Horror Host Icon: The Night Watchman (WGN)

Posted on June 23, 2024 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink! I am wondering how many of your readers out there remember Movie Underground, a hosted movie show that featured The Night Watchman bringing viewers some of the best films he could find in the film vaults he was hired to protect? This short-lived Host and his show are the topic for this Horror Host Icon update as I feel that all hosts should be remembered! Plus this show was on a big station out of Chicago, Illinois and had a pretty loyal and large following as Illinois is also another state that has a rich history of late night Horror Hosts. But we are not here to talk about the others as we are here to celebrate the career of The Night Watchman and go on his rounds as he protects the film vault and shares a movie with us.

The Night Watchman is the host of Movie Underground and is the night guard at the Fortress Of Television and is also very much into movies and wants to delver the best he can offer to the viewers. He is a super goofy and is a fun loving, jokey kind of guy who looks like actor and comedian Drew Carey in a guard outfit. He also seems to love to chat about the night’s film given facts as well as joking about parts of the film and sometimes playing off what characters say. His jokes are silly and have a “Dad” quality to them and that is part of his charm that built up his connection with the viewers as he seems like he is watching the film along with you, and most of the time he has his trusty popcorn ready for a snack while he watches. He is good friends with his co-worker and co-host The Nightie Watchman and loves joking with her about the night’s film. While he is not the zaniest nor flashiest of Hosts he is a good one who entertained his viewers with his antics and jokes show after show. Marc Chase was the actor who played The Night Watchman who had a background in Radio and worked for Tribune Media.

WGN Movie Underground was a weekly show that would air on WGN America on Friday Nights at 8pm and would have host The Night Watchman and his co-host Nightie Watchman hosting a single movie and they would fill the time with facts, trivia and jokes. The set was an area outside the vault that had a big comfy chairs, table with a bucket of popcorn, a lava lamp and movie posters hanging on the walls behind them. The show had a good fan following and the hosts were well liked by viewers who also would participate in the Swap Shop segments of the show that would have viewers try and trade for an item that the hosts had up for grabs most of the time props from the show. Movie Underground would start in 2008 and sadly by 2010 it was off the air as WGN decided to renew it for another season. Most of the shows segments was written by Michael Walter and they were produced and directed by Paul Crossey. While the show was short lived it was well loved by its viewers and still has a cult following on tape trade lists to this day.

The Nightie Watchman is the beautiful co-host of Movie Underground and she as well wears her guard outfit and loves to chat about the movie that they host, and by all accounts she as well is the more knowledgeable about the movies and is the better at hosting between the two when it comes to that. Her name is Henrietta or Henrie but she goes by Nightie Watchman and she was one of the most popular parts of the show, not just cause her stunning good looks but because of her personality and fun nature. The shows official website use to even have a Nightie Watchman photo gallery for fans to bask in her beauty. Nightie Watchman was played by model April Rose Maydock who was also an actress as well as a MAXIM Magazine lady. She is a great co-host who at times really did outshine the shows main.

WGN was a station that I can remember watching when I was a kid as it was a station we could pick up from time to time and they would always be airing weird movies and shows in reruns. I am not sure when this happened but at some point our Ohio cable provider dropped WGN from the lineup so in 2008 when Movie Underground was airing I had no clue about it as I would have watched the show and would have really enjoyed it as it has a great vibe and a host who was silly and goofy and added his own touch on the art of hosting, plus lets be honest Nightie Watchman was very eye catching with her beauty. Plus I must say that it’s great when a host and a co-host have great chemistry on the screen and I feel that these two have that magic. I wish that more major broadcast stations would do this type of show and that is why we fans of Horror Hosting should be grateful for METV for airing Svengoolie!

