the morning Abner, a tribe’s priest calls out for help to protect his people, and he tells deputy Youngman Duran that the old ways need to rise and that people need to die in order to protect them, and because Abner raised Duran like a son he ignores it. Later on a Hopi Indian reservation in New Mexico, a horse is found with bite marks all over its body and the deputy Youngman Duran is called in but quickly leaves when tribal councilman Walker Chee shows up and takes over the investigation with the none tribal law. Duran’s girlfriend is Anne Dillon who works what she can medicine and she might be leaving town to learn more and this stresses Duran who truly loves her. More animals turn up dead and they have the same bites and worse Anne is taking a Missionary Group out into the desert and are going to a rain dance that is happening soon. While Adner is found dead and has the same bite marks, and when buried by Duran he witnesses the body bleeding and later it even goes missing from its grave. And he also meets Phillip Payne, a man whose whole mission is to kill vampire bats as the alerts the deputy that they are what is causing the deaths. Meanwhile Walker Chee and some tycoons want to start drilling for oil and gas on the sacred mountains, even after Payne warns them that the bats are spreading a deadly plague in their bites and Duran wants nothing to do with it and is not told of the danger of the bats by Chee. Anne’s group she is leading is attacked by the bats and three of the members die and one dies later from the bites as Anne is stuck out in the desert during a heat wave, and the tribe council are the ones who dug up Abner and they all pass away from being near the body that had the plague do to the bat bites and are found by Duran who is at odds with Chee over his handling of this situation and his pure goal of getting the gas. In the end Duran finds Payne and the two save Anne and then the three end up stopping the vampire bats in their cave by setting the oil on fire and burning them alive and stopping the drilling as this fire will forever burn.

This is a pretty fun photo comic novel that captures the slow burn pace of the film and delivers the chills of the Vampire Bat attacks and the lore of the Native America legends that fuel the subplot of the story of if Adner has cursed the tribe and mankind and brought the plague and bats that is killing the tribe as well as the animals. Our hero is deputy Youngman Duran a man who is the law and walks a line between modern beliefs as well as that of the old, he even uses the datura root to see into the spirit world and does a ceremony to close a circle around a painting that ends up setting the fire that kills off the bats as well as saves the land from oil drilling. Anne Dillon is a good woman who has a big heart and who loves her boyfriend Duran but also wants to learn medicine more in order to help the tribe, she also does what she can to save lives and even stands with her man in the end against a cave full of blood thirsty plague caring bats. Phillip Payne is a strange man but is also a good man as his goal is to kill all Vampire Bat clan he can as he knows the death and danger they bring, and he as well is a hero who does what he must in order to save lives. Councilman Walker Chee is a man who is more worried about money and power and does not do the right thing when it comes to these Vampire Bat attack and deaths, and this shows that he is driven by greed but hides behind the word that he is doing this to better the tribe. The Vampire Bats are vicious and attack in packs and bite and spread their disease like crazy, and they attack man, woman, child and beast and there is hundreds of them! The story is slow paced and for those looking for lots of Vampire Bat attacks you do not get a lot just like in the movie you get a small amount as the story is more of a character driven movie and is about our main leads and how they all interact with one another during this emergency and matter of life and death. The photo comic novel is pretty much bloodless and the Horror moments come with the attack as well as the shocking deaths of those attacked and infected. This also does a good job of capturing the film on the pages and the cover does not scream Horror at all, but it is still really cool. Check out the photo below to see the style of this novel, and to sum it up if you like the film you should also enjoy this Photo Comic based on it.

Nightwing is one of those forgotten gems of Horror from the late 70’s, and I feel it is overlooked by many do to the fact that it is a very slow moving film and the effects are very dated and cheesy even for that time in cinema. But I do find that it was well acted and the idea of plague spreading Vampire Bats seems fitting for these modern times in the world. And while Photo Comics are not for everyone, I really am starting to warm up to them and have enjoyed reviewing many on this blog and make sure to check out my update for “Love At First Bite,” another Fotonovel release. Well as you can see, we made it out of this bat attack and will be leaving them behind as our next update will take us to the world of Horror Hosts as we spend some time with NJ host Angus! So once more Happy Halloween and make sure to read a Horror Comic or three, watch a Horror Film or two and as always support your local Horror Host! Oh and also watch out for crazed bats as who knows what they are up to this spooky night!

R.I.W Wrestling Legend: Corporal Kirchner

Posted on July 4, 2023 by bloodlinematt

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

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

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

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

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

Best Of Corporal Kirchner

Match 1: Corporal Kirchner vs. Paul Orndorff

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

Grade: ***

Match 2: Corporal Kirchner vs. Kamala

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

Grade: **1/2

Match 3: Corporal Kirchner vs. King Harley Race

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

Grade: **1/2

Match 4: Corporal Kirchner vs. Iron Sheik

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

Grade: **1/2

Match 5: Corporal Kirchner vs. Mike Miller

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

Grade: *1/2

Match 6: Corporal Kirchner vs. Ricky Santana

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

Grade: **1/2

Match 7: Corporal Kirchner vs. Adrian Adonis

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

Grade: **

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

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

Grade: **1/2

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

Have Yourself A Very Bananaman Christmas!

