The Dusty Paperback Rack: The Devil’s Breath by Robert Irvine

Posted on August 11, 2025 by bloodlinematt

Trick Or Treat! That’s right, I am sneaking in a bonus spooky update to this year’s countdown to Halloween. This one will be our first “ The Dusty Paperback Rack” update where I will be talking about a paperback Horror Novel that I have read and wanted to share with you readers. This will be a very fast update read, just like last year’s surprise where we did a countdown of the 1993 trading card for the haunted hayride attraction Jason’s Woods read HERE if you missed it. So with that, let’s walk on to the Rotten Ink Paperback Library and find a spooky book to read.

So I am walking through the Rotten Ink paperback book library that is always growing and have grabbed a book off the first dusty old shelf that I decided to read for this update, I want to also stress that this is the first time I have read this book and it has been chosen because it peeked my interest with its covers as well as story. My friend The Rotten Book Worm who will be along with me for the ride of this update wanted me to remind you all that just like the comics, I am grading these on a 1-4 star scale and am looking for how well the novel stays to the source material, its entertainment value and its characters and story. So let’s bust out our reading glasses as it’s time to crack open this book and see what horrors await us! Also warning, there will be spoilers in this review.

The Devil’s Breath ***
Written By Robert Irvine Cover Price $2.75 Pinnacle Books 1982 280 Pages

Jack Graham is an artist who was in a terrible accident that left him minus a hand as well broke up his marriage as he became bitter about feeling like a freak and getting pity from others. He decides to move to Moondance, Utah and to the home his deceased uncle left to him and meets Harriet Wilcox, the local press who picks him up and drives him into town where he meets Mayor Benyon, Sheriff Fisk and councilman Timmons all of whom are at the site of a brutal murder of three TV crew members that they swear was a bear attack and force Jack and Harriet to keep quiet about the deaths. Once in town, he finds out that the townspeople are all churchgoing people who like to gossip and finds that they want his land so they can have a hunting ground to bring in big time late night TV personality Jimmy Keene to film his big hunt. After falling in love with Harriet and rescuing an abused dog he calls Shotgun, he finally agrees to allow them to hunt on his land with one stipulation; they have to take him along as he has been inspired to make art again! Before the big hunt many members of the city council are being killed off by strange ways, and the local Native American Yeba Kah is thought to be dead is soon found alive and is blamed for all the murders and is captured while on the hunt. Worse Jack Graham is stuck in a fight for survival when the spirit of an angry Native American God named Koshari starts to kill off members of the hunting party by using their own fears against them! In the end Jack Graham returns home a changed man and his paintings soon show the sinister ways the hunting party died as well as his own fate, and it’s up to Harriet and Shotgun to save him from it!

I have to lead off by saying that I really liked the atmosphere of this book as I found Moondance to be a small town filled with sinister secrets and the townsfolk will do what they can to try and survive and that includes allowing people to hunt in their woods that are clearly haunted by an evil vengeful God and his protection is something very sinister. I also liked the fact they added in lots of Native American folklore and even spice up the story with romance as our main character Jack finds love again with Harriet. One aspect that I really like about this book was that the last few chapters, when all the bad really starts going down, had a real Tales From The Darkside feel to it. Let’s talk about the characters as my favorite in the book was Jack Graham. While he is very self doubting and sometimes comes off as an ass, he still is a very likable character who cares about nature, animals and people he loves. I like that he has inner drama and that he loses faith in his painting abilities because he lost a hand in a accident as this makes him feel like a real person who has lost himself in self pity. Another reason I like Jack is that he clearly has respect for animals as he not only saves and adopts an abused dog but also the three burros that helped get him off the mountain alive when the rest of his party had died. I should also note that I also really liked Harriet Wilcox as she has a warm heart and reminds me of a classic news reporter who is battling with the town’s government over what she can write about. My least favorite character was a tie between Del Timmons, the a-hole councilman who is cruel to animals, killed his wife and was going to kill Jack and the cocky and rude TV Star Jimmy Keene as he was just a jerk to everyone in the hunting party and clearly had an ego problem! Koshari is the book’s main bad guy and this God wants revenge on those who disrespect his land and kill animals for sport, and I love the fact he uses peoples own fear to lead them to their untimely deaths. While none of our characters ever see Koshari in his spirit appearance they do see what he wants them to and this makes him very dangerous. This book had great characters, a cool villain, likable characters and made me want to see what other books author Robert Irvine has written, I would say Horror Novel Readers who like vengeful spirits should check this one out.

Bought From: Half Price Books

What a great read as I have always been a sucker for a good evil spirit in the woods kind of story and The Devil’s Breath delivers on this factor and in fact just is a good Horror Novel that I suggest you checkout as I am happy I did. And those wondering, the website Good Reads has this book rated 3.5 out of 5 stars and Amazon has it rated 4.6 out of 5 stars as of this updates posting showing that I was not the only one who enjoyed it. And I think that “The Dusty Paperback Rack” will be a new themed update that will pop up from time to time and of course will be a way to cover Horror Paperback Novels. But do not worry for those looking for the update for Sharknado 3 as it is coming up next in just a few days. So until next time, read a Horror Novel or three, watch a Horror Movie or two and as always support your local Horror Host. See you next update as it looks like we are in for some nasty weather as they are calling for sharks!

