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.

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic Art 1Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic Art 2Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic Art 3

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

Star Trek VI: The Rotten DC Country

As you can see, you have found yourself on Rotten Ink and on another trip down memory lane with the crew of the USS Enterprise as this time around we will be talking about Star Trek VI that has Captain Kirk and his crew once more at odds with Klingons when he is framed for the murder of a high ranking Klingon. And like most of the past films in the series, DC Comics was the company who took up the task of making the adaptation. This sixth film has an interesting back story of cheap budget, anniversary and even rumors of a star taking naughty photos on the set, so with those teasers lets get to the bridge and take flight through space with Captain Kirk and his crew as we try and beat a murder wrap and find that undiscovered country.

Star Trek VI 1

So let’s take a few moments and talk about the film Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. I will be taking the films write up from our pals at IMDB, and then I will talk about the films production as well as a little about my thoughts on the film. So let’s jump to warp speed and talk part six.

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Star Trek VI: Undiscovered Country (1991)

“On the eve of retirement, Kirk and McCoy are charged with assassinating the Klingon High Chancellor and imprisoned. The Enterprise crew must help them escape to thwart a conspiracy aimed at sabotaging the last best hope for peace.”

The fifth film in the series was a disappointment at the box office for Paramount Pictures and the future of the Star Trek films was on shaky ground, but they knew that they needed to do something as the series 25th Anniversary was coming up and they wanted to do something to celebrate it but also did not want to spend a lot of money on a new film. And then ideas and scripts started to be pitched and considered with the first one being about The Starfleet Academy and would feature younger versions of Kirk, Spock and other characters from the classic series and would have focused mostly on Doctor McCoy who would be telling the story of how they all meet to recruits at the academy. And this cool idea was viewed very negatively by most of the original cast, heads at Paramount and even Gene Roddenberry himself and this caused Harve Bennett to be fired from Star Trek projects. And during this time even Walter Koening tried to create a new script that would have Starfleet and the Romulans teaming up to go to war with the Klingons and would see almost all the cast die in the end besides Spock and McCoy…this as well was not green lighted nor was an idea for the original cast to meet the cast of Star Trek The Next Generation. And it was an idea by Leonard Nimoy and the screenplay by director Nicholas Meyer that ended up being the bases for the sixth film in the series.

After the screenplay was locked Paramount gave the film the small budget of only $27million and filming started April 16, 1991 and needed to wrap on September 27, 1991 as Paramount wanted the film in theaters in December for a Holiday release. And during filming many coast cutting measures was used to keep the film in the given budget and they even filmed some parts at the iconic Bronson Canyon in California that has been the set for many iconic TV Shows and Movies over the years including such Horror and Sci-Fi films as “White Zombie (1932)”, “The Vampire Bat (1933)”. “Robot Monster (1953)”, “Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (1956)”, “Return Of Dracula (1958)”, “Equinox (1970)” and “Army Of Darkness (1992)” to name a very small few. I should also note that many classic heroes films, shows and serials has been shot here as well like Superman, Batman. Dick Tracy, Flash Gordon and Captain Marvel. The film would be scored by Cliff Eidelman and it would be released in theaters of December 6, 1991 and was meet with mostly positive reviews from critics as well as fans. But one sad thing is that Gene Roddenberry would pass away on October 24, 1991 at the age of 70 from heart failure and never got to see the film released. Star Trek VI would go on to bring in $96,888,996.00 worldwide and be the # 15 top grossing films in 1991 beating out such films as JFK, What About Bob?. Boyz In The Hood, The Rocketeer, Thelma & Louise, Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare, People Under The Stairs, Child’s Play 3, Ernest Scared Stupid, Drop Dead Fred and Suburban Commando to name a few. Over the years this film is also considered one of the best in the Original Cast Star Trek films and is still talked about and respected to this day. And I can see why I have always liked this film and have good memories once more of seeing the film in school and enjoying it for all the strange moments of the prison and the aliens that made it up. This film is also iconic for me as it marks the final film that features the classic crew all together and truly marks the end of a era of Science Fiction characters for me as while I like the reboots of Star Trek no once can replace these actors in those roles.

Star Trek VI is such a fun film and from the first time I seen it via renting it on VHS when released I was a fan as I felt that it was a great story that once more pitted Captain Kirk against the Klingons and really built up the bond and friendship between Kirk and McCoy. While the cast was getting older it was awesome to see the character they played as well grow as well as be promoted and yet all still remain friends and stick by each other during the ups and downs. It’s crazy to thank that this film is the last to feature all of the original cast together and while it’s not my favorite film in the series I feel that it was a fun one to go out on as it brings Captain Kirk and the Klingons back together and a healing moment happens for Kirk. I also think that casting David Warner as the Klingon High Council member Gorkon was very cool as I knew him from the films Tron, The Omen, Nightwing, Time Bandits, Waxwork and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: Secret Of The Ooze and seeing him as a Klingon was fun. And growing up I owned this film on VHS and later DVD, I also had the paperback and comic adaptations as well as the films score on CD. I need to also point out that while they cut the films budget very low the film does not feel cheap, just a little less polished than the other films in the series. If you have not seen this film and enjoy Classic Star Trek make sure to give this one a watch.

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Like all Star Trek films the merchandise machine was in full effect as they wanted to make a little extra money off it just in case if the box office numbers needed help. And besides the comic and of course home media release you also got the soundtrack, magazines, toys, novel, posters and shirts and like all other Star Trek movie merchandise that came before it fans flocked to buy it all up. And over the years I have had and have much of this as I still own the film on DVD as well as many of the toys, the novel and soundtrack. And at one point I had a few magazines featuring the film. I must say I do really like the classic Playmates Star Trek toys as they were well done for the time and covered all eras of the classic series and films. So if you are a fan of Star Trek VI, make sure to track down some of its merchandise for your collection.

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Ok before we move onto the comic review part of this Star Trek themed update we need to talk about the fact that actress Kim Cattrall and her character Valeris are super attractive in this film I mean Kim was already a 80’s Actress Sex Symbol with her roles in such films as Police Academy, Big Trouble In Little China, Mannequin and Honeymoon Academy to name a few all adding to movie goers noticing her beauty. And when she took a roll in the then newest Star Trek film the world of Sci-Fi started to really take notice of her looks and her acting talent. And man did she look great as a Vulcan and in a Star Fleet Office uniform! And come on any of you fellow Trekkies out there know just how great it is to see an attractive woman in a Trek uniform. Rumor has it that Leonard Nimoy was not a fan of Kim’s on set as he thought she was driven by ego and again just a rumor is that she and her boyfriend at the time took sexy pictures of herself on the USS Enterprise set and this was the final straw for Nimoy who caught her doing so and forced them to destroy the pictures and made it that she would never work on a Star Trek project again…but again this was all just a rumor. But one thing is for sure and that’s Kim made her mark in the world of Star Trek and looked good doing it.

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Well I think we are at the point to travel to that Undiscovered Country with the crew of the USS Enterprise and DC Comics and see how this comic adaptation compares to the film it’s based on. And this is a comic I am looking forward to re-reading as its been a very long time sense I did so, and I also would like to thank Mavericks Cards And Comics for having this comic in stock and making this update possible. I would like 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 head to the criminal trail of Captain Kirk and Doctor McCoy and see how and if they can beat the murder rap they are on the hook for.

Star Trek VI Comic 1

Star Trek VI # 1
Released in 1991     Cover Price $2.95     DC Comics     # 1 of 1

Captain Sulu and his crew have just finished up a three year mission and as they are returning an explosion from a Klingon owned moon rocks the star ship and worse when they call the planet to see if they need help the Klingons refuse it, and Sulu ends up calling for the Starfleet for help. Days pass and at a big Starfleet meeting Spock gives a speech about helping The Klingons who’s ozone is damaged after the moon explosion and that in 50 Years their planet will be unlivable and that Klingon Ambassador Gorkon is willing to call for peace in order to get help, and the Starfleet are torn on if they should trust them and help and Captain Kirk is against helping them! But after talk they majority vote to help and Spock has volunteered Kirk and the Enterprise to host Gorkon through federation territory and to the meeting, Kirk is not happy as he hates them but does so with his classic crew as well a new crew member Valeris a Vulcan who graduated at the top of her class. That evening Captain Kirk and the Enterprise Crew host Gorkon and his crew for dinner and that includes General Chang who clearly does not like Kirk, and the dinner ends in arguments between the two sides. Latter the ship of Gorkon is attacked by torpedo’s being fired by the Enterprise to Kirk and the crews shock as well as two masked men beam aboard the Klingon ship and shoot and kill Gorkon! After the attack General Chang blames Kirk for the attack as well as Doctor McCoy who tired to medically help Gorkon for his murder and this forces the two to be put to trial via Klingon law and are found guilty and sent to a frozen prison planet. Meanwhile Spock, Valeris, Scotty, Uhura and Chekov are all trying to figure out what happened as the ships computers are conflicting with each other on if the torpedo’s came from the Enterprise as well as some interference is keeping them from talking with Starfleet. While on the frozen prison planet Kirk and McCoy meet female alien Martia who fills them in on the rules of this prison, while on the Enterprise Spock leads a search of the ship in order to find the assassins. Kirk and McCoy are able to escape the prison with the help of Martia who was a spy for the Klingons and is killed during the escape and are beamed back to the Enterprise where they have discovered that a new cloaked Klingon Bird Of Prey ship is the one who fired the torpedo’s and that Valeris is the one who was the traitor of the Enterprise and helped set up the assassination. Kirk gets the help of Sulu and they head to the peace talks as another assassination is going to take place and they bring down General Chang who was one of the masterminds behind this framing of Kirk and is in the Bird Of Prey that is now blown up that fired on Gorkon’s ship. Once at the peace talks Kirk and his crew stop the assassination and expose the members of both sides that wanted the peace talks to fail, and Kirk forgives the Klingons for the death of his son and as all things change for the good Kirk knows this was the final ride for the Enterprise with him in as Captain.

This comic adaptation is very well done and DC Comics once more proved that they knew how to adapt the Star Trek films into comics! The plot is best summed up this way Captain Kirk and Dr. McCoy are framed for the murder of a high ranking Klingon and are sent to a prison planet were they have to try and escape the clear their names and expose the Klingon traitor who has set up the whole thing to cause more tension and possible war between Starfleet and the Klingons as he thinks his people have gone soft. This plot is very cool and is kind of deep as it shows Race Tension between several different alien races and shows that all people are the same and there is good and bad in everyone as we all have the goal of just living our lives, and it also shows that people will come together for a common goal and that can be something positive or something foul. Captain Kirk goes from being very angry and hating the Klingon race for the death of his son, and by the end learns that forgiveness and change is what is best for the galaxy. And like always Kirk is a ladies man and a hero and risks his life several time in order to escape and do the right thing and that’s solve a murder, make sure peace is meet and to clear his name of murder. Doctor McCoy who does not trust the Klingon’s does do his best to save the life of one, but does not understand the biology of them and is not able to help. Spock along with Scotty, Uhura and Chekov do what they can to solve this murder mystery and of course figure it all out and save lives and Spock is the key to help Kirk grow as a person. Valeris and General Chang are the two masterminds behind the killing of Gorkon as they both on the side that The Klingons and Starfleet should never trust each other and that being at war is what is needed. I think what is great is that General Chang is so ego driven that even before he is blown up he is bragging and thinking he is in charge of the battle, such a great and sleazy bad guy. The comic does a great job of keeping the pace of the story going and yet also keeps all the important speeches and exchanges between characters. I also have to say that while they are around Sulu, Scotty, Uhura and Chekov do kind of seem like background players in the issue as they are helpful and around they just are not major players in the issue. The cover for this issue is awesome and showcases all the major character from the film and the interior artwork done by Gordon Purcell is really good and he does a great job of capturing the likeness of the actors. Over all a great comic adaptation and is a very fun and entertaining read. Checkout the artwork below to see the style of Purcell.

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Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country is a great film and as you can see DC Comics did a great job of turning the movie into a fun comic and capturing the mood and adventure elements of the film on paper. I also want to say that I was really sad hearing about the passing of Nichelle Nichols in 2022 who played Uhura, as she was an amazing actress and will be missed. But with the review coming to an end it also makes me a little sad as we only have one more film and comic adaptation that features the some of the cast of the original series to cover and of course that is Star Trek: Generations and we will be covering that in 2024. But as our time with Captain Kirk and the crew come to an end I want to let you know that the next update will take us out of space and into the wrestling ring as we take a look at George “The Animal” Steele and kick off our year long celebration of Pro Wrestling and WWF WrestleMania! So until next time read a Star Trek comic or three, watch a Star Trek film or two and as always support your local Horror Host. See you next update and lets hope that Turnbuckles is not the only snack food offered at the Rotten Ink Arena snack bar!

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Streets Of Poison: Captain America’s Battle With Addiction

Welcome back to Rotten Ink and another update in this blogs 10 Year Anniversary, and I knew I had to cover one of my all time favorite Marvel Comic superheroes for one of the updates and that of course is Captain America, but what was harder to choose was witch story arch to cover as I had many to choose from like “Bloodstone”, “The Superia Stratagem”, “Operation: Galactic Storm”, “Man And Wolf” and more as Captain America has had some great stories in his comic pages and the one I finally decided on was “Streets Of Poison” a anti-drug story that brings in heroes like Daredevil, Black Widow and Diamondback all to try and stop the drug trafficking in New York as well help Captain America fight addiction…that’s right you read that correct! In the story arch we are covering Captain America becomes addicted to a new street drug. So if you are ready lets go for an action packed update with Captain America one of my all time favorite superheroes.

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Captain America was a superhero that captured my imagination as a young kid, back when the American Dream was something you could believe in and tried so hard to obtain as our Nation and the people in Government always did a great job of making you believe in this idea as even the media companies at the time did their part in making you have pride. And while I am older I still do love the core values of America even if you can not trust many of those in the Government all that much, but lets get back on track as we are here to talk about Captain America. Growing up I read lots of comics as growing up in a small village comic books was very popular among my friend groups and some of my favorites to read was Spider-Man, Incredible Hulk, Batman, Superman, Luke Cage, Shang-Chi, Hawkman and at the top of the list was Captain America! And I can remember buying back issues of him at garage sales and would pick up copies from Big Bear/Hearts and at one point had a subscription so I had Captain America delivered to the mailbox. But as I have said before on here back when I was a kid Captain America was not the popular superhero he is now thanks to the films by Disney and I was always teased about Cap being my favorite hero as most of my friends were Batman fans and they all said that Cap was lame and old and I would always have to defend him and talk about how great he was, and when DC versus Marvel mini series was released and Batman was voted by readers to beat Captain America it fueled the fire. But I always have and always will stick behind my fandom of Captain America as he is just a very classic hero, who like the Hulk and Spider-Man was a huge part of growing up. The old Mattel Secret Wars Captain America figure is one of my favorite toys of all time, I always liked the made for TV films starting Reb Brown as Captain America and really I enjoyed the 1990 direct to video film as well! Still to this day I read old Captain America comics and even read new issues being released from time to time and in the new Disney Marvel Movies the Cap films are my favorite in all the series. Was not ashamed to say it as a kid and not ashamed to say it now as an adult I am a fan of Steve Roger aka Captain America as he is truly a noble, brave and iconic hero who really does have a legacy in comics and media that will live on forever in some shape or fashion. And I promise this will not be the last time we take a look at Captain America here on Rotten Ink as we have lots of great story arches to get through. And for those who are wondering in live action films and serials Captain America has been played by the following actors Dick Pursell, Aytekin Akkaya, Reb Brown, Matt Salinger and Chris Evans.

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When you think of rogues galleries for comic book heroes Captain America has some really cool ones with the likes of Red Skull, Baron Zemo and Baron Blood being some of his most iconic ones, but another name on the top of the list is Crossbones who was one of my favorites growing up as he was a bad ass hired killer who looked like he was a pro wrestler and even worse a cool skull mask. So I would like to take a few moments and take a look at who Crossbones is. The man behind the skull mask is Brock Rumlow a former leader of the street gang Savage Crims and who was a terrible person as he was know for assault and murder and did just this to Diamondback when he attacked her and killed one of her brothers. He would go on to be trained by the likes of Taskmaster and his school and would even be a trainer himself of up and coming assassins. He would go on to become a mercenary for hire and would be hired by the likes of Red Skull and from there would become a major thorn in the side of not only Captain America and Diamondback but also Baron Zemo who was on the bad side of the Red Skull. And Crossbones would stay loyal to Red Skull who was paying him very well and even would search for his missing boss when he went missing and formed his own group called the Skeleton Crew. And still to this day Crossbones is around in the Marvel Universe and is causing issues for Superheroes as he is a very skilled foe for any of them. Crossbones is a skilled fighter, has a great mind for strategy, is skilled with all types of weapons and does not mind killing in cold blood to get what he wants. In fact he has even kidnapped and tormented Diamondback in order to get into the mind of Captain America and lure him into a trap. Crossbones for me is my third favorite Captain America villain as I feel he was always a big threat, had a cool look and his fights with Cap were always brutal and entertaining. And yes Crossbones has made it to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and is played by actor Frank Grillo and as well has appeared in Cartoons and Video Games.

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While many fans of Captain America would say that their favorite love interest for Steve Rogers would be Peggy Carter, Sharon Carter or even Bernie Rosenthal but for me one of my favorites was Rachel Leighton who was known as Diamondback who was a member of the villain team Serpent Society and who’s love for Steve added a great layer of drama to the comics as she was connected to bad guys and he is Captain America the symbol of all things good. I think what made Diamondback so interesting is that she was willing to risk everything for her love for Captain America and even could have faced death by her fellow Serpent Society members who where not pleased with her decision of following her heart and not the code of the society. And the worse part of it is that at times Captain America would ignore and push away Diamondback and it would break her heart and add so much drama to the issues. And when she went missing thanks to being kidnapped by Crossbones who was tormenting her I as a reader found myself being frustrated with Cap for not going out and looking for her. But the thing also about Diamondback that makes her my favorite is that she is a skilled fighter and can throw sharp diamond like objects at her opponents. She has went from bad to good and back again and even has been a member of S.H.E.I.L.D and while her relationship with Captain America is long over she really is one of the best love interest the hero has ever had in his very long running comic series.

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I am a kid of the 80’s and 90’s and one thing that was everywhere was the “Just Say No To Drugs” phrase and PSA’s that was geared towards kids in order to try and keep them from trying and becoming addicted to them and growing up into a life of crime. The buttons with the Say No To Drugs logo was given out at school and we would watch PSA specials about the dangers of drugs and would even get visits from McGruff the Crime Dog and local police officers trying to do their best to warn us to stay clear. On TV the likes of Pee-Wee Herman, Mr. T, Peter Weller and who could forget the egg in the pan being your brain on drugs ad! I was raised by great parents who also did a great job of warning of the horrors of addiction and that is why I have stayed away from it all, and it’s crazy to think that the War On Drugs is still going strong to this day and that is all I have to say on the subject as this blog is about fun and not drugs! But really seeing as a kid the animated special “Cartoon All Stars To The Rescue” was awesome cause who didn’t want to see the likes of Slimer, Papa Smurf, Daffy Duck, Ninja Turtle Michelangelo and more telling you to stay off drugs. I also have to say the old WWF anti-smoking PSA’s was also great as the Ultimate Warrior eating cigarettes is crazy stuff to try and get kids not to smoke. Or Pee-Wee Herman telling viewers not to smoke crack…I mean the 80’s and early 90’s was a strange time indeed.

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Who don’t love a classic arcade machine, and I am talking about the classic machines that took quarters or tokens that use to be located in almost every pizza parlor, movie theater and of course malls across America! And growing up it always seemed like only rich people and kids on TV had their very own arcade cabinet, but some 7 years ago I got my very own, and cool enough its one that I grew up playing as I am the owner of “Captain America And The Avengers” and this is the classic four player arcade that not only allows you to play as Captain America but also as Iron Man, Hawkeye and Vision as you battle against the likes of Ultron, Crossbones and Red Skull. The game was ported to Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis and while they are good they cannot compare to the Delta East Arcade version. And while this is one of two Arcade Machines I own (the other being Superman) they will not be the last as at some point I would like to get the Spider-Man four player game at sometime. Below is a picture of my Arcade machine being stored and used at a local media store.

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Speaking of arcade machines I really do miss the days of the big classic arcades from my past I mean sure we have DK Effect and Scene 75 to name a few around here in Ohio but I miss the days of Crazy Cats and Cap’n Bogey’s two places that as a kid I was at lots! Crazy Cats we talked about before way back in my “The Cougar” update from 2014. So now lets talk a little about the mega arcade known as Cap’n Bogeys that was in Beavercreek off of Dayton-Xenia Road and also had some amazing miniature golf courses and even bumper boats! I can remember going here a good amount of time with my Parents and Brother as well as with my cousins Dino, Norman, Nick and Stephen. I would play so many arcade games while using their tokens like X-Men, Street Fighter II, Spider-Man, House Of The Dead and WWF games. I was a masker of their claw machine and would always return home with a handful of plush dolls with my favorite one I got being cartoon icon Snagglepuss. I never did ride the Bumper Boats and I do remember playing the Miniature Golf a couple of times, and the golf was fun but not as iconic as the course at Magic Castle a still going entertainment center in Kettering. But the thing about Cap’n Bogeys is that as a youngster it felt very magical as they had so many arcade machines and as well had food and a walk around version of Cap’n Bogey himself and that was awesome seeing. And for some reason in the early to mid 2000’s it closed and the legacy was gone, it sat empty for awhile with rumors that the old site was going to be turned into a updates Krogers and over years it sat empty until it was finally torn down and in its spot a neighborhood was placed. In 2021 Juliet and I even drove around Beavercreek and ended up finding the site that it once was, and nothing is left and homes really do sit in its spot. I miss Cap’n Bogey’s and wish that some day it will return and bring back the games, golf and boats to a new generation of gamers.

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But enough of the flashback and love for arcades as this update is about Captain America and the Streets Of Poison and to be honest I am very happy to be bring another update about the First Avenger and this time on Rotten Ink’s big 10 Year Anniversary! I would like to say thanks to Mavericks Cards And Comics, Lone Star Comics and Game Swap Kettering for having these issues in stock and making this update possible. I also want to say thanks to Jack Kirby, Joe Simon and Marvel Comics for creating Captain America comics that have entertained me over the decades of reading them. I do want to also remind you all that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, it’s entertainment value and it’s art and story. So with that let’s head to the streets of New York and see how Cap gets ride of the poison that is running wild in them.

Captain America Comic 372

Captain America # 372   **1/2
Released in 1990     Cover Priced $1.00    Marvel Comics     #372 of 454

Captain America is ridding around his new Sky-Cycle and decides to swing by his lady friend Diamondback’s apartment to see if she would like to go for a ride, but before he can call on her he finds Serpent Society Member Boomslang spying on her, and when trying to ask questions the villain runs and makes a mistake as a youth gang opens fire and shoots Boomslang for being in their alley and Cap has to try and save his life, but the fight cause the teens to fire their guns wildly even shooting each other. Captain America returns to The Avengers base only to find that his friend and tech mechanic Fabian is addicted to a new drug called ICE that was given to him by a friend, and now he is hearing voices and is breaking down. Cap calls a place to try and get Fabien into a drug rehab place and suspends him from working with The Avengers as well as finds out the place and the name of his dealer, a man that goes by Kid Gloves who is around Queens. Once he tracks down Kid Gloves he gets the name Moosemeat who is another dealer who then tells Cap that the main distribution for ICE and other drugs is a warehouse…and Cap gets all this information making the dealers think he is The Punisher and would kill them if they don’t share it with him. Once at the warehouse he finds a young man calling himself Napalm who sets off a bomb blowing up the warehouse! Also while this is going on two gang members are at the sight of the shooting trying to break into the gangs hideout and are run off, and Bullseye escapes prison and even kills a guard while doing so.

Captain America and his war on drugs starts here with the first part of “Streets Of Poison” as he is super mad over his young friend being addicted and wants to stop those from poisoning others with their street trash, and starts following the slime trail to figure out who is the main supplier of drugs in New York. Captain America is a man who has so much going on in his life and is even at war with himself over falling in love with Diamondback a former evildoer who was a member of the Society Member, he also has to worry about being the hero America needs as well as a roll model for the countries youth plus getting his young friend drug free! Captain America once he sets his mind set on something he does not give up until he cracks the case and stops the evil that’s plaguing America. He has John Jameson the son of J. Jonah Jameson as his back up on this mission and acts as his ride as well as eyes when staking things out. Poor goofy Boomslang a super villain who not only gets caught spying on a superheroes lady, but is also shot by young kids in a gang for running down the wrong ally, this loser cant seem to catch a break and then also makes you wonder why Serpent Society has him as a member. Bullseye proves that he is deadly even being locked away in a prison cell with nothing he could use as a weapon, he is just one of Marvel’s most deadly assassins. The Street Gang is clearly the ones pushing the ICE on the streets and they are the ones who give it to the likes of Moosemeat and Kid Gloves, but makes you wonder who the hell is their head boss! I love that Captain America fakes being The Punisher dressed as an old homeless guy in order to scare the pushers, and the best part is they are the ones who gave him the idea by thinking he is the vigilante. One character that I always disliked during this era of Captain America was Fabian as he is always a goof-up who seems to always mess things up and always blames other for his issues like in this case he thinks that the pressure Cap and The Avengers is what caused him to want to do this drug to stay up longer so he can work on repairs and gadgets…he is a liar and a goon and the worst Avengers employee. The cover for this issue is pretty fun and has Captain America falling out of a window, and the interior art by Ron Lim is great and has that classic Marvel Comics look that I grew up with. This is a great way to start off a story arch as the stakes are high as drugs are running wild in the streets of New York and a new gang is moving in to start a war with Kingpin and we end with not knowing if Cap has been blown up! So with that lets find out how Captain America survived the explosion!

Captain America Comic 373

Captain America # 373   **1/2
Released in 1990     Cover Priced $1.00    Marvel Comics     #373 of 454

Captain America’s friend John Jameson who drove him around on his quest to track down the main source of New York’s drug trade watches in horror as the warehouse explosions goes off and the fire engulfs it! He thinks quickly and calls Peggy Carter and alerts her to send the police and fire engines as well as to call in a member of The Avengers as he is not sure if Cap made it out alive! Peggy calls the authorities and then calls in Black Widow and as well calls Diamondback and alerts them of the bad situation. The Gang shows up and watches as their warehouse base burns down and think that Napalm set off the bomb cause The Kingpin’s men must have found them, and they now are ready for war. As Diamondback shows up at the scene she is in tears as John alerts her that no sign of Cap has been found, and just like that Captain America appears and says that he was able to jump out a window just in time, but the blast knocked him out for a bit on the roof from the building across the street. Cap is shaken by the blast but after a quick shower he heads back out on the street to crack this case, he has John wait in the van by the warehouse as he and Diamondback watch from across the street. Meanwhile one of Kingpins drug houses was blown up and this angers him and he hires Bullseye to find out who blew up his crack house and who is are the other crime family bringing drugs into his town. John spots someone going into the warehouse and Captain America goes in as Diamondback flies around above on the Sky-Cycle were she is attacked by Black Widow who thinks she stole it from Cap, as she does not know that he made it out of the explosion alive. Meanwhile Captain America in the warehouse sees a light and tries to sneak up on the person only to by accident makes a small noise that alerts the snooping shadow that turns out to be Bullseye who is looking for clues in order to get info on the creeps trying to take over Kingpins drug sales! Meanwhile Diamondback and Black Widow who are fighting on the Sky-Cycle crashes into the river.

The second part of “Streets Of Poison” has us the readers learning that Captain America survived the explosion only because of his reflexes and instincts causes him to leap out a window just in time, we also learn that he is acting a little off after the explosion and even finally gave Diamondback a big kiss only to not even mention it again, he also makes a rookie mistake by making noise while fallowing an unknown shadow who was snooping around a crime scene. Plus the words that Fabian said to Cap is sticking with him as he brought up that the Super Soldier Serum was like a drug, and he seems to think that maybe it is a drug that makes youngsters think that its cool. Diamondback is a one time villain who has turned hero that is confused by the way Captain America is acting and is also a little mad at him when he leaves her flying his Sky-Cycle without even telling her how to control it! Black Widow gets the call that her friend Captain America is missing after a massive accident and finds a strange woman driving his vehicle and she goes into hero mode and starts fighting without finding out answers. You have to feel back for Black Widow as she thinks her friend and teammate could be dead and is ready to crack heads to get answers to her quickly asked questions. Peggy Carter and John Jameson are doing what they can to help Captain America bust this drug ring and are for the most part doing a great job, I just wish John would rage out and turn into Moon-Wolf that would be awesome. Kingpin is really mad as he has just lost one of his drug houses by an attack done by another gang who has moved into his part of town and is selling the goods on the streets, and that other gang only attacked his drug house cause they think he is the one that caused Napalm to explode himself. Bullseye however is trying to get back into good graces with Kingpin and even takes a job of being a detective in order to find out who these people are selling ICE on the streets to they can be dealt with. And if you think about it both Captain America and Kingpin with their crews are looking for the same people, but both have their own reasons, and who are these people…we have not learned yet but we do know they hired a man named Moosemeat to sell drugs for them. The cover for this issue is ok and your typical late 80’s and early 90’s Marvel and is eye-catching for fans of Marvel. The interior art by Ron Lim is well done like before and he is another of Marvel’s underrated artists of the 90’s. So lets see what the third issue in this story arch has in store for us.

Captain America Comic 374

Captain America # 374   **1/2
Released in 1990     Cover Priced $1.00    Marvel Comics     #374 of 454

Captain America takes a leg wound from his unknown attacker that we know is Bullseye and tries to figure out a way to not only get his attacker down but also survive! Meanwhile Diamondback along with the Sky-Cycle come out of the river and she flies away to help Cap at the blown up warehouse, while Black Widow also pops out of the water and badly wants a rematch. Back at the warehouse Captain America figures out the man in the shadows is Bullseye and when Diamondback appears the man who don’t miss his target runs away into the night. Back at Avengers headquarters Captain America is mad at Peggy Carter for calling in Black Widow on his private mission and then gets back at Diamondback and kicks her out of the building, something is wrong with Cap as his anger is out of control. Meanwhile the young street gang is now doing drive by shootings on Kingpins drug sellers, and this is making the crime lord very mad and he just might send Typhoid Mary to deal with it…that is if they can figure out who the other gang is. While Captain America is fuming and storms off to continue his mission alone, Bullseye is shaking down ICE users to follow that trail, Diamondback has changed her costume in order to blend into the night and follow Cap and even Daredevil is in town wondering why Cap is acting so weird, and speaking of Cap he is bulling a rich drug user and is proud of himself. John Jameson meets up with Diamondback and the pair are walking down the street and she informs him that she thinks Cap is on drugs and he inhaled ICE during the explosion and that the drug has bonded to his blood due to the Super Solider Serum, and as John agrees a car drives by and they shoot Diamondback!

In this third part of “The Streets Of Posion” we clearly see that something is not right with Captain America as he is very filled with anger and goes off even on his own friends as Peggy Carter, Diamondback and John Jameson all feel his wrath. It’s clear that Cap is on the ICE and that he is hyped up and filled with raw emotions and has no time for anyone who questions him or gets in his way. Captain America clearly is not his normal self as he is also almost enjoying being a jerk to his friends and loves scaring the drug sellers. Poor Diamondback is yelled out and talked down to by her boyfriend (Cap) all cause he is paranoid and thanks she is talking about him behind his back, and even after being made look bad she still stands by her superhero man and is trying to figure out his strange behavior. And for all these she ends up getting shot in the back while walking down the street, I am going to guess she will be ok cause what superhero don’t wear armor? John Jameson is a loyal friend to Cap, but also its clear he is getting a crush on Diamondback, and he is fighting his emotions about her. Kingpin is getting more and more bad that his drug ring is taking a hit as its under attack by a unknown younger cartel that has moved into New York, and you know that the war is really about to go down when Kingpin sends Bullseye and Typhoid Mary to deal with them. I also like that Daredevil has a cameo and he is clearly going to come into play as he as well had a run in with Cap (in Daredevil #283) and he knows that his hero friend is acting weird. The Drug War that is about to go off is going to get really bad as people are being shot and buildings are being blowup, just imagine when the two sides really go head to head! The cover is pretty great and eye catching and has Cap being attacked by Bullseye and the interior art by Ron Lim is fantastic again. So let’s see if Captain America can just say no to drugs and kick his accidental high in the next issue.

Captain America Comic 375

Captain America # 375   **1/2
Released in 1990     Cover Priced $1.00    Marvel Comics     #375 of 454

Diamondback took several bullets to her back and lucky for her she was wearing a bulletproof vest, while she is hurt she is not dead and John goes inside a small store to check on the people inside. Meanwhile Captain America shows up at a nightclub and attacks a pusher named Jerkweed in order to get info about The Kingpin. Meanwhile at the gangs hideout Bullseye has found them and takes one hostage and gets him to squeal about who is the moneyman behind the new drug cartel in town. Captain America arrives at a small Italian restaurant were Kingpin and his men are having dinner and pushes the crime boss for answers on who is running the rival drug gang, the meeting turns up no answers and worse once Captain America leaves he runs into his friend Daredevil who shares his concerns on how Captain America has been acting, this does not go well. As Daredevil talks Cap’s anger and paranoia kicks into full gear and he attacks Daredevil and the pair fight in the streets and go back and fourth trading punches and attacks. As the fight goes on Captain America gets frustrated and ends the fight beating up Daredevil pretty bad and leaving him on the ground in pain, as Cap walks away footsteps come closer to Daredevil and its Crossbones!