The Night Watchman and Nightie Watchman are a great team when it comes to being Movie Hosts who could also be called Horror Hosts as they have hosted their fair share of Horror, Comedies and Sci-Fi films over their run. And I would like to thank Horror Host Dr. Pureblood for getting me episodes of this show and making this update possible as well as B-Videos 101, I also want to thank our friends at IMDB for the movies write ups. So if you are ready it looks like The Night Watchman is about to start his patrol and that’s our cue to tag along for the zany ride. Oh and before we start our movie watching and protecting patrol I want to also remind you that I do not rate or grade the episodes and I do write about the zany antics of the host. So lets get patrolling.

Movie Underground: Alien
Starring – Sigourney Weaver & John Hurt R 1979

Host: Night Watchman and Nightie are sitting on the station couch and give a few fun facts about the night’s film and Watchman even lets water pour from his mouth as Nightie continues on looking a little disturbed, and then the usher us into the first part of the movie. When then rejoin them as they talk about how profitable the film was for 20^th Century Fox at the box office before once more taking us back into the film. Still chilling on the couch they cut a quick joke about the fate of one of the characters before we head back to the movie. We next see them as Nightie tells us not to try this at home as we see a scene from the movie of the acid blood eating through the floor and Night Watchman acts as if he has a face hugger on his face. We then are treated to the SwapShop segment that has them putting up a double drink holder hat up for trade and tell the viewers to send it what they are willing to trade for it, they then go back to the movie. We next see them and Nightie is asking him to draw a picture of a creature that attaches itself to a person and the Night Watchman is drawing and when he turns the board around it’s a picture of actress and singer Miley Cyrus, then back to the movie. Next time we see them Night Watchman is messing up the classic Phrase used to promote the film Alien as Nightie alerts the viewers how to send the show an email by given out the address and then its back to the movie. In the end Night Watchman hits a glowing read button that will not allow the alien to escape as Nightie questions him about sequels and then they say they will see us next week as smoke and the siren goes off.

Movie: In the distant future, the crew of the commercial spaceship Nostromo are on their way home when they pick up a distress call from a distant moon. The crew are under obligation to investigate and the spaceship descends on the moon afterwards. After a rough landing, three crewmembers leave the spaceship to explore the area on the moon. At the same time as they discover a hive colony of some unknown creature, the ship’s computer deciphers the message to be a warning, not a distress call. When one of the eggs is disturbed, the crew realizes that they are not alone on the spaceship and they must deal with the consequences.

Movie Underground: Bill & Ted
Starring – Keanu Reeves & Alex Winter PG 1989

Host: Night Watchman and Nightie Watchman welcome the viewers to the show and they talk briefly about the nights movie as Night Watchman makes a fool of himself acting like he is talking in the lingo of Bill and Ted before he go to the movie. We next join them as they talk about musician and actor Clarence Clemons and they fake play instruments before we go back to the film. Night Watchman has ice on is eye as the idea of the phone booth saying reach out and touch someone backfired as Nightie punched him in the eye for touching her. Next time we join them they are goofing on how a Twinkie is what tricked Genghis Khan into the phone booth, they then make a joke about playing doctor with each other before back to the movie. Next they are holding a contest to win a red bra if you email the first name of The Night Watchman and get it correct, then back to the movie. The they make a joke about the size of a man’s corndog and head back to the film. In the end Night Watchman says Nightie should be respected for her beauty and her punches, and she then uses a wireless phone to zap them out of the vault ending their segments of the show.

Movie: Two seemingly dumb teens set off on a quest to prepare the ultimate historical presentation with the help of a time machine.

Movie Underground: Brothers Grimm
Starring – Matt Damon & Heath Ledger PG-13 2005

Host: The shows opens with The Night Watchman holding the film can for Brothers Grimm and pokes fun of it as he explains all the stuff it has in store for us before ushering us into the film. We next join him as he makes a poop joke and then we see some commercials, and once back he is cramming cold pizza into his mouth and then back to the movie. Once more when we join Night Watchman he pokes fun at the film and it’s lack of Oscar wins, and then claims he is going to show people how to do the Popcorn trick during the next break. The Popcorn trick is Night Watchman shoving the remaining popcorn into his mouth and then back to the movie. Once back Night Watchman makes a fart joke about beans and then makes a joke about a werewolf before its back to the movie time. And after a few more really bad jokes The Night Watchman reads a fan letter and then ends the show.