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!

A True Hero Of The People: Robin Hood

Posted on November 9, 2024 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink and the first update in our countdown to Thanksgiving 2024. One classic hero that I have been a fan of since I was a kid is Robin Hood, the man who stole from the rich and gave to the poor. Robin Hood is a folk legend that has been talked about since the 13^th Century and is a symbol of hope for the less fortunate as he is a hero for them, a man who cares about them having food for their bellies, wine to drink to quench their thirst and a roof over their heads. Robin Hood is a world wide icon as his story and legend are known worldwide, and the fact that he stands up against the greedy and those who abuse their power makes him a true hero for many. I think the most awesome thing about Robin Hood is that no one really knows who created his story or if he was truly based on a real person, and all we truly know is that it looks as if his legend started in England. But with that, let’s head to Sherwood Forest and go on a blog update adventure with Robin Hood and his Merry Men!

Before we dive to deep into this blog update, let’s first take a brief look at the characters that make up the lore of this timeless tale. Robin Hood is an outlaw who is skilled with his bow and arrows and who is loyal to Richard The Lionheart, who was the King Of England. Robin Hood would steal money, food and other goods from the rich and greedy in order to give to the poor who were suffering near Nottingham, and this made him the enemy of the kingdom. Robin Hood did his “crimes” with the help of his Merry Men that included Little John a mountain of a man, Friar Tuck who works for the church, Will Scarlet a young skilled sword man with other members being Alan-A-Dale, Much The Miller’s Son, Will Stutely, Arthur-A-Bland and David Of Doncaster. Robin Hood’s lover interest is the lovely Maid Marion who was the daughter of a nobel man and who falls for Robin Hood after he robs some of her father’s knights and she falls for him (other tales have them knowing each other since childhood). The baddies of these tales are the corrupt and evil Sheriff Of Nottingham, the knight Guy Of Gisborne, Bishop Of Hereford and Prince John to name a few. This is just a crash course for the bios for Robin Hood and the characters that make up his legends and tales, and if you are interested in learning more about them there are plenty of great books, websites, films and shows that can help you learn more.

With Robin Hood being a legend in lore, this of course lead to him being the subject of many TV shows, movies and cartoons with almost all of them being hits with viewers and fans as something about the character Robin Hood has always found a spot with people who enjoy his adventures. I would like to take a brief moment to talk about a few of the films and shows that I can remember loving growing up! The first version of Robin Hood I remember was “The Adventures Of Robin Hood” from 1938 where actor Errol Flynn played the hero and this version of the tale still to this day remains one of my favorite film versions. The next one of course was the 1973 Disney animated film “Robin Hood” that had Brian Bedford voice Robin Hood who in this version is a talking fox. The big film version of my generation was the 1991 film “Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves” that had Kevin Costner playing Robin. I was a big fan of this film and had the action figures done by Kenner, the NES game, and the breakfast cereal as well as the Topps trading cards. And those are my top three favorite film versions of Robin Hood but many have played the character over the decades in film and television such as Richard Greene, Thor Bishopric, Russell Crowe, Cary Elwes, Patrick Bergin, Taron Egerton, Douglas Fairbanks and Michael Praed to name a very small few. One of the strangest Robin Hoods has to be from the 1966 cartoon series called “Rocket Robin Hood” that has a space version of the character called Rocket Robin Hood who with his Merry Men in space fight off aliens…yep, it’s a weird one. These are just some of the films, cartoons and shows based on Robin Hood, and I am sure you readers have your favorites as well.

While Robin Hood has shown up in many video games, the one that I want to talk about is called “Super Robin Hood” and it was released for the Nintendo Entertainment System as part of a game called “Quattro Adventure” that also features the games “Boomerang Kid”, “Treasure Island Dizzy” and “Linus Spacehead”. The game is super basic as it’s a side scrolling action game that has you play as Robin Hood armed with his bow & arrow as he collects treasure and fights off the guards that are protecting it, and you are on this quest in a massive castle that acts like a maze and you need to find keys in order to unlock doors. Besides the guards, the area is also filled with falling maces, flames, lava, bats and traps making your quest very dangerous. While collecting the treasures to give to the poor is a big part of the adventure, the main goal is to save Maid Marion who is being kept prisoner at the Nottingham Castle. While the game is not groundbreaking it is a fun and simple game that will surely kill some time on a boring weekend and will give fans of Robin Hood some joy as they arrow down baddies and save the day. I should also say that this game was released in 1991 for the NES, and is one I did not have as a kid.

Did you know that Robin Hood has also made his way into the world of food as well? As some restaurants have the name Robin Hood or have that Sherwood Forest theme with one being a cool little diner in Southampton, PA that at some point I plan on eating at whenever I am in the area. But what I want to really talk about is Robin Hood Flour, a product that has been on store shelves since 1909 and is currently released by J.M. Smucker Company who of course makes the Smucker Jellies to the retail market. The flour is very popular in Canada and can be obtained at some grocery stores here in America that deal in imported foods. When I was a kid I do remember seeing Robin Hood Flour on the shelves when my Mom would bring my brother and I grocery shopping and would try and get her to get it as it said Robin Hood on it. One day Juliet and I should get some Robin Hood Flour and make some Robin Hood themed cupcakes!

