From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: The Abomination (1986)

Posted on June 23, 2026 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink and to yet another “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” update. This one will be a truly blood splattered one as we will be talking about the 1986 Super 8 shoot beastly creature feature The Abomination and the 12-page comic adaptation that came inside the Blu-Ray release of the film done by Visual Vengeance! This is one that I have wanted to cover since it was released in 2023 but waited as it is a perfect fit for our themed year! I am also hoping that this update will not only make fans of the film happy but will also introduce more horror fans to it, as we all know that many of you readers love the horror flicks of the 1980’s and this is one that is often over looked. So if you are ready, let’s dive into the blood splattered world of The Abomination and see what gore awaits us.

Let’s start off by taking a look at The Abomination itself! The Abomination is a parasitic demon that grows in a person’s body as a tumor and once vomited out it grows into a massive creature that wants to destroy all of mankind. As the tumor it smells horrible, pumps like a heart and can slide to move to enter a person’s body once more. Once grown The Abomination is red in color with a big mouth filled with razor sharp pointed teeth…and its appearance is truly horrific and can frighten a person into hysterics or even death. The Abomination will control its host to commit murder as it feeds on human meat, flesh and blood and will drive the person crazy as well as into fits of rage making them act out towards their family and friends. The Abomination also reproduces inside its human host causing it to have offspring that will grow to be just as vile as it, and that will also want to consume human flesh and with this offspring it becomes even more deadly for anyone that is in its path. The Abomination also has its human host that is willing to kill for it as well as feed it whenever it gets hungry, making a poor soul its mind controlled murderous minion. It also has tentacle arms that it can use to pull victims into its mouth making them food to try and stop its hunger. And that is the thing about The Abomination and its offspring, it seems to have no weakness as when it starts growing, reproducing and feeding it looks as if it cannot be stopped! It’s a safe thing to say that The Abomination could be one of the most dangerous and deadliest demonic parasite creatures we have ever covered here on Rotten Ink. That is if you think this creature is real, and not just in the mind of Cody who is being investigated for murder.

Now that we have taken a look at The Abomination and its way of killing and eating humans, I think that we should now take a look at the film he is from and that of course is also called The Abomination and was released in 1986 to the home video market. Like always, I will be getting the film’s plot from our friends at IMDB and then I will write about the film’s production as well as my thoughts on the film. So if you are ready, let’s see what terror awaits us.

The Abomination (1986)

“An old woman coughs up what she believes to be a tumor. While asleep, the thing crawls inside of her son and reproduces inside him, then causes him to go on a killing spree to feed it.”

In the 1980’s the video rental business was booming and many directors were making horror films to get onto the shelves and into the hands of viewers as horror was a big part of the boom and fans were always looking for the next big scare to watch over the weekend with friends and family. Enter Bret McCormick, a young director and producer. He had a vision and a dream, and that was the film Abomination that was released on video in 1986, McCormick was a longtime horror fan who even made his own films as a child using a Super 8 camera. The film was shot in Texas and his father was the one who put up most of the film’s budget, as McCormick was told that distributors wanted gory horror films and he being a fan of that genre he wanted to make it and get the VHS out into the rental stores. Also during this time McCormick had a filmmaking partner in Matt Devlen who was developing a movie called “Ozone: The Attack Of The Redneck Mutants” that also has budget money provided by McCormick’s father. When casting the film actors like Scott Davis, Blue Thompson, Jude Johnson, Rex Morton, Suzy Meyer and Brad McCormick were brought in to be apart of the main cast. The film was shot in a short amount of time and spent lots of time in the editing processes before being finished and then struggling to find a distributor, and later would finally find a small distribution company to release it and it would gain a cult following thanks to being found in rental stores. Over the years, this splatter flick would become a very underground cult film with copies of the VHS selling for hundreds of dollars and being talked about in many cult magazines. The film in 1986 was released with such other horror films as Chopping Mall, Zombie Nightmare, RawHead Rex, Night Of The Creeps, Spookies, Deadtime Stories, Slaughter High, Class Of Nuke’em High, Street Trash, Neon Maniacs, Sorority House Massacre, King Kong Lives, Blood Hook, Demons 2, Psycho III, Friday The 13^th Part VI: Jason Lives, Troll, Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2, Little Shop Of Horrors, Gothic and From Beyond, to name a few. And for those wondering, Bret McCormick would go on to make other horror films as Highway To Hell, Children Of Dracula, Bio-Tech Warrior and Repligator.

The Abomination is one of those films that I can remember seeing in the pages of the horror magazines and fanzines that my brother would buy and it always being talked about for its gross nature and special effects…but of course with the VHS being rare, it would be a very long time before I got to finally watch it. It would be via the gray market that I would finally get to see this film as my friend and film mentor Andy Copp hand it via his Nightcrew Video label, and it was a very fun watch and helped fuel my fire in making indie films with my friends via Independent B Movie. The film, for its small budget level, had great special gore effects and one great looking creature, and really the gore in this film is that of a Herschell Gordon Lewis film. Plus for this level, the acting is also not that bad and I have to say that actress Blue Thompson should have been in way more horror films through the 80s and early 90s as she truly had a great look to her suited for the genre. And while I enjoyed this film back then and even now, I will say that it is not for everyone as it has a weird pacing, some scenes go on for way to long and at times it kind of makes no sense…so I think that horror fans that don’t like the more backyard and DIY style productions might not enjoy it as much. This is a film that I am shocked never got a sequel after it gained its cult following as it is one that could have easily became a franchise. In fact when watching the film in 2023 working on this update, it came to me that the film would really go well showing alongside films like Basket Case, Street Trash, Slime City, Deadly Spawn, C.H.U.D. and Video Violence at a horror movie marathon. If you have not seen this film, make sure to get yourself a copy of the Visual Vengeance Blu-Ray as they packed it with extras and it’s the best this film has looked in decades. And spoiler, I was not that down with the idea that The Abomination was only in the head of Cody who is the true killer of all the victims as he is just insane.