Movie: Will and Jake Grimm are traveling con-artists who encounter a genuine fairy-tale curse which requires true courage instead of their usual bogus exorcisms.

Movie Underground: Gremlins
Starring – Zach Galligan & Phoebe Cates PG 1984

Host: Night Watchman and Nightie are very happy to bring you the nights film as they are even using Gremlin toys to showcase this, and they want the parents at home to pop some popcorn for the kids and to sit back and have a great family movie night with this film, Nightie also keeps saying “Screaming” as she moves her Stripe bobble-head around, before they usher in the movie. We join them back on the couch and they talk about a fun fact that Phoebe Cates and Judge Reinhold also starred in “Fast Times At Ridgemont High” before this film, and then its back to the move. Next The Night Watchman soaks the camera with a water gun to see if the viewers will multiple like the Gremlins do, as Nightie uses an umbrella to block the water before they go back to the movie. Next is a trivia question on who voiced the character Gizmo in the film. Night Watchman next alerts that they need to call housekeeping do to the men’s bathroom being so bad. The end the show saying sorry for scaring the kid viewers with this film and Nightie gives the camera a kiss as the show ends.

Movie: A young man inadvertently breaks three important rules concerning his new pet and unleashes a horde of malevolently mischievous monsters on a small town.

Movie Underground: King Kong
Starring – Jeff Bridges & Jessica Lange PG 1976

Host: Night Watchman and Nightie start the episode off by playing charades and Nightie has to guess the nights film, and after some silly back and fourth its clear the film is the 1976 remake version of King Kong. We next join them as they chat about how the critics hated Jessica Lange and her performance in the film, and then Nightie is in a towel and Night Watchman asks if he can use it to get the popcorn butter off his fingers, the answer is no and to the movie we go. Next they are both hiding behind the couch and make fun of a photo camera one of the cast is using as it uses film still. Then they make fun of some of the flubs of the film like the trees not being knocked down in scenes before its back to the film. We next briefly join them as Night Watchman is tied up and gaged as Nightie shakes her head. They then answer a fan question about the nights film and after the answer Night Watchman of course delivers a cheesy joke. Next the make fun of the mechanical Kong that was used in the film as a bad idea. In the end Night Watchman falls from the ceiling as he was monkeying around and Nightie says she will watch over him and that they will see everyone next week.

Movie: When a research ship is sent to explore an island thought to be rich in oil, paleontologist Jack Prescott sneaks aboard, having heard strange rumors about the island. En route, the crew rescues Dwan, the sole survivor of a shipwreck. When they arrive, they find native people living in fear of a monster called Kong. The natives kidnap Dwan and sacrifice her to what turns out to be an enormous ape. Dwan is eventually rescued, and the ape captured for a gala exhibit.

Movie Underground: The Mummy
Starring – Brendan Fraser & Rachel Weisz PG-13 1999

Host: The Night Watchman is playing with toilet paper and asks Nightie what it reminder her of and she says a crappy movie? And he alerts her that the film tonight is The Mummy and then flings the TP as she runs away. We next join them as Night Watchman has wrapped himself in the toilet paper so that he looks like a Mummy as Nightie ushers us back to the movie. Next still wrapped up Night Watchmen tells a terrible Mummy dad joke and Nightie gets us back into the movie, but when we see him next he once more makes a bad joke this time about the toe of a camel. Next segment they both use puns in order to get us back to the movie, and Nightie does mention the original 1932 film. Next up Night Watchman has a camera and is taking pictures of Nightie and the plug her photo gallery on the WGN website. Nightie next tells us about the special effects of the movie and how George Lucas’s company is who handled it. They end the show by talking about how successful The Mummy was for Universal and how it spawned sequels, roller coaster and even spin –offs.

