R.I.W Wrestling Legend: Outback Jack

Thanks for joining me once more at the Rotten Ink Arena as today’s R.I.W Wrestling Legends update is about a Superstar that took WWF in the late 80’s by storm but in a short amount of time fell down the card and his career fizzled away like dust in the Australian wind. And now that we have found our seats right here in the front row, I think our subject is in the opening bout and if you have not guessed it yet, we will be talking about the one and only Outback Jack, a grappler who had action figures, trading cards and shirts released by WWF and once he was let go they never spoke of him again. But I can hear his song playing now so let’s sit back and enjoy our time with this Wrestling Legend.

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Outback Jack started his wrestling career in1986 after being trained by Les Thornton and started to work for Stampede Wrestling out of Canada and was quickly brought into the WWF that same year, as Vince McMahon wanted to bring the Australian superstar in to capitalize on the popularity of the film Crocodile Dundee and they quickly started airing vignettes of Outback Jack in the Australian Outback and had him doing all types of things from driving a jeep around to claiming he learned wrestling moves from the Aborigines. They brought him in and the fans seemed to love him as he got the cheers and he would get some big match wins over the likes of Iron Sheik, Nikolai Volkoff, Iron Mike Sharpe and Barry Horowitz. But while he was popular, he started falling down the card and started to be used a jobber to bigger stars as he would loss to the likes of Ron Bass, Killer Khan, Sika and Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase, but all the while Outback Jack would still be getting wins over fellow enhancement talent it was clear that his days for WWF was numbered. The WWF was going to put Outback Jack in a tag team with Hillbilly Jim, and they were going to try and give the pair a major push, but they changed their minds as Outback Jack was let go in 1988 and that as well pretty much ended Outback Jack’s career as he would not have another match until 2019 as there has been a rumor he wrestled in a Tag Team match as a surprise for AWL (Australian Wrestling League).

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Outback Jack was a wrestler who was over with the fans who was booked strong at the start but it’s clear the company lost interest and faith in him quick as he was starting to be used as a jobber to their Heel superstars in a pretty quick fashion. One would have to guess that Vince had lost interest in the Australian Outback culture that was made famous by the Crocodile Dundee film or that they just did not see the skill or superstar quality in Outback Jack. As a youngster I always remember being entertained by Outback Jack and remember some of his matches, but let’s be honest we wrestling fans remember his character more then we do his in-ring skill. I as well remember having his trading cards from Topps that was apart of the WWF series. I can also remember always wanting his LJN figure as it was a super cool toy and was always trying to trade with a friend on the playground who had it. One thing that I think works against Outback Jack for being a full Wrestling Legend is that he had a very short career and pretty much lasted only two years before retiring. I also have heard rumors that his time with the WWF was cut short due to the fact that he was not well liked by fellow wrestlers who found his personality to rub them the wrong way. He was also said to have been ribbed all the time by the British Bulldogs with many of the pranks being downright mean! While he might not have been the best in ring worker, Outback Jack was a great character in 80’s WWF that even with a very short run is still remembered and has fans to this day.

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We are now at the point of this review where 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 Outback Jack 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 Outback Jack.

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Best Of Outback Jack

Match 1: Outback Jack vs. Rick Rude

After Rick Rude insults the crowd and posses for the ladies in the crowd the bell rings and he starts beating the hell out of Outback with some punches and forearms. Outback makes a small comeback but eats a boot to the face knocking him to the mat, and then Rude drives his face into the mat a few times before Outback tries once more to make a short comeback, but is cut off and Rick Rude gets Outback Jack into a back breaker submission hold and wins the match when Outback taps. This is a total squash match and Outback Jack is used as an enhancement talent jobber as he barely gets any moves in and when he does Rick Rude shrugs them off and continues to beat him up before easily making him tap out in seconds to a backbreaker. And as always Rick Rude is a great heel who gets great heat from the crowd as he is cocky and always has great insults to the fans. Outback Jack has the fans on his side and when he makes his small comebacks they cheer for him, its clear by this match he was not a major star in the WWF’s eyes but in the fans eyes he was a favorite. Over all a good squash match that highlights just how good Rude was in the ring.

Grade: **1/2

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Match 2: Outback Jack vs. Butch Reed

As soon as the bell rings Outback Jack starts paying attention to Butch Reed’s manager Slick and that’s a big mistake as he is attacked from behind with a knee to the back, and then throws him into the ropes and makes him eat a nasty looking elbow, Outback is rocked but makes a small comeback before Butch makes him eat punches again and hits him with some powerful moves, and Outback attempts to fight back but is over powered and finished for the three count after Butch jumps off the top rope and nails him with a clothesline. This is another squash match as Butch Reed destroys Outback Jack and does so in quick fashion. Butch Reed looks like the powerhouse he was and uses big moves and strong looking hits, the fans also hate him and he feeds off that heat. Outback Jack looks like a total jobber as he starts the match paying attention to his opponent’s manager and then gets his butt kicked for the next two minutes before getting pinned. And worse, Outback looks weak as his comebacks are easily shrugged off and he is beaten down for his tiny efforts. A great match for Butch Reed to show his power and a bad one for Outback Jack who looks like a jobber.

Grade: **1/2

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Match 3: Outback Jack vs. Frenchy Martin

As the bell rings they size each other up with each testing the water by pulling off small moves on one another. But as the match gets going its clear that the power of Outback is overwhelming Martin who is on the receiving end of some big moves. But Martin is able to make a comeback after he pokes Outback in the eyes and is able to land some big chops that knocks Outback to the mat and allows him to keep on beating on him. But Outback is able to comeback after reversing a whip into the corner and then is able to use his finishing maneuver the boomerang to get the three count. This is a very typical early on the card match that does a great job of building up the crowd by letting them see a fan favorite like Outback Jack as the fans are clearly on his side and are behind his victory. Outback wrestles a very brawling style in the match and plays off the crowd really well with his moves. Frenchy Martin does a great job of selling for Outback as well as does a great job playing the cheating heel when he is needed to get the heat. Over all a simple yet very entertaining match that proves Outback Jack could have been a really good mid-carder if they would have gotten behind him.

Grade: **1/2

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Match 4: Outback Jack vs. Steve Lombardi

Hillbilly Jim makes the introduction for his friend Outback Jack as they two had just started to team up with each other, and when the bell rings Outback Jack overpowers Lombardi who gets frustrated over the power difference and takes his anger out by yelling at the referee, and his anger mounts as Outback Jack even out chain wrestles him! No matter what Lombardi does, he can not get the better of Outback who has a response for every move and hit he tries to pull off, that is until he kicks Outback in the gut and then starts biting him on the head and then uses cheap shots and eye pokes to keep the matching going his way. But after taking a beating for a short time Outback Jack takes back over the match and after some clotheslines and a running bulldog Outback gets the pin and wins the match. This is a match that allowed Outback Jack to look like a solid mid-card face as he was able to beat career jobber Steve Lombardi in a mostly one sided match, and Outback even is able to show off his strength by throwing around and over powering his opponent. And while Outback Jack was very limited in skills, he knew how to play off the crowd and did just enough in this match to be entertaining. And Steve Lombardi while a jobber always could get passable to good matches out of limited wrestlers.

Grade: **1/2

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Match 5: Outback Jack vs. Ted DiBiase

Ted attacks Outback before the bell rings and even when it rings he keeps the assault going, but Outback with a massive clothesline turns the table and starts pounding on DiBiase who changes the tide with a boot to the face that rocks Outback. DiBiase then lands a middle rope elbow and then a drop fist to the downed Outback who is clearly in trouble now, as DiBiase drops another fist its clear that Outback is dazed. DiBiase continues to beat up Outback and with the Million Dollar Dream DiBiase gets the win as Outback is put to sleep and after the match gets the money shoved into his mouth. This is another squash match as Ted DiBiase makes short work of Outback Jack and puts him to sleep pretty easy and even makes the downed Aussie eat a hundred dollar bill. DiBiase looks great and hits all his signature moves and even does a good job of making Outback not look like a total jobber. Outback does a great job as the fans love him and by getting his butt kicked he helps get DiBiase even more heat as let’s face it, DiBiase was one of the best wrestling heels in 80’s wrestling. Over all a good match that was entertaining for a squash match.

Grade: **1/2

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Outback Jack was a lower mid-carder who was originally brought in with bigger plans but his limited in ring work and the company’s faith in him dropping fast made him a fan favorite who did a great job of putting over the company’s heels, and having one of the companies catchiest songs at the time. But the event is over and I see that Joker and Mr. X, part of the cleanup crew, are coming out to sweep up the spilt popcorn so we should head out before the Rotten Ink Arena doors are locked for the night. But as we make out way out of here, I should tell you that out next update will have us meeting once more here at The Rotten Ink Arena as we will be watching Earthquake in action! So until next time, read a comic or three, watch a wrestling match or two and as always support your local wrestlers. Do you feel that? The tremors have already started!

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Voltron Defender Of The Comic Universe

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

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

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

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

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So as you can see, Voltron was a very popular cartoon and toy line from the early 1980’s that took Japan and America by storm and lead to Voltron being a household name. Now by the late 80’s into the 90’s Voltron had lost steam and new cartoons and toys had taken his spot of being must watch and have, but his legacy was always still around as friends of mine would talk about him and I can even remember a few drawing him. And I have to also say that Voltron was one of many cartoons and toys that was based on robots as Transformers and Go-Bots were also two very big ones when I was a kid. But as you can see, we are almost out of hot chocolate and Santa Claus is out delivering presents so I think we should get to the review portion of this Christmas Eve update. I want to remind you all that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, their entertainment value and theirs art and story. So if you are ready, let’s get defending the universe alongside Voltron!

Voltron Defender Of The Universe Comic 1

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

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

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

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

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

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

Voltron Defender Of The Universe Comic 3

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

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

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

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

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R.I.W Wrestling Legend: Hillbilly Jim

The doors to the Rotten Ink Arena are open, and today’s “R.I.W Wrestling Legend” update is going to be a great one as our main event features a good old country boy who wore a horseshoe on a chain around his neck, would dance around the ring, was great friends with Hulk Hogan and Little Beaver, brought his family into wrestling, would promote the WWF Ice Cream bars, would sing his own iconic theme song and would also become a manager for a pair of hog farmers. And of course, I am talking about the one and only Hillbilly Jim, a true classic wrestler from the 1980’s WWF! So as you can see, they are serving some good old Kentucky Bar-Be-Que sandwiches and coleslaw at the snack bar so go grab yourself some as the matches are about to start.

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Hillbilly Jim was trained by Bob Orton and started his pro career in 1975 and would work for Continental Wrestling Association (CWA) as a biker gimmick and went by Harley Davidson and teamed with Dirty Rhodes. He would stay with CWA as well as work for a few other NWA territories until around late 1984 when he would head to WWF and be Big Jim, a fan in the crowd who was a fan of champion Hulk Hogan, and decided that he wanted to be a wrestler and would be “trained” by the Hulkster after he turned down Roddy Piper who offered. And this is when Big Jim would become Hillybilly Jim, a goofy man from Mud Lick, Kentucky who was loved from the start by fans and would even have several tag team matches teaming with Hogan against the companies biggest heels. But Hillbilly Jim would get injured in early 1985 and this would cause him to bring in his family Uncle Elmer, Cousin Luke and Cousin Junior and become their manager while he heeled his messed up knee. Once he returned to in-ring action, he would team with his family members and sometimes Andre The Giant and have matches against the likes of Big John Studd and King Kong Bundy. His big feud at this time was with Mr. Fuji and while a major fan favorite, WWF would keep him out of the title shots as well as would not give him any serious storylines. His Family would seen also disappear from WWF, and he would find himself in a few big matches with one being Wrestlemania II and the other Survivor Series ’88, and while more of a comedy spot wrestler at this time, his fanbase kept growing as young and young at heart loved this dancing Hillbilly. By 1990 Hillbilly Jim’s push in WWF was coming to an end and even he lost a squash match to Earthquake at a Saturday Night’s Main Event, and by mid 1990, he would retire from full time in ring work. During his main WWF run he would have some big matches with names like Iron Sheik, Jesse Ventura, Roddy Piper, Adrian Adonis, Randy Savage and Dino Bravo to name a few. He also was part of the short lived cartoon “Hulk Hogan’s Rock ‘n’ Wrestling” as well as did a ton of commercials for stuff like Chevy trucks.

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While no longer wrestling, Hillbilly Jim would stick around and would even be a host on the show “WWF Prime Time Wrestling” until the show was cancelled in 1993. He would be gone for a while and would return in 1995 as a special guest referee and then would also become the manager of The Godwinns (Henry O. and Phineas I.) and that was until 1997 when the teamed turned heel and they fired Hillbilly Jim from being their manager. He would then show up in 2001 at WrestleMania X-Seven as he was in the Gimmick Battle Royal, and he lost. From here he would travel around the WWF Axxess and public appearances. And from here Hillbilly Jim would only show up from time to time and was even a cast member of the reality show “WWE Legend’s House” and was put into the WWE Hall Of Fame in 2018.

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Growing up I can remember being a fan of Hillbilly Jim as were many of the kids at school as almost every kid I knew had the LJN figure of Hillbilly Jim. Being Hulk Hogan’s good friend, he was just a ready to cheer superstar who also was played off as a good hearted person and this made him a draw who never needed to win a title to become a legend and one of the most loved and remembered WWE Superstars. I can always remember that Hillbilly Jim was never an overly flashy wrestler nor did he have a look that set him apart from all the other Hillbilly gimmicks of the 80’s wrestling world, but what made him stand out from the pack was his massive size and just his over all character and attitude as he was always getting fans invested into his matches no matter how limited they were in spots. I also think its great that clearly Vince McMahon loved Hillbilly themed wrestlers as over the years he has created and booked so many, and I am wondering if that love came from the legend Haystacks Calhoun who his father use to book back in the Golden Age. It’s also clear that Hillbilly Jim would wear the horseshoe to pay respects to Haystacks, and as a kid I can always remember him kissing it for good luck. One thing that is crazy to think is that Hillbilly Jim’s career was not that long and that his WWF main run as a wrestler only lasted around six years and that he never even one a single belt during this time. And let’s be honest, out of the Hillbilly stable that was working in WWF in the 1980’s, Jim was the only one that had the talent and persona to pull it off and be remembered. To sum it up, growing up I liked Hillbilly Jim and even in these modern times and long removed from the ring he is remembered and well loved by fans, as he is generally a great person to his fans when they meet him in person.

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We are now at the point of this review where 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 Hillbilly Jim 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 chose 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 Hillbilly Jim.

RIW Wrestling Legend Hillbilly Jim DVD

Best Of Hillbilly Jim

Match 1: Hillbilly Jim vs. Jim Neidhart

As the bell rings, Hillbilly gets the crowd cheering and even tries to shake Neidhart’s hand, that the he rejects of course. And Neidhart soon learns that Hillbilly is just as strong as he is, and that these two are going to be evenly matched. And it’s a chop to the head that gets the crowd roaring and gets Hillbilly Jim in charge of the match for a second that is until Neidhart takes a cheap shot and the two powerhouses exchange hits and holds. Neidhart shows his power and drops Hillbilly throat first onto the ropes and this takes the breath out of him and allows Neidhart to beat up on him for a bit and even cheats and starts biting him on the face. Hillbilly Jim is able to make a comeback when he is able to big boot the face of Neidhart and then is able to even drop a powerful elbow on him and get a two count from it. Neidhart snaps and starts beating up Hillbilly Jim and also gets rough with the referee that gets him disqualified and gives the win to Hillbilly. After the bell rings Neidhart and Hillbilly keep fighting as the crowd erupts for the action. This is a great hoss fight that has two powerhouses beating the hell out of each other and telling a great story in the ring. Both men do not look weak in the match and both are shown to be super strong and their styles mesh well as both have a brawling mixed with classic style. I also like that both of these guys play off the fans and get them invested into the match and even add a dash of comedy to the match. Big Moves, Big Brawlers make for a fun match that is highly entertaining.

Grade: ***

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Match 2: Hillbilly Jim vs. Boris Zhukov

Boris attacks Hillbilly Jim from behind and once for doing so Boris gets mule kicked and rolls out of the ring as Hillbilly gets the fans to cheer USA! The two trade punches and are trying to show that they are not going to go down as both want this win. Throughout the match Hillbilly keeps pulling off classic moves on Boris and the Russian is getting more and more frustrated and even when Boris goes on the attack Hillbilly is able to shrug it off and then starts working on Boris’s leg. And after a big boot to the face Hillbilly Jim is able to get the pin and the win. This match is entertaining and has Hillbilly Jim not only do some power moves but also does so classic movies in order to spice things up, he also adds a touch of comedy to the match and that helps bring the fans alive who really do love him and made him a big Superstar of his time. Boris Zhukov is a pure brawler heel in the match and does a great job off playing off the antics of Jim and while he looses the match and most of the time he is getting thrown around he don’t come off as a complete jobber. Over all the two have pretty good chemistry in the match and while it’s clearly an enhancement match it feels a little bigger then that.

Grade: **1/2

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Match 3: Hillbilly Jim vs. One Man Gang

Before the bell rings, Hillbilly Jim has little person wrestler Little Beaver in his corner and they still One Man Gang’s manager Slick’s hat and once the bell rings Gang shows Hillbilly that he is the stronger of the two, but he also comes back to show that he is strong as well! And One Man Gang then goes for a massive headlock and his able to have the hold on for a while as every time Hillbilly is about to escape Gang pulls his hair and back into the lock. Finally Little Beaver has seen enough and comes in and punches Gang and the hold is broken, but this only buys Hillbilly a moment of rest as Gang is back on him with a test of strength that is draining his energy even more. And like before Little Beaver comes in and helps break up the move, Hillbilly makes a small comeback but soon is once more getting beaten up by Gang who is angered over the antics of Little Beaver. As the referee is distracted Slick as well now is cheating and landing cheap shots on the downed Hillbilly Jim. And after a few avalanche splashes and a falling elbow drop Gang goes for the pin, and once more Little Beaver enters the ring and breaks up the pin. Both men find themselves outside the ring fighting and with the help of Little Beaver One Man Gang is counted out and looses the match. After the match Gang beats up Hillbilly and then even big slashes Little Beaver. While this is a fun big man fight it’s also a very slow one as it has many long moments of rest holds and not a lot of even basic wrestling holds. While One Man Gang is shown to be the big threat and has Hillbilly Jim beaten down almost the whole match, it’s the comedy aspect of Little Beaver who keeps entering the ring and cheating right in front of the referee that will annoy almost an wrestling fan, in other words the over use Little Beaver in this already way to long match. While Gang looks good Hillbilly doesn’t, as he needs outside help to stay alive throughout the match. Over all a sluggish match with way to much interference from Little Beaver that brings the star rating down, but I do like in the end when Gang gets his revenge and crushes Little Beaver with a splash.

Grade: **

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Match 4: Hillbilly Jim vs. Fuller Stevens

From the start Fuller Stevens tries to tackle Hillbilly Jim and learns that running into him is like hitting a brick wall as he crashes to the mat from the impact. Fuller then tries to body slam Hillbilly and cant, but Hillbilly slams him with ease. And from here on Hillbilly Jim toys with and beats up on Fuller Stevens who is angry that he looks like a total jobber. And after a big boot to the face Fuller falls to the mat and is pinned and this was a easy win for Hillbilly Jim! This is a total squash match as Fuller Stevens can not pull off one move and looks like a total jobber as he is thrown around, booted in the fast and then pinned without Jim even breaking a sweat. Not much to say besides Hillbilly Jim comes off looking great and strong as his opponent Fuller looks like a goof. And yes this match like most of Hillbilly Jim’s matches has a touch of humor.

Grade: **1/2

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Hillbilly Jim was a perfect wrestler for the 80’s as he was a great sidekick to Hulk Hogan and was a wrestler that kids loved as he was a jolly mountain of a man who would dance around and do funny spots in his match. And while many of his matches was the same formula and even featured the same spots Hillbilly Jim is a true legend in and out of the sport. But as you can see the Rotten Ink Arena is closing down for the update so it’s our cue to head on out, but before we leave I would like to tell you that our next update will be our big Thanksgiving one and we will be having turkey with that B-Movie icon The Giant Gila Monster! So until next time, read a comic or three, watch a wrestling match or two and as always support your local wrestlers. See you next time for some Hot Rods and Big Creatures!

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R.I.W Wrestling Legend: Kamala

Welcome back to the Rotten Ink Arena. As you can see, the Halloween decorations are hanging, the arena is packed to the rafters and the snack bar has candy corn, caramel apples and monster punch in stock as this “R.I.W Wrestling Legend” update will be all about our main event monster heel that was from the jungles of Uganda who gave the likes of Hulk Hogan, Kerry Von Erich, The Undertaker and Andre The Giant a run for their money throughout the 80’s and 90’s. A wrestler who was managed by the likes of Skandor Akbar, Freddie Blassie, Slick, Mr. Fuji, The Wizard and Kim Chee and by know I am sure you figured out that it’s Kamala we are talking about one of the best big men in the business and one heck of a monster heel who terrorized his opponents and fans alike as they were all unsure of what he was capable of! So let’s find our seats as this Halloween Countdown R.I.W event is in full swing, and let’s see what Kamala has in store for us this spooky holiday season.

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Kamala started wrestling in 1978 and was trained by Bobo Brazil and Tim Hampton and would originally work under the name Sugar Bear Harris and would work the Southern territories and would also work in Germany and England and worked under names like Ugly Bear Harris, Big Jim Harris and The Mississippi Mauler. And in 1982 he would find himself in Continental Wrestling Association and here is were he would become Kamala a Ugandan headhunter and would be managed by JJ Dillon and would go after Jerry Lawler and his AWA Southern Heavyweight Title that he would win and hold for a small amount of time. Late 1982 he would leave Continental and would sign to Mid-South Wrestling and this time would be managed by Skandor Akbar and would be apart of the Devastation Inc. stable and would have a high profile match against Andre The Giant as well a Junkyard Dog. In Mid-South he would be one of the companies heel draws and would also scare younger fans as they thought he was going to get them as he played the Wildman part well and never broke character in public. In 1983 he would head to World Class Championship Wrestling in Texas and would even get a NWA World Heavyweight title shot against Harley Race and would have a long time feud with the Von Erich’s and would have big profile matches against Kerry, Kevin and David. And would even face The Great Kabuki at the David Von Erich Memorial Parade Of Champions in 1984. He would stay around in WCCW until 1985. But while a big heel and draw in WCCW he was still also working other territories and one being WWF were he would be built as a monster heel and would beat names like B. Brian Blair, Chief Jay Strongbow and Salvatore Bellomo and then would have a series of matches against Hulk Hogan for the WWF Heavyweight title! And after his run with Hogan he would have a feud with Andre The Giant and after a battle royal in late 1984 he would be done with the WWF for his first run. After WWF he would head to AWA and would be booked like always as a monster heel and would have matches against the likes of Sgt. Slaughter, Jerry Blackwell and Rick Martel. In 1985 Kamala would find himself working for Jim Crockett Promotions and would take on NWA United States Heavyweight Champion Magnum T.A., and from their he would have small runs in All Japan Pro Wrestling and International Wrestling from Canada.

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In 1986 Kamala would return to WWF and would be managed by Kim Chee and The Wizard and once more was booked as a major monster heel and would once more go after Hulk Hogan for the WWF World Heavyweight title, and after not winning the title he would start a feud with Jake “The Snake” Roberts who found out Kamala had a fear of snakes. During 1987 The Wizard would sell Kamala’s contract to Mr. Fuji but shortly after this Kamala would leave the WWF once more. Starting in 1988 Kamala would once more work for WCCW and working with the Von Erich brothers and would stay until 1989 when the company would close for good. He would also head to All Japan again as well as would head to CMLL in Mexico and have big matches against Mil Mascaras, and would also work for other Japanese companies W*ING and Super World Of Sports. In 1990 he would work for USWA and once more would go after Jerry Lawler and this time would challenge him for the USWA Unified World Heavyweight title. Kamala would leave USWA in 1992 and would return to the WWF once more. Kamala would be managed by Kim Chee as well as Harvey Wippleman and would have big matehs against many of the companies top faces including Randy Savage, Ultimate Warrior, Bret Hart and Texas Tornado Kerry Von Erich. And would have many matches against The Undertaker and would even loose a Coffin Match to the dead man. In 1993 Kamala would turn baby face and would be managed by Reverend Slick who was trying to teach him the ways of the modern world and that kindness was the way. While a face he would have matches against the likes of Bam Bam Bigelow, Mr. Hughes, Kim Chee and Papa Shango. The WWF would start working Kamala mostly on house shows and then would let him go in late 1993. After this WWF run Kamala would go into semi-retirement and become a truck driver and would pick up Indie matches from time to time as well as matches for USWA and would even travel to India to tag with Dusty Wolfe to become the IAW Tag Team champs.

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In 1995 Kamala was talked out of retirement and would head to WCW to become a member of the Hulk Hogan hating team “The Dungeon Of Doom” that would be lead by Kevin Sullivan and made up of wrestlers who’s sole purpose was to stop Hulkamania once and for all. Kamala would get wins in WCW over the likes of Hacksaw Jim Duggan and Chris Kanyon and after The Dungeon Of Doom would loose to Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage at Fall Brawl 1995 his small run with the company would be over. After leaving WCW Kamala would find himself back working Indies like USWA, JCW and would even work a few matches back in the WWF as at WWF WrestleMania X-7 in 2001 as apart of the gimmick battle royal and in 2005 on WWF Smackdown Kamala would have a match against Randy Orton. Kamala’s last match would be for JCW as he would team with The Weedman and he would retire from wrestling in 2010. After wrestling Kamala’s health would turn for the worse and he would battle complications from diabetes and would end up loosing his legs. Sadly in 2016 he would be one of many wrestlers on the class action lawsuit over head injuries that was thrown out in 2018 and hurt Kamala into getting into the WWF Hall Of Fame. In 2017 he had to have emergency surgery to clear fluid from around his heart and lungs and was even put on life support at the time, he would recover. Sadly on August 5, 2020 Kamala would pass away from Covid-19 and diabetes at the age of 70.

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Kamala The Ugandan Giant is a wrestler that I have been a fan of sense I was a kid as he was a great big man wrestler who played his gimmick well and when he would pat his belly, groan and even made surprise faces he would make me mark out and even laugh at times when he would run away from things that scared him. Plus his matches against The Undertaker and Hulk Hogan always seemed larger then life and came off as big deal matches, and that’s one other thing I liked is when Kamala would face other similar themed wrestlers like Papa Shango, Andre The Giant, The Great Kabuki, Kendo Nagasaki, Bruiser Brody and George “The Animal” Steele to name a few. And one thing that I think people never gave Kamala credit for is the fact he was very agile for a man his size and was also pretty fast and would not tire as easy as many of the wrestling big men at the time. Plus he was a true journeyman of wrestling as he worked all over the world and for almost every big promotion from WWF to WCW and was a top draw and a star every territory he went and while he was a heel most of his career he could even pull off being a loved baby face. When I was younger I can remember classmates of mine who watched wrestling being scared of Kamala and talking about how he was a cannibal and a savage and to me that fear he struck them with showed that he was doing his job and was great at it. Kamala was also a wrestler who won very little titles during his run, but he never needed them in order to be a draw as his matches always seemed like an attraction and a belt around his waist was not needed. One thing that always annoyed me as well as a kid was all the Kamala knock-off wrestlers who would dress, act and even sometimes steal his name, and no matter how hard they tried none of them could hold a candle to the real Kamala. And while Kamala might be on the bad side of the WWF over joining that lawsuit, it’s a shame that they have not inducted him into their Hall Of Fame as he is one name that should have been in years ago. Say what you will, but for me Kamala The Ugandan Giant will always be one of my favorite wrestlers from the 80’s and was one heck of a heel who played his gimmick well and did his job putting butts in the seats and selling the tickets when his name was on the card.

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

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Best Of Kamala

Match 1: Kamala vs. El Silenico

As the bell rings Kamala goes after El Silenico and just starts hitting him with massive chops to the top of his masked head. Kamala then body slams him and just stays on him not allowing El Silenico to even try and make a comeback. Kamala knocks Silenico to the mat and delivers a series of big splashes to his back, crushing the masked man. He then goes for the pin and gets it. After the match Kamala goes after the mask of El Silenico and gets it off and takes it almost as if it was a trophy. This was a total squash match as El Silenico was there to get beat up by Kamala and in the end even get damasked. Kamala hits big power moves in the match with his chops and splashes being his trademark moves that seem to almost frighten the fans at ringside. El Silenico is a total jobber who does not even get one move off in the match and just gets beaten up and pinned. Over all a good squash match as it did its job to build Kamala up as a monster heel and a major threat to any baby face.