One other thing I want to briefly talk about is that at Jungle Jims, a massive world market grocery store in Cincinnati and a place that has all types of awesome decorations that many are taking from old amusement parks as well as fairs. One of the coolest things they have is the Sherwood Forest area that is complete with animatronics of Robin Hood and his Merry Men that has come from an old amusement park. The animatronics are on a timer and sometimes move about and talk. Now this is very awesome to see if you are a fan of Robin Hood like myself seeing these old amusement park attractions while grocery shopping is a really cool thing and adds to the Jungle Jim experience. Checkout the picture below as it was taken by my gal Juliet.

Now many of you know that I like the old Marx Toys and some of my favorites that I own are my 60mm figures of Robin Hood that come in green plastic. The knights are in grey and are taller versions of the classic plastic Army Men figures. The ones that I have are Robin Hood, Maid Marion, Little John, Friar Tuck, The Minstrel, Sheriff Of Nottingham and a Knight. These figures are so cool and I would say that my two favorite ones are Robin Hood himself as well as Little John as I like the designs of them, and the best part is these figures are from the 1960’s and they have really good details for that time. Sadly I do not have the whole set as there are more Merry Men as well as Knights for figures and they also had play sets that I do not have that included horses. But just wanted to take a moment to show these Marx Toys some respect as I really do think they are cool basic figures that I am sure brought many of kids happiness in the 60’s and 70’s as Robin Hood was very popular then.

Since I was a very young kid I have been a big fan of the legend of Robin Hood as a hero of the woods who helped the poor and robbed the rich that were very greedy and treated others poorly was something that just always set right with me. When you breakdown Robin Hood to his core, he is a hero who decided to do something about all the injustice he was seeing in his homeland and along with a band of like-minded folks they set out to right all the wrongs and give hope to those who needed it the most. Now we are at the review part of this update, and I have decided that the comic will be from King Comics as they had a cool three issue mini series perfect for this update. Now keep in mind this was a really hard choice as there are many Robin Hood comics to choose from that are really great reads. I would like to thank Game Swap Kettering for having this comic in stock and making this update possible. I would 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 Sherwood Forest and see what Robin Hood and his band of Merry Men have in store for us.

King Classics: Robin Hood # 1 ***
Released in 1977 Cover Price NA King # 4 of 24

King Richard is fighting the crusade and rumor is he is being held for ransom, and while he is away the likes of Sheriff Of Nottingham and Guy Of Gisborne are taking advantage of the people by taxing them with the guise of using the money to get the King back. Sir Richard, the father of Marion, asks the Sheriff for a loan as well as to watch over his daughter while he goes on a quest to rescue the King, and a terrible deal is made. Later Robin Hood is gathering locals to join his group that is protesting the corruption and even scares away Guy Of Gisborne causing him to play a bounty on the head of Robin! While The Sheriff has set up Sir Richard that leaves his boat crew turning on him and he winds up a prisoner in the dungeon of the Nottingham castle. Robin Hood then meets a mountain of a man named Little John who after a quick tussle joins The Merry Men the group that helps Robin and together they defeat The Sheriff and Guy who made the mistake of trying to track down the bandits. And later Robin Hood and his men steal tons of gold to give to the poor from Geoffrey Of Bellamy, a man who is trying to marry Marion by force thanks to The Sheriff and this causes Robin Hood and his men to come up with a plan to stop the wedding and free Sir Richard from his cell. Some time passes and on the wedding day of Geoffrey and Marion, the brave Robin Hood and his men are able to save Marion as well as scare off Geoffrey and his men that come looking for her, and this cause major anger and even gets the attention of acting King Prince John The Landless who holds a arrow contest hoping that it will draw out Robin Hood cause of the high prize money and he is right! As the knights surround Robin Hood from the woods, The Merry Men appear and are able to save their leader and pull off a big escape, but five Merry Men are taken prisoner. And Robin Hood of course comes for them and saves them as well as Sir Richard and finally he is able to see his daughter Marion again, but their joy is cut short when Geoffrey and his men attack and kill many of the Merry Men and even take Marion back prisoner! Now Robin Hood is angry that he along with Little John and other Merry Men head to the castle for a big showdown. Robin and his men are joined in battle by a cloaked man who saves Robin twice during the battle and soon The Sheriff, Geoffrey, Guy and Prince John and their men loose the fight and Robin Hood is the hero of the day, he also learns that the cloak fighter was King Richard and he also is able to win the heart of Marion and the two are to be married.