Movie: At an archaeological dig in the ancient city of Hamunaptra, an American serving in the French Foreign Legion accidentally awakens a mummy who begins to wreak havoc as he searches for the reincarnation of his long-lost love.

Movie Underground: Three Amigos
Starring – Steve Martin & Chevy Chase PG 1986

Host: The pair are relaxing and having popcorn when they chat a little about the nights film and Night Watchman confuses the film with “Three Men and A Baby” before Nightie corrects him and takes us to the first part of the movie. We next join them as they are wearing sombreros and are dancing around and send us back to the film. Next Night Watchman is taking a nap and Nightie takes us back to the film and Night wakes up and is mad as he feels she took his lines! Next Night Watchman does a big promo of watching College Football on WGN and talks about teams and games that are coming up, and before he get back to the movie Night Watchman is asking if they have anymore chip dip. The next few breaks they bring us in and out of the film and commercial breaks. Night Watchman makes a joke about the character Dusty Bottoms and Nightie just shakes her head, and they end the show with Night Watchman having a stomachache and running to the restroom and Nightie says she will see us next week.

Movie: Three out of work silent movie actors are accidentally drawn to a Mexican village that is being harassed by a gang of outlaws. The three, ‘Ned’, ‘Lucky Day’ and ‘Dusty Bottoms’ play ‘Lone Ranger’ types in their movies, but must play their parts for real now.

WGN Movie Underground and it’s hosts Night Watchman and Nightie are really solid and made their mark on Horror Hosting and is a show that I feel still could be on TV today and WGN should bring them back as these types of movie hosting shows are lacking on broadcast TV. And I truly do thank that Night Watchman and Nightie made a great duo and did a fantastic job of not only entertaining the viewers but also educating them on the films. But our time with The Night Watchman has came to an end as his shift is over, but before we end this Icon update I would like to tell you that our next update will be the July 4^th update and will feature a comic book American Hero as it will be about the youngest elected President in America Prez! So until next time read a comic or three, watch a movie or two and as always support your local Horror Host. See you next update for a firework in the sky good time.

The 8th Wonder Of Giant Classic Comics King Kong

Posted on September 1, 2014 by bloodlinematt

My mother was 7 or 8 when she attempted to watch the 1933 film King Kong with her mom when it aired on TV. She watched as a group set out to sea to make a movie and landed on an island, and when King Kong showed up just the sight and sound of the beast scared her enough to make her hide behind her mom’s chair! She would peek around the corner and shiver in fright of the sight of the giant ape. Way before the gross out films of the 60’s made by the likes of Hershel Gordon Lewis became the norm in what’s “scary” about horror films, the likes of a giant ape with a love for blondes paved the way and terrified the young and old. While many not consider it a horror film, I have always viewed it as one as King Kong is a giant ape creature that caused panic not only on his home island but also New York, and he does kill and eat humans so yeah, it spells horror film to me. I saw the film when I was about 7 or 8, the same age she first saw it, and I can remember my Mom telling me about her first viewing and this set the bar very high as I sat down on the couch ready to watch it alongside my parents and my brother on a VHS that we rented from Waynesville’s library. From the moment the film started, I was hooked on every word and when Kong showed up I became a fan, and to me every gorilla toy became King Kong. The watch with my family was a great one and was one of many fun family night of watching a flick on the old VCR while eating popcorn and being entertained. I don’t want to give too much of the plot away of the film as that will happen as we review the Gold Key comic adaptation a little later on so I will give you the cliff notes version. The film is about a filmmaker and some sailors who take a fresh faced new actress to an island were the natives take her to appease King Kong, a giant gorilla who rules the land. They save her and also take Kong to New York as a stage attraction, and he escapes running wild in the city until he is killed in the end. It’s an amazing classic film with special effects that were way ahead of their time. If you have not seen this film, do yourself a favor and watch it!