Grade: **1/2

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Match 2: Kamala vs. King Cobra

As the bell rings Kamala charges Cobra who dodges his attack twice and even is able to land a dropkick that stumbles the big man. King Cobra tries to unload some punches on Kamala and he shakes it off and gets his hands on him and the beating starts. Kamala lands some of his big chops to the top of King Cobra’s skull hurting him and knocks him to the mat and starts choking him. And as Cobra’s on the mat Kamala lands a series of big splashes and goes for the pin and gets the three count and the win. While this is another quick squash match at least King Cobra tries to fight back and is able to land a few dropkicks that staggered Kamala and is even able to land a few punches even if they had no effect. Plus for enhancement talent you could see that King Cobra was a skilled worker even if he was paid to loose. Kamala like always comes off as a great monster heel as he hits big power moves and shrugs off the attack from his opponent. His splashes look like a finishing move and his aggressive in ring work really does make him a big threat. Over all a great quick squash match that helped build Kamala as a big star.

Grade: **1/2

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Match 3: Kamala vs. Hulk Hogan

The start the match off running the ropes and bumping into each other in the middle of the ring and neither man budges, they do this a couple of times and its Kamala who ends up knocking down The Hulkster. The two lock up and Hogan does for a body slam but he is cut off by Kamala who clubs him in the back causing him to drop him and not land the slam and this allows Kamala to use his chops and clubbing hits to keep Hogan down. But Hogan is not down for long as he pops up from the mat and starts landing his big punches on Kamala, but when Hogan is distracted by Kamala’s manager he looses the momentum of the match as Kamala attacks him from behind and get a nerve hold on Hogan that takes him down to the mat. Kamala then breaks the hold and hits a big splash, and Hogan kicks out at one, Kamala keeps on attacking that is until Hogan starts Hulking Up and takes the fight to Kamala and lands a big boot, a body slam and the atomic leg drop! Hogan goes for the pin and gets the three count as well as the win. This is your normal 80’s Hulk Hogan wrestling a big monster heel match that has Hogan selling for the heel only to comeback from the beating and land his finishing move the leg drop and get the victory all the while the fans are loosing their minds as Hulk Hogan was the biggest thing in the world of wrestling. And that’s the thing while Hogan gets the win and at one point when he Hulks Up he no sells for Kamala he still makes the big man look great throughout the match and sells well for him. While the match is very paint by numbers and when I says it’s your normal Hogan match during this time I mean it. Best way to sum this match up is big moves, monster crow pops and Kamala getting a match with the world’s biggest superstar makes this a pretty good entertaining match.

Grade: ***

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Match 4: Kamala vs. Yokozunna

This is a battle of two big men and when the bell rings the two charge and crash into each other with neither man moving, but Yoko is a little rocked as Kamala watches the big sumo wrestler rock on his feet, the two crash again and Yoko once more gets rocked and when he tries to hit Kamala he is able to dodge and kick Yoko in the gut. Kamala then uses his chops to attack Yoko who is still feeling the effects of the kick, but Yoko turns the tide when he uses a cheap shot to the throat of Kamala and then starts dealing out his own punishment and even knocks Kamala off his feet. Kamala is able to make a small comeback using his chops to Yoko’s head, but Yoko takes back over with a big splash in the corner and then lands the Banzai Drop and gets the pin and the win. This is a good match that was really just an enhancement match as Kamala was feed to Yokozuna who was the companies biggest heel at the time and it made sense to have him win the match as he was about to have a big match against Hulk Hogan and at this point Kamala was not being pushed at a big superstar. The match is pretty much just big man moves with both men selling for each other and making each other look good, and the fans are behind Kamala who was a baby face at the time. Yokozuna you can tell had respect for Kamala and he does a good job of not making this look like a squash match. And the Banzai Drop looks painful and Kamala sells the effects really good after the match. While the match is nothing special it does have a good pace and was a almost passing of the torch of monster heels. Also it was cool to see Mr. Fuji around as he was the manager of Yokozuna at this time and in the 80’s he managed Kamala.

Grade: **1/2

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Match 5: Kamala vs. The Undertaker

As the bell rings Kamala rushes The Undertaker and it was a big mistake as Taker starts landing big shots on him causing him to fall back into the corner and starts choking him. The Undertaker then walks the rope “Old School” and works on the arm of Kamala and keeps up his attack, and at this point Kamala has not be able to get the match momentum going his way that is until he knocks Taker off the top rope. Kamala then starts landing some chops and punches of his own and knocks Undertaker out of the ring, Taker then goes after Kamala’s managers and this causes him to have to exit the ring to save them and Kamala starts beating up Taker around the ringside. Once back in the ring The Undertaker hits Kamala with a choke slam and a flying clothesline and just as he is about to get Kamala in the Tombstone Piledriver one of his managers Kim Chee jumps into the ring and strikes The Undertaker causing the match to be thrown out and The Undertaker wins by DQ. After the match Kamala attacks The Undertaker and hits him with big splashes and when The Undertaker sits up after the attack Kamala gets scared and runs away. This is a great match that features two of the WWF’s best monster style gimmicks against each other in a match that is big man paced and showcases the classic slow moving Undertaker style. And while the match is short under four minutes neither guy looks weak with both having moments to shine and each are able to hit some of their trademark moves. And the stuff after the match that has Kamala beating down The Undertaker and then being scared when the Dead Man sits up is classic Kamala stuff as he gets scared and runs away. While the matches end is a let down as it was a DQ I do understand why as they seen more life in the feud and wanted both men to come out with neither having a pin loss to the other. Great stuff if you are a fan of classic Undertaker matches and if you like the style of Kamala at this stage of his career, and keep in mind this match is not for everyone as it is very slow paced and is a typical big man match from the early 90’s, but I for one enjoyed it.

Grade: **1/2

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Match 6: Kamala vs. Tito Santana

Kamala charges Tito as the bell rings but cannot catch him, as he is much faster and is able to dodge his attack, and even when Kamala is able to get his hands on him he is able to use his speed to get away. Tito is able to get Kamala in an arm bar and when the big man gets out of it Tito is able to land some big punches to his head and rocks him for a few moments and allows Tito to get the arm bar back on. Kamala breaks free and misses a big splash and this gives Tito a chance to once more lock in the arm bar. But Kamala is able to take the momentum of the match and starts using his chops to break down Tito and even locks in a massive bear hug that crushes the life out of Tito. Once out of the bear hug Tito tries to make a comeback but it is cut off by Kamala who uses a kick to the face to knock Tito down and then as he is going to big splash for the win he sees The Undertakers manager Paul Bearer wheel down a casket and this causes him to run away from the ring and get counted out, giving Tito the win. This match is filled with lots of rest holds as arm bars and a over long held bear hug brings down the pace of the match and it’s a shame as both super stars are way more skilled then what they show in this match. And the ending of Kamala getting counted out by running into the crowd to escape the casket also does not help the match that was already not that great due to all the rest holds. Kamala does well in the match but does not shine like he normally does, and while Tito Santana starts off with quick moves he quickly falls into using the arm bar for way to long multiple times. Not much to really say about this one besides it was kind of a letdown as I am a big fan of both superstars and they just did not have a good match, and more the most part the crowd as well seemed really dead for this one.

Grade: **

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Match 7: Kamala vs. Great Kabuki

As the bell rings Kabuki spits the green mist into the air and Kamala looks unsure of what he has just seen, and as the two lock up its Kamala that gets the upper hand and starts hitting him with big chops. Kamala then grabs Kabuki by his neck and lifts him in the air chocking him and causes Kabuki to spew the green mist and this makes Kamala let him go. But Kamala stays on the attack but Kabuki is able to fight back with a spinning kick to his gut and then to the chin knocking the big man down. The two end up locking up in a test of strength that Kamala wins and turns it into a bear hug on Kabuki and holds the move on tight, and Kanuki is only able to escape when he chops the ears of Kamala at the same time. The two end up trading blows until Kamala once more goes for a nerve hold that takes Kabuki down to the mat. Kabuki is able to use his speed and kicks to escape and land some movies on Kamala hurting the big man. The two once more trade punches back and fourth and Kabuki is able to land a good kick to Kamala’s face rocking him and just then both wrestlers managers (Skandor Akbar and Gary Hart) enter the ring and the match is a double DQ. This was a really good match between two great “monster heel” wrestlers one who uses power moves and one who uses quickness and martial arts and their styles worked well together. Kamala uses his power to try and ground Kabuki and does a great job at keeping his kicks and green mist at bay. While Kabuki uses his kicks to rock and hurt his bigger opponent, and his quick kicks to Kamala’s face are awesome and look good. The crowd is clearly on the side of Kabuki for the match as they pop for some of his moves and in the end when he gets the last shot in the match. The downside is that the match does not have a winner as the managers entering the ring cause it to be thrown out and that stinks, as is the fact they have Gary Hart get a few kicks off on Kamala. A good match for sure that is ruined by a bad finish.

Grade: ***

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Match 8: Kamala vs. Andre The Giant

Kamala attacks Andre right as he is entering the ring and is landing big chops to the giant’s skull, and Andre starts fighting back with big chops of his own across the chest of Kamala. Andre then hits a big headbutt that dazes Kamala who exits the ring and does not want to get back in with the angry giant, and when he finally gets back in the ring he second guesses himself and gets right back out. Kamala finally gets the courage and gets back in the ring only to be choked by Andre as well as clubbed on with his massive fists. Kamala once more flees the ring in pain, and when back in the ring Andre continues to beat up on Kamala even landing a big boot to his face. But Kamala is able to make a comeback when he starts landing his chops to the top of Andre’s skull once more knocking the giant into the ropes and causing him to get his arms tangled and this allows Kamala to really unload on him. Once free Andre uses the ropes to choke Kamala and give himself a moment to catch his breath. Andre once more starts beating up on Kamala who once more gets out of the ring and has to be forced back into the ring by his managers. Andre beats Kamala in a test of strength and then steeps on his toes with all his weight, Andre then gets Kamala into the corner and crushes him with his size and weight. Kamala is in trouble and his managers know it so they enter the ring and attack Andre and get Kamala disqualified and this gives Andre The Giant the win. This is a true battle of the Big Men and Andre being the biggest as he even makes Kamala look small! The match is your normal big man fight with no technical moves used and it was all big man brawling power moves that the two threw at each other. Both men look great in the match with Andre of course coming off the stronger of the two and he was being showcased as the man who made Kamala even afraid due to his massive size and power. Andre is slow moving in the match as Kamala is the one who does lots of the bumps and work in the match, and what is really surprising while they took lots of breaks in the Kamala out of the ring bits they did not over use rest holds. And while Andre is clearly the one being pushed in the match they do a great job of still making Kamala look strong and this is a time when a DQ finish is needed so neither man has to take a pin or submission loss. Over all a slow brawl that has two giant going to war with each other and is a good entertaining match that Kamala really does shine in by making Andre look even better in the ring.

Grade: ***

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Kamala really was one of my favorite wrestlers growing up and was one that I knew I had to cover on one of these “R.I.W Wrestling Legend” updates as I had to share is story and matches with you readers and friends. As you can see, he was a wrestler who could work his gimmick and have some good to great matches with many of the times top wrestlers. But as you can see, the lights are going out and the clean up crew is coming out here at the Rotten Ink Arena and the staff knows that I could talk Kamala for many more paragraphs, but I won’t as I am sure they are wanting to leave and you guys as well have things to do, so as we make our way to the exit I would like to take a few moments to let you know that the next update will be another spooky themed one as our Countdown to Halloween continues with a look at a Horror Host that made his home in the basement of the Grand Ole Opry House and I am talking about Sir Cecil Creape! So until next time read a comic or three, watch a wrestling match or two and as always support your local wrestlers. So you next time for a spooky good time.

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R.I.W Wrestling Legend: Corporal Kirchner

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

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

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

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

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

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Best Of Corporal Kirchner

Match 1: Corporal Kirchner vs. Paul Orndorff

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

Grade: ***

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Match 2: Corporal Kirchner vs. Kamala

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

Grade: **1/2

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Match 3: Corporal Kirchner vs. King Harley Race

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

Grade: **1/2

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Match 4: Corporal Kirchner vs. Iron Sheik

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

Grade: **1/2

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Match 5: Corporal Kirchner vs. Mike Miller

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

Grade: *1/2

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Match 6: Corporal Kirchner vs. Ricky Santana

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

Grade: **1/2

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Match 7: Corporal Kirchner vs. Adrian Adonis

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

Grade: **

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

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

Grade: **1/2

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

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The Marvel Adventures Of Indiana Jones

Many movie goers lose their minds when a new Star Wars film is released in the cinema as they cannot get enough of the Jedi and their fight against the evils of the universe. In fact, most people only focused on Star Wars when Disney bought LucasFilms back in 2012 and seem to have forgotten about one of the company’s most iconic characters: the one and only Indiana Jones! No joke, when the sale went through I was more excited about the prospect of new Indiana Jones films then Star Wars, and while I love Star Wars I have always felt that Indiana was more of a special movie experience. I can remember watching the Indiana Jones movies while playing with my Kenner Indiana Jones figure based on Raiders Of The Lost Ark and being mesmerized by the over all adventures those movies brought to their viewers, and with it being almost July 4, 2021, why not do a update about an America Hero and with a new Indiana Jones movie hitting the cinema in just a couple of days. I knew this update had to happen as Indiana Jones is a true American hero in the world of cinema, novels, video games and comic books! So sit back and pack a backpack, as it’s time to go on an epic adventure with Indiana Jones and Marvel Comics.

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Dr. Henry Walton “Indiana” Jones Jr. is the son of Henry Jones Sr. and works as a professor of archaeology in New Jersey at Marshall College in the 1930’s. The college is the one to foot the bill when Indiana goes on research trips and expeditions that have him travel all over the world and find all types of artifacts from the Lost Ark Of The Covenant, The Crystal Skull, The Holy Grail, The Sankara Stones among so many more. During his adventures he has made many friends and colleagues with names like Short Round, Willie Scott, Sallah as well as Marion Ravenwood with whom he ended up having a son named Mutt Williams. At one point Indiana even had an adventure with his father Henry Sr. to find the Holy Grail and they ran into a ghost knight while on the hunt. He has gone up against Nazis, Cults, Natives and Thieves and everything in between, and all the while he is the hero needed in the situations he finds himself in. It has also been shown that even as a youngster Indiana Jones has went on exploring adventures and was a hero. Indiana Jones is a skilled fist fighter and as well skilled with a gun and a whip. This is only a small crash course of the history of Indiana Jones who I think is hands down one of the best heroes in cinema history and actor Harrison Ford was the best choice to play the character.

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The first film in the series was “Raiders Of The Lost Ark” that was released in 1981 and has Indiana Jones looking for the lost Ark of the Covenant while trying to out step the Nazis who also want it! The film was a major hit with moviegoers and critics and brought the series into the world of pop culture. Raiders brought in $212,222,025.00 on a budget of only $18 million. “Temple Of Doom” was the second film and was released in 1984 and has Indy going after the Sankara Stones that are in the grip of Mola Ram and a Thuggee Cult, all the while he also saves children who are being used as slaves. The film was a prequel and was very popular when released with the kids who flooded the cinema to see it. The film brought in $179,870,271.00 on a budget of $28 million! The third movie was “Last Crusade” that was released in 1989 and has Indiana Jones and his father going after the Holy Grail and fighting with the Nazis again to get it! The film was a major hit with critics and fans and some even say it’s the best sequel and even best in the series! The film did fantastic at the box office bringing in $197,171,806.00 on a budget of $48 million. The fourth film in the series was released in 2008 and is called “Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull” and has Indiana Jones looking for the famed crystal skull while tangling with the Soviets and meeting his son Mutt Williams for the first time! The film was met with mixed reviews from moviegoers and critics, but was a hit at the box office bringing in $317,101,119.00 on a budget of $185 million. Now, with the fifth film about to hit theaters, who knows what true adventure Indiana Jones will have and how epic this one will be! But one thing is for sure, I will be there opening night and ready to find one of the world’s lost treasures along side Indy!

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I grew up watching the Indiana Jones films and have seen them all so many times I have lost count! For me hands down the best film in the series is Raiders Of The Lost Ark as it’s the original and really has that adventure feel to it. Plus it’s just so pure and really is a great way to pay respects to all the cliffhangers that inspired it. But when it comes down to the sequels many fans are torn to which is the best. Most say Last Crusade is the best and Crystal Skull is the worst, as people seem to not be able to get past CGI Monkeys and Indy surviving a nuclear blast in a refrigerator. For me the best sequel is Temple Of Doom as it was a film I grew up watching and was the one I had action figures of as well as books, trading cards and even comics and would be one that my brother and I would watch all the time and even played toy adventures in that world. The film had that true big adventure feel and the main villain Mola Ram was pretty spooky as he was a High Priest who can steal the hearts of his enemies! Plus Mola Ram’s men kidnap kids and forced them into labor! Indiana Jones also has a sidekick in the film called Short Round who is a taxicab driver who was 11 years old and is wise for his age, he was played by Ke Huy Quan, credited at the times as Jonathan Ke Quan, who also played Data in The Goonies! Willie Scott a club singer is the love interest in this film, and she is alright but she is no Marion Ravenwood as I feel Willie is more of the damsel in distress. Plus moments from the film like the iconic Indiana Jones on the bridge fighting and bringing it and the bad guys down is pure cinema gold and has stuck with me over the decades. And for those wondering, my least favorite in the series is Last Crusade as I could not get into that one as much and while I enjoyed it, I feel that Sean Connery and his over acting dragged it down slightly…but again keep in mind I still like the movie. And now after talking about Temple Of Doom, I have to get the old DVD out and give it a watch! Also I should say that my brother had the Indiana Jones figure from LJN and I had Mola Ram growing up and I can remember us making them fight, and of course Indiana always won.

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While not in modern times, back in the 80’s and 90’s the Indiana Jones franchise was hugely popular and was on track with Star Wars when it came to loyal fans. So with the popularity of Indy ABC decided to air a TV Show called “The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles” that followed the character as a youngster with even a cameo from Harrison Ford as a 50-year-old Indiana in an episode. This show would have two seasons and would run 28 episodes and had actors Corey Carrier playing Indiana age 8-10 with Sean Patrick Flanery playing him age 16-21 and George Hall playing him at age 93! And the show would also have some amazing guest stars like Christopher Lee, Daniel Craig, Elizabeth Hurley, Keith David, Michael Gough, Max Von Sydow and Catherine Zeta-Jones among many others. The show was created by George Lucas when he found that many crew members on the sets of the film would always chat about the life that Indiana Jones must have had growing up and this sparked Lucas to write out a timeline of what Indiana Jones did in his younger life, and with that, the TV Show was born! The score for the series was done by Laurence Rosenthal and was good, not John Williams level but still a solid score. The show was meet with mix reviews by critics and fans with mostly them being positive, and the show would even win six Emmy Awards. The show would be released on VHS as well as DVD and while not as iconic as the films it still has a following and is great for fans of Indiana Jones to continue his adventures. And for those of you wondering, yes, I watched this show growing up and very much enjoyed it, and while I have not re-watched it since I was a kid, it is a TV series that I plan on revisiting at some point.

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We all know that Indiana Jones is a very iconic movie franchise, and one thing that all fans know is the amazing score work from John Williams that helps makes the films even more special! I mean you know as well as I do that as you have been reading this update you have hummed or heard “Raiders March” at least once! And while the Indiana Jones films are amazing, I truly think that the score work of John Williams really does make them even more top notch and adds to the adventure feeling of the films. I could never see another composer ever doing the score for any future Indiana Jones films, and if and when Williams is replaced, the new composer will have big shoes to fill. I just had to take this brief moment to praise the score as I truly do think that is some of the most iconic work done in modern cinema, so do yourself a favor and get these scores in your collection whether its on vinyl, CD, cassette or digital and give it a listen while you read the rest of this update.

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Another thing I want to quickly talk about is the very cool novels that have been released that features not only novelization versions of the films but also new adventures giving fans even more Indiana expeditions while they waited for new films. One of the books even was choose your own adventure style and was written by R.L. Stine who of course is known for his Goosebumps and Fear Street books. Of course growing up I had many of these books that I would get from the School Book Fair as well as find at Half Price Books. I can remember enjoying them, and while I liked the comics more these were fun reads on lazy rainy days or even late nights before going to sleep. In factm I think I still have a few of these novels in my paperback book collection.

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If the comics and novels didn’t give you enough new Indiana Jones adventures, he of course also made his way to the world of video games and has appeared on many systems as we are talking from computer to X-Box 360! Some of the games I want to highlight are the first Indiana Jones game was released for the Atari 2600 and was based on the film Raiders of The Lost Ark. In 1988 Temple Of Doom was released of the NES and had two versions of the game one official and one unofficial. In 1994 the super cool Indiana Jones Greatest Adventure was released for the Super Nintendo. 1994 also saw Instruments Of Chaos being released for Sega Genesis and had you play as Young Indiana Jones. In 2000 the N64 game Indiana Jones And The Infernal Machine was released and lastly 2003 seen the release of Indiana Jones And The Emperor’s Tomb released for PC, X-Box and Playstation 2, and this is really just a very small amount of games that have been released featuring Indiana as many PC games as well as even handheld and home console games have been released. The ones I highlighted here are the ones I remember playing the most over the years and are ones that have stuck with me. What was cool about these games and much like the novels, comics and toys they added new life and adventures to the film series and allowed the character to continue on as the fans waited for the next film or in some cases episode of air on TV. I keep the hope alive that for Playstation 5 we will get a new Indiana Jones game as I feel his return to the digital world is long over due.

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When I was a youngster Indiana Jones made his way into the world of action figures as well and my brother and I had to have them! The first series was 3 ¾” figures based on Raiders Of The Lost Arch and released in 1982 by Kenner and lasted two series and a total of 9 figures, 1 horse and 4 playsets with Indiana Jones in his classic hat and jacket being the most popular figure in the series. The line had three versions of Indiana and also had figures of Marion Ravenwood, Toht, Belloq and Sallah. Growing up I had many of these figures and playsets and still have some of them to this day. The next Indiana Jones toys that were big when I was a kid were released by LJN in 1984 and were based on Temple Of Doom and lasted for only three figures that were of course Indiana Jones, Mola Ram and Giant Thugee. And again growing up we had these LJN figures well we had Indiana and Mola Ram, and they were pretty cool. we got them from the old department store Gold Circle. And in 2008 with the release of Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull more toys were released this time by Hasbro and had figures not only released based on that film, but all of the other films in the series! And I bought so many of these figures as at the time I was in the early stages of making my own stop motion movie based on Flash Gordon and many of the Indiana Jones characters were to appear in his quest. And this is only some of the toys released based on the films! But needless to say, if you, like me, grew up a fan of Indiana Jones these figures added new adventures for the hero as we waited for the next film to be released.

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Indiana Jones of course had way more merchandise then what we have already talked about as collectors had so much cool stuff to collect over the years and this included shirts, posters, stickers, drinking glasses, board games, trading cards, statues, magazines, magnets, Halloween masks, watches, pocket knives, home media and so much more! I mean growing up I had some of the glasses, Halloween masks, trading cards and even one of the board games. And as you can see Indiana Jones has graced so many items both official and fan made that collect Indiana Jones stuff can be easy as well as a little pricy as some of the official merchandise has climbed in prices over the years. But if you like Indiana Jones and are a collector make sure to search your local toy, comic and antique shops as well as online shops and see what you can add to your collection today.

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Well as I am sure you have guessed by now that I am a big fan of the Indiana Jones movie series and we are now at the point of this update that we review the comics and again the Marvel Comics series was a no brainer for me to select as they are the ones I grew up reading. And what makes this update even more awesome for me is that I get the chance to reread these issues again after all these years and it will be cool to see if they hold up and are as enjoyable as they were back then. I want to thank Mavericks Cards And Comics, Bell Book And Comic, Game Swap Kettering and Lone Star Comics for having these comics in stock and making this update possible. I want to also remind you that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, it’s entertainment value and it’s art and story. So if you are ready lets see what kind of adventures Indiana Jones can have in the Marvel Universe, and I am going to shorten the comics title from “The Further Adventures Of Indiana Jones” to just simply Indiana Jones.

Further Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 1

Indiana Jones # 1  ***
Released in 1983     Cover Price .60     Marvel Comics     # 1 of 34

Indiana Jones gets a visit from a former student named Charlie Dunne who informs him that he has found the gold cursed statues called The Ikons Of Ikammanen and before he can tell Indy anything else a knife is thrown into the window killing Charlie! Indiana takes Charlie’s notes, maps and heads to the location as Dunne’s sister Edith in order to tell her the grim news as well as find these statues. Indy shows up in Africa and is greeted by Edith, and Indy tells her his main goal is to find who killed her brother and to then find the statues, but ones the enter his hotel room the are attacked by shrouded men who have knives, as Indy fights them off one kidnaps Edith and runs through the streets. Indy gives chase and soon finds himself in a trap that takes him to a underground base were he meets Solomon Black a criminal business man who wants Indy and Edith to find the statues so he can sell them as they are made of gold, and threatens the life of Edith if they do not help him as he is also in control of some very bad men and his hooded henchman Vont will do whatever he says and that includes murder. Indy and Edith are forced to head to the island with the gold statues and find that the beach is booby trapped when it kills one of the two guards, and once at the temple Indy finds that the statues are really just human bodies dipped in gold and he and Edith are attacked and about to be dipped themselves in gold by a tribal cult of old men that lives on the island.

This is such a fun Indiana Jones comic adventure and showcased why back in the 60’s-80’s Marvel Comics was the king of the comics. In this adventure Indiana must travel to an island in order to find golden statues that are said to be a legend, but he is forced to search for them when one of his old students is murdered and a crime boss threatens the life of a young woman. Indiana Jones is a true hero in this comic as he does the right thing when needed, wants to solve a murder, find lost treasure and protect the life of a young woman, and he uses his trusty whip and handgun to get himself out of danger as well as to set his adventure on the right path. Edith Dunne is a smart young lady who along with her brother found the secrets of the Golden Statue, and yet cause she is a woman the bad guys downplay her worth is the quest to get them, and you have to feel bad for her due to her brother being murdered. Solomon Black is a slimy crime boss who surrounds himself with cold blooded killers, and all he cares about his getting the gold statues so that he can sell them and make lots of money, lets hope he gets what’s coming to him soon. The issue is filled with drama, adventure and even a little dash of comedy as Indiana’s wit is in full effect. This was a great issue and story to kick off a comic series based on such an iconic movie character, and as I said proved that Marvel Comics use to truly know how to make great comics. The cover is very eye catching and showcases Indiana Jones and his whip surrounded by the other character in the adventure and the interior art is done by the team of John Byrne and Terry Austin is great stuff, but I do have to say I wish that they drew Indiana to look more like Harrison Ford the actor who plays him in the films. Over all this is a great read and makes me look forward to seeing what’s next!

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 2

Indiana Jones # 2  ***
Released in 1983     Cover Price .60     Marvel Comics     # 2 of 34

Indiana and Edith are being lowered by a chain into a molten gold pit by the islands natives and are trying to find away to escape this painful death, and that’s when Mr. Black and his men arrive and start a battle with the natives an this allows Indiana and Edith to swing the chain an hit the leaver to free themselves. Once outside the temple Mr. Black and his men have defeated the natives and Black gives the order to kill Indiana and Edith as he does not need them anymore and that’s when more natives show up and attack Mr. Black and his men given Indiana and Edith a second chance as they are forced to work along Black and his men in this attack. After the fight Indiana is able to save he and Edith’s life by claiming there is more gold statues an that only he and maybe 11 other people in the world can read it. While back on the ship Edith dresses sexy and lures one of the armed guards into a trap, and Indiana and Edith make their way off the ship but end up being caught by Mr. Black who makes the pair walk the plank into the ocean. But just then a German submarine fires a missile at Black’s ship sinking it and the German’s give our heroes a ride to New York, and best Edith is able to save one of the golden statues. Edith and Indiana get on a plane with one of the statues an that is when Indiana confronts Edith with being behind the murder of her own brother, and it’s true as the pilot of the plane was also in on the killing and quick thinking Indiana says the magic words that brings the golden statue alive and as it kills Edith and her cohort our hero Indiana Jones gets a parachute and dives from the soon to be crashing in the ocean plane.