This is such a fun read and while some of the pacing is a little odd and I feel like characters such as Little John are downplayed it still is a thrilling adventure ride that showcases the bravery and caring personality of Robin Hood. The issue’s plot is simple The King of England is missing as he went to fight in a Holy War an during his absent many of his fellow rulers and people of power are taking advantage of the people by raising taxes and stealing their land, but Robin Hood and his band of friends and followers have seen enough and are fighting against this corruption and evil doings and this is causing a big brooding battle to take place that will leave only one side standing. Robin Hood is a very caring man who wants to help those less fortunate and will protect them when those wishing them harm comes around, he is loyal to his friends and those he swore to protect and is super skilled with a sword but more so with his trusty bow and arrow. He will die for his cause and while looked as an outlaw by some for the many he is deemed a hero. Little John is a mountain of man who once worked on the side of the greedy but who now is using his strength and skills to fight along Robin Hood in his quest to help the poor. Marion and her father Sir Richard are both good people as well who want to see England flourish and serve only the missing King Richard. And of course Marion and Robin fall in love when he saves her and she lives with him at his camp. The issues baddies Sheriff Of Nottingham, Guy Of Gisborne, Geoffrey Of Bellamy and Prince John The Landless are all big talkers but none of them have the means to truly deal with the “outlaws” that are being a pain in their sides and have disrupted the flow of the money and land they are stealing. And in the end all these guys get what they deserve when King Richard returns to England and shows that he is not on their side nor approves on what they have done while he was away. The issue has some action and while it would have been nice if the fights were a little more showcase I feel this is a really good comic that does the legend justice…I will say that I would have like to have seen Friar Tuck even in a cameo. The cover for this issue is pretty cool and shows Robin Hood firing off an arrow, and the interior art is really cool classic comic book stuff but cannot find who did it so Unknown Artist gets the credit. Over all if you like the legend of Robin Hood and find a copy of this comic make sure to give it a read as it really is a enjoyable read, and checkout the artwork bellow to see the style used in this comic. Oh and Robin Hood wears red in this comic and not green the color most people think of when this character comes up.

As you can see, Robin Hood really is one of the most iconic heroes around the world and his story is still being told in books, comics and films as his impact on culture is that deep. And when choosing what comic to cover for this update I have so many to choose from as such companies as A+ Comics, Eclipse Comics, Dell Comics, Eternity Comics and Charlton Comics have all made some amazing comics based on him. So in other words, if you like Robin Hood you have many comic options to choose from to read. Well it looks like it is time for us to leave Sherwood Forest and head to the world of coloring books as we take a look at Captain America and his Whitman adventure fighting robots! So until next time, read a comic of three, watch a Robin Hood film or two and as always support your local horror host. See you next update for some coloring time!

R.I.W Wrestling Legend: Mr. Wrestling II

Posted on May 22, 2023 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink. As you can see, we are here again at the Rotten Ink Arena and the house is packed! I mean they could not shoe-horn another fan in here as the topic of this “R.I.W Wrestling Legend” update is who brought them all in here. Mr. Wrestling II is a true icon of wrestling and is one of America’s most popular masked grapplers of all time! Yeah, he really is considered one of the best wrestlers in general from the Golden Age of wrestling and this is one update that should be a fun one as I can remember seeing some of his matches as a youngster and I cannot wait to revisit his matches. So if you are ready, grab yourself a soda pop as the matches are about to start.

Mr. Wrestling II was trained by Pat O’Connor and Tony Morelli and started his in-ring career in 1955. He was going under the named Johnny Walker and would travel around the territories and was building a good name for himself as he was a solid worker and promoters took notice of his work,. And because he was so flexible he was even given the nickname “Rubberman” by Texas promoter Paul Boesch who ran Houston Wrestling. In 1964 Johhny Walker would walk away from wrestling and would “retire”. In 1967 Walker would return wearing a mask and going by The Grappler and would work the Indies in Florida until 1972 and was a wrestler that fans took notice of as he was skilled and could work with stars as well as jobbers and get great matches out of both. During his time as Johnny Walker, he had a mixed bag win loss record, same as The Grappler but as both ring names he was booked in some high profile matches. Being semi retired, Johnny Walker would once more be talked into coming back. This time he would go by the name Mr. Wrestling II and would be the tag team partner to Mr. Wrestling, and the two would work both Championship Wrestling From Florida as well as NWA Georgia. The team would fade away and Mr. Wrestling II would continue on and would be a major draw and was one of the most loved wrestlers going at the time and would make promoters so much money when booked on a card as people paid to see him wrestle. During this time he would also take young wrestler Magnum T.A. under his wing, and the pair would work as a tag team and would even have an angle that had Mr. Wrestling II turning on him, due to resentment. The angle was massive and would make both look great in the end. While Mr. Wrestling II was getting up there in age, he still had a few years left in his career as well as a few more federations to wrestle in.

In 1984 Mr. Wrestling II would be hired by Vince McMahon to be part of the WWF as the company was making a big play to expand and take over the world of wrestling and they needed a legend like Mr. Wrestling II for the roster. While working for the WWF he was mostly used on house shows and as enhancement talent putting over younger stars as Mr. Wrestling II was getting up there in age and Vince just wanted him for his name value and to keep him locked up and not working for a competitor. He would end up putting over names like Iron Sheik, Bob Orton Jr., Brutus Beefcake, Chief Jay Strongbow, Jim Neidhart and Randy Savage. Barely seen on TV and too old to be a big star for WWF, his run would come to an end in 1986. Once free from the WWF and with a few more years left in him, he would go into wrestle for Continental Championship Wrestling, Southern Championship Wrestling as well as picking up a few dates working some Indies. And in 1990 he once more stepped away from in-ring action, but would work on final match in 2007 at the age of 73 for Hawai’i Championship Wrestling before fully retiring from the sport. Over his long on and off again career in wrestling, Mr. Wrestling II would capture many titles, build up a massive fan base and would make money for the promoters who booked him. Sadly Mr. Wrestling II passed away on June 10, 2020 at the age of 85 from unknown causes.