In the 1980’s Ted Turner owned Turner Classic Movies wanted to do something fresh and new to King Kong so they did the unthinkable…. they colorized it! To be honest it seemed like an odd kick Turner was on, taking old classic black and white films and turning them into color films to air on his classic movie station, and on the top of the list that sparked the most debate was what they did to King Kong. I can remember that my mom and dad were not pleased that they messed with a classic film this way, but being so young I was a little curious to see what the classic Kong would look like in color. I seen the color version after the black and white and still preferred the original to the tampered with version. King Kong was the first movie on VHS that I owned two versions of as I had to own them both, and I would say I watched the black and white more than I did the colorized one that I got dirt cheap brand new at Blockbuster Video.

Now if you look at King Kong as a horror film like I do, then you would have to look at Fay Wray as the original scream queen, and she proves she has a set of lungs as she screams her head off at the first site of Kong. She began her acting career making short films and making westerns for Universal but left once she became a WAMPAS Baby Stars meaning she was listed as an actress to watch. As a teenager Wray was signed to a contract with Paramount Pictures where she made over a dozen films like the failure 1928 silent film The Wedding March. Wray was able to make the transition from silent to talkie films and left Paramount to make other films for other companies, the most notable being RKO that hired her for her first horror films like Doctor X, The Most Dangerous Game and her most famous film King Kong. She was proud of her work in Kong and that film saved RKO from going bankrupt! During that time as well she was in a few other horror films like The Vampire Bat and Mystery In The Wax Museum. By the 1940’s, Wray retired briefly from acting but came back to make more films and take TV parts being on such shows as Perry Masson and Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Wray continued to act for many years and even turned down a part in James Cameron’s 1997 smash hit film Titanic. Sadly at the age of 96 Fay Wray passed away of natural causes in 2004 while she slept. After her passing, the Empire State Building shut off all its lights for 15 minutes to honor her legacy. Wray was a true beauty, a talented actress and could possibly be the first scream queen of cinema.

Because King Kong was such a huge hit at the box office, a sequel was made in 1933, coming out only 9 months after the original. The film follows the film director from the first film who is now in hot water for King Kong running wild in New York and travels to find that the giant ape might have had an offspring. That film was called Son of Kong! In Japan in 1962, they made a film called King Kong vs. Godzilla where they pit the world’s top giant monsters against each other, and in 1967 they made another King Kong film called King Kong Escapes that has our lovable Kong fighting a robot version of himself called Mecha Kong. Paramount Pictures in 1976 decided to make a remake of King Kong and added in more modern touches to the film and even trades in the Empire State Building for the Twin Towers as well as the stop motion Kong for a stuntman in a suit done by FX God Rick Baker. In 1986 the remake got a forgettable follow up called King Kong Lives that had the giant ape getting a pacemaker put in to replace his damaged heart and finding a mate who has also been brought to the USA. In 2005 a longwinded Peter Jackson remake of King Kong was made and besides more minutes added to the runtime, it was a good but unnecessary film. With all these spin off films, sequels and remakes this just shows you how much impact this film had on classic cinema, and I agree with James Rolfe who said that film students should watch the original in film school right alongside Citizen Kane. While none of them are as good as the original film, they are all still fun watches that help add to the legacy of Kong and prove that this primate of fright, this ape of terror, is truly a legend of cinema.