The fourth part of the “Streets Of Poison” has Captain America getting closer and closer to busting the new drug family and all the while he himself is being over taken by the very drug he is fighting to get off the streets and he don’t even see his own trip into madness and paranoia. Cap in this issue not only beats up street punks and hired goons but also looses his temper on a fellow superhero that he beats up and leaves dazed on the streets. For some reason Captain America thinks that The Avengers want to silence him and take away his hero card and even at one point thinks they are sending Daredevil after him so that he can become the new Captain America! And speaking of poor Daredevil he just is coming to check on his friend and see if he can help and gets beat up for doing so, but I will say that while Daredevil looses the fight he at least put on a good showing against Cap. John Jameson is spending his time watching after the injured Diamonback who was injured after being shot several times in the back by a druggie gang. Bullseye is getting very close to figuring out who the main man is who is running the gang that is challenging the power of his boss Kingpin, and I feel bad for the ones in charge and Bullseye plays for keeps. The issue really is one that focuses on just how crazy Captain America is becoming due to inhaling that ICE, he is turning on his friends, making up conspiracy theories in his own mind, becoming more violent towards those he thinks are the bad guys and has become way to focus on his goal and even seems to forget what really pushed him to look into this new street drug. Plus we now see that Crossbones is involved in this madness and makes you wonder who’s side he is on as we know he is not with Cap but is he working on his own, is he with the new drug kids on the block or is he one of Kingpins. The cover for this issue is action packed and has Cap leaping at Daredevil like a madman and I can say is very eye catching for readers of Marvel, the interior art by Ron Lim is great like before. Let’s see what Captain America goes crazy on next and let’s see how Crossbones fits into this drug war.

Captain America Comic 376

Captain America # 376   **1/2
Released in 1990     Cover Priced $1.00     Marvel Comics     #376 of 454

Daredevil is on the ground as Crossbones mocks the fallen hero, and even lifts his mask to get a peek at the man behind it. Crossbones then heads off to the Italian restaurant and busts in as he has been hired to kill Kingpin! Crossbones almost kills the crime boss, but he is saved by Daredevil who ends up fighting the assassin as Kingpin makes his exit. As the cops are called Crossbones makes a break for it as Daredevil as well retreats as he is really hurt from his fight with both Captain America and Crossbones. Diamondback and John are ready to try and find Captain America now that she is slightly better and even run into Black Widow who ends up joining them in their hunt to try and get Cap help! Meanwhile Captain America is coming down hard in a ally as he is feeling bad and even hearing voices, but he thinks he just needs some sleep and pushes himself even harder to get up and solve this case. Meanwhile Crossbones who has failed his first attempt at killing Kingpin gets a call from his boss the man who sent him and it’s the Red Skull and he is not happy that he failed. Meanwhile Kingpin tells Typhoid Mary that they need to bring in Bullseye so that he can track and kill Crossbones and get him to rat out whom hired him. Meanwhile Captain America is ruffing up more drug addicts when Black Widow and Diamondback find him and end up having to fight the drugged out Cap and after some intense fighting Black Widow is able to knock him out with a widow sting, and along with John the two ladies take the out cold Cap back home. Meanwhile as Red Skull is having a meeting with Crossbones about his failed attempt to take Kingpins life, outside the window is Bullseye who is about to try and take the Skulls life.

Captain America is out of control fully in this fifth part of the “Streets Of Poison” storyline as the ICE drug that’s in his blood has turned him into a true wild man who is focused on solving the case but has very much lost touch with reality doing so. Captain America who has last issue beatdown Daredevil almost as well takes the heads off Black Widow and Diamondback the two heroes that are trying to help him. Captain America has not slept in days, has not bathed and looks like a homeless superhero by this point and has zero clue that he is in fact been infected with drugs that he inhaled. Poor Diamondback and Black Widow are forced to fight and fight hard in order to bring their friend down, and once they have him down they have to try and sneak him away in order to protect his image and his reputation. Daredevil as well has been beaten pretty badly and you have to feel for him as he stumbles his way home to rest up after saving the life of his biggest enemy. Kingpin can not catch a break himself as being the big crime boss of New York gives you lots of enemies as not only is their a new drug operation in town, but now he has hits placed on his life by the Red Skull and as a reader you have to wonder if Red Skull is also the main man behind the new drug business. Crossbones and Bullseye are two very deadly hitmen who are on a path to fight each other on their respected bosses orders, and what a great fight this will be! Also now its even more clear that John is having major feelings for Diamondback and is doing his best to fight them off, but I think good old CarWolf will fail the test. The idea also that superheroes had to team up to bring Captain America down because he needs to get drug rehab is something I am sure readers of Cap would never think would happen. This issues cover is pretty great as it shows many of this stories main characters with only Red Skull missing and also has a classic EC Comics feel to it with the side character bar, Ron Lim as always rocked the interior art and I have to say this is a great and fun Captain America story that I have had a blast this far rereading after all these years. So lets she what is in store for Captain America in the next issue and if he can get clean in order to bust this case wide open.

Captain America Comic 377

Captain America # 377   ***
Released in 1990     Cover Priced $1.00     Marvel Comics     #377 of 454

Bullseye busts into the hotel room and puts a bullet into the head of the Red Skull, and this of course angers Crossbones who goes onto the attack with each assassin getting the upper hand back and fourth finally Bullseye spits a tooth into the eye of Crossbones who was choking the life out of him, and then drives a digger into his harm allowing him to escape. Crossbones is pissed that he failed his boss who he thinks is dead on the floor, but he soon finds that the Red Skull is alive and that a robot dummy was the one to take the bullet. Bullseye calls the Kingpin and tells him the hit is done, Kingpin tells Bullseye that the money is waiting for him in a hiding spot and that he needs to disappear for three months or until he calls for him again. As Kingpin hangs up the phone he tells Typhoid Mary that he does not believe that Red Skull is dead. Meanwhile Crossbones gets a call from the real Red Skull to meat him at a bunker so that they can get plans ready. Meanwhile Captain America is out cold at The Avengers medical lab as his friends gather around him waiting on Hank Pym to show up to look at the effects of ICE in his blood, Black Widow takes her leave and builds a friendship with Diamondback before she does so, as both ladies have troubled pasts. Meanwhile Captain America is having a terrible nightmare about the Super Soldier Serum being a drug and that the drug is who made him, he wakes up in a feverish rage and trashes the medical room, as he is having a breakdown his friend Hank Pym comes in and talks him down and says he will help him get clean of ICE. The only way they can get the drug out of Captain America’s system is by giving him a total blood transfusion and that means he also looses the Super Soldier Serum…and he agrees to have it done. Meanwhile Red Skull has Crossbones call Kingpin in order to stop the drug war as he is the one behind the ICE and they pair meet at Yankee Stadium and speak for the first time in many years. Meanwhile the now drug free Captain America against doctors orders gets out of bed and heads out to solve this case and before he leaves he tells Peggy Carter that this is something he has to do as he has to know if the man or the drug made Captain America who he is.

I want to start by saying this is one of the comics I remember as a kid buying off the shelves at Big Bear when I was a kid and have read this issue so many times over the years, man I miss Big Bear and Hearts and wish someone would bring them back alongside Hills and Gold Circle Department stores. Captain America in this issue goes through very bad drug withdraws and has to have his blood drained in order to ride himself of the ICE that contaminates it, and by doing this he is also stripped of his Super Soldier Serum the very thing that helped him become Americas soldier. And now he can truly find the answer to his biggest question if Steve Rogers made the hero or if the serum did. And man I feel sorry for anyone who gets in his way right now as he is clean and focused and has lots to prove to himself! Diamondback, Black Widow, Peggy Carter and John Jameson take a backseat in this issue and while they are around they play more background support characters here. And Hank Pym is the man who comes in and saves Caps life from being a junkie by draining his infected blood, but don’t worry he is also working on a way to strip the ICE or the Super Solider Serum from the blood in order to make Steve Captain America again by injecting it back into him. Red Skull being the mastermind behind ICE as well as the one who is the head of the other side of the drug war is perfect as he is such a cold blooded villain who would not care about killing and spreading his addiction to the youth and lost, he also is never to be trusted and I like that he and Kingpin are having a meeting at Yankee Stadium in order to end a drug war. Plus let’s be honest, each side has very deadly people on their payroll as Crossbones and Bullseye have unfinished business and throw in Typhoid Mary into the mix and this could be a very bloody battle for territory. Funny part is that Captain America if he figures out the location of all targets he is walking into a very dangerous situation as the stadium is filled with trigger happy goons looking to please their bosses. One of the biggest highlights of this issue for me was the opening fight between Crossbones and Bulleyes in the hotel room as both fight hard and both go to kill and wound, and they are each other’s equals making it a very well matched fight. The cover is awesome and features a sedated Captain America in the middle as Bullseye and Crossbones fighting! The interior art by Ron Lim is great and has one panel that has always stuck with me over the years and that’s Bullseye stabbing Crossbones in his arm! Great issue that held up so well for me and next is our last issue in this mini series, so let’s see how Cap closes this case or even if he can.

Captain America Comic 378

Captain America # 378   **1/2
Released in 1990     Cover Priced $1.00     Marvel Comics     #378 of 454

Captain America on his Sky-Cycle is going through a plan in his mind of what to do when he finds the ones responsible for the drugs and who have started a violent war in the streets of New York. Meanwhile Kingpin is not having any of the plan of teaming with the Red Skull as he flat out says he would never work with a Nazi! And Red Skull is not bothered by this and makes a wager with the Kingpin and its simple they two fight in a hand to hand combat with this on the line if Red Skull wins he stays in New York and they are able to sell ICE with no pushback from Kingpins men, and if Red Skull looses her leaves New York and sells his drug factories to Kingpin for a small fee…they both agree and start the fight on the field of Yankee Stadium with both men showing they are skilled and know how to defend themselves, and the fight is also taking place in a bubble that Red Skull put into place to keep others out of the fight. Meanwhile Captain America notices the lights on at Yankee Stadium and lands only to be greeted by Crossbones who wants to smash The Avenger to a blood pulp, so while Red Skull and Kingpin are fighting on the field Captain America and Crossbones are fighting off it. Captain America is able to outsmart and out fight Crossbones beating him after a very tiring battler with a chop to his throat and done on the field Kingpin is able to use his size and skills to defeat the Red Skull, sending him packing for now out of New York. In the end Red Skull and Crossbones escape, Kingpin wins his New York turf back as well as gets the ICE market and Captain America returns to The Avengers base and learns that he can get the Super Solider Serum back if he wants it, and he Just Says No as he knows now that Steve Rogers that man is who makes Captain America and not the drug.

Captain America in this issue not only kicks the drug that was polluting his body, he also finds the answer that has always bothered him and that’s if the serum is what drove him to be the biggest hero in Americas eyes or was it the drive, morals and standards of Steve Rogers! He also shows that even without his super strength he can still fight like a first class superhero when he takes on and defeats Crossbones is a fist fight, Captain America is back and while different he still is the man that America needs. But while Captain America finds himself, when you think about it he does not stop ICE or the New York drug issue as now Kingpin is in charge and will be selling the poison to those looking for a quick long lasting life changing high. The Kingpin while a crime lord and a guy who is responsible for many deaths, drug sales and over all bad deeds still has some morals as he in no way would ever work with Nazis and then beats the Red Skull in a fair fight to chase him out of New York so makes you feel odd as you find yourself cheering for him because of this. The one downside to Kinpin in this final issue is that he sends Bullseye away so he is not present for the big fight and he as well does not bring Typhoid Mary at all and she is one character I feel like they underused and wasted in this story. Red Skull is the one who has brought ICE to New York as he has a goal to kill America any way he can and he thinks what better way then watch Americans kill themselves slowly with his terrible addictive drug. He also has Crossbones a coldblooded gun for hire as his right hand man, so as you can see Red Skull means business and is truly a mastermind of crime. Peggy Carter, John Jameson, Hank Pym and Diamondback are all close friends of Captain America and care about him and all are helpless when it comes to helping him as he was on a mission to prove himself worthy of the name Captain America. I think Marvel Comics was taking a stand against the drugs that was running wild in the streets of New York at the time and was trying to make a statement that you don’t need drugs to be great and buying drugs helps put money in the pockets of organized crime, and most important that drugs are trying to ruin America. While Streets Of Poison is not one of Captain America’s most iconic stories it is one that I remember from my youth and one that I read when it was released way back in 1990, and one that I find myself still enjoying in 2022 so for me it has aged well. I would say that the story telling in this arch is a little sloppy in spots and has you as the reader fill in the holes, like the whole thing started with goofball Fabian being hooked on drugs and by the end of the story he is never mention. So in other words Streets Of Poison is not for everyone. It has Captain America appear in a Daredevil issue during so in order to get the full drugged out Cap you would need to read it as well. The cover for this issue is well done and has Cap punching Crossbones in the face, and again Ron’s interior work is great and captures the full mood of this story. Also you cannot go wrong with a fistfight between Red Skull and Kingpin going down at Yankee Stadium I wonder if Dandy their old Mascot was in the bleachers watching it all go down? Check out the artwork bellow to see Ron’s style and you can see what I mean about him having a great style that was perfect for Marvel Comics during that time.

Captain America Streets Of Poison Art 1Captain America Streets Of Poison Art 2Captain America Streets Of Poison Art 3

So as you can see Captain America has kicked a forced on him drug addiction and tried to bring down two very big drug pushers and during the time played with the emotions of Diamondback and as well got help from his friends Hank Pym, Black Widow and Daredevil. This was a comic mini series that I really do remember reading as a kid and as I stated it held up pretty well after reading it again after these decades. And This was a great one to choose as you get so many villains as well as Red Skull, Crossbones, Bullseye, Kingpin, Typhoid Mary and even Boomslang make appearances with most beside the later playing big parts in this drug fueled story. Our next update however will take us out of the world of Marvel Comics and place us into the once created by Malibu Comics as we will take a look at another of there heroes who sadly is mostly forgotten by modern readers and I will be talking about Hardcase! So until next time read a comic or three, watch a superhero movie to two and as always support your local Horror Host. See you in a few weeks for an Ultraverse good time.

Malibu Hardcase Logo Preview

The Wacky Comic World Of Daffy Duck

Welcome back to Rotten Ink and the 10 Year Celebration of this blog! On May 5, 2015 I took a look at Bugs Bunny and called him “The King Of Saturday Morning Cartoons” and pointed out how he was the most popular and recognizable Looney Tune character, but if Bugs is the King then our next character would be the Jester as his antics and crazy nature made him a hit for me and my brother who both loved watching his cartoons…and I am talking about the one and only Daffy Duck! I know that it’s Easter Bunny season and not Duck season, but what better way to celebrate this holiday time than to cover a true icon in the world of classic cartoons and one that will surely make you month a little better. So as you find a comfy place to sit and enjoy this blog update, let’s get crazy with Daffy!

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Daffy Duck made his debut in the Porky Pig cartoon “Porky’s Duck Hunt” that was seen on April 17, 1937.  In the toon Daffy was a no-name character but got viewers’ attention as his aggressive and zany attitude brought something fresh and new for the time and he became a favorite of many viewers. Early Daffy Duck was really crazy, a total loon who would bounce off the walls and laugh like a mad man all the while getting laughs from viewers and annoying his target in the toon.  He became the subject of many discussions of viewers and Daffy quickly became one of the top characters in the Looney Tune universe. Over the years Daffy Duck went from crazy to snarky and became very short tempered and would even become a frenemy of Bugs Bunny as who can forget the “Duck Season…Rabbit Season” bit! Warner Brothers knew that Daffy Duck was something special and to this day feature him in many cartoons, merchandise and even feature length movies like Space Jam 2 that was released in 2021. The term “screwball character” was termed after Daffy who was the first of the kind and started a trend of character that followed his personality and tropes. Daffy was so well liked by fans that he became one of the must watch cartoons and would rival the popularity of many other characters of his time like Popeye, Mickey Mouse and Betty Boop. And even in 2019 website ScreenRant ranked Daffy Duck as # 1 in their Top 10 list of Funniest Looney Tune characters. Daffy Duck was created by Tex Avery and Bob Clampett and has had many voice actors as well as cartoon makers help flesh out the character and make him the icon he is to this day. Say what you will, but we all know that Daffy Duck is a true icon of cartoons and over the decades has made so many viewers lived just a little bit more silly and fun.

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The main voice of Daffy Duck during my childhood was the iconic voice actor Mel Blanc who created the characters iconic lisp as well as sarcastic tone and line delivery. Mel is considered one of the biggest icons in voice work in the early days of cartoons as he lent his voice to many iconic characters like Looney Tune ones like Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, Elmer Fudd, Foghorn Leghorn, Speedy Gonzales and Sylvester to name a few. And non-Looney Tunes characters include Flattop, Tom & Jerry, Barney Rubble and Speed Buggy to name a few. Mel would voice Daffy Duck from 1937 to 1989, the year that he passed away. And after Mel’s passing, three different voice actors would voice Daffy off and on through the years during my childhood with one being Jeff Bergman and the other two being Joe Alaskey and at a lesser level Greg Burson. And in modern times Eric Bauza has been the voice behind the Duck. And with all respect to those who followed him, let’s be honest, Mel Blanc is the amazing voice actor who made Daffy Duck the zany character we all love to this day.

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Like all great cartoon characters, Daffy Duck has had his fair share of amazing merchandise for fans of all ages to collect and I as a kid was one of those fans who owned lots of cool Daffy stuff! Over the many years of the character, such items as books, comics, shirts, dolls, toys, posters, magazines, statues, trading cards, Music, Home Media, drinking glasses, video games, hats, Shoes, Erasers, Buttons, Pins, Watches, Candy, cups, jars, stamps, socks, towels, Halloween costumes, necklaces, night lights and so much more were made. If you are a Daffy fan and have any need for an item you can find it as there are also Daffy Duck toothbrushes! Growing up some of my favorite things that I owned that featured Daffy Duck besides the comic books was an old plush doll that I had when I was super young, an old Pepsi glass that as a kid I can remember drinking Kool-Aid and chocolate milk from, a McDonalds Happy Meal Toy that had Daffy Duck as Batman and lastly an eraser of Daffy’s head that was for your pencil that I got from school in Waynesville! Daffy is awesome and has some very cool items for fans, and I for one am still a Daffy fan and have many of his items in my collection.

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Growing up I would watch Daffy Duck on Saturday Mornings via old reruns of Looney Tunes on TV and also would watch them via home media on Beta and VHS that we would rent from the library or even would buy them from a dollar store that use to stock all types of cheap VHS tapes that featured cartoons as well as silent horror movies. I would raid that section and would buy everything that I would enjoy or ever wanted to see. There was always something very special about watching Looney Tunes and for both my brother and I, some of our favorite ones to view featured Daffy Duck as we loved his crazy laugh, his bouncing around, his sarcastic attitude, his Duck Dogers persona and so much more that made him so fantastic and one of the top cartoon characters in our household. Also we would find ourselves reading Daffy Duck comics and even as a kid I can remember my brother reading the comics out loud to me and even doing goofy voices to go along with it.  It was almost like a story time. But now I am off subject and I really just wanted to share my memories of old Daffy VHS tapes and how when growing up I used to watch them all the time as I would always find myself laughing when watching him act like a total nut job! And I am sure many of you reading this blog have very similar memories of watching your favorite cartoon characters on owned or rented VHS tapes.

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One Daffy Duck cartoon that was amazing was from 1988 and was called “The Night Of The Living Duck” that has Daffy reading a horror comic book called Hideous Tales # 176 that ends of a cliffhanger and when he goes to find the next issue a clock falls and hits him in the head, and when knocked out he thinks he is a singer at a club that is filled with many classic monsters like Dracula, Wolfman, Frankenstein’s Monster, The Fly, Leatherface, The Mummy, Creature From The Black Lagoon and The Blob to name a few. And after being attacked by the Godzilla inspired Smogzilla in his dream world he wakes up and finds his issue of the horror comic. And for a Monster Kid like myself seeing Daffy Duck sing to many classic monsters of the movies was really awesome to see as who would ever guess that Leatherface of Texas Chainsaw Massacre fame would appear in a Looney Tunes cartoon! And seeing the Universal Monsters being sung to by a sauvé Daffy is very surreal and was something that I never would have thought could have happened in the world of Looney Tunes. The animation is great in this episode and really makes me wish that Warner Brothers would have made animated monster movies as it would have been great to see classic monsters get the animated treatment. So if you love classic movie monsters as well as Looney Tunes cartoons make sure to track this one down and give it a watch.

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Well now that we have taken a trip down memory lane and talked about Daffy Duck and all the elements that have made him a cartoon icon, I think we are at the point of this review that we take a look at the comics I own of him and have selected the comics from Gold Key and Whitman to cover. I want to thank several stores for having these in stock like Bell, Book and Comic, Game Swap Kettering and Mavericks Cards And Comics as well as Mom Young for having these issues for me to buy and make this update possible. I want to also remind you all that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. So if you are ready, let’s get wacky and silly with Daffy Duck!

Daffy Duck 83 Comic

Daffy Duck # 83  ***
Released in 1973     Cover Price .20     Gold Key    # 83 of 145

“High And Flighty” The Road Runner and his fellow birds are running from Wile E. Coyote and they run through the sidewalk that Daffy Duck was making and the job goes south with footprints and Daffy looses his job. Road Runner feels bad and sets up a new job for Daffy that has him trying to help Wile capture them, and of course all goes wrong. “Ego-Tripped” has Daffy Duck a host of a late night talk show along side Elmer Fudd and they have many guests that night Bugs Bunny, Yosemite Sam, Porky Pig, Tweety Bird, Road Runner, Wile E. Coyote, Sylvester Cat and Petunia Pig and the topic is how after the cartoons end that they are all friends and this turns bad real quick as all of the Looney Tunes characters start arguing over who is the best on their shows and even leads to a end chase of Elmer trying to capture Daffy for his harsh words on the way Elmer speaks. “Dough Nuts” has Daffy Duck owning a bakery and he ends up getting Clovis Cat as a helper who is the cousin of Sylvester and he causes so many issues as he is kind of silly and ruins many orders, but he does end up stopping a robbery. “Stamp Scamp” has Daffy by accident letting one of Elmer Fudds high priced stamp blow out the window and the two have a wild chase to try and get it back, only for it to be a cheap stamp instead as Elmer was wrong on the price.

This issue has lots of guest stars and Daffy while the main attraction can kind of be lost in the shuffle when it comes to each little segments plot as sometimes the likes of Road Runner and other steal a little of the spotlight. And because of the guests and Daffy antics this is a better than average read! All four stories are really good with my favorite one being “Dough Nuts” as I enjoyed the fact that Daffy owned a bakery and was making cakes and hired a goofball cat who stumbles around ruining all his business and making customers mad. When picking my least favorite it was hard but I guess I would have to choose “High And Flighty” as it was just kind of a one joke story that had Daffy always taking a break when trying to capture Road Runner when the Runner would make a whistle noise. But with that said seeing Daffy on the payroll of Wile E. Coyote was really cool. The cover is cool and like a broken record him in the birdbath never happens in the comic. The art by Unknown Artist is really good and I like the way he drew Wile E. Coyote as well as Clovis Cat and of course Daffy and the rest look great. Over all a good read and a cool kids comic based on an amazing cartoon character and series!

Daffy Duck 86 Comic

Daffy Duck # 86  **1/2
Released in 1974     Cover Price .20     Gold Key    # 86 of 145

“Dr. Elmer And Mr. Fudd” Daffy Duck is babysitting a young duck who wants to hear a spooky story before bed so Daffy makes one up about Elmer Fudd being a mad scientist who makes a formula that turns a mouse into a raging monster and he as well takes the formula and turns into a monster and torments the village and its up to Daffy in the story to save the day when he follows Fudd into a warehouse that the big mouse is in and they two fight. After the story the young duck puts on a Halloween mask and scares Daffy who runs out of the house. “The Duck Who Came To Dinner” The Tasmanian Devil is locked up behind bars at a zoo and Daffy goes to mock him, but soon Taz traps Daffy in the cage and as well when Daffy escapes Taz follows as he wants to eat duck for lunch! Daffy ends up tricking and knocking Taz out and leaves the country quick to be away from Taz once and for all only to find himself stuck in Tasmania! “An Alarm Clock Is A Rooster’s Best Friend” Daffy Duck is jobless and decides that he wants to take the job of Foghorn Leghorn as the rooster of the farm and does his best to set up Foghorn so that the farmer will fire him! Once Foghorn is fired Daffy takes the rooster job, but is soon found out by The Farmer and Foghorn who end up giving Daffy a new job on the far and that’s the top of the weather vein! “Hair Today And Gone Tomorrow” Daffy has made a formula that grows hair and his fellow ducks make fun of him as they doubt that it works, and when Daffy finds Elmer he tries to use the formula on his bold head and Elmer runs away and as Daffy gives chase he is attacked by a hawk it leaves Daffy featherless and when his formula falls on him Daffy becomes a duck covered in hair and must return to the drawing board to make a formula that will grow feathers.

This is an action packed issue when it comes to guest cameos as joining Daffy Duck in this issue is Elmer Fudd, Tweety Bird, Yosemite Sam, Tasmanian Devil, Foghorn Leghorn and Petunia Pig and each add fun moments to the stories they are in. This issue has the normal four stories and each of them bring their own styles of humor and put Daffy Duck in all types of situations that include him almost being eaten and even being a mad scientist! The kid friendly humor in this issue works really well and the best story for me in this issue is “An Alarm Clock Is A Rooster’s Best Friend” as I like how Daffy is so lazy that he thinks that being a rooster would be easy work and gets Foghorn Leghorn fired, but of course his sneaky tactics blow up in his face. Plus besides Daffy being awesome in the story so is Leghorn who is in my Top 10 favorite Looney Tunes characters. My least favorite story in this issue is “Hair Today And Gone Tomorrow” as I found it very lackluster and the lamest in plot in story, but seeing Daffy covered in hair was a little funny. The cover is awesome and has Daffy lifting weights that are really balloons, and you guessed it this never happens in any of the stories. The artwork is great and is very cartoonish and looks like the cartoon characters on the comic pages and is done by Unknown Artist! A good issue for sure and I am looking forward to read more of these Daffy Duck comics.

Daffy Duck 92 Comic

Daffy Duck # 92  ***
Released in 1975     Cover Price .25     Gold Key     # 92 of 145

“Duckula” Daffy Duck and Porky Pig are driving a pizza truck and it runs out of gas near a creepy castle as a storm blows in and the two end up having to stay the night in the castle as the owner Count Duckula invites them in, but soon Daffy and Porky find themselves on the dinner menu as Duckula is a vampire and his friend Engelbert is a werewolf! But before Daffy and Porky can be eaten Daffy comes up with a plan the leaves them safe and the two monsters big fans of Pizza. “A Rare Bird” Daffy is in a museum looking at dinosaurs when two professors spot him and see that he is a rare breed of duck and they want to capture him and taxidermy him to place on display! And Daffy must run for his life to escape them and the museum! “Movie Madness” has Daffy Duck trying to get into Warner Brothers Studios to be casted on the new Raquel Robin film that he learned about from Sylvester Cat and Porky Pig! But standing in his way is Elmer Fudd who is the new guard at the studio gate and is told no none employees are allowed in! So Daffy has to use his bag of tricks in order to get in and meet Robin. But Daffy becomes a hero when two cast members try and steal her jewelry and he almost goes into a date with Robin that us until Yosemite Sam scares him off by wearing a monster mask. “Stop, Look, And Duck!” has Daffy faking that he is a traffic officer in order to get into Elmer Fudds house to raid his refrigerator and eat all his food, but Daffy is followed by a hungry bank robber who also breaks in and wants all the food that Daffy is stealing! But thanks to Daffy’s traffic signs and his quick thinking the robber is caught and in the end the Police make him act as a traffic signal for borrowing the signs from the city junkyard.

Wow this was a really fun kids comic and had Daffy Duck in all types of different and zany adventures! Plus like before this issue does a great job of having fellow Looney Tunes characters guest star and that includes Elmer Fudd, Porky Pig, Yosemite Sam and Sylvester Cat and they all play off Daffy very well in each of the segments. And really after reading this issue I had a smile on my face as it was such a silly good time, I mean Warner Brothers Studios even appears and they even make a joke about the MGM lion! And when sitting back and having to pick the best and least favorite story in this issue it was super hard but I would say “Duckula” was my favorite as I love the spooky horror feel of it and it read like a classic kids haunted house with a vampire story. And picking the least is really hard as all the stories were good but I guess I would say “Stop, Look, And Duck!” is the weakest as it’s just a Daffy stops a robber story that we have read before and it seems to be a big idea that the comic makers had when writing Daffy stories. The cover is great and showcases Duckula and shockingly it does tie into a story in the comic and that’s rare! The art is good and done once more and like always when it comes to Gold Key Comics by an Unknown Artist, and like always its very good and the characters look like they should for the most part. To sum it up this is a great issue and one of the best this far I have read of any of the Looney Toon themed comics. So with that lets see what the next issue has in store for us.

Daffy Duck 98 Comic

Daffy Duck # 98  ***
Released in 1975     Cover Price .25     Whitman     # 98 of 145

“Snowman’s Land” Daffy Duck travels to the Himalayan Mountains in order to find the Abominable Snowman to ask him how often he clips his toenails in order to get $2.00 from Elmer Fudd who asked him that question. But once he finds the Snowman he learns that he has been fired as people do not find him scary so he makes a deal with Daffy if he helps him get his job back he will tell him the answer to the toenail question. And after trying to teach the Snowman to be scary and failing, it’s the rescue of two lost kids that gets the Snowman his job back and also gets Daffy the answer to Fudd’s question and he gets his $2.00 that is owed! “Northern Exposure” Daffy is stuck outside in a blizzard and meets an Eskimo who has been sent out by his wife to hunt a duck so they can have it for dinner, the man has never seen a duck and Daffy leads him in wild goose chases and after the poor guy is almost killed by a whale, Daffy saves him and comes clean that he is a duck and he is instead invited to dinner and they all eat fish. “Rainbow Riot” in this one Daffy is playing in the rain and after the rain stops a rainbow appears and Daffy uses this to his advantage to try and trick a free meal out of Porky Pig by dressing up as a leprechaun and promising a pot of gold to Porky if he can make Daffy happy and makes him a big meal and makes a fool of himself. And after finding out that the leprechaun was really Daffy dressed up he rushes back to the end of the rainbow and shoves a pie in the face of a leprechaun that was not Daffy but a real one!

This is such a fun read and has Daffy Duck meet the Abominable Snowman, Tricking a Duck Hunter and even acting like a leprechaun in order to get a free meal. And this one like the issue before has a Horror Comic element to one of the stories and Daffy even dresses like Count Duckula at one point in order to try and teach Snowman how to be scary. And as I am sure you guessed my favorite story in this issue is Snowman’s Land as how great and silly is it that Daffy tries to teach the Snowman how to scare people in order to find out how often he clips his toenails…and the two become friends. The weakest story of the group is Rainbow Riot as its not a bad story just the weakest of the three as it was just kind of blah as its just Daffy being a terrible friend to Porky Pig who is this issues only Looney Tune cameo. The cover is great and showcases what happens in this comic and that’s a rare thing in these types of comics made by Gold Key/Whitman. The interior art for at least the first story (Snowman’s Land) is done by artist Joe Messerli and is good stuff and I like his kid friendly take on the Abominable Snowman. Over all a solid issue that showcases just how fun these Daffy Duck comics can be for readers of all ages.

Daffy Duck 104 Comic

Daffy Duck # 104  **1/2
Released in 1976     Cover Price .30     Whitman     # 104 of 145

“Shopping Cart Caper” Art is a man who owns a grocery store who is having an issue with someone stealing all his shopping carts and making him having to buy more of them for his customers. Both Daffy Duck and Elmer Fudd end up trying to help Art find who is stealing and after thinking its each other, they end up finding the real thief and it is the man selling Art the carts as he is stealing them with a magnet gun and then sells them back to the store. “Relatively Speaking” Elmer Fudd is really mad at Daffy who eats much of his food acting as a food inspector, and after being chased off Daffy returns to Elmer’s home with a train jumper who looks like Elmer and the two in order to get a free meal and a place to stay lie to Elmer and act as if this guy is a long lost cousin. But when Elmer figures this out as a lie after reading his family tree he chases the two out of his home with a gun and Daffy joins the fraud on rail riding as they jump on a train. “The Broccoli Bungle” Porky Pig is shocked and worried when he finds Daffy Duck talking to a piece of broccoli, and when asked about it Daffy acts as if Porky is rude and this causes Porky to go to the grocery store and buy some broccoli and talk to it! But it was all a big joke as Sylvester Cat bet Daffy that he could not trick Porky into talking to broccoli. In the end Porky is mad and chases Daffy around and the pair run into a cop and both have to serve public serves at a broccoli farm. “The Duck Bunch” Elmer Fudd goes to a cabin by the lake to relax, but soon his peace is shattered when Daffy and his duck friends rent the cabin next door and have a party…after being mad for a bit Elmer ends up partying with Daffy and the ducks.

This is an issue that I almost forgot I owned as I had gotten it from Mavericks Cards And Comics when I worked there and after moving this issue along with other comics was missed boxed and has sat at a friends house for many years, and by luck I found it just in time to be covered…and I have to say the issue is another above average read and brought Daffy Duck into four silly adventures with three of them being alongside Elmer Fudd! And also the issue has Porky Pig and Sylvester both making a cameo in a story making this one feel like a Daffy Team-Up issue, and thinking about it they should have done a DC Comics Presents and had Superman team with Daffy Duck at some point in the 70’s or early 80’s, a wasted opportunity if you ask me. The best story in this issue for me is The Broccoli Bungle as I love the idea of Daffy and Sylvester making a free lunch bet with each other on if they could trick Porky Pig into talking to a piece of Broccoli, like a harmless prank but also poor Porky as he seems to be the butt of the joke. My lest favorite story in this issue is The Duck Bunch, nothing wrong with this one just bland as it has Daffy and fellow ducks harassing Elmer Fudd. The cover is cool but like always has zero to do with the pages inside, speaking of interior pages the art is done by Unknown Artist and is good the only thing really off is the color of Sylvester’s noise that should be red but is blue. Over all a good issue that delivered some cheesy, silly, goofy Daffy Duck comic book laughs.

Daffy Duck 107 Comic

Daffy Duck # 107  ***
Released in 1977     Cover Price .30     Whitman     # 107 of 145

“Knight For A Night” Daffy Duck is lost flying around and finds an island the rest out and also sees an ad for a Knight wanted at a round table and he rushes to apply for the job as he thinks there will be food on the round table, but soon finds out that the King indeed of the Knight is poor due to an evil knight named Gore Thor who is stealing all his food, and after some tricks Daffy chases off the evil knight and the King’s Kingdom gets its food and knights back. “The High-Flying Queep” Daffy is in the park when a scientist and his henchman grabs Daffy and put a tracker on his leg in order to track were he goes, and Daffy ends up flying away to a western town but his tracker messes with the towns only TV and Radio and causes the sheriff to miss the weather warning of a flash flood, but the flood ends up causing Daffy to find a band of counterfeiters and for his reward the town gives him a reward and Daffy decided to fly on a plan to Hawaii but the tracker is also messing with their radio! “The Mysterious Mr. Big” Daffy Duck gets a job to go to the scary castle of Dr. Frankenfritter with a big check from Mr. Big who wants to buy the doctors new mechanical dog! And after Daffy is chased around the castle by mechanical monsters he makes the deal and takes the dog to Mr. Big who turns out to be a small flea. “The Hitch-Piker” has Daffy Duck trying to get home when he tries to get a ride from Elmer Fudd who is not happy to see him, but after getting tired Fudd ends up allowing Daffy to travel with him and even drive the car. Daffy ends up speeding around the highway and is pulled over and after finding out Daffy does not have a drivers licenses he and Fudd end up in court and Daffy has to pay a fine and work community service for seven days and Fudd must pay a fee.