Mr. Wrestling II is hands down one of the most popular masked wrestlers of the classic days of wrestling and is a name that almost every wrestling fan knows as he was truly a journeyman wrestler who worked his ass off in the ring to entertain fans. The one thing about Mr. Wrestling II is that while he was a great wrestler, I do feel he stuck around a little too long and ended up getting wins over some younger talent that he should have been putting over. But when you look back at it all, promoters kept booking him and allowing him to win matches because he was still a draw even when older and his name meant something in the sport and more importantly to the fans. I can even remember seeing him on a old WCW event where Mr. Wrestling II was wearing his mask as well as a suit, funny stuff and reminded me of the old days of El Santo when he rocked the mask and suit combination in films and public appearances. The thing that I also remember the most about Mr. Wrestling II is just how basic he looked as his mask was a simple black and white and nothing special and flashy so nothing like most of the Luchadors have in Lucha Libre, but yet his simple look really worked for him. I also find his career very interesting, as he was a wrestler who retired many times and was talked into coming back by promoters…I mean Mr. Wrestling II seems to be the must reluctant legend in wrestling history! I also love that former President Jimmy Carter has said that Mr. Wrestling II was his favorite wrestler and the two became kind of friends and I also love that he would not remove the mask as he tried to keep his identity a secret. When watching his matches as a kid I always found Mr. Wrestling II to be skilled but a little dated and lacked the flash of the then modern wrestlers of that time. A true masked wrestling legend in the sport and one that has left a huge legacy.

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 Mr. Wrestling II for his hard work in the world of wrestling. I also want to remind you that I will only be breaking down randomly select matches from this set and will be breaking down the match and will be rating the matches on a 5 Star rating system. I also only choose from Single matches as I want to break down his matches that showcase his style. Here is what the stars mean ½ Means a really terrible match, * Means a bad match, ** Means a below average match, **1/2 Means a good average entertaining match, *** Means a good match, **** Means a great match, ***** Means an epic match. So if you are ready let’s step into the ring with Mr. Wrestling II.

Best Of Mr. Wrestling II

Match 1: Mr. Wrestling II vs. Buzz Sawyer

Buzz tries to get the jump on Mr. Wrestling II before the bell but instead eats a punch to the gut and then Wrestling II delivers a big backdrop to Buzz. But then the Masked Superstar who is in Buzz’s corner grabs Wrestling II’s robe and rips it apart at ringside, and Buzz does his best to make sure that Wrestling II cannot get out of the ring to stop it. Buzz keeps tackling Mr. Wrestling II who is able to get off a few hits and after the robe is destroyed Buzz leaves the ring, and the bell is rings and Mr. Wrestling II wins by DQ. A short and lackluster match when it comes to wrestling as a few punches, takedowns and a backdrop is all you get, but the story telling from Mr. Wrestling II, Masked Superstar and Buzz Sawyer is really good as you can feel the hatred and emotion come from Wrestling II as he cuts a promo on them after the match. Sadly it’s a super low rating for the match but for storytelling I will give it at least one star.

Grade: *

Match 2: Mr. Wrestling II vs. Paul Garner

Mr. Wrestling II starts off the match by locking on a headlock on Paul in the center of the ring and ever after Paul breaks loose for a moment he is quickly placed right back into the hold. Once out of the hold Wrestling II then beats Paul in a test of strength and then starts working on his arm with an arm lock. Paul escapes and lands a few hits onto the chest of Wrestling II and then throws him into the ropes only for Wrestling II to take the lead on the match again dropping Paul with only one clubbing hit to his back. Wrestling II then body slams Paul and as he is getting up Wrestling II hits him with his knee lift finisher and is able to get the three count after splashing on top of him with a weird awkward dive. This match is pretty much a squash match as Paul Garner tries his best and fails to do anything of real value to Mr. Wrestling II who shrugs off every attack and just rest holds his way to victory as the fans cheer for him to win. Not much to say really about this match besides Paul looks like a jobber, Wrestling II looks like a vet who still wants a top spot in the company and what you get is a very lackluster middle of the road match with no storytelling and no real heart.

Grade: **

Match 3: Mr. Wrestling II vs. Larry Higgins

As soon as the bell rings Larry Higgins tries to go on the attack but Mr. Wrestling II is to smart for him and dodges all of his attacks with ease. And then Wrestling II gets Higgins down and starts working on his leg with stomps and after getting him in a leg lock Higgins can only save himself by getting to the ropes. But just as quick Wrestling II takes Higgins down again for a leg lock and is really putting pressure on it, and like before getting to the ropes is the way the hold is broke. And again Wrestling II gets him down and works on that leg, Higgins tries punching Wrestling II in the face in order to break the hold and it works for a second before he is back working the leg until another rope break. Higgins has had enough and after a cheap shot on Wrestling II he starts pounding on the masked man, but the comeback only lasts a few seconds before Wrestling II is once more working over his leg and then hits Higgins with his Knee Lift and gets the pinfall victory. This boring technical rest hold match will at the start make you wonder if you are stuck in that movie Groundhog Day as the loop of Wrestling II’s leg hold and Higgins rope break plays out way to many times and makes for a very bland start of the match. And sadly it never really picks up as Mr. Wrestling II just keeps up with the leg locks and after a brief “explosion” of stomps and punches hits his Knee Lift finisher and gets the win. And by this point while Mr. Wrestling II is a good old school wrestler its clear he is passed his prime and has slowed down in his moves and is working slow paced matches. Larry Higgins looks like a total jobber in the match as he barely gets any moves off and when he does Mr. Wrestling II barely sells for him and just keeps making Higgins look foolish. Not much more to say besides a pretty boring bout that was pretty much a squash match. But again have to say the fans love Mr. Wrestling II and the chat of two rings out after he wins the match.