In 1966 America and Japanese animation studios teamed up to make The King Kong Show, an animated adventure kid show that had King Kong befriending the Bond Family and stopping the likes of Dr. Who (and no, not the BBC version) from capturing Kong for his own evil gain. This animated cartoon was teamed with another show about a tiny special agent called Tom of T.H.U.M.B. and the show would last till 1969 with a total of 3 seasons and 25 episodes. This cartoon also helped Toho make the film King Kong Escapes and also was to be inspiration to the film that became Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster, which Kong was suppose to star in, not Zilla. The cartoon over the years did not hold up well and was mostly forgotten until it got released on DVD as volumes a few years back. I never remember seeing the show when I was a kid, and I think it would have fit perfect on early morning Saturday’s back in the 80’s and could have also found a place on the USA Cartoon Express. I saw the show when I was older and in my 20’s found it to be pretty cool but only from a retro standpoint.

So as we all know Toho studios made two films with King Kong in them in the 1960’s, but did you know that there are also two others made in Japan way before this that are now lost films? The first was a short silent film called “Wasei Kingu Kongu” made in 1933 the same year King Kong was released and was a team up from RKO and Shochiku Studios. Not much is known about the film besides RKO asked them to make it and that instead of a stop motion Kong, it was a man in a suit. It was directed by Torajiro Saito with Isamu Yamaguchi playing King Kong and all that is left of the film is one single picture that was printed. Next was a 1938 film called “King Kong Appears In Edo” that made by Zensho Cinema with permission from RKO and was directed by Soya Kumagai and had a size changing King Kong attacking Edo (Tokyo) during Medieval times! Fuminori Ohashi who some 16 years later would make the original Godzilla costume made the Kong costume in this film. Just think about that, King Kong was really Japan’s first giant movie monster and not Godzilla like we all thought! Both films are believed to have been destroyed during the bombings of World War II and neither ever showed outside of Japan making all master prints being only stored there. I learned about these missing films thanks once more to James Rolfe (Angry Video Game Nerd) when he did a top 10 list of lost Horror Films and the Japan Kong films were his # 1, and I agree with him when he said he hopes all the films he picked won’t always be lost films. Below are some pictures of Japan’s King Kongs, the first being Toho’s with the second being the 1933 version and last being the 1938 one.

Tiger Electronics who are best known for making handheld games in the late 80’s and 90’s also made some console games in the age of Atari 2600 under the brand name TigerVision. And would you know it that in 1982 they made a game based on King Kong that was a follow up to their handheld games made about the big ape the year before. The game was a total rip off of Donkey Kong and had you playing as a guy who was trying to get to the top were King Kong was. The graphics were bad and Kong was a stiff looking pixel mess. I have played the game several times and even own it and I must say that it really is a bad game. Though I do find it funny that Donkey Kong was a clone of King Kong who in turn had a game made about him that was just a bad clone of Donkey Kong. The game on release only sold moderately well and was by no means looked at as a classic.

Ideal made a board game in 1976 based on the remake movie that had 2-4 players trying to get to the top of the Twin Towers before King Kong so that they can capture him, or you can win the game by saving the woman from his right hand via a special mission. But Kong won’t make your trip easy as he is flipping all around trying to knock your player back to the start. I own this game and played it with the fellow members of The Dayton Board Game Society who are Stephen Alexander II, Josh Weinberg, Jeremy Hoyt and Garrison Kane on one of our past meetings ,and I can remember that while the game was not all that ground breaking we all had fun trying to knock each other off the building using Kong as our puppet and it was a blast seeing just how competitive it got. If you get a chance and like classic board games based on movies then I would say check this one out, play time to complete is about 20 minutes give or take a few. I should also share we played this game on February 6^th 2013 in Josh Weinberg’s basement and we also played the LJN A Nightmare on Elm Street video game for the NES and we ate Wing Zone.