This second issue is a pretty fun adventure as it has Indiana Jones along with Edith trying to survive natives who want to turn them into golden statues, avoid being murdered by Mr. Black and his band of cutthroat killers as well as for Indiana to try and find out who killed his friend and former student that started these crazy events. Indiana Jones as always is very brave and uses his not only his skills in fighting but it’s his mind that gets himself out of trouble, and is able to defeat all his enemies that seem to be all around. And he not only gets to bring down a scummy criminal organization but also stops a killer who was after fame and fortune. Speaking of that killer her name is Edith and she is the sister of the murdered friend of Indiana who has her brother killed so that she could get all the credit for the golden statues that they were close to discovering, an worse is Indiana had to protect this killer as they both get kidnapped by criminals…and at a point he already knew she was the one who killed his friend. Mr. Black and his men are cold blooded and they do not value human life as they as well just want money and lots of it. Plus while the ship he was on got blown up I think Mr. Black is not dead and will be back. I like the touch of the Golden Statue coming to life at the end to kill Edith and her cohort as it adds that supernatural cliffhanger feel that has made Indiana Jones films so special over the decades. And like I said before the creative team behind this series clearly knew how to make a comic based on this movie character as this was a very entertaining read. The cover for this issue is ok an not as eye catching as other comic covers of that time and the interior art for issue two is done by John Byrne and Terry Austin and I have to say that in spots it looks slightly rushed and sloppy but is still not bad. Over all a good solid issue and keeps up the great work that Marvel Comics was doing with this Indiana Joes comic series.

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 3

Indiana Jones # 3  ***
Released in 1983     Cover Price .60     Marvel Comics     # 3 of 34

As Indiana Jones lands from his air jump a terrible rainstorm rages on and he watches as a group of people are chasing a man and are about to hang him! Indiana Jones decides to save the man and as the two run away his attackers as well as now army soldiers are giving chase, as the unknown man says that they all hate him cause his grandfather has created an elixir that gives the person who drinks it immortality! After escaping their pursuers the man takes Indiana to meet his grandfather who is in a cave that has a stream and after brief introductions the grandfather attacks and beats up Indiana as he has drank some of the elixir water and is super strong and in a rage over Indiana being around and knocks our hero out. When Indiana wakes up he finds that he is tied to a rock with explosives all around as the grandfather wants to crush the army base below with the falling rocks, Indiana is able to escape but is taken prisoner by the army who find him and label him a traitor. Meanwhile the grandfather that’s name is Prospero and his grandson who is Dullard set to blow up the cave after the soldiers disappears and the older is a little annoyed that the younger helped Indiana escape by cutting the ropes that bound him. Indiana Jones is able to escape his cell and steals a army jeep that has a cannon on the back of it, Indiana makes its just in time to fire the cannon and save the lives of the army people as Prospero had set the explosives again…but saving the day gets the stream with the elixir water to be caved in. In the end two locals try to attack Indiana Jones and is saved by Prospero and Dullard who are now teaming with our hero and they flee from the coming army that is tracking them down.

Poor Indiana Jones goes from the frying pan into the fire as soon as he lands from jumping out of the plane he finds himself right back into an adventure! This time around Indiana saves a man from a lynch mob and this makes him the target of not only them but also the military as the man he saved and his grandfather have been a pain in the ass and are claiming to have an elixir that gives the drinker eternal life and super strength…that is if you keep drinking it. Indiana Jones once more does all the things he thinks is right and saves lives as well as gets himself in and out of danger throughout the issue, he even gets beat up by an old man in this issue! Prospero and Dullard claim to have found waters that will give them forever life, and its unsure if they truly have found this or if something else is giving them a boost of strength…are they good or bad it’s hard to tell. Meanwhile the army is being lead by General Hannigan who is looking for a war and so wants to take human lives but is being held at bay due to the rules of the military. And what is cool about this issue is that it takes place right after the last issue and leaves us on yet another cliffhanger as we have no idea where Prospero is leading Indiana Jones and we know that the army will be on their trail and Hannigan is not going to let them get away. The cover for this issue is great and showcases Indiana in the stolen jeep as the army is firing at him! The interior art this time around is done by Gene Day and Richard Howell and its pretty great stuff and has that early 80’s Marvel Comics charm. Over all a great issue that once more showcases that Indiana Jones is a fantastic film character as well as a comic book one and Marvel Comics was the right company to make Indiana leap into the comic pages.

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 4

Indiana Jones # 4  ***
Released in 1983     Cover Price .60     Marvel Comics     # 4 of 34

Indiana Jones is on a plan set to England and soon finds that it’s a trap as the pilot parachutes from the plane and Indiana has to use an old blanket to leap from the crashing plane. Once in the ocean he is picked up by an English ship and finds out that he has been sent to England by America in order to help look into cryptic writings on a cylinder that was found at Stonehenge and is being called “The Gateway Project” and the Nazis are also now after these secrets and the danger level is high. Indiana is paired with the beautiful Professor Karen Mays and together the solve the writings on the cylinder that proves a race of something that could be good or evil wrote it long before mankind walked the Earth, and soon find themselves being chased by the Nazis who want the cylinder! They run through the streets, the train station and finally Indiana has to “borrow” a car in order to drive away but finds himself crashed on a bridge and about ready to plunge to his death along side Karen.

This issue is pretty much a chase that has Indiana Jones and his new female friend Karen on the run from bloodthirsty Nazis who want the secrets that are written on a cylinder that predates the time of man that was found in Stonehenge, and even starts with a airplane pilot trying to kill him with a crash…so to sum it up this is a wild ride and super fun issue! Indiana in this issue is quick thinking as well does not trust the cylinder that speaks of beings coming back to the site of Stonehenge, as he questions if these beings are not going to be monsters. Karen Mays is a professor who helps solve the riddle of the cylinder and the writings on it, and by being so smart she finds herself now the target of bad guys who want what she knows. The Nazis are total scumbags and have places bugged in order to get information, have no issues killing people, stalk and attack their targets and prove that they will always be a thorn in the side of Indiana. The one odd thing about this issue is that it seems that the story of Prospero and his eternal life elixir just has no finish as this issue makes zero comments about that adventure and does not continue the story, so that was very odd. The cover is awesome and has Indiana Jones and Karen on the train rails surrounded by bad guys as the train is behind them. The interior art is done by Ron Frenz and is great stuff and has that classic 80’s Marvel look. This is a solid issue and while I wished they would have fully wrapped the last adventure up, this new one seems like it is going to be fast paced and filled with action and even maybe a little super natural monsters! So with that lets see what happens next in this tale.

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 5

Indiana Jones # 5  ***
Released in 1983     Cover Price .60     Marvel Comics     # 5 of 34

Indiana and Karen are able to escape the falling car thanks to his trusty whip and as they get back to the top of the bridge they find that Nazi’s waiting for them, but Indiana times it out perfect as he allows himself and Karen to fall back off the bridge and land on a garbage ship to make their escape. Karen takes Indiana to her mothers house so that they can hide and come up with a plan as Indiana is worried that the beings that could be summoned tonight could be evil and they can not allow them to be set free and that the cylinder not fall into the hands of the Nazis as this could end bad for everyone in the world. As Indiana and Karen head to the train they are unaware that the Nazis had Karen’s mom’s house bugged and they have the Cargo Pilot on the train to get the cylinder and kill Indiana Jones, as they are made at him for failing to kill Indiana with the plane crash. As he tries to attack Indiana and steal the cylinder the two end up on top of the fast moving train and with his quick thinking Indiana is able to go over the side of the train and get inside safely as the Pilot goes splat as he hits a tunnel. The Nazis end up stopping the train as they dress as cops and Indiana and Karen escape on a stolen motorcycle and make it across a broken down wood bridge that crumbles after they cross to get some distance between them and the Nazis who are hot on their trail. But Indiana and Karen’s luck runs out as they find themselves stuck in quicksand and this allows the Nazi’s to catch up with them and get the cylinder. The Nazis leave Indiana to die in the quicksand and head towards Stonehenge to make contact with the ancient beings. Indiana with his quick thinking and help from a gun and a tree branch saves Karen and himself from death and the pair rush to Stonehenge. As they get there the Nazis have the cylinder and in the sky are snake like demon creatures, and before they can fully return Indiana is able to break the cylinder stopping their return as well as take down the Nazis and allows the police to arrest them.

This is another issue that plays up on high action and builds the chase of the Nazis going after Indiana and the cylinder and by the end Indiana going after them so they don’t use the cylinder. The plot as Indiana Jones in charge of a cylinder that has writing the predates mankind and the spooky thing being is that the cylinder could bring the demonic race back the wrote on it! So Indiana must do his best of keeping it out of the hands of the Nazis who are chasing him as well as his fellow professor Karen Mays as if the Nazis use the cylinder at Stonehenge who knows what kind of evil will be unleashed on Earth. And in this issue Indiana chooses to break the cylinder a priceless relic so that the power it holds will not help the bad guys in their quest for world domination. And of course throughout this issue Indiana uses his smarts, quick wit and tools of his trade whip and pistol in order to discover and be the hero we all know and love. Karen Mays is smart and charming, but sadly her roll in this issue falls fast as at times she just kind of feels like a background player who has a crush on Indiana. The Nazis are as scummy as always and crave the power that the cylinder holds, and they don’t care who lives or dies in their quest to get it, and that even includes their own spies. The demons sadly barely appear and are sent back just as quickly as they appeared, making them spooky but zero threat to our hero. My favorite part of this issue is hands down when Indy tricks the Nazi assassin on top of the train that leads to the attackers death by being smashed by a tunnel, this is a segment that feels straight out of the movies. The cover is very cool and eye catching as it showcases both Indiana Jones as well as one of the cylinder demons. The interior art done by Ron Frenz is good stuff and I have to say I truly love the classic 70’s and 80’s Marvel artwork and miss this style in modern comics. Over all another good issue and a cool adventure to see Indy on.

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 6

Indiana Jones # 6  ***
Released in 1983     Cover Price .60     Marvel Comics     # 6 of 34

The Ravens Nest nightclub is opening in New York and is owned by Marion Ravenwood and even Indiana Jones has money in the club that’s opening night is for the rich and famous. But as Marion is crossing the street to enter the club a car almost hits her, and of course it was Indiana that saves her life. Once inside the club Jamal an art dealer with a shady past and is now decorating the club is upset that an attempt was made at her life. And before the doors open Marion warns Indiana that mobster Marko wanted to put money into the club to use as a gambling place, she rejected his offer and thinks he is the one that wants her dead. That night another attempt is made at Marion’s life and even after she and Indiana Jones confront Marko the next day someone tries to kill both our heroes in a horse carriage accident! Marion and Indiana investigates Marko and soon find that he is not the one trying to kill her, and in fact as they make an escape from Marko’s mansion via a boat they are attacked again by the assassin and Indiana is able to get the attackers knife and comes up with a suspect he thinks is behind these attacks. They head to the shop of Jamal who is away and Indiana knows he has their attacker, and they rush to the Ravens Nest to find Jamal placing explosives around the club! Jamal comes clean when he is confronted and says he has hidden stolen treasures inside the decorations and he used the drama with Marko as away for the mobster to take all the blame so that he could get his riches and make money. Jamal and Indiana start fist fighting and a fire breaks out in the club, Marion and Indiana are able to escape but Jamal stays behind to grab some of his stolen treasure and is blown up in the club explosion. In the end Indiana alerts Marion that he took insurance out on the club so they should be able to get their money back from the fire.

What a fun issue that brings back Marion Ravenwood back from Raiders Of The Lost Arch and has her and Indy opening a night club in New York and find themselves being targeted by a hitman that could have been hired by an angered mob boss but is really a sleazy stolen art dealer who wants to frame the mobster in order to get away with smuggling stolen goods through the club. Indiana Jones is a hero who once more risks his life in order to do the right thing and in this case he gets in the way of a killer who is targeting his lady friend Marion who herself is strong willed and one heck of a fighter and business woman. Really seeing these two back together was awesome and Marvel Comics and the creator behind this series are doing a great job of capturing the fun nature of the film series and the characters that make up that world. The main bad guy Jamal is a true scumbag as he deals in stolen treasures and even after Indiana Jones tries to help him out with the law, his main goal is to kill those who helped him in order to get away with more stolen goods…and like he plans on blowing up a night club filled with people…this guy is scum! The action is fast paced and I enjoyed the fight on the speeding boats by Indy and the masked attacker as the adventure is high in these panels. The cover for this issue is pretty cool and has Indiana leaping into a car being driver by a masked man. The interior art is done by Howard Chaykin and is pretty good with his drawing of Marion and Jamal being good, his Indiana is a little off and has zero resemblance to actor Harrison Ford. Over all a very good issue and makes me look forward to seeing what issue seven has in store for us.

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 7

Indiana Jones # 7  ***
Released in 1983     Cover Price .60     Marvel Comics     # 7 of 34

At a vineyard in France Indiana Jones has found a thief that is dressed as a monk and with a pistol in hand he wants his stolen ancient artifact back, well the one he has been hired to return! The monk is McIver and all the monks that are making wine are in fact thieves and after Indiana escapes with the artifact wrapped in map to keep it from getting damaged the very angry McIver swears revenge. Once back in America Indiana Jones discovers the map he used to protect the artifact leads to lost treasure from a Atlantian tribe and if this treasure is found could be priceless as well as prove that Atlantis was real! And as Indiana Jones sets out for Africa were the map leads he must take along Marion Ravenwood who over heard the importance of the find and wiggles her way into going along for the adventure. Once in Africa they try and hire some extra help, but find that someone else has hired all the extra hands to look for a rare flower, and Indy knows something is up and he and Marion rush into to the jungle to find the treasure. While floating down the river Indy and Marion are attacked by a hippo, alligators plus a python and escape the river but find themselves stuck in quicksand and are saved by flower hunter’s expedition that turns out to ne Nazi’s that are also after the treasure and are being helped by McIver! After escaping the camp Indy and Marion are hiding in the jungle from the Nazi’s who are now hunting them, but some sort of wild animal is also on their trail!

In this seventh issue of Indiana Jones we find him once more alongside Marion Ravenwood as they are on a adventure this time in the Amazon in order to find the treasure of a tribe that is said to have been from the city of Atlantis, but of course one of Indy’s past enemies is also after the treasure and he has brought backup with the Nazi’s and to both sides have to be aware of nature as the beasts of the jungle are also on the hunt. Indiana Jones in this issue by accident stumbles on a map that leads to what could be a very priceless treasure and by finding the map he also finds him self being the hero as always as he gets himself as well as his lady friend Marion out of trouble. The one thing they dropped the ball on with this issue is they do not play up on Indy’s fear of snakes. Marion is as strong willed as ever and wants to get the scoop on this treasure as well as just be alongside Indy as it’s clear the tension between her and Indy is thick. McIver is a treasure thief who hates Indy with a passion and even teams with those scumbag Nazi’s in order to beat him getting the treasure. Like always this is a very action packed issue and Indy has to use his wits throughout in order to outsmart the baddies who want him dead! The Nazi’s being the villains in the story is normal at this point as is adding a past baddie from his past with McIvers, but I do like the idea of adding the wild animals of the jungle into the mix as they do not choose sides and only have one thing on their minds and that’s to make humans go dead! The cover is very cool and eye catching and has Indy saving Marion from gators, and this time around the interior art is done by Kerry Gammill and is very good and I like the way he draws Indy. Over all a great issue that keeps up the high quality and delivers a new adventure for Indiana Jones to keep fans happy until the next film.

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 8

Indiana Jones # 8  ***
Released in 1983     Cover Price .60     Marvel Comics     # 8 of 34

Indiana Jones and Marion are hiding from a group of Nazi’s who are hunting them down and find themselves in a cave with a blood thirsty Panther who is only held at bay thanks to a small brush fire that Indy sets. As our heroes run from the cave the panther attacks a near by Nazi and Indy and Marion run into a Atlantis Giant who is then shot and killed by the Nazis and this goes very bad for everyone as the Atlantis army surrounds them all and takes them to their cave base and to their King who is not happy with the killing of one of his own. The King takes the Nazi that killed one of his men and uses crystals to kill the man as they burn him up from the inside out. As the rest watch on in horror they are rushed away and placed in a cell room, that in the morning turns into a crystal tomb when the sun comes up and the lasers start flying and killing! Indy does not panic and uses the mirrored compact of Marion’s to blast the lock off the cell door and this allows he and Marion to escape as well as McIver and what is left of the Nazis. As Indiana and Marion are trying to get away from the Atlantis Warriors they are also trying to find away out of the cave, while the Nazis and McIver have gotten back their weapons and are killing the warriors as well as The King as the Nazi Captain wants the main crystal and he foolishly grabs the crystal and this causes the energy to go crazy and his own men to be burned up alive and the cave it’s self to collapse onto it’s self! As the cave crumbles Indy and Marion escape with Indy being able to at least save one necklace from the tribe, and unknown to the McIver also escaped and swears revenge of Indy one day. As Indiana and Marion walk back into the jungle they realize that everyone is dead and they can not prove that the Atlantis Tribe even was alive as its all been crushed and blown to bits.

What a fun adventure that takes us into the heart of the Amazon jungle and into the cave of a tribe that is from Atlantis and who uses crystals in order to deal death as well as keep their cave in order. Indiana Jones in this issue as always has to use his brilliant mind as well as trusty whip in order to get himself out of trouble and of course he has to look out for Marion as well who is very strong willed and has no issues grabbing a wood board and putting up a fight. In this issue alone Indy and Marion survive attacks from Nazis, Atlantis Warriors, Deadly Crystal Lasers as well as a Panther! McIver who is a stolen art dealer makes the big mistake of teaming with the Nazis and soon learns that their greed and crave for power almost lead him to being crushed to death or even fried from the inside out by a crystal laser, and I do think we will see him again in another issue as he really wants his revenge against Indy. I like that this issue takes place in a cave that is covered in human bones and crystals and is pretty much a death trap if anyone moves one master crystal the wrong way…truly a deadly spot in the Amazon and adds to the lore of that river and jungle. The over is awesome and has Indiana and Marion in front of a skull cave with arrows coming at them and this makes it very eye catching. The interior art is done by Kerry Gammill again and is good stuff and really helps bring this adventure alive. We are eight issues into this series and I have to say that the creators and Marvel Comics had something special going as every issue has been great and for me has this far lived up to the re-reads.

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 9

Indiana Jones # 9  ***
Released in 1983     Cover Price .60     Marvel Comics     # 9 of 34

Indiana Jones is still in Africa as he is going after The Chachapoyan Idol that was stolen from him by Belloq and sold to a dealer, and as Indy is sneaking into the place he is getting the help of his friend Sallah who is in charge of keeping an eye out. But once inside Indy finds that he is not the only one after the idol as two armed hooded figures are also there trying and now are after Indy and Sallah who have the idol and give them chase on top of the rooftops and by luck Indy and Sallah jump off a roof into a truck that his hauling hay and they take the truck to escape. We soon see that the hooded figures are one scar faced warrior and a blonde woman who swears that she will kill Indiana and get the idol back. Back in New York museum currier Marcus Brody along with Marion Ravenwood are entertaining the press as they all wait for Indiana to arrive at the museum with the idol, and when Marcus takes the idol to a safe room he is confronted by the scar faced warrior and his friends to take the idol. Indiana Jones rushes out of the window that is 23 floors up to try and walk the ledge in order to save his friend Marcus, but once outside he finds that the warriors are as well on the ledge trying to make their escape! Indy almost falls once and is saved by Marion who followed him outside the window, but after taking out one warrior Indy finds off the ledge and the other warriors is stomping on his fingers to try and make Indy falls to his death!

This ninth issue really brings the characters of “Raiders Of The Last Ark” back together as Indiana Jones is joined by not only Marion Ravenwood but also Sallah and Marcus Brody for this adventure that all revolves around the idol that Indy gets at the start of that film. And after getting the idol back Indy finds himself the target of warriors from the tribe it originally belong to. And this issue has a pretty big cliffhanger as Indy is hanging off the ledge that is 23 stories up and a warrior is stomping on his fingers to try and make him fall to his death! I like that Indy as well rushes into a very dangerous spot in order to try and help his friend that is in danger, I also like that in this issue they showcase his friendship with Sallah who I hope makes more appearances. The baddies of this issue are the scar or later said tattoo faced Xomec and his warrior friends as well as a yet to be named blonde haired woman as they all want that idol. This issue really is a fun start to this story arc and does a great job of bringing the film characters into the world of Marvel Comics and I am not going to lie as I would love to see the likes of Steve Rogers aka Captain America cameo in this series or image if Indy had to tangle with the Red Skull! The cover for this issue is pretty cool and has Indy on the ledge and one of the warriors ready for the attack, the interior art is done by Dan Reed and is pretty great, though I have to say that I am not a fan of how he drew Indy in some panels. Over all a great issue that makes me look forward to reading the next issue.

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 10

Indiana Jones # 10  ***
Released in 1983     Cover Price .60     Marvel Comics     # 10 of 34

As the warrior is about to stomp on the fingers of Indy one last time a shot rings out and the warrior falls to his death as once more Marion Ravenwood has saved the day armed with a pistol. Indy then gives chase to Xomec who is able to escape with the idol and even leaves Indy hanging from a flagpole. Back at the museum Marcus is ok and has gotten a phone call from the blonde woman who tells him they can have the idol for a price back and that Indy but deliver it to an old opera house in the amazon, but must come alone! Once back in the jungle Indy knows it’s a set up and he is quickly proven right when he is attacked by warriors, he is able to fight a few off but soon is captured and taken to Xomec as well as the blonde woman who is Ilsa Toht the sister of Ernst Toht who was the Nazi that had his face melted off by the Lost Ark, and she wants revenge and her plan is to have Xomec and his warriors leave Indy tied to some stakes in order for the wild animals to eat him alive! Once by the riverbank and left alone Indy escapes his binding and even fights off some hungry alligators, Indy then is able to get aboard the plane of Ilsa as it takes off. While in the air Indy is able to outsmart and out live Xomec who falls from the aircraft to his death, and then Indy is able to grab the idol and force Ilsa to crash the plane, with of course Indy being able to escape the crash just in time and he does not know the fate of Ilsa. In the end with the idol in hand Indy starts his journey back to New York to the museum.

The Raiders Of The Lost Ark connections continue in this one as we find out that the blonde female villain is the sister of Ernst Toht the main baddy from that film, and she is filled with hatred and wants revenge for her brother’s death and is following in his footsteps by becoming a Nazi as well. Her partner in crime the tattooed faced Xomec is a warrior who is also to cocky for his own good, and his ego is what leads to him falling to his death and going splat on the land bellow from a in flight plane. Marion Ravenwood is a hero like always as she once more saves Indy’s life by killing a warrior who almost had Indy’s number punched. It’s a shame that she did not get to sneak to the Amazon with Indy to get the idol back as it would have been great to see her punch and knock out Ilsa. Indiana Jones in the issue is like always a lucky hero who uses his wits and skills in order to stay alive as well as re-get a stolen idol for the New York Museum. In this issue as well if you think about it both main baddies are dead as one is blown up in a plane crash while the other falls from said plane onto the cold unforgiven ground below…but I have a feeling that Ilsa Toht is not dead and that she might return to get revenge on Indy once more. The cover for this issue is pretty cool and has Indy on the wing of the plane, though I am not a fan of the art style used for it. The interior art is done again by Dan Reed and is good stuff for the most part. Over all another great issue and delivers a fun Indy adventure and like before I cannot wait to see what’s next.

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 11

Indiana Jones # 11  ***
Released in 1983     Cover Price .60     Marvel Comics     # 11 of 34

Indiana Jones is in Australia and with an artifact in hand is running from a tribe who are throwing poisoned tipped spears at him during a sandstorm! And as Indy tries to frighten then off with his pistol and whip a group of masked Egyptian ninjas appear and kill all the tribe members and take Indy to a cave were the very rich art collector Ben Ali Ayoob who wants to hire Indy to travel to Spain in order to find the fourth nail of Jesus that is said to be in the hand of a Gypsy King, Indy rejects the offer and Ben sends three of his ninjas to follow him. Meanwhile back in New York Marcus has just hired Marion Ravenwood to work at the museum as they get a package from Indy that holds the artifact as well as a note, saying he is going to Spain to find that nail for the museum if it is indeed real. While in Spain Indy finds an old friend named Torino who is a thief and is running from a group of men he stole money from in a street game, and they pair hide in a nearby church. Once in the Church the workers have heard what Torino has done and they attack the pair and one that is built like a pro wrestler chases Indy around and thanks to a rotting roof that causes the big man to fall, Indy and Torino are able to escape just as the cops arrive. As Indy and Torino escape into the sewers they talk about the Fourth Nail and it scares Torino who once they exit the sewer goes missing! Indy finds himself in a bull fighter arena stable and with him is one angry bull that is charging.

This is a strange issue that takes Indy from Australia to Spain and his end goal is to find a nail that was said to have been selected to be the deathblow to Christ as he was on the cross, but was stolen by a gypsy in order to try and help him. And Indy of course finds himself in all types of trouble, but yet still always finds ways out of danger mostly thanks to his luck, pistol and whip. In this issue as well Indy faces lots of challengers from a Aboriginal Tribe, Egyptian Ninjas, Angry Workers and even on a cliffhanger ending a massive bull! Torino is his sidekick in this issue and is a Gypsy street thief who picks pockets as well as rigs street gambling games, he knows of the Fourth Nail and is scared to talk about it. One of the most fun moments in this issue is Indy trying to fight and avoid the massive muscled church worker who wants to squash Indy like a bug, and the way he defeats him is pretty cleaver by using the big man’s weight and the rotted roof wood to make him fall (to his death maybe?) was pure classic Indy smarts. I also like that this adventure takes him to Spain to find another missing religious artifact and we end the issue on a cliffhanger of a bull about to charge and gore him, great stuff and makes you really want to read the next issue to see how he gets out of this dangerous spot. The cover for this one is pretty good and show cases the drama at the church and has Indy holding onto a ledge as his attacker is about to attack, pretty good stuff. The interior art is done by Kerry Gammill and is pretty great stuff and I like the way he draws Indy as it’s got a touch of Harrison Ford’s look to it. Over all another great issue that leaves us on another big cliffhanger so lets see what happens next.

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 12

Indiana Jones # 12  ***
Released in 1983     Cover Price .60     Marvel Comics     # 12 of 34

Indiana Jones is stuck in a stall at a bull fighting arena with a bull that is very angry, and after dodging the beats for a bit Indy uses the fighters cloaks that are in the stall to cover the bulls head and this gives him the time he needs to escape and be back on the street. While looking around he notices that the police and the angry mob are still looking for him and the missing Torino, and he gets the shock of his life when Marion Ravenwood surprises him and has joined him in Spain as she has taken a job for the museum to cover all the discoveries of Indy’s. Marion also informs Indy that she seen his friend Torino being taken to a warehouse by the Egyptian Ninjas and they rush to the site to save their friend. Indy and Marion get to the warehouse and fight with the Ninjas and are able to knock some of them out by luck and Marion even shoots one of them wounding him badly. But as Indy and Marion save Torino they get away as The Ninjas come to and even the wounded one is up and wants to continue their mission for their master Ben Ali Ayoob who wants the Fourth Nail. Torino ends up taking Indy and Marion to a Gypsy Camp that the Fourth Nail is at and after Indy helps the gypsies fight off the town’s people who are armed with clubs, they take him to view the Fourth Nail as he has proven himself as a friend to the camp. Once inside the cave that holds the nail they are guided by an old woman who explains that it’s more than it seems, but just then The Egyptian Ninjas show up and they have Torino and drop him down a mine shaft and as Indy and Marion rush to save him the Ninjas take the nail…big mistake! The torches that light the cave flicker and the Fourth Nail glows and as Indy and Marion get Torino to safety they find that the Nail has killed the Ninjas by pearling all their hearts! As the old woman asks Indy if he still would like to take the nail he declines the offer and heads back home along side Marion. Meanwhile Ben Ali Ayoob has not heard from his Ninjas and knows that they have failed and swears that he will see the end of Indiana Jones.

In this issue Indiana Jones is in Spain and is being joined in his adventure by Marion Ravenwood and the gypsy named Torino as they go on the hunt for the religious artifact The Fourth Nail as they are being hunted down by the locals, the police as well as the Ninjas of the greedy Ben Ali Ayoob all who want Indy dead or locked up, so in other words the odds are against him in Spain, and yet its almost like Indy would not have it any other way! Indiana while on the hunt for the Fourth Nail also doubts it and even when seeing it he is not impressed with its rusted appearance, but once he sees that it does have power and kills an elite group of Ninjas in seconds…he changes his tune and decides that maybe the Nail should stay with the Gypsies. Ben Ali Ayoob is clearly now turning his rivalry with Indy into a game that he swears will only have one of them left alive, and keep in mind this is all because he could not buy him off to get the nail for him. The poor Ninjas who are just following orders find themselves nailed in the heart and dead as a doornail…you get it. One think that is always so cool about Indiana Jones adventures in both films and comics is when they can add that supernatural elements to the stories and make the quest a little more danger. Plus in this issue I like the Gypsy Camp and I really like that the Fourth Nail is real and deals death to those who want to steal it away from them. The cover is really cool and features Indy fighting a raging bull! The interior art is done by Kerry Gammill and is a solid as ever and is good stuff. A very fun issue that has Indy not getting the artifact for the museum for once!