Well I think now that we have talked about the film The Abomination as well as the parasite meat-eating creature from it, we should now review the mini promo comic that came with this great Blu-Ray release of the film. And I have to say that while I really do dig the idea of mini promo comics inside DVDs and Blu-Ray cases based on the film it is an extra for, but I do wish that this would have been a full sized comic as it would have been great to see Visual Vengeance/Wild Eye Releasing just open up a comic publishing branch as so many of the films they release would make for great adaptation comics. I would like to thank Diabolik DVD for having this Blu-Ray with Promo Comic in stock and making this update possible. And while I did slightly help on the making of this comic as I helped with some of the dialogue, I would like to remind you all that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. So if you are ready, let’s head out to Texas and see what The Abomination has on the menu to eat.

The Abomination # 1 ***
Released in 2023 Cover Price $0.00 Visual Vengeance # 1 of 1

Cody’s mother is sick with a tumor and she is obsessed with an evangelist named Brother Fogg who is on TV preaching and trying to get his followers to send him money. And as Cody goes on a date with his girlfriend Kelly, his mother ends up puking up the tumor that she gives credit to Brother Fogg and his healing words. That night as Cody gets home and falls asleep he thinks he has a nightmare as the tumor crawls into his mouth and makes him wake up scared, shaken and before breakfast, he coughs it out and places the tumor under his bed and heads to eat breakfast. Later that day Cody feels off and drives around only to end up at his friends house where he kills her with a camping knife and then takes her corpse home and as well hides it under his bed, and learns that the tumor is growing into a Abomination (a creature with a big mouth filled with sharp teeth) and ate the flesh and meat of his dead friend. His mother goes to Brother Fogg for help as her son is acting so weird and she thinks he might need an exorcism. He agrees to it, and they make an appointment. But Cody is angered by this and feeds his mother to The Abomination and also gets Brother Fogg at his office and then kills a few more people to feed this carnivorous creature. But Cody meets his maker when his girlfriend Kelly shows up and uses a pitchfork to end his life, but she soon is grabbed by The Abomination and becomes more meat for the beast.

This is a very cool adaptation promo comic for a very underrated 80s fright flick, and while I wish it would have gotten a full size comic and more than 12 pages to tell its story in…it does do a good job of getting the story in the short page count. The plot is about Cody, a man who ends up having a demonic, human eating tumor creature growing and taking over his mind causing him to kill people in order to feed it. Cody starts off as a normal guy who worries about his mom, dislikes the fake religious figure on TV and enjoys spending his time with his girlfriend Kelly, but once The Abomination enters his body, he becomes a killer driven by the beast to kill as it needs to feed on human meat and flesh. Poor Cody also stops caring about his family and friends and even feeds his own mother to The Abomination! Cody’s Mother and his girlfriend Kelly care about him and want to get him help when is attitude changes, but they both end up finding hell in the belly of the beast. Brother Fogg is a TV Preacher who is truly a fraud and only does his healing and preaching for money, and he as well gets what’s coming to him when he becomes eaten by this tumorous creature when he is sitting on the toilet. The Abomination is a disgusting demon tumor creature that loves to control, infest, kill and eat humans and has the large teeth and massive mouth to do so. With this comic only being 12 pages some of the films plot, kills and oddness had to be cut, but the creators behind it do a good job of trying to make it all fit and feel like the film on the pages. The comic is packed with lots of blood as well as gory kills and the horror truly is The Abomination as that thing is creepy and brings the scares to the readers. I really do wish that Visual Vengeance/Wild Eye Releasing would think beyond just making 12 page promo comics for Blu-Ray releases, as it would be great to have many full size adaptations of not only this film but many others of their releases…but sadly I don’t think they will do this and it’s a shame. The cover for this mini comic is really cool and eye catching and of course the interior artwork done by my friend Marc Gras is fantastic stuff. I dig the way he draws The Abomination, and he does do a great job of making the characters look like the actors who played them! To sum it up, this is a very cool comic that is a must have for fans of this 1986 film as who would ever think this comic would have been made! Check out the artwork below to see the style used by Marc in this promo comic.

As you can see, The Abomination really is a very underrated 80’s direct to video film as it is packed with so much bizarre moments, a creepy creature, lots of gore and should have way more fanfare than it gets, and I am glad that it got this promo comic as it allowed me to cover it here on Rotten Ink on a “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” update. And do not worry, I will cover the other promo comics that they released as those films as well deserve to be talked about and given The Rotten Ink treatment. Our next update will keep us in the world of horror comics based on horror films, and we will also be celebrating July 4^th as we take a heroic splattastic journey with The Toxic Avenger and his Marvel Comic adventures. So until next time, read a horror comic of three, watch a horror film or two and as always support your local horror host. See you next update as I think The Toxic Avenger is the perfect American hero to cover for this From Horror Movie To Horror Comic update marathon.

From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead (2014)

Posted on December 14, 2025 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink and to another “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” update. For this one we will be talking about Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead and the promo comic that came with the DVD release. For those who don’t know what Dead Snow 2 is all about, it’s a indie dark comedy zombie horror film that features group of humans trying to stop a group of Nazi zombies who are trying to complete their orders from decades back. This film is in cult status and is a well loved modern zombie film and now it’s going to get the Rotten Ink treatment, so grab your winter gear and let’s head out into the bitter cold snow as from what I hear there are zombies out there!

So before we get to deep into this update, let’s take a few moments to chat about Standartenfuhrer Herzog and his Nazi zombie army. Herzog and his Undead Army have many ways to deal death and first their rotting appearance can strike fear into the hearts of their victims and cause them to die of fright as well as become hysterical and make mistakes on trying to survive. They can also use their bare hands to rip and tear flesh and are shockingly skilled in hand to hand combat. Plus they will bite and use their teeth in order to cause damage, death as well as infect you with their undead disease and cause you to become one of them. The can also use weapons of war to deal death that includes guns, knives and tanks to slaughter their targets and they are very skilled with these weapons and that makes them even more dangerous than your standard zombies. They are also horde killers but are also very dangerous on their own. Herzog himself is very strong and can use his brute strength to take a humans life; he also has the ability to resurrect the newly killed to become new soldiers in his army that all do what they are told to do making him the most dangerous as he has a massive army willing to act on his commands. They also have no fear nor conscience and do not hesitate to kill humans making them killing machines as they also do not tire and can take some damage from those who attempt to fight back. But while Herzog and his Nazi Zombie Army are very deadly that can be dealt with as they can be hacked up, blown up, shot up, burnt up and smashed up and by destroying their heads is the full way to stop them. So while they can be stopped, they still are very dangerous and Herzog can always just bring back or create new members for his growing army.