Another great Daffy Duck comic that has Daffy being crazy and goofy and once more shows that Daffy Duck is great in cartoons as well as comics and in this one he even meets robotic Frankenstein Monster’s as well as takes down a evil knight that has a great name like Gore Thor! And all of the four adventures in this comic is a great read and it will be hard to choose what I think is the best but if I have to I am going to go with The Hitch-Piker as I like the idea of Daffy trying to hitchhike home cause he is to lazy to fly and ends up getting Elmer Fudd into trouble with the law when he makes the mistake of picking up Daffy. And I cannot pick a bad one from this issue as I really did enjoy them all so I am going to select none for this issue! Yeah this will be my only get out of selecting a Bad One card for this update. I mean were else can you read about Daffy busting a counterfeit ring, buy an electric dog for a man named Mr. Big, was rude to a judge and got himself and Elmer in trouble and even becomes a Knight and does battle in order to get a free meal! Great eye catching cover with Daffy making ice cubes and the use of a purple background makes it standout. The interior art is done by Unknown Artist and is great as I like the designs he/they created for side characters like Gore Thor and the robotic monsters. Over all a top notch read and this far is one of the top three best I have read from this Daffy series.

Daffy Duck 122 Comic

Daffy Duck # 122  **
Released in 1979     Cover Price .40     Gold Key     # 122 of 145

“The Robot Robbery” Armchair Daffy is back on another case and this time while at a science fair a robot steals an invention that takes control of items and allows the person with the invention to control a selected object. And when Armchair Daffy goes after the crook his armchair is thrown around and Daffy uses a bowling ball to bring down the crook and the people at the fair upgrade his armchair to fly. “Ye Olde Time Machine” has Daffy at an amusement park and goes into a funhouse called the Time Machine that really is a time machine and takes him back in medieval times and Daffy as a knight takes down a dragon as well as the Fight Knight before finally being able to go back to his own time, and he runs away from the fun house and then spends his time riding kids rides. “Aerial Grease Monkey” has Daffy becoming an in air mechanic for plans in need, and it’s hard and fast work and after an emergency landing leaves him aching he changes jobs to work as a water mechanic for boats in order to sooth his aching wounds. “Water Follies” Elmer Fudd is getting ready for a bath when he finds that Daffy Duck is in the tub and tells him that he is going to stay awhile as the government is working on the swamp! Elmer chases Daffy our only to find him now soaking in the kitchen sink! Elmer gets Daffy out of his house and ends up sneaking back in and turning Elmer’s basement into a pool and invites other ducks over! In the end Elmer is even more mad when the swamp is moved next door to him and he has to see Daffy more.

In this Daffy Duck comic he has all types of weird adventures from using a bowling ball to bring down a crook, going back in time to bring down a dragon and an evil knight, fixing planes in air and even helping other ducks in a swamp have a place to swim! But while it’s an entertaining issue it’s also very bland and middle of the road compared to other issues we have read this far. While Daffy is as zany and silly as ever he just does not do anything that truly stands out here. The best story is “Ye Olde Time Machine” as I like the idea of Daffy Duck at an amusement park and stumbling into a real life time machine and finding himself in danger in medieval times! Plus his lucky ways of defeating a dragon and an evil knight is pure cartoon/comic book stuff. My lest favorite story in this issue has to be “The Robot Robbery” and that’s sad to say as I think truly it is the weakest of any Armchair Daffy case we have read here this far. It was nice to see Elmer Fudd once more have a cameo and its great as in this issue he truly hates Daffy and it shows. The cover is good and has zero to do with any of the stories and the interior art by Unknown Artist is as good as always and helps add to the silly stories you are reading. Over all a very average read, but still a good one for the most part.

Daffy Duck 123 Comic

Daffy Duck # 123  **1/2
Released in 1979     Cover Price .40     Whitman     # 123 of 145

“Tin Pan Daffy” Daffy and his trusty horse Deadpan are trying to travel around the Old West to sell pans and by accident they wake up a pair of thieves who steal Deadpan and go and rob the towns bank, but Daffy thinks quick and uses a pan to mock the sound of a rattle snake that scares Deadpan who throws the robbers and Daffy is then able to return the money to the bank. “Rude On The Tube” has Daffy Duck going to a TV station in order to help Petunia Pig on a cooking show, and while at first it goes bad as Daffy ruins the show, but when Petunia switches his role to a taste tester things go smooth. “Big Switcheroo” Armchair Daffy is on the case, but Slippery Sal has messed with the armchair and has switched it out with a fake chair that controlled by a controller. But when Daffy finds Sal’s hideout he is able to get his armchair back and also takes Sal down and brings him to jail. “Hot Tub Snub” Elmer Fudd has belt a hot tub in his backyard on his doctor’s orders in order to relax and like always Daffy Duck ruins it by wanting to also soak in the tub, and after tricking Elmer several times and getting into the tub Elmer ends up turning the tub into a jail cell and traps Daffy in it in order to finally find his peace.

This is another fun comic featuring the zany Looney Tune character Daffy Duck and has him as always annoying the heck out of Elmer Fudd as well as solving crimes in his armchair and selling pans in the west! And in this issue the only two Looney Tune character to appear are Elmer Fudd and Petunia Pig and they both are used well and I really like the idea that Petunia Pig has a TV Cooking Show that has Daffy Duck as her assistant, imagine if this was a real show and Daffy would ruin the recipes as well as just shovel the food into his mouth. The best story in this issue is Rude On The Tube and is for the reasons I mentioned about as it really is a fun silly read. My least favorite is Big Switcheroo just a kind of un-interesting Armchair Daffy case that kind of puts along and has a payout that is kind of bland. The cover is good and has Daffy with pie on his face after he took a bite from one on Elmer’s window seal, and yep this never happens in the comic. The interior art done by Unknown Artist is good and I really like the way whom ever they are draws Daffy as well as Elmer Fudd. So with that let’s take a look at whats next for Daffy Duck in the next comic book.

Daffy Duck 124 Comic

Daffy Duck # 124  **1/2
Released in 1979     Cover Price .40     Gold Key    # 124 of 145

“Tasters Choice” At a small diner a newspaper editor is worried as his food critic just quit and he notices Daffy Duck eating a ton of food and giving reviews of it to the chef and the editor finds his new critic! Daffy does a great job at the start and travels around eating all types of food, but after awhile Daffy is getting fat and brings in Tasmanian Devil as his assistant to help eat the food and that goes wrong when Taz destroys the dinning room of a restaurant and this causes Daffy to be fired by the paper and chased by Taz who is still hungry and wants to eat Duck! “The Missing “Missing Persons” Person” Daffy as his Armchair Daffy crime solver persona gets a case that takes him to a boarding house to find a missing Officer as well as a boarder of the place, but when he gets there the chair can not enter the haunted room were the people have gone missing from! Once inside Daffy solves the case as the officer and boarder fell into the caller via a loose floorboard. “Duck Calls” Yosemite Sam has decided to give up on sea life and has built a cabin in the woods to get away from stress and sound, but Daffy Duck shows up and makes all types of noise and this causes Sam to try and stop him from doing so. And when his attempts fail to keep Daffy quite Sam just leaves his cabin to return to life at sea, and Daffy takes over the cabin and enjoys the quite life. “Meteor Hunt” a scientist forces Daffy Duck to help him hunt for a fallen meteor and instead of finding the falling space rock, Daffy ends up ruining a group of friends beach clam bake when he thinks it’s the meteor that smoldering in the sand and his chased off by the angry friends.

A solid Daffy Duck kids comic here that brings the reader four tales featuring Daffy being silly, hungry and just plan old crazy! It’s always nice to see a crime being solved by Armchair Daffy and this one is classic Horror Comedy stuff as the missing people have fall through the floor and are stuck in the locked cellar, I mean come on this could be the plot of a Don Knotts film. It also was cool to see other Looney Tune characters like Yosemite Sam and Tasmanian Devil as they help add to the stories they take apart in. My lest favorite story in this issue has to be “Meteor Hunt” as it was just kind of bland and the pay out of Daffy ruining a clambake is kind of just lame even for kid friendly humor. Plus let’s be honest in that story Daffy is kidnapped and forced into help labor by a nut job scientist. But for me I would pick the story “Tasters Choice” as the best as I love the idea of Daffy Duck being a food critic for a big newspaper and eating like a slob and becoming fat and ends up on the dinner menu for Taz who Daffy was silly enough to bring in as his assistant to help eat and review the food. The art is great and like before done by an uncredited artist. The cover is cool and like most Looney Tune comics from Gold Key and Whitman what Daffy Duck is doing on the cover is nothing he does in the issue. Over all another great comic featuring Daffy and is a great read for fans of the character.

Daffy Duck 126 Comic

Daffy Duck # 126  **1/2
Released in 1979     Cover Price .40     Gold Key    # 126 of 145

“Artsy Daffy” Elmer Fudd is near a pond trying to paint the landscape and Daffy Duck will not leave him alone as he wants to be in the painting, and after harassing Elmer who gives in and paints Daffy who in turn is annoyed by the painting as he thinks its bad. But while walking home a man buys the painting of Daffy from Elmer for $10.00 and claims that paintings of ducks are rare. Daffy says he will let Elmer paint him only if he allows him to eat everything in his fridge, Elmer agrees and after Daffy eats everything Elmer rushes outside to try and sell all his new paintings to people who seem to have no interest. In the end we learn that Daffy Duck paid the guy to buy the painting from Elmer in order to eat all his food. “Breakfast Blahs” Daffy Duck becomes a spokesman for a breakfast cereal and his commercial helps sell the food to the masses, but he is also forced to only eat the cereal for every meal and to make sure he does just that the company even hires a man to follow and watch Daffy to make sure the cereal is his only meals. But Daffy is able to get out of his contract as he finds out the dirty secret of the owner of the cereal company and uses it against him…the secret is that he eats another brand of cereal for breakfast! “Swamp Swap” Daffy is upset as the lake is now filled with swimmers and fishermen and he decides to find a new place to relax and that is a near by swamp. Once at the swamp he finds Elmer Fudd is there and is fishing and the two go back and fourth as Daffy ends up stealing food and now has to work it off by steering the boat, but after an accident the boat sinks and Daffy has to pull Elmer on a raft while he still fishes. “Just Plumb Daffy” A stamp collection worth thousands of dollars is saved by Daffy Duck and his monkey assistant M.W as they are plumbers and by doing this they get a big front page article in the newspaper. A criminal tricks Daffy to help him break into a house and search pipes for a coin collection, but when Daffy figures it out he and M.W alert the homeowner and stop the theft.

Daffy Duck as always brings us four more zany tales of silliness and like all before is a good kid comic read that brings the Looney Tunes world to the comic pages, and I do need to say that I feel as if they do an alright job at doing so…but the characters like Daffy and the others also do not 100% feel and act like the cartoon versions as these ones are way more friendly and Daffy is far less crazy and is really more about eating lots of food. And with this being a kids comic Elmer Fudd does not have his trusty shotgun and does a lot of kicking when it comes to getting Daffy Duck out of his way. And it’s also odd while characters are annoyed with each other they all also come off as if they are friends. And that’s the one thing about these Looney Tunes comics from the 60’s and 70’s they really are good kid friendly reads with characters that most of us grew up watching and while its not 100% like the cartoons they have a very familiar feel that makes them very much enjoyable to read. My lest favorite story in this issue was a hard one to choose as I enjoyed them all but the weakest of the stories is “Breakfast Blahs” as while it is entertaining the payout at the end is weak of the boss eating another brand of cereal is his dark secret. My favorite from this issue is “Swamp Swap” as I like the idea of Daffy and Elmer on a swamp trying to fish and run into issue with a ranger as well as Daffy’s hungry that causes them wreck a boat! The art as always in this series is done by an Unknown Artist and its good classic kids comic art and they character look like they should. The cover is good and has Daffy annoying Elmer and this act at least happens in two of the stories, even if it’s not the same way shown on the cover. Over all a great read and any of these comics are must have stuff for fans of Daffy Duck and Looney Tunes in general.

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Daffy Duck # 136  **1/2
Released in 1981      Cover Price .50      Whitman     # 136 of 145

“Demolition Duck” has Daffy Duck working for the demolition track as a janitor and after moping the floors in drivers dressing room the demolition derby champion trips and injures his back and Daffy is forced to take his place in the derby and wins it all. “Super Salesman” has Daffy selling Elmer Fudd a trick door that is suppose to scare unwanted guests away, and when Elmer buys it he chases off a game show worker that could have won him lots of money and of course Elmer is mad at Daffy! “Armchair Daffy’s Dilemma” has Armchair Daffy on a case when a Crime Boss goes after him for getting his gang all locked up, and he even messes with Daffy’s chair in order to get him out of the way so he can try and breakout his gang. But in the end it back fires and the chair ends up capturing Crime Boss and putting him behind bars. “Striking It Rich” Daffy sells out of pans in the Wild West due to a gold rush but a pair of robbers steal all of Daffy’s money as well as his donkey’s gold tooth! And both are not happy and once they find the robbers they get the money back and the donkey strikes gold and becomes super rich as due to his tooth he is sensitive to gold and that allows him to find it easy. “Ambition Nutrition” Daffy Duck is so lazy that his pond land is littered with trash and Elmer Fudd, Porky Pig and Petunia Pig try and ask him to clean it up and they can not get him to do so, the three end up going to a local scientist who makes a salt that will motivate who ever eats it and after tricking Daffy into using the salt on hamburgers he uses to much and is super motivated that he cleans the pond and turns it into a tourist attraction! But it’s noisy and annoying for all the neighbors and once Daffy gets lazy again when the salt wears off and Elmer, Porky and Pentunia decide to clean the pond themselves as a motivated Daffy is dangerous.

Daffy Duck is still going strong as this is another fun issue that as always takes Daffy on so many zany adventures and has him involved in some goofy moments. Plus this issue brings on the cameos from other Looney Tunes characters like Porky Pig, Elmer Fudd and Petunia Pig and they are used well as neighbors and friends of Daffy who are annoyed with his laziness. The best story in this issue is Demolition Duck as I like the idea of Daffy by accident hurting the Demolition Derby champ and having to take his place in order for the fans not to riot and ends up beating a challenger as well as win the event! My least favorite story is sadly Armchair Daffy’s Dilemma as the Crime Boss of Crime Co. is cool but also the story of his capture and being a thorn very briefly in Daffy’s side just is a little weak and I hate that Armchair Daffy is the weakest story again. The cover of Daffy holding onto a flying toy is cool and eye catching but as always has zero to do with any of the stories inside the issue. The Unknown Artist interior art is good and like I have said before captures the characters pretty well. So with that lets get to the next issue and see what Daffy has in store for us.

Daffy Duck 137 Comic

Daffy Duck # 137  **1/2
Released in 1981     Cover Price .50    Whitman     # 137 of 145

“The Flying Detective” Armchair Daffy is back and this time is on the case of trying to stop a pair of thieves who have a flying car, and sadly the armchair can not keep up! So Daffy adds on wings and makes his armchair fly, but did not count on rain clouds that makes the armchair fall apart, but thanks to the springs from the chair Daffy bounces up and tags a ride with the car. And after shooting the robbers in the eyes with onion juice Daffy delivers them to the police. And in the end uses the reward money to rebuild his armchair this time with wings and an umbrella. “Eskimo Daffy” in this one Daffy is an ice cream man and an accident puts his igloo shaped cart into the water and people of the town think that he is from the North Pole and throw a big feast in his honor, but when his secret is exposed that he is just an ice cream man, Daffy is forced to run out of town and when doing so he and his cart crash into a limo that ends up saving the life of the Mayor as the rail sign was not working and the limo would have been smashed by the train! And Daffy then returns to the town as a hero and is selling tons of ice cream. “The Raindance Kid” has Daffy Duck as a pot and pan salesman in the old west and most towns are mad at him as his wagon makes all kinds of noise, but soon Daffy finds out that his banging of the pans causes rain and while in a town suffering from a drought he makes it rain and it will not stop and now the town wants him dead as the streets are flooding and the roofs are leaking! But when they soon find that the rain is causing gold to come up they forgive Daffy and end up buying all his pots and pans to capture the rain from the leaky roofs and to carry their gold. “Beaver Fever” has Yosemite Sam on the hunt for beavers as if he captures and kills them he can sell the fur for $30.00 each! So he sets some traps and Daffy Duck is here to save them as he uses Sam’s own trap against him and the beavers build a dame that sweeps his house away.

This Daffy Duck has four stories as well as two small one page gags given us a lot of Daffy for very small pocket change! Daffy in this issue once more is a duck of all trades as he is a rainmaker, an animal savior, an ice cream salesmen and a detective! The best story in this batch for me is The Raindance Kid as I like the idea of Daffy in the wild west and with his pans he is able to make it rain, very silly stuff and plus I am a fan of rain so Daffy being the bringer of it is silly funny to me. My least favorite is Beaver Fever just a middle of the road story and pretty gruesome for a kids comic ad Yosemite Sam wants to murder a whole family of beavers to skin them…pretty gross stuff for what is pretty much a light hearted comic issue. I also need to say I do enjoy reading the cases of Armchair Daffy as well as he is like a very lazy version of Sherlock Holmes, but yet is also very inventive when using his chair and making upgrades and repairs to it. Interior art is done by Unknown Artist and is good as always, and the cover is good and kind of at least fits the Wild West feel of one of the stories. Over all a great issue in the Daffy Duck comic series and had many enjoyable tales to share.

Daffy Duck 139 Comic

Daffy Duck # 139  **1/2
Released in 1982     Cover Price .60      Whitman     # 139 of 145

“The Missing Moosehead” Armchair Daffy gets a case that takes him to a mansion where a mounted moosehead as well as a late night snack has gone missing! And as the owner goes to sleep Daffy sits guard and ends up finding a secret door and that the previous owner of the house is living in the walls as he is sad to have lost him mansion. In the end the new owner allows the old owner to live in the mansion as well and Daffy takes the moose head as payment. “The Clang-Bang Day” Tin Pan Daffy is arrested for all the noise his pots and pans are making as this old west town likes it quite, but also thrown into jail is a banker who has been stealing and hiding money from the safe. A pair of crooks bust Daffy out of jail thinking he is the banker and force him to show them were the money is hidden, and after leading them around he ends up using his pots to capture them and also uses the noise of his wares to annoy the banker who tells them were the money is hidden and leaves the town a hero. “Airmail Mallard” Elmer Fudd hires Daffy to deliver a poem to the wrong lady and after a second try he looses the letter and ends up writing a bad poem that coasts Elmer a date! But it works out for Elmer when he wins a free trip and Daffy is then paid to house sit and while there can eat all the food in the refrigerator. “Migration Tribulation” Daffy is flying across the ocean and is getting tired when he gets involved in hijinks as two pirates are in a sub and Yosemite Sam is on his ship hunting whales. But in the end Daffy gets both ships sunk and uses the sail to glade across the ocean. “Deputy Daffy” in this adventure Daffy becomes a Junior Deputy and annoys the town as well as Elmer Fudd, but when Fudd is robbed its Daffy who stops the crook and by the end Daffy becomes a Detective.

Well this is the final issue of Daffy Duck I have and I must say that this issue as well as all the others covered here on this update are just as fun as I remember them being from my youth growing up reading them. The thing about Daffy Duck as well as all the other Looney Tune characters is that they make great comic book characters as well and that is why they still make comic appearances from time to time as Warner Brothers and DC Comics both seem to agree. In these Gold Key and Whitman Comics they do a pretty good job of capturing the nature of Daffy from the cartoons but they do play down is zany crazy nature and add more of a food obsession to him and I get it as the comics needed to be a little more simple for young readers. And while Daffy is different from cartoon to comic he still is very much fun. The best story in this issue has to be The Missing Moosehead as this Armchair Daffy adventure is silly and has a haunted house feel and seeing the panel of Daffy zooming around the mansion in his armchair was great stuff. My least favorite story in this issue is Migration Tribulation as the story is weak, the payout bland and is a short filler story for sure. The cover is very cool on this issue and has Daffy being fired out of a circus cannon and he is scaring Elmer Fudd who is selling popcorn. The interior art is done by Unknown Artist again and is good stuff and fitting for this comic series and they do a good job of making all the Looney Tune Characters look like they should. Over all these Daffy Duck comics are great reads and if you are a fan of Daffy and enjoy reading comic books you should check these out as they are Daffy adventures that put him into more goofy situations than the cartoons ever did. Checkout the art below to see the work of the Unknown Artist and the style used to bring Daffy alive in these classic comics.

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Daffy Duck truly is one of my all time favorite Looney Tunes characters and while his comics are not 100% like the character they are still great reads that really made me flashback to being a kid and reading them when I was a youngster. And while these Daffy Duck comics might not be the most amazing cartoon based comics you will ever read, they are entertaining and bring Daffy into adventures the cartoons would not take him on, in fact almost all of the Dell/Gold Key/Whitman comics based on Looney Tune characters are worth reading. Showcasing Daffy Duck was a great way to spend one of Rotten Ink’s 10 Year Anniversary updates with as Daffy really was a big part of my life growing and needed to be apart of the fun. And our next update takes us into the world of Jack “The King” Kirby and his DC Comics creation The Sandman, one that should be a blast to talk about. So until next time, read a Looney Tune comics or three, watch a cartoon or two and as always support your local Horror Host. See you next time for a chat in the dream world…or is that nightmare world.

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Star Trek V: What Does God Need With A Starship?

Welcome back to Rotten Ink and one of the updates that I selected to be part of this 10 year celebration of course has to be another of the Star Trek films as they have always been some of my favorite sci-fi flicks ever made. Rotten Ink and Star Trek go hand in hand as the show and movies are truly parts of my past, and I am sure as Star Trek continues on it will as well be apart of my future. As you long time readers know, I have been reviewing all the comic adaptations of Star Trek films that feature the original cast (you know the ones with Captain Kirk and Spock) and this year we have landed on Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, a film in the series that was met with mixed reviews from critics and fans alike, but one I am very much looking forward to covering as I have always enjoyed it! So with that, let’s take a look at Star Trek V as well as the DC Comics adaptation as its time to Boldly Go Where Many Comic Readers Have Gone Before and that’s on comic adventures with the crew of the Enterprise.

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Let’s start off by talking about the film itself. I will be taking the film’s plot write up from our pals at IMDB and after I will be writing about the film’s production as well as my thoughts on the film. So if you are ready, let’s take trip with the Enterprise Crew to a final frontier in space.

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Star Trek V: Final Frontier (1989)

“When the newly-christened starship Enterprise’s shakedown cruise goes poorly, Captain Kirk and crew put her into Spacedock for repairs. But an urgent mission interrupts their Earth-bound shore leave. A renegade Vulcan named Sybok has taken three ambassadors hostage on Nimbus III, the Planet of Galactic Peace. This event also attracts the attention of a Klingon captain who wants to make a name for himself and sets out to pursue the Enterprise. Sybok’s ragtag army captures the Enterprise and takes her on a journey to the center of the galaxy in search of the Supreme Being.”

William Shatner was finally given the opportunity to direct one of the films in the Star Trek series with this fifth film that he also helped with the story on, a story that he had been working on even before he was offered the director’s chair. Shatner’s original idea was about a false God that turns into Satan that tries to take the crew of the Enterprise to Hell…what a strange and interesting idea that also seems like it would have been an issue of the Marvel Comics series. Producer Harve Bennett was ready to walk away from the Star Trek film series after three films produced and the feuding he had with Leonard Nimoy, but after a meeting Shatner got him back on board. Then some elements of Shatner’s story needed to be changed due to the concern that the subject matter of God and Satan might not sit well with moviegoers. They changed the depiction of God into an alien being that was faking being God in order gain power and then brought on David Loughery to write the screenplay. This idea and script did not sit well with Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek, and the screenplay was put on hold when Loughery was part of the Writers Guild Of America strike, holding up the film’s production. When he finally got back to work and finished it, Shatner was displeased with many of the writer’s changes to his idea and things once more had to be worked out when Nimoy and Kelley had concerns with the script. Once the script was green lit by Paramount, they started the design, production and casting processes and started to film in October 1988. The filming of the fifth film in the series was very stressful as delays, strikes and looming deadlines made it stressful for all involved, but with luck and a hard working crew, William Shatner was able to get the film wrapped and Paramount as well as fans were very pleased to hear that the film was wrapped and would be released in theaters very soon. When the film was edited, composer Jerry Goldsmith was brought in and he made an amazing score that for many is one of the highlights of the film series with tracks like “The Mountain” being a must listen in this blogger’s opinion. The film was released in theaters on June 9, 1989 and was meet with poor reviews from critics who thought it was the weakest in the series, but movie goers seemed to favor it more as with them it was meet with mixed reviews. The film brought in $52,210,049.00 for Paramount at the American box office and ranked # 25 for the year beating out such films as Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventures, The Karate Kid Part III, License To Kill, All Dogs Go To Heaven, A Nightmare On Elm Street Part 5, No Holds Barred and Friday The 13th Part 8 to name a few. While Star Trek V might not be the biggest blockbuster in the series, I for one always enjoyed it and think it’s way underrated and offers some fun and adventures moments.

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier is a film that I first saw on VHS when my parents rented it from the video store and we had a family movie night watching it. I remember that we had microwave popcorn, and me and my brother were drinking Kool-Aid. I remember enjoying and loving the film as the bonding between Captain Kirk, Spock and Dr. McCoy around the campfire singing songs, drinking whiskey and eating beans was awesome and something that captured the three characters’ friendship so perfect. I liked the idea of them searching for God all because of a crazed Vulcan who is a cult leader by all accounts taking them hostage and brainwashing them to do so. Over the years I have seen the film many times and each time I have enjoyed it, and no joke this film has a line that I say all the time around the house to Juliet and I will get to that a little later. I also remember that my Uncle Thurman loved Star Trek V and can remember talking to him about the film while at my grandparents’ house. While Star Trek V is not my favorite film in the series, it’s not one I dislike and find it to be very charming, It’s one you should watch for the first time or watch again with a clear mind and enjoy it for the fun ride it is. I guess before we get off this part of the review I should also point out some things I didn’t like about the film with the biggest for me being the fact that the film’s semi villain is able to use his powers to scramble the minds of McCoy and the Enterprise Crew with only Kirk and Spock being strong enough to fight it off, and damn it, McCoy should have been able to as well as Sulu! To sum it up, Star Trek V is a great sequel and a fun film that I have enjoyed since I was a kid.

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Star Trek V: The Final Frontier has one of the greatest lines in Trek history and one that, as I said, I use around the house and even at times while hanging out with friends. Now to set up this line I need to explain the scene as it has Captain Kirk, Spock, Bones McCoy and Vulcan cultist Sybok breaking through the barrier and beaming down to Sha Ka Ree, the planet that is supposed to house God, well to Sybok and his followers at least. Once there they meet The Creator who demands they bring the Enterprise closer so that he can leave the planet and spread his word among the galaxies. And upon hearing that The Creator wants them to bring down the Enterprise…Kirk asks the best question ever asked in a Star Trek film “What does God need with a starship?”! Hands down, this is an amazing line! Say that phrase out loud but do it in your best William Shatner impersonation and stress the word God…Shatner should have won an Oscar for that performance as it really is something I say so much in my life as I find it to be fitting for many of life’s questions.

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Like all Star Trek films that came before it as well as after, The Final Frontier had its fare share of merchandise for fans to collect and add to their Trek collections. The film had magazines, novels, home media releases, soundtrack, toys, posters, shirts, hats, buttons, comic book, jackets, computer games, trading cards and so much more! Over the years I have owned many items based on Star Trek V like the film on VHS and DVD, the soundtrack on CD, the novel and comic as well as at one time the trading cards. So if you are a Trekkie and love Part 5, the world has many of cool items for you to own.

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Did you old school gamers know that a video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) based on Star Trek V: The Final Frontier was being made by Bandai that was to release around the same time as the film? Did you know that it was cancelled due to the game not playing well and losing track of much of the film’s concept? Did you know that in 2006 a ROM of the game was released that featured four of the stages? Did you know that the game has also made it way to the grey market and is now on a cart that you can play on your NES? Well now you do, and I am happy to say that I have a cart version of this game and man is it a hard one with unforgiving controls and gameplay. The game is a side scrolling adventure game as well as a space shooter and it’s a shame that the game was never finished as who knows what the level that had you fight The Creator would have been, I am guessing the Enterprise firing at a floating head that spit fireballs. The game is a really fun play for fans of classic NES games, as well as Star Trek fans and if you have a ROM on your computer or have a trusty favorite cart maker, make sure to give this unfinished game a try.

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Star Trek V: The Final Frontier is a super fun film that spawned some great merchandise as well as a fun half finished game for the NES, and we are now at the time of reading and reviewing the comic. I would like to thank Mavericks Cards And Comics for having the comic in stock and would also like to remind you readers that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. So if you are ready, let’s boldly go where no comic reader has gone before!

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Star Trek V: Final Frontier  ***
Released in 1989     Cover Price $2.00      DC Comics     #1 of 1

On the planet of Nimbus III the Vulcan Sybok is on a quest to get a starship in order to find the planet Sha Ka Ree and is gathering the lost souls of the planet to help him do so by coming up with a plan that will make sure one will come. Meanwhile at Yosemite National Park on shore leave Captain Kirk, Spock and McCoy are having a camping trip and Kirk has decided to climb a mountain. While climbing Spock with rocket boots comes to speak to Kirk and this causes him to lose his grip and fall, and if not for Spock and his boots, he would have crashed to the earth below. Back on Nimbus III the ambassadors (a Klingon, Terran and Romulan) of the planet are taken prisoner by Sybok and his makeshift army, and Starfleet calls the Enterprise to be the peacemakers to help them. Also hearing of the hostage situation is Klingon Captain Klaa and he and his crew are more hyped for the idea of fighting a starship than helping. Once at Nimbus III, they try and trick Sybok when Chekov acts as the Captain and speaks to him about terms of releasing them while Kirk leads Spock, Spock, McCoy, Sulu, Uhura and a few other crewmembers on a rescue mission on the ground. But Kirk and crew soon find that this was a set up to get their starship and Sybok has even gotten to the ambassadors who believe in his journey to find Sha Ka Ree. Now the Enterprise is in the hands of a religious madman who is Spock’s brother and also Captain Klaa is on the attack! Kirk, Spock and McCoy are thrown in a cell as Sybok uses his mind powers to get the rest of the Enterprise crew under his spell…all but Scotty who breaks them out of the cell. Kirk makes it to his room and sends a call for help! Sybok catches them and tells them of his want to find Sha Ka Ree and then uses his mind control powers on McCoy and Spock by showing them past pains and freeing them from it. Kirk refuses to get his pain taken away, and then they hit the zone that will lead them to the unknown planet of Sha Ka Ree. As Sybok rushes back to the bridge, Spock and McCoy break the hold and stay with Kirk who has been ordered to stay in his room, that is until Kirk is called back up the bridge as Sybok says the ship needs its captain. Then Kirk, Spock, McCoy and Sybok get into a shuttle and land on the planet to meet “God”, and when they land, they meet a powerful being that alerts them that he needs the starship to carry his wisdom away from the planet and the zone. When questioned why God needs the help of a ship, the being attacks Kirk and Spock! And the being shows its true self at being an evil being and Sybok attacks the being just as the Enterprise gets orders to blast it with phasers! As Kirk, Spock and McCoy run to the shuttle, the being now as a rock creature goes on the attack and Scotty is able to beam up McCoy and Spock, but before he can get Kirk, the Enterprise is attacked by Captain Klaa making Kirk stand alone against the rock creature. That is until Kirk is beamed aboard the Klingon ship thanks to the Klingon Ambassador who orders Klaa to save Kirk from that false god and that terrible planet. Once out of the zone and back on shore leave Kirk, Spock and McCoy finish their camping trip.

This DC Comic adaptation of Star Trek V is a great read and captures the adventure and humor of the film really well and even showcases the power of the Fake God even more by allowing him to become a massive rock creature who wants to smash Kirk into the ground! The plot is simple: Spock’s brother hijacks the Enterprise to find a planet that is said to hold the secrets of God only to find an evil being and throw in a young Klingon Captain who wants to make a name for himself by killing Kirk and you have this plot in a nutshell. Captain Kirk goes from a relaxing camping trip to a rescue mission to being a prisoner on his own ship to fighting a fake God to going back on vacation, so as you can see, he had a very busy couple of days! The thing about Captain Kirk is that he is fearless as well as loyal to his ship and crew and lives for his Starfleet command. Kirk really is my favorite Captain in any Star Trek series as he is a rebel, a ladies man, and a great strategist when it comes to battles with the likes of Klingons. Spock in this issue is trying to learn human camping stories and snacks and shows that while he cares about his brother, he is very much loyal to his friends. McCoy as well cares about his friends and we see that he holds lots of pain when he could not help his father with an illness that took his life and a cure was just around the corner. I have to say this again, nothing in the world of science fiction can beat the friendship and bond of Captain Kirk, Dr. McCoy and Spock as they are the perfect trio of friends in any kind of fiction. The False God is pure evil and has been placed in the zone with a force field around it to keep it from infecting the rest of the galaxy with its evil ways, it’s violent and can take the appearance of anyone or thing and is best left on that planet. The Klingon Captain Klaa and his crew are young and crave war and want so badly to make a name for themselves in the history books and think that by killing Captain Kirk they can do so, and they come close until a high ranking Klingon forces them to help Kirk! Poor Sybok, who is the brother of Spock, is not a bad Vulcan at all and thinks that emotions are more important than logic and can even take peoples pain away and mind control them into happiness. All he really wants to do is find Sha Ka Ree, a planet he thinks God lives so all living things can find the answer to life and happiness, but instead he finds a fake and gives his life to try and help Spock, McCoy and Kirk to escape the cursed planet. The best part of Sybok is that he has a strange version of the Vulcan Mind Meld that allows him to fill a being with pure joy and take away their pain. I should also say that Sybok is Spock’s half brother as they share the same father. The comic does a great job of keeping the plot going and taking elements of the film that was cut from the film script like the Rock Creature. The cover for this comic is well done and super eye catching for fans of Star Trek and the interior art by James W. Fry and Arne Starr and is well done and captures the looks of the actors pretty well. If you are a fan of Star Trek V like I am I would say make sure to give this comic a read as I think you will enjoy it as much as I did. Check out the artwork below to see they style used in this comic adaptation.