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 13

Indiana Jones # 13  ***
Released in 1984     Cover Price .60     Marvel Comics     # 13 of 34

Indiana Jones has some of his students on a fieldtrip looking for Indian artifacts near a cave that is said to be unsafe and after a few accidents including Lucy Giles almost getting stung by a scorpion and a rockslide that almost crushes Indy and one of his male students they start to make their way back to camp in town when they are also run off by two gun caring strangers named Oinkster and Dominic who warn that people could get hurt around the cave if they snoop around. Later that night Indiana thinking that art thieves are inside the cave and sneaks back to it and finds that a criminal named Busby along with lots or workers are making a hidden city inside the cave for criminals on the run, and Indy has to swear and leave and not tell a soul as somehow they have also captured Lucy Giles and are keeping her hostage are insurance. The next day Busby watches as the trucks caring the students leave, but unknown to him Indy has stayed behind and takes out some of the criminals and enters the cave and finds Lucy who turns out to be the daughter of Busby and was in on this cave base idea all along! But Indiana was also smart and before he found her radioed the police who are now on their way! Before the cops get there Indy is able to stop the escape plane that Busby and he along with Lucy and his crew are all arrested.

This is a issue that wraps the full story that has Indiana Jones with his students being run off of the land by criminals who want to turn a cave filled with artifacts into a hidden base from wanted criminals, and Indy must use his smarts to bring them all down and to pay for their crimes. Indiana Jones in this issue also shows that he can be on an adventure and yet still be teaching his students about artifacts and history. I also like that as always Indy’s whip helps save the day as he is super skilled with it. Lucy Giles is a student who clearly has a crush on Indy and seems to be following him around as well as always trying to get his attention, and we then learn that she is really the daughter of a crime lord and is really trying to get his attention cause she is keeping an eye on him. Lucy’s father Busby is a scumbag who is destroying history all for the love of money and to keep criminals out of jail. We do get a very small cameo from Marcus Brody who has a phone call with Indy over the oddness at the cave and the actions of Marion Ravenwood while Indy has been away. The threat in this issue seems a little less dangerous as Indy is able to bring down Busby and his crew pretty easily as he outsmarts them at every turn and gets them all arrested and is even able to smart off to Lucy is tries to hit on him even while being arrested. The cover for this issue has Indy being dragged behind an airplane and is pretty eye catching. The interior art for this issue is done by Ricardo Villamonte and is good stuff and has that classic Marvel Comics feel. And to sum it up another great issue of Indiana Jones done by Marvel, and I really do think that modern Marvel should bring Indy back to comics and get a good creative team behind it.

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 14

Indiana Jones # 14  ***
Released in 1984     Cover Price .60     Marvel Comics     # 14 of 34

Indiana Jones is upset at Marion Ravenwood when she is doing a promotion for the museum that has her dropping flyers out of a hot air balloon on the collage campus as well as around town, as Indy thinks this is cheapening history. Poor Marcus Brody is stuck in the middle of this fight and even has to blow off Harvey Pondexter who works in the accounting department, and this hurts the old workers feelings as we feels he is never listened to. Meanwhile Indy storms away and will be flying out to Alaska soon as Marcus and Marion try to get to the bottom of why they fight so much and it comes down to Indy breaking her heart. Pondexter ends up finding a journal of a past worker at the museum who committed suicide and bones of a deformed god that he found in Mexico that he thought was evil and that’s why he hid it, and now Pondexter decides to steal the bones and sell to another museum and is caught by Indiana Jones and Marion Ravenwood who are trying to patch things up and they give a chase via cars. Pondexter ends up shooting at them as well as causing a landslide to try and crush them as its clear something is mentally messing with him. And Pondexter ends up setting a fire on a wooden bridge and Indy and Marion must escape by falling into the water bellow as Pondexter himself breaks into a hotel in order to rest and clear his head that is now very cloudy. Indy and Marion make their way to the hotel and Pondexter is waiting for them and is now armed with a poison tipped sword and he is able to cut Indy who is growing weaker and weaker, and as he and Marion try to dodge the stalking Pondexter, it’s Marion who saves the day when she tosses the trunk over a balcony and Pondexter leaps to his death after it. In the end and back at the museum the poison has worked its self out of Indy’s system and Marion gets a telegram that shocks her.

This issue is a pretty fun read as most of the action takes place on a very stormy night and has Indy and Marion on the hunt for a museum employee that they caught stealing who in turn is being possessed by the evil spirit of a Mexican God who is clouding his brain with thoughts of murder! And after trying to kill our heroes several times his connection to those cursed bones lead to his own death. Indiana Jones in this issue is very upset with Marion over her tactics of advertising for the relics in the museum, but its clear he loves her just as much as she loves him, but Marion is dealing with some issues as her father before he passed away in a accident was very upset with Indy for breaking his daughters heart and she has kind of held this against him. The baddie of this issue is Harvey Pondexter a long time employee of the museum who seems to always be over looked by the rest of the staff and treated not well as everyone seems to have no time for him, and after finding cursed bones and artifacts in the wall of the museum he is over taken with bloodlust and greed and turns into a drone for a curse. The action in this issue is lots of fun and kind of reminded me of an early slasher film, and the cliffhanger of the message Marion gets is a good way to get the reader to return for the next issue. I will say that the cover for this issue is pretty cool and has a real fantasty feel to it, in fact it reminds me of a cover you would have seen for other Marvel Comics like Conan The Barbarian or Saga Of Crystar. The interior art is well done and is by David Mazzucchelli who should have been working in Horror Comics as his art would have fit for Marvel Horror series. Another great issue and I cannot wait to see what the big shock is that was in that message.

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 15

Indiana Jones # 15  ***
Released in 1984     Cover Price .60     Marvel Comics     # 15 of 34

Indiana Jones and his friend Jock are in a plane taking pictures of some old ruins in the woods, but are also having to dodge a Japanese ship as well as fighter plane and of course Indy figures out a way to escape the ship and bring down the plane and this angers the ships Captain Commander Hiroto. Once safe back at the museum Indy and Marcus Brody talk about a Chinese Statue that looks like it’s in the ruins and that would be priceless as well as could change history, and Indy know that he has to get it for the museum and heads out to get a ship and a captain that would ask no questions. Now in Panama Indy bails Captain Simon Katanga and his crew from jail as they got busted with an illegal shipment of rum, and now are on board to help Indy get the statue and other artifacts off that island. Before they can even leave Panama they are attacked by goons and after dealing with them and while at sea they run into Commander Hiroto and his men who search the ship, and even semi make a threat to Indy for being American. Finally they make it to the island and to the ruins and the statue is there as well as lots of other treasures but their joy is cut short when female pirate Emeralda Vasquez and her men show up with guns and want to take all the treasures as one of her men was in the jail cell when Indy bailed out Simon and heard it all. Indy along with Simon and his men try to escape but The Pirates capture them at the beach and Indy notices that the Pirates have an American submarine and Emeralda forces Simon to alert his crew they now take orders from her and Indy is taken to the beach and buried up to his neck in the sand with the hopes he will drown with the coming tide and worse flesh eating crabs are also coming his way! Meanwhile Simon dives off his ship and is shot at by the Pirates who think that the Captain has drowned.

Indiana Jones in this adventure as found some ruins and a statue that could change the history books over Chinese culture in America and teams up with a smuggler ship Captain and his men in order to get the goods back to the museum, but along the way they have made big enemies out of the Japanese military as well as pirates who now all have Indy in their sights. This is another very solid and fun read that as always shows that Indy has not only a great mind to escape danger but also has lots of luck as he gets past attacking ships, plans and pirates…but to be fair he in the end of the issue is in threat of drowning or having his face eaten by crabs. Captain Simon Katanga and his men while they deal with shady people and haul some shady things and even kill some people, they are good people at heart and are loyal to tying to help Indy in his quest. And while Commander Hiroto and his men are around they truly are not the baddies as Emeralda Vasquez and her pirates are the true evil ones as they will take human lives as well as steal from everyone. This is a really cool issue as I also like that it takes place on the open waters as well as on an island as it helps add to the adventure nature of the comic. The cover for this issue is fun and the bright red makes it eye catching. The interior art is done by the legend Herb Trimpe and its great stuff! Over all a great issue and I am looking forward to seeing how Indy escapes these crabs! Also if we will get any answers on what the letter in the last issue said that shocked Marion Ravenwood.

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 16

Indiana Jones # 16  ***
Released in 1984     Cover Price .60     Marvel Comics     # 16 of 34

Indiana Jones is buried up to his neck in sand and crabs hungry for flesh are closing in and just as all looks lost Captain Simon Katanga saves the day and kicks away the crabs and digs up Indy and then the two head to the temple and find that the pirates have cleared it out of all the riches and have set bombs all around and Simon’s crew are tied up inside! The timer only has five minutes left and Indy ends up having to leave some artifacts behind in order to rescue the crew and they all make it out at the last minute. And the explosion also gets the attention of Commander Hiroto who sets his site now on that island. Indy and Simon take the submarine and go to the ship were Emeralda Vasquez is and threaten to blow them up and sink them and of course Indy is bluffing. Emeralda comes up with an idea to send a SOS message to Commander Hiroto’s warship that is on the way, and this causes the submarine to dive and once under water the pirates on board clash with Simon’s crew in order to try and take back control, but soon they all join sides as they are attacked by the Japanese warship! Indy fakes the submarines sinking and this causes the warship to go away and gives Indy and Simon along with the crew to get aboard Emeralda’s and a fight breaks out and Indy even punches and knocks out Emeralda, just as Commander Hiroto returns to the fight as he sees the submarine has returns to the surface. Emeralda goes overboard and gets on the submarine and gets behind the gun and is about to fire before she is blown up by Hiroto who leaves the scene after the explosion as he knows he could be in trouble if he attacks the other ship at this point. Indy returns home and meets up with Marcus Brody who informs him that Marion has taken time away from the museum and is going to Greece in order to find her father was suppose to be dead!

In this Indy adventure he finds himself being saved from being eaten alive by crabs and fights alongside pirates and seamen in order to save treasure and overthrow a female pirate captain as well as dodge the attack of a Japanese warship that is on the hunt to stop and kill any pirates they come across. But like always Indy uses his good luck, brains and skills in order to defeat the Pirate Captain, avoid being blown up by a warship and even helps his friend regain his ship and crew and even gets him new members that were once pirates who now have learned a lesson on trust. Commander Hiroto just wants to blow up ships that he thinks pirates are on and does so and takes down one of the high seas most cold-blooded pirate captains, and when he does his goal he and his crew calmly sail away. Captain Simon Katanga is a hero who fights alongside Indy but also saves Indy’s life twice as well as saves his own crew from being blown up by bombs. Pirate Captain Emeralda Vasquez has no quit in her soul and fights to her bitter end as she wants all the gold as well as really wants to kill Indy for getting in her way and being a pain in her ass and cause her plan to get out of control. I also like that Indy in the issue gets a mouth full of sand in order to spit at grabs to keep them away from his face, what a great way to fight back against those little flesh eaters. This besides being a fun adventure mostly set at seas gives us a great cliffhanger as it shows us that Marion has left for Greece in order to meet up with her father is was suppose to be dead, and keep in mind her father also did not like Indiana Jones as he felt he broke his daughters heart. The cover for this issue is pretty cool and has Indy above the ship as pirates are shooting at him and the interior art is done by Herb Trimpe again and is fantastic stuff. And with that another great issue from Marvel Comics as they keep proving their creative team really knew how to bring Indy to the world of comics.

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 17

Indiana Jones # 17  ***
Released in 1984     Cover Price .60     Marvel Comics     # 17 of 34

Indiana Jones and Marion Ravenwood are in some sort of catacombs in Greece and are being stalked by a Minotaur who is swinging a giant wooden club, and Indy remembers back to finding Marion in Greece and how a cult has chased them here to this maze! Indy and Marion try to fight the Minotaur and find that it’s just a man in a mask and by accident they fall into a whole that leads to a cave with blood thirsty bats, and Indy and Marion make barely make an escape to a door that they end up tricking the Minotaur into and the bats end up killing him. Back on the streets Marion and Indy meet up with the drunken Kershaw a man who use to work for her father who tells them for a price about a map that leads to a location in the Himalaya Mountains and about an old white man who leads people there and it’s the location of the disappearance of Marion’s father! The arrive at the location given to them for the map and find that it’s in the hands of Andre Lafonte another man who use to work with Marion’s father and is working along side a group of Mongols as well as McIver who Indy thought had died in the explosion in Africa and now a death order is given to kill Indy and Marion who in turn are able to get the map during a scuffle the make a big escape that includes a car chasing them on horses and getting to a train that takes them to the Himalayas. Once walking around in the deep snow they find a trap and know that people must be around, and when they cross a old rope wooden bridge a massive figure on the other side shakes the bridge and then breaks the bridge and causes Indy and Marion to fall.

Wow this adventure takes Indiana Jones all over the world and has him at the side of his lady Marion Ravenwood as she looks for her father that was suppose to be dead, but now rumors say he is alive and well and running a village in the Himalaya Mountains! And along this quest to find the missing man they come across a cult, a Minotaur, Warrior Mongols, a massive shadow figure and an old enemy in McIver. And of course Indy and Marion do a great job of surviving as well as escaping the grips of them all, well besides the massive shadow figure that causes them to fall off a broken bridge in the issues cliffhanger. And all through the issue you can tell Indy is doing all this for his love of Marion, but is also worried that her father if alive could come between them as he has always had it out for Indy after he first broke his daughters heart. It was cool to see McIver back even if it was for a brief moment and it’s clear his hatred for Indy is still burning bright, and I am sure if not in the next issue in the future their paths will cross again. The Minotaur who is just a muscle man in a costume is apart of the cult in Greece and he is really cool, even if he gets killed by a horde of bats and its clear as day that the massive shadow is the cryptozoology creature known as the Abominable Snowman or The Yeti as others call him. This is a very fun issue as I love the world travel and all the odd bad guy characters, it as a great mystery of is her father alive and ends with a great cliffhanger. The cover for this issue is just ok and is nothing special as it just shows the horse and jeep chase and the interior art is once more done by the great Herb Trimpe and is outstanding stuff. To sum it up this is a great issue and I cannot wait to see how they escape the fall and if Marion’s father is really alive and how they will get past The Yeti.

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 18

Indiana Jones # 18  ***
Released in 1984     Cover Price .60     Marvel Comics     # 18 of 34

Indiana Jones holds onto the side of the mountain and watches as Marion Ravenwood falls off the cliff, and when Indy is able to get to safety he sits in sadness thinking Marion is dead. A group of villagers appear and take Indy to their village that is under a dome and is heated all thanks to a stone that fell from the sky, he also meets the elder leader named Chen Sha who alerts Indy that Marion is hurt but will be ok, as he watches them take her to a temple. The next morning Indy is awaken from sleep by Marion who is healed by a stone from space and they two are very happy to see each other, and the two are taken to a ceremony and notice that a man is sitting with Chen Sha is wearing a Golden Mask and could be her father. They watch as the villagers bring a cage that inside is a Yeti who is very mad, they open the cage and the beast man rages on people and drags one of the villagers away who is happy to feel the touch of death and then Indy and Marion learn that they have been selected to take the place of the Golden Masked man who is dying do to his dependence on the healing stone. Indy and Marion are locked in a cell and use trickery to escape, they head toward the healing stone and find the Golden Masked man their as well who is voiceless, but unknown to Indy he is has been tracked by McIver, Andre Lafonte and his men who even already had a small run in with a group or Yetis. In the end Indy sets a bomb to destroy the healing stone, The Golden Masked man is clearly her father kills Chen Sha and McIver and his crew are killed by a pack of wild Yetis! When back home at the museum Indy and Marion find it closed and inside Marcus Brody informs them that an item Indy brought back has been called out for being a fake and he is now being replaced at the museum.

In this issue Indiana Jones and Marion Ravenwood find themselves in a strange village in the Himalaya Mountains that is being controlled by a power hungry old man who has them all worshiping a magical stone that fell from the sky that gives off heat as well as heals all manors of illness and even death. And to make things worse for Indy and Marion they are also being stalked by Yetis as well as McIvor and the Mongols and lets not forget the mystery of is the Golden Masked man really Marion’s father? Indiana in this issue of course has luck on his side that keeps him alive, but also for a brief moment he feels the ultimate sadness as he thinks his lady love Marion is dead who turns out not to be but also feels sadness as she never gets the answer of if the Golden Masked man was her father…and we as the readers of course see that it was her father. Chen Sha is kind of a cult leader as he leads his people to worship a stone from space and is willing to kill in order to keep his power over his people. McIver finally tracks down Indy only to seem to be killed off by Yetis, but who knows maybe he will come back as maybe he was able to escape. Marcus Brody this go around is down in the dumps as under his leadership he is accused of showcasing a fake piece and is now on the verge of loosing his job and being a laughing stock, so its an interesting cliffhanger for this important and yet background character. I really like the Yetis as they are wild and clearly hate humans and will kill any that get in their way, and I don’t blame them as its clear that Chen Sha and his people capture them for their weird ceremonies. The cover is very cool and showcases Indy and Marion on a bridge being shaken by a Yeti, and the interior art is once more done by the legend Herb Trimpe and is good stuff. Over all another great issue and Indiana Jones survived the Himalaya Mountains and now must save his friends job.

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 19

Indiana Jones # 19  ***
Released in 1984     Cover Price .60     Marvel Comics     # 19 of 34

Indiana Jones find himself once more near the Himalaya Mountains this time because of a letter from his friend Professor Kobayashi that alerts him that in a cave a primitive tribe lives and worships a dragon that is frozen in ice and the Japanese Military are wanting to get the dragon and use it as a weapon against America! Indy finds the cave but it’s to late as they have the dragon, and a solider even gets a shot off at Indy that grazes him, once the dragon and soldiers are gone Indy is helped by the tribe for his wound and they as well give him a script to control the dragon. Later Indy goes to Japan and finds that Professor Kobayashi has committed suicide after he wrote the letter and now has the help of his young daughter to find the location of the dragon that might be in a old temple, and Indy sneaks in as she keeps an eye outside for his escape. Once in the temple Indy is discovered by a sumo wrestler and soldiers, that want him out and he uses his skill and whip to hide, and later finds the frozen dragon in a lab in the basement. Indy is able to awaken the dragon in the lab and the beats goes on a rampage and as it is about to take flight Indy uses his whip to hitch a ride on the great fire breathing beast that is tormenting people in the villages, but Indy is able say the magical words that sends the dragon back in Himalaya Mountains cave frozen in ice and Indy along with Kobayashi’s daughter are able to get him safe passage home via a old ship.

In this issue we have Indiana Jones once more going to the Himalaya Mountains in order to stop the Japanese army from getting a dragon that they plane on using as a weapon against America! And of course because of Indy’s luck and skill he is able to dodge and defeat some of the army soldiers as well as stop the dragon all the while being a hero that the world will never really know about. Indiana Jones is not looking for artifacts at all as his goal really is to stop the dragon from reaching American shores and later to save innocent citizens in Japan from it’s rage. The dragon it’s self is massive and can not only fly but also breath fire and has zero issues with killing men, women and children and if not for Indy this beats rampage could have been deadly for the world. The weird thing about this issue is that the plot of poor Marcus Brody being called a fraud is not even talked about and makes you wonder what is going on with him and is Marion Ravenwood trying to help clear his name as Indy plays hero in Japan? But while they did not follow up on the cliffhanger of the last issue this pretty much stand alone story was lots of fun and I really am enjoying all the weird creatures and cults they are adding into this series as you cant go wrong with a dragon, Yetis and a Minotaur Cult! The cover for this issue is interesting and somewhat eye catching as it has Indy above the ground holding onto the handle of his whip as we see the shadow of the dragon below. The interior art is done by Larry Lieber and is really good stuff as I do like the way he draws the Dragon as well as he captures the likeness well for Indy. Over all this is another solid issue and I can’t wait to see what is next in this series as it has stayed great from the start this far.

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 20

Indiana Jones # 20  ***
Released in 1984     Cover Price .60     Marvel Comics     # 20 of 34

Indiana Jones is at the museum looking at the artifact that when he brought it there was real and now in it’s spot is a cheap knock off, while looking at it he also meets the new curator named Sloams-Hagen who is a combative way talks to Indy about it. Later Indy and Marion talk to Marcus Brody about the fake and Indy asks who had access to it and the only to people would have been two men that installed the new boiler, and Indy and Marion go to investigate and talk to them. And once at the workshop the meet Al who was one of the men who installed it and he starts to run away when the confront him about the real piece missing. The chase goes all around the warehouse and Al tries to hurt and kill our heroes at every turn, and its Marcus who shows up that saves them and they get the info from Al who tells them that Juan Soto from Cuba is who paid him to make the switch. Indiana, Marcus and Marion all head to Cuba and to the home of Soto that is surrounded by sugar cane that hides his drug operation, and when Soto finds out his land has intruders he sends out his men to bring them down. And after a few moments Indy and his friends are captured by Juan Soto who informs them that he got the artifact for a client that he will not revile their identity, and Marcus drops his cigar onto a box of ammunition that explodes and Juan Soto escapes on a boat and Indy and his friend give chase and they all end up on the same boat after a chase. After a fight Juan tells Indy who hired him and then jumps into the waters and is eaten by sharks. Indiana then tells Marion and Marcus that Ben Ali Ayoob is the mastermind behind the fraud and stealing of the artifact.

In this issue Indiana Jones is on the case to figure out how the real artifact was switched with a fake that leads to his friend Marcus Brody being fired from his job at the museum and all things lead to a game being played by Ben Ali Ayoob who hates Indy after he rejected his offer to join his hunt for the Fourth Nail and after Indy beat some of his Ninjas. Indiana Jones is filled with anger in this issue as he wants to clear the name of his friend and get his job back as well as find the real artifact for the museum. Also fired up is Marion Ravenwood and Marcus Brody who both go on this adventure with Indy to get the answers they seek. The baddies in this issue are warehouse worker Al and drug lord Juan Soto both who are deadly and don’t mind killing to save their own hides and both are just puppets for Ben Ali Ayoob who is the true evil mastermind of this plot all to hurt Indy. This adventure also takes us to Cuba and in this issue Indy almost gets killed by a fighter plane as well as a pack of wolves that are being used as guard dogs but like always his good luck and quick thinking saves his hide! The cover for this issue is pretty cool and has Indy running from a plane and the interior art is done by Luke McDonnell and is good for the most part, though at times I think he makes Marion’s face look manly. So like before a good issue and I am looking forward to seeing how Indiana takes on Ben Ali as it’s clear the two are headed for a showdown with only one living through it.

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 21

Indiana Jones # 21  ***
Released in 1984     Cover Price .60     Marvel Comics     # 21 of 34

Indiana Jones along with Marion Ravenwood and Marcus Brody are heading to a small town in Indiana to find a old school mate of Marcus’s named Austin Coleridge who has bought the towns mine and shut it down putting everyone in the town out of work and might know were the new hideout of Ben Ali Ayoob! And when they head into the local bar looking for him they are attacked by the locals and as the fight spreads to the streets hawks come from the sky and attack the villagers and as Marion hides with them, Indy and Marcus are taken by Tarrant the right hand man of Coleridge to the mine where Coleridge informs them that he bought the mine to find The Gateway To Hell to find The Devil’s Heart as he has been hired by Ben Ali to find it! Meanwhile the townsfolk are now with Marion on their way to the mine as they want to stop this evil man and his crew once and for all. Indy is able to escape the mine, but Marcus trips in the escape and is told by Coleridge that he thinks behind that wall in a stone that turns everything to gold and proves it by showing his old school mate is hand that is now gold! Meanwhile outside Indy runs into Marion and the locals and head back to the mine to save Marcus and stop these evil men from destroying the mine and the town. Once inside the mine Indy fights and defeats Tarrant and his birds as Marcus and Coleridge fight near the Gates Of Hell and a small hole opens up and turns Coleridge into a ghostly monster spirit that ends up blowing up the entrance to the cave. In the end Marion and the townspeople capture all of Coleridge’s men, Marcus watched as his one time classmates now turned monster is crushed under the cave explosion and Indy finds a gun pointed at him from a Nazi that has been stalking him throughout the start of his quest in this small town.

In this issue Indiana Jones along with Marion Ravenwood and Marcus Brody head to a small town in Indiana in order to find a man who might know the hideout location of Ben Ali Ayoob, but instead they find a small town dying due to no jobs and a man who is on a mission to find the Gates of Hell! This is a strange one for sure and yet was super entertaining as I enjoyed the fights in the mine, the spooky supernatural nature of the gates and of course we get one step closer to the showdown between Indy and Ben Ali. Indy in this issue is able to once more escape deaths grip and is able to be the hero as he his fighting for the honor of his friend Marcus who is being framed by a terrible person who has an issue with him. In this issue as well we get a better look that Marcus Brody is not a weak as we think he is as he defends himself even knocking silly his one time classmate Austin Coleridge, and does not break when with his own eyes we watches a man turn into an evil spirit. Marion Ravenwood meanwhile helps lead the townspeople into an uprising to take their mine back. The one thing that is kind of bland and boring in this issue is the Nazi Soldier who is stalking Indy as he adds nothing to this adventure and just kind of around, and I hope next issue Indy kicks his butt and then he is gone. The cover for this issue is fun and has the hawks attacking Indy and the interior art is done by the legendary co-creator of Spider-Man himself Steve Ditko and is great classic looking comic stuff. Over all a fun issue that acts as a piece to the puzzle that is the showdown between our hero and at this point the series most evil villain. Lets see what the next issue has in store for use and if Indy gets one step closer in clearing the good name of his best friend.

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 22

Indiana Jones # 22  ***
Released in 1984     Cover Price .60     Marvel Comics     # 22 of 34

Indiana Jones has a gun pointed at him by a Nazi spy who informs him that Hitler wants him dead, but Indy ends up saving the life of the Spy when he throws a rock at Tarrant who had woken back up and was about to stab the Spy in the back, this act has now made The Spy go along with Indy, Marion and Marcus on their quest by lying and saying he is an officer from Scotland Yard. They arrive in Switzerland as a castle on a hill is the new base for Ben Ali Ayoob and the four split off into groups as Indy and the Spy climb up the hill and fight off the Ninjas Marion and Marcus use a hot air balloon to drop inside the castle to look around for records of art dealing and the stolen artifact. But the plan goes bad when all four end up being captured and taken to Ben Ali Ayoob who orders them all to be killed in the morning. Morning comes and Ben Ali Ayoob has Marion at a table with him eating breakfast as Marcus and the Spy are tied to a tree and Indy is free but all are in a pit with a very hungry Grizzly Bear! Marion tosses Indy a wine bottle and he pops the cork that hits the bear confusing it for a moment, and Indy frees Marcus who in turn frees the Spy. As Indy and the Spy fight the bear, Marion as run off and freed all the hungry animals from Ben Ali’s zoo and the animals attack the Ninjas as man fights against beast all around. Indiana, Marion, Marcus and the Spy all end up in the office of Ben Ali Ayoob who ends up shooting and killing the Spy who throws an old relic into the fire that was connected to The Devil and as Ben Ali Ayoob goes for it he catches on fire and goes up into a poof of black smoke. Once back home Marcus Brody gets his job back at the museum as his name has been cleared, the stolen artifact is returned and he enjoys a drink with his friend Indiana Jones and Marion Ravenwood.

The game of life and death between Ben Ali Ayoob and Indiana Jones comes to an end and it’s Ben Ali that meets his fate thanks to a mixture of fire and the Devil himself! Indiana Jones also in this issue teaches a Nazi Spy that human life is important and helping others is the right thing to do and this leads to the Spies death who sacrifices himself in order to save indy’s life, that man he was hired to kill. Indy in this issue not only is able to defeat Ben Ali and his men, but also fights a Grizzly Bear in a small arena in order to save the lives of his friends. Marion Ravenwood is also a big hero as she not only disrespects and escapes the grip of Ben Ali and his Ninjas she also sets all his wild animals free who end up taking care of all the Ninjas! Marcus Brody and the Spy as well do there part is shutting down the evil ways of Ben Ali and his men. I really liked the idea of the arena pit that was just the right size for a full-grown bear to do battle with Indy and his friends as it made me think back to the Gladiator days. The game of death between Indy and Ben Ali is pretty well done and while I wish that Indy had been the one to truly stop him with some well-placed fists to his jaw, his fate is pretty messy and well deserved. The cover for this issue is pretty cool and eye catching as it’s Indy squaring off with the Grizzly and the interior art by Joe Brozowski is well done. Over all yet another great issue of Indiana Jones and his Further Adventures this far have been outstanding.