So as you can see Herzog and his Nazi Zombie Army are very dangerous and are different than most other zombies we have covered here as again I have to stress they can use weapons of war. But now that we have talked about these zombies, we should take a look at the film it’s based on Dead Snow 2 and like always I will be taking the film’s write up from our friends at IMDB and after that I will write about the film’s production as well as my thoughts. So if you are ready, let’s chat about this indie fright flick.

Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead (2014)

“If the worst day of your life consisted of accidentally killing your girlfriend with an axe, chain-sawing your own arm off, and watching in horror as your closest friends were devoured by a zombified Nazi battalion, you’d have to assume that things couldn’t get much worse. In Martin’s case, that was only the beginning.”

Dead Snow was a 2008 film that was a big indie horror hit in both America and its origin nation Norway and with this success the writer and director Tommy Wirkola decided to do a sequel! The sequel would bring back actor Vegar Hoel as Martin Hykkerud and would bring in other actors like Martin Starr, Jocelyn DeBoer and Ingrid Hass and Orjan Gamst would return as Standartenfuhrer Herzog the lead Nazi Zombie. Filming would take place in Iceland and would be filmed in English as well as Norwegian and would be filmed in very snowy weather with most of the zombie cast being made up of MMA fighters as well as stuntmen. The film would be scored by Christian Wide and would get a limited theatrical release in America in late 2014 and would only bring in around $37,473.00 for Well Go USA Entertainment, and by 2015 it would get a DVD release. The film did better at the international box office bringing in over $1 million dollars. The film that year would be released alongside such other horror films as The Babadook, It Follows, Tusk, Dracula Untold, A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night and What We Do In The Shadows to name a few. The film would go on to become a cult classic and was meet with pretty good reviews from fans and critics. As of this update, no new film is planned for the series.

As you longtime readers know, I have been a horror film fan since I was a very young kid and grew up watching them, so it is even shocking to me that it took me until 2022 for me to watch both Dead Snow and Dead Snow 2! Both films have always been on my radar but for some reason I just never got around to watching them, but when I finally got the DVD’s of the film from Game Swap Kettering and found that the second film came with a promo comic I knew I needed to watch them and make a From Horror Movie To Horror Comic update about them. And before I watched them, my brother told me that he enjoyed the second film over the first, and after watching them both I tend to agree as while I think some of the gore in the first film is good some of the humor fell flat with me while I liked the story and characters better from the second film. The one odd thing in the second film for me is all the Star Wars quotes from one of the Zombie Hunter characters, as it was used as humor and at times felt out of place. The film’s Nazi and Russian Zombies look very cool and at the end of the film both zombie sides clash and it’s lots of fun to watch as they hack and smash each other back to death. The series main villain is Standartenfuhrer Herzog who is very violent and pretty scary as he deals death and destruction all because he is following long over orders. One other very cool element in this film is that main character Martin Hykkerud loses part of his arm as does Standartenfuhrer Herzog and by mistake both have the others arm attached to them and because of this Martin can touch a dead body and bring them back to life as a follower of his cause. This is a very fun and bloody good zombie dark comedy that you should check out if you have waited way to long to watch like myself. Before we end this, I think they should make a part 3 and make it even more bloody and over the top than the first two in the series, but at this point in time it looks like a third film will not be made.

So now that we have talked about Standartenfuhrer Herzog and his Nazi Zombie army as well as the film they are from Dead Snow 2, it’s time for us to take a look at the promo comic that came free inside the DVD release. I would like to first thank Game Swap Kettering for having this promo comic and DVD in stock and making this update possible. And I would like 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 head out into the snow and try our best to avoid the zombie that are on a mission for gold and small down invasion.

Dead Snow # 1 ***
Released in 2015 Cover Price FREE Well Go USA # 1 of 1

The year is 1943 and a small cabin in the mountains is under attack by the Nazis and as one man is begging them not to take his families rations as winter is here and they are already starving, Standartenfuhrer Herzog listens to the man’s pleas and then murders him with a fish hook in front of his family. The Nazis move onto the next village and have to dodge deer that are all over the roads, and once at the village the Nazis steal all of the peoples gold and jewelry as well as use a tank to blow up a herd of deer, plus the kill one of the townspeople in front of the others and as the box of riches makes it into the hands of Herzog one of the townspeople rushes over and slits his own wrist and bleeds all over the gold as well as Herzog’s hand and places a curse on him that will forever link him to this treasure and will cause him and his men to become zombies who over time will beg for death! The town people then armed with basic weapons try and attack the Nazis but are all mowed down by machine gun fire. In the end Herzog notices that one of the blown up deer is now a zombie and he also sees that mountain area that will become their base as this origin tale ends.

This is a pretty cool little promo comic as its story follows Herzog and his men as they torment, rob and kill villagers all for the quest of gold and power, and they make the mistake of messing with the wrong villager who before he dies is able to place a curse on them all that will forever make them zombies and linked to the gold they have stolen from his people. Herzog is very evil and uncaring as he seems to be uncaring by killing both animals and humans, and even takes pleasure in killing a man in front of his family as he robs them of all their food leaving them to starve to death in the harsh winter months. And even when the cursed is placed on him and his men and he sees that the deer he killed are coming back to life he is unbothered…this dude is a coldblooded killer! His men are also very cold as they steal and take human life on orders and are un-phased by anything they are asked to do. The poor villagers are bullied, scared and most of all pissed off about their treatment but sadly everyone of them who try to fight back end up dead with several of them in this issue being shot and one his hooked, but you have to give them all credit for trying to stand up for themselves and each other. The comic is pretty bloody as we get a close up of a gunshot wound to the head as well as a hook to the jaw making it very gory. The promo comic also does a great job of capturing the horror mood of the film as well as the sinister attitude of Herzog making for a good movie tie in comic. The cover is pretty cool and showcases the head wound panel and could be very eye catching for horror comic readers. The interior art is done by Kurt Van Der Basch and is great stuff and has a very cool indie horror comic look to it. This is a very cool promo comic that does a good job of extended the film universe and adds some detail to some of the film characters past. If you like Dead Snow 2 or even just Dead Snow, make sure to track down this comic and give it a read. Also make sure to checkout the artwork below to see the style of Kurt Van Der Basch.