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Star Trek had to have a place on Rotten Ink’s 10 Year Anniversary year as they really are some of my favorite sci-fi films and growing up Star Trek was a big part of my childhood in both TV shows, movies and toys. And while Star Trek V is not one of the most well loved films staring the original cast by Trekkies, it is one that I have always been a fan of. And after reading this update I hope you give this film a watch and sit back and enjoy the silly ride from the mind of William Shatner. For my next update, I am staying in the world of sci-fi but the next topic has a touch of Greek myth and fantasy to it and I am talking about the 1981 classic film Clash Of The Titans! So until next time, read a Star Trek comic or three, watch a Star Trek film or two and as always support your local Horror Host. Join me next time as Rotten Ink unleashes the Kraken!

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Beware The Wrath Of The Satan’s Six!

I think if you ever have read comics at any time in your life, one creator whose work you have seen or at least have heard of his legend being spoken about in comic shops and or blogs is Jack “The King” Kirby, a man who created some very iconic characters for both Marvel and DC as well as indies! I mean he is the creative mind behind such characters as The Fantastic Four, Silver Surfer, Captain America, The New Gods, Darkseid, Iron Man, Thor, The Incredible Hulk, Nick Fury, Devil Dinosaur, Silver Star, Captain Victory, OMAC, The Eternals, Scarlet Witch, Doctor Doom and so many more! Jack Kirby really is a true icon in the world of comic books, and when people talk about how much he made an impact on the industry, they are not lying! And that’s why in 1993 indie comic publisher Topps Comics wanted to make a impact in the superhero genre and talked to Jack Kirby about bringing some of his characters from the past as well as new ones to readers hands with the Kirbyverse line. For this update we will be taking a look at one of the comic miniseries from that line call Satan’s Six! So if you are ready, let’s travel back to the early 90’s when the comic boom was going strong as we take a trip with Kirby and a pack of strange heroes of sorts.

Topps Comics was trying really hard to be a force in the world of comics, and in 1993 they licensed mostly unused characters Jack Kirby created many years in his past that other companies passed on as well as brought some of his indie comic characters like Captain Victory and Silver Star back to the comic world. This was called The Kirbyverse and was Topps’ way of entering the superhero market.  They thought that they had a very big chance of making a massive splash with Captain Glory, Bombast, Satan’s Six, NightGlider and TeenAgents…sadly, this proved to not be true. Topps Comics pushed the Kirbyverse hard and even comic retailers were itching to get new first issues  of the Kirby-created characters on their shelves so copies were ordered and shelves were well stocked, but the readers just was not there. They even gave away very cool chrome trading cards of the comic with issues, trying to give readers a little extra for their bucks. Diehard Jack Kirby fans bought them but were disappointed that Jack did none of the artwork or if he did, it was a page or so.  Some casual readers checked them out and of course the oil stain of comic collecting, the none-reading speculator resellers, bought the first issues thinking that they could sell in the future for millions, but sales dipped bad after the first issue and the line was considered a failure. Topps ended up canceling the titles with some of them never even finishing up their mini series run. And the worst part of it all is that the comics were really good and had a very classic superhero feel to them.  I think now in modern times the series is a little more respected and readers have discovered that they are good reads with interesting superhero characters. Topps pulled the plug on The Kirbyverse only one year into its run so 1994 marked the end. Sadly Topps Comics would close up shop in 1998 and thus ended an indie comic company that was doing some amazing and fun stuff. I hope that one day Topps gets back into the world of comic books and that they pick up were they left off as they did some really cool comics based on horror movies and I always say we need more companies doing that.

The Satan’s Six is a team of evildoers who are brought together by Satan himself to cause chaos and strike fear in the hearts of the living, well and he finds them to be dull and dolts and wants them to return to Earth in order to get their pitchfork and find their own place in Hell. Placed in charge of them is Odious Kamodious, a demon who made the deal with the Devil as well as our “heroes” to return to Earth to do evil deeds. The team consists of Knight Brian Bluedragon who’s evil deeds always seem to turn good, Dezira is a temptress who is too sweet to do any real harm, African warrior Kuga The Lion-Killer is a skilled warrior who has a soft side for animals, Doctor Mordius a failed serial killer who is much like a tame Jekyll and Hyde, Gambler and con-artist Hard Luck Harrigan is always looking to cheat and lastly is demon Frightful who is a member of the team to make sure they stay in line and do the deeds they are asked to do. And while these fiends are in limbo waiting to get into Hell they for some reason also have hero qualities to them as they fail in all things evil. Just wanted to give you a quick crash course of who the team members are before we head into the review part of this update. I also should state that Satan’s Six was an old concept that Jack had that was not picked up by a publisher until Topps Comics came along and gave them a shot on the comic shelves.

Did you know that also in 2000 Dark Horse Entertainment bought the film rights to Satan’s Six with the idea of developing a movie based on the comic? As of this posting of this update the film has never been made. I would also like to thank Bookie Parlor and Mavericks Cards And Comics for introducing me to this comic series when it was released back in 1993 and making this update possible. I also want to remind you that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. So if you are ready let’s travel to the offices of Odious Kamodious and see what The Satan’s Six has in store for us, and keep in mind I have not read these sense they first came out and I can remember liking them when I was a youngster so let’s see if they hold up now that I am in my 40’s!

Satan’s Six # 1  ***
Released in 1993      Cover Price $2.95      Topps Comics    # 1 of 4

Pristine is an angel who watches over comic books, comic creators, comic characters and sometimes comic fans and she is acting as our narrator in order to introduce us to our “heroes” a group of souls that are trapped in limbo as they have not got called to take their place in Heaven nor Hell. In limbo hanging out together is Dezira, Doctor Mordius, Hard Luck Harrigan and Kuga The Lion-Killer and they are looking for their friend Brian Bluedragon who is on a quest to get into Hell and ask demon Odious Kamodious to place them who argues that they have not done enough evil to be in Hell nor have they done enough good to be in heaven and as the pair go back and fourth Pristine cuts in and wants us readers to know a little more about Brian Bluedragon who was a knight that wanted to take his place with King Arthur who was insulted by the cocky nature of Bluedragon and had him kicked out of Camelot, while outside the gates he made a bad decision and signed his soul over to Satan and as the contract was signed he was ran over by a cart…and this made it impossible for him to go to Hell as he did nothing bad and the contract with Satan had him barred from Heaven and now limbo is his home. Pristine then gives us a brief history of the others that will make up this team. Back at the office of Odious Kamodious he comes up with a mission that will allow Bluedragon to earn his way into Hell and that’s by returning to Earth and the living and sway people to give their souls to Satan, he then gives him a team that is Morbius, Harrigan, Dezira and Kuga as well as two minor demons named Narvag and Sucnip who will drive the Hellicopter that will take them to Earth. Once on Earth they find that a place called Club Inferno is their base and the club uses a Satanic-Tech to make those who enter feel like they are wherever the desire, they meet Virus the man in charge of the club as well as full fledge demon Frightful who is the real boss of Satan’s Six!

The first issue of Satan’s Six is a great way to introduce this new team to readers as we get a quick crash course of who they all are and why they are stuck in limbo, we also see that they are not really evil and are just bored with being in limbo so would even take a deal to get into Hell in order to have a change of pace in the after life. Brian Bluedragon is a knight who’s ego seems to always get the better of him, and when he insults King Arthur of Camelot and is banned from his holy kingdom, he out of spite gives his soul to Satan. While Bluedragon is a screw up and clearly has an ego the size of the Empire State Building stacked on top of the Statue Of Liberty he is not a bad person, he just makes very bad decisions. And that can be said about the rest of his team as Dezira is a wannabe temptress from the Babylon days who is just an airhead, Dr. Morbius is a liar who wants to act as if he is a world infamous serial killer with a super high body count when he is just a scientist, Kuga The Lion-Killer is a warrior who is really a softy and Harrigan is just a guy with a gambling addiction. Virus seems like he is really into the Satanic-Tech and really wants to help send souls to Hell, he also seems like he is just following orders of the demons that are above him. Narvag and Sucnip are two goofy demons that can fly the Hellicopter and fight back and fourth like brothers. And Frightful we don’t get to see much of in this issue but its clear Hell is his business and business is evil. And poor Odious Kamodious is something of an accountant for Hell who wants to be ride of the hassle that is Bluedragon storming the gates every decade or so and comes up with this idea to get these lost souls to Satan but also wishing for a promotion if his team and idea pays off. Pristine is around and while an Angel she is mostly their to break the fourth wall and allow us the readers on the inside for a good and silly ride, oh and also Superman is flying around Heaven as he had died in the comics, while they do not call him Superman its clear that is who it is. What I like about this comics story is that while it is a Horror Comic the writers Jack Kirby and Tony Isabella do a great job and bringing humor into the mix as well as a dash of superhero and this makes for an entertaining read. And because of this Horror Comedy feel the characters are all super likable in their own ways with my two favorites being Brian Bluedragon and Kuga The Lion-Killer as I feel they are interesting and have a cool look to them. The cover for issue one is also amazing as its Jack Kirby and Todd McFarlane together and is super eye-catching and awesome. The issues interior art is done by two artist Jack Kirby and John Cleary and while the styles clash it some how works for me in a very odd way. I should also say that this issue has many guest inkers for the Kirby pages and its pretty impressive as Topps got names like Steve Ditko, Frank Miller, Terry Austin, Joe Sinnott and Mike Royer to lend their inking talents. Over all I myself would say that the first issue of Satan’s Six held up for me and was just as enjoyable of a read now as it was back in 1993! So with that let’s get onto issue two and see what’s next for our motley crew team.

Satan’s Six # 2  ***
Released in 1993     Cover Price $2.95      Topps Comics     # 2 of 4

The female angel Pristine once more opens up the comics and gives readers a quick look at the first issue as well as a quick bio again of our Satan’s Six members. She also goes to Club Inferno and has Virus tell the viewers what Hell’s plan is for our team as well as the souls they help send their, and once she is done we join the team in action. At a museum two security guards are attacked and knocked out by Bluedragon and Kuga as Frightful is talking to a Professor Jacob Simon a man who is selling his soul to Satan, but does not want to see the guards be hurt. You see Professor Simon is a man down on his luck when he was fired from his job and made of joke out of by being called a fraud after discovering a massive old cocoon in a temple in South America of what he thinks is the ancient god Kalazzar, his peers and the board call it a fake and so his troubles begin as he is a man left with nothing. You see Professor Simon is only selling his soul to Satan in order to get help to stop the cocoon from hatching and allowing Kalazzar to walk the Earth again and he needs the supernatural hands of the Satan’s Six to help by touching it while he reads a spell at midnight, and things go wrong when Frightful’s watch was off and the creature God breaks free and is ready to rule the world! Professor Simon argues with Frightful that the contract was not meet and Pristine shows up and agrees with the old man! Professor Simon rushes Kalazzar who snatches him up as well as the team’s new pet dog Fury and this causes Kuga and Bluedragon to go into action and they start fighting the massive godlike being Kalazzar! Pristine informs Frightful that if either of his Satan’s Six members dies in battle trying to save the life of another will be a one way ticket for them to get into Heaven and this forces the demon to now get involved in the fight as he can not loose the souls! As the fight goes on Professor Simon and Hard Luck Harrigan run to Super K-Mart and buy a ton of insect killing sprays and with Doctor Mordius throwing a bomb into the cart the gas comes out and kills the Kalazzar! As the bomb goes off Frightful uses his body to cover Pristine showing that even this demon has a good side. In the end at Club Inferno Bluedragon and his team celebrate the win as in the other room Frightful is upset that he allowed them to fail in their mission. As for Professor Simon he finds that the two guards woke up and watched as he helped save the world and will try and help him get his job back.

The Satan’s Six in this second issue shows that they are kind of clueless when it comes to being evil and tricking humans into giving their souls as they act more like noble heroes as they risk their lives in order to help save a normal mans life who they are suppose to get his soul, and this makes them heroes and opens them up to become angels in Heaven! Poor Professor Jacob Simon is a man who is good at his job and discovers the gateway for a massive insect world destroying creature and is told that he is a fake and a fraud and is fired from his job, and is willing to sell his soul to Satan in order to get help in order to stop the creature from returning showing that while what is did is wrong the reason was noble as he wanted to save the world from destruction. Kalazzar is the insect God like creature that is back on Earth and wants to take over but is stopped by the Satan’s Six as well as incest killer that were bought from K-Mart! While I am sure Kalazzar was super dangerous in his time he is no match for Raid bug spray! Pristine is awesome in this issue as she uses her powers of good to point out to Frightful that not only does he have good in him but so does his team and this is awesome as it forces them all to do good in order for the Demon to not loose total control of his team! Frightful is always ready for a fight and loves being a tricky demon that wants human souls, but also shows that he is not great at his role as the teams leader as he does not stop them from doing good deeds. But I also think that Frightful has a major crush on Pristine as he is willing to risk his safety in order to save her. The Satan’s Six are anti-heroes who think they are doing bad things when in fact they are doing good things and are helping save souls and not taking them, also its clear that Bluedragon and Dezira are becoming boyfriend and girlfriend and that they are all working well together now and are meshing as a team. They also now have a pet dog named Fury that is mean and ready to bite those who stand in the groups way! I would say that once more Bluedragon and Kuga are my two favorite characters as they are the ones who fight the insect creature hand to hand and have no fear and are true brave and noble warriors. The cover for issue two is pretty great and shows the Satan’s Six in battle with Kalazzar and is super 90’s and cool looking. The interior art is done by John Cleary and is good in its own way and has the true 90’s indie comic look to it. Over all another great issue of Satan’s Six that held up for me after all these years and makes me look forward to reading the next again as well!

Satan’s Six # 3  ***
Released in 1993      Cover Price $2.95      Topps Comics     # 3 of 4

Film director Lloyd Kaufman is walking down the street in California and he is disappointed that his actor Samson has turned into Samantha and quite acting to become a showgirl in Vegas and that leaves his new movie “Ugly Annihilator” without his star! While in Limbo two demons have been ordered to guard a hole that has been caused by human pollution and the powers that be are mad that Elvis Presley escaped in order to eat at a Burger Barn, but when the Hunchback Of Notre Dame himself Quasimodo is upset that his ex-girlfriend Dezira has been sent back to Earth he makes a break for it as he wants to save her from Satan’s deal but instead once on Earth he runs into Lloyd Kaufman who casts him as the lead in his film! Meanwhile at Club Inferno things are slow when Frightful gets an order from Hell to bring back Quasimodo and when Bluedragon finds out that the deaf bell ringer use to date his lady he gets jealous and swears to re-kill Quasimodo and send him back to limbo! At the Mann’s Chinese Theater the premier of Ugly Annihilator both Lloyd Kaufman and Quasimodo are being interviewed by a entertainment show about the film and speaking about Dezira when the Satan’s Six show up and Bluedragon wants to start a fight with Quasimodo! The fight is brutal and Quasimodo is besting Bluedragon when Pristine appears and stops the fight an alerts Quasimodo that he had gained his ticket to Heaven as he risked his own soul in order to return to Earth to warn Dezira of her bad deal with Satan! Quasimodo is so happy to be going to Heaven and decides to stay on Earth for a little bit as he now has a three picture deal with Troma! In the end Dezira and Bluedragon are happy to be together and as the Satan’s Six are going back to Club Inferno outside is another of Dezira’s ex-boyfriends and its Attila The Hun!

This is such a crazy issue that brings together so many amazing elements that include classic literature character Quasimodo, Troma Entertainment co-owner Lloyd Kaufman, Hollywood and of course our stars Satan’s Six! The plot is simple and has Satan’s Six having to bring back an escaped soul back to limbo, but like before instead of getting souls for Satan they help a soul go to God. The Satan’s Six are hired guns from Hell who are really just being used and while they try to complete their tasks they just are not very good at it, and with Dezira being a temptress and a sweet woman she has a charm to her that makes people fall in love with her and that’s why her new boyfriend Bluedragon is so protective of her and when he finds out that her Ex is back on Earth his pride and ego kicks in and leads him to making bad decisions that has him getting beat up. Really while Satan’s Six get along with each other, they are also very much at times disorganized and seem very reluctant to help at times in battles and that goes more for the likes of Harrigan who is not a fighter and is just a gambler. And this failed mission of soul gathering is the fault of Frightful, who sends the team to Hollywood alone as he claimed he has an allergy to Hollywood, and is not their to truly guide them from winning God a soul from Limbo. Quasimodo aka The Hunchback Of Notre Dame is a man who has fallen in love with a temptress by the name of Dezira and escapes limbo in order to try and save her soul from Satan and in doing so ends up not only becoming a movie star for Troma Entertainment but also gets a ticket into Heaven! Its also really cool to hear why Quasimodo was in limbo as he was a good soul but he did kill a person inside the house of God making him a strange case for where is soul would end up. Pristine once more comes to the team’s rescue as she saves another soul and is clearly doing her best to not allow the members of Satan’s Six to damn their own. And good old Lloyd Kaufman just wants to make his movie and make big profits and find his next big star, and let’s just say its awesome that they have Kaufman in this issue and I will speak more on that a little later in this update. The cover is cool and is a spoof of TV show Entertainment Tonight and has Bluedragon and Quasimodo fighting it out! The interior art is solid indie 90’s stuff and is still being done by John. Like before this issue has held up for me after all these years and I am shocked that I forgot that Lloyd Kaufman was a character in this series. Well let’s see what the fourth and final issue has in store for us.

Satan’s Six # 4  ***
Released in 1993      Cover Price $2.95      Topps Comics      # 4 of 4

At the Inferno Club Odious Kamodious is yelling at everyone and is really mad at Frightful as the Virus alerts them all that the number of souls being sent to Hell has dropped sense Satan’s Six has been sent to Earth so the team has done the opposite of what they have been contracted to do. Odious Kamodious then tells Frightful that he has a replacement as the Leader of this team set and its Jason Voorhees! And with that Jason Voorhees is in the Inferno Club and from the start tries to attack everyone and while Bluedragon, Kuga and Frightful try to hold Jason off the one who summoned him Odious Kamodious uses a spell and sends him back to Hell. Odious Kamodious then alerts them that they will no longer be trying to win over souls for Hell but they will now be soul collectors who are sent after people who have sold their souls and their first collection is a guy named Big John Gavin who signed his away for help against crime bosses and to rise to power and wealth in the city of Chicago’s crime. The team gear up and get ready as Harrigan seems to be bothered as they are returning to his home town, and they also learn that Angel Pristine is going along this bounty collecting mission. While Big John knows they are coming for him and alongside his friend and muscle bound trainer Bjorn they come up with a plan to fight the demons off and to save his soul. Satan’s Six shows up at Big John’s home and we find out that he was once a bad guy but has now turned his life around and was once the best friend of Hard Luck Harrigan and changed his life after Harrigan was killed in a Mob shootout. Frightful doesn’t care about the change as the contract was signed and its time for his soul to be collected, while Big John runs from Bluedragon and Kuga his friend Bjorn has a fist fight with Frightful as Dr. Mordius by accident turns his own head into a giant flower from a bad potion all the while Pristine and Dezira watch from the sidelines. While all this madness is going on Harrigan disappears and all of a sudden lawyers for Big John show up and discover that the world soul is spelled wrong in the contract as its sole so Big John pays up with one of his old smelly shoes and the Satan’s Six is forced to return to base with one shoe as their prize. Later that night Pristine visits Harrigan and informs him that she will put in a good word for him in Heaven as she knows that it was he who changed the wording on the contract to save his friends soul from damnation. Harrigan tells her thanks but he now has new friends that need his help as Fury is chasing Dr. Mordius around who still has a flower head mistaking him for a tree.

Satan’s Six is not for everyone as it really is a very silly Horror Comedy comic that has elements of Superhero to it and the humor is super cheesy as is the plots and jokes. The final issues plot has our team going to collect a soul on a contract date and soon finds that the one they are after was the best friend of their teammate Harrigan and he uses his gambling under hand tricks in order to save his friend from an Eternity in Hell. The Satan’s Six members seem to know that they are failures and go along with the job change as it seems like it would be more easy to do, and like always the fail in their mission and another person is saved. Hard Luck Harrigan is the main focus of the team in this final issue as we get to know that he is from Chicago and only sold his soul in order to save his but from some bad dudes he pulled a con over on, we also know that he died via being shot multiple times by Mobsters. While Harrigan has done bad things in his life he also clearly cares about his friends old and new and will do the right thing to protect them. The other member that takes a spotlight is Frightful the demon who is saddled with having to lead these goofs in mission that they always seem to fail, he is super annoyed by them and it’s clear he knows that this experiment will not end well for him nor Odious Kamodious who came up with this earn you place in Hell plan. And that’s the thing while all the members of Satan’s Six stay the same for the most part, their more good nature is brought out over the four issue mini series. Having a cameo by Jason Voorhees that also acts as a plug for the film and comic adaptation was also a nice touch and helped add to both the Horror and the Humor as he tried to slash Odious Kamodious with his trusty machete causing the demon to scream for help. And just like the Lloyd Kaufman cameo, we will talk a little more about it later in this update. The comic is bloodless and goreless and the Horror elements more come from the fact it’s about Hell and souls being taken to it than your normal 90’s Horror Comic flare. And I am proud to say that I enjoyed this mini series in 1993 when it was released and in 2021 still found myself enjoying it and wishing that Topps Comics would have given us more, well they kind of did with the three issue mini series “Satan’s Six Hellspawn” but that will be for another update in the future. The cover for this issue is eye catching as it has stars all around a chrome version of Jason Voorhees’s hockey mask and would surly bring Horror Comic readers in. The comics interior art is done by John Clary again, and I have to say I think is art got better every issue. Now one thing that many readers had issues with is that Jack Kirby only did a few pages in the first issue before John took over, and I get it as we all love Kirby’s work but keep in mind this comic series came out very shortly before his death. I would say that if you enjoy 90’s indie Horror Comedy Comics, enjoyed Topps Comics, like the characters of Jack Kirby then make sure to check out this mini series as its worth a read and is pretty dang enjoyable. Check out the artwork below with the first being Kirby and the other two being Johns to see they styles used in this comic.

Ok so let’s now quickly talk about how issue four of Satan’s Six has a cameo from Jason Voorhees from the Friday The 13th film series and the coolest part about this is that this is Jason’s first comic book appearance! The version of Jason used is from Jason Goes To Hell and that makes sense as Topps was also gearing up to do the adaptation of that film. While many reviewers trash the cameo from Jason as they use terms like “Shoe Horned In,” I myself feel like the cameo was well done and showed that even in Hell Jason can not be controlled and just has the urge to kill and kill! And even during the cameo Pristine points out that the cameo was to advertise from the film and comic, as the cameo is used as a humor bit as well as a horror one. It’s also cool to see The Satan’s Six team up on Jason to keep him at bay until he is sent away again. Take a look at the art below to see how Jason looks in this comic.

Ok the other shocking and super random cameo is from Lloyd Kaufman, director and co-owner of Troma Entertainment! That’s right, the mastermind behind the films Toxic Avenger and Class Of Nuke‘Em High shows up in issue three of this series! And Uncle Lloyd being in this comic just shows how much fun Topps Comics had making these issues as they did not follow the normal rules of mainstream comics and added crazy cameos as well as took chances on some classic heroes as well as unproven properties. I just wanted to quickly address how random and awesome this comic cameo was, and let’s be honest, more comics need Lloyd in them! Again all you Troma fans, make sure to check out this issue in order to see Lloyd hire the Hunchback Of Notre Dame for a movie roll.

Satan’s Six might not be the most iconic Jack Kirby created team and in reality they are not even really known to many comic readers as they failed to make a major impact on readers and comic history. But for me, a comic reader who grew up reading Topps Comics, they are a very cool and iconic part of my childhood that brought me some laughs as well as chills and even delivered some amazing cameos that pleased the Monster Kid that I was and am. I really like all the members of the team, and my favorite is Kuga The Lion-Killer as he is truly a brave warrior who has a soft spot for animals. But while Satan’s Six is over, do not worry as we will visit that world again when I do cover the Hellspawn mini series and this will also not be the last time that we take a look at the Kirbyverse here on Rotten Ink as at some point I will cover Captain Glory, Bombast and the others. But for now its time to leave the Kirbyverse as we will next be meeting up in the 1930’s and will be going on some heroic adventures with the one and only Doc Savage in the Marvel Universe! So until then, make sure to read a Topps Comics or three, watch a Horror Comedy film or two and as always support your local Horror Host. See you in a few weeks for a classic hero good time.

From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: WolfCop (2014)

Halloween is drawing closer, and this countdown to this spooky holiday update will be about the Horror Comedy film WolfCop and the Dynamite Comic series based around it! WolfCop is one of those indie films that I was alerted to early on and knew I needed to see it as I am a mega werewolf fan and also enjoy a good Horror Comedy from time to time. But after a short limited theatrical run and me not liking digital movies, I had to wait a while and finally was able to get it on DVD, and after watching it I was a fan of its fun over the top nature. And when thinking about what film and comic should get the “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” update treatment I knew I had to cover WolfCop sooner then later and now here it is, so grab a drink, sit back and relax as we are going on a crazy werewolf crime busting adventure with Sergeant Lou Garou or as we all really know him WolfCop.

Let’s take a look at Sergeant Lou Garou aka The Wolfcop and his way of dealing with criminals that get in his way, as he does not kill the innocent. As human Lou Garou he is an officer of the law who spends more time drinking and getting drunk than busting crime and is over all looked at as a failure and joke. But once he is turned into a werewolf and called WolfCop he is still a drunk but also is some how a better officer! WolfCop can use his super senses like smell and hearing in order to track down his targets as they can run but cannot hide, as he can also move pretty fast for a drunken werewolf. WolfCop is also really strong and can use his strength to toss around as well as rip apart criminals and cult members alike. While WolfCop can use handguns and shotguns to deal death his main tools are his razor sharp teeth and claws that can rip and tear flesh like rice paper. WolfCops can also scare criminals with his appearances as well as his howl that can chill their bones and freeze them with fear. WolfCop is also fearless and will walk into danger and as he is not only has a don’t care attitude but also has liquid courage as he is drunk at all times. WolfCop not only gets his powers from the full moon but also booze and oh yeah he loves doughnuts. It should also be noted that normal bullets and stab wounds does not kill him. WolfCop does have weaknesses as he is human most of the time, and there for can be hurt and killed. Magic and Silver weapons of death can also kill him as again he is a werewolf and he hates silver. WolfCop also cause he is drunk can also be outsmarted and set up allowing his enemies to attack or escape him. WolfCop is a pretty strong killing machine and while he only kills the guilty those on the wrong side of the law have lots to worry about.

So as you can see, WolfCop is one law enforcement killing machine who while a raging beast is still on the side of the law and does what’s right and slaughters the bad people of the world. But now that we have talked about WolfCop the creature we need to now dive into the film that spawned him! I will be taking the films write up from our pals at IMDB after that I will be writing about the film’s production as well as my thoughts of the film. So let’s talk WolfCop the Full Moon Avenger Of Law Enforcement.

WolfCop (2014)

“It’s not unusual for alcoholic cop Lou to black out and wake up in unfamiliar surroundings, but lately things have taken a turn for the strange…and hairy. WolfCop is the story of one cop’s quest to become a better man. One transformation at a time.”

Lowell Dean was coming off his first feature film “13 Eerie” that was released in 2013 and had the bug to make another film. He wanted to make a film that as well did not rely on computer effects and wanted practical and being a horror fan he wanted to stay in that genre but also add in a touch of comedy. The film was shot in the same location area as 13 Eerie and was your typical independent filming production. Lowell did a great job of casting as he hired Leo Fafard to play Lou Garou/ The WolfCop as well as such named as Sarah Lind, Jonathan Cherry and Amy Matysio in supporting roles. He also got the scoring and music skills of Shooting Guns to do the soundtrack. The film was released on June 6, 2014 and was meet with great reviews from horror fans and critics as always was split on it with most given it praise. The film was released along side such films as Dracula Untold, As Above So Below, Last Shift, It Follows, A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night and What We Do In The Shadows to name a few. The film would be released on DVD, Blu-Ray and Digital and find even more of a following.

WolfCop was a film that I first heard about thanks to Horror Movie websites that I visit all the time sites like Gorezone, Bloody Disgusting and Dread Central to name a few and the coverage they were given it, and then once I seen the trailer I knew I had to see this film as werewolves are my favorite classic monster and the film looked crazy and funny as well. Of course no local theater in my area picked it up when it had its limited run theatrically so I had to wait for home media before I was able to view it and did so at a Horror Movie Marathon and the film was a big hit with everyone in attendance enjoying! And the shocking part for me was that I really liked it and laughed at several of the over the top moments as well as crude gross humor, and that’s shocking as for the most part I am not a mega fan of the more modern Horror Comedy films that was spawned after Shaun Of The Dead. And even more shocking is when the sequel Another WolfCop was released in 2017 I as well really enjoyed that one as well! Besides the gross humor what really worked for me was the look of WolfCop as well as the blood and gore as the film had no CGI effects and the practical effects made the scenes more gruesome and made the humor pop more. Plus you can never go wrong with the films end theme being a rap about the films character, man more movies need to do this. If you like werewolves, dark crude gross humor, indie Horror flicks and cool effects I say make sure to check out WolfCop! Oh and Lowell Dean were is WolfCop 3?

WolfCop is a film that I think every Horror Movie fan with a weird sense of humor should see at least once in their lives as I think much of the over the top goof gore and kills will put a smile on your face. Now it’s time that we take a look at the comics based on this film and I would like to thank Mavericks Cards And Comics for getting me these comics for my pull file and making this long overdue update possible. I would also like to remind you readers that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, its entertainment value and it’s art and story. So if you are ready, let’s go on patrol with WolfCop and see what violent calls we will get while he is on duty.

WolfCop # 1  ***
Released in 2016     Cover Price $3.99   Dynamite     #1 of 3

Just outside the town of Woodhaven, a door-less police car is speeding away from the town and behind the wheel is the drunk Sergeant Lou Garou who is guzzling liquor and with him is his friend Willie Higgins who is a little scared of Lou’s poor drunk driving skills. The car ends up dying and the two are stuck out in the middle of nowhere just in time to be harassed by a motorcycle gang that has two young ladies kidnapped, Lou being an officer of the law tries to save the ladies…but he and Willie are overpowered and are as well taken. While tied up and placed in a cycles sidecar the moon comes out and Lou turns into WolfCop and slaughters all but one biker who ran away and saves the ladies, while one lady runs off if fear the other tells them that the bikers were taken them to a place called The Meat Locker and that many people before them had been taken to it and have never returned. The Meat Locker is ran by a fat cannibal who has the bikers kidnap people and bring them to this place so he can eat them, and once hearing about WolfCop he gets a craving for werewolf meat! WolfCop takes Willie and the woman to the Meat Locker on a stolen bike and rushes in and takes out many of the henchmen and butchers with ease, but he finds that the man in charge is really a monster a giant Boar monster and its strong, real strong and even worse hungry! WolfCop and The Boar Monster clash with WolfCop coming out the winner with a well-placed bullet to the creature’s brain! In the end the young woman frees all the hostages that were to be eaten as Willie and WolfCop ride off on a motorcycle.

This first issue in the WolfCop mini series is a fantastic read that is filled with lots of blood and guts as well as humor and shows that Horror Movie characters like WolfCop are perfect for comic books. The plot has Officer Garou on the run along with his close friend Willie who stumble onto a biker gang who are taking people to a place to be killed and eaten by a man who is really a monster boar, really the plot is that crazy and that fantastic. WolfCop is a werewolf of few words besides when he wants a hard drink and lets his actions speak for themselves, he is not afraid to rush into danger as well as has zero issues with massacring bad guys. As human Lou Garou he is nothing more than a drunk who loves taking a drink one after another. Willie Higgins is a loyal friend to Lou who watches out for his friend not only as a human but also as a werewolf and is willing to risk his own life to help out his pal. The Biker Gang are just evil minions for a Boar Creature who is brutal in nature and loves to eat flesh and is always hungry for blood and meat…he is massive when turned into the creature and all those who were to be eaten have to think WolfCop for coming and saving the day and their lives. The comic is very bloody and has lots of blood splatter and even flesh eating making it truly feel like a horror comic straight of the 90’s indie scene. The pacing of the issue is also really well done and feels like a fast read with lots of action and a cool fight between monsters with a good payout. The cover is really great and super eye catching not only for fans of the WolfCop film but also for fans of Horror Comics! The interior art is done by Arcana Studios and is top-notch work and captures the awesome look of WolfCop really well. This comic is a nice fit and feels like apart of the film universe and shows that Horror Comics based on films can be done right when the right creative team is behind the creative wheel.

WolfCop # 2  ***
Released in 2016     Cover Price $3.99   Dynamite     #2 of 3

Lou and Willie are in a small town trying to get his old beat up police cruiser fix when they meet Madame Faye at a strip club and she invites them to stay at her place for the night while the car is being worked on. They get to her home and see that it’s filled with beautiful women and she also has a mountain of a man named Sammy who acts as the houses security guard even caring a massive sword. As Willie goes off to a room with all the ladies, Lou heads off with Madame Faye and things start to turn bad real bad for the friends! Madame Faye is some sort of witch and uses black magic to bring the werewolf out of Lou as well as keeps him in place with a spell, as poor Willie ends up having to fight for his life as the women he is with are all zombies! After killing all the zombie women Willie makes his way to Lou and finds him stuck and now as WolfCop the beast in mad and wants something hard to drink to try and break the spell, but all they have is a little booze left in a flask. Willie tries his best to free WolfCop but is found out by Madame Faye and Sammy and pays with his life as Sammy cuts Willie’s hand and head off, and this enrages WolfCop who breaks free and kills Sammy in return who can not be kept down as he is some sort of demon, and worse for WolfCop more Zombie woman are around and the house is no on fire! WolfCop is able to get the Sammy Demon outside and finds some booze that he quickly drinks that gives him the power to rip the heart out of Sammy killing the demon. He leaves Madame Faye in the burning house as she is being attacked and killed by her zombie women as the flames close in. WolfCop is upset and gives a call to Sergeant Tina and alerts her that he is coming back home to Woodhaven.