Grade: **

Match 4: Mr. Wrestling II vs. Mike Bond

Mr. Wrestling II stops all the takedown attempts from Bond from the start, but Bond is able to get an arm bar that is quickly escaped by Wrestling II. Bond then gets a headlock and like the arm bar Wrestling II escapes and he then puts Bond in that hold. And while in the headlock Bond tries his best to break free but Wrestling II keeps the hold on tight, and even after a suplex Mr. Wrestling II will not break the hold. Mr. Wrestling II then suplexes Bond and hits him with the Knee Lift and gets the win via pin. Once more this is a pretty boring match of Mr. Wrestling II holding a headlock on his opponent for most of the match and this time around he even makes himself look like Superman as nothing Bond does can really hurt him or break his holds, and the crowd for this match are pretty much dead and some of their faces show the boredom they have for this mostly one hold show. Mike Bond tries to put up a fight and tries to not look like a total Jobber but Mr. Wrestling II is not having any of that as he does his best to make Bond look like a weak fool. Mr. Wrestling II does a few moves and lots of them are headlocks and the commentators try their best to put him over as one of the best of all time, while I get that he is old school he just comes off so boring and also slightly ego driven in his matches that are just about how skilled and great he is. Over all another boring pretty much squash match that is clearly to put over Mr. Wrestling II, who I wish would allow these guys to do some offense in order to make these matches a little more of a contest and less one sided.

Grade: **

Mr. Wrestling II is a classic wrestler who was super skilled and was a draw from the start and put on some great matches with many now legends of the sport, but I also feel he was very much a product of his time as most of his matches was rest holds and mat work that I feel like modern fans would not be so into today. While I clearly respect Mr. Wrestling II, the four matches I watched at random for this review do not due him justice as most of them are super boring and do not tell a story at all besides that of a legend who wanted to keep is spot in wrestling and would make the younger wrestlers he faced look like jobbers. But as you can see, the matches are over and the Rotten Ink Arena is closing up for the night so I think it’s time he we head out, but before we do I would like to let you friends and readers know that the next update will take us out of the squared circle and into the world of Horror Movies as we take a look at the direct to video release Survive This! So until next time read a comic or three, watch a wrestling match or two and as always support your local wrestlers. Oh and Survive This! is all about ghost pirates.

The Turkey Day Labors Of Hercules!

Posted on November 28, 2019 by bloodlinematt

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

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

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

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

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

So I think it’s time for this update that we take a look at the graphic novel of Hercules and the 12 labors set before him, and this one is a great pick to showcase Hercules in all his heroic glory. I want to thank Amazon for having this in stock and making this update possible. And as always I want to remind you all that I grade this comic on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comic stays to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. So if you are ready, let’s head out and see just how Hercules can complete his 12 labors!

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

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

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

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

Samson: Mighty Hero Of Movies and Comics

Posted on April 16, 2019 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink, my tiny spec on the World Wide Web and the place I like to chat about things I enjoy. For this update I would like to chat about Sword and Sandal Hero and Biblical strongman Samson! Plus I will be having an NES First Play Challenge as I play for the first time and try to beat the super rare game Little Samson on my good old RES! We will also be talking about Brad Harris, my favorite actor to have played Samson in film, plus Samson from the Bible and I will talk about Samson from Sparkle Comics and review Samson ½ released by Samson Comics! So as you can see, this is a very Samson heavy update wherein I have said Samson a total of nine times up to this point and we have not even really started. So if you’re ready to get your mighty power of Samson on, let’s get into this update and bring the walls down!

The Israelites and the Philistines were at war with each other with Israel being on the losing side, when one day an angel from heaven told a couple that their son would be the one chosen to be the start of the tide to change. The new born baby Samson was Nazirite from birth and that meant he could never drink wine, he could not shave nor cut his hair and could got touch the dead nor graves! But I am not going to get too much into Samson of the Bible as later in this update I have a feeling we will be looking way more into it and will break it down…and maybe even review it as a comic book. But all I can say is that Samson is a great tale and has a strong man fighting for the good of his people and is tested and broken and still finds his inner power to be the hero he was born to be. Also if you want to read about a man killing an army of men with the jaw bone of a donkey, I would recommend you giving this Bible story a read or watch the 2018 movie Samson starring Taylor James as the muscle bound hero.