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 23

Indiana Jones # 23  ***
Released in 1984     Cover Price .60     Marvel Comics     # 23 of 34

Indiana Jones gets a new expedition from Marcus Brody at the museum to head to the island of Kaloo to get the Crown Of Rurick, but the island is under the rule of Lord Harry and his drunken pirates who kill anyone that dare enter their land! Indy comes up with an idea to get to the island by joining a Hollywood movie that is in production as a stunt man with the promise he will do the stunt for free as long as he gets to pick the location of the diving stunt and of course he picks Kaloo Island. The films director is Samuel Greeley who makes a deal with Lord Harry to shoot on the island and that’s Harry gets a part in the film! The leading lady is Stephanie Windslow and the leading man is Alphonse Dumarr who is jealous of Indy as Stephanie keeps flirting with him. When they get to the island and during a rehearsal Stephanie keeps flirting with Indy and Alphonse snaps and attacks Indy and the two fight for a bit before they are broken up by the crew. That night Alphonse goes drinking at a bar with the crew and pirates and makes the mistake of talking about who Indiana Jones really is and that he is not a stunt man at all…this of course gets back to Lord Harry. The next day after filming and Indy finds the crown they Hollywood crew and Indy find themselves the prisoners of Lord Harry and his men who also take the crown, but Indy is able to escape and steal a old World War I tank and rescue the crew and they are able to get the Crown and head back to the plane to make it off the island in one piece. And along the way Alphonse mans the gun and canon on the tank making him a hero as well to make up for his mistake. Once they make it back to America and land at the San Francesco airport Stephanie gives Indy a big kiss and as she walks away Indy sees that Marion was waiting for him and witnessed the kiss and runs off heart broken as Indy wants to go after her.

In this issue Indiana Jones goes on a solo mission without the help of Marion Ravenwood or even Marcus Brody in order to get a crown that is on an island that is over ran by pirates and their blood thirsty leader who’s ego is out of control. And to even get to the island Indy has to go Hollywood and even gets the attention of a beautiful actress! And of course this mission can go smooth or easy for Indy as he has a actor who wants to beat him up for the attention of the lead actress and a pirate who wants to see him dead. What a fun issue as I love the addition of the Hollywood crew being apart of this adventure as cinema was just becoming a big part of culture at that time. Indy of course is a hero who’s skills, brains and luck get him the artifact and out of harms way. Alphonse Dumarr is a actor who starts all the trouble on Kaloo island as his ego and love for actress Stephanie causes him to run his mouth to the wrong people and this puts them all on the chopping block to be killed. Lord Harry and his men care about money, power, being known and feared all the while they do all this with great happiness and bloodthirsty glee. I feel bad for Marion as she watches as another woman kisses her man and given the fact he has broken her heart many times before lets hope Indy can smooth this over as he had no interest in Stephanie and she is the one who kissed him not the other way around. The cover for this issue is pretty good and showcases Indy over the waterfall, with the interior art and story being done by Herb Trimpe who work is great as always. And like all before this is a great issue and the cliffhanger of Marion being upset with Indy adds drama to the next issue.

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 24

Indiana Jones # 24  ***
Released in 1984     Cover Price .60     Marvel Comics     # 24 of 34

Indiana Jones is still in San Francisco taking a few days of vacation to relax and gets a call from a sleazy “friend” named Reeko who has big information for him, but once he finds Reeko something is off as he seems sick and soon Indy notices that Reeko is dying cause he has a knife in his back! And worse a semi truck tries to run Indy over, but Indy is able to dodge it and then hitch a ride to a warehouse on it but can not see who the man is who ordered for his murder but he does find a young woman tied to a chair, but before he can save her he is attacked from behind and knocked out. Once Indy comes to he beats up the thug that was left behind to kill him and also gets out of him were they took to girl and that is on a ship headed to South America. Indy is able to sneak aboard the ship and finds that scummy archaeologist Klexx along with his friend Flaggart are the ones behind the murder of Reeko as well as had him almost killed twice at this point, and he learns that they want to sacrifice the woman at a temple in order to get hidden gold and gems. Indy ends up getting the woman off the boat whose name is Julia Valdez but the two are captured by Klexx again who figured out that Indy was on the ship, once at the temple they have Indy tied up and Julia ready to be sacrificed, Indy uses his pocket knife to cut his ropes restraints and is able to save Julia and all hell breaks loose after. The temple door opens and heat, fire and light fills the area and burns the flesh from the bones of all of the bad guys as Indy and Julia hide from the burning death. In the end Indy and Julia leave the area to return home and we see the twisted hand of Klexx reaching for help that will probably not come.

Indiana Jones even on a mini vacation can not find quit times as adventure and trouble just seems to follow him around! In this issue Indy finds a man dead, has to try and save a kidnapped woman, stop a fellow evil archaeologist from unearthing a hidden treasure and of course has to try and save his own hide from being killed. Indiana Jones once more puts his safety to the side in order to save a young woman from a terrible death, and of course with his luck and skills he is able to save the day as well as avoid being injured or killed himself. Julia Valdez is a you collage student who was kidnapped and set to be killed at a temple all because of her bloodline that is linked to the natives that use to live around the temple. And Klexx is very cold blooded and loves wealth more than he does human life as he has killed and stolen his way through life and has no respect for anyone besides himself, and in the end he gets what he deserves as his own death is very painful. And the supernatural elements are back in play here as the occult is very much a big part of this comic series and it fits in so well and in fact helps add a dash of Horror as well as adds to the adventures of each issue. I wish they had shown what is going on with Marion Ravenwood who watched Indy get kissed by a film actress at the airport, as oddly this is not mentioned at all. In the issue as well the mention that the Crown Of Rurick that he got from Kaloo Island and had to fight Lord Harry and his men to get was a fake, all that travel and danger for a fake. The cover is great and has a painting look to it and the interior art and story is once more done by Herb Trimpe and is fantastic as always. Over all another great issue and again the death of the baddies in this issue is pretty damn brutal.

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 25

Indiana Jones # 25  ***
Released in 1985     Cover Price .60     Marvel Comics     # 25 of 34

Indiana Jones shows up in Peru to help Jessie Hale on her biggest discovery and she needs help in translating a few things as she thinks she found the lost city of El Dorado that is said to be the location of lots of treasures. As Indy starts to translate the rock slab that has the location a group of gun caring bandits lead by Ivar Reiss comes busting in as he wants the treasures for himself and threatens their lives if they do not help him get it. Meanwhile back in America Marion Ravenwood is mad when Indy does not show up for a lecture at the collage and instead Marcus Brody shows up, and this really makes Marion at wits end with her boyfriend. Meanwhile Indy with the help of paper and hot coffee is able to escape along side Jessie from Ivar and his men, and Indy and Jessie hop a train in order to get distance between the two. Indy and Jessie find what they think is the entrance to El Dorado and of course Ivar and his men also appear and they all enter the city together, and Ivar is made with power as gold is all around him and he thinks that this will all make his life easier, but they all soon find that the gold is all fake and that this room is a trap that Indy sets off and as he and Jessie make it to safety Ivar and his men are crushed to death by falling stones as instead of fleeing the room they continue to look for gold. In the end Indy returns to the museum and Marcus Brody hands him a note from Marion Ravenwood to alert him that she is gone and to not come looking for her.

So this is how it ends…and no I am not talking about the comic series or Indiana Jone’s life but I am talking about the relationship between Indy and Marion…it all ended after him not showing up for a speech at the collage…well and the mountain of other issues the two have been having for years. It’s going to be sad not seeing Marion Ravenwood on anymore adventures with Indy in this series as she really was a great character, but now this opens the door to allow Indy to flirt with all the ladies he comes across around the world. This issues plot has Indy looking for the lost city of El Dorado and along the way meets back up with an old friend who cant stand him as well dodges evil doers who want to steal goal. Ivar Reiss is a bandit who comes from a rich family that has been disowned due to his nasty behavior who is driven mad with power when he thinks he can find lost gold that will make him richer than his father, and his greed is what leads to his smashing death. Jessie Hale is a hard working woman who is close to finding the secret of the lost city of gold, but gets caught up in this adventure and must put her faith in Indiana Jones in order to find the location as well as survive it. This one is also a very quick read as the action and adventure moves the story along and the payout in the end truly reminds me of the old Jungle Adventure books I read as a kid. The cover art for this issue is pretty cool and has Indy hanging off the back of a train while baddies on horseback are giving chase. The interior art is done by Steve Ditko, who does a great job of drawing Indiana Jones as he captures the look of Harrison For pretty well, but I do have to point out that sometimes the characters eyes look very dead and wide. This is another fun issue and really by now you readers should be making a mental note to head to your local comic shop and grab this series as if you like Indy they are 100% worth reading.

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 26

Indiana Jones # 26  ***
Released in 1985     Cover Price .60     Marvel Comics     # 26 of 34

Indiana Jones is in the waters of the Caribbean islands looking for a tablet that could the secrets of the location of Atlantis and finds it in the home of a very angry eel that he ends up having to capture in a bag in order to get the tablet, but once he comes up he meets Captain Belgrade who is mad at Indy as he thinks he is stealing fortune from his land and when he demands the treasures Indy has he of course gives him the bag with the eel in it! And when Captain gets mad and orders his men to kill Indy our hero uses a flare gun to set the Captain’s boat on fire and he himself is saved by Short Round who is driving a speed boat and gets Indy out of danger. Once back home Short Round has to go back to school while Indy is bummed that the tablet turned out to be nothing and he then meets Efrem Decker and Elizabeth Cody who wants to hire him to get back a pair of gold plated, pearl handled guns that belonged to Elizabeth’s grandpa Buffalo Bill Cody! They think that Salkovich a rich Russian man has stolen them as he tried to buy them twice and after they rejected the offer the guns was stolen from a museum. Indy and Elizabeth head to Russia and while on a train they are greeted by Peter Rostoff and his men who inform them both that they know who they are and might have information on the missing guns. And soon Indy and Elizabeth find themselves riding with Peter and his men as the Russian army give chase as our heroes have no idea what they have gotten themselves into, Peter’s men end up ditching the army in the river. Once back at Peter’s camp Indy and Elizabeth meet Uri Rostoff the chief and grandpa of Peter who tells them the location of the guns that are indeed in the hands of Salkovich and his private army, he also tells them that Buffalo Bill won the guns in Russia in a shooting contest by beating him…and lastly he tells them that he will have Peter and his men help get the guns back only if they agree to another shooting contest with the guns as the prize against Elizabeth and Peter! They agree to the terms, and it should also be noted that when they first arrived Indy made an enemies of one of Peter’s men who was getting handsy with Elizabeth, who later that night attacks Indy from behind and ties his four limbs to horses to try and rip him apart, but this slimeball also alerts him that he works for Salkovich and is a spy in Peter’s camp!

This is such a great start to this arch that has Indiana Jones on a adventure in Russia alongside the granddaughter of Buffalo Bill Cody on a mission to get back stolen goons that he won in a shooting contest, and they are now the target of the Russian Army as well as a rich thief and his army of goons! Indiana Jones in this issue goes from striking out on finding the location of a tablet that could lead to the finding of Atlantis to being in Russia tied to horses and on the verge of being ripped apart. Elizabeth Cody is a skilled shooter who has her pride in her family name and is doing her part as well to get them back. Efrem Decker works for the American Government and wants Indy as well to try and see what is going on in Russia as they are not sure if they are teaming with the Germens. The coolest cameo in this issue is Short Round who of course is from the film Temple Of Doom and I wish he had been along for the full adventure. It makes so much sense now that they wrote Marion Ravenwood out of the series as we are now in the time of Willie Scott being the lady around Indy’s life. The cliffhanger in this issue is a good one as a spy in the camp has Indy about to be ripped apart late at night so who is going to be the one to save him, or how will he figure out how to escape. The cover for this is ok but not all that eye catching, and the interior art is one more done by Ditko and is top-notch stuff. So with that lets see what happens in the next issue!

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 27

Indiana Jones # 27  ***
Released in 1985     Cover Price .60     Marvel Comics     # 27 of 34

The Spy cracks the whip and the horses start to run in different directions and the pain starts to rip through the body of Indiana Jones, but luck for him Elizabeth heard the attack and is able to shoot most of the ropes off and with his pocket knife he is able to save himself fully. As Peter Rostoff and the rest of his men arrive the spy is long gone and Indy films them in on what has happened. The next morning Indy, Elizabeth, Peter and his men head toward the mansion of Salkovich ready for the battle that is surly going to happen. When they get to the mansion they notice it’s protected all around and that the Russian Army even has housing there for many soldiers who are ready to fight and protect Salkovich and the stolen guns inside, and when some of Peter’s men attack the soldiers Indy leads some to the inside of the mansion to try and conquer it as well as get the guns. Once inside Indy, Elizabeth and two soldiers are caught just as they find the guns by Salkovich and the Spy, and Salkovich even guns down the two soldiers and tells the Spy he can have Elizabeth to have some fun with as he deals with Indy, but our heroes escape and Salkovich goes after Indy with his whip and Elizabeth is being hunted down by the slimy spy. While Indy has a whip fight with Salkovich, Elizabeth meanwhile uses her quick wit and uses caged birds in order to distract the Spy who trips and falls out of a window to his death. Indy ends up knocking out Salkovich thanks to an electric shock and he meets his life when the mansion explodes just as Indy and Elizabeth escape with the prized guns in hand. Back at the camp the shoot contest takes place and Elizabeth ends up throwing the match so that Peter can win and Uri Rostoff can get his pride back, and after they give Uri the guns he passes away and Peter ends up giving the guns back to Elizabeth as he knows she threw the contest in order to make a dying man feel better. In the end Indiana Jones and Elizabeth Cody have the guns in hand and are heading back to America as friends.

Indiana Jones is one lucky guy as he is saved from being ripped to pieces and even helps bring down a very corrupt and powerful man in Russia and best of all makes a new friend with a very skilled young woman who is a master shooter. The issue also showcases just how skilled Indy is as he uses his great mind also to quickly think of plans to get him out of danger and his mind is what brings down Salkovich once and for all. Speaking of Salkovich he is truly a rich man who kills, steals and smirks his way through life as his wealth allows him to get away with so much in his country as his land even houses so many of the areas military. So its nice to see Salkovich get what is coming to him and besides getting a bad electric shock he also gets blown up! I liked Elizabeth Cody as she is fast with a fun, is a hero in her own right and does not run from danger in fear as she uses her mind and skills as well to take out the baddies and save her life as well as those of her friends. The ending of this issue is also about compassion as Elizabeth is willing to throw a contest in order to give a dying man his pride back, and everyone of the old man’s friends and family know what she has done and are very pleased she was such a nice person. The cover for this issue is pretty cool and has Indy swinging in through a window and the art done for this issue is done again by Steve Ditko and is great stuff like always. I would also like to point out that in this issue in the letters page fans are asking for Short Round and Willie Scott to be added in as cast members, one even takes shots at Marion Ravenwood as he wants Willie in the comic more than her! But with that lets get to the next issue and see what adventure Indy is going to be on next.

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 28Indiana Jones # 28  ***
Released in 1985     Cover Price .65     Marvel Comics     # 28 of 34

Indiana Jones is at a cocktail party with his fellow colleges from the collage when a young man named Alec Sutherland who is delivering the research diary of the recent passed away Doctor Arthur Hecht who thinks that there are seven towers around the world and had found the location of on in Iran…and Indiana to finish his old friends work heads to Iran to find the tower. Once in Iran Indy is being followed by Alec who wants to help in the discovery and when they run into some villagers they make the mistake of telling them they are looking for the tower that is called The Tower Of Tears, and the villagers go crazy by the mention of the tower as they say it is evil and they attack Indy and Alec who barely escape. Later that night they find The Tower Of Tears and watch a woman in a trance is called inside as her brother tries to beg her to not go in, Indy and Alec follow and see that a powerful Sorcerer is inside and uses a powder on the brother that turns him to dust. When Indy and Alec are discovered to be in the temple a fight between Indy and the Sorcerer breaks out and an eternal flame is put out that fills the tower with Natural Gas! Indy tells Alec to get the woman out of the tower and The Sorcerer makes the mistake of firing a gun that blows up the tower! As The Sorcerer is dying he tells Indy that there is no other towers and that he needed that woman as she was with child and he was going to use the child to take his place as watcher of the evil tower, and with that The Sorcerer dies and the woman’s village come for her and Indiana returns home closing the research of Dr. Hecht.

This issues adventure has Indiana Jones along with a student traveling to Iran in order to look for a tower that is suppose to be evil that is the first of seven, only to get there to find that is the home of a crazed Sorcerer that ends up blowing himself up and informs them that there is no other towers. Indiana Jones in this issue is really looking into these towers in order to finish the research of one of his friends who passed away, and as always his luck gets him out of trouble and he quickly wraps up the research and even saves the villages an towns around the tower from the evil doings of The Sorcerer. Alec Sutherland is a young kid who tags along for the ride who is skilled at riding horses and is one of my least favorite characters to go on an adventure in this comic series, I hope Alec does not show back up as at the end of this comic he acts like he will be sticking around the collage. The Sorcerer is pretty much evil as he kills and wants to kidnap a child to force it to learn dark mystic arts in order to take over living in the tower and tormenting all those who live around it. And like before this issue has that supernatural touch and I like the Tower Of Tears as what a cool and odd thing for Indy to be looking for. The cover for this issue is pretty cool and had Indy and Alec jumping from a plane, and while I would have made it a little more flashy the colors make this cover stand out. The interior art is done by Steve Ditko and like always its great stuff and you have to love his style. Lets see what is next and lets hope that Short Round, Marion Ravenwood and even Willie Scott join him in the next one and we don’t get the return of Alec Sutherland.

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 29

Indiana Jones # 29  ***
Released in 1985     Cover Price .65     Marvel Comics     # 29 of 34

Indiana Jones finds himself being attacked by a group of men, but he is saved by Jessie Hale who ends up shooting some of his attackers dead and they find that they are both heading to the shame docked ship as Jessie’s brother Peter is in charge of the cargo ship and Indy is there to buy a Chinese Mummy. But of course this can not ho smooth as Michael Cobb who is leading The Irish Republican Army and Shih Ho of The Tong have set their sights on getting the Mummy as well and will do whatever it takes to get it! The Tong end up capturing Peter Hale and the I.R.A end up capturing Jessie Hale and both sides threaten the lives of Indy’s friends if he does not turn over the Mummy and also it seems one of the Museum’s trustees has it out for Indy as he send a telegram that if he does not get the mummy to the museum then his job there will be terminated. Indy tracks down Peter who is being held in a basement and talks to him to find the location of The Mummy that Peter hid in a nearby cemetery and tells Peter to tell the Tong the location after waiting a few minutes and then Indy alerts the I.R.A to the location as well and they all show up at the cemetery. While at the cemetery Indy finds out that Peter has lied to him all along the to crate that was suppose to have the mummy really has guns inside it for the I.R.A or so they even think! After The Tong and I.R.A fight they come to a truce that if the crate has guns the I.R.A take it and if it’s the mummy the Tong take it…once open they find the body of a I.R.A member and learn that the man who set it all up in China has ripped everyone off! And Indy in the end is forced to go to China alongside Cobb and the I.R.A to get what’s owed.

This is such a fun issue as Indiana Jones is sent to pick up a Mummy that has been shipped from China and instead finds himself being attacked and tracked by two different groups with one being The Tong and the other The Irish Republican Army Who want the crate that the mummy is in all because Peter Hale the brother of Jessie Hale is a liar and a goof who has screwed up a deal that was originally a fraud that took place in China that was a scam to get money…yep its like that. Indiana Jones has to fully use his wits and skills in this issue as not only is his life in danger but so are that of Jessie and her brother, and the criminals they are messing with do not value human life! Jessie Hale is caught up in this adventure because of her brother, but good thing she is around and she saves Indy once as well as helps him slow down those who are tracking him. Peter Hale is a goof who lies and deals in stolen goods and because of his lies almost gets his own sister killed as well as Indy! Both The Tong and The I.R.A are very dangerous and both have their reasons for wanting the crate that in reality has neither items they want. The cliffhanger of the issue is good as it has Indy having to go to China along with the I.R.A in order for them to get their guns and Indy to get his Mummy and I think they both want revenge on the scumbag who ripped them both off…and Indy is also going and Peter Hale would be killed on site in China. The cover is pretty cool and has Indy and Jessie in a graveyard with the I.R.A getting a coffin from the ground and the interior art by Ricardo Villamonte is really good stuff and I like the way he draws Indy. Over all another great issue and one that makes me look forward to reading the next.

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 30

Indiana Jones # 30  ***
Released in 1985     Cover Price .65     Marvel Comics     # 30 of 34

Indiana Jones and Michael Cobb of the I.R.A have arrived in China and find that they are also the target of Weng Ho and his men and Weng Ho of course is the man who ripped them both off. After fighting off some of Ho’s men Indy and Cobb go their separate ways and both find themselves being captured, but Indy is able to escape his captors when Cobb sets off dynamite that distracts them and Indy himself then goes and rescues Cobb who was being tortured by a General and the two once more together escape, and each still do not like one another as they have a difference in how to get their revenge on Weng Ho and get what they are owed. Indy and Cobb end up finding the general again and force him to take them to the base of Weng Ho who has an army on his side and once our two heroes arrive at the throne room of Ho he alerts them that he knows that they are there and orders for them to be killed, but Cobb left dynamite to explode outside and this give him and Indy a chance to fight back and as Ho leaves the room Cobb is shot, as Indy goes after Ho a big explosion goes off and Ho and Indy think Cobb is dead. Ho leads Indy to the mummy and tries to get Indy to see his side of things that of course is very evil, and quickly Ho grabs a gun and before he can shoot Indy he himself is shot dead by the hands of Cobb who dies right after, but also makes Indy swear to get his men the weapons…Indy instead uses the last of the dynamite to blow up the shed that holds all the weapons and he wants the bloodshed everywhere to stop. In the end Weng Ho is dead and his army is disbanded, Michael Cobb is dead and his fighters do not get the weapons and Indy is returning home with one mummy ready for the museum.

Indiana Jones heads to China in this issue to recover his missing mummy as his job is hanging on it making it to the museum and finds himself having to go alongside a very unhinged man who is gun happy and have to go against a warlord in China who wants to bring war to his nation so that he can rise to power and part of his idea was screwing over many in order to get money and weapons of war. Indiana Jones shows that you can defeat your enemies without killing them and tries his best to showcase this to Michael Cobb who has been fighting for most of his life and only knows violence to get his point across. And the same can be said for Weng Ho who uses violence in order to get what he wants and that is power and respect and while he does end up being the reason of Cobb’s death he as well almost kills Indy! This issue also brings back Alec Sutherland that lame character from a few issues back and he is indeed now attending the collage so that he can take classes taught by Indy…lets hope he does not make more appearances. The payout for this issue is well done as all those who murder and use violence end up loosing it all and Indy who used his mind and skills is the one who gets what he needs in the end. The cover for this issue is ok and showcases the final moments of the fight from the issue and the interior art is once more done by Ricardo Villamonte and is good stuff. Over all a good issue that features lots of action and adventure all over a Mummy, so lets see what is next for us readers.

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 31

Indiana Jones # 31  ***
Released in 1985     Cover Price .65     Marvel Comics     # 31 of 34

Indiana Jones is in a plane being flown by his friend Smitty from China back to America when they crash and Smitty is hurt bad and the pair are found by big game hunter “Congo” Kate Crawford and her Native American scout Robert ThunderCloud as they are in the area hunting Bigfoot as many terrible mutilation deaths have taken place in the woods. And once back in town Smitty is taken to the hospital and Indiana Jones is asked by Kate to go on the hunt for Bigfoot, but before he can fully answer the local sheriff and some towns folk bust in to argue with her as Indy finds himself fist fighting some of the locals at the bar when they refuse to serve and attack ThunderCloud due to his race! After the fight and the next day Indy is set to head back home when the Sheriff and the Mayor show up with the body of the bartender from the night before and while the Sheriff blames Bigfoot the Mayor says that it was ThunderCloud who killed the man and this causes ThunderCloud to run away for his life and the town starts up a lynch mob to do justice. Indiana Jones and Kate head into the woods to find ThunderCloud and save him from the mob as well as to of course see if they can find Bigfoot, but things are getting more and more confusing for Indy as Kate runs off to hunt Bigfoot and he runs into Thundercloud who informs him that he is not a killer and that the bartender worked for the F.B.I and that others are the ones who are killing him to cover up a crime, and with that Thundercloud knocks out Indy and rushes to the cliffs and finds that The Sheriff is a traitor and killed people and made up the Bigfoot story to keep people out of the woods as he had a meeting set up with the Japanese to give them information about the areas Military bases! In the end Indy and ThunderCloud stop the Sheriff, Kate finds the truth about their being no Bigfoot, no secrets are passed to the nations enemy and ThunderCloud is shown to work for the Government and was their to stop this act of treason. Plus Indiana Jones flies home and Kate Crawford goes with him to checkout the museum.

This issue feels like an episode of some late 70’s or early 80’s TV Show that takes supernatural vibes and mixes it with a thriller and in the end it was some pesky human that was the monster that the town thought haunted the woods. Indiana in this issue is a little out of his element and is kind of sucked into the adventure even though he wanted nothing to do with the search of Bigfoot, but does want to save a man from being accused of murder and killed by a mob of townies who are scared. Kate Crawford is a skilled hunter who has came to town in order to hunt down and kill the legendary creature Bigfoot, and while she is a nice person her want and need to be the one to kill the legend also makes her kind of cold in emotions as she gives zero cares for ThunderCloud after he has to run for his life, but also lets see what comes of her as she is on her way home with Indy! Speaking of ThunderCloud he is a lawman who is acting as a guide in order to get to the bottom of the case of who is killing people in the nearby woods and who is the one giving information to the Japanese, a tough as nails fighter who does what he needs to keep America safe. I do wish that a Bigfoot would have shown up and helped fight off the bad guys, and I also think it’s odd that Indiana Jones does not believe in Bigfoot when he has seen a tribe of Yetis not to long ago. Plus poor Smitty man is rocked silly in this issue and this is a side character that has appeared in other issues and makes you wonder if he was left behind or if he was flying the plane that Indy and Kate leave in. The cover for this one is just ok and has more of a superhero comic vibe and the interior art is great like before as it was done by Ricardo Villamonte again. And with that lets see what is next for Indiana Jones in the next issue!

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 32

Indiana Jones # 32  ***
Released in 1985     Cover Price .65      Marvel Comics     # 32 of 34

Indiana Jones has just got done with his class when in the halls he is tracked down by Alec Sutherland who has found more writings of Doctor Arthur Hecht but also at the same time Marcus Brody warns Indy that he has been chosen to escort Victoria Keith around as she is from the British Museum. After showing her around as well as taking her to dinner and when walking her back to her hotel room she gives him a kiss and their night ends, but as Indy get home he finds Alec waiting outside for him and says that he has a tablet that tells the location of the remaining towers. Indiana Jones ends up leaving Alec at the house when he finds that Victoria has stolen his keys and is now inside the museum robbing it! Indy gets to the museum and finds that Victoria has already stolen many of the artifacts and even has rigged booby traps around to slow down Indy who is on her trail, she also lets him know that she wants the tablets but before he can answer her the cops show up and she has to make her exit by leaping out a window and then getting to an airfield and making an escape via plane. Indy gives chase and finds an old man to fly him after her and he plane walks to get into her plane and once he gets the stolen artifact back Victoria jumps from the plane and onto a ship and makes her get away complete with an old amulet that she also took that was connected to the tablet that Alec has. Once back at the museum Indy and Marcus find Alec and the tablet says that the amulet she stole is very powerful and brings back the evil sorceress and could doom the world, they also find out that Victoria Keith is really hire master thief named Amanda Knight and now Indiana Jones is going after her to get the amulet back as well as get revenge.

In this issue Indiana Jones as well as the whole Museum are played for fools when a master female thief named Amanda Knight is able to rob the museum of two artifacts and whoever has hired her is linked to trying to find the Seven Pillars that are said to house evil sorceress and could bring the end to the world as we all know it. Amanda Knight is truly a skilled thief who uses her good looks and skills in order to trick everyone into trusting her and even poor Indy ends up getting a crush on her and she plays them all for fools as she gets what she has came for and has planned it all out so well. Indiana Jones while played at first is fast thinking when he realizes that she is not the kind history loving person she claimed to be and risks his own life in order to try and stop her to get back the stolen goods, I mean he even wing walks across plane wings in order to get to her. And ugh Alec Sutherland returns in a big way as now he is also working at the museum and is still trying to find proof of the towers and is stalking Indy around talking about research he has found…this character needs to go away and Short Round or Marion Ravenwood need to comeback. Over all this is a pretty fun adventure filled issues and is setting up that Indiana is going to have to find and fight these magical menaces. The cover is fun and has Indy hanging onto the wing of a plane and Steve Ditko returns to doing the interior art that is great like always. Another solid issue in the Marvel Comics Indiana Jones series that proves that they knew how to do Indy comics right!