This second issue puts WolfCop into another very dangerous situation as he this time around must fight off an evil powerful Witch, her Demon sidekick and a horde of female zombies hungry for flesh all in a small town at a whorehouse and witnesses his best friend be killed before his eyes! So as you can see this was a really bad night for WolfCop who allows his rage to take over, well as well as lots of booze in order to break a spell he was under and escape and kill those who ruined his night. WolfCop in this issues not only uses his claws and teeth to cause death but also uses his gun to bring down the evil all around him. It always makes me laugh when WolfCop uses his addiction to booze to be more powerful as a werewolf and it works for him as the drunker he is the more skilled he is. Poor Willie who is the babysitter for WolfCop was looking forward to bedding some beautiful women, instead is attacked by them as they turn into zombies and then become the victim of a beheading at the hands of a demon. The Demon Sammy is a killer who listens to his master and uses his sword to deliver death as well as has a burning body that can inflict pain as well. Madame Faye is a witch that uses her black magic to kill people that come to her brothel and control a demon and zombies. She is powerful but also when she gets weakened by a gunshot wound she finds herself the lunch buffet for her own zombie ladies. This issue is lots of fun just like the first one and has a fast paced silly Comedy Horror vibe that captures the film series really well. The comic has blood and guts and even has the death of a character that was a fan favorite for readers and viewers. The cover on this issue is just ok and is a little lacking and while eye catching does not do the issue justice. The interior art is well done and is done by Allan Otero and is well done and his WolfCop drawings are on point. Over all another great issue in this WolfCop mini series and I like that this one ends with him returning home and who knows what creatures he will face in the next and final issue.

WolfCop # 3  **1/2
Released in 2016     Cover Price $3.99   Dynamite     #3 of 3

WolfCop returns to Woodheaven and once out of his car kills off some gang members before entering Willie’s old gun store to find Willie alive inside as he re-spawned after getting his head cut off by Sammy at the brothel. You see Willie who is a shape shifter has an unknown amount of returns in his life. Once inside the shop WolfCop and Willie talk about the curse the witch placed on him that now keeps him stuck as a werewolf! Just then Officer Tina shows up and notices that Willie has all types of illegal guns and warns them both that they need to leave town as they are wanted for many murders. As WolfCop and Willie are heading to the car to once more leave town a sniper using high-powered ammo opens fire on WolfCop who shrugs off the bullets and ends up killing the sniper. A homeless man from nowhere shows up and is upset that the sniper failed and as he keeps getting mad he changes into a monster with a massive mouth filled with razor sharp teeth and many tentacles legs and goes for WolfCop as he wants to drink the werewolves blood. Tina and Willie try and help their friend by shooting at and even hitting the monster with grenades, but while it slows the monster down it does not stop him! WolfCop is loosing as the monster is way to big and strong, but Willie tosses WolfCop a grenade launcher and lycan cop fires right into the monsters mouth and kills it. In the end Willie and WolfCop are leaving town and Tina watches them walk away as WolfCop asks for doughnuts.

The third and final issue of WolfCop has him returning home in order to pick up his friend Willie who has re-spawned back to life their after being killed. Once in town he is attacked by yet another monster and even gets to see is old partner Tina. The Monster in this issue is a weird looking almost H.P. Lovercraft creature that wants to drink the blood of WolfCop and spends his time also talking down to the officer while beating him. The Monster is way to cocky and that’s what leads to him being exploded into pieces is the fact he thinks he is unbeatable. Willie Higgins returns and he is happy to be back to life and is as goofy and gun loving as ever, and because he loves guns and weapons is how they are able to bring down the monster that was attacking and killing his friend WolfCop. It’s also great to see Officer Tina in action as she is a very important character in the films series and plays a smaller role here in the comic, but still great to see her. WolfCop in this issue is stuck being a werewolf and is not drunk enough and is hungry for some good old doughnuts, but even with these cravings he still has the mindset to kill some punks as well as try and fight a monster that was bigger then he was! Through out this whole mini series WolfCop as always backs down from no fight and goes into them with no plan and no fear and always comes out the winner. I mean think about this just in these three issues he has killed a Cannibal Boar Monster, Bikers, A Witch, Female Zombies, a Demon, Punks, A Sniper and a Monster…see WolfCop is a drunken badass! This issue has some blood and violence but is not in the same league as the last two issues that had way more gory deaths. I feel like Dynamite really dropped the ball by not making WolfCop an ongoing series as it would have been awesome to see it continue and even maybe crossover with Army Of Darkness, as who wouldn’t want to see WolfCop team with Ash and fight the deadites! The cover for this third issue is pretty good and shows WolfCop crashing through a window looking very pissed off and ready for a fight. The interior art is done by Allan Otero and like before is very well done, and for those wondering Allan is an artist who has done so much for Zenescope Comics. I really enjoyed the WolfCop mini series and really do feel that more issues should have been made and that a third film should be as well, and I will say if you like WolfCop or Another WolfCop you should give this comic series a read. Check out the artwork below to see the style used in this series.

WolfCop and Dynamite Comics come together to once more prove my point that comics based on Horror Movies are a great way to not only promote the film as this one was a great way to build hype for the sequel Another WolfCop that was coming out soon as well as helps bring readers to the comic company that released it, as fans of WolfCop would go on to see Dynamite release Jeepers Creepers and Pumpkinhead as well as their long running Army Of Darkness series. That is why in my opinion companies like Eibon Press, IDW and Blood Scream Comics are doing it right as they deliver not only great original comics but also amazing must read ones based on Horror Films. But enough of that I don’t need to bring out my soapbox here to talk about Horror Comics, as our patrol with WolfCop has came to an end and I need to alert you all that the next update that will be about the 1996 shot on video film “A Night Of Total Terror” that was directed by James Rolfe! So until next time read a Horror Comic or three, watch a Horror Movie or two and as always support your local Horror Host. Man, I really hope that you readers are ready for a Night that is packed with Total Terror!

The Voyage To Star Trek IV

Welcome back to Rotten Ink.  Once more we will be heading to space with the crew of the USS Enterprise as we take a look at Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home and the DC Comic adaptation of it! Many Trekkies find this film to be one of the best sequels in the series only slightly behind Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan, and I must say this film is fantastic and is one that I have seen many times. I know I have said this before and I will say it again, back when these original cast Star Trek movies were released in the late 70’s and all the way to the early 90’s they were big deals and I can remember the TV ads talking about them being in theaters. I also remember the ads in the local newspaper when they would show theater air times complete with mini black and white posters that I would cut out keep. Sadly Star Trek has lost steam at the Box Office for the most part, but has found a new life on CBS All Access with new series being made. So if you are ready, let’s step foot once more on the Enterprise and go on a space adventure with Captain Kirk and his crew.

So let’s start this off the way we should and begin our talk about The Voyage Home with taking a look at the film itself. As always, the film’s write up will be taken from our good friends at IMDB and after I will be writing about the film’s production as well as my thoughts on this fourth Star Trek film. So let’s take a look at this fourth and iconic Star Trek flick.

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)

“The most acclaimed Star Trek adventure of all time with an important message. It is the 23rd century, and a mysterious alien probe is threatening Earth by evaporating the oceans and destroying the atmosphere. In their frantic attempt to save mankind, Admiral Kirk and his crew must time travel back to 1986 San Francisco where they find a world of punk, pizza and exact-change buses that are as alien to them as anything they have ever encountered in the far-off reaches of the galaxy. William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy return as Kirk and Spock, along with the entire Star Trek crew.”

Before Star Trek III was even finished and out, Paramount Pictures was already talking about a fourth film in the series, and they wanted Leonard Nimoy to return to direct and come up with the story as they liked the way his ideas were going. You see at this time Paramount was very much behind the Star Trek property and knew they had something special in their hands and started to truly understand that it has a majorly loyal fan base…unlike most modern Star Wars fans. At first the fourth film had a rocky start as William Shatner was not wanting to return to play Captain Kirk and only agreed to after a massive raise that got him $2.5 million to do the film.   Nimoy wanted to make a more fun picture as the first three films were very serious and filled with drama, and this go around he wanted to add a little humor. The original idea had the Enterprise Crew returning to Earth to stop a virus whose only cure was destroyed way back due to the cutting of the rainforests in the past…but people dying this way was not the way they wanted to go and so they went with the idea of returning home to get a whale to sing its song to save Earth from being destroyed by a weapon that only responds to their calls. The original script had a part for comedian and actor Eddie Murphy, who is a Trekkie, to play a professor who believes in aliens…but he disliked the role and went on to make the film The Golden Child instead. The script for this film also had lots of issues as not only was William Shatner displeased with many of them but so was Paramount Pictures who brought back Nicholas Meyer to help rewrite it and he joined names like Daniel Petrie Jr, Steve Meerson, Peter Krikes and Harve Bennett all of who, had ideas and wrote parts of this script! And after rewrites, Paramount was finally pleased with the scripts, and the film went into the filming stages. Leonard Rosenman ended up doing the score for the film and when released it was met with great reviews from critics and fans, and over the years it’s rated as one of the best films in the series. When released in 1986, it was the # 5 to grossing film in America bringing in as of this date $109,713,132.00 on a budget of only $21 million and beat out other films like Aliens, Short Circuit, Pretty In Pink, Friday The 13th Pat VI: Jason Lives, Howard The Duck, Legend and Labyrinth to name a few. And when released on home media, it was a top selling film showing that this fourth film in the Star Trek series really is a great film that has kept over the decades its popularity with Trek fans.

When Star Trek IV was being released in theaters, I can remember seeing the ads in the paper as well as commercials all over TV as this one seemed to have more hype around it and to be honest is the one I remember the most from the early films as I was the perfect age. The first time I ever saw the film was in science class in Middle School in Waynesville as my science teacher Mr. York was a big fan of Star Trek and college football and would often uses a Star Trek reference during teaching. He wanted the class to watch the film to show how actions have reactions; he was an awesome teacher. Plus it was a great way to spend a few classes taking a break and watching a Sci-Fi film with your classmates. I remember liking the film as it was cool to see them in more of a modern setting as well as tackling the issue that was the world killing whales and limiting their population, something that is sadly still a struggle to this day thanks to over fishing and whalers killing them to sell the blubber for cosmetics and other products. Kirk and Spock are fantastic as they try and figure out a way to bring a whale to their time, and Scotty talking to the computer mouse is classic stuff. Plus who doesn’t laugh seeing the Enterprise Crew trying their best to fit in to the late 1980’s society and being super awkward doing so. Over the years I would go on to get the film on VHS as well as later DVD and would watch pretty often along with the other films in the series featuring the original cast. This film as well is considered one of the best in the movie series and many place it right behind Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan as being the second best over all, I however would place it in my top three for sure, but at # 3! If you have not seen this one and want to watch Spock put the Vulcan Nerve Pitch onto a Punk Rocker on a RTA Bus after he flipped off, Kirk check this one out.

Like all the Star Trek movies that came before it, Star Trek IV had its fair share of amazing merchandise for fans to collect over the years like a paperback book adaptation, comic book, action figures, posters, magazines, soundtrack, trading cards, t-shirts and even buttons to name a few. This was the one Star Trek movie from my youth that when it was released I can remember the hype train being around and many of these items at stores my family shopped at like Hearts, Hills and Gold Circle. Star Trek IV had some great merchandise and I can remember over the years owning the film on both VHS and DVD. I had and read the paperback book, owned the comic book plus of course had the soundtrack on cassette and later on CD.

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home really is a great sequel in the Trek movie series and brought a more modern feel to the series that many younger viewers had started to see as dated. And while not my favorite of the sequels, it is one I 100% enjoy and have watched many, many times over the years. And we are now at the time of this update that we take a look at the comic adaptation, and I am very much looking forward to reading this one again as I have not since I was a very early teenager. I want to thank Mavericks Cards And Comics for having this comic in stock all those years ago and want to remind all you readers that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. So if you are ready, let’s climb aboard the Enterprise once more and go on a trip with Captain Kirk and his crew and let’s save the world and the whales!

Star Trek IV: Voyage Home # 1  ***
Released in 1987     Cover Price $2.00     DC Comics     # 1 of 1

The USS Saratoga is trying to communicate with a probe that is not responding and is draining the ship of all its power. We then cut to a Starfleet Court as Captain James T. Kirk is on trail for many counts that go against the fleet as well as the killing of the Klingon crew as well as stealing the Bird Of Prey ship. The Klingon spokesperson also accuses Kirk of using the Genesis Project and claims all the destruction it caused was part of his plan. Speaking on behalf of Kirk and his crew is Ambassador Sarek who gets the court to dismiss the claims of the Klingons who claim that they will never be at peace as long as Kirk lives! Meanwhile on the planet Vulcan, the crew of the USS Enterprise are stranded as Scotty works his magic on the Bird Of Prey so that they can return to Earth and face the courts. While getting ready to leave, Kirk allows Lt. Saavik to step down and stay behind on her home planet, as the re-born now adult Spock is learning the ways of his culture and decides to go to Earth with his former crewmates. Meanwhile the Probe is heading for Earth and is shutting down all the Star Fleet ships and even their bases and is causing the planet to be covered in a fog! As Kirk and his crew head to Earth, they get a message from the President who is warning all ships not to come close to Earth as a Probe has it under attack by creating mass flooding and can shut down any and all ships, Spock figures out that the Probe is trying to talk to a whale and that Earth is in trouble as they had all been killed in the 21st Century! Kirk decides that the way they can help the Earth is by going back in time and bringing two whales back to their time in order to answer the Probe and save the Earth. Once they travel back in time they do their best to blend in and split off into groups as they not only have to find the whales but also build tanks for them to take back as well as they need a nuclear reactor to recharge the ship’s crystal that gives it the power needed to return! McCoy, Scotty and Sulu head out to try and find the materials needed to build the tanks and even change history a little along the way, Uhura and Chekov find the place to get the nuclear power needed and Spock and Kirk head out to find the whales! Dr. Gillian Taylor is in charge of two whales in captivity, and Spock and Kirk make their way to visit. Spock dives into the tank and mind melds with one of the whales and learns that the female is pregnant and they both hate how people treat them and they are willing to go to the future to save the Earth from the Probe. Kirk goes out to dinner with Gillian after she drops Spock off at the park where their ship is hidden. Meanwhile Scotty, McCoy and Sulu find a manufacturer and give them the idea to make a stronger plastic that they can use to transport the whales on the Bird Of Prey back to the future. Meanwhile Chekov and Uhura are on a ship trying to get the nuclear energy needed they are spotted by the military and while Uhura gets away, poor Chekov suffers a head injury. And now they have to get to the hospital to save him from surgery and Gillian also returns to the park and is beamed aboard as she has bad news that her boss has shipped off the whales to the ocean! Kirk and this crew get to the hospital and save Chekov and then track the whales and save them from blubber hunters and get them on the ship and along with Gillian they return to the future and the whales answer the probe and the Earth is saved! But even after saving the day Kirk and his crew must face the court, and what they get as punishment is Kirk is demoted from Admiral back to Captain and he is assigned a new ship with his crew and their adventures continue.

First things first, this could be the best Star Trek Movie adaptation we have covered thus far as it truly captures the adventure and nature of the film! The plot of this comic and the film is pretty simple: a Probe that can destroy a planet sends out a whale song that is not answered as mankind has killed them off in the future and now they are paying the price as the probe is causing a massive flood on Earth and it’s up to Kirk and the Enterprise Crew to travel back in time and bring whales from the past to the future to answer the Probe’s call. Captain Kirk in this issue is in deep trouble with Star Fleet as he disobeyed orders in order to save the reborn Spock and even blew up his own ship that was high jacked by Klingons that leave all the invaders dead! I also should note that Kirk is an Admiral for most of this issue and even though he is in trouble he and his crew take action and save many lives as well as Earth from becoming a massive swimming pool. Spock is starting to get his mind back after being dead, and is slowly remembering his friendships and memories of being Spock. He also as always he one who figures out how to save the day as well as has the skills to talk to the whales that are needed to save the day. Scotty as well is a lifesaver as his knowledge of space crafts and compounds make the transport tanks possible. Poor Chekov while trying to get nuclear power needed for the ships crystals gets a nasty head injury and must be saved from the hospital and treated by McCoy to heal him up. And the rest of the Enterprise Crew McCoy, Sulu and Uhura are all doing their part to get the stuff they need in the past to save the future. Dr. Gillian Taylor is a woman who loves her job and cares very much for the two whales that have been in her care, and I also respect that she leaves her life behind to travel to the future to stay with them and help teach the future about caring for them. DC Comics so far has delivered two very well done adaptations of Star Trek movies and this one does a top notch job of capturing the true fun, silly and sci-fi action of the film. The thing that works the best for me is the fact that this comic does a great job of capturing the humor of this film, and while “Hello Computer” is a little weak in the comic, other gags work great in ink. The cover is really good for the time and is eye catching as the interior artwork done by Tom Sutton is great stuff as he captures the look and attitude of each character. If you like Star Trek IV, this comic is one that should be in your collection as it will surely entertain you. And to be honest I am very much looking forward to reading the comic for Star Trek V next year as these update are truly a blast for me to write. Check out the artwork below to see the style of Tom from this issue, and I picked panels that are from some of my favorite scenes from the movie.

Star Trek IV is a fun film as well as a fun comic and for me. While I enjoy the other Star Trek shows like Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, Enterprise and Discovery, none of them are as good as the original series and the movies that followed with them. Captain Kirk is for me the best of the Captains, and I wish William Shatner would return one last time to Star Trek and unite with the remaining cast for one last voyage. But for my next update we will be leaving space and heading to the world of Horror Hosts for our first in our celebration of 10 Years of the Horror Host Hall Of Fame as we take a look at Miko Macabre of Cryptique! So until next time, read a Star Trek comic or three, watch a Star Trek Movie or Show and as always support your local Horror Host! See your next time as we cover one of YouTube’s best Horror Hosts from the past.

Tarzan’s Great Christmas Eve Adventure

Merry Christmas Eve! It’s hard to believe it’s that time of the year again when Santa Claus is gearing up to start his big night of present giving and spreading good cheer. And for this Holiday update I decided to take us out of the snow filled cold night of December here in Ohio and take us to the heart of the jungle as we go and visit the one and old Lord Of The Jungle Tarzan! This update is going to be a very long one as I have chosen the Marvel Comics series to review and have also decided to do a Game Boy Challenge as I try to beat the game Tarzan Lord Of The Jungle, plus talk about all things Tarzan from novels to cinema and everything in-between! I want to also let you know that this update was one that I have been working on since mid 2018 as I wanted to take my time and share my enjoyment of Tarzan with you all. So if you’re ready grab yourself a glass of eggnog, grab your safari hat and listen for the yell of Tarzan cause we are heading to the jungle for this epic and long Holiday update adventure.

Before we dive into the character Tarzan we should take a few moments and take a look at the man who created him and that is of course author Edgar Rice Burroughs. Edgar was born on September 1, 1875 in Chicago, Illinois to George and Mary Burroughs and had a pretty good childhood and was well educated and when old enough went to several Military Schools and even enlisted in the Army, but was discharged when they found that he had heart issues. In 1891 he left the Chicago area when a influenza outbreak infected many and he went to live with his brother were he worked on the ranch and was a cowboy and when returning back home he took work in his fathers battery factory. By 1900 he settled down and married is long time sweetheart Emma Hulbert and also began several years of working in many different jobs like being the manager at a mining company owned by his brother, worked for the railroad in Salt Lake City and even was a wholesaler salesman for pencil-sharpeners. But by 1911 with a wife and two children Edgar decided that he wanted to try his hand and writing and he started to do so, mainly doing pulp stories for magazines and built his style and talent. In 1913 he and his wife had their third and final child John Coleman Burroughs who would go on to be an amazing artist. Edgar also would end up being a pilot after he bought a plane and this allowed his whole family learn to fly. Edgar was getting more and more respect for his writing and in 1934 he separated from his wife Emma and ended up a year later marrying actress Florence Gilbert Dearholt who was known for her roles in such films as “Down Home (1920)”, “The Johnstown Flood (1926)” and “The Return Of Peter Grimm (1926)” to name a few…but the marriage ended by 1942. Another amazing fact is that in his 60’s Edgar was in Honolulu at the time of the bombing of Pearl Harbor and he ended up becoming a U.S. Correspondent being one of the worlds oldest! On March 19, 1950 and at the age of 74 Edgar Rice Burroughs passed away from a heart attack, and he at the time was an artist who made so much money off the movies and shows that were based on his characters he created. During his long career of being a writer he created the characters of Tarzan The Ape Man and John Carter Warlord Of Mars among others and for these characters he was placed in The Science Fiction Hall Of Fame in 2003! While he is gone and his work will forever live on in novels, comics, movies, shows, games and toys showing that he really is an icon of Sci-Fi fiction.

Growing up I read not only comic books & magazines but also lots of paperback books and some of my favorites to find at Half Price Books and the Paperback Rack were old Tarzan novels. I would gobble up any and all Tarzan books I could find and would crack them open some nights before bed and read a chapter or two all the while enjoying the jungle adventure. Still to this day when looking at paperback novels at places like Half Price Books and Bell Book And Comic when finding a Tarzan book I don’t have I pick it up! I have many good memories of reading Tarzan books in my room in Waynesville and picturing the words I was reading in my mind. That’s the thing about Tarzan is that when I read one of the old paperbacks I felt like I was in that jungle amongst the apes, lions and warriors and these books are some of the first novels that got me into reading not just comic books. I would say my favorite book of the series is “Tarzan Of The Apes” the first book in the series as I always felt it packed such a great impact and was what introduced me to the world of Tarzan. If you enjoy sitting down and reading a good book check out one of the Tarzan adventures on a cold winter night and I am sure you’ll enjoy it!

While Tarzan was a big hit in literature he was a star when it came to the world of cinema as well, as movie goers for decades could not get enough of his adventures on the silver screen. It’s crazy to think that Tarzan as been in movies sense the days of Silent Films and even as of 2016 he got a big budget movie thanks to Warner Brothers and the release of “Legend Of Tarzan”. And lets be honest Tarzan was a major box office draw in the 1930’s through 1960’s and actors like Gordon Scott, Lex Barker, Denny Miller and Johnny Weissmuller and truly made the character Tarzan a hero from many young kids world wide. Growing up I cannot count how many of these films I have seen from seeing them on TV, VHS and DVD and every time I watch one I feel like a kid again as they just don’t make jungle adventure films like this anymore. Hands down Johnny Weissmuller is the best Tarzan but I also really liked Gordon Scott in the role as well. I mean to be honest I cannot think of a really “Bad” actor to play the role. In fact over the years I have found myself buying every Tarzan live action film and who knows maybe some day here on Rotten Ink I’ll do an update that talks about each film in the series, as well as give an answer to what film is the best! While Tarzan might not be the box office draw he once was, he still made his massive mark on the world of adventure cinema and has entertained so many viewers over the years.

While he has always been a box-office draw Tarzan has also made his mark in the world of TV, as he has not only had live actions shows he has also been in cartoons. That’s right The Lord Of The Jungle has made his way to the world of animation and Saturday Moring Cartoons! And one that always sticks out to me and is one I seen when I was a youngster in reruns called “Tarzan, Lord Of The Jungle” that was shown in 1976 on CBS when originally broadcasted. The show was created by Filmation the same folks who brought the world iconic cartoons as “Masters Of The Universe”, “Fat Albert And The Cosby Kids”, “Blackstar”, “She-Ra: Princess Of Power”, “BraveStarr” and “The Groovie Goolies And Friends” to name a very small few. The cartoon ran from 1976-1980 for a total of 36 episodes that ran 30 minutes each. In the cartoon Tarzan who was well spoken would have all types of adventures with his ape friend N’kima and all his other jungle friends. Tarzan in the show was voiced by Robert Ridgely who would also voice iconic cartoon characters like Thundarr The Barbarian, Flash Gordon in “The New Adventures Of Flash Gordon” and The Peculiar Purple Pie in “Strawberry Shortcake” showing that he was a master of the voice talent arts. I am not sure where I seen episodes of this show I tend to think TV like on USA Cartoon Express or maybe it could have been on a old VHS Tape. One thing that’s for sure that I do know is that the first season was released by Warner Brothers on DVD in 2016, and the series very much has a cult following among fans of the character. If you have not seen this cartoon series make sure to track down the DVD season and give it a watch as it does a great job of bring Tarzan alive via animation.

The first ever Tarzan comic book series was published by Dell in 1948 and was a long running series having a total of 206 issues and ending in 1972. But even before that Tarzan was the star of his own comic strip that started in 1929 and has been reprinted as well as have had many talented artist working on it like Russ Manning and Hal Foster. After Dell cancelled the series DC Comics picked it up in 1972 with issue 207 and ran till issue 258 ending the original series in 1977. Marvel Comics in 1977 decided that they were going to give Tarzan and try and re-launched it with a new number 1 and their series lasted 29 issues as well as 3 annuals. From their many other comic companies have released comics based on Tarzan from Dark Horse to Dynamite and while he is not a major player in the world of comics he has very much made his mark. Tarzan has also teamed up and fought many other comic characters in his adventures like Planet Of The Apes, Batman, Predator and Red Sonja. Growing up I have read many Tarzan comics with most of them being the ones from Marvel as my late Uncle Thurman gave my brother and me a stack of them when we were younger, and can say just like the films I have always enjoyed him in comics as well.

Like all iconic characters that is geared towards kids and collectors Tarzan has had his fair share of cool figures and dolls made in his likeness making it very easy for fans to get their hands on cool action figures and have their very own adventures. When I was a kid many companies released figures based on the Lord Of The Jungle companies like Dakin, Trendmasters and Mattel and I had figures from them all besides Mattel as they were based on the animated Disney film. In fact when I was playing Toy Wars the figure of Tarzan’s mom Kala was used and was in the rebels base helping fight off attacks from Stormtroopers and Cobra Guards. But while those toys were cool and parts of my childhood the one figure I always wanted and still want to this day is the Mego Tarzan figure as I have always found it to be a must have and never have gotten one. Plus all of these figures we have talked about are just a drop in the hat of ones made based on Tarzan. So in other words if you liked Tarzan growing up and played with action figures toy companies had you covered. Check out the pictures below to see some of these toys in all their glory.

Besides toys and comics Tarzan has also made his way onto all types of other cool merchandise like shirts, posters, magazines, buttons, lunch boxes, board games, vinyl records, comic books, video games, home video, drinking glass, books, coloring books and so much more! Showing that over the year’s fans of Tarzan has had lots of great things to choose from and could add to their love for the character. It’s crazy to thank that in 2020 Tarzan is not as big of a hero to the young and young at heart, but for those of use who still really enjoy The King Of The Jungle there is so much cool collectibles out in the world to add to your collection.

Lets now talk video games as the Lord Of The Jungle has had his share of digital adventures as well. Like in 1984 for the ColecoVision the game Tarzan was released to cash in on the film Greystroke: The Legend of Tarzan. 1991 saw the release of Tarzan Goes Ape for the Commodore 64. 1994 seen Tarzan: Lord of The Jungle come out for both Game Boy and Game Gear. Disney’s Tarzan in 1999 got many video games for many systems like Sony Playstation, N64, PC and Game Boy Color! And of course many other Disney Tarzan games were made for such systems as Playstation 2, Game Cube, PC and GBA. And even in 2019 a Tarzan slot machine was released in casinos and became a hit with players. Over the years to be honest the only video game I have played of Tarzan was the one based on the Disney film for the Playstation and always wanted to play the one for the ColecoVision. But for this Holiday Christmas Eve update I have a little something special planned. So keep reading!

Game Developers Euroncom developed a game based on Tarzan that was published by GameTech in 1994 for the Nintendo Game Boy and the Sega Game Gear. The game was called Tarzan: Lord Of The Jungle and has the player take control of Tarzan as he tries to complete six stages with each having their own storyline from stopping evil poachers to curing a primate disease. The game is an action platformer and each mission/level has a time limit that is pretty tight and leaves very little room for error. When released the game was meet with mediocre reviews and scores as many just thought it was to average and to repetitive with not having a password system meaning you had to play the same levels over and over in order to try and beat it. The games sales were also not that great as the US version for Game Gear didn’t even make it out and was cancelled. Below is some screen shots from the game as well as the cover for the Game Boy Version, and I must say the box art is great…but the in game look is a little cartoonish and reminds me more of George Of The Jungle!

So wanting to do this update for awhile as I have always been a big Tarzan fan I had to really think long and hard on what video game to play and try and beat and it came down to either the Playstation one based on the Disney animated movie or the Game Boy version and for me hands down I had to pick the Game Boy one as its more classic and closer to the Tarzan I grew up loving. So I also decided that I am going to play this game on my Game Boy Color and even better drove out to the woods to play the game as while I might not have a jungle near were I live, I do have lots of wooded areas and parks! I choose to play the game near the woods by Calvary Cemetery in Dayton, Ohio as it is a super peaceful place and one I visit often to relax and read comics at. I choose September 23, 2020 to do so as it was sunny out and was only 75 degrees out with a nice small breeze. I gave myself a playtime of 35 minutes to see how far I could get in the game and the first mission had me collecting flowers to give to a witch doctor in order to get a potion to give to a sick great ape…this level is a run around and find objects to go bring to one character to only take it to another…this level is timed like all levels in this game and after running around and failing a few times I was able to clear the first level and save the Great Ape by throwing the cure in bottles at him as he tried to attack me!

The second level is as far as I got in the time I gave myself and has Tarzan trying to get stolen gold back from a Crocodile who has hidden it. I must say he gameplay for this game is easy and not hard at all to play, the only real annoying parts is the game maps are all over the pace and sometimes swinging from the vines can be annoying. The music is pretty standard stuff and is catchy. Over all this is a pretty fun fetch side scrolling game that is worth checking out if you enjoy the old style Game Boy games.

As you can see Tarzan is a true icon in culture and has made an impact on many fans life over the decades. I would also like to thank Bell Book & Comic, Lone Star Comics, Half Price Books, Game Swap Kettering and Mavericks Cards And Comics for having these issues in stock and making this update possible as well as letting me relive reading them again! I want to also remind you all that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, it’s entertainment value and it’s art and story. So if you’re ready lets head to the jungle and have an adventure with the one and only Tarzan!

Tarzan # 1  ***
Released in 1977     Cover Price .30     Marvel   # 1 of 29

A European man named Jules is on a Safari when all of a sudden he and his helpers are attacked by the Natua Tribe who slaughter them all leaving only Jules alive! The man runs through the jungle is fear and ends up loosing the tribe but gets the attention of a very hungry lion who now has his sites on him for dinner. As the lion is about to attack from the trees above comes Tarzan who fights with the beast and stabs it with his knife until it dead, saving Jules life for the first time as quickly the Natua Tribe are now on them and are looking to finish off Jules who is now being protected by the lord of the jungle. The Natua Tribe flings their spears at Tarzan who dodges them and uses his knife to keep them at bay until his backup arrives that is Tantor an elephant that stomp and flings the Natua Tribe all around and saves the day. Once the coast is clear Tarzan and Jules ride Tantor to the safety of Tarzans home in order for Jules to heal and rest up. But little does Tarzan know that the man he just saved is not named Jules but is Albert Werper an angry man who has sworn to kill Tarzan!

This first issue is as good as I remember it being when I was a youngster and delivers all the thrills and adventures of jungle films as well as brings Tarzan back to life in the pages of comics. This comics plot is very simple and has our hero saving a man from a blood thirsty tribe as well as a man eating lion only to have really saved his own enemy. This issue Tarzan is brave and a hero as he risks his life to save a strangers, he also can be very human like as well as very beast like and is just a very classic feeling hero. That’s the thing about Tarzan while he is a very old style hero he seems to never really go out of fashion. Albert Werper is a very tricky man as he acts like a victim when in fact it looks like he while be one foe Tarzan will regret saving. The Natua Tribe are savages who are hunting man like they are animals and even shrug off the fear of Tarzan when they think they can get the upper hand. The thing also about this issue is that it’s a very quick read is very fast paced. Plus it really showcases the fighting style of Tarzan as he is skilled in hand to hand combat as well as using his animal friends to win the big fights. The cover for this issue is great and captures the mood of the issues plot and the interior art is great and is done by John Buscema and has that classic Marvel Comics look. Over all this is a great read for fans of Tarzan and was a great issue to start the Marvel series on. A great read and one I have enjoyed revisiting and makes me really looking forward to doing so with the rest in the series as well.

Tarzan # 2  ***
Released in 1977   Cover Price .30   Marvel    # 2 of 29

Tarzan and Albert travel on the mighty elephant Tantor till they reach the bungalow house of Tarzan were this fake victim meets Muviro the chief of the Waziri Tribe as well as Tarzan’s wife Jane! That night after eating a good dinner Tarzan goes on a walk with one of his monkey friends as Jane sits and tells Albert the story of the legend of Tarzan. She shares that Tarzan was in fact raised by apes after they killed his parents, she tells of his wisdom to teach himself how to read, she talks of his rise to rule the apes as well as when they first meet and he saved her from a great ape. She shares that she was the one to teach him English as well as shares that she was to be married to Tarzan’s cousin unknown to them all before finally marring her true love. She also shares that Tarzan is from a wealthy family and has inherited it all. After she finishes Tarzan comes back home as Albert goes for a walk so the married couple can chat, and as he listens in at the window he learns that Tarzan and his wife Jane who had the Greystroke fortune are now broke after a bad investment and now Tarzan must travel deep into the African jungle to get gold from haunted ruins! Now Albert has a plan to not only kill Tarzan but also steal some of the gold.