The film Samson from 1961 is hands down my favorite Sword And Sandal film to star the character, and for me actor Brad Harris is the best actor to play the mighty hero as he fits the strong man role well. In Italy films based on muscle bound heroes were very popular in the 1960’s, and the Italian cinema cranked out films as fast as they could make them and flooded the market with what is known as Peplum or also Sword And Sandal. But by 1965, these films were replaced by the Spaghetti Western and the Eurospy Film and would sadly never make a comeback at the cinemas worldwide. But you’re not here for a history lesson on Peplum Films, you’re here for Samson from 1961! The film was directed by Gianfranco Parolini and follows Samson as he joins forces with a Queen who has been overthrown by trickery of her Court Counselor. The film was a hit and stripped Samson of his biblical history and just turned him into an adventure strong man character and spawned four other films in the Samson series. Samson was released alongside such other films in the Sword And Sandal genre as “Hercules In the Haunted World”, “Mighty Ursus”, “Atlas”, “Ursus In the Valley Of the Lions” and many more! Samson is a film I can remember seeing on VHS when I was a kid and would be one I would go on to buy both on VHS and DVD and is one of the first Sword And Sandal films I introduced my girlfriend Juliet to when I was on one of my kicks of watching one a night.

The film’s star was Brad Harris who was born in Idaho on July 16, 1933 but was raised in California where he went to Burbank High School and got a scholarship to ULCA for his athletic accomplishments on the football field. While in college he took up bodybuilding when nursing a knee injury that lead to him building a muscular physique. By 1957, he decided that movies were his passion and took film work as a stuntman and stand-in with his first role being “Monkey On My Back” where he played Spike McAvoy with many other roles to follow and was in such films as “Li’l Abner”, “Ocean’s 11” and “Spartacus” to name a few. His first Sword and Sandal role was in 1961 when he took on the part of Goliath in the film “Goliath Against the Giants” after which he stayed in Europe and made films in the genres of Italy and even became very big in German cinema as he not only acted but also became a second unit director, stuntman and coordinator making him a very popular man to hire in cinema. By 1968, he would go on to also executive produce films including films like “King Of Kong Island” and “ Mutations” dabbling in the world of Horror. His final film role was in 2012 as he played the Captain in “Shiver,” a thriller that starred Danielle Harris, Casper Van Dein, Valerie Harper and Rae Dawn Chong. But besides movies he also had roles on TV with his most popular being on soap opera “Falcon Crest” where he played Deputy Duffy from 1984-1989. Besides work in media he also had his own company called Modern Body By Design about health and working out and eating right. Sadly Brad Harris passed away on November 7, 2017 at the age of 84 after battling an illness. But hands down when it comes to the character of Samson, I think of Brad Harris…who oddly only played the role once. But while gone his work in cinema will live on forever as he is at the top of the list of Sword And Sandal actors.

As many of you readers know, I am the owner of a small independent comic company called Sparkle Comics that started in late 2016 with our release of “Shocking Macabre Theater # 1” that was a horror anthology comic featuring Ohio Horror Hosts like Dr. Creep, Baron Von Porkchop and A. Ghastlee Ghoul drawn by Damien Brunk. In 2017 we launched our first Sword And Sandal comic title, and it was Samson and was written and drawn by Don Stephenson based on an idea by me! The plot of the first issue takes our muscle bound hero Samson and his crew on a journey through China were they see the great wall as well as other marvelous sites and creatures all set in ancient times. Here at Sparkle, our comic’s version of Samson is inspired by Brad Harris and we even slightly based the characters appearance around him in his honor and dedicated the issue to his memory. While Sword And Sandal Comics are not in demand at comic shops and are sadly mostly a niche market, our goal at Sparkle Comics is to make it a must read genre of comics again! While not out yet Don Stephenson and myself have chatted about the second issue and it looks like Samson and his crew might just end up in Egypt! Check out below for some art from Samson # 1 as well as the cover and make sure if you’re into Sword and Sandal Comics to check out the Sparkle Comics website and order yourself a copy.

In 1992, the action game Little Samson was released for the Nintendo Entertainment System and was developed by Takeru and released by Taito! In Japan the game was called “Holy Bell Legend Lickle” and the main characters name was Lickle and not Samson. And in the game Little Samson is joined on his adventure by friends like Gamm the Golem, Kikira the Dragon and K.O. the Mouse who are like his crew all who have their own pros and cons when playing as them. The games director was Shinichi Yoshimoto who worked on such other classic video games as Ghouls ‘n Ghosts and Strider. The game was met with great reviews and many players and critics hold it as one of the best side platformer games for the NES. Sadly this game was kind of lost in the shuffle as this was released only three years before the NES was retired and was already on the ropes as Sega Genesis, Sega CD and Phillips CD-I as well as Super Nintendo were all in the game in 1992 when Little Samson was released. With this game coming out late in the NES’s life, it also meant that it did not sell like gangbusters and is now a very pricy game in the used market bringing in around $700 to over $1,000.00 on Ebay and in stores. Little Samson is a very popular collectors game and for this Mini NES Challenge I just bought a fan reproduction cart and with that let’s get to the challenge! Oh and I also want to say that from all accounts Little Samson has nothing to do with the Biblical hero nor the Sword And Sandal Film one.

So I chose January 30, 2019 to play this game as the weather outside was below freezing and my car would not start in order to get to work at Rockstar Pro Wrestling. So I opened a bottle of Asylum Orange Cream Soda and began my first time playing the game Little Samson. This was my first time playing this game and man all I can say is that this is a fun hidden side scrolling gem on the Nintendo! It’s the right amount of challenge and the right amount of rage inducing action that brings me as a player the right amount of enjoyment. Picking and playing as four different characters is a great way also to add more play as some characters are harder to play than the others with the mouse being the hardest and Samson being the easiest. After playing the game for a few hours, I got pretty far and will plan on playing this again soon and see if I can beat it as the game is worth putting time into. Below are some pictures I took that day to document the first time ever playing Little Samson.