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 33

Indiana Jones # 33  ***
Released in 1986      Cover Price .65      Marvel Comics     # 33 of 34

Indiana Jones arrives in England and meets Percy And Clyde of Scotland Yard who in their own odd way give him a location to look for Amanda Knight at that happens to be an island, and once at the island he finds that the locals at the pub are not very nice as they don’t like people to go digging around their land and the only friendly one is lighthouse keeper Ian Soames who gives him a bottle of liquor before Indy leaves to rest for the night. Later that night Indy looks out the window and sees many of the folks from the pub heading towards the moors with shovels so he follows. That night he looses sight of the men but meets old Crazy Angus who attacks Indy before running away, Indy catches up with him the next day and the old man tells him of life force underground before once more being spooked away. But Indy instead of following Angus finds on a cliff the plane of Amanda Knight so know he knows he is close to capturing her. Later that night Indy is attacked in his room by towns folk and one even drinks some of the liquor that Ian gave him and dies from it, and because of this Indy is now being called a witch and the people are going to kill him and Angus for being witches! Indy runs to the lighthouse and finds it empty but bolts the door shut in order to hide there for the night, but while inside he his hearing terrible screaming from outside as well as below the building. And after opening a trap door he finds Amanda Knight tied up and once he frees her she runs away telling him to be aware that a evil Magician with powers is behind all the evil on the island and once they are both outside they find the dead bodies of many of the towns people and the Magician is Ian and he wants Amanda dead as well as Indy as you see he is one of the seven sorceress and he has awaken the dead of the Vikings that once walked the land and they are coming to kill Indy and Amanda on this night.

Oh man is Indiana Jones in trouble now as the cliffhanger of this issue has dead Vikings coming out of the ground armed with swords and all wanting to slice and hack him to death all on the orders of Ian who turned out to be a very bad man as he is one of the seven evil wizards who have tormented the world and now he has ultimate power cause he wears the stolen amulet artifact! And Amanda Knight is on the to be killed list as she failed to get Ian the tablet he needs as it holds the key on how to destroy all these evil sorcerers once and for all! Indiana Jones in this issue finds himself on a very hostel island that is filled with townspeople who think people are witches and always seem to be up to something when the sun goes down, and worse of all once more he finds himself as a target for black magic. Amanda Knight who might be a master thief finds herself being taken prisoner and shoved in the basement of an old lighthouse and even when freed she stares death in the eye as she is set to be killed by the one who hired her. Crazy Angus is well crazy and everyone thinks he is a witch, but in his words you can hear some wise thoughts that will help Indy in this one. Ian Soames is an evil sorcerer who is one of the guardians of the ancient evil pillars, and while he has magical powers he also uses poisoned liquor to try and deal death to his enemies. This issue has a great cliffhanger that makes you really look forward to reading the next issue, and sadly the next issue is the last in the series! The cover for this one is pretty cool and reminds me of the Doctor Strange comics of the 80’s and the interior art by Ditko is of course just as great as always. With another great issue read lets see what the final one has in store for us and how Indy will bring down this dark magic that threatens the world.

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 34

Indiana Jones # 34  **1/2
Released in 1986      Cover Price .65      Marvel Comics     # 34 of 34

Indiana Jones is being over taken by the skeleton warriors and Amanda Knight is able to grab the amulet from Ian Soames and run off with it and as Ian gives chase Indy is able to break free of the skeletons and as well gives chase of the pair, but runs into Crazy Angus instead and the two rush off to stop this madness. Indy and Angus head to his small shack and find Amanda in there as well hiding and the three come up with a plan to use the amulet as well as the moonlight to burn Ian and stop his mindset of destruction. But they do not get much time as Ian comes busting into the shack with murder in his eyes, as Angus does his best to hold off Ian with his own Earth magic Indy and Amanda rush to town to get Indy’s whip and gun only to find that the townspeople have them and are waiting for the pair also with hate in their eyes. But Indy finds out that the townspeople are not informed on Ian and they only have been acting like jerks because of a hidden treasure that is on the island. But before things can be smoothed out Ian appears and uses winds to cause damage to the town as he does not care about anything now besides getting the amulet back and killing Indy. Indy and Amanda make it to the lighthouse and figure out that its his tower that gives him power and after fighting off more skeleton warriors and using the towers light as well as the amulet against Ian they both managed to survive as Ian dries up and dies. In the end Amanda heads towards her plane to get away from the island and Indiana Jones has what is left of the amulet and is heading back to the museum.

The final issue of Marvel’s Indiana Jones is both great as well as underwhelming as I wish that it would have gotten a more proper ending as this storyline of Alec Sutherland’s obsession of having Indy finish the work of his old professor that involves magical towers and evil wizards is a little bit of a let down as I would have liked to seen Indy on a more epic adventure that was not tied into Alec and Doctor Hecht as this story lasted for way to many issues and Alec got more panel time then Short Round who was the movie character that fans wanted to see in this comic series. Indiana Jones in this issue has to use his luck to really get away from a very pissed off wizard and if not for his quacking thinking and mind he would have ended up dead, and lets be honest all through this series Indy showcases why he was the worlds best adventurer! Plus you have to give Indy credit as well for his skill with fist fighting as well as the use of his gun and whip. Amanda Knight and Crazy Angus are his help in this issue and they serve their purpose, but really don’t add much. In fact I think way too much of this issue is spent of Amanda Knight arguing with the decisions Indy is making and this drags the pace down a bit. Ian Soames is a pretty cool villain as he has magical powers that can raise the dead as well as can create very powerful winds, and in the end he is the one who defeats himself when he uses all his remaining energy to try and take out Indy. The series as a whole is dang near perfect as they are all great reads and took Indiana Jones all over the world and had him finding all types of interesting items as well as crossing the paths with many strange characters…and while at first they did a great job of working in other characters from the film series like Marion Ravenwood and Marcus Brody as the series continued they would introduce ones like Short Round and Sallah only make short cameos and poor Willie Scott never appears and instead we get lame characters like Alec Sutherland appearing multiple times in several issues. I also feel that this comic series did a really good job of staying loyal to the film series in feel as well as the over all nature of the adventures. The cover for this issue is good and yet again reminds me of a cover you would have seen on a Doctor Strange issue. The interior art was done by the icon of comics Steve Ditko again and is great work as his art style is very fitting for this comic. I am not sure why Marvel Comics did not continue their Indiana Jones series I would guess it had to do with either poor sales or the licensing was to expensive, but I really did wish they would have continued as these were great reads back in my youth and are still great reads as an adult. Checkout the artwork below to see some of the styles used in this series.

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Indiana Jones has always been a big part of my life when growing up and the films, games, toys, TV shows and comics all did their part to entertain me as well as make my imagination run wild with going on my own adventures to look for lost treasures. And I am sure if you are reading this update, you as well are a fan of Indy, and I hope that you like me are very excited to see Indiana Jones 5 in the theaters. I want to thank Harrison Ford for coming back to play Indy one last time for us fans…and let’s hope Disney does not screw this one up. Our next update will be on July 4th and that means it will be about an American Hero that is from some sort of media and this year we are going to Pro Wrestling to find our hero, Corporal Kirchner, the real life military man who worked for the WWF in the 1980’s! So until next time, read a comic or three, watch an Indiana Jones film or two and as always support your local Horror Host. See you next update for some grilled burgers, cold drinks, fireworks in the sky and a update event at the Rotten Ink Arena.

Corporal Kirchner Preview Logo

R.I.W Wrestling Legend: Big John Studd

It’s WWE WrestleMania Month here at Rotten Ink. As you can see, we are once more at the Rotten Ink Arena for a big event, and for this one I really do mean big as one of the 80’s best wrestling giants is our main event “R.W.I Wrestling Legend” superstar. I am talking about the one and only Big John Studd, a man who feuded with the likes of Hulk Hogan and Andre The Giant and was a true monster of the ring. So let’s find our seats order some drinks and maybe some popcorn and get ready as this is one I have been very much looking forward to doing since the start of the “R.W.I Wrestling Legend” updates. Get ready to cheer and see if any one can collect the money set as a prize for the Big John Studd body slam challenge.

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Big John Studd started his pro wrestling career in 1972. He was trained by Killer Kowalski and worked for Los Angeles NWA Hollywood Wrestling under the name The Mighty Minton and was in a short lived tag team with Superstar Billy Graham. Later in 1972, he would sign on for a short run in the WWF and go under the name Chuck O’Connor and would have a few big matches including going for the WWF World Heavyweight Title against the then-champion Pedro Morales. By early 1973 he was gone from the WWF and would end up in Mid-Atlantic and would be booked pretty strong teaming with Ken Patera. The two would capture tag team gold. And during this time starting in 1975 he would also be working for the AWA and stay around with them for around a year. Also while still doing some work in Mid-Atlantic he would also head to WWF again and wear a mask calling himself Executioner # 2. He was part of the team called The Executioners, and they would even win the WWF Tag Titles. But once more by 1977 he would leave the company again and stay with Mid-Atlantic. Throughout the 1970’s John Studd would work many of the old NWA territories. Big John Studd was a giant of the ring and was a big draw for the companies that he would have short runs in, and while he would only stay for a small amount of time, he really did leave his mark in those companies.

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In 1982 Big John Studd would return to the WWF and would be managed by “Classy” Freddie Blassie and quickly became one of the companies top heels as he would bring a stretcher to the ring and his opponents would have to be taken out on one. During this time even he would try and win the WWF World Title from champion Bob Backlund, and while he would come close to winning it, he never did. And he would also start his biggest feud of his career with Andre The Giant during this time and it was over who the real giant of wrestling was, and Studd would even offer $10,000 (later $15,000) to anyone that could body slam him! Andre of course would slam Studd several times and the two would even meet in steel cage matches as well as even broke the ring during a match due to the power of a slam. The war between the Giants raged on for a long time, and in 1984 while still feuding with Andre he would also go after the WWF Title again this time held by Hulk Hogan and like before he would come close but was not able to capture the gold. During this time as well Studd would drop Freddie as his manager and take Bobby “The Brain” Heenan as his new one and would be the first member of the stable called “The Heenan Family” that would later get members like The Missing Link, King Kong Bundy, Ken Patera, Adrian Adonis and Harley Race to name a few. During this time he and Patera even beat up Andre The Giant and cut off his hair! And Big John Studd remained one of the WWF’s top Heels and had high profile matches at WrestleMania as well as WrestleMania II and would have many big matches against other big name wrestlers and teams like The Machines, British Bulldogs, Ted Arcidi, The Islanders and Junkyard Dog. He would be paired with King Kong Bundy in a monster heel tag team and they would feud with many of the company’s top stars. But in 1986 Big John Studd decided to retire from wrestling. Before his first retirement, Big John Studd would win some titles in NWA, WWF and EWU and was always a main event star. But while Studd would be retired, he was not fully done with wrestling.

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After taking time away from Pro Wrestling for two years Big John Studd would return to the sport and the WWF in 1988 and announced his return on the Brother Love Show. Bobby Heenan came out to welcome him back into the “Heenan Family Stable” but to Heenan’s shock, Studd refused the offer due to Andre The Giant being apart of the stable now and with this he was turned face and the fans loved seeing him back. He would then start feuding with The Heenan Family and had matches against the likes of Haku and Andre The Giant and he would win the 1988 Royal Rumble and would even be the special guest referee in a match against Andre The Giant and Jack “The Snake” Roberts at Wrestlemania V and during this time fans really began to cheer and support Studd who was rising up the card as one of the company’s top baby faces. But by mid 1989, Big John Studd would leave the WWF again due to what he thought was bad payoffs. Studd would then go around and work a few Indie shows from 1989 to 1990, and his final match was against Honky Tonk Man before retiring. During this time he also had his own line of supplements for workouts and trained Ron Reese, who would work for WCW under that name as well as The Yeti, The Super Giant Ninja and Big Ron Studd. Sadly Big John Studd would pass away from lymphoma cancer in 1995 and one of wrestling’s true giants would be gone. In 2004 Big John Studd was put into the WWF Hall Of Fame, and on a side note, his son Sean Studd is also a wrestler.

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Big John Studd has always been one of my favorite Big Men of wrestling in the 1980’s and I would always be cheering him over the likes of Andre The Giant, but do have to admit that I did always turn on him when he would go after Hulk Hogan and the WWF World Title as he was so good at being a monster heel and he had the size, look and attitude to pull it off making me always think he was a big threat for the title. His time as a member of the Heenan Family was fantastic and him being in it really helped it be one of the biggest and baddest Heel Stables in the world of Pro Wrestling, only behind the Four Horsemen for me as they always felt like every baby face was in deep trouble when manager Bobby Heenan set his sights on targets and set his stable loose on them. His tag team with King Kong Bundy always seemed like a tag team that would be unbeatable as they were truly the type of heels that were larger then life and looked like they could squash you life a bug. My fandom of Big John Studd also went outside the world of pro wrestling as he was a character in the cartoon series “Hulk Hogan’s Rock ‘n’ Wrestling” and he was also an actor in such films as “The Protector (1985)”, “Harley Davidson And The Marlboro Man (1991)” and “Shock ‘Em Dead (1991) and was on such popular TV Shows as “The A-Team”, “Hunter” and “Beauty And The Beast”. And I can remember geeking out when seeing him as Officer Meak in the cheesy horror movie Shock ‘Em Dead as you all know that I am a big fan of Horror Films and seeing wrestling and that genre mix was awesome. I can remember in 1988 when Studd returned to WWF, it seemed like a big deal and when he won the first PPV version of the Royal Rumble it seemed like he was going to be a big main eventer, but I can remember being let down as he quickly went away and was off the roster. Say what you will about Big John Studd; while he might not have been the best technical wrestler and pretty much just worked the brawling big man style, he still remains one of my favorite wrestlers of the 1980’s. I should also note that growing up I had his LJN figures, all of them from the Thumb Wrestler to the Bendy and when playing with the toys he was always a main eventer. And funny enough, every kid I knew in school who was a fan of WWF had at least one figure of Big John Studd in their collection showing just how big of a star he was in the sport.

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On October 23, 2021 Juliet and I traveled to Saxonburg, Pennsylvania on a very cloudy and rainy day to visit the grave of Big John Studd that was located in the Saxonburg Memorial Church Cemetery, a very small cemetery that is located across the street from a feed store and was broken into two sections as one was older graves and the other part had newer ones. And after wandering around in the cold weather for a moment Juliet spotted his grave and we were able to pay our respects and we left a penny to let him know that we did so (as John served in the Army and is a veteran). It was very neat to see the care that was put into his tombstone and it was awesome to be able to tell him how he was one of my favorite wrestlers growing up. We stayed at the grave for around 10 minutes before heading back to the car as Juliet was getting chilly as it was in the mid 40’s. But below are some pictures I took at my visit and it really was an honor to be able to visit him.

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We are now at the point of this review where 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 Big John Studd for his hard work in the world of wrestling. I also want to remind you that I will only be breaking down randomly selected 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 Big John Studd.

RIW Wrestling Legend Big John Studd DVD

Best Of Big John Studd

Match 1: Big John Studd vs. Rickey Steamboat

The match starts in progress and Steamboat has Studd locked in a figure four, and the crowd is going crazy. Studd is able to roll while in the hold and get to the ropes and the hold has to be broken. Once the hold is broken, Steamboat continues to work on the legs and knees of Studd trying to keep the big man down. And when Studd tries to fight back Steamboat cuts him off and even goes for a pin and getting a no count due to Studd’s arm on the ropes. Steamboat tries to go for a karate chop, but Studd is able to dodge it and locks on a bear hug that is draining the energy out of Steamboat, but he is able to escape and starts landing massive chops onto Studd. The two then exchange hits, and it’s clear that both men are tired and that they have been at war with each other. Studd then kicks Steamboat out of the ring and will not let him back in the ring and then even goes out after him and keeps ramming Steamboat’s head into the metal posts. And as the two are still outside the match just ends with the outcome unclear. Well this looked like it was a really good match between the crowd favorite Ricky Steamboat and the hated heel John Studd but we join the match already in progress and that already kills the mood and story telling build of the match, and then we do not even get a finish, leaving this one a little sad and not a high star match rating that I am sure it would have been incomplete. Steamboat and Studd, from what I could see, both did a great job of selling for each other as well as getting the fan all railed up and cheering and screaming like crazy, Steamboat looks like a true superstar and what we see has the upper hand most of the match until it goes to the outside and that’s when Studd is able to show his true heelish tactics. What I could see it looked like a great match, but what I didn’t get to see is why I have to only give this a two star rating.

Grade: **

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Match 2: Big John Studd vs. Paul Jones

We start the match already in progress and Big John Studd has Paul Jones on the mat and is landing massive clubbing smashes down on him, but it’s clear that Studd’s knee is hurt but he is keeping Jones down on the mat, and he even drops a massive falling chop that rocks Jones and Studd goes for a series of pins and is not able to get the win yet. Studd keeps the pressure on Jones and keeps him grounded and beat up. Studd also keeps trying to get the pin on Jones and tries to use his power and size to hold him down. Jones uses head scissors for a moment to try and get the match turned around, but its short lived as Studd is able to use his power and size to once more take over. Studd then locks in the bear hug and it looks bad for Jones as Studd has it locked in for a very, very long time, but with the fans cheers and a knee to the gut he is able to escape. And after a short comeback Paul Jones is finally pinned when he charges at Studd who dodges and slams his head hard into the turnbuckle. I have to start that at times during this match moves are clearly not connecting and at times when Paul Jones is trying to power up he looks like a kid throwing a temper tantrum as he flops around like a fish. And for some reason Paul Jones is booked super strong while he gets beat up most of the match he is able to withstand Big John Studd’s finisher the Bear Hug and has the not going down to my dying breath baby face style. Big John Studd looks like a beast and uses big power based moves and even when Jones is trying to make him look bad Studd comes off as a real giant bad ass. Paul Jones while a legend in the business I for one have never been impressed and the way he tried to make one of the industries biggest rising heels look in this match just shows you how big his flopping around ego was inflated. And its crazy when you see just how loud he is cheered by the fans and he is the definition of generic wrestling baby face. And even when pinned Jones no sells as he moves around like he was not fully phased. But with all the flaws of the match mostly Jones and his ego or I guess I should say the way he was booked the match was a great way to showcase the power of Studd even him his opponent didn’t sell it like he should. And the star rating is for Big John Studd as he had to make due with an opponent who was not very good.

Grade: **1/2

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Match 3: Big John Studd vs. Antonio Inoki

This match takes place in Japan and Big John Studd is wearing a mask for it. As soon as the bell rings, they size each other up and its clear that Inoki is the quicker of the two but Studd towers over Inoki and is able to land some big forearm smashes and uses his power and size to land some big moves and punches keeping Inoki down and trying to limit his speed. Studd lands a body slam and goes for a pin and gets a one count before locking in a chin lock. Once out of the hold Inoki uses his fast and strong kicks to weaken Studds legs, but after a clothesline Studd is able to get the match momentum back on his side and once more locks Inoki into another chin lock. Studd really works the lock as the crowd starts cheering Inoki as he is able to get to the ropes to break the hold. Studd then lands some power moves and when he cannot get the pin he once more goes back to a chin lock and then even lands a falling elbow to try and get the pin victory. Inoki is able to roll out of the ring and try and catch his breath and once back in Studd once more starts working over Inoki and keeping the match at his pace, and even when Inoki is able to make a small comeback they end up just trading being in charge of the match with Inoki working over the arm of Studd in order to try and hurt the big man. The two want to get this win and hit moves and pin attempts on each other with both men not wanting to let the other get the victory. In the end after a ensuigiri Inoki is able to knock Studd down and get the pin fall victory. This is a great match and does a great job of showcasing Big John Studd as a world wide massive heel as he is able to really put a hurting on Inoki who was a massive star in Japan, but while Big John Studd is in charge of most of the match he still does a great job of making Inoki look great and sells for him really well making both of them look great. But to be fair both of these guys really are some of the best wrestlers in the world at the time. And while both guys use rest holds, the story they are telling is great. And yes, it’s weird that they have Studd wear a mask again. And Studd is a mountain of muscle in this match and the kicks of Inoki are great and brutal. Over all to sum this up I would say that this is a great match that is very entertaining.

Grade: ***1/2

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Match 4: Big John Studd vs. Ted Dibiase

When the bell rings both men size each other up and even when Studd uses his power to back Dibiase into the ropes his speed gets him away from taking any major hits. And with his speed Dibiase is able to land some punches and even a drop kick that makes the big man stumble and then gets him into head scissors and then a headlock in order to keep Studd down on the mat and limit his size and power. But when Studd is able to get off some punches and moves, he takes over the momentum and is able to pull off a big body slam as well as some forearm smashes, and slows down the pace with a big chin lock in the middle of the ring and is draining the energy out of Dibiase, and even when he is able to get out of the hold its short lived as Studd just beats him up and places the chin lock right back on. But once out for the second time the two exchange moves and Dibiase is able to truly hurt the big man as Studd himself works over the back of Dibiase. But when being charged Studd is able to dodge Dibiase who runs into the post and falls out of the ring very hurt, and Studd will not allow his opponent to get back into the ring. But Studd by doing this leaves his own legs open for an attack and that’s what Dibiase does in order to get back into the ring and take over the match as the knees of Studd are now injured and he keeps up his attack up on his knees. And as Dibiase goes for the figure four leg lock he is kicked out of the ring by Studd, who goes out after him and the two end up brawling outside the ring with chairs even being used. And it’s ruled a double count out and even after the bell the two brawl all the way back to the locker room. This is a solid match and the fans in attendance were eating up the story they were telling in the ring. This match pitted two rising stars against each other and both had great in ring chemistry and this allowed both of them to look good in the match as they sold well for each other and each allowed the other to pull off big moves and get near pin attempts. And its great seeing Ted Dibiase as the baby face as years latter in 1988 the roles would be flipped when both were in the WWF. While the match does have some rest holds that slow the pace at times, it’s still very entertaining and both tell a great story together.

Grade: ***

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Match 5: Big John Studd vs. Andre The Giant

In this match Big John Studd is working as the face and Andre is the heel! Before the bell even rings, Studd goes on the attack on Andre and knocks The Giant into the ropes and this causes him to get tangled in them, but before Studd can take advantage of this Andre gets free and starts to choke his opponent as the referee tries to stop this illegal attack. Studd is able to escape the choke by falling out of the ring and takes a few moments in order to catch his breath. And once back in the ring Studd is quickly placed into a bear hug by Andre who also keeps landing massive chops when he breaks the hold and then starts working on the shoulder nerves of his opponent, this match once the bell rang is all Andre in control as he goes from rest hold to rest hold trying his best to bring John Studd down. Even when John Studd would try and make a comeback he is cut off by Andre who uses his massive size to his advantage, and things get worse when Haku a fellow Heenan Family member comes to ringside to help Andre and distract Studd, and when knocked out of the ring Studd is attacked by Haku behind the referees back. And this causes Hacksaw Jim Duggan to come out and help John Studd and be in his corner. And all hell breaks loose when Andre and Haku attack Studd when Hacksaw is knocked down, but once up he gets into the ring with his 2X4 and starts cleaning house. And Big John Studd wins the match by DQ and is hurt in the ring as Hacksaw stands guard until Andre and Haku leave the ring area. This is the battle of The Giants of wrestling that took place in the late 80’s with both men at the twilights of their careers and Andre The Giant looking really bad and is hardly able to move around the ring making Studd do most of the work and taking almost all of the matches bumps. Andre in this match is moving in slow motion and his moves are all pretty much rest holds, and its clear that throughout the match they wanted everyone to know that Andre is the real Giant of the WWF even when he is wrestling as a heel. Big John Studd does his best to work with the extreme limitations of Andre and does a great job of selling his moves even when they are botched by The Giant who clearly should have already been retired from the sport as he was not good in this match and clearly was in pain just moving around the ring. And the downside to this is that Studd had to be on the back end of a terrible match and sell for Andre in order to make the match not look bad, and while he won the match is was also clear that Andre did not want to put over anything that Studd wanted to do. A clunky match that had two Big Men brawling that still for some reason had a very epic feel to it. I should also note it was cool seeing the fans cheering for John Studd and booing the heck out of Andre.

Grade: **1/2

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Match 6: Big John Studd vs. Hulk Hogan

If Hulk Hogan slams John Studd in the match he will get $15,000 and Hogan has to keep an eye out as Bobby Heenan is also at ringside managing Studd. This match is for Hogan’s WWF World Title. As the bell rings the two wrestlers just stare and size each other up as the crowd is going crazy and when the two finally lock up they both attempt to body slam each other and this gets the crowd roaring even louder. The pair break apart and trade some hits and then both try and slam each other again with both getting very close to doing so. Hogan then lands some big punches that rock Studd as does a big boot to his face, Hogan goes for the slam but Studd is able to fight it off and take the momentum of the match that is until Hogan once more lands some big punches to make it swing his way once more. Hogan again goes for the slam and this once more gives Studd the chance to block the attempt as well hit Hogan with some massive hits. But like before Hogan lands some punches and a clothesline that leaves Studd to almost being slammed and he would have been if the ropes were not in his reach keeping him grounded, and the two end up brawling outside the ring and Hogan is busted open. Once back in the ring Hogan is bleeding and Studd continues to beat up on the champion as he wants the title belt, and even jumps off the top rope with a forearm smash. John Studd goes for several pin attempts and every time Hogan uses all his strength to kick out and keep the match going, but Studd is able to body slam Hogan hard to the mat and the fans are fuming with anger as Hogan is then knocked out of the ring again. Studd is also pulled outside by Hogan the fans start cheering and this makes him Hulk Up and he even body slams Studd outside the ring! As Hogan gets back into the ring Studd is counted out and Hogan wins the match and keeps his world title, but did not win the money as the slam was not in the ring. What a fun WWF Title match as champion Hulk Hogan does a fantastic job of making Big John Studd look like a major threat for his title, he sells really well for the challenger, he bleeds for him and all the while has the fans cheering and so into the match. Say what you will about Hogan and his in ring skills, but the man was a major draw and it was clear that fans loved him and paid to see him wrestle. Big John Studd looks great as well as he played the role of monster heel really well and had fans hating him and as well hit some major big power moves to make it seem possible that he could take Hogan’s belt. While it was by no means a technical masterpiece and by all means really was your typical 80’s Hogan match there is something special about his matches as you as a viewer as well just feed off the live crowds responses. A very solid match between two icons of 80’s wrestling and true WWE Hall Of Famers that you should check out if you are fans of either or both.

Grade: ***

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I need to stress that Big John Studd might not be the world’s best big man wrestler and he might not have put on Five Star matches, but what he was for sure was a believable Big Man Monster Heel who seemed like he could have beaten the hell out of every fan favorite baby face at the time and then maybe even squash a few fans in the crowd for the fun of it. His matches against the likes of Hulk Hogan, Andre The Giant and Hillbilly Jim always were entertaining and brought excitement to fans. And while his face run in 1988 in the WWF was fun, I have to say I always liked him better as a heel. Well it looks like the update is over and Rotten Ink Arena is closing down for the night, but do not fret you know as well as I do that our next update will bring us right back here to the arena as WrestleMania month continues and our next update will be about Killer Khan! So until next time, read a comic or three, watch a movie or two and as always support your local wrestling federations. See you next time cause Killer Khan is coming for you!

Killer Khan Preview Logo

R.I.W Wrestling Legend: George “The Animal” Steele

The doors are open at the Rotten Ink Arena, and the fans are pouring in as this “R.I.W Wrestling Legend” update is one that will please the young and old. Our main event is the missing link wild man known as George “The Animal” Steele who in the 80’s was a major star for the WWF, and as you can see at the merchandise table, his shirts and Mine Dolls are selling like crazy. And it looks like in George Steele’s honor they are serving green drinks and food at the snack bar, so let’s grab some green hotdogs and a Mountain Dew and find our seats as this update event is going to be a crazy one. The lights are dimming and the matches are about to start, so let’s get ready to cheer on the one and only George “The Animal” Steele. Oh and we should keep an eye out as who knows if we will see Mine or even if George himself will go wild and run crazy in the crowd!