Dead Snow 2 is a good film and also a good comic and this is a prime example of what I have been talking about for as long as this blog has been active and even before that as comic books make great promo items for your horror films as almost every Fright Flick has an interesting world that fit for comics and with the right creative minds behind it the comics can expand that world and also get readers turned into viewers. I am also glad I finally got around to watching the Dead Snow films as while they are not amazing films, they are highly entertaining ones that deliver a great watch for fans who like a little laughs with their terror. We will be leaving the world of Dead Snow behind as for our next update we will be heading to the world of cartoons as we will look at Roman Holidays! So until next time, read a horror comic or three, watch a horror film or two and as always support your local Horror Host! Make sure next update, you keep your eyes in the sky for not only Santa and his reindeers but also so silly family and their pet lion.

The Slimy TMNT Knock-Off’s Known as The Snailiens

Posted on December 7, 2025 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink. I think that it’s time that we once more take a look at a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles knock off. I mean nothing says holiday season like quick knock off versions of something that was super popular at the time like TMNT was in the late 80’s and early 90’s! And what I will be covering today had action figures and of course a comic book…but never made it to getting a cartoon, and this knock off was called The Snailiens. Yep…fighting humanoid mutant snails! Long time readers know that over the years here on Rotten Ink we have covered many of the clones of the TMNT such as Biker Mice From Mars, Toxic Crusaders, Stone Protectors, Cold Blooded Chameleon Commandos and Geriatric Gangrene Jujitsu Gerbils and had a blast talking about them. So with a glass of eggnog in your hand and sitting in your favorite place to read blog updates, let’s dive into the world of Crawlspace and see what these Snailiens have to offer the world when it comes to being heroes as well as if they can break the mould of just being your normal knock off toy that is lost to time but live on in the hearts of those who got these figures over the years as gifts. I mean if Turtles can be heroes, why can’t Snails?

JPI was a very small toy company that was mostly known for making cheap novelty toys and whose main office was based out of New York. In 1992 they made their biggest attempt to make a figure series that would capture the boy market and that was a line called Snailiens. You see by 1992 Playmates was killing it with their Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles figure series that was of course based on the cartoon that was in turn based on the comic book series, and JPI wanted to captures some of that money So they made Snailiens that featured four snail like humanoid heroes all with a different color scheme to go with their yellow skin who suit up in armor to fight evil tick like monsters. Each figure would come with a sidekick character, suit of armor, trading cards, mini comic, a popper “bounce shell” and ammo for the bounce shell. You see the bounce shell was one of the figure line’s big selling points as it claimed to go up to 30 feet and would allow kids to use it to fire projectiles at other figures…this of course did not go over well with parents. The figures themselves were made of rubber, were not posable at all and stood a little taller than Matchbox’s Wave 1 of Monster In My Pocket figures. JPI pushed really hard for Snailiens to be a hit even making a commercial for them to run during cartoons after school and Saturday mornings. The series would have a total of eight figures released with four Snailiens and four Lunar-Ticks making up the complete series as it sadly would only last one series before disappearing and ending up in discount bins in the toy departments. And as quickly as they came, the Snailiens would fade away to be mostly forgotten. They can be found loose on sites likes Ebay and Etsy for cheap loose but they can go for a bigger price if they are still in package.

Let’s now take a look at our heroes The Snailiens, the four aliens who try and make their world and beyond safe. These heroes are named after the American presidents that are featured on the coins as their real names are to hard for the worlds to pronounce. They were on a mission for their part of the underground galaxy when they come to The Crawlspace to answer a call for help and are stuck there when their ship is taken by a young human child as it looks like a colorful shell. Washington is the leader of the group (wears red) and he is joined by Lincoln (wears green), Jefferson (wears blue) and Roosevelt (wears purple), and together they try to keep not only the snails of The Crawlspace safe but also the children of Earth. They are joined by the snails of The Crawlspace who live in Snail Francisco who are named Sparks, Charger, Cruise and Jet, and these smaller snails are ready to protect their world from the evils ticks. The Snailiens are truly brave and heroic and will never give up in their fight to do what is right.

The villains of the Snailiens universe are called the Lunarticks and are lead by Zug The Supreme, who is very evil in his ways and wants nothing more to take over Crawlspace world as well as wants to be the ruler of Earth in general. He is joined in his quest to rule by his tick henchmen named Blastar, Drool and Armokillo, all of whom follow his orders and have the same wish to destroy and conquer. The Lunarticks are also joined by their fellow evil insects in their battle to take over the worlds with such ones as Itchy, Blister, Wart and Drippy all joining the war to conquer it all. The Lunarticks are all mean looking and are purple in color and are fearsome fighters who hate the world below as well as above.

I am a kid of the 1980’s and 1990’s, and I do not remember Snailiens at all! I mean I can remember going up and down the toy aisles at such stores as Hearts, Hills, Gold Circle, Children’s Palace, Kaybee Toys, K-Mart to name a few and do not remember seeing these on the shelf nor do I remember even one of my fellow classmates having them. In fact I really knew very little about them until my friend Chris of Time Warp Toys talked about them on a YouTube video. And once I found out about them and that they had a mini comic book that came with them, I knew I had to track down not only the comic but also all the hero figures in the series. A thanks to Ebay, I was able to track all the figures down as well as the comic! These figures are really cool and while I like the armor they wear, I think the basic figures are cooler without it! Check out the picture below to see my Snailien collection of the basic good guy figures.