So I think it’s time for us to get into the comic look at Samson who is a great classic powerhouse hero that is perfect for the world of comic books. So before we get into this issue I want to remind you that I grade this comic on a 1-4 star scale and am looking for how well the comic stays to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. So if you’re ready I am ready to see what Samson ½ has in store for me!

Samson # ½ 1/2
Released in 1995 Cover Price $2.50 Samson Comics # ½ of ½

This comic is nothing more than a sampler of comics that Samson Comics had in the works and we get no real stories from the few pages of story and many of the previews are just pin-ups! This was a major letdown and a waste of my time and almost ruined this update as it has zero to do with Samson even if he is on the cover.

As you can see this Samson comic has zero to do with Samson and is just an over priced sampler from an independent comic company that did a terrible job of letting comic readers know what they were buying by having a very misleading cover and title. In fact I do not even want to waste anymore of my time on this issue so let’s just say it’s terrible and move on past it and look at a comic that is about Samson and truly saved this update and allowed it to happen thanks to Kingstone Media for making the comic and Amazon for stocking it.

Samson # 1 ***
Released in 2010 Cover Price $3.99 Kingstone Comics # 1 of 1

The Israelites are under the rule of the Philistines and things are what they are for the people. Israelite couple Manoah and his wife who cannot have children are visited by an Angel who lets them know that she will have a miracle child that will be the one to bring the Israelites into steps to become something more. The catch is that the son must be Nazirite in order to have the massive strength that will be needed. The son is born and named Samson and as he grows he starts to develop feelings for a Philistine woman and he sets to marry her. Samson on his way to visit her one day killed a Lion and days later comes back to the corpse and touches it in order to get honey from it breaking his vow to the Lord. At the wedding a feast is held for seven days and Samson has a bet on a riddle with some Philistine soldiers who cannot crack it and force his wife to find out the answer so they can win the cloths that are on the line. After getting the cloths to settle the bet and with this he robs Philistines, and worse his new wife is given away to another and this sparks a feud between Samson and the Philistines that has fires being set and people being murdered! And things come to ahead when Samson armed only with a jaw bone of a donkey is able to kill a thousand of Philistine soldiers and with this be becomes the ruler of the Israelites and has angered the King who wants him dead. But when Samson meets Delilah his life is about to change as she has been hired by the King to bring him down and she does so by gaining knowledge about who he is and his secrets of Godly powers comes from his hair and after cutting his hair he is taken prisoner by the King. Samson is blinded and forced into slavery and all the while he begs for forgiveness and for one more chance to serve God, one day Samson is to be tortured and after beaten for the masses to cheer to he is able to use his Godly strength once more and bring down the house killing thousands and becoming the true hero of God he was slated to be.

This Bible tale makes for a good read that is filled with action, faith, death and a hero who finds his inner power even when his Godly given super powers are taken away. The story follows Samson as he rises to power in order to lead the Israelites in their “war” with the Philistines who treat them like second class citizens. Samson is a man who takes his power and strength for granted and while he has a good heart he makes bad decisions that leads him down a path of self destruction as his lust for women and his loose lips of his weakness is what ends up leading him to his own death. When Samson falls from grace his life is very terrible as he is blinded and forced into slavery with daily beatings and verbal degrading. But it’s very powerful when he finds his inner power and is able to murder all his tormentors in one powerful move that breaks the support pillars of the building causing it to fall and crush them all. The King is a man who does not like to be shown up in front of his people and thinks that the Hebrew are nothing more than scum, and is willing to sacrifice thousands of his own soldiers in order to bring down Samson. Delilah is a woman who is willing to set a man up for money and seems to have no remorse for bringing Samson down and leading a man to extreme torture. The story of Samson and Delilah is one that is filled with lots of messages and meanings and the main one being for me is never take for granted gifts that are given to you. The comic is down played the violence of the Bible story and many of the battle scenes are done in one or two panels. The cover for this one is pretty fantastic and if you like Sword And Sandal films this is eye catching. The Interior art is well done and is done by Danny Bulanadi who is a veteran in the comic world who has worked with both DC and Marvel. To sum this up this comic does a good job of putting the Bible story onto comic pages and delivers an entertaining read for those who enjoy this tale. Check out the art below to see the style that Bulanadi used in this issue.

Samson is a Biblical and Sword And Sandal hero that I think works very well as a comic book hero as he has the power and look of a classic superhero and that’s why Samson has a home in the pages of Sparkle Comics. I always enjoy talking about and reviewing Sword And Sandal heroes, and this year we still have to look forward to another Thanksgiving update with Hercules! But for out next update we will be walking away from a epic heroes, and I will be turning over Rotten Ink once more to Juliet who will be talking about The Avengers…no, not those Avengers. She will be chatting about Steed And Peel from the British TV Show The Avengers. So until next time, read a comic or three, watch a Sword and Sandal film or two, and as always support your local Horror Host. Be ready for a smashing good time next update!