Posted on December 24, 2022 by bloodlinematt

Merry Christmas Eve and welcome back to Rotten Ink. Growing up I watched Nickelodeon at my Grandparents house as their cable provider had it while ours in Waynesville didn’t have it just yet and I can remember being glued to shows like “Danger Mouse”, “Count Duckula”, “Mr. Wizard’s World” and “You Can’t Do That On Television” and one that was also very popular that my brother and I would watch was “Bananaman” that was a silly superhero themed British cartoon series, and sadly as time has passed I find less and less people remember this amazing character here in America and that is why for this 10 Year Anniversary and Christmas Eve update I have chosen to talk about him! So grab some eggnog, get a plate of Christmas cookies as its time we chat about the one and only British superhero known as Bananaman!

Eric Wimp is a young schoolboy who was rocketed to Earth as a baby from the moon and when he eats bananas he turns into Bananaman an adult costumed hero who can fly, is invulnerable, can breath in space and has superhuman strength. Bananaman is a superhero who works alongside the police who call him on the banana phone in order to stop crime as well as stop super villains fro hurting his city. During his heroic deeds he also gets help from Crow his pet bird who helps out when our hero is in a tight situation and always brings back up bananas to give him more energy and strength. While Bananaman is a superhero he still is not the sharpest knife in the drawer and this sometimes leads him into danger and traps that of course he will escape from in the end. The character Bannaman was created by artist John Geering along with writers Steve Bright and Dave Donaldson who brought the comic strip to readers that ended up spawning into the cartoon series and made him one of U.K.’s most popular superheroes. And sadly for those wondering artist John Geering passes away in 1999 and the comic strip when not reprinting old adventures is drawn by Andy Janes. A true iconic character for those who grew up reading and watching his cartoon and I for one am glad to have been able to watch his show here in America thanks to Nickelodeon.

The show Bananaman started airing on October 3, 1983 and was on BBC and was 5 minute cartoons that was based on the comic strip and featured the voice of Graeme Garden as Bananaman and Tim Brooke-Taylor as Eric and was super popular with viewers who grew up loving this superhero that read his adventures in Nutty. The show would last for a total of 40 episodes for three seasons and the series ended in 1986. But even with no new episodes being made it ran heavily in reruns until around 1999. The episodes was written by Bernie Kay and directed and produced by Terry Ward. The show would go on to be released on DVD in the U.K. and those fans from America would have to import it like I did in order to watch again. A fun fact about this show is the British comedy troupe The Goodies are who voiced all the main cast of the cartoon like Bananaman, Crow and Eric! While Bananaman never hit the peak of popularity in America like it did in the U.K. for those who grew up watching it no matter what nation you know just how fun and silly this cartoon was.

Like all great Superheroes that have came before and after him Bananaman has his fair share of villains that try to bring him down and ruin the city. And to be honest I think he has a great rogues gallery and while not on par with the likes of Spider-Man, Batman and Dick Tracy when it comes to the baddies he still has some great ones like the following that are some of my favorites. General Blight is an evil Army General and is his arch nemesis and is always coming with a scheme including unleashing The Snow Man a freeze and heat caring Christmas style snowman. Doctor Gloom is another great one who is the mad scientist sidekick of General Blight who creates enemies for Bananaman including Appleman. And I also like Rhubarb Man a walking talking piece of Rhubarb who moves around like a human. Other villains include Skunk Woman, Desperate Dan, Bubble-Gum Bert, Clayman, Witchy Woman, Grannie Punk, The Weatherman, King Zorg, The Heavy Mob and Spaghetti Man to name a very few. Really if you get a chance to read any of Bananaman’s comics or watch his cartoons make sure to do so not only to enjoy his adventures but to also see his baddies in action.

Like all great cartoons Bananaman has had his fair share of very cool merchandise for fans to collect over the years with some being official and others being made by fans themselves to show their love for the character. So if you are a Bananaman fan like myself you can get such cool thinks as T-Shirts, Home Media, Stickers, Dolls, Toys, Buttons, Posters, Statues, Trading Cards, Halloween Costumes, Action Figures, Drinking Glass and so much more stuff with most being fan made stuff that is available here in America. So if you like Bananaman make sure to check Etsy and Ebay as I am sure you will find some cool stuff for your collection.

So now that we have talked about Bananaman and things about him from his merchandise to his baddies I think we should now move to this Comic Capers graphic novel that features some comic book adventures of our hero Bananaman! I would like to thank a seller on Etsy for having this 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, it’s entertainment value and it’s art and story. So if you are ready lets go to Nuttytown and head to 29 Acacia Road and see if Bananaman is home and what adventures he has in store for us!