King Kong not only has been made into many video games and board games but he has also had pinball machines based around him, many comic books, novels, magazines, t-shirts, toys, Halloween costumes, soundtracks, stickers, dolls, drinking glasses and so much more. If you’re a King Kong fan, then there is something for you out there in the world of merchandise. Some of my favorite King Kong merchandise that I owned was my Imperial King Kong action figure that I use to make fight my Godzilla figure and even Kong was wrapped up in my epic Toy Wars, also would be my Crestwood Monster Series Book based on King Kong that gave the history of the film as well as some sweet photos. I also really liked my adaptation novel by Delos W. Lovelace and can remember reading it before bedtime many nights. It’s odd looking back at my youth now being 35 years old and seeing just how much of an impact King Kong has had on my life. It’s a neat feeling knowing that a giant ape with a love for blondes truly means something to me. And for those of you who listen to Alpha Rhythms on WYSO (91.3 FM) on Sunday nights, I have played soundtrack pieces from the original score by Max Steiner as well as tracks from King Kong Lives by John Scott.

Before we move onto The Gold Key Comic Review I of course have to talk about a ride I have wanted to go on since I first heard about it; that’s the one and only KongFrontation ride at Universal Studios Orlando that opened on June 7^th 1990 and became a major attraction at the park. The ride was based on the 1976 remake as well as a ride Universal Studios had at their Hollywood park called King Kong Encounter that opened in 1986. The 5 minute ride would place you and others inside a tramcar but not before you walked down a mock New York street complete with newscasts playing on TVs to build up that King Kong is roaming the streets. Once inside the car you are treated to explosions as well as giant animatronic King Kong’s that would roar and knock your little car around given the effect that he was attacking. In the end he would attack while you’re on the bridge but your driver would get you out safe and unharmed. This ride seemed amazing to me and just the thought of being close to a life size version of Kong was enough to make me want to go, but being a kid and having parents that didn’t like to travel out of state put a damper on getting to go. The attraction closed in 2002, and two years later a lame ride based on the terrible Mummy Remake took its place, marking the sad fact that I never got to ride the one roller coaster/attraction that I always wanted to. As far as King Kong Encounter, it had guests on a tramcar as King Kong would knock a helicopter from the sky and would end with you being eye level with the great ape on the Brooklyn Bridge as he tries to break it apart. Of course you would make it off the bridge and would be safe thanks to your driver. The Kong animatronic was at the time the world’s largest and was so detailed that it’s “breath” smelled of bananas! This ride as well lasted a total of 5 minutes and was one of the main attractions to the park. Sadly it as well came to an end when in 2008 a massive fire broke out and burnt the attraction up, but in Universal Hollywood they didn’t give up on King Kong and replaced it with an attraction called King Kong 360 3-D. I really would have loved to have ridden these attractions and sadly with both of them gone for good I will never get the chance to do so. But I can watch videos of them on YouTube and hear stories from my friends who did get to experience it…sigh.

So I think our voyage through the sea of King Kong is over and we looked at the movies, video game, cartoon, missing films, merchandise as well as a theme park attraction but now it’s time for us to take a walk on Skull Island alongside Gold Key comics and see what this 1968 adaptation has to offer to the Kong legacy. I want to think Bell Book And Comic for having this comic in stock, and I would like to remind that I graded on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comic stays to the source material, it’s entertainment value and it’s art and story. So let’s man up and walk through the giant gates into King Kong’s lsland and hope he doesn’t stomp us into the mud!