I have to say I really do like the Snailiens figures as I find them pretty cool looking and while as basic as can be, they still have a charm to them that make them their own thing. Yes, they were a cash in on the fame of the TMNT, but they tried their best to be something a little different. And I would like to first thank my friend Chris who owns the toy store called Time Warp Toys for making me aware of these figures and then would like to thank the seller on Ebay that had this mini comic in stock and making this update possible. I want to also remind you all that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, their entertainment value and their art and story. So if you are ready, let’s head to the sewers…I mean to the Crawlspace…and see what The Snailiens have in store for us.

Snailiens # 1 *1/2
Released in 1992 Cover Price $0.00 JPI # 1 of 1

In San Francisco live three young siblings Max, Mabel and Monty, and unknown to them, right under their home is a world called Crawlspace. That world’s capitol is called Snail Francisco, and it is under attack as Zug and his group the Lunarticks plan to first take down Snail Francisco and then will infest Earth’s kids with blood sucking ticks! They even get help in their evil quest from a group of bad insects that call themselves The Infects! As they start the attack, the snails call for help as they are being slaughtered and their city is about to fall to the Ticks! But the call for help is picked up by four snail aliens from another planet who come to Earth to save the city, but during their fight with the Lunarticks their ship, the S. Cargo, is taken by Max who thinks it looks cool and this leaves the Snailiens stranded on Earth. They are quickly welcomed by the snails of Snail Francisco who give them the names Washington, Jefferson, Rossevelt and Lincoln, all named after the American leaders that appear on the coins. And these Snailiens swear to help protect the people of Snail Francisco as well as the human kids by fighting the ticks and all their allies.

This is a very cheesy comic that is really a mini comic that showcases one page of artwork with the other page being dialogue making the comic read like a kid’s story book. The comic’s plot is that of a group of Ticks and some other rogue insects that are wanting to take over the small under the Earth world called The Crawlspace with an idea to later take over the above world by attacking the Earth’s children. But a group of alien snails answer the call for help and are now stuck on Earth and dedicate their lives in the battle against the ticks. In this mini comic we learn that there are three kids that live in a house with the older boy Max being the one who takes the ship the S. Cargo, forcing the Snailiens to be trapped here on Earth, as to him their ship looks like a very cool looking shell. We learn that Zug is a tick that leads all the evil ones and who is obsessed with taking over the Crawlspace world as well as Earth in general and his main plan is to attack kids…yeah, he is that kind of evil! And we learn that our four heroes, The Snailiens, are really aliens who are good hearted and want to protect those who are being bullied and want to stop the ticks from taking over. And while we get some information about the Snailiens and their universe, this comic is very basic and sadly does not do a great job of introducing us to any of the members at all as none of them get a chance to showcase their personalities or their fighting styles making one truly have to use their imaginations when playing with the toys as a kid. I was a little disappointed that the comic was more like a story book as I think they could have told a way better story if they would have just made a traditional comic with panels. The cover for this mini comic is pretty cool and shows Washington fighting Zug, and the interior artwork is cool and well done but is done by an uncredited artist. Over all, this was a fast and basic read that is for fans of the toys while I think those who do not know or like the toys will most likely dislike this mini comic and find it very bland. Check out the artwork below to see the style of the unknown artist used for this comic.

While I really like the figures, I cannot say that I liked the comic that much at all as I really did find it to be a lackluster read that did not do its jobs well of promoting the figures and making those who read the comic want to collect the figures as they did not really allow the readers into the world of Crawlspace, and as I said, did a terrible job of showcasing our heroes The Snailiens. But with all that said I will once more say that while they are very much a knock-off and clone of the TMNT, they did try to make themselves something slightly different and if I had these figures growing up I would have had them as part of the Toy War battles as well as would have just added them into the TMNT adventures I had. Our countdown to Christmas Eve 2025 continues with our next update as we take a look at that zombie film Dead Snow 2! So until next time, read a comic or three, watch a movie or two and as always, support your local horror host! See you next update as we watch the epic battle between red and the dead.

American Summer Hero: Popsicles

Posted on July 4, 2025 by bloodlinematt

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Exterminator The Pest Killer Of Marvel

Posted on March 30, 2025 by bloodlinematt

Surprise! That is right, we have found ourselves at another bonus update post here at Rotten Ink, and for this one I will be talking about a weird and yet cool promo comic that was released by Marvel that features a character called Exterminator who is a metal-suited pest control Orkin Man…yep, it’s as weird as it sounds. This comic was given out to young comic readers as well as customers of Orkin or just people who wrote to them to request a copy. That is one thing about the 90’s, in main stream comics there were so many weird comics being made as they were truly being used a tools to promote all types of products, films, shows and even music bands…and these types of comics are just perfect for Rotten Ink! For those wondering Exterminator is based on a character that appeared in company commercials back in the early 90’s, and us kids of the 80’s and 90’s remember this commercial as robots and cyborgs were very popular in the culture from Transformers to Robocop. So with that, let’s get this quick Bonus update started as it seems that the insects are uprising and Marvel Comics just made the call to Orkin, and they are sending the Exterminator!

Orkin is considered the top pest control company in America. They were founded in 1901 by Otto Orkin who from a young age used to go door to door and sell rat poison to residents and from there, his little business grew into a massive company that would go after not only rats but mice, roaches, ants, bed bugs, termites, mosquitoes, hornets and flies. Otto would sell his company to Rollins Inc. in 1964 in one of the first big leveraged buyouts in America. And while they have been the leader in pest control, they are also very much into educating the public about the pests that they exterminate as well as how insects are very important for the environment as they have teamed with schools, zoos, museums and even the CDC in order to get the message out. They also have done a great job of making people think about them first when it comes to pest control as the term “The Orkin Man” as well as their iconic trucks are truly iconic and part of America’s pop culture. But while they are at the top of the pest control hill, over the years they have also had their share of complaints and lawsuits with many customers calling them out for poor work as well as fraud, but they always seem to bounce back after all the bad press. So in other words, if your house is overrun with roaches, spiders or rats, make sure to give Orkin a call as maybe your Orkin Man will be the hero known as Exterminator as I heard Marvel Comics has no work for him.