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George “The Animal” Steele started his pro wrestling career in 1960 and was trained by Bert Rubi and started working the indies around Detroit, Michigan under the name The Student that was a masked wrestler as he wanted to hide who he really was as he was also a high school teacher at the time. During his run as The Student, he would be managed by Gary Hart who also acted as his mouthpiece and would hype of his brute strength. Around 1967 The Student would be no more and he would be called up to wrestle for the WWWF (that later would be WWF/WWE) and would also work a few other NWA territories and would be called George Steele and would be booked as a solid heel who would even challenge Bruno Sammartino for the WWWF World Heavyweight title. He would feud with Bruno and many other of the federations’ top baby faces and would headline matches in Madison Squared Garden and would have a small run against Chief Jay Strongbow before taking a small time away to work more on his crazy wild man persona. And once back George “The Animal” Steele was fully wild and would rip up and eat the turnbuckles, had a green tongue and would have a strange wrestling style that had his arms wiggling around, which confused and worried his opponents. And his heel persona continued and allowed him to feud with the likes of Hulk Hogan, Bob Backlund, Ivan Putski and Jimmy Snuka to name a few. And while he would never win a title, he did get many chances at them as a heel. During this time his interviews would be him loudly speaking a string of words, or yelling much like a young child would who is learning to speak. And I should also note during this time as a heel, he would also capture a few title from smaller NWA companies before he went to the WWF.

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On May 11, 1985 on NBC was the first every Saturday Night’s Main Event, and in the opening match George Steele teamed with Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff in a losing effort against The U.S. Express and Ricky Steamboat. But after the match, George is blamed for the loss and is attacked and this makes baby face manager Lou Albano save him and in this moment Steele went from heel to face. And very quickly George became one of the company’s top faces as fans loved this wild man who would put on silly cartoonish matches. In 1986 George Steele would start to get a crush on Miss Elizabeth, the manager of “Macho Man” Randy Savage, and the two would have a feud and this would last well into 1987 with Steele even managing Ricky Steamboat as he went for Savage’s intercontinental title at WrestleMania III, but in the end Steele would be on the losing end of the feud and would never get the affection of Elizabeth. And keep in mind, Elizabeth was so nice to George and it was Savage, who was one of the company’s top heels, who hated the attention George was trying to get. During this time as well Steele would be getting big wins against such names as Hercules Hernandez, Iron Mike Sharpe, Iron Sheik and Bob Orton Jr. to name a few. In 1988 George Steele would introduce the fans to his stuff doll friend named Mine and he would bring him to the ring to watch his matches as well as would have the doll in his promos. He would be involved at WrestleMania IV and would be in the Battle Royal, but due to a real life knee injury he would just stay outside the ring and annoy the heels in the match. It was also starting to be clear that George was falling down the card and also his health was starting to be an issue and by late 1988 he would retire from the ring for the first time and would become a road agent for the WWF working backstage. He would be let go in 1990 and a short time later hired back, and he would hold that job until around 1997 when he left the company.

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After leaving WWF in the late 90’s as a road agent George Steele would start working the indies taking bookings and appearances. He even returned to WWF for an episode of Monday Night Raw in order to team with Taka Michinoku against Jerry Lawler and Brian Christopher. And again in 1998 he would work for WWF as apart of The Oddities and would leave again in 1999. He would make a big mistake and be a part of the disaster wrestling PPV called “Heroes Of Wrestling” and was managed by Sensational Sherri and would face Greg “The Hammer” Valentine and this was in late 1999. At the start of 2000, he would have a match against Jeff Jarrett on an episode of WCW Monday Night Nitro. His last match took place in late 2000 at an ACW event against Sgt. Medallion. And even late in his career, he was very loved by fans and he helped many indies draw when his name was on the card. But while George Steele’s in ring work came to an end in 2000, he still made appearances for federations in including Impact in 2008 and WWF in 2010. And even all through his time working the indies, he was also working wrestling themed conventions. Sadly George “The Animal” Steele would pass away from kidney failure on February 16, 2017 at the age of 74. As some of you might know, George battled Crohn’s Disease starting around the late 80’s and battled it for much of the rest of his life. He also was an actor in such films as Ruthless People (1986), Ed Wood (1994) and Small Town Conspiracy (2003) to name a few. And he also was inducted into the WWF Hall Of Fame in 1995 and has appeared in a small amount of wrestling video games.

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Growing up through the 80’s and 90’s was a great time to be a wrestling fan as Hulk Hogan was the biggest star in the sport and business was great and so many icons stepped foot into the ring as we also still had stars from the 60’s and 70’s competing. And one older star that I was a fan of was George “The Animal” Steele, the crazy man who would yell, chase around his opponent and would eat the turnbuckles all the while showing his green tongue. And yeah I know what you are thinking and you would be right, George Steele might not have been the world’s greatest wrestler and by all accounts he was just a gimmick wrestler who put on comedy matches, but man when I was a kid it worked. I had the George Steele LJN figure as well as his Bendy toy, and I always wanted a Mine doll and still do want one to this day. The best part of George Steele is that he was a heel that people believed could rip a person apart with his brute strength, and when he turned baby face, he was loved as people thought he was simple and misunderstood and fun loving. And let’s be honest, everyone in the stands and watching at home would mark out when George would eat and rip apart the turnbuckle having the stuffing go all over the ring. Also his cartoonish nature when wrestling, as a face would cause fans to laugh at his odd style of waving his hands around and silly faces that he would make at his opponents. When booked as a heel I have to say that George Steele really did come off as a threat as he would be totally wild and his hairy missing link look seemed to scare the fans as well as would through his baby face opponent off their game as he would wiggle his arms around and come off as a total crazy man. George “Steele” is also a wrestler I would pop for even way after he was winding down his in ring career but when he would show up on WWF or WCW I would cheer as seeing him in the ring brought back memories of my youth. Plus on a side note, Tim Burton and his team did a fantastic job of hiring George Steele to play Tor Johnson in the 1994 cult classic film Ed Wood based on the filmmaker’s life. Also the first ever WWF Ice Cream bar I ever got had George Steele on it and inside had a trading card of George as well! With that said George might not have been the most skilled in ring worker but he sure as hell was a very entertaining one.

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We are now at the point of this review where 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 George Steele for his hard work in the world of wrestling. I also want to remind you that I will only be breaking down randomly selected 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 the 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 George Steele.

RIW Legend George Steele DVD

Best Of George Steele

Match 1: George Steele vs. Hulk Hogan

As the match starts, George starts by wiggling your hands around and Hogan stops his antics by flexing and stopping George in his tracks and as George gets out of the ring Hogan goes out after him and beats him up as the fans go crazy. Once back in the ring Hogan and George size each other up and neither wants to make a mistake and its George who makes the first move and with a wrack to Hogan’s eyes he takes the lead of the match by working over his eyes and even biting him. George takes the padding off of a turnbuckle and tries to ram Hogan’s head into it before he reverses it and rams Georges into it and then Hogan takes the match momentum and even bites the head of George! The two exchange hits and punches and with the help of brass knuckles George hurts Hogan and keeps using it to keep the Hulkster down. But after a while Hogan has had enough and after Hulking Up and some punches and a big boot to the face of George and when going for the legdrop, Mr. Fuji cheats and trips Hogan and as George distracts the referee he throws powder into the eyes of Hogan blinding him and causing him to fall out of the ring and is counted out and the fans are very mad by this. This is a match that on paper should not work well as both Hogan and Steele are wrestlers who work their own styles with Steele’s really being more of a gimmick and yet the two made it work as they blended both together and really got the crowd into it. No big moves are thrown and nothing really fancy is delivered, but the way Steele cheats and gets the heat from the crowd and the way the fans pop for Hogan at every move really does make the match feel big. I was also really surprised when Steele is the one who gets the win via pinfall. Over all a good match that had a big fight feel and showed that George Steele could have been a big heel even in the 80’s if booked right.

Rating: ***

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Match 2: George Steele vs. Pete Mitchell

George Steele is managed by Freddie Blassie in this match and as soon as the bell rings, the weird movements of George throws of Pete and George moves in and attacks the face and head of Pete even biting him. George then destroys the turnbuckle and keeps his attack on Pete going who is helpless at this point and is just being destroyed. George even tosses Pete out of the ring and Blassie even delivers a kick to him, and George will not let him back in the ring. Once back in the ring George starts working on both arms of Pete stomping on them, and at this point Pete has not even landed one punch or move in the match. George continues beating up and tossing Pete around and in the end with a lifting hammerlock George gets the win when Pete is forced to give up. And after the bell George still beats up on Pete and Blassie loves it. This match is a total squash match and has George Steele destroying Pete Mitchell by just biting, knocking him out of the ring and stomping on him. George looks great as a heel in this match as he is vicious and does not allow his opponent to even fight back and his lifting hammerlock is fantastic looking. Poor Pete Mitchell looks like a total jobber and does nothing in the match besides sell like crazy for Steele. Not much more to say besides this is a very one sided match that while entertaining of seeing George be mean heel, is not much of a match.

Grade: **

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Match 3: George Steele vs. Adrian Adonis

George starts the match by chasing Adonis around the ring and causes him to escape by getting out of the ring. Once back in the ring George charges at Adonis who is able to land a punch first and even chokes him with his scarf, and even uses the ropes to try and take the breath away from George. But with a quick punch to the face George makes his comeback that allows him to unleash a series of stomps and punches. George even slams Adonis on the entry ramp as the fans cheer with joy. But while hurt Adonis is able to land a few punches to the gut of George and then gives a few stomps, but George as well brawls his way back to being the one on top of the match momentum for a moment until Adonis takes back over for a brief moment with some punches. Adonis climbs the top rope and George crotches him and Adonis then elbows the referee knocking him out for a moment, George gets Adonis into the hammerlock and causes him to tap out but there is no referee to see it. George goes to check on the referee and when doing so Adonis rolls him up and gets the pin and the win. This is a brawling match that is kind of bland as Adrian Adonis is very lazy in the match and spends most of its short time resting on the mat or ramp and throwing very sloppy moves. This clearly was during a time when Adonis just stopped caring about the quality of his matches and he and George’s style just did not mix well at all. I do feel that he did sell really well for George throughout the match. George as well does his basic punches and stomps with his lifting hammerlock to Adonis being the most impressive move in the whole match. Over all it’s a very sloppy match that George Steele did his best to try and make it look good and entertaining and while he tried it just was not a good match.

Grade: *1/2

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Match 4: George Steele vs. Greg Valentine

As the match starts, Greg tries to attack George from behind and it backfires, as George is able to see the attack coming and lands a punch to his gut and then starts beating up Greg more and more even ramming his head into the turnbuckle. But Greg makes a comeback after George botches an attempt at a bulldog headlock and Greg drops chops and elbows onto the down Animal and then unloads many elbows onto him as George tries to get up. After trying to land a top rope axe handle that misses Greg finds himself getting beat up by George who is now worked up with some anger and the fans are clearly behind him. And George then goes after Jimmy Hart the manger of Greg Valentine and starts to chase him to the back as Greg ends up going out after George to try and save his manager. And with that George Steele is counted out by chasing Hart around the ring and Greg wins the match via count out. This is another sloppy brawl that showcases two powerhouse wrestlers from the WWF from the 80’s slugging it out and showing once more that when pitted against the right opponent Georges limited move set can work and Greg was a good opponent for him to be working. Greg also does a great job of selling for George and does a good face flop when hitting the turnbuckles. George pretty much does his normal stomping, punching and acting weird while limited the fans love every second of him in the ring. The end being a count out was a little of a letdown but it did at least make both wrestlers look strong with Greg Valentine getting the win and George Steele still looking like a top baby face in his loss as he was not pinned and even was able to scare Jimmy Hart who was a hated heel manager. Over all super sloppy but entertaining for such a quick throwaway match that was clearly just a way to give Greg a win.

Grade: **1/2

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Match 5: George Steele vs. Gorilla Monsoon

We start the match already in progress and Gorilla is down on the mat and is injured as George starts to work over his arm by stomping on it and keeps the pressure on Gorilla and even almost gets a three count on him. George starts working on the shoulders of Gorilla, who then ends up getting out of George’s hold and locks in a big bear hug as the crowd starts cheering for Gorillas comeback, George lands a big punch to his forehead and both men crash to the mat. Once back up George starts using an object to punch Gorilla who is very injured and weak by now, and George almost tosses Gorilla over the top rope and once Gorilla gets back in the beating continues as George uses an object to punch him in the head over and over. And after a sloppy comeback Gorilla locks on a bear hug again and like before George uses an object and the hold is broke and the pair fall to the mat. In the end Gorilla gets ahold of the object and George leaves the ring and gets himself counted out and Gorilla wins the match via count out. This is a very slow paced match and Gorilla Monsoon spends most of the match on the mat sweating like crazy and kind of so-so selling for George who is doing all the work and trying to make this match at least somewhat good. The match has the most basic moves thrown with most of them coming from George who is doing his normal brawling style that is mostly throwing punches. This match is really bad and many spots in the match happen several times making them very uninteresting. Not much more to say then George Steele looks good in the match and does his best to work with a clearly out of shape Gorilla Monsoon and while George has a limited style it was clear Gorilla was even more limited at this time. And really silly that they gave the count out win to Gorilla when they should have given George the win as he was becoming a great heel.

Grade: *

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Match 6: George Steele vs. Mike Powers

As the bell rings, George Steele rushes Mike Powers and lands some clubbing blows and tosses him over the rope and goes after him and rams his head into the rails, and George will not even let Mike back into the ring. Once back in the ring Mike is placed in an arm bar and his arm is even bitten by George. And then George gets Mike into his lifting hammerlock and Mike quits and this give George the very quick win. Wow, this was 100% a squash match as George Steele busts out his brawling moves and his finishing move the hammerlock to make Mike Powers look like a jobber as he is unable to even land one move. The only move that stands out in the whole match is once more George Steele’s lifting hammerlock. And I have to say Mike Powers does a good job of selling for Steele throughout this quick match. Nothing special here but did its job of building George Steele.

Grade: **

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So as you can see while George “The Animal” Steele was a wrestler who had a brawling gimmick style that could get fans to cheer when a face and boo him like crazy when heel and while not a technical wrestler he was one hell of an entertaining one that was one of my favorites growing up cause he made Pro Wrestling fun. And that brings me to this, in 2023 I feel like doing something very fun and will be a major treat for fans of wrestling like myself as I think every month this year I will have a “R.I.W Wrestling Legends” update! Remember back in 2021 we did this same thing for “Horror Host Icons”, but in April, what our household calls WWE WrestleMania Month, I will deliver two updates showcasing wrestlers! Again I know you fans of the squared circle are looking forward to seeing who we cover, now with that said our next update will take us out of the Rotten Ink Arena and back to the world of Star Comics as we go on adventures with Royal Roy one of the companies most popular original characters. So until next time, read a comic or three, watch a wrestling match or two and as always support your local wrestlers. And yes the land that Royal Roy rules over is called Cashelot…just think about that.

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Pro Wrestling’s Master Of The Five Count: King Kong Bundy

When you think of the big men of Pro Wrestling, names like Andre The Giant, Big John Studd, Big Van Vader, Haystacks Calhoun, Kevin Nash, One Man Gang and a small amount of others come to mind, but at the top of that list for any old school wrestling fan has to be the one and only King Kong Bundy! The walking condominium, as Gorilla Monsoon use to call him, has made his mark in the WWF and independent scene throughout the 80’s and 90’s and was one of the sport’s most hated bad guys as his feuds with the likes of Hulk Hogan, Hillbilly Jim and The Undertaker encouraged boos from fans worldwide. For this update, we will take a look at TLW Productions comic based on King Kong Bundy as well as the man himself and his career. So lace up your boots and make sure your tights are on right as we step into the ring with the master of the five count, the man who delivers the most brutal avalanche splash to anyone in his way, the legend of pro wrestling’s big men King Kong Bundy who was billed as weighing 458 pounds!

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Christopher Alan Pallies was born on November 7, 1957 in Atlantic City, New Jersey and did not start his wrestling career until 1981 when he began working for World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW) where he was named Big Daddy Bundy and would wear a rope belt to hold up his blue jean pants.  He was a fan favorite who was friends with the Von Erich Family, that was until a dispute broke up the friendship and Bundy began to be managed by Gary Hart and started to wear his signature black singlet and changed his name from Big Daddy to King Kong and went from good to bad in a blink of an eye! During the feud he would loose his hair in a match that would lead to Bundy’s final transformation into a monster heel. In 1982, King Kong Bundy was selected to be the final opponent for Fritz Von Erich who was Texas’s most iconic wrestler and the owner of World Class. Bundy would travel after leaving World Class and wrestle for the AWA, NWA, Japan and Mid-South where he would start his 5 count request to add heat from fans during matches against jobbers and fan favorites. In 1985, King Kong Bundy would sign to World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and be pushed as a giant heel that was managed by Jimmy Hart and would go to the first WrestleMania and defeat veteran S.D. Jones in nine seconds! In late 1985, Jimmy Hart traded King Kong Bundy’s contract to Bobby “The Brain” Heenan for both The Missing Link and Adrian Adonis as Heenan wanted Bundy for his stable called The Heenan Family. Bundy began a feud with Andre The Giant that became so heated that Bundy broke Andre’s sternum after a series of massive big splashes.  This lead to many matches finally settling in a match called “The Colossal Jostle” that saw Andre beating Bundy all during the match until Bundy was saved by fellow Heenan Family member Big John Studd. His next feud was with WWF World Champion Hulk Hogan after Bundy once more used his weight to crush Hogan giving him bruised ribs.  They settled the war in a steel cage at WrestleMania II where Hogan defeated his massive opponent. Bundy’s next major fight would come at WrestleMania III where Bundy along with midget wrestlers Lord Littlebrook and Little Tokyo took on Hillbilly Jim and his partners Little Beaver and Haiti Kid.  The match would have Bundy and his team losing by disqualification after Bundy body slammed and elbowed Little Beaver causing his own team to even turn on him! In 1987 on an episode of Saturday Night’s Main Event, Bundy would beat Hulk Hogan via count out, but by the rematch in 1988 on the next Saturday Night’s Main Event special, Hogan would beat Bundy.  This also marked the end of Bundy’s in WWF. During this run, Bundy was able to feud with wrestling’s top two stars with Hulk Hogan and Andre The Giant and was a part of the major boom of pro wrestling in the 80’s,  Love him or hate him, King Kong Bundy helped put butts in the seats and delivered some fun and entertaining matches.

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After leaving pro wrestling behind for about six years, King Kong Bundy would return as part of Ted DiBiase’s group called “The Million Dollar Corporation” alongside other wrestlers like Irwin R. Schyster, Bam Bam Bigelow, Tatanka and The Fake Undertaker. His first Pay-Per View match was at Survivor Series where The Million Dollar Team beat the Guts And Glory Team lead by Lex Luger, with Bundy and Bigelow being the only survivors. Bundy would be in the 1995 Royal Rumble, coming in at # 15 and only lasting three minutes after being tossed out by Mabel. After floating around and doing the dirty work of The Million Dollar Corporation, his final WrestleMania was XI where he was defeated by The Undertaker and became number four of the Streak. Bundy’s second and final run in the WWF came to an end in late 1995. While his second run was not as impactful, it did introduce him to a new generation of wrestling fans, and he did a great job of putting over younger talent and will forever be on the books for losing to The Undertaker at WrestleMania and become a notch on the legendary Streak.

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After leaving WWF in 1995, Bundy started working for independent promotions and became an attraction wherever he went! He wrestled for such promotions as USA Power Pro Wrestling, USWF, JCW and NBW, and while at an independent show facing Primo Canera III, the ring broke after he delivered a Bundy Splash! On October 10, 1999 for the Heroes Of Wrestling PPV, King Kong Bundy teamed with Jim Neidhart to defeat Jake “The Snake” Roberts and Yokozuna in an impromptu to tag match after Roberts was in no shape to wrestle.  Bundy and Yokozuna came out to try and save the match from stinking up the place. During this independent run, Bundy would feud with the likes of Koszmar Polski, “Superfly” Jimmy Snuka, Tom Brandi and Doink The Clown. While slowing down nowadays, you can still find Bundy from time to time at wrestling conventions as well as comic and horror ones! At the age of 58, the idea of his return to WWE or even wrestling for TNA is very doubtful, but one thing is for sure, the master of the five count could still pin many of the worlds wrestling stars.

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On March 1, 1986 on the fifth Saturday Night’s Main Event special Hulk Hogan was defending his WWF Championship against The Magnificent Don Muraco when King Kong Bundy interfered in the match causing Hogan to win by disqualification, but this also lead to Bundy crushing Hogan’s ribs and causing the champ some major pain and forcing him to be carried away on a stretcher. This was one of the classic wrestling moments that stuck with me as Hogan was the Real American and the ultimate baby face in wrestling, and watching him get crushed was shocking! This moment lead to the Steel Cage Match at WrestleMania II, where, for the first time, kids of the 80’s truly thought that Hogan could lose the WWF Title.  I mean Hogan was going in the match with taped up ribs, and Bundy not only had the weight advantage but also had that weasel Bobby Heenan in his corner.  It was as if Hogan had the odds against him! Not to mention Bundy was on a 300 win streak that had him pinning people with his trademark 5 count instead of the normal 3. The steel cage was the classic thick blue bars and was not the terrible chain link fence they use now and looked more unforgiving even if it was probably just hollow metal. Calling the match was Jesse “The Body” Ventura, Lord Alfred Hayes and Horror Hostess Elvira Mistress Of The Dark, who was looking as ravishing as ever.  Even as a youngster, I always thought Elvira was one hot goth beauty. The match itself was brutal and a blood bath as Bundy was busted open and Hogan was able to get the win after climbing over the top of the cage to the arena floor. The match might not have been one of the best in the history of WrestleMania, but it will forever be one that I remember.

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But Bundy was not just a pro wrestler, he was also an actor and in 1988 he starred in “Moving,” a comedy starring Richard Pryor where he played moving man Gorgo who is the brute force for the rude movers who in the end gets punked out by Pryor’s character after everything goes wrong. Also in 1988, Bundy was on the TV Show “Married With Children” where he played Uncle Irwin, the brother to Peggy Bundy and would later be on an episode where he played himself and wrestled Bud Bundy who was dressed as a bee. Lesser known acting roles are the 2002 short film “Bill’s Seat” where he played Big Swede, and in 2008 he was in a film called “Fight The Panda Syndicate” where he played Otto Belmar. Besides acting, he also became a comedian and has tickled the funny bones of all who have seen him. While he might not be box office gold like The Rock, his roles in movies and TV have entertained many, and I must say Moving was a film my brother and I watched a lot.

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Vendex Computers with their HeadStart line in the late 1980’s hired King Kong Bundy to promote their product in TV Commercials as well as in Print Ads.  This is what is said that lead to Bundy leaving the WWF for the first time as Vince McMahon was upset that Bundy made the deal without telling the WWF and therefore, the story goes, he did not get a percent of the money Bundy earned as he was under contract with the WWF. But the argument would go that Bundy being an Independent Contractor could take out sourced jobs like that to make extra money but Vince did not see it that way. Bundy was the face for the computer brand for a short amount of time, but this was the final straw and the WWF and Bundy parted ways all over him make extra money on the side…or as I have said so the story goes. So what do you think should Vince have a right to part of his wrestlers pay for acting and promotion work? Did Bundy do the right thing by leaving the WWF in 1988? Would you have bought a Vendex Computer cause of King Kong Bundy endorse it? Is this even a real drama issue between Bundy and Vince that is said to still burn between the two till this day? Or is this just a wrestling rumor told through the ages? So many questions with so many answers!

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Like any wrestling legend Bundy has had his share of merchandise. Some of the most notable include the LJN figure as well as Thumb Wrestler and Bendie and the official WWF Bundy t-shirt. He would appear on trading cards, magazines and VHS tapes. He would have official action figures as of late as well as some none-WWF figures from smaller toy companies. He had a comic book series and video game appearances and posters. Growing up I had both the large and bendie Bundy figures, and me and my friends use to make jokes about how you could kill a person with his figure as it was one wide and heavy piece of rubber. I have lots of memories throwing that Bundy figure around and acting like Hulk Hogan or Andre The Giant were body slamming him. So if you’re a Bundy fan, there is stuff in the world that you can get to make your collection complete and show the world you stand with King Kong Bundy.

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King Kong Bundy has been in a few video games like Legends Of Wrestling series that had a total of three games that were released for PS2 and Xbox by Acclaim. In WWF/WWE games he has appeared in WWE 2K14 for 2K Sports and Legends Of WrestleMania for THQ both of those games were released for PS3 and Xbox 360. That’s right, you can relive King Kong Bundy fighting Hulk Hogan in a steel cage in many of these games or even have him try and Bundy Splash the likes of Ricky Morton, Mil Mascaras or Mike Von Erich in the Legends Of Wrestling Series. So pick up your controller and demand a five count when putting the Smack Down on the computer or a friend.

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So I hope you learned a little about King Kong Bundy or even took a trip down memory lane with this update so far as it’s been fun looking back and remembering some of these moments in his career. I want to thank Jason Young who gave me issues one and two of this series for Christmas in 2015 and sparked me trying to find the other three issues in the series in order to do this update. I also want to thank TWL for sending me the missing three issues so that this update could happen! So before we get into the ring with the Master of the Five count, I need to remind you all that I grade these issues on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comic stays to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. So let’s step in the ring with the walking condominium and see what kind of comic adventures he will have.

King Kong Bundy Comic 1

King Kong Bundy # 1  **1/2
Released in 2001    Cover Price None    TLW Productions    # 1 of 5

The Iran Sheik is upset that all the kids around the world are cheering for King Kong Bundy, and while Bundy gets the tough fights, the Sheik feels he is getting no real competition. So a match is set up for Bundy to fight the Sheik that has the madman from Iran cheating to try and win by loading his boot, using the ring bell and even knocking out the referee. The Iran Sheik’s cheating ways leads to him loosing the match by disqualification. The rest of the comic is filled with short stories like two adventures of Lil’ Bundy that has King Kong Bundy as a kid going trick or treating.  The second story is him fighting with his teacher that he big splashes! Another story has Bundy at a bar throwing a man who was beating up his girlfriend through the front window for disturbing him while he was drinking! One has him buying a white suit that makes him look like a famed super villain called The Kongpin and being attacked by masked heroes.  While another has him accidentally drinking a experimental liquid right before a match that turns him to skin and bones, but even with the weight loss, the master of the five count puts a beat down on his opponent Tang Eater Smith! The final story has Bundy in the main event taking on another big man named The Volcano! The match is heavy handed but in the end Bundy gets the five count!

Wow, this is a mixed bag of comic stories all revolving around King Kong Bundy, and strangely enough they are pretty entertaining and have a true independent comic feel to them. The main stories are the book ends and showcase Bundy in fights with the first being againstThe Iran Sheik, who is the only other real wrestler to appear in one of the stories.  The second one has him fighting a parody of The Natural Disasters (Earthquake & Typhoon) named Volcano who is a big heavy set guy who spits red mist to show the eruption. King Kong Bundy is the star of the comic and is shown in two different lights, one being a good guy who, while edgy, loves his fans.  The other side is pure heel with him claiming to be the best wrestler in the world and even chasing off an abused woman all because her fight with her boyfriend annoyed him while he was drinking. Odd to have Bundy shown in a positive light as he has always been a heel when I used to watch WWF as a kid, managed by the likes of Bobby “The Brain” Heenan and “Million Dollar Man” Ted Dibiase. It was nice seeing The Iran Sheik in the issue as he is the perfect bad guy for any wrestler turned comic hero to fight! Plus the issue’s other baddies, The Volcano and Tang Eater Smith, are pretty funny generic wrestlers who are just stacked up for Bundy to squash and get the five count on. The part that works the most for me about this comic is for some reason, just as Jason Young said, it reminds me of the old Rock N Roll Comics by Revolutionary Comics with its art style and charm.  Plus the cover is fantastic and would be eye catching to any fan of pro wrestling or independent comics. The art is done by Brien Cardello, and one segment is done by Marco Dileonardo.  Both are fitting and bring the mood and feel of this wrestling comic alive!One other cool aspect of this comic is there are one page features that breaks down big moments in Bundy’s wrestling and acting career complete with art and facts.  So sum it up, this first issue is lots of fun, and I am still amazed that this series exists and can’t wait to see what issue two has in store for me! 

King Kong Bundy Comic 2

King Kong Bundy # 2  **1/2
Released in 2002    Cover Price $5.00    TLW Productions    # 2 of 5

King Kong Bundy keeps making short work of sleazy manager Herbie Swartz and making his style look cheap and dated. So to get his revenge on Bundy, Swartz finds an old government robot war machine that looks like Bundy and books a match between the two. While at first it looks grim for Bundy, his never give up attitude proves too much for the robot showing the fans that no one can beat Bundy, not even a robot version of himself! Next up Bundy is upset as the crowd is booing him during his last match but soon finds out that the real match is the next day, and he actually beat up Metallica at their very own concert! The next adventure of Lil Bundy has him training Chuck Brown into beating the kids of Family Circus to death! In a quick story Bundy scares everyone out of the ring during a battle royal. The final story has midget wrestlers being mad about the way Bundy treated Little Beaver at WrestleMania III and want him to wrestle Smalley Biggs, a midget wrestler who has never lost.  After many sleepless nights of them disrupting his sleep, he and a college professor make a midget clone that is known as Mini-Bundy, and he wrestles the match and wins!