King Kong # 1 ***1/2
Released in 1968 Cover Price .25 Gold Key # 1 of 1

Carl Denham is a filmmaker who can’t find a lead actress for his top secret next project. He even has rented a boat called the “Wonderer” along with all its crew and after an agent tells him that he will not supple him with an actress, the director walks down the streets of New York and finds a pretty thief woman named Ann Darrow who was stealing an apple due to hunger. Denham buys it for her and hires her to be in his new film. While on board the first mate Jack Driscoll falls in love with Ann, and the two start up a relationship. They find out that they are to port at an unknown island called Kong Island. But while at the island they find that the natives are worshiping and sacrificing women to an unknown “God” and they have set their sights on Ann who they kidnap off the boat and take to the altar where a giant gorilla named King Kong falls for her and takes her deep into his jungle home! Driscoll and Denham lead some crew members on a rescue mission and while in the jungle they find that Kong is not the only giant monster as dinosaurs and sea serpents all blocking their trail to save Ann from Kong’s grip. Kong finds that he is being followed after he beats up a pair of Triceratops and knocks all the crew members off a log killing them leaving only Driscoll and Denham left. As Driscoll follows Kong, Denham goes back to the ship for more men and gas bombs. King Kong while trying to grab Driscoll from a cave is attacked by a T-Rex and a major battle breaks out between the giant beasts! As Kong climbs to his cave home he must fight off all types of attackers and during this Driscoll saves Ann, and the two escape via the river below. As they reach the gates Kong is in hot pursuit and it’s here that Denham uses his gas bombs to knock Kong out and then takes him to New York to use the giant ape as a sideshow, but when Kong see’s Ann again he breaks his chains and escapes his cage and takes Ann to the top of the Empire State Building where he is attacked by fighter planes that lead to his death as they use machine guns on him while he is distracted by Ann being saved by Driscoll again and he falls to his death. In the end Ann and Driscoll are safe in each other’s arms, Kong is dead in the middle of the street and Denham learns that it was beauty that killed the beast.

This is another amazingly done comic film adaptation of a classic horror film much like Comic Library International’s Edison’s Frankenstein 1910 that holds just so true enough to the source material but still adds its own flare to spice it up. The plot is your simple Beauty and The Beast and follows a young actress who gains the affection of a tough sailor as well as a giant ape and when the big primate is taken away from his home and placed in the big city, his only comfort when he escapes is his blonde bombshell but even love can’t save him from being slain. Ann Darrow is a sweet woman who turns her misfortune of being poor into fame when she takes the part in a movie that leads her to charming King Kong to be put on display. Even though Ann fears Kong she also still feels some affection for him and wishes him no ill will and even tries to save the beast as the planes shoot him down. King Kong is neither good nor bad and it’s clear he is very territorial of his land and very protective of Ann who he has fallen in love with. I love the fact that he keeps not only the natives in check but also all the other giant beasts that live on the island proving he really is the King. Carl Denham, while a money grubbing rich film making geek, still really shows he cares about his friends as Ann’s safety when being taken is a big priority to him, though he does mistreat King Kong by keeping him in chained up and taking him away from his home to be looked at by New York’s rich snobs and press. Jack Driscoll is your very classic tough guy who only cares about the woman he loves and will risk it all for her. The major changes I noticed between the comic and the film is that in the comic the ship is called The Wonderer, while in the film it’s The Venture; in the comic the island is called Kong Island, while in the film it’s Skull Island. I also noticed in the film Jack is annoyed that Ann is on the ship and it takes awhile before he falls for her, in the comic it happens fast. This was the second time I have read this comic and I found that I enjoy it more and more after each read and find something very magical about the whole reading experience. The copy I have is a classic example of Rotten Ink as the smell of the decomposing ink fills your nose when you flip through the pages, while not a beat up copy, it’s still very yellowed on the pages. The artwork is done by ummm….an unknown artist as no credit is given, but I must say the art is perfect for this comic and while Kong doesn’t capture the full look of his movie appearance it still looks the part enough to draw this comic reader in. The cover as well is very eye catching and I am sure drew kids attention to it by using lots of orange and putting a giant ape crushing planes on the cover. If you like the film or like classic horror comics, than this is for sure one you should check out. I am glad I got it and I am sure a few years from now I will read it again. Below is a piece of art from the comic just so you can see the style Gold Key went for in this comic.

Really this is a great comic with great classic artwork and really is going to help us kick off our two month long horror comic countdown to Halloween 2014! So on this update we traveled to Skull Island and got to know King Kong and see what that massive beast was about, but how about next time we travel to a black lagoon and celebrate the 60th birthday of the Universal Monster Gill-Man. So until then read a comic or two, watch a horror film and support your local Horror Host.