Nothing goes better together than pest control and comic books, am I right? I mean when I think of Spider-Man, I think of a guy spraying chemicals to kill bed bugs…well at least Orkin and Marvel Comics do as in 1994 the two teamed up to make a promo comic to give out to customers in order to talk about insects and to educate them. I miss these type of promo comics that Marvel and DC use to do more of back in the day, and while from time to time we get an M&M comic from Marvel, they are just too few and far between. Why in the world have we never gotten a promo comic based around Burger King and all that burger place’s characters? I would like to thank Bell Book And Comic for having this comic in stock and making this update possible. And also a thanks goes to Marvel Comics and Orkin for teaming up and making this promo comic. I would also like to remind you all that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, their entertainment value and the art and story. So if you are ready, let’s join Exterminator on his bug extermination mission.

Exterminator # 1 **
Released in 1994 Cover Price $1.75 Marvel # 1 of 1

Deck Borate is an Orkin Man. He has become the Exterminator and is battling an army of pests in the home of The Briscoe Family and wishes they would have called him earlier before their home got this out of hand. He flashes back to when he first arrived at the home and the family told him about strange trash they have found around the home that is wrapped up like a Mummy, and this causes Deck to become The Exterminator as he needs to get to the root of the issue. The Exterminator shrinks in size and heads into a crack in the wall, as he knows this house is under attack from Pharaoh Ants and while looking around he finds hundreds of ant eggs that are in the shape of pyramids and he sets little chemical bombs to kill the eggs and get the infestation under control. As The Exterminator tries to leave the crack in the wall before the bombs go off, he is attacked by other pests that are under control of the Queen Pharaoh Ant, but he is able to use his high tech extermination weapons to save himself and bring down even more house pests. The Exterminator is just about the leave the crack when a house fly attacks and he has run out of his supplies, but thanks to a spider who captures the fly, he is able to escape just as the bombs go off killing the eggs. Once out The Exterminator turns back into normal Orkin Man Deck Borate and informs The Briscoe Family that the first mission to clear their home of pests is complete.

What a strange and yet fun comic based of a hero cyborg character from a commercial that aired in the early 90’s for the company Orkin as they really wanted to hammer home that these pest control workers really are the hero of your home if it’s infested. The plot has The Exterminator shrinking in size to kill pests in a family home and after running into some nasty bugs he does his job and helps treat the home so they can start their quest to being pest free. The Exterminator is a metal suited Orkin Man whose real name is Deck Borate, and his goal is to truly exterminate pests as well as educate people about insects and rodents and how to keep them out of your house. But while he is in a metal suit and is caring tons of supplies to make bugs suffer, he also sure does think about dying a lot as several times as the pests get close in his mind he thinks that it’s the end for him. It’s also weird that he shrinks down to insect size and when leaving the crack in the wall almost gets stomped on by the father of the Briscoe Family before returning back to normal size. The main baddie of this short promo comic is The Queen Pharaoh Ant who has laid several mounds of eggs and has all the other pests in the home from flies to rats under her control, and while we never get to see her, we know that she is truly the one calling the shots and is leading the infestation of the Briscoe home. While she is powerful, she is no match for The Orkin Man who wipes out her bloodline in that home in minutes with his insecticide bombs. Most of the comic’s action is very quick and pits The Exterminator against the Pests and the “fights” really are just him spraying them with his insecticides, and when he is about to have a showdown with a fly, he is saved by a spider that catches it in its web. This comic is also a flipbook as the other side has Spider-Man fighting Humbug at the museum; it’s a cheesy Spidey adventure that is a nice bonus to this promo comic. One other fun thing about the copy of this comic I have is that it comes with a letter from Orkin to the original owner who had requested a copy from them…pretty neat stuff. The cover is fun and shows The Exterminator in the wall crack fighting insects and looks like your normal 90’s Marvel Comics release. The interior artwork is good and done by Pete Garcia and is your normal Marvel in-house style as it’s simple and yet affective in promoting Orkin and bringing The Exterminator into the Marvel Universe. This is a really goofy read but really is a fun promo comic that does its job of advertising Orkin as well is a must have for Spider-Man collectors as the other side story features a new story of the Wall Crawler. Check out the artwork below to see the style used by Garcia in this comic.

So as you can see, while The Exterminator might not be a hero on the scale of Captain America, Spider-Man or Iron Man, he is saving one home at a time from the evil bugs and rodents that are infecting them…just imagine if he would have stuck around for more appearances in the Marvel Universe and if they would have made him a member of The Avengers or the West Coast Avengers! Or even better they should have placed The Exterminator in New York and have him fight the insects of Hell’s Kitchen and team with Daredevil…yeah, I am just being silly. So let’s wrap this bonus update up, as we need to get back to normal programing and that means starting Wrestlemania Month with a R.W.I update event showcasing Phantasio! So as always, read a comic or three, watch a movie or two and as always support your local Horror Host. I wonder what kind of wrestling magic is in store for us on the next update.

Red Ryder: The Master Of The BB Gun

Posted on March 23, 2024 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink. As you can see, we are now at the final update for Cowboy Month 2024, and I think that today’s western topic is very iconic and has a huge legacy behind him for many decades now as his name is all over the most purchased BB gun in history. I am sure you know by now I am talking about Red Ryder, the cowboy hero that has been the star of comic strips, films, radio and merchandise. This has been an update that I have wanted to do for many years now as Red Ryder was still kind of popular with kids my age growing up in the 1980’s and 1990’s mostly thanks to one holiday movie that we will talk about a little later on. So with that introduction, let’s grab some Frito corn chips, a bowl of chili and our trusty BB guns as it’s time to hit the planes with Red Ryder and his buddy Little Beaver.