Once more Marvel Comics and the creative team behind this comic series proves that they knew how to do the legend of adventures of Tarzan right! The plot of this issue is really the origin of Tarzan as well as sets up why Albert has a mission to kill the Lord of the Jungle. Tarzan in this issue opens his home to a stranger and even fills his belly with good food plus offers a warm bed for him to sleep in. Jane as well is very nice and shares her story with the stranger as well as is the one who cooked the dinner and as well welcomes the stranger in her home. Albert Werper is a military trained killer who is on the run for murder and has joined a band of evildoers who deal in ivory and human trafficking. He has sworn to kill Tarzan so he and his gang of goons can move deeper in the jungle to get what they need to grow. Plus he also shows that he is very mentally unstable as he kills his own Military commander and has becomes a cold-blooded member of a group that treats human and animal lives as nothing! The best part about this issue is that while it’s an origin issue we do not fully focus on that story that we all already know and we add elements of the current story. Plus like the first issue this one really does have a classic pulp hero feel to it as something and nothing all happen at the same time but it all feels very classic and entertaining. I must also say that I like the character of Terkoz as massive ape who once was the King of the apes who was beaten, disgraced and later killed by Tarzan! I would have liked to have known what his story was after he was kicked out of the ape tribe and was left to fend for himself all with hatred in his heart for the human Tarzan. The cover for this issue is great and shows not only our hero but also Jane and Terkoz. The interior art is done by John Buscema again and is amazing stuff. So as you can see this second issue as well is well done and has held up for me and makes me want to move onto issue # 3.

Tarzan # 3  **1/2
Released in 1977     Cover Price .30     Marvel     # 3 of 29

The next day Albert Werper decides that he is “leaving” to get back home and has an escort of Waziri Tribe warriors. Once in the jungle they run across one of Albert’s fellow raiders and he plays it off as if he is lost, and on the orders of Albert the Waziri warriors are sent away. Albert informs his fellow con man that he has yet to kill Tarzan as he is going to lead them to mass amounts of gold and that while the lord of the jungle is away they need to kidnap his wife! As Tarzan leaves for the lost city of Opar his unknown enemy Albert is stalking him. Tarzan and some of the Waziri start their long quest and our hero spends time loving having to not be civilized like when he is around Jane and his mind is other places as Albert stalks in all the while. Tarzan and his warrior friends walk and climb until they finally reach the lost city and when entering they soon start to remove all the gold bars they would need to rebuild they Greystoke fortune, and all the while Albert watches with greed in his eyes. After Tarzan takes just the amount he would need to recover from the huge money loss and earthquake happens and rocks end up blocking the Waziri warriors from his friend as well as Tarzan is knocked out on the same side as the hiding Albert who leaves his one time savior for dead as he tries to find a way out only to end up captured by weird cavemen like people who are lead by a beautiful woman named LA who is the cities high priestess and the are going to sacrifice Albert to their fire god! But lucky for him Tarzan awakens with his mind foggy and decides to save him from death and takes out many of the cavemen who are being commanded by LA who is mad at Tarzan for rejecting her to become her High Priest.

This third issue brings us readers more adventure and one-step closer to the showdown between Tarzan and Albert Werper. This issues plot has Tarzan and 50 of his warrior friends heading to a lost city that is filled with wild cavemen and their very attractive priestess in order to get gold to bail out Tarzan who has lost all his families riches, and while he is on this quest he is also being stalked by a man who he once saved and thought a friend. In this issue Tarzan has his mind filled with stress of being a married man with responsibilities in the civil world who needs money to live and the Lord of the Jungle side that wants nothing more than to live in the jungle and act like a primate. And in this issue he also finds himself hurt with a rock hit to the head and his mind foggy and shaky, and also seems to be confused on who and what he is. LA is a High Priestess to this lost kingdom and has been in love with Tarzan for many years and goes into a rage when he does not love her back the same way, she also holds lots of power as her primitive followers do whatever she asks. She also likes to take human lives in order to please her God and she is cold blooded when she is crossed. Albert Werper is a snake in the grass and not only does he want Tarzan dead but also want to steal gold, and once more when he finds himself in trouble he is rescued by a man he left for dead when injured by the earthquake, showing he has no loyalty nor respect for anyone. This issue has a slow pace and builds up Tarzan’s inner thoughts on his life and because of this the action takes a backseat and does not kick in till the end of the issue, but that’s not a bad thing as I still find it to be a solid and entertaining issue. The cover is eye catching and very cool as is the interior art done once more by John Buscema as I have always loved this era of Marvel Comics and their in house style. And before we move onto issue four I need to say that issue three for me has held up like the others reread.

Tarzan # 4  ***
Released in 1977     Cover Price .30     Marvel     # 4 of 29

Tarzan now more beast like has ended his rampage of murder as the rest of the cavemen run away and LA is left crying over the Lord of the Jungle who has blown off he love that she has held for him over the years. And after freeing Albert Tarzan returns to the treasure room and steals some jewels and snaps at Albert when he tries to take some and the pair head into the jungle. Meanwhile Jane is back home waiting for her husband to return and has a few warriors around her as protection and closing in on them is Achmet Zek and his band of traders who are going to kidnap Jane on the orders of Albert so they can get the gold! The raiders attack and kill off the warriors who fight to keep Jane safe as she herself fights by their side with a riffle, but once they have her they loot her home and set it on fire leaving her devastated and rage filled. But the raiders have failed as one warrior still lives and while severely injured Mugambi only has one thing on his mind…revenge! Meanwhile Tarzan decides that Albert and he must eat and picks a fight with a pair on panthers who have just made a kill, and Tarzan fights his hardest and wins but is hurt bad in the battle and soon finds himself down and Albert stealing his jewels and ends with Albert about to stab Tarzan with his own knife!

This is a great issue that brings action and drama together and leaves us on a cliffhanger of Tarzan about to be stabbed in the back as he is injured! This issues plot has Jane being kidnapped by an evil group of looters and traders who also slaughter and kill warriors all the while Tarzan has lost his memory and is wondering around the jungle as Albert follows along. Tarzan in this issue is like a wild animal and acts like a savage beast and even picks a fight with two panthers in order to steal their food! While Albert Werper is as sleazy and cowardly as ever, tagging along with Tarzan again, getting saved by him as all the while trying to murder him. Jane shows she is a fighter as she kills many of the looters who have came for her and her warrior friends as well are all brave and loyal. And our main bad guy Achmet Zek is a total scumbag who has zero respect for human life and only wants wealth! Two of the interesting subplots that I found myself liking are LA being in love with Tarzan and the fact she has been so for many years and has the if you don’t love me then you must die attitude about it, you know this subplot is going to come back into play. And the other is the almost murder of Mugambi who has loyalty to his friends and wants to get revenge on those who injured him and killed/kidnapped. This issue really is fantastic and captures the fun jungle adventure nature of Tarzan and shows that Roy Thomas understands how to turn the novels into comics. The cover is super eye catching and still holds up to this day and as before the art by John Buscema is amazing. To sum it up this issue is great and a solid read for fans of Tarzan and shows that this comic series help shows why Marvel was the best comic company in the 70’s! On a side note I have to say that Marvel has brought Star Wars and Conan The Barbarian home and I think it’s time they bring Tarzan and Star Trek back as well!

Tarzan # 5  ***
Released in 1977     Cover Price .30     Marvel     # 5 of 29

As Tarzan is passed out Albert Werper is about to stab him, but fear sets in that if his first stab don’t kill the lord of the jungle he himself might find death at the hands of Tarzan! So Albert runs off with the jewels as the Tarzan awakens with an animal rage inside him and wants to get his pretty stones back and to kill the white man Albert…but not before he takes a nap. Albert rushes to the camp of Achmet Zek and his raiders to deliver the news of Tarzan’s “death” as well as that the old ruins does hold lots of gold! Achmet Zek orders for Albert to take Jane up north and sell her to slave owners as he and his men go after the gold. Once in his tent Albert counts his jewels and soon notices that Achmet is spying on him and this makes the European know that he is a dead man for hiding the riches from the warlord, and that night Achmet returns to Albert’s tent and stabs his bed to find that his target as already escaped and has taken Jane with him. And while Achmet and many of his raiders go on the hunt for Albert, Tarzan is attacked by three apes and finds himself surrounded by LA The Princess of Opar who wants her dagger back and is willing to have her cavemen rip him apart to get it!

The plot continues in this issue and has Tarzan loosing touch with his human side and turning more animal like and his savage nature is out on control as he attacks man and animal alike. All the while his wife Jane is a prisoner of the evil Achmet Zek who has turned on his own alley Albert Werper over jewels! And the story comes to an end when LA shows up and wants what belongs to her back. I am guessing that the next issue could be an all out war as Tarzan will be in the middle of the battle between Achmet and his raiders, LA and her cavemen and the tribes who fight for Tarzan and Jane. Tarzan in this issue is very savage and has forgotten how to be a man and is more in the mindset of revenge and survival and not even slightly worried about Jane and his home as he has forgotten all about them! Plus he almost seems to enjoy killing the animals of the jungle and has no remorse for the deaths he is causing. Poor Jane is just a prisoner who is holding on to the hope that her husband will rescue her. Mugambi in the issue is healing up and stalking the raiders as he wants to save Jane as well as get a little revenge in the process. LA Princess of Opar is a woman who is very angry as she not only has been stolen from but also has a broken heart as Tarzan does not feel the same way about her as she does for him, I also think she is ready to kill and kill again along with her evil cavemen in order to get her respect back. Albert Werper is scum who is fearful of an injured Tarzan, steals jewels and even hides them from his own partner in crimes and then has no issue with selling off a woman to a slave trade in order to make extra money…total scum! Achmet Zek is as well scum who lets money and power rule his life and has no loyalty to his own raiders, he is also a coward and would kill in the night than face to face…I can not wait to see him get what’s coming to him. That’s one thing for sure this series is going right that villains are so bad you really do want to see them pay for their crimes. I also like how this comic makes you wonder when and how Tarzan will get his mind back and will he be the one to take revenge on Albert and Achmet or will the jungle it’s self deal them justice. The cover for this issue is great and the art by John Buscema is still top notch. Over all this is another great and entertaining issue that delivers all the action and adventure you would expect from Tarzan and I for one can not wait to read the next issue!

Tarzan # 6  **1/2
Released in 1977     Cover Price .35     Marvel     # 6 of 29

Tarzan is beaten up by the apes and the cavemen when he shows that he no longer has the dagger and this sets LA into a rage and she vows that the next morning she will offer the Lord of The Jungles heart to their sun god! That night LA falls asleep next to Tarzan and when the morning comes his death is to take place for his crimes against them, but before he can be killed his elephant friend Tantor appears in a fit of madness as it’s matting season and he is on a warpath to kill anyone in his way and that includes Tarzan! LA frees Tarzan and the pair quickly hide in a tall tree all the while Tantor tries to get them as well as kills many of the cavemen. After Tarzan tricks Tantor in leaving he orders LA and her cavemen to return to Opar and that the men need to listen to the law of LA. Meanwhile he learn that Jane escaped the camp on her own and is trying to survive the animals of the jungle who think she could be an easy meal. Meanwhile Albert Werper has gotten a horse from a downed raider and rushes only to be taken prisoner alongside Mugambi by an army who are hunting down Achmet Zek. Meanwhile Jane runs into Achmet who is once more taken her hostage only to have his men attacked by apes as well as Tarzan who has regained some of his memory. In the end the apes and Tarzan are gunned down and Jane is once more a prisoner of a greedy madman.

This issue has Tarzan and LA hiding for from an elephant that is on a rampage and must work together to survive it. The side story has Albert being hunted and becoming a prisoner of the army as Jane once more becomes the captive of Achmet! Tarzan in this issue is gaining some of his memories back and spends much of the issue protecting LA only to late be shot while trying to save his wife from being kidnapped. The end of this comic does a great job of making the reader wonder how bad Tarzan has been shot and how will he save his wife. LA is so madly in love with Tarzan that she breaks her bound to her people as she refuses to sacrifice the Lord Of The Jungle, she is a powerful woman who really is blinded by love. Jane meanwhile in this issue is running for her life and escapes one bad location only to keep stepping into worse and worse ones! Achmet Zek is a man who feels like he has been crossed and has set his sights on killing his one time crime partner Albert Werper who is running for his life like a rat. Mugambi meanwhile finds himself as well captured by the army and taken as a prisoner, and all he wants to really do is get revenge in the name of Tarzan. Tantor is blinded with rage over wanting to find a mate and is clearly the main threat in this issue as everyone in his path are afraid of his massive power as he wants to kill any person or animal in his way. This issue is a good read but does fell a little bit like a filler issue as weird enough to say it slows the pace down of this story arch we are in, I also feel that the cover is just ok and that the interior art by John Buscema seems rushed and not his best work at all in this series this far. To sum it up I was entertained but is the weakest in the series I have read this far…but keep in mind it’s still very good just a step down from the past issues. With that lest see what issue seven has in store for us.

Tarzan # 7  **1/2
Released in 1977     Cover Price .35     Marvel     # 7 of 29

Tarzan is wounded and lays on the jungle floor among the bodies of his friends the apes, his mind wonders to the evils of Achmet as well as he can not shake the sight of the beautiful blonde that was the evil mans prisoner…as Tarzan can not remember that the woman is Jane his wife. As he grows weaker his mind starts to play tricks on him as he sees himself in the jungle at night watching as his enemy tribe hide near a fire as the meat eating beasts are on the prowl, with the main threat being the lion Huma and his mate Sabor who want to make them a late night meal, and they get one when they get a tribesman and Tarzan watches with amusement as one of his enemies dies that night. Tarzan head back to his ape family and remembers back to his questions about the world around him like the moon, rain and stars and how none of his wise apes have any clues to the answers. Tarzan soon thinks that the moon one day will be eaten by Huma and this will turn night to all dark and this worries the apes as well as Tarzan! But one ape in the group has set his sights on killing Tarzan as he knows that he is not like them, and this causes great tension between the apes as well as Tarzan. As a tribe’s man is walking in the jungle the apes decide that they are going to kill him and Tarzan originally stands by the apes side until he realizes that they just want to kill him for being human and the apes have now turned on him and he as well is marked for death! Tarzan is saved by one of his friend apes as well as Tantor and as the warrior leaves and Tarzan denounces his ape tribe, the ape who started the drama is killed and things try to go back to normal. Late one night an eclipse happens and the apes think that the lion Huma has attacked and is eating the moon and in a panic they call for Tarzan who fires arrows into the sky…and when the eclipse is over they think he saved the moon and he is once more a member of the ape tribe.

This issue is one that is set around a wounded Lord Of The Jungles mind as he goes to a world when his life is more primitive and all he really knows is the ways to survive and wants to learn about the universe around him and thinks he finds the answers all about the moon! This issue is very weak on action and is more of a character driven issue and really does dive into the primitive mind of Tarzan and his memories of the past. The Lord Of The Jungle in this issue is wise in his ways but is also very cold blooded as he does not mind taking a life or even watching lives be taken, its crazy that he gets joy watching a warrior from another tribe be eaten alive by a pair of lions! I also love how the issue really does revolve around the moon and the fear that the jungle has about living in nights in total darkness. The issues main baddies are Gunto and ape who wants to have all the other apes turn on and kill Tarzan and the lion Huma who is feared by all as he is a killer and a eater of all meat. While this issue was a cool get away from out main storyline this far is does also take a little of the momentum away as we are totally removed from that plot and focus more on the past of our hero…while interesting they really should have saved it for an annual, but with that said its still a really good issue. The cover is very eye catching and has Tarzan in a battle with an ape and the interior art is once more fantastic and is done by John Buscema who really does a great job of bring Tarzan alive in the pages of a Marvel Comic. Lets see what issue eight has in store for us and lets hope that it brings us back on track and has Tarzan saving Jane from the evil grip of Achmet Zek!

Tarzan # 8  ***
Released in 1978     Cover Price .35     Marvel     # 8 of 29

Tarzan slowly gets to his feet as he is surrounded by apes he does not know and they are angered that two of their own have been shot, but before they can turn on the weaken Tarzan one of the fallen apes is still alive and just wounded and tells them who they are about to attack and they understand and take the pair to their home to heal their wounds. Tarzan cannot shake the image of Jane out of his mind as he heals up and still don’t remember that she is his wife, but he knows that she must be his! Once he is healed enough Tarzan asks the apes for help to rescue Jane and they all want nothing to do with the mission and even one challenges Tarzan to a fight named Chulk who after defeated joins Tarzan as does Taglat and the three set out on their mission. Tarzan and his ape friends attack a trio of the Desert Warriors and steal their cloths and wear them and sneak into the camp, while inside Tarzan and Chulk try and find rare jewels to give as a gift to Jane when they rescue her as Taglat has an idea of his own goes off and rescues Jane as he now wants her for his mate! Once Taglat kidnaps Jane and runs into the jungle Tarzan finds that he has been betrayed by the ape and is now on the hunt for revenge as the warriors of Achmet Zek are left confused and scared of the noise of anger that erupted from Tarzan’s mouth. Meanwhile both Albert Werper and Mugambi are still being held prisoner, with Albert making a deal for his life and freedom that will take the army to the lost city so that they can steal all the gold and jewels.

This is another fantastic issue that brings all the jungle action one looks for in a Tarzan comic as the plot has Tarzan waking up and filled with rage and the want to rescue Jane who he has decided will be his mate not remembering she is his wife and going on a rampage with two apes to rescue her from Achmet Zek and his evil men, only to find that one of his ape friends has also selected Jane to be his mate and causing the Lord Of The Jungle to be on a rampage of revenge! Tarzan in this issue is still much like a wild animal as he has no issues killing and will fight and snarl his way to getting what he desires. In other words Tarzan really is out of his mind and has lost all connection to his civil side! Poor Jane in this issue thinks her husband is dead, is kidnapped by a group of evil warriors, is later kidnapped by an ape and all she really wanted is to have a peaceful time at her jungle home as her husband took care of business of getting some treasure to get them out of debt. Not to mention poor Mugambi who is a brave warrior and dear friend of Tarzan who was trying to save Jane as well and avenge his slain friends has been taken captive along with the scumbag Albert Werper who started this whole mess! The ape Taglat is very sneaky in this issue as acts as Tarzan’s friend and helper when his true attentions is to steal Jane away from him and make her his mate, a true scummy move and shows that Taglat is a user! Achmet Zek and his raiders are money hungry as well as cruel and after they think they killed Tarzan they planed to sell off his wife to the highest bidder, cold blooded they are! The pacing of this issue is well done and each character in our story we get to catch up with and see what they are doing as all these pieces start to fall into place before the stories climax, and I have to say Roy Thomas did a fantastic job writing these comics this far! The cover is eye catching and pretty dang cool and the interior art once again is top notch and done by John Buscema who has the classic Marvel style that I love. We are eight issues in and these are as good as I remember them as a kid and not a dud in the batch this far! Lets see what issue nine has in store for us.

Tarzan # 9  **1/2
Released in 1978     Cover Price .35     Marvel     # 9 of 29

A young Tarzan is reading books at his fathers old cabin and is puzzled by all the talk of God in them as he does not understand why there is no pictures of him as he can not wrap his mind around the concept of the old mighty King of Kings! When returning to his Ape family he asks all the wise ones if they know about this good with one saying it to be the Moon, and that night Tarzan asks and screams at the Moon and when a cloud covers it he knows the Moon is not God! He next goes to a tribe of warriors and see their Witch Doctor wearing a Buffalo Head and thinks that this must be God, but once he approaches and the Doctor looses his nerve he knows that this man is not God as well. As he is leaving the tribes Chief tries to kill Tarzan with a thrown spear, as Tarzan dodges it he attacks the old man and just as he is about to kill him, he stops as he has pity for the old man who is gripped with fear. Once back home he wonders more about God, but his thinking time is cut short when a baby ape and its mom are being attacked by a massive snake! Tarzan leaps into battle and into the coils of the snake and with a well placed knife strike kills the beast and saves the lives of his primate friends! In the end Tarzan returns to his thinking about God and learns that the answer he seeks is all around him as he comes to realize that God is who gave him the feeling a pity and the act of compassion, he also soon looks around and knows that God made the Moon, The Apes, Mankind and all things good!

This issue takes place when Tarzan was younger long before he meets Jane and way before the events of our current story arch and is a nice fill in issue! The plot of this issue has Tarzan on a mission to find out who and what a being he has read about in old books called God, and goes around the jungle to find the answer only to find that the answer has been all around him at all times. This is a pretty simple plotted issue from Roy Thomas that is very heavy on religion as it takes a stance that God created everything good and that Satan created all the bad in the world. But what works for me is the fact that someone like Tarzan who lives in the Jungle with no bibles, churches and fellow believers around would question who this God is and why is he so powerful that many blindly follow him. Tarzan in this issue is very noble as he has a want to learn as well as shows that he will leap into action to save his fellow friends and as well will spare those who wish him harm when they deserve it. I also dig the Water Buffalo headed Witch Doctor as I think he added a really cool feel to the issue as many tribes back in the day did look at them as healers and saviors. The cover is eye catching and has Tarzan fighting the massive snake and as always John Buscema kills it on interior art. Over all a nice fill in issue that delivers a fun read and a solid jungle adventure.

Tarzan # 10  ***
Released in 1978     Cover Price .35     Marvel     # 10 of 29

Tarzan is still not himself as his memory is gone all he knows is that he has spotted Albert Werper with the army and that he is the own who stole his jewels and took away the pretty white woman (Jane) that he has an attraction to! Tarzan watches as Albert leads the soliders to a burial site that is filled with tons of gold, only for them to be attacked by the raiding warriors of Achmet Zek who wants not only the gold but also wants to bring down Albert for double crossing him. Tarzan follows Albert and Achmet who are playing a dangerous game of trying to kill the other to get away with the stolen jewels, all the while Tarzan is watching as he as well just wants his jewels back and to find his lady. Meanwhile its shown that Mugambi is in fact the one who has the jewels as he has took them from Albert when they were captured together and replaced his with river pebbles! But when Mugambi takes a nap after being on the run after escaping the prison camp, the jewels is stolen by the great ape Chulk who wants them as he likes what humans have. Meanwhile the ape Taglat still has Jane and his treating her like a rag doll when the lion Numa comes to her “rescue” and attacks and brings down Taglat and then turns his bloodlust toward Jane who tries to hide from the beast in the trees. Tarzan finally finds the fleeing Albert and takes him down and as he is choking him his memories comes back and he now knows that he is Tarzan and Jane is his wife! But before he can get the answers out of Albert they are both knocked out and taken by a Military Captain who wants to put Albert on trail for murder and decides to cage Tarzan for being to wild!

Wow this issue has so much going on as we have several characters and stories going on all at once and yet they are blending together really well! The plot is this Tarzan is on the trail of the man Albert who set him up and stole everything from him as well as a evil crime lord who wants all the jewels that Albert stole, while Tarzan’s friends are on the hunt to find Jane who was taken prisoner and is now in the hands of a killer ape who is being stalked by a bloodthirsty lion and even a army Captain is thrown in who wants to capture Albert for killing one of his soldiers! Oh and most important is that by the end of this issue Tarzan gets his memory back and remembers who he is and what is going one, and when this happens he is quickly knocked out by the Captain’s men. The pacing is very fast and flows really well and at this point even with all the fill in issues that breaks up the flow of this story arch I am drawn in and really can not wait to see how this story ends. Tarzan in this issues goes from a confused Wildman back to the Lord Of The Jungle and when he is wild he seems to not be worried about killing both man and animal. Albert Werper is such a spineless coward who would do whatever he can to gain wealth or even save his own sleazy hide. Achmet Zek is as well a very evil guy who controls his soldiers with fear and again craves power and riches. Taglat the great ape is also filled with rage and only when he meets his match in the lion Numa does he realize it as he pays for his rage with his life. Poor Jane is so tormented in this issues as she is roughed up by a gorilla and then is stalked by a lion…she just can not win! The cover for this issue is amazing and very eye catching and the interior artwork is top notch as its done by John Buscema again as he is one of the all time greats in my opinion. So with that lets see what issue 11 has in store for us and see how this epic story comes to an end.

Tarzan # 11  ***
Released in 1978     Cover Price .35     Marvel     # 11 of 29

Tarzan and Albert Werper are being held prisoner by the Congo Free State soldiers lead by The Captain who has plans to deal with Albert and have Tarzan locked away! Meanwhile poor Jane finds herself rescued and then taken prisoner by Abdul Mourak and his men who were just defeated by Achmet Zek and his raiders, and they think they can at least hold Jane for ransom and make some money this day. As night falls Tarzan is still head at a camp as a prisoner when his ape friends lead by Chulk come to rescue him, and with gunfire from the humans ringing out Tarzan and Albert are carried away into the jungle and to safety…but sadly during the gunfight loyal Chulk is shot and dies. Tarzan is upset about his friend’s death as Albert finds the jewels on the ape’s body and once more steals them. Albert then lies to Tarzan and says sense he saved his life that he will lead him to the last place he say Jane and lucky for the crook he does lead him to Jane who is once more under attack by lions who have attacked and killed most of Mourak’s people! The lion Numa once more has his sites on Jane and Tarzan comes in for the rescue and fights off the hungry lion and finally kills it and takes Jane away as the lions below still attack the soldiers. Albert Werper ran way in the jungle as Tarzan and Jane return home and are greeted by Mugambi and his warrior friends. After a few months they rebuild their home and while out hunting they find the body of Albert Werper who had died in the jungle and recover the jewels he had stolen and started all this madness.

What a fun ending for this story arch that we traveled this far with in this series, I must say I really like the ending as all comes around and all ends well and its packed with drama, sadness, action and adventure all things you want in a Tarzan story. The plot has Tarzan being freed from being a prisoner by his ape friends and saving Jane from a pride of lions and in the end reuniting with his friends, rebuilding his home and getting his jewels and gold back. Tarzan in this issue goes into full hero mode as he gets his ape friends to help save him and Albert from the Captain, he then swings into action and fights off a massive lion in order to save his wife and in the end rebuilds the life that he had before all this greed turned his world all around. Jane in this issues goes from escaping the lion, to becoming a prisoner of some corrupt soldiers, to once more being the target of a lion and in the end saved by her husband…man she had a rough go around this issue. Mugambi and the tribe warriors are noble and loyal to their friendship with Tarzan as are the apes who come to his side when needed, with poor Chulk loosing his life to save the slimy Albert. Speaking of Albert Werper he starts off this series as scum and remains scum until he dies, and its great knowing that he died in the jungle and was never able to use the jewels he stole, in fact who scummy he is its great to know he died a slow and terrible death! While The Captain, Achmet Zek and Abdul Mourak are all set up to be terrible people with agendas that will make them rich or give them some sort of power it’s the Lion Numa that is the final baddy of this story as his want and need to kill Jane is so bad that he risks his own life to get her, and even dies trying. The cover for this issue is great and eye catching for fans of Tarzan and as always the art of John Buscema is top notch. This far Roy Thomas and his team of creators show that they know how to make a great and entertaining Tarzan series.

Tarzan # 12  **1/2
Released in 1978     Cover Price .35     Marvel     # 12 of 29

Numa The Lion is on the prowl and after failing to capture a zebra he sets his sights on a tribe of apes and ends up killing a mother ape, and this triggers anger in Tarzan who gets his ape brothers to come together and stalk Numa into the jungle to fight back as he warns that the lion will keep returning and killing them if they do not fight back. Tarzan and the apes use sticks and stones to anger and fight with Numa and they even trick him in order to get the body back of their fallen friend. Once back in the tribe Tarzan thinks long and hard about how they are being stalked and killed by many of the jungles predators and that its time for them to come up with a way make them safe and fight back against the ones that want to eat them. That night Tarzan sneaks into the village of a Cannibal tribe and steals the lions hide they have and the next morning he plays a prank on his ape friends as he acts like Numa to try and scare his friends, but he is happy when they fight back and use stones to defend themselves and a well thrown one knocks Tarzan out cold! As the apes discover that the lion was really Tarzan the elders of the tribe want to kill him as his younger ape friends come to his aid and are willing to fight to defend him. But before a fight breaks out in the ape tribe Tarzan wakes up and is dazed but happy to know his friends listened on how to defend themselves against lions.

In this issue Tarzan is younger and not yet married to Jane and still lives with his ape tribe family and is pushed to far by the lion Numa who kills one of the female apes that was a mother to a very young baby, and this anger makes Tarzan fight back against the predator and also comes up with a plan to always make his tribe ready to protect themselves when enemies come around. Tarzan in this issue is younger and not in charge of the tribe yet and has ideas and leadership skill that he is torn about showing as the elders clearly do not like his brash ways, but what they need to see is all his ideas and actions are done to better protect and strengthen his tribe and family. The apes are also split as many of them are clearly starting to stand with Tarzan while the older ones want to kill or chase him off, as they do not like his power that he is gaining. Numa the lion is a very hungry giant cat that wants nothing more then a meal of fresh meat and sadly the apes are in his sight and become that meal he is craving. The really cool thing about this issue that is clearly going to be continued in the next issue is that rise of Tarzan in the ape tribe as his ideas and self defense plans are proven to be useful as the old timers just have the idea of run away and leave the weak behind if they are attacked better them then you attitude. I also like that they show a village of a human cannibal tribe who have a lion skin suit just laying around…awesome. The cover is well done and once more eye catching and no shock the interior artwork by John Buscema is great stuff. A solid issue and a great read and keeps up that this Marvel Tarzan series is an above average read and are great stuff! Lets see if issue 13 is as good as all that game before it.

Tarzan # 13  **1/2
Released in 1978     Cover Price .35     Marvel     # 13 of 29

Tarzan notices that his ape friends seem to be on edge and are not up for play at all, and when going back to his fathers old cabin he finds the Gomangan Tribe there and they are setting a trap for the lion Numa as they have plans to capture and torture him, and Tarzan can not allow that as he hates this tribe and their cruel ways. So Tarzan steals the bait for the trap and then captures the tribes Witch Doctor and places him in the trap as the bait! The next day the Gomangan Tribe go looking for their missing doctor and soon find his mangled body in the cage as well as Numa! The Tribe quickly gets a new Witch Doctor and they take Numa back to the village as the lion is to be tortured and killed…and Tarzan decides that this is not going to happen as he brings out the lion skin he stole last issue and enters the village and scares the tribe as they think Tarzan is a white devil that can shape shift! After tricking them into chasing him Tarzan sneaks away and into the village and sets Numa free who in turns tacks the returning tribe and kills one warrior and injures others, giving them a lesson in respect for Lions and the Lord Of The Jungle himself Tarzan.

This issue is very entertaining and is fast paced and has Tarzan being puzzled by why his friends the apes are not in a playful mood anymore after he pranked them by wearing a lion suit to scare them and decides to instead pull a massive deadly prank on a tribe of humans that he dislikes as he finds them cruel. In the end he learns to respect the lions of the jungle as well as by messing with the tribe puts fear into them to never mess with him or the lions again for their cruel ceremonies. Tarzan in this issue shows that while he does have a fun loving and noble side he also very much has a cruel side as he kidnaps a man and leaves him in a cage trap that has the man eaten alive by a lion…now that’s some mean spirited revenge! The lion Numa is as well a raging beast that kills anyone and everyone that gets in its way! While the Gomangan Tribe are superstitious people who are also very cruel to the animals of the jungle as fun for them is capturing and torturing lions as a tribe, plus life is cheap to them even among their own members as they move on and forget about the dead like they don’t matter. The plot of this one is truly to show that Tarzan is using his mind to out smart both animal and man, with him also learning just ho different he is from his ape family and that he also has a playful and cruel side. The cover for this issue is great and has Tarzan in the lion skin scaring the enemy tribe and the interior art is killer and once more done by the super talented John Buscema. Over all this one is another solid issue that delivers a very entertaining read.

Tarzan # 14  ***
Released in 1978     Cover Price .35     Marvel     # 14 of 29

Tarzan’s best friend Taug’s mate Teeka and their son Gazan are in the jungle looking for food to bring back to the tribe when a great bull ape from another tribe named Toog stumbles upon her and decides that she will now be his mate! Toog attacks and leaves poor Gazan fro dead after knocking the baby from a tall tree and beats Teeka unconscious and takes her away. When Taug finds his son he is near deaths door and this sets the ape into a rage as he wants revenge on who has taken his mate and has almost killed his son, and Tarzan who has returned from the old cabin of his parents (were he also found some bullets that he takes) makes a plan for he and Taug to track down this intruder, kill him and bring back Teeka safe and sound to her village and her injured son. As Tarzan and Taug make the journey to find Teeka she is being beaten and dragged by Toog who brings her to his tribe just in time to be warned that he has been followed, and Toog and his tribe set a trap. Tarzan and Taug are ambushed and attack with each holding their own and Tarzan even knifing one to death before he and his friend are out numbered! As all looks bad for Tarzan and his friend it’s Teeka that saves the day when she finds Tarzan’s lost pouch that has the bullets that she throws causing them to go off and scare away the attacking apes and allowing Tarzan, Taug and Teeka to return home confused by what the bullets are.

This issue follows the ape Toog who is very selfish and decides that he will kidnap a female ape from another tribe in order to return to his tribe that he was shamed from after loosing a fight with the leader. And Tarzan as always has pride in his tribe and loyalty to his best friend Taug sets his site to get her back and end the lives of the ape that took her. Lets first talk about Toog a alpha male ape who is mad that he lost a fight and was shamed by his tribe and now is wondering the jungle looking for a mate and for trouble and chooses a female at random to beat and drag back to his home and even has zero remorse for trying to murder a baby ape! In other words Toog is one evil primate who needed to be stopped as he will kill and beat the innocent in order to get what he wants. Poor Teeka goes through hell in this issue as she watches her own child be knocked form a tree and thinks he is dead, she is beaten several times by her captor and finally has to step in as her mate and friend are being ganged up on…she really does have it terrible in this issue. Taug as well has it pretty bad as he finds his son who he thinks is dead at first, then finds his mate missing and taken by an aggressive ape and then gets beaten up on by a pack of savage primates from a rival tribe. Tarzan is trying his best to understand all of the stuff he has found in the cabin that his parents died in like the books, bullets and gold…but he also shows that sometimes his anger and noble attitude will lead him to make rash and to brave of decisions. I love that Tarzan knives a massive ape with a night to show that he and his friend mean business and want their friend back! The cover is great on this one as well and as like before the interior art is amazing and done by John Buscema and this once more is a great issue that really showed that Tarzan and Marvel Comics was a great combination!