This second issue is much like the first, a fun read about a wrestler who by all accounts is underrated by current fans of the sport. Like the first issue as well, this one is packed with lots of mini stories about Bundy that has him cloning himself into a midget all the way to beating up Metallica at their own concert. King Kong Bundy is still loved by the fans for the most part but does do lots of bad things including, as a youngster, teaching a kid to beat weaker kids to death! But Bundy is the type of character that would pick on the weaker man as he is so powerful and bigger than most that survival of the fittest was his attitude even in WWF, just go ask S.D. Jones. Herbie Swartz is a great low talent manager who I hope shows back up in a future issue as his lame stable of wrestlers could be used more to be a thorn in Bundy’s side. Smalley Biggs and his fellow small wrestlers are good at being annoying and keeping the full size Bundy from getting sleep, but are no match for the tiny Bundy clone. My favorite story in this issue has to be the opener called “Enter Mecha-Bundy” as it reminds me of the film King Kong Escapes that pits a Mecha-Kong, a robot version of King Kong, against the real deal and that’s what this story is about as well. The cover for this issue is amazing and fitting as it’s dedicated to those who lost their lives in the 9/11 attacks and has Bundy standing tall holding the American flag. The art in this issue is done by many talented artists that include the likes of Andy Macdonald, Lou Platania, Sal Cipriano, Oliver Drac and Brien Cardello, and all do fantastic work on their segments. This issue also does a segment that takes a brief look at wrestler Big John Studd, and this made me wish they also would have done a full comic series based on him! Over all this second issue is just as great as the first, and I can’t wait to read issue three and see what its all about.

King Kong Bundy Comic 3

King Kong Bundy # 3  **1/2
Released in 2002    Cover Price None    TLW Productions    # 3 of 5

Captain Bodyslam is stuck in traffic, and this leaves Steve The Promoter without an opponent for King Kong Bundy.  But fate is on his side as he finds Frank, a big man who is an elevator mechanic, and offers him the match. Steve tells the Ref not to stop the fight as Frank fights very dirty and during the match Bundy takes a hammer and wrench to the head and finally gets mad when he finds out The Promoter told them not to stop the fight no matter what! By the time Captain Bodyslam shows up for the match, he is crushed in a accident caused by Frank and a counter weight! Bundy, Frank and the crew just walk away and get a beer. The second story has the comic creators trying to explain just how big King Kong Bundy is by comparing him to things ranging from bags of M&Ms all the way to Playboy bunnies. The third and final story has King Kong Bundy being harassed by superheroes like Superman, a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle and Thor and by the end walking away in frustration.

King Kong Bundy is back to bring us readers three stories as well as more moments in his long wrestling career. I am still amazed that this comic series was made and also very happy to see it made as I think more comics about pro wrestlers should make their ways to comic book stores. In this issue Bundy is still well loved by wrestling fans and just looks forward to squashing his opponent in the ring in order to get the five count. Bundy also seems to showcase his short temper and doesn’t like it when he feels people disrespect him.  He also seems to not be bothered when a fellow wrestler is killed in the ring…oh that Bundy, he so crazy! Captain Bodyslam is so cheesy and reminds of a wrestler that you would see in a match at a high school gym and that’s what makes him such a fun ,yet gone-to-soon character. The opening story is my favorite as I like the idea of a crazed normal guy getting into the ring with Bundy and trying his best to cheat to win, but yet still can’t. Over all this is another good solid issue and shows that Bundy has more stories to share, and I really like the highlights of his career as this issue breaks down his matches with Razor Ramon (Scott Hall), The Undertaker and Diesel (Kevin Nash), and you can tell that artist and writer Brien Cardello is not a fan of Hall and Nash!  Let’s see what Bundy has planned next for us, shall we?

King Kong Bundy Comic 4

King Kong Bundy # 4  **1/2
Released in 2003    Cover Price None    TLW Productions    # 4 of 5

King Kong Bundy travels to Japan as he has been challenged by the undefeated Osara, a man that is the size of Bundy and who is filled with honor and the thrill of the fight! The match is sold out, and during the event, the promoters are cheating using robotic machinery to trip and hold Bundy in spot! By the mid-match Osara figures out that cheating has been involved in the match, and he awards Bundy the winner of the match as the crooked promoters run off. Bundy and Osara become friends after the match and enjoy a very healthy dinner of chicken! The second story has ninjas sneaking into Bundy’s hotel room with orders to hurt him a little to keep him in Japan so that a rematch can be made between him and Osara.  This of course backfires as Bundy thinks they are hotel workers helping him, and in the mayhem, he ends up hurting them badly enough that they quit! The third story takes a look at Bundy’s tag team match at the failed Heroes Of Wrestling PPV that had him and Jim Neidhart teaming up against Yokozuna and a trashed Jake Roberts! The fourth and final story has Bundy using puppets to explain why this issue was a year late!

More great stuff that features the squared ring!  This time around Bundy travels to Japan to face a challenger who just might have been able to beat him! Three of the four stories are really great in this issue with the fourth story being the weakest – but really it’s more of a comedy skit than a wrestling action one. While it’s hard to choose, I think my favorite story in this one has to be the Heroes Of Wrestling PPV as the depiction of a drunk Jake Roberts made me laugh as they made him look so rough that I laughed out loud! If you ‘ve ever seen that PPV, you realize that Jake ruined not only his match but also the main event! The comic acts as if Bundy was so mad about Jake’s antics that he came out to beat him up and that Yokozuna was bored with not beating anyone up yet and marched down to the ring as well. King Kong Bundy once more has lots of pride and when challenged travels to Japan for honor, yet he also beats up an old lady who is buying chicken for her little dog as he says he needs the protein! I think that’s what people should understand about Bundy in this comic, it’s his way or no way and he doesn’t care to hurt anyone who gets in his way! Osara is a mountain of a man, and by the looks of him, could have given Bundy a ride for his money.  But he’s also a man of honor; when he finds out cheating was involved, he quickly stops the match. This was a very fun issue and has art done by not only Brien Cardello but also Kris Renkewitz and Tom Lyle, and each gives their own touch to the look and legend of Bundy. The cover is also well done and reminds me of looking at the independent comic boxes at Mavericks Cards And Comics and buying some with the oddest looking covers in the mid 90’s. I’m still chuckling over the drawings of the bolding Jake Roberts, fun stuff indeed.

King Kong Bundy Comic 5

King Kong Bundy # 5  **1/2
Released in 2003    Cover Price None    TLW Productions    # 5 of 5

King Kong Bundy is at home watering the flowers in his front lawn when the paperboy throws the paper, hitting Bundy in the head and causing him to turn the hose on the paperboy and knock him into the neighbor’s garbage cans! Bundy soon finds out from neighbor and friend Chuck that the paperboy is the son of famed mobster Vito The Cobra! During the weekend poker game, a message of roses and a dead fish is sent to Bundy as a warning.  Then, during a TV broadcast at the local college during a battle royal, Bundy is attacked by henchmen in the ring but as always Bundy comes out the winner! In the end Bundy meets Vito, and the pair make peace as it’s clear his son in the instigator in the turmoil taking place in the neighborhood. The second story is about King Kong Bundy wrestling Jerry “The King” Lawler in an epic match that has Bundy pinning The King with the help of Rick Rude and Jimmy Hart, and oh yeah, a pair of brass knuckles. The third story has Bundy and his pal, fellow wrestler Warthog, in the costume room trying on all types of outfits making Bundy look like everyone from Hulk Hogan to Wolverine of the X-Men, but in the end Bundy just wants to be Bundy. The fourth and final part has King Kong Bundy answering questions from fan letters and ends up leaving on a date with Jessica Rabbit from Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

This was the final issue in the “Worlds Best Wrestling Comic” as the issues say and by all accounts while it might not be the best it sure as hell was one fun of a read! This issue has four stories with the best being the first as Bundy’s run in with the mob is a fun adventures that pits the odds against Bundy who never shows fear as his life is on the line. Plus it was cool to see the comic book version of the famous Jerry Lawler vs. Bundy match making this issue another hit with this comic and pro wrestling fan. I have to give major props to TLW Productions, Brien Cardello and all the other artist who worked on this series as they took a heel pro wrestler and turned out a solid well done comic that would please fans of wrestling as well as independent comics. King Kong Bundy through out the series shows many different sides of his personality as he can go from doing the right thing to getting pure joy on hurting people and it seems as if fans in the comic still always cheer him for almost anything he does good or bad. Plus I like that while his attitude might slightly change from story to story, from issue to issue Bundy acts like the same character, and this is the sign of a good character and good writers. In this issue we get to see the likes of Jerry “The King” Lawler, Jimmy Hart and Rick Rude, and throughout the series we also got to see Big John Studd, Iran Sheik, Yokozuna, Jim Neidhart and Jake “The Snake” Roberts all who added to stories and were great to see as comic characters.  For some of them, it was the very time they appeared in a comic.  Art is by Brien Cardello and looks pretty dang good and has a Box Brown, Chester Brown and Jason Young charm to it. The cover is over done and very pink, but heck it still is eye catching and fun. I would say if you’re a fan of pro wrestling from the 80’s and early 90’s, a fan of King Kong Bundy or just like smaller press comics, check out this series for sure as I am glad I got the chance to review it here on Rotten Ink.  Below is some artwork from the series, so give it a look for at least a five count!

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Before I wrap this up, while doing some research for this update, I came across this picture of King Kong Bundy with hair and just had to share it with you readers as this is a sight most of us never have seen before.  The Bundy many of us know and love or hate was bald, so take a look at this!

King Kong Bundy With Hair

So I hoped you enjoyed this look at wrestling legend King Kong Bundy and that you learned something new or some of it triggered your own memories of his matches and career. Now I am sure I left some major things out including feuds and groups he was in, but I tried to focus on the things I remember him for as well as what would be considered his highlights. I want to also thank TLW Productions and Jason Young again for getting me these issues and making this update possible! For our next update we are stepping out of the ring and into the holiday of July 4th for a look at a patriotic superhero named The Shield.  So make sure to join me back here for that! Until then, read a comic or three, play a video game or two and support your local wrestling federation.  See you back here on July 4th!

On a side note TWL Productions is working on a new King Kong Bundy series that is currently looking for help funding via Kickstarter! The first issue being pitched will also have wrestling legend One Man Gang in it! So if you have a little extra cash and love classic wrestling like I do make sure to give and help it come alive.  

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Andre The Giant The 8th Wonder Of The Comic Book World

Welcome to Rotten Ink’s main event for the night as we witness First Second Book’s own Box Brown step into the ring with the one and only 8th wonder of the world, Andre The Giant! It’s no surprise that growing up I was a huge fan of pro wrestling, and you long time readers know this about me.  One of the biggest names around when I was a kid was Andre The Giant who was always billed as the biggest man in the world and seeing him dwarf the likes of King Kong Bundy, Big John Studd and Killer Khan was a sight to behold. So this update will be all about the man, the myth, the legend known around the world for being the biggest athlete in sports entertainment, Andre The Giant! So get ready to cheer for Andre as we take a look not only at the bio comic but also the man who was the true giant of pro wrestling!

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Andre Rene Roussimoff was born on May 19th 1946 in Grenoble, France, and by the age of 12 he weighed 240 pounds and was 6’3” and dropped out of school by the 8th grade to work on a farm as well as other manual labor jobs. By age 17, he became a pro wrestler after a promotor saw that he could make money off Andre’s size and the fact he was a true giant thanks to the fact he had gigantism. Going under the name Great Ferre, he wrestled for promotions in France, United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, New Zealand and Africa. In 1970 Andre, under the ring name Monster Roussimoff, dominated the Japanese federation International Wrestling Enterprise even winning the tag team titles with Michael Nador. After Japan Andre went to wrestle in Canada as well as a few dates for AWA (American Wrestling Association)  In the US, he meet Vince McMahon Sr. who turned him into Andre The Giant and changed the character into a unstoppable monster, and together they made lots of money in the WWF as well as off other federations that Vince would lend him out to. Andre The Giant started WWF in 1973 as one of the company’s top good guys and had many great feuds with many great and talented wrestlers like Killer Khan who he defeated in a Mongolian Stretcher Match, Big John Studd who he had a body slam challenge match against as well as had his long afro hair shaved off by Studd, Ken Patera and Bobby “The Brain” Heenan. King Kong Bundy and Big John Studd even got Andre suspended during this run, and he returned as a masked wrestler called Giant Machine and teamed with the tag team The Machines. Durning this run as a good guy Andre was also the king of Battle Royals even winning one at Wrestlemania II by throwing out Bret Hart. Beloved by fans, Andre was a top draw as well as a main attraction for the WWF, but something was about to change!

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In 1987, Hulk Hogan was WWF Champion, and Hulkamania was in full swing.  On Piper’s Pit, the interview segment hosted by Rowdy Roddy Piper, Hogan was given a trophy for being champion for three years. And during this time of celebration Andre The Giant came out with Bobby “The Brain” Heenan and ripped the shirt off Hogan as well as his cross necklace and challenged him for the title, changing himself from a fan favorite to a heel in the matter of minutes! Hogan and Andre clashed at Wrestlemania III, and Hogan won under some controversy. After Hogan’s win, he also began a feud with Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase who could not beat Hogan but wanted the title.  So DiBiase hired Andre to win the belt for him, and he did in 1988 making it the first and only time Andre was the WWF Champion.  But this win was also very controversial, and the belt was taken away from him and put up for grabs at Wreslemania IV in a tournament that was won by Randy “Macho Man” Savage. This sparked fights between the Mega Powers (Hogan & Savage) and the Mega Bucks (Andre & DiBiase) that ended with Mega Powers getting the upper hand and would spark the next major feud for Hogan as he and Savage split off. Andre from this point on was stuck in tag team matches and feuds with such superstars as Jake “The Snake” Roberts, Hacksaw Jim Duggan and Ultimate Warrior. He would also team with Ted DiBiase for a while as well as Haku, who he would win tag team gold with under the name The Colossal Connection. In 1990, they lost the belts to Demolition at Wrestlemania VI, and at this point Haku and Bobby Heenan turned on Andre who ended up beating up his partner and turned from Heel to Face.  This ended Andre’s major role as a full time wrestler for WWF. And besides some angles with Earthquake and Jimmy Hart, Andre’s health was so poor that he left WWF in 1992. His last TV appearance was for WCW during their Clash Of The Champions XX event on TBS. This is the era of Andre that I remember the most, and boy when I was younger, I thought no one could beat him.  When they did, I was awe struck! I mean other wrestlers in the back would call Andre The Boss because they all respected and some feared him. Andre was a strong good guy but in my opinion was a way better bad guy and his feud with Hulk Hogan was legendary. Now being a grown up and watching old matches on VHS and DVD, I find some of his later in ring work very sad to watch as you can tell he was in pain just barely moving around and had to use the ropes to walk around the ring. It’s sad to see Andre The Giant in that kind of shape, and you could really tell he was in the twilight of his career and his health was in decline. I should also say that sadly Andre died in his sleep on January 27th 1993 from heart failure while in Paris to attend his father’s funeral. This update is dedicated to Andre who entertained this pro wrestling fan all through my youth, not just in the ring but also in movies and TV.

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So I should get a little more into Wrestlemania III, the pay per view event that shattered attendance records for a live sporting event as well as truly brought WWF into the main stream culture. Wrestlemania III took place on March 29th 1987 at the Pontiac Silverdome in Michigan in front of 93,173 fans locking it in as the largest recorded attendance for a live indoor sporting event in North America! The card was filled with many great matches like Ricky Steamboat vs. Macho Man Randy Savage for the Intercontinental Belt, Billy Jack Haynes took on Hercules in a Full Nelson Match and Honky Tonk Man took on Jake “The Snake” Roberts who had rockstar Alice Cooper in his corner! But the main event was Hulk Hogan vs. Andre The Giant for the WWF Championship, and I can remember all the build up for this match.  All the while WWF did a fantastic job of making Hogan look like the underdog having Andre best him on many altercations that happened before the match. During the match, it was clear that Andre was not in the best of shape and Hogan was having to carry the match for the most part, but when Hogan tried to slam Andre for the first time and buckled under the weight and was almost pinned, the odds really did look against the champ! But later in the match when Hogan slammed Andre and hit him with the atomic leg drop and got the three count, the torch was passed and Hogan’s star shined brighter. I can remember many kids from school who were WWF fans talking about the slam heard around the world and the feat of Hogan picking up Andre seemed something straight out of a comic book or greek myth, but as I grew up and became wiser to the world of pro wrestling I found out Hogan had slammed him before when Andre was good and Hogan was bad early in his career.  Also to slam Andre was El Canek and Harley Race. No matter who you were in 1987, you knew that Hogan slammed Andre, and WWF was the major force in pro wrestling.  But we have covered Andre in wrestling so it’s only right we cover his acting career briefly!

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Besides being a pro wrestler, Andre was also an actor, and one role I remember him playing was the Bionic Bigfoot in the TV show The Six Million Dollar Man. Andre played Bigfoot in two episodes called “The Secret Of Bigfoot I & II” that had Steve Rogers running into the famed creature and after doing battle with it finds that it’s a robot! The original episode aired in 1976, and the follow up aired in 1976 as well. Even after Andre stopped playing the role, the Bionic Bigfoot continued for three more episodes and was played by Ted Cassidy, better known for playing Lurch on The Addams Family. The episodes and character of Bionic Bigfoot were so popular that action figures at the time was made based on his likeness. If you watched Six Million Dollar Man, I am sure you remember Bionic Bigfoot like I do!

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Andre’s most popular acting role was the 1987 comedy fantasy film “The Princess Bride” where he played Fezzik the loveable giant friend of Inigo who helps in the kidnapping of the Princess as well as later helps rescue her along side Westley the film’s lead. Fezzik turns from a bad guy to a good guy and was loved in the film for being loyal to his friends and having a big heart. Growing up, I loved this film and watched it many times.  One of the best Andre lines from the movie has him offering peanuts to other characters. It’s funny to think that in 1987 Andre was in this move as a loveable character and also turned on Hulk Hogan and became one of the most hated men in pro wrestling!

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One role many people do not know about that Andre The Giant played was that of the horn God Dagoth in the 1984 fantasy film “Conan The Destroyer”! That’s right, one of the world’s top pro wrestlers wore a rubber suit and fought Arnold Schwarzenegger who was playing Conan in a fake blood drenched scene….and I must say that’s awesome! And in fact, I did not even know Andre played that part until recently, and this helps add to my enjoyment of this film. I loved the Conan movies, and I will tell you readers this when the new Conan movie comes out in the coming years, a Marvel At The Movies Conan edition will be going up!

Dagoth

Andre The Giant was also an animated superstar as he was used in the fun Saturday Morning Cartoon “Hulk Hogan’s Rock N Wrestling” as one of Hogan’s good guy friends along side the likes of Junkyard Dog, Wendi Richter, Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka, Hillbilly Jim and a few other WWF wrestlers. The cartoon would have Hogan and the gang having to stop evil plots by the bad guys lead by Rowdy Roddy Piper and aired for 26 episodes lasting two season starting in 1985. The series was made by DIC Entertainment who also made such cartoons as M.A.S.K., Jayce And The Wheeled Warriors, The Real Ghostbusters, COPS, Camp Candy, The Legend Of Zelda, Swamp Thing, Street Sharks and so many other classics that entertained the youth. Andre in the cartoon was portrayed as a dimwitted giant who would fumble and bumble around all the while never meaning to harm nor break the stuff he did.  So in looking back, he was the slapstick goof of the cartoon.  He was voiced by Ron Feinberg, who also lent his voice to such characters as Ming The Merciless in Defenders Of The Earth and Vladimir Goudenov Grizzlikof in Darkwing Dunk. Growing up I loved this silly cartoon and watched it any chance I got and that was mostly on USA Cartoon Express.  While Andre was silly and goofy, he still was one of the characters I liked. While the cartoon has long been off the air and has not been released on DVD or Blu-Ray, you can find episodes on VHS and the grey market.

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So Andre was a part of TV shows, movies and even cartoons, but he also tackled music videos when he had a cameo in the video for Cyndi Lauper’s hit song “The Goonies ‘R’ Good Enough” where he played a genie from a bottle who runs off debt collectors played by the likes of Roddy Piper and Iron Sheik! This video is epic for many reasons, and I will share them all with you real quick! The first thing about this video that I loved when I was younger was Cyndi Lauper herself as I found her cute as well as fun to watch as she could sing her heart out and never took herself seriously. The second thing was the fact that it starred Pro Wrestlers as characters and some of the WWF’s best bad guys were great running around as pirates…imagine Iron Sheik as a pirate! The third amazing thing about this video is that it’s attached to The Goonies, one of the most iconic adventure kids films of the 80’s and one I loved, not to mention The Goonies themselves show up to help Cyndi get away from the pirates! I guess I should also explain what the music video is about; Cyndi and her family own a gas station and are about to lose it when Piper and the rest of his goon squad show up to take it away! Cyndi has a map to treasure that could help save the gas station, but while on the hunt Piper and goons become pirates and try to stop her until The Goonies show up and help.  In the end, she uses a lamp and frees Andre The Giant dressed as a genie who runs off the bad guys, and they save the gas station. It’s a great music video for a catchy song that will get stuck in your head after you hear it.

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Honeycomb was a popular kids breakfast cereal in the 80’s, and the one and only commercial made about it that would air during Saturday Morning Cartoons that I remember had Andre The Giant playing a giant and trying to grab kids and their robot while they were eating Honeycomb in their club house. The kids are scared of the giant, but when they share some Honeycomb with him, he mellows out and they gain a new friend! I should also say that after they share the cereal, the cheesy jingle starts that goes “Honeycomb’s Big….Yeah Yeah Yeah! It’s Not Small…No No No! Honeycomb’s Got..A Big Big Bite! Big Big Taste In A Big Big Bite”…you’re welcome. The jingle will be in your head all day now. I always liked seeing Andre in this commercial, and it has always stuck with me; thanks to Youtube I can watch it again!

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Because he was one of the biggest superstars in WWF history, Andre had a lot merchandise come out that used his likeness, and much of that came out via WWF itself and could be bought from their catalog like posters, magazines and the classic t-shirt with his red handprint on the front. LJN had three Andre The Giant figures come out for their WWF Wrestling Superstars series.  One Andre had the afro hair, the next had short hair and the third was the bad Andre. Hasbro made an Andre The Giant action figure come out via their WWF line, and not to mention tons of other stuff like VHS tapes, trading cards, drinking glasses, DVDs and much more! My favorite Andre toy I owned was the short hair LJN figure that I would bring to school and win matches during the WWF events we would have at recess, a great figure with Andre’s good guy smile intact. So if you like Andre The Giant, there are some great collectibles out in the world for you.

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Andre The Giant has also been in some video games, starting with WWF Wrestlemania for NES and even in the most recent WWE Game, WWE 2K15. Also Andre was in the arcade game WWF Superstars that had your team having to will a series of matches to take on Andre and Million Dollar Man to win the game. But the one I played the most was WWF Wrestlemania made by Acclaim in 1989 for the NES, and I must say Andre was one tough cookie to beat and Hulk Hogan was the only character that was able to slam him! One odd Andre The Giant in video games has to be the 2011 THQ game WWE All Stars where Andre was overdone as were all the wrestlers, who look like cartoon characters. So if you’re a gamer and like wrestling, there are many games out in the world that you can play as the one and only 8th Wonder Of The World.

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Before we get to the comic, I should also talk about the underground phenomenon known as Andre The Giant Has A Posse created by Shepard Fairely for the skateboarding culture and beyond as an experiment of phenomenology. Stickers, flyers and posters of Andre The Giant with the phrase Has A Posse began popping up in Rhode Island and then went around the USA and spread like wildfire. The craze went on for many years and even when WWF tried to sue over it, the stickering did not not slow down. Over the years the sticker has changed and now has a closer image of Andre’s face and instead of him having a posse, it now reads “Obey”. I can remember seeing these stickers around town when I was younger and always getting a chuckle from them.

Andre Has A Posse

So now that we have talked about Andre as a wrestler, actor, video game character and everything in between, I think we are ready to look at him as a bio comic character! I need to thank Mavericks for getting this graphic novel in stock for me and also should remind everyone that I will grade this on a standard 1-4 star rating and base it on how well the comic stays to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. So let’s lace up the boots and step into the ring with the 8th Wonder of the World, Andre The Giant, and First Second Books.

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Andre The Giant: Life And Legend  *** Released in 2014   Cover Price $17.99   First Second Books   #1 of 1

Andre lives in France and when he was 12 years old, he already was a giant and could not even ride the school bus and had to catch rides in the back of people’s pick up trucks. Years pass, and Andre just keeps growing and taking odd jobs around town.  By the late 1960’s he became a pro wrestler in his homeland and became a major attraction cause of his large size. Andre leaves the European wrestling behind and heads to Japan to make a name for himself and then goes to Canada where he starts out as major star selling out events, but his attraction starts to run thin and he finds that fans are sick of seeing him. Andre goes to the United states and with the help of Verne Gagne and Vince McMahan Sr., he becomes a super star as they travel him around from territory to territory and make him unbeatable in some cases even beating two men at the same time! This also starts Andre’s run working for WWF, where he was one of the company’s top baby faces. But while things were looking good for Andre, around this time his health began to decline.  He was drinking a lot, and he had many run-ins with fans and fellow wrestlers like Bad News Brown and Black Jack Mulligan outside the ring. During a feud with Big John Studd and Bobby The Brain Heenan, Andre takes some time off to get surgery on his back to release pressure and pain due to the fact his giantism disease is causing him to still grow, causing much pain in his joints and bones. During his time away from wrestling, Andre also takes a role in Princess Bride, and then he gets the call from Vince McMahan Jr. that he wants him to come back to WWF and be a bad guy and wrestle Hulk Hogan at Wrestlemania III! Andre comes back to wrestling and becomes one of the company’s biggest bad guys and is in pain but does so due to his friendship with Vince. Andre sticks around in the WWF for a while even after his feud with Hulk Hogan ends until his body just can’t take it any longer and the fans could see the pain in Andre’s face when he moved. Andre after WWF went to Japan one last time and did a few gimmick matches before his death in 1993.

The first thing I want to say about this comic/graphic novel is that the artwork is not what I would want for this style of comic, but it does hold a very Jason Young of Veggie Dog Saturn look to it so that makes it a little cooler. But while I feel the artwork is a little weak. I know many fellow comic readers who loved its style though.  What makes the comic good for me is the fact that the story of Andre’s life is nicely wrapped up in a little 240 pages bundle and most of his life highlights are showcased. In fact my write up leaves some elements of his life out as I would really encourage you, if you’re a fan, to give this graphic novel a read. One thing I really enjoyed about this comic is that lots of it focused on Andre’s life outside the ring from his medical issues all the way to how he treated fans showing that while he was larger than life in the world of Pro Wrestling, he still was real person with issues. At times Andre comes off lovable, while other times he comes off a a jerk by being rude to his fans, starting fights at parties and even telling inappropriate jokes on the tour bus that cause drama among some of his fellow wrestlers. One thing I learned from this comic is that after leaving the WWF for the last time, he did a few matches in Japan and was in no shape to do so but did them for a paycheck. The book ends on a higher note with Andre on a plan playing poker against a fellow wrestler and only in a small paragraph mentions that he passed away from heart issues.  This was the right way to end it as I feel to go all the way to his death would have really been a downer. It also has lots of humor like Andre watching Princess Bride with Terry Funk over and over again while Funk kept falling asleep! Box Brown did a fantastic job with this Bio-Comic, and I would love to see him do some more like it based on wrestlers like Macho Man Randy Savage, Ultimate Warrior or even Big John Studd. Reading this made me very nostalgic and miss the days of classic wrestling.  So if you’re a fan of independent bio comics or of Andre The Giant I would recommend checking this one out I am glad I did.

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Even if you don’t like Pro Wrestling, or as it’s called now Sport Entertainment, you still have to respect the performers who go from town to town and entertain the crowds of people who pay to see them. Much like the Road Warriors, this update was one comic I was happy to bring to you, and I can safely say look for other wrestling-inspired comic updates in the future. One other thing I should bring up about Andre The Giant is that I remember when Hulk Hogan and Andre had to sign a rematch contract for Wrestlemania IV.  With the encouragement of The Million Dollar Man, the 8th Wonder Of The World used Hogan’s head as the stamp of approval and tipped a table over on him.  Now that’s when wrestling was wrestling! Well our next update will take us out of the squared circle and into the woods along side comic strip icon Andy Capp.  So with that I am going to end this update with Rest In Peace Andre The Giant, and thanks for all the memories.

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