Fred Harman was a real life cowboy and a great artist who worked not only on paintings, for Disney’s animation, but also started working as a comic strip artist, and in 1933 he created the western strip called “Bronc Peeler” that was a self syndicated project that ran until 1938. And in 1938, while Harman was trying to find newspapers to run the Bronc Peeler strip, he met Stephen Slesinger who was at the time looking for an artist to work on a strip he was writing called Red Ryder that was a western comic and the two hit it off and started working on it together. Even efore it was published in papers, they knew they had something special and lots of other great ideas were put into action to promote the strip and most importantly the character. They had movies, public appearances, radio shows and novelty items in place to help get Red Ryder as one of the most popular comic strip characters ever. The comic strip would be syndicated by Newspaper Enterprise Association and would be run in many papers and would be the most popular western comic strip of all time and proved that doing multi media for your character can grow and make them even more important in pop culture. The strip would run until 1965 and truly was a very iconic strip as the young and young at heart enjoyed reading the western adventures of Red Ryder and his friend Little Beaver as they fought for what was right around their home at the Painted Valley Ranch. And this was just a very quick crash course on the history of Red Ryder, and we will get into the character and the things he spawned a little later in this update. But I am sure most of you reading this update know the name Red Ryder one way or another.

Red Ryder is a cowboy who lives on Painted Valley Ranch along with his trusty horse Thunder as well as his aunt Duchess. Also on the ranch are Red’s sidekick the Native American youngster named Little Beaver and his horse Papoose. Red is also a very skilled rider as well as a great shooter and has a lovely girlfriend named Beth Wilder. Red Ryder is a fighter for what he finds to be right and is always brave and caring to those who cannot protect themselves or are being cheated. His main two rivals are Ace Hanlon and Buckskin Blodgett, both whom of Red has had many run in’s with over the years. Red is most skilled with his six-shooter but also talented with a rifle and is well respected by the townspeople and those he helps. In other words, Red Ryder is your typical Western Hero from this era and was just so well written and drawn that he was destined to be a pop culture icon in America.

Daisy Outdoor Products started in 1882 out of Michigan and was the leader in making airguns as well as BB Guns, and in 1940 they would team with the creative minds behind the comic strip Red Ryder to make a line of BB Guns that would carry the Red Ryder name and be marketed towards young males, as it was used to teach them how to safely handle a firearm as well as learn to shoot at a young age. The Red Ryder BB Gun was a very popular seller and would have big ad campaigns in magazines as well as comic books with the store displays featuring Red Ryder and Little Beaver and would go on to be Daisy’s top seller even to this day as they are being made even though the Red Ryder comic strip ended in 1963. And what is crazy to think is that the Red Ryder BB Gun is also very popular among adults now who grew up with them and on Daisy’s official website they sell starter kits, targets and all the Red Ryder BB gun rifles and accessories you could ever need. Growing up, we always had a Daisy BB gun in the garage but sadly it was not the Red Ryder brand, and I can remember sneaking and firing it at the ground. Now as an adult I have found myself wanting to get a Red Ryder BB Gun and might just get one sooner than later…even though I have heard that the quality of the BB Gun is not as great as they use to be.

Red Ryder was a superstar when it came to comic strips and even radio shows, but he also made an impact in the world of cinema as he had a total of 27 films as well as serials that would air at the local theaters. The first 12-chapter film serial was called “The Adventures Of Red Ryder” and was released in 1940 with the final film in the Republic Pictures coming out in 1947 and was called “Marshal Of Cripple Creek” and after that Eagle-Lion Films would take up production of Red Ryder films and would make a total of four with their final film being the 1950 film “The Cowboy And The Prizefighter”. Red Ryder would also try to make is way onto TV with three pilot attempts that just for some reason did not stick with television watchers. Over the years such actors have played the role of Red Ryder and those names are Don “Red” Barry, Jim Bannon, Wild Bill Elliot and Allan Lane. These films were very popular at the time of release as Red Ryder was a household name and the idol for many of youngsters. The films over the years can now be found on home media from VHS to DVD and some can also be viewed on YouTube. I myself own a few of these Red Ryder films on DVD and they are very enjoyable if you like classic style cheesy westerns.

The Red Ryder BB gun was one of the most popular style of BB guns in all of America when it was introduced to the market in 1940 and is still being made to this day by the Daisy Outdoor Products. And in 1983 the BB gun got even more of a bust and became a must have item for kids after it was the ultimate Christmas gift for Ralphie Parker in the film “A Christmas Story” and because of this film the phrase “You’ll Shoot Your Eye Out.” became a way for parents to tell kids no. In the film Ralphie really wants a Red Ryder BB gun and even has daydreams of using it to save his parents and brothers from outlaws and is looking forward to shooting targets in his backyard. And the crazy part is that the BB gun made for the film was custom and would not get made closer to it until 2020. And when you look back at it back in the day BB gun rifles were a very popular item for young boys to get for Christmas and while they have lost a little steam now they still remain a popular item for households. And you know that still to this day when kids watch A Christmas Story, they ask their parents for a Red Ryder!

Red Ryder over the decades has had all types of merchandise for his fans to collect and many of the vintage stuff is super collectible and can fetch high prices. Stuff that Red Ryder has graced over the years besides the BB gun and comics include coloring books, cups, toys, posters, standees, trading cards, pocket knives, books, home media and shirts to name a few! And over the years I have not sadly had much in the ways of merchandise of Red Ryder besides a pocket knife as well as some of the comics and films on DVD. One day soon I do plan on getting a Red Ryder BB Gun just for the fun of having it. But say what you will about Red Ryder and his creators but one thing is for sure they knew how to market him.

So as you can see, I would say next to Lone Ranger I would say Red Ryder is the second most iconic cowboy that came from the pages of comics, radio, movies and shows. And now I think its time that we take a look at one of the comic books that was released that collect some of his comic strip adventures. And I would like to thank Bell Book And Comic for having this comic in stock and making this update possible. I would also like to remind you all that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. So if you are ready, let’s head on down to the Painted Valley Ranch and see what Red Ryder is up to.