Tarzan # 15  ***
Released in 1978     Cover Price .35     Marvel     # 15 of 29

Tarzan and his elephant friend Tantor are in the jungle when they stumble on a old man who is scared out of his mind and telling them that Arab Slavers are on his trail and wont to enslave people to work the mines of the sinister Abdul Alhazred The Mad Arab! The Slavers appear and kill the old man and then knock Tarzan out and as they are about to take him to be a slave in the mines Tantor comes to his rescue and chases the Slavers away and then carries his friend away until he wakes up. Meanwhile the Slavers have attacked a small village and have killed the King and taken his daughter Princess Ayesha as a slave and she is very upset and swears that she will get free and have her revenge. Once Tarzan wakes up he meets a group of mercenaries who have been hired to save Ayesha from The Slavers and they ask him to join in and he agrees, but as they rest he heads out into the jungle and tracks down The Slavers that killed the old man and makes them pay for the crime with their lives. Abdul Alhazred meanwhile kills one of his captives in front of the others to say they work in the dangerous mines or they die by his hands.

This issue is wow pretty dang deep as it is dealing with slavery and how others think they have the right to “own” another persons life and send them to work for them or be beaten or killed…and not to get to political but no one EVER has the right to have slaves! The plot has a vile group of slavers coming to the jungle to work a mine for the riches and is using people they are taking from villages to do so, but while doing this they have gotten the attention of Tarzan as well as have taken and angered a strong willed Princess as well has have gotten a bunch of sleazy mercenaries on their trail. Tarzan in this issue shows that he hates the idea of slavery and has set a mission in his mind first to avenge a victim of it as well as to save and free all those who are being oppressed, Tarzan is a true noble man who while be might be a wild man still understands right from wrong. The Mercenaries in my opinion should not be trusted as they are into just getting the money to get the Princess back and one is even sneaking around killing elephants in order to sell the ivory. Princess Ayesha is a very proud and strong willed woman who would do anything for her father as well as her village, and I can not wait until she breaks free and gets her revenge on the slavers who really are truly the biggest scum bad guys we have seen this far in this series. Abdul Alhazred is a massive muscle bound villain who is pure evil and has no respect for human life and really does just care about himself and his want for riches, and while he is total scum he is also a great comic book bad guy as you find yourself hating him and counting down the pages until you see him pay. Also really liked how we get to see Tantor the elephant again as it’s always cool to see Tarzan’s animal friends lending a hand against the threats the jungle faces. The cover is good and the use of red makes it eye catching and need I say anything besides John Buscema on art again. This story arch as I have said is very raw and I cannot wait to see how Tarzan shuts these Slavers down!

Tarzan # 16  ***
Released in 1978     Cover Price .35     Marvel     # 16 of 29

The mercenaries have found the bodies of the slavers that Tarzan had killed the night before and start to question if they should team up with him to raid the mine camp, as Tarzan listens he hears them speak about how they are really going to loot and will use gliders to escape once they get what they want…but something else makes Tarzan’s blood turn cold as he finds out that the mercenary named Simon is hunting Tantor for his ivory! Tarzan rushes off to save his friend but is two late as Simon not only kills Tantor but also several apes! Simon has to leave the Ivory behind as Tarzan is raged filled and teams with ape Dak-Lat to hunt Simon down. Meanwhile Princess Ayesha is taken to Abdul Alhazred who likes what he sees and orders his men to kill all the slaves once the mine is opened wide enough! Tarzan tracks Simon down just as the animal killer uses his glider and after knocking out two of the mercenaries both Trazan and Dak-Lat give chase as the Slavers think they are demons of the sky and open fire on them all, but Abdul Alhazred has used mind control and now controls Princess Ayesha! In the end while in the Mine a portal is opened and while Tarzan fights with Abdul Alhazred and the fight comes to an end when The Slavers come in with Dak-Lat who is killed by Abdul Alhazred and Tarzan is beaten! The mercenaries tell him that they would like to join him and together they walk through the portal, and Tarzan at the last second before it closes forever is able to as well crawl through it.

Tarzan is even more enraged when he finds that the mercenaries are bad people and one has killed his friend the elephant named Tantor, and worse while this is going on The Slavers are killing the slaves and the poor Princess has had her mind poisoned! And the strangest part is that a portal has opened in the mine that takes them all away to an unknown location and the issue ends on this cliffhanger! Poor Tarzan in this issue is the hero he always is but also has some much losses as his friend Tantor is killed as well as several apes and then he also gets roughed up and watches as the odds to save the Princess and the remaining slaves become more and more low as The Salvers just gain in power. The mercenaries really are scumbags and just want to get money with Simon being the worst as he also kills animals to sell the ivory in the black market! The mercenaries are ones I cannot wait to see them get what they deserve. The Slavers are as terrible as ever as they some very evil deeds that include killing slaves on orders and not being bothered by it at all. Abdul Alhazred is so ego driven that he really does think his word is law and to him all life is cheap as he does not care who dies around him…even his own men, not to even mention he is a sleazy trickster who uses “magic” to hypnotize women into being his slaves and sacrifices. The portal in the mine is very interesting to me and makes me wonder were it leads, as was it created by Abdul Alhazred as a quick way to get back to his home or does it lead to another dimension? But I will guess we will have to read the next issue to find that out. Plus a major bummer that Tantor has been killed as he was a very loyal friend and protector to Tarzan and his death was cold blooded. The cover on this issue is ok and had that classic late 70’s Marvel look and as like before the interiors are fantastic and done by John Buscema. Like before this is a great issue and shows that Marvel Comics and Tarzan The Ape Man go hand and hand.

Tarzan # 17  ***
Released in 1978     Cover Price .35     Marvel     # 17 of 29

Tarzan in pain makes it through the portal and finds himself in a land called Pellucidar that is filled not only with wild animals but also dinosaurs and mystic stones and carvings. As Abdul Alhazred leads the mercenaries deeper into the land as he needs to sacrifice the Princess in this land in order to gain even more power, poor Tarzan listens to the plan as long as he can before passing out. Meanwhile Princess Ayesha is the trance is walking in this savage land heading toward the place she has been told to wait at, but lucky for her she is being followed by Hyena like creatures and she unaware of the danger falls into a river breaking the mind control and alerting her to the fact she is in danger and in a unknown land. But her savior is a young wild man who fights of the hyenas and whisks her away from Abdul and his helpers when he notices the fear on the Princess’s face as he thinks she is a goddess! Simon ends up picking up the trail of the Princess once they find the bodies of the slain hyenas and Abdul is getting angry as he wants his victim and craves his soon to be power and is loosing faith in the mercenaries as he is seeing them as fools not warriors. Tarzan wakes up to find that a spear is pointed at him by a priest mounted on a bird creature and none of these natives look friendly, so Tarzan does what he does best and that’s fight and in the fight the Priest is killed and Tarzan does his best to fight off this Death Cult Tribe and finally he must jump off a cliff to escape their spears. And once Tarzan finds land again he is meet by Pirates who have their guns pointed at him and as well do not seem friendly!

This issue is like Tarzan trapped in a weird savage jungle land version of the land of Oz as its friends with cannibal death cult tribes, pirates, wild men, dinosaurs and beasts! This issues plot thickens as Abdul Alhazred leads the scummy mercenaries into a savage wild world were he plans to kill the Princess in order to gain power as Tarzan is weak and must fight for his life against cannibals as a wild man saves the Princess and is acting as her protector…this is stuff of pure cliffhanger novels and movie serials. Tarzan barely gets a moment to catch his breath as he has been beaten up and once he wakes up he is under attack again! But the one thing you have to say about Tarzan is he does not back down from danger and will fight with his last breath. The Princess Ayesha is as well fighting for her life in a strange land, and if not for the unnamed young warrior she would have been killed by the lands savage meat eating animals. Abdul Alhazred shows that he does not care about anyone or anything but himself and what can benefit him! He is using the mercenaries and I am sure once they reach their goal and when he gets the power I am sure he will kill them all! The savage land of Pellucidar is very interesting as I like that the land has dinosaurs as well as cannibal tribes and pirates and they all seem like they are in bad moods and are out to kill! And I am sure at some point in this series we will see a clash between the Pirates and the Cannibals and while I don’t remember if this happens from reading this series in my early teens, I sure hope it does. And like before this issue ends of a major cliffhanger as a pirate has his gun pointed at Tarzan as the Lord Of The Jungle is getting out of the water, and you know that these guys are bad news for our hero. The cover for this issue is great and reminds me of a Marvel Conan The Barbarian cover and as always the inside art by John Buscema is great. To sum it up another great issue and I cannot wait to reread the next issue after all these years!

Tarzan # 18  **1/2
Released in 1978     Cover Price .35     Marvel     # 18 of 29

Princess Ayesha and her Warrior savior climb onto the back of a pterodactyl and try to get away from Abdul Alhazred and the mercenaries who are right behind them and they open fire on our fleeing heroes with a bullet from Simon’s gun hitting the warrior, but they are able to get away. Meanwhile Tarzan is given an offer from the Pirates and their Captain to join them or die, and Tarzan joins as he hopes they can help him get his revenge on Simon and Abdul! Meanwhile the Cannibal Death Tribe meet up with Abdul Alhazred and are on his side as they think that the profits have talked about his coming, and when the tribe mentions Tarzan the mercenaries loose their cool and this causes Abdul to turn on them as well and threaten them with death! Meanwhile Tarzan and the Pirates spot the bad guys and before they can do anything they are attacked by a sea creature that leaves many of the dead and Tarzan and the Captain fighting for their lives as they could become lunch for the creature, Tarzan ends up removing one of the creatures eyes and in the end breaks its jaw ending its terror. For his heroic deeds The Captain tells his crew that Tarzan is now his blood brother as he has saved them all. Meanwhile someone has snuck and stole the Pirates buried treasure showing that another player is in this game of life and death in a savage world.

This issue explores the savage world of Pellucidar more and lets you see more of the groups that live there. This ones plot has Tarzan hanging with the Pirates and fighting off a massive sea monster while Abdul Alhazred and the useless mercenaries team with the Cannibal Tribe! And let us not forget that Princess Ayesha and her Warrior are still on the run with the Warrior being shot and also we have an unknown person watching from the shadows and stealing the Pirates loot! Tarzan in this issue is filled with revenge as he wants nothing more then to kill both Simon and Abdul with his own hands, but as always he proves that he is a real hero as he single handedly kills a giant sea creature and saves the lives of many Pirates…I also like that in this issue Tarzan is not impressed with the Pirates gold they try and give him and he looks at it like they just threw garbage at him. Abdul Alhazred keeps up his ego driven killer attitude up in this issue as he treats his mercenaries like scum and would kill them if given the chance, and I am sure will once he gets his power. The Warrior protecting Princess Ayesha has been shot, and this issue does not show us if he is dead or how bad the wound is…so as you can see we have so many questions that need to be answered with the biggest being who is the man in the shadows that steals the gold! This issue is a fun and solid read that brings action, adventure and drama and continues this storyline and is pretty much none stop action! The cover is great and once more reminds me of a Conan The Barbarian cover and the interiors are still being done by John Buscema and are great like before. Lets see what’s next in this story and see how closer Tarzan gets to his revenge.

Tarzan # 19  **1/2
Released in 1978     Cover Price .35     Marvel     # 19 of 29

The pterodactyl that Princess Ayesha and her wounded warrior crashes and unlucky for them they seem to have been spotted by a race of mutant looking people. Meanwhile at sea Tarzan and The Pirates run into Abdul Alhazred and his ship filled with Cannibal Tribesmen and mercenaries and a bloody battle breaks out that leaves many on both sides dead as knives, swords, guns and clubs are all used to dispatch the other sides forces. The Captain pulls out his gun and shoots Abdul Alhazred in the face and finds that the bullet does no harm, and this scares the Captain and he wants to now break the ship away and no longer follow…and this angers Tarzan who punches out The Captain and tries to take over the ship only to find the crew is very loyal to The Captain and Tarzan jumps over board and starts his journey for revenge alone. Meanwhile one of the missing mercenaries is spotted on the beach and his friends what the ship pulled over but Abdul Alhazred is not having it and has the mercenaries beaten on his ship and the one is left behind. The Pirates return to find their treasure gone and they blame Tarzan and the left behind mercenary plays into it and says he watched Tarzan and the Cannibal Tribe steal it, and this letting him get a ride to the ship so get could get his revenge on Abdul Alhazred as well as Tarzan! While back on the ship of Abdul Alhazred he tells his beaten mercenaries that he had to do that because the Cannibals only respect power and that’s why he is showing it.

In this issue we follow as Tarzan becomes a blood brother to the pirates, to turn on them and now be their enemy. We learn that a mercenary that was missing is alive and is now lying and teaming with the pirates in order to get to his friends and get revenge. We also see that mercenaries are really at the mercy of Abdul Alhazred who commands the Cannibal Tribe and was able to take a bullet to his face and not be phased! And lastly we see that Princess and the Warrior have crashed and we do not know if they are alive or dead, but we do know some strange looking people watched them fall from the sky. Tarzan because of his quest for revenge goes from a hero to a scumbag in the eyes of the pirates as he turns on The Captain and then ditches them when they do not follow him as he claims he is the Captain now, man Tarzan will stop at nothing to get his revenge on the murderous dogs he chases. Abdul Alhazred is truly powerful as he shows that his coldness and evil ways really are bringing him power, as he is almost immortal as he takes a bullet to the face and does not even flinch, its clear that once he is able to sacrifice the princess and gain all that power he will kill everyone around him and will return to Earth and do the same until he rules the world with an iron fist. I am guessing also that the lost and found mercenary is the one who stole the Pirates gold and is blaming Tarzan for his own deed, but again I am just guessing here. The cover is good and eye catching and this time around Sal Buscema is doing the interior art and its great stuff. So with that lets see how this story continues and how the Princess survived the fall and who are the strange people who watched!

Tarzan # 20  ***
Released in 1979     Cover Price .35     Marvel     # 20 of 29

The scumbag Simon is at it again in this new land as he uses his riffle and kills a whole herb of elephants to prove power to the cannibals, and when Tarzan finds them his rage burns even hotter as he wants to find and kill the men who killed his friend Tantor as well as avenge the slaves who have lost their lives in all this madness. As Tarzan heads out to find them he runs into a Saber-Tooth Tiger that is hungry and wants to make a meal out of Tarzan, and as the pair fight they stumble into weak ground and fall underground were they become allies in a fight against spear fighting lizard men who are on the attack and both man and beast win this day. Meanwhile another race of Lizard people have found Princess Ayesha and her Warrior and they watch as the lizard people hypnotize humans and lead them into the water, and sadly this fate comes for both the Warrior and Princess as they are lead into the water and disappear…but are they dead? Meanwhile Abdul Alhazred has the ship docked and sunk and tells his followers that they now will travel by foot to his desired spot, as the mercenaries and Cannibal tribesmen do what they are told. The Pirates along with the mercenary named Ike Frazier are still on the hunt for Tarzan and the Cannibal ship and while at see the are caught in a dark whirlpool at sea and The Captain, Crew and Ike are taking down into it. Meanwhile the Princess awakens in the water and fights of the Lizard people and saves the Warriors life and they run off to find safety together. In the jungle Tarzan is found by some slavers tribes men who try and take him hostage, but they fail to keep him and by the end of it Tarzan is heading toward the place of that Abdul is heading ridding on a pterodactyl.

This issue is crazy and is none stop action and plot twist and turns and is leading our cast of characters all over the place with many of them having doom all around them! And as a reader you find yourself drawn into not only this issue but also this massive story arch that has been taking place over about six issues this far. I mean just in this issue Tarzan goes from fighting a Saber-Tooth Tiger to killing a bunch of lizard humanoids living underground to getting captured and ending the issue flying away on a dinosaur…I mean if this does not draw you classic hero readers in I don’t know what would! Not to mention we really get to see the strong will of Princess Ayesha as she shakes off being hypnotized by humanoid human eating lizards, but also kills one and blinds another with one of their own teeth…The Princess is badass! Also its good to see while injured The Warrior that has been watching after the Princess is ok and is still doing his best to help her. The Pirates and Ike are in deep trouble as a whirlpool is sucking them down and both the Captain and Ike think that Abdul is being its creation and of course Abdul is on his quest to gain his power. This issue no joke is action after action and throws so much at you that it takes a moment after reading it to soak it all in! A great issue and once more shows that Tarzan should still be at Marvel Comics and that classic writers of the past should be brought back to bring the series alive again…but sadly I am sure this will never happen…but both Conan The Barbarian and Star Wars are back home at Marvel so never say never I guess. The cover is pretty great and has Tarzan choking a Saber-Tooth Tiger and Sal is on interior art again this time around and did killer work. A great issue in this great series that is bringing this story together is the best way to sum this issue up.

Tarzan # 21  ***
Released in 1979     Cover Price .35     Marvel     # 21 of 29

Tarzan on his dinosaurs fights off more tribes men who all wish him dead now as he heads to a city in the swamp and that’s the same place Abdul is leading his people as something inside it holds the power he seeks. Meanwhile the Princess and Warrior are hiding out and watch as one of the lizard people enter and after talking to another on a screen activates a sound weapon that will hurt the humans of the planet! This sound alerts many of the animals as well including the Sabre-Tooth Tiger as well as Abdul and his pet hawk leading them all to the same location! With the weapon now set off near the swamp castle a the swamp water boils and out comes the Pirate ship and the crew find themselves in the middle of a massive amount of tribes men driven mad by the weapon and looking to kill as a large amount of them died from the canon! Tarzan once more saves The Captain from drowning and the pair with the remaining pirates fight off the tribes men and find out that all sides have been played by the now missing Ike! Abdul enters the castle and he now has no need for them even after Simon kills one of his own, but Princess Ayesha sneaks into the room and uses the cannon and has it pointed at Abdul killing his pet hawk and zapping him.

This issue answers the question we all have been asking sense this story started and that’s the power that Abdul Alhazred is crazing is really a cannon that is being used by lizards to fight human tribesmen! Now the main thing being we are not sure if he wants the cannon it’s self or if he is looking to have blasted himself with it to amp up his already dark and odd powers…so did Princess Ayesha hurt him or did she give him what he wanted, I guess we will have to wait until next issue to find out as this is the cliffhanger we are left on. Tarzan by now is just sick of all this and is taking the fight to anyone that is a Slaver or connected to Abdul Alhazred as he is taken over by rage and just wants to deal out cold justice. It is great that Tarzan and The Captain patch things up and learn that they both have been used by that snake Ike from the mercenaries who tricked them for his own gain and for his own set of plans. Simon of the mercenaries is really out for riches as he shoots his own fellow mercenary in order to get in good with Abdul who dismisses him as the madman has no loyalty just as Simon don’t. The Lizard Men are also pretty evil as they use a high tech weapon that kills many of humans lives and they seem to think its funny, these Lizard men as well need to be brought down and I hope Tarzan and the Princess do just that by the end of this tale, as I truly do hope that Princess Ayesha gets her revenge on everyone that has treated her terrible in this series! I also like how we see that the Sabre-Tooth Tiger is on his way to join this battle, and his team up with Tarzan reminds me of the 60’s Marvel Comic character Ka-Zar and his sabre-tooth cat Zabu who ran around the jungles of the Savageland. This issue is a solid read and is clearly wrapping this story arch as its clear that all the main players are in one area and an epic battle is about to break loose! The cover for this issue is ok and while fitting not all that eye catching and the interior art is done once more by Sal and is great. Over all another great read for this overly solid series based on the classic book character.

Tarzan # 22  ***
Released in 1979     Cover Price .35     Marvel     # 22 of 29

Abdul Alhazred is now in pain after being shot with the cannon as Simon thinks about shooting him and taking all the power he has from the crystal for himself as he know understands that Alhazred’s raw and strange power is tied to this land and the crystal that also powers the cannon. Meanwhile the Lizard men bust in and attack Princess Ayesha and the Warrior, but the Princess grabs a metal pipe and bashes the controls to the cannon causing it to explode and after they all lay lifeless in the rubble. Meanwhile Tarzan along with the Pirates is on their way to confront Alhazred and his lackeys, but when they are almost their Tarzan splits from the Pirates and send them on the path of Ike who is the one who stole their treasure! As The Captain leads what’s left of his men after Ike Tarzan swings away in the trees to find Alhazred and Simon as the Lord Of The Jungle wants revenge. Tarzan in front of the Pyramid meets up with the savage warriors that had been blasted by the cannon and takes lead of the remaining men as a stampede of Dinosaurs and the Saber-Tooth Tiger stomp by heading toward the pyramid themselves, while The Captain and the Pirates see this and decide to give up the search and to find a boat and leave, unknown to them Ike was killed by the stomping dinosaurs. Alhazred snaps out of his pain and starts to beat up Simon as Tarzan and his Warriors break into the pyramid and fight with The Lizard People and the Cannibal Warriors and this massive fight gets broken up when the Dinosaurs come stomping in crushing anyone in their way. Tarzan breaks away from the fight and heads toward Alhazred and once to him he finds Simon dead from a broken neck and Alhazred wants to sacrifice Tarzan to the crystal to gain more power!

Man this storyline is getting crazy as this issue has Tarzan on his way to Abdul Alhazred all the while dodging rampaging dinosaurs, beating up Cannibal tribesmen, dodging the death stares of the Lizard Men and patching up his friendship with the Pirate Captain. While Abdul Alhazred himself is injured by the thing that gives him his power, turned on by his Mercenary hired guns and needs more human lives to feed to the crystal! Tarzan in this issue is super focused on bringing Simon and Abdul Alhazred to justice as they have wronged him over and over through out this story arch, and he also sticks to his word when it comes to not given up and being loyal to his friends, even when his anger sometimes made him make bad decisions. Abdul Alhazred shows slight weakness and we truly get a look at his power as we now know that it comes from the massive crystal that demands he give it human souls in order to get more power, and he truly shows he has zero respect for human life and the only thing that matters to him…is himself. Simon is so greedy that his own want for power is what leads to his neck being snapped and his soul given to the crystal. The other Mercenaries are just lambs in line to the slaughter, well besides Ike who is crushed to death under the feet of rampaging dinosaurs. Poor Princess Ayesha and her Warrior protector go down with a fight as The Lizard Men want then dead, and after the explosion I am not sure what her fate is! So much going on with so many characters involved, but damn it this is a great story and captures the mood and feel of a good Jungle Adventure! The cover is eye catching and has Tarzan fighting with dinosaurs and the interior art by Sal Buscema is great and showcases why I love Marvel Comic from the 70’s and Early 80’s. Over all a great issue that is winding down a storyline that has been one hell of a ride this far.

Tarzan # 23  ***
Released in 1979     Cover Price .35     Marvel     # 23 of 29

Tarzan draws his knife and is ready to make Abdul Alhazred pay for all his crimes in the jungle against the slaves he has murdered, and Alhazred is more joyed with the idea of killing Tarzan to please the crystal. Tarzan goes onto the attack and after stabbing Abdul Alhazred a bunch of times he sees that the blade does not inflect any damage! That’s is until one blow cuts deeps and causes Abdul Alhazred pain and he starts to bleed and its clear that the Crystal is drawing power from his pain and anger as well, showing Abdul Alhazred is not the chosen one but just a pawn for the Crystal. This angers Alhazred and his fight with Tarzan gets more intense and grows with emotions of anger, hatred and rage and the Mercenaries do what they can to keep the Cannibal Tribe at bay, and with the combined forces of Tarzan’s knife and a gun shot from one of the dying Mercenaries they are able to wound Alhazred and he stumbles into the Crystal that drains him of all his life. With that the Mercenary dies leaving only one of them left, who now stands with Tarzan as he is ready to go home and put this nightmare land behind him. Meanwhile the savage warriors have defeated the Lizard people and the Cannibal Tribesmen and are now up with Tarzan who gives them one last order to destroy the Crystal and they obey. And at the wreckage of the cannon Princess Ayesha and her Warrior are still alive and he must fight off and bare handed kill one of the remaining Lizard People to save his ladies life, and in the end as Tarzan and the Mercenary head to find a way home, the see the Princess with her Warrior and know she is happier here then returning home to a destroyed village.

This issue wraps the story of Abdul Alhazred that madman who graved power and had no respect for human life, and in his end he learned that he himself was no one special as the thing that gave him his powers is also the same thing that took them back as well as his life. Alhazred is a great example of a classic bad guy as he is opposing, crazy, mean, strong, a killer and a great foe for our hero. His end is also very fitting as he himself faces the same grim death that he has sacrificed so many to and even with all his power and anger he just becomes a pile of dust. Tarzan after all this adventure and time in this issue he gets his revenge for the death of the old man as well as all the slaves over the years, its great to see him go full savage with his fathers knife and put up the fight of his life against a bad guy who clearly was stronger then him, but also not clearly as battle ready. I also like the fact Tarzan in this strange land has managed to make new friends with the Warriors and the Pirates! A plus for me as well is the fact Princess Ayesha and her Warrior boyfriend have a happy ending as that poor girl had some terrible luck and moments in her life in this series, so glad she was able to find happiness. I also like that the French Mercenary who was the only one among the bunch who was a good person not only lived but also found his inner power and learned how to fight to stay alive and to protect others. The Lizard People and The Cannibal Tribe are great backup bad guys who are as evil as the madman they follow, and they as well get brought down. This was a solid and great story arch that took Tarzan from the jungle all the way to a savage land in the middle of the Earth on a quest for revenge, and it takes so much twist and turns of action and drama that it really delivered a great comic book reads. The cover is eye catching and reminds me of a cover you would see for another Marvel Comic series like Spider-Man, Captain America or even X-Men. The interior art by Sal Buscema is fantastic and again holds that 70’s Marvel charm.

Tarzan # 24  ***
Released in 1979     Cover Price .40     Marvel     # 24 of 29

Tarzan and The Mercenary have found the portal to take them back to their world and are seen off by Princess Ayesha, The Warriors and even the Pirates who all wish them well on their travel back, and Tarzan with The Mercenary enter the portal and once back home use TNT to blow up the cave that held the portal and then go their separate ways. Meanwhile Jane with the Waziri Tribe are with Jad-Bal-Ja the black maned golden lion and are watching a wild grass fire and making sure that it will not reach their houses, and also making sure that they will not be stomped to death by the stampeding animals! The fire has been started by rich white people Mr. Tory, Miss Lyle and their hired gun Ian Chalmers who ends up seeing Jane who is trying to help the scared animals who are heading toward a massive gorge and rushes to try and help, and this of course would kill them all if they fall over and Jane could not stand by and witness this. So along with Jad-Bal-Ja and the Waziri Tribe they try and save the animals life, but Jane is knocked out of her jeep and she falls off the cliff of the gorge and while hanging on the side the rhino that knocked her over is on a rampage and is about the push the jeep over as well…so death is closing in. But as Jane looses her grip Ian is to late and she falls and as the hunter is shaken he is about to be attacked by Jad-Bal-Ja as the lion blames this man for the death of Jane…but lucky for Ian Jad-Bal-Ja is netted by Mr. Tory who wants the beats head for his collection! Ian who has been a hunter in Africa knows that the black manned lion is that of Tarzan’s and that means the lady was Jane and he warns his boss that trouble is coming. Tarzan meanwhile is almost home only seeing the fire, but is more focused on getting home to see his wife.

This is a great way to end the Abdul Alhazred story to get into this new story that has British and American Game Hunters being the cause of hurting Jane and capturing Tarzan’s Lion friend! This issue’s plot has Tarzan getting back home and closing the portal to that savage land for good while his wife Jane is trying her best to save the life of animals that are running for their lives from a fire that is set by a rich hunter named Mr. Troy who wanted to eliminate the tall grass, and his actions lead to a major accident that leaves Jane falling over a cliff! Tarzan in this issue is on a mission to get back to his wife as he has gotten his revenge, but has been gone for so long due to being stuck in the savage land…and even during this quest to get home he still knows that the portal being left open would be dangerous so he uses some good old TNT and blows up the cave that houses it…Tarzan is a true hero who while flawed is a good person at heart as he wants to protect and save. Jane Greystoke as well shows how great of a person she is as she puts her own life in danger in order to save the lives of animals and she as well has no fear of danger and she is a fitting wife for Tarzan! The black maned golden lion known as Jad-Bal-Ja is awesome and is very much loyal to Jane and the beast does what he can to protect her and listen to her orders. Ian Chalmers is an American Hunter who is a gun for hire to help the rich hunt dangerous animals, and does not wish to hurt people nor even animals for no reason and I think he knows the danger they are now in with Jane being “killed” in an accident and also now that they have captured his friend the lion. Mr. Tory and Miss Lyle are so out of touch and are killing animals and causing land destruction for there own gain…and I don’t think they care or even really gets just what they have done. This is a great story to follow the long saga we just ended and I also like that this one appears to be very Jane centered as for many issues now she has been nowhere in sight so its great to see her also be a hero. Good action packed cover, great interior artwork from Sal Buscema and cool new characters make this a story I cannot wait to see what’s next.

Tarzan # 25  ***
Released in 1979     Cover Price .40     Marvel     # 25 of 29

Tarzan returns home just as his son Jack “Korak” Clayton III does as well and the Waziri Tribe tell them of the fire and accident and this sets father and son off on a mission of rescue and revenge! Meanwhile we find out that Mr. Roger Tory is in fact not filling the animals as he wants them to put on display in New York to make tons of money as he thinks Jad-Bal-Ja will be a big prized feature as no one has seen a black maned lion before! Like before Ian tries to warn his boss that things will get really bad when Tarzan finds out about the accident of his wife, and Tory brushes it off and says they will deal and kill Tarzan if needed and they head back to camp. Unknown to them Jane has climbed out of the gorge, while she is hurt she is very much filled with anger and rage over the fire and accident. As Mr. Troy is packing up the animals to ship to New York they are confronted by a very angry Tarzan who goes crazy in the tent freeing many of the animals, beating up many of the hired men of Mr. Troy before setting his sights on the fat man himself, and just as he is about to kill the man he thinks killed his wife Tarzan is hit with a electric cattle prod and is attacked and shocked until he is knocked out. Once out cold Mr. Roger Tory, Sarah Lyle and Ian Chalmers cage Tarzan and decide they will take him and show him off in New York as a wild man! As they are loading up the animals and Tarzan they are confronted by a shotgun touting Jane who wants them to let her husband go, but Roger tricks her and gets the gun away and decides he will kidnap her are well to but in his “Great Show” and as Ian tries to talk sense into his boss he is made fun of and sent away. As Roger with his crew and cargo fly away Korak shows up with gun in hand to get answers from the natives left behind.

The plot thickens as this issue has the rich fat business man and his crooked crew now not only stealing animals from Africa but also is now kidnapping Tarzan and his wife Jane in order to turn them both into a sideshow attraction in New York! And their only hope is if their son Korak The Killer can track them down and set them free…well that is what we are lead to believe right now. Lets start with talking about the stories bad guys and the worst one is Mr. Roger Tory a rich fat American who thinks money can buy anyone and anything and that he can do what ever he likes cause he has the money to back it up. It’s also clear that life of others means nothing to Roger as he has no issues with killing animal or human and loves to also talk down to people as well as cheat them. Young woman Sarah Lyle is a greedy woman who only is around Roger as she sees him as a meal ticket to money and fame, she is also very mean hearted and only cares about herself and money. Another scumbag member of Roger’s crew is Smithers who is his accountant of crime and has it out for Jad-Bal-Ja as the beast clawed him during the fight in the tent…really he is a weasel and scum. Ian Chalmers is a hunter who needs the money of Roger’s in order to pay off gambling debuts, and he hates all the shady stuff but has to go along as the money talks and his own fears keep him in line. Tarzan lets rage blind him in battle in this issue and leads to his capture as he leaves himself open for attack. Jane is able to climb a gorge, over take a worker and steal his gun and even confront the hunting party, sure she gets captured in the end but she is one tough cookie! Korak takes his sweet time to aid his father in the search for Jane and is even late in order to save his parents from being kidnapped…in other words for a man that has the nickname Killer sure does not impress in this issue. And to me the thing that is great is that taking Tarzan to New York to display for a crowd reminds me of King Kong! The cover is great and shows action and just like before the interior art is done by the talented Sal Buscema and I great like before. So lets see what happens when Tarzan gets to New York and lets see if Korak can make up for his late to the party foul in the next issue.

Tarzan # 26  ***
Released in 1979     Cover Price .40     Marvel     # 26 of 29

Tarzan is filled with rage and hatred as he is trapped in the cage as Roger informs him that he plans to make him the main attraction as his new themed club and that Jane is indeed alive and if Tarzan acts up he will have her killed, and in order to keep Tarzan quite Martin will be injecting his throat with a tranquilizer so that he can not alert people of his kidnapping! As the planes land Jane is placed in a sack and taken away as Ian watches, but does not act to save her while Tarzan is bound and yet still is able to almost kill Martin Smithers before he is finally injected and passes out. Roger loads up his new attractions and heads to his club as he has money to make. Meanwhile back in Africa Korak gets the answers from the helpers of Roger and heads off to try and hire a small plane to take him to America. Meanwhile back in New York Roger is leading a parade in order to build hype for his club and in this parade is a caged Tarzan as well as Jad-Bal-Ja, and as Tarzan is angry the crowd just cheer and laugh. While in a room in the Empire State Building Jane is being held captive and when she has a failed escape attempt, she soon learns that Ian Chalmers has fallen in love with her…and she will use this to her advantage. In the end we see the inside of the club that is filled with rich people and Tarzan is stuck in a cage with his yells and grunts going unnoticed.

This issues plot has Roger Tory getting to New York and with cruel tactics, drugs and beatings he does what he can to try and get Tarzan under control so that he can use this Lord Of The Jungle as a way to get money from those who enter his club. And all the while Jane is being as well held against her will and worse away from her husband as she is as well being used as a way to keep Tarzan in line. This is a great way to bring Tarzan to an American city and captures more reader’s attention as the series is not just Jungle adventures anymore and brings the drama and action to the society that they can identify with. Tarzan in this issue really is just a prisoner who while fights back against Smithers, spends the rest of the issue in a cage unable to speak and only with the want to escape and find his wife. Jane as well is helpless as even when fighting back and trying to escape the odds are just not one her side. And like before Korak is taking his sweet time to help is parents, he always seems to be like 500 steps behind when it comes to being the hero he needs to be. Roger Tory and his cronies are really put no value on human lives, as they will kill, mistreat and exploit anyone to make some money, in fact they are human traffickers…man these guys really are pure scum. Ian Chalmers shows that while he is a good hunter he really is spineless when it comes to standing up against the crimes of Roger, plus the fact that he is fallen in love with a wild man’s wife shows that this made is also not very smart! I like how this story arch is going and I feel that it shows the downside of humans as they really would pay to stare at and laugh at a human in a cage that was different from them. The cover is great and one that I remember from my youth and the interior art by Sal again is top notch. Over all another great issue in this Marvel Comics Tarzan series and to me proves that they do the Lord Of The Jungle right.