Comic Capers: Bananaman GN **1/2
Released in 2000 Cover Price $0.00 Beano Books # ? of ?

“Eurovillain Contest” Eric is bored at home and decides to make a cable satalite dish so he can watch better TV when he finds that Lord Zorg has a show that is about what Eurovillain can stop Bananaman, and this of course causes Eric to turn into his superhero alter ego and head to Europe were along the way Weatherman and The Mole try and slow him down, but he ends up finding his way to Europe and the contest starts! The first baddie that attacks is Goudaman and his giant cheese wheel and at first the holes in the cheese are a maze that Bananaman can not figure out that us until he gets the idea to have a bunch of mice to follow him who eat the giant cheese wheel and Goudaman is defeated. Next Garlicman and his foul smelling breath attacks, but Bananaman uses a giant book to smash him after a fake court trail! And so many Eurovillain’s try to bring down Bananaman including Spaghetti Man, Ivan The Terrible, Abzorba, Doctor Gloom, Ragnar The Hairy and The Weatherman and all of them fail and are defeated by Bananaman and worse the judges have given all the baddies the score of zero making it that no one is going to win, that is until Big Rita a mechanic is mad at the poor scoring and shows up at the station and roughs up the judges as well as King Zorg and this makes her the winner of the contest. The second store is “The Secret Of Willie Boggins” on Arcadia Street young Willie Boggins as a secret when he eats a boiled egg he turns into General Blight! And as Bananaman goes after him our hero has a streak of bad luck that even hits his secret identity Eric Wimp. And after General Blight robs a bank he buys a whole big jar of pickled eggs and eats them at once and grows into a giant, and after Bananaman tries to stop him and fails he goes and eats a ton of bananas and turns into a giant himself, but the fight ends when both have stomach aches and have to use the bathroom.

This graphic novel was a fun silly very kid friendly read and showcases the true goofy nature of the hero known as Bananaman as well as several of his foes that all make appearances in this comic including General Blight who gets his own story out of the two presented. The plots of both stories are simple and yet affective with the first being a villain contest TV Show that has baddies going after Bananaman and a panel rates the villains to award the winner. And the second story has General Blight on a crime spree and even grows giant size and this forces Bananaman to have to do the same in growing to end the fight. Bananaman in this graphic novel is super silly and while he saves the day each time he kind of falls backwards into doing so and while he acts as if he knows what he is doing its clear at times he does not. But because he is silly this makes him a very charming hero and reminds me of Captain Klutz another hero we have talked about here on Rotten Ink and you should give that update a read here. And I have to say this graphic novel really did spark my love for the Bananaman character again as he is just such an awesome superhero with such a great nature. Also the fact he his a kid in his alter ego reminds me of Captain Marvel or Shazam as he is called now. Really sad that Crow is not in this as it would have been cool to have seen him around and helping out when needed. While many of his villains appear many of them do not get a lot of time on panels as they are defeated fast and our hero moves onto the next, I will though say that King Zorg gets his time to shine as he is the host of the TV Show contest and gets to say a few cheesy jokes before he his beat up by Big Rita who ends up winning the show. General Blight is the graphic novels main villain and he is able to win a few rounds with Bananaman as he runs him over with his bicycle, is able to rob a bank, turn into a giant and beat our hero is a fight showing he is truly the arch-nemesis for Bananaman! I also like how their big giant fight has to end early as all the food they ate made them have to potty bad and because they are so big they have to use cooling towers at a power station to relive themselves…so silly. The cover for this graphic novel is great and showcases both Eric Wimp and Bananaman and is eye catching with the interior art being done by an artist I could not find the credits for, but whom ever of the comic strip artist who did it they did top notch stuff. Over all this Bananaman Graphic Novel is not for everyone as I think those who do not know the character will find it to British in humor and way to kid friendly, but for those fans like myself it’s a fun read that takes you back to your youth watching the cartoon (or even in some cases reading the comic strip) and enjoying his adventures. Checkout the artwork below to see the style used in this book.

Bananaman was a great way to spend this Christmas Eve as he is such a very underrated superhero character here in America as sadly besides that very small run on the early days of Nickelodeon and those who imported shows or got on the Grey Market truly remember him, while in England he really is a well loved hero and still has a following and fan base to this day. I really hope that you readers have a great Holiday season spent with your family, friends and pets with lots of great conversations and plenty of tasty food. I also want to thank you for spending apart of your Christmas Eve here at Rotten Ink and making this 10 Year Anniversary very special and I hope you enjoyed the updates over the decade of blogging and hope it brought back great memories of your youth. So with that eat a Christmas Cookie or three, watch a Bananaman cartoon or two and as always support your local Horror Host. See you in 2023 for the best of 2022 Movie’s seen in the theater countdown.