Tarzan # 27  ***
Released in 1979     Cover Price .40     Marvel     # 27 of 29

Roger Tory is living large at his club as his customers are spending tons of money and are enjoying all he has on display including Tarzan who many think is just an actor playing a wild man, at one point many of the people at the club throw their drinks at him and laugh at his anger. Meanwhile Korak is on his way to take a private plane and fly it to New York in order to try and save his parents. Meanwhile at the Safari Club the mobster Blackjack and his gang show up as Roger owes them lots of money from a scam he pulled off in Chicago and they have came to collect and tell Smithers to go and get his boss. Meanwhile Tarzan and Jad-Bal-Ja are placed in a cell that is protected by unbreakable glass and are forced to fight for their lives against a massive Albino Gorilla who has been drugged and put into a rage! As Roger meets with Blackjack the alerts the mobster he can pay him in full in about a week, but this is not good enough for Blackjack to takes his tommygun and shoots the glass of the cell freeing Tarzan, The Albino Gorilla and Jad-Bal-Ja into the crowd who go into a panic! Meanwhile Jane once more take the chance to try and escape and knocks out a henchman as well as Ian and then breaks the widow of her room on the 85th floor and climbs up the building as Ian when woken up thinks she has committed suicide.

Tarzan who is the most feared and respected living being in the jungles of Africa is now stuck in a cage in New York being mocked, laughed at and used to as entertainment and all the while the man behind this torment is being threatened by a crime boss who wants the money he is owed and this is all comes to a dangerous event by the end of this issue as chaos breaks out in the club and a rampaging gorilla is set free! Oh man were to start but I for one love how this story is playing out as it really does remind me of King Kong as well as all the classic Jungle Movies of golden age Hollywood. I also like that now we have more bad guys added to the mix as the mobsters are just as bad as Roger and his goons and greed is what is pushing both bad sides. Tarzan in this issue goes from being mocked by the crowd to being put in a fight to the death against a gorilla for their entertainment, and because of the drug they injected him with he can not tell them this is not a show and he is no actor! Jane once more uses her charms and inner power to fight to escape and does just that by the end of the issue and even climbs the Empire State Building to do so! Korak besides saving a British Soldier from a panther attack he is pretty useless and spends the time trying to get to a small plane so he can fly to NY to save his parents, really this far Korak is moving at the pace of a snail and is doing no good at this point to save his family. Ian Chalmers is a guy who clearly down on his luck and while good at heart is so far in debut to Roger that he is nothing more then a hired gun that he keeps spineless. Roger, Smithers and Sarah are all about the Safari Club as they want to make all they money they can off stolen animals and a kidnapped couple, and its shows when they are faced with people that are bigger and badder then them they are cowards. Black Jack and his gang mean business and will kill to get what’s owed and will even put the lives of people not involved in order to get it, I think Black Jack is not done with causing issues for everyone. Jad-Bal-Ja the lion shows that he is loyal to Tarzan as he does what he can to help fight the rampaging Albino Gorilla who is so drugged that he feels no pain and only wants to kill anything and everyone in its sights! The cover is great and eye catching and shows Tarzan and the Albino Gorilla fighting and Sal does the interior art so you know its good. A great issue and I cannot wait to reread the next issue and remember how this story plays out.

Tarzan # 28  ***
Released in 1979     Cover Price .40     Marvel     # 28 of 29

Ian Chalmers who original freaked out as he thought Jane jumped from the window on the 85th floor of the Empire State Building, now notices that she is trying to climb to the top of it! Meanwhile the cops have shown up to the Safari Club and before they enter the club they gunned down a lion and walk in as Tarzan and Jad-Bal-Ja are in a fight to the death against the Albino Gorilla and notice that The Black Jack Gang are standing with Roger watching this chaos. During the fight Black Jack starts to get a respect for Tarzan who is clearly the underdog but is fighting like a King and has zero fear in his eyes, he alerts Roger that if Tarzan dies he will die as well! And Black Jack then notices that Roger is hiding the knife of Tarzan and takes it and throws it to him and Tarzan uses it to end the battle and the life of the Albino Gorilla, and after the battle Tarzan is filled with rage and lets out a yell that chills the blood of everyone in the club. The Cops draw their guns and are about to gun down Tarzan and Jad-Bal-Ja when Black Jack and his gang pull their guns and warn the police to go take a hike or they will bring a war to the police department, and this works as the cops leave and Black Jack takes Jad-Bal-Ja and Roger to the docks and Tarzan rushes to the Empire State Building after getting Jane’s location from Roger. Tarzan reaches his destination and gets passed the cops and makes it to Jane just in time as Ian and his goons have surrounded her, Tarzan knocks them out and he and Jane jump onto a plane that flies by that is being flown by their son Korak and they head to the docks to meet with Black Jack

Wow this was a fun issue that is packed with action and drama and has Tarzan killing a massive gorilla, become friends with a gangster, knock around some police officers, get to the top of the Empire State Building, rescues his wife and flies away on the wing of a plane…yep this issue is pretty dang great! Tarzan in this issue is a man on a mission to survive a fight against the odds as well as to find and save his wife from the crazy world of New York City! Tarzan is the true hero of the jungle and his family and I love the fact he has zero fear when it comes to almost dying at the hands of the Albino Gorilla as well as when it comes to rushing past the cops like they are leaves in the wind. Jane as well has zero fear in her escape from Roger’s Goons and risks her own life in order to climb a building to safety with the idea to get away and save her husband. The useless Korak shows up at the last minute to try and play hero with his plane, he really is useless in this adventure. Black Jack and his Gang are bad guys for the most part, but do have some respect for Tarzan and his family and that’s why he decides to help the Lord Of The Jungle escape. Roger is truly a spineless coward who fears Tarzan, Black Jack as well as being sued by the guests of his club, not to even mention his goons including Ian have all failed in their missions and Sarah in the end dumps Roger! I really liked the fight between the Albino Gorilla and Tarzan who ended up having the use a knife to end the fight. I also was a fan of Tarzan running around New York City in order to find his wife and dig that they used the Empire State Building as the final stand place between Tarzan and Roger’s Goons. The cover is great and eye catching as it reminds me of King Kong and the interior art by Sal is great like before. Well next up is the final issue in the main series, so lets see how Marvel wraps up Tarzan.

Tarzan # 29  ***
Released in 1979     Cover Price .40     Marvel     # 29 of 29

Tarzan along with Jane, Korak, Jad-Bal-Ja as well as a few other apes are all on a small boat in the middle of the ocean, they are all weak, thirsty and being burnt by the sun that is shinning down above them…and then Tarzan remembers back to what has lead them to this situation…he flashes back to New York as when he and his family arrive at the docks they are rushed onto a massive ship set but by Black Jack who handles the police when the show up and turns in Roger for kidnapping. While on the ship Tarzan and his family are treated like guests of honor by the Captain who even events them to the massive ball that is happing that night. While Tarzan goes to the ships cargo to visit his animal friends he stumbles upon a blackmail scheme going down between a sinister chap in a Top Hat and Mr. Vorga about rigging peace talks between two nations, as Top Hat has letters that Vorga had written to a sleazy female bar singer and will release them if he does not do what is asked of him. Tarzan as heard enough and snatches the letters from Top Hats hands and runs him off and threatens him if he comes back to Vorga’s room he will regret it. While at the ships ball Mr. Vorga and his wife sit with Tarzan and his family, but things get bad when Top Hats hired goon dressed as a clown stabs Vorga in the back and Tarzan gives chase as the goon and Top Hat run away…but Top Hat as other ideas and uses dynamite to blow up the ship and Tarzan just in time is able to save his animal friends and get them on a life boat along with Jane, Korak, the wounded Mr. Vorga plus his wife and the ships captain…and then we cut back to currant times as they are all hungry, thirsty, sun baked and missing land, when in a distance they spot land and better yet right near Tarzan’s home and they are all saved!

It’s crazy as this was the final issue in Marvel’s amazing Tarzan series and just like almost all the others before it, this issue delivers a great read that features the classic hero doing what he does best and that’s saving the day as well as beating the odds that are stacked against him. This issue has Tarzan and his family on a cruise ship that is taking them back home and before they can be dropped off a crazed man blows up the ship and causes Tarzan and the rest to fight for their life against the cruel sea and the blistering hot sun. Tarzan in this issue takes up for a man who is being bullied and as well shows that he is not only loyal to his family and animal friends but also to those who can not defend themselves, and when things get bad on the ship he not only goes after the bad guys but also does all he can to save lives from the sinking ship. Jane and Korak are around and while they are only bit players in this issue they do serve a purpose of being the motivation for Tarzan to fight harder and the reason to survive. Top Hat is a crazy man who wants to bride to get what he wants and when that doesn’t work he decides murder is the answer and then when confronted he ends up killing himself and others by blowing up the ship causing it to sink! I think the best part of Top Hat is that he looks like a cartoon bag guy complete with curly mustache…its great classic bad guys stuff. Marvel in this final issue gets Tarzan and his family home and it’s a fitting end, but also I wish his final adventure with Marvel would have been bigger and better and would have had him fighting a great cat or a super crazed witch doctor, and not the sun being the main threat. The cover is good and pretty dang eye catching and as always the interior art is done by the great Sal Buscema who did a great job of bringing Tarzan to the pages of this comic series. Tarzan The Lord Of The Jungle is great and is one comic series that I feel was really well done by Marvel and that the team on this book cared about what they were doing, and I for one had a blast re-visiting this series after all these years…and once more I want to thank my late Uncle Thurman for introducing me to it as him giving me these comics when I was a kid made me a life long fan of the character. Check out below for artwork done by Sal for this series.

But I know what you readers are thinking this is the Christmas Eve update for 2020 so we need more Tarzan…well you are in luck as its now time for me to take a look at the King Sized Annuals! So here is more Tarzan for your Holiday enjoyment.

Tarzan Annual # 1  ***
Released in 1977     Cover Price .50     Marvel     # 1 of 3

Tarzan returns to a site in the jungle that holds all types of memories from his time as a youth picking berries with his mother and then he remembers back to his first crush Teeka a young female ape who captured his attention, and he remembers back to having to fight Taug in order to win her hand! Tarzan and Taug are in a battle to the death that is until a panther shows up and is looking to bring down an ape for lunch and the cat has its eyes on Teeka, and while the others flee Tarzan with his rope and knife come to her rescue and after running the panther off Tarzan and Teeka spend the afternoon together, but when he leaves to find food she ends up going to Taug and this breaks Tarzan’s heart who goes on a multiple day long solo hunt. While in the jungle we watches a tribe build a cage and then later watches as Taug is captured in the cage and is taken away by the tribe. Tarzan thinks that this is the best thing to happen for him as with Taug out of the way he thinks Teeka will be his, that is until she sees the sadness in her eyes and this sparks him to try and rescue Taug. Tarzan saves Taug and the ape returns to his mate as Tarzan at that moment knew he was different from his ape family. We join Tarzan once more as he chuckles about his part memory and then he finds his old vein rope in the spot and remembers back again to a time when he first learned to swing from vines, and during a time he had a major fight with Bukawai a disfigured human witch doctor who lives in a cave near the ape tribe and has two hyenas as pets. One day a massive storm hits the jungle and Tarzan is injured when lighting hits the tree he was seeking shelter from, and who finds him is Bukawai who takes him to the cave and ties him to a pole and wants to watch as Tarzan dies, but Bukawai during this is being cruel to his hyenas who see Tarzan as a fresh meat meal. Tarzan figures away to free himself and ends up chasing off the hyenas and then ties Bukawai to the poll and the hyenas return to eat him! Back in currant times its now getting late and Tarzan is done remembering the past and swings off back into the heart of the jungle.

This first King Sized Annual is a great read for Tarzan fans and has a good plot that follows the Lord Of The Jungle as he dealt with his first crush and the heartbreak that comes along with it, and he also remembers back to the time when he had to face and bring down a evil witch doctor. Tarzan really is feeling nostalgic for his past as he remembers times with his ape parents, his first crush and even the first time he learned to swing around on vines in the trees. Tarzan even in his younger days had no fear and would fight to the death against anything that gets in his path of what he wants as he takes on a raging ape, a panther, a pair of hyenas and a crazed witch doctor. I think what works for this annual is the fact its moments from Tarzan’s past and showed how he has grown as just a young boy living with apes to becoming The Lord Of The Jungle! It’s also great to see that Tarzan’s ape father truly hated him and wished for his adoptive son’s death all the time. The issues main bad guy is Bukawai a witch doctor who was badly disfigured from disease and was shunned by his tribe cause this as well as the fact Tarzan disproved his cures and medicines, while he is crippled and broken down his hate and want for revenge keeps him going and all he wants to do is watch Tarzan die! But because his hate took him over when he had the chance to do so his cruelty to his pet hyenas turn them on him and he became a quick meal for them. The cover for this issue is great and very eye catching and features Tarzan standing over the body of a gorilla he brought down and the interior art done by John Buscema and is great stuff and once more has the classic 70’s Marvel appeal. Great read and a must for fans of Tarzan as it’s a fun story with more of Tarzan’s backstory explored.

Tarzan Annual # 2  ***1/2
Released in 1978     Cover Price .60     Marvel     # 2 of 3

Tarzan and his lion Jad-Bal-Ja stumble upon a massacre, as dead bodies of humans are all around and only an old man who clings to life is able to tell Tarzan what has happened. You see a King, Queen and the Princess had been overthrown from their kingdom by the Kings brother who then gave the order to slaughter them all while they left…but the old man begs Tarzan to care for The Princess who is still alive with his dying breath. Tarzan finds the Princess who was in hiding and she is mad and wants revenge for the death of her parents…and Tarzan agrees to help her do so. Tarzan gets them to the Kingdom Of The Cliffs and as they walk across the bridge they are attacked and taken as prisoners to see The King! As the Princess shouts about how her parents were murdered by this new King he himself acts shocked about the death of his brother and ordered that Tarzan and Jab-Bal-Ja be placed in a cell and the Princess to be taken to her old chambers. The King is worried now as many of the warriors are grumbling about if the claims of a murder squad sent to kill the former King is true. Tarzan finds out that he is be to sacrificed to the Kingdom’s giant snake god and when that time comes all hell breaks loose as The Princess is able to stab The King with a dagger, Tarzan breaks the skull flame pillar that held the serpent back, the giant snake appears and is looking for human meat and Jab-Bal-Ja break free of his cage and attacks the giant snake along with Tarzan who as well breaks free! Tarzan and his lion with the help of the warriors would the giant snake that makes an escape that is heading toward the Kingdom’s High Priest who wants to throw the Princess from a cliff and end her rule before it even starts! Just as the Priest is about to toss her over the giant snake appears and knocks the Priest over the cliff as it as well goes over ending both terrible lives and as The Princess is about to fall Tarzan once more saves her and she takes her place as the true Queen of the Kingdom as Tarzan heads home with his lion to see Jane.

The second King Size Annual could be the best issue in all of Marvel’s Tarzan series as it really is a great fantastic read that brings action, adventure and even a dash of fantasy and has Tarzan saving a Princess and helping her get revenge on those who murdered her parents and stole her place of ruling the Kingdom. Tarzan is as always a true hero as he fulfills an old mans dying wish, protects and helps a Princess reclaim her kingdom as well as slays a massive snake that has been keeping a kingdom at bay. Jad-Bal-Ja the golden black manned lion is also very much a hero in this issue as he fights off warriors, sets Tarzan free and then also starts the main attack of the giant snake! The Princess is young but is a true fighter and is filled with rage and revenge and wants to bring down her Uncle who is the man who took over her Kingdom and as well ordered the murder of her parents. The Uncle King is truly a coward and scum as he forced his way into power and murdered his own brother and then also wanted to marry his own niece…yeah he is gross and when he takes a knife to the gut and dies you as a reader feels good about it. The High Priest as well to the Kingdom is a terrible person and wants power and wants to murder those by feeding them to a massive snake that ends up being the key to his own death. I loved the over all feel and story of this issue as it truly brings out a great adventure for Tarzan that would have made for a great movie as well! The cover is pretty great and the interior art is done by Sal Buscema and is great stuff! Now that I am thinking about it this issue reminds me of an issue of Conan The Barbarian and in fact it could easily been an issue if you just swapped out Tarzan for Conan. Over all this could be hands down my favorite issue in this series and shows that 100% Marvel knew how to make comics based on The Lord Of The Jungle.

Tarzan Annual # 3  **1/2
Released in 1979     Cover Price .60     Marvel     # 3 of 3

Tarzan, Jane, Korak and guests are in London and are celebrating Guy Fawkes day by given dressed up kids pennies and heading toward the Opera for a show that features Jane’s friend Julia Hague, and while going in they find out Julia’s sister Evelyn has gone missing in Africa! Jane and Tarzan make their way to Julia’s dressing room and find out that she is not missing but kidnapped, and that she is not allowed to tell a soul…but she has and a Dwarf in the Opera house has heard this and before Tarzan can grab him he escapes into the crowd. Later as the Opera starts Julia is singing her heart out and Tarzan is able to stop her murder as the Dwarf armed with a gun, Tarzan and Korak surround him and the Dwarf ends up jumping to his death from a booth. Now safe Julia shows Jane and Tarzan a box her sister sent her that has a tiny human skeleton in it and Tarzan knows were he must travel to Africa to save her, but worse someone in the shadows is once more watching and listening. Tarzan and his friend Pierre D’Arnot are on a small plane flying over the place called The Great Thorn Forest and are shot down by Max Hunter a man who works for Sykes and is the kidnapper of Evelyn, Tarzan is thrown from the plane wreck as Pierre is knocked out and still in the plane when its attacked by a savage all female cavewoman tribe called the Alali Women and after Tarzan and the now rescued Pierre run them off they soon find that Sykes and his group are also under attack and that the Alali Women have run off with Evelyn after Tarzan uses a flamethrower tank to scare them off, Tarzan and Pierre then capture the kidnapers and find out that they did so to sell off the mini skeletons that she found as they think they would be worth millions to the right buyers. Tarzan then rushes off after the Alali Women to save Evelyn only to find them at war with the tiny Ant-Man warriors, and the tiny warriors make short work of the Alali Women and during the fight both Tarzan and Evelyn are hurt and are shrunken down to have their wounds treated as the warriors and their King and Queen are friends of Tarzan! Meanwhile a rival race of Ant-Men use their tiny arrows to bring down Pierre and the kidnappers quickly tell the Ant-Men that Tarzan is the one who dug up their graveyard and that they will ride with them in the tank to get revenge for this crime! Tarzan leads the good Ant-Men against the invaders and white small and even turning normal size he is able to stop the flame tank and bring the would be kidnapers to justice as the good Ant-Men run off the bad ones. In the end Korak arrives with a plane and picks up Tarzan, the injured Pierre and Evelyn and they return to London.

This final Tarzan Annual is a great read and delivers a solid adventure for Tarzan as he goes from a London Opera House all the way to a tiny Ant-Man village in Africa and all the while he is fighting off a mad dwarf with a gun, wild cavewomen out for blood and a group of greedy kidnappers who seek money and fame. Really this story is as crazy as that summery discretion sounds! Tarzan clearly does not understand the customs of the civil world, and yet he at times is more human then the people that surround him in the big city of London. Tarzan also shows that he is loyal to his friends as well as his wives friends as he is willing to travel to a part of the Jungles of Africa that is dangerous in order to save the sister of a woman he has just meet, but is close friends of his wife Jane. He also shows once more he has no fear as he is willing to fight off all enemies that come at him in this issue. Pierre D’Arnot is a Frenchman who is close friends of Tarzan who as well rushes into a unknown danger to help, and is very useful with a gun, and thank the heavens that he wears a leather jacket of he would have been a dead man thanks to the tiny arrows of the Ant-Men. Korak and Jane are around and do their best to help with this kidnaping plot as well as keep the victims sister calm. The Ant-Men have two sides one kingdom is peaceful and is ruled by friends of Tarzan while the other side is bad and are looking for a war as well as a reason to truly hate Tarzan. The Kidnapers Martin, Max and Sykes are true scumbags who will snuff out a life, lie, cheat and steal all in the quest to make a quick fortune off anyone and everything. Plus the Kidnapers in their grasp has eyes, ears and killers in London and also are in control of a very powerful flamethrower tank that makes them super deadly. The Alali Women are a cave woman clan who want to mate and kill males that are foolish enough to stumble in their area, they are deadly and bloodthirsty and not to be messed with. This is a crazy adventure that is well paced and showcases once more that Marvel Comics knew how to make a great Tarzan adventure comic. The cover is eye catching and showcases Tarzan in danger from not only the Ant-Men but also the Alali Women. The interior art is done by the team of Sal as well as Ricardo Villamonte and is great stuff. No joke I am a little sad that this is the final issue for this update as I have had a great time covering Tarzan and his Marvel Comic adventures and wish it would have lasted a little longer. But with that said check out the artwork below to see the style used in these annuals.

Wow that was lots of fun re-reading the Marvel Comics adventures of Tarzan and for me they really held up and were fantastic 70’s comic reads that showcases just why Tarzan is still to this day a classic hero of pop culture. It’s a shame that Marvel Comics have not brought Tarzan back to the company as I feel that he could fit in perfect with their currant plans of returning characters like Star Wars and Conan The Barbarian as well as the newly added Ultraman. I would love to see a comic that would pit Tarzan against Conan as that fight would be epic and awesome. This was a long and epic Christmas Eve update and I hope that this holiday season brought you some joy and thank you for spending some time here at Rotten Ink. Our next update will be my countdown of films I seen in the theater this year and it’s a strange one indeed so I will see you back for that one. Until next time make sure to send a message to your loved ones, enjoy your holiday season the best you can and as always make sure to leave milk and cookies out for Santa! Be safe and I will see you next year to chat about the cinema.

SOV Flashback Classics – Teen Suicide

Way back in 1998 I was a senior at Kettering Fairmont High School, a place that I both loved and hated as my fellow students were great, but much of the facility disliked me as I was labeled a Satanist, a trouble maker, and a scumbag metalhead. They threatened to call the police on me  and they had no issues giving me detention, suspending me, kicking me out of classes, trying to expel me and even calling my parents and telling them that they should make me drop out of school! It’s crazy to think that in the late 90’s I was judged by the teachers and such based on the way I dressed as I wore horror movie shirts, 80’s hair bands and comic & TV characters. Plus I was always poorly judged on my artwork of monsters and demons and my writings of spooky stores about killers….they labeled me a threat to others and that’s how the Satanist label was branded on me, because of one terrible art teacher I had in the 9th grade. But because their small minded judgments I would be pulled from classes even if I was getting passing grades and forced into study halls or other classes that they could tuck me away in, and because of this I was placed in Media Class my senior year and that was the best thing for me, even though when they first placed me in the class they had two security guards and a principal escorted me in and sit me away from everyone. Great first impression, am I right? But because of this move I got to learn how to use Super VHS cameras, shoot live school broadcasts, learned how to deck to deck edit, learned Photoshop, how to edit on Avid and how to become a Radio DJ and even had my own shows one being called “Matt And Matt” that was me and Matt Hoffman, a guy that because of this class I became life long friends with. And that was one of the best things about them putting me in this class, I got to meet so many amazing people and friends like Brandon Womeldorff, Dave Wean, Linda Webb, Rion Neeley, Sarah McMurchy, Abigail Keyton, Scott Hunter and many more, all of whom are great people. And because of this class, the shot-on-video, no-budget backyard filmmaking bug that sparkled a creative part of my brain I did not have a means to let out and sparked the birth of Fairmont Productions that would later become Independent B Movie.

Over the years we shot goofy little skits, self-portraits and us just being goofs in the hallways, but it was because of Sociology Class that some of us got to make our first short film about subject that faced teens. This was called “Teen Suicide,” and it became a school cult classic and was a big part of our grade. Many of the Media Students were placed together in this class, and naturally we stuck together as Matt Hoffman, Brandon Womeldorff and myself became a group and took in Scott Harmon and a dude named Chris, and we started to brain storm the idea of what Teen Suicide the short film would be about. After many different ideas we landed on the idea that bullying can lead to youth suicide and we stuck with that idea. Because we were in media class, we also had a pass to leave school grounds to film it and that was a major help as we could take the bullying out of just the hallways and into our character’s normal day-to-day life as well. The “script” was really just ideas that all of us minus Chris came up with. We cast Hoffman as the young man being bullied as sadly he was bullied a lot in school, and Brandon, Scott, Chris and myself all played people that bullied him (I was “Bully 2″), aka we were the real scumbags. When it came down to who was going to direct plus edit the film we all landed on Brandon as he was the best editor of the class and it seemed right that he should also get the directing credit. When it came to camera work, all of us did our part behind the super bulky and heavy Super VHS Camera, and I was slated to also pick some of the music to be used along with Brandon…and of course my selections were W.A.S.P., Motley Crue and Pantera!

The filming took us all over the hallways of the school and we also used the houses of Hoffman and myself. We shot behind Mavericks Cards and Comics in Kettering as well as State Farm Park in Kettering for the film’s tragic ending. My big bullying scene took place behind Mavericks near a weird manmade concrete creek that had me trying to push Hoffman into the water as he hung on for dear life to a pole that was near by. The whole time I had a David Lee Roth type smile on my face with a flannel around my waist and rocking a Whitesnake T-Shirt. The scene went really well and Hoffman looked nervous and slightly scared in the scene, as he really did not want to go into the water…like the scene was planned out. So a few days later we went back to the creek to film him going into the water to maybe slice into the scene and he did so but wore swimming trunks and the add on scene was terrible and was never used and footage lost, so sadly him going into the water will never see the light of day. The film’s ending scene was our big day of production, and if memory serves me right, the only people on set that day was Hoffman, Brandon and myself. The climax had Hoffman shoot himself and fall backwards down a hill in State Farm Park, and I can remember Hoffman was nervous as the stunt was dangerous but after some coaching from Brandon and I, he did it and it looked pretty dang cool for the time. The “blood” we used for the end shot of Matt after he shot himself was ketchup that we bought from K-Mart that was right down the road from the park. Once done with filming that took about 2 weeks to complete, Brandon took the footage and worked his editing magic on the Avid Editing system and it was official Teen Suicide, our first film under the Fairmont Productions banner, was complete!

The day the film was to play in class, our group had to have two people go up and speak to the class about suicide and the film Teen Suicide and after the movie they would have to do a Q&A. After talking it over, it only made sense if Brandon and Hoffman went up as one was the director and the other the main star of the film. The pre-screening talk went well and Brandon and Hoffman gave facts and such about the topic and then it was showtime and man did the film go over well as our fellow students seemed to be drawn in by the film’s subject and the song by Pantera that was Suicide Death Note Part 1 got comments about being well used from them as well. But after the film was over and the Q&A started, things got a little awkward and sad as Hoffman dropped a bombshell on everyone and admitted he had tried to kill himself in the past and ran from the classroom after admitting it. Everyone was shocked and Brandon did his best to wrap up the presentation. The teacher then let me and Brandon go and find Hoffman and talk with him. I am glad she allowed us to do this, as it was something I think that was weighing on Hoffman for a long time and you could tell he felt really good after talking to his friends about it. When it came to it getting a grade, we all got an A for it and the film was considered a staple for watching among our friends at parties and get togethers, and remains one of the films that lived on with the crew of Independent B Movie with a sequel and a remake (but they are for another update). It has shown at Horror Conventions like Scary Camp and even played at local now sadly gone theater Paige Manor. While Teen Suicide was surpassed in quality and fanfare by other films we made over the years, it’s one that holds a special place in my heart and I am glad it lives on via DVD and screenings. One other interesting thing I should note about Teen Suicide is that for the most part it is a silent film with just music playing over the scenes from bands like Bush and The Offspring, but during the film climax Matt has the only bit of dialogue in the film as he reads his suicide note left behind for his parents.

I want to also say once we started up as a full indie production company Teen Suicide was released on VHS and later as a double feature with the second film in the series. The film sold just ok on VHS and did better on DVD and was reviewed on many websites and even in print magazines. The cover for the VHS release was done by Brandon and the DVD release cover was done by my brother Bryan and both for the time were well done and I really dig the cover for the DVD as I think it’s eye catching for a very cheaply made film series. Oh and for those wondering, Henrique Couto and his Freak Productions is who made the DVD for us way back when. It’s shocking that a film called Teen Suicide being sold at Horror Conventions in the early 2000’s didn’t sell like hot cakes. The film would also go on and get a limited long sleeve t-shirt released that was designed by students at Fairmont High School that had a white figure with a bullet hole in its head with the words Teen Suicide on him…yep, this was made around 2003/2004 and the teacher let a student make that for us…awesome and how the times changed from when I was a student. The shirts sold really well and sadly over the years I no longer have mine but my pal Josh Weinberg still has his and sent a pic of it so that I can share. So as you can see, Teen Suicide made its very tiny mark on SOV cinema here in the Dayton, Ohio area.

This was so much fun remembering back on the production of Teen Suicide and made me feel like I should go back to my roots so during the Stay At Home 2020 Order here in Ohio, Juliet and I decided to revisit one of the filming locations from the film, the site that was where my first scene ever was filmed in any SOV film…and that was behind Christopher’s Restaurant in Kettering Ohio was the opening to the creek that my character Bully 2 tried to push Matt into the water…and man the area like every thing has changed as the plants and weeds have grown taller and the concrete has became way more beaten up. While we barely visited the spot, it was very cool to take a moment and see it again. Take a look at the picture below as I took it on the day we visited that was May 7, 2020.

So let’s now take a look at Teen Suicide the film and characters that made up this universe, and what it was that drove the Matt character into wanting to end his life. So I want to say that for these I.B.M films I will write about the plot, my thoughts on the film and will in the end give it a Report Card Grade on the classic A-F scale and will only be judging it on a scale that is ONLY for Independent B Movie/Bloodline Video films. Now it’s with great honor that I bring to you the 1998 short film masterpiece Teen Suicide.

Teen Suicide
Starring – Matt Hoffman & Scott Harman     Directed by Brandon Womeldorff
1998     Not Rated     11min     Independent B Movie     DVD-R     Full Frame

Movie: The film takes place in the life of a high school student named Matt and follows him through a week of being bullied by his peers. Day 1 has Matt trying to get his locker open when Bully 1 walks by and shoves him hard into the metal lockers. Day 2 Matt is at school again this time Bully 1 shoves Matt’s face into a sink getting it all wet, and Matt is clearly getting more tired of the constant bullying. Day 3 that damn Bully 1 is at it again and this time in the hall way knocks Matt down making him drop all his books all over the hallway. Day 4 has Matt is outside of School driving to a creek to walk around only to run into Bully 2 who tries to shove Matt into the water, ruining his chance to find some peace with nature. Day 5 while driving around he is carjacked by a bully Car Thief, after walking home the Thief follows him home and fake apologizes in order to get into Matt’s house where he steals his CDs and Car again! Day 6 after losing his car and music Matt decides to visit a park and while looking at flowers Bully 3 appears and beats Matt down and leaves him in a field and Bully 3 jumps into Matt’s car still being driven around by the Car Thief Bully. Day 7 poor Matt has had enough of his torment and writes a suicide note that he reads aloud, he then grabs a hand gun and walks across a bridge and goes atop a hill and kneels and puts the gun into his mouth and pulls the trigger and falls down the hill, with the end shot being Matt with blood on his head and the camera fades out.

Thoughts: Watching this film over 20 years after we made it brought back a wave of nostalgia and makes me miss making these old shot on video films with my friends, as this is the film that really started it all for us. Plus to think I was only 17 years old when we made this film…crazy. The film’s plot is very simple as it just takes a week in the life of a kid who is being bullied and beaten up by his fellow classmates who all seem to just not like him for some reason, and finally on this final week of life all the bad stuff he has gone through piles up and with no help from his parents nor the school he does what he thinks he has to do to end the pain and that’s take his own life. The film is an odd mix of drama, action and even a touch of humor with the end of the film being very downbeat and got the impact we wanted from our fellow classmates. Plus I am a mark for Silent Films and this being a mostly silent film has always made me happy, as our group would not make another silent film until 2002 when we did the Horror Comedy Short “Last Man On Earth”. The “fight” scenes are so cheesy with Bully 3 played by Scott Harmon beating up Matt being one of the worst fight scenes any of us at Independent B Movie has ever been involved with or even shot in our company. I mean it’s super bad, and because it’s so bad, it is fun to laugh at. The true shinning star of this film was Matt Hoffman who plays Matt as he did a great job of allowing his fellow actors to knock him around and even put his heart into the suicide note in the film the he wrote himself, because of this role as well Hoffman would go on to be casted in lead roles in many of our films and would also go on to be a director and script writer. This also was the major jumping off point for Brandon Womeldorff as his editing skills for this time and for his first film edited are solid, and he also showed that he understood how to direct his goofy friends in a serious subject film. The downside is because of being edited on an Avid system and its age, the film is a little bleached out and the whites tend to take over some shots.

Grade: B+

The short film Teen Suicide and Fairmont Productions are two very important creative elements in my life and helped truly lead me down the path of picking up a camera and filming ideas that popped into my mind and lead to many amazing films, shows and skits that I have made over the years. It’s really crazy to think that all of this happened for me by chance as if not for being treated poorly by the school system and placed in the Media class, none of this would have been in my life. I would have never made Teen Suicide as a class project and I would have never met the creative minds and lifelong friends like Matt Hoffman and Brandon Wolmeldorff who both helped birth Independent B Movie along with me as well as Dave Wean, Josh Weinberg and Patrick Neeley. So when writing this update looking back at the short film Teen Suicide, I feel very nostalgic for it and all the creative hard work that little rag tag group of high school students put into it. Below I wanted to share the original VHS tape of this cult classic SOV film and one day soon I hope that Teen Suicide and Suicide 2 will see the light of day again in some home media.

I would like to tell you readers that this is not the last of the films of Independent B Movie that I will be breaking down here on Rotten Ink as sometime in the very near future we will also be talking about the second film I was apart of called “Twisted Batman Theater” as well as a Fairmount Production I helped on called “Cask Of Amontillado”, so make sure to keep your eyes and ears open for that update! And guess what, that Twisted Batman update is next!! So until next update read an indie comic or three, watch a SOV film or two and as always support your local Horror Host. See you next update for a fun time with Batman and Robin in the world of stop motion shot on video films!