Red Ryder # 1 ***
Released in 1989 Cover Price .10 Red Ryder # 1 of 1

Red Ryder and Little Beaver come across The Devil Hole Gang who are trying to rob the stagecoach and they have already killed the driver and are about to Beth Wilder when Red scares them off and with the help of some near by miners the gang leaves empty handed. Red and Beaver escort Beth into the lawless town of Devils Hole and meet Ace Hanlon who runs the town and hires Red to be the new sheriff as all the others have been killed. Once Red is sworn in as sheriff he punches out Ace in front of the town as the corrupt man was pushing around Little Beaver, and this causes Ace to get his friend Lash to get the Devil’s Hole Gang to come after Red and they come up with a plan to take over the gold mine of Jack Adams and his father Ben and once Red gets there they plan on using gun powder to blow up the cabin…and they do just that! But unknown to them Red Ryder, Little Beaver, Jack and Ben all made it safely inside the mine and out of the range of the explosion. Red the next day gets to town and orders all of the Devil’s Hole gang to leave town for good, and this makes Ace really mad and he comes up with a plan that has the town people think that Red Ryder robbed the towns bank and killed the teller and this goes off smoothly as the town wants to hang Red who barely escapes in time. But things get bad when Ace captures Little Beaver and starts beating him up to try and get answers, Red rushes back to town and saves his friend and they both head to the hideout of the gang in order to try and clear Red’s name. But Ace gets a posse together and they track Red down who tells his side of the story and exposes Ace as the leader of the gang and the one who gave the orders to rob the bank and kill the teller…and after some back and fourth and evidence found Ace and his men are locked up and Red Ryder’s name is clear of all charges.

What a fun read and you cannot beat that classic western feel as the story is very basic as has a happy ending for our hero. The plot is this Red Ryder stops a robbery in progress and helps a pretty young lady back to her hometown that is over run with corruption and quickly becomes the towns new sheriff and tries his best to ride the town of crime and criminals and becomes the target of the towns crime shot caller…and after being framed he is able to clear his name and bring all the baddies to justice. Red Ryder is a hero who stands up for not only what he thinks is right but also for those who can’t protect themselves, he is very smart and skilled in fighting as well as shooting (sadly we don’t get to see him use his gun). He is also one who does not run away from issues and will come up with a good game plan in order to seek the finish of what he starts. The ladies also seem to really like him and the criminals all seem to want to see him dead. His friend the young Native American named Little Beaver tries to help the best he can but also at times seems to be in the way and cause issues for Red like he always seems to be getting captured or bullied by someone. But you can look past that as his young age makes him make some real rookie mistakes, but to be fair he does also help out lots like getting help when needed as well as listening to the enemy’s plans. The main villain of this issue is the rich and sleazy Ace Hanlon who plays the town like fools and is the one truly calling the shots for the Devil’s Hole Gang, as he gives orders not only to rob places but also to murder people that are in his way or just to be used as a tool in his plots. Ace also is racist against Native Americans and is just a pure scumbag character, the kind you just want to punch in the face. The plot while simple does draw you in as the reader as you go along the ride as Red cleans up the town, gets framed and hunted by the town to by the end getting the full respect of the town. I also like how Red Ryder just enters a town and becomes the sheriff and from the start is making changes and knocking out baddies. The one downside to this issue is that it is a reprint and some of the scan quality is a little rough as dialogue boxes are fuzzy and the words are small…making for a semi challenging read if you are not in a bright enough room. The cover is great and very eye catching if you are a Red Ryder or western fan and the interior art by Fred Harman and is amazing classic comic strip work and you have to love the way he draws the wild west. Over all this was a very fun read and while the scans had some issues the story made up for it. Checkout the artwork bellow to see the style used by Fred Harman for this comic strip comic reprint.

As you can see, Red Ryder really is a fantastic comic strip character and is a true icon in American Pop Culture and I for one am really happy that I was able to get this comic and make this update possible as covering Red Ryder was long overdue. And with this update Cowboy Month 2024 also comes to an end and that means our time at the Rotten Ink Ranch as well has came to an end and before he head out of the range I should let you know that next month with find us at the Rotten Ink Arena as WWE Wrestlemania Month will once more be taking place and our first wrestler will be Lucha Libre Legend La Parka! So until next time, read a comic or three, watch a western film or two and as always support your local Horror Host. See you next update as the Chairman of WCW has lots of Lucha Stuff to show us.

R.I.W Wrestling Legend: Haystacks Calhoun

Posted on December 5, 2023 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink Arena. The night’s wrestling card looks to be a good one. As you can see, we have a sellout crowd as the main eventer that will be the topic of this “R.I.W Wrestling Legend” update is considered by many to be one of the greatest Big Men of wrestling of all time, and when I say Big I mean Big! As tonight’s wrestler will be Haystacks Calhoun, the massive country boy who packed in fans and entertained them for decades. This massive hillbilly would be booked as an attraction and was a household name when active. To this day fans speak of his legacy. So in honor of Haystacks, grab some popcorn, some hot dogs and a double fist some soda and let’s talk about Calhoun!

Haystacks Calhoun started his pro wrestling career in 1955 working for a small indie promotion that was run by Orville Brown in Texas. Haystacks would turn pro in 1956, and he was an attraction out the gate as he stood at 6’4” tall, was a hillbilly weighing around 600 pounds and would travel the territories like Texas, Kansas and Canada and would even at this early part of his career would be featured on the variety TV Show “House Party” and amazed viewers as he could toss full bales of hay high into the loft of barns. Hence why he was called Haystacks almost his whole career. The fans loved Haystacks as the massive lovable hillbilly was always standing up for what was right and was a brawler who entertained them in matches. Promoters at the time would not book Haystacks into title bouts as he was used more as an attraction wrestler who would enter battle royals, fight in handicap matches and would be pitted against other massive wrestlers who was going at the time. While a very large man in weight, and somewhat limited in his skills Haystacks Calhoun worked past his limitations and proved to be one of NWA’s biggest draws at the time. While working for the WWF (then known as WWWF) in the early 1960’s, he would be booked into matches at Madison Square Garden against Happy Humphrey who weighed over 750 pounds and the two big men would put on some real slobber knockers, and over the many matches they had Haystacks would come out the winner of most matches, mostly wins by count out.

Haystack Calhoun would not stay in one territory for very long as he knew that he need to keep on the move in order to become a major attraction and not overstay his welcome with promoters and fans. In the early 1960’s he would have a feud with Nature Boy Buddy Rogers for the NWA United States Heavyweight Title and would try for the belt many times, but could never take it off Rogers. In one match Rogers dropkicked Calhoun into the ropes and the middle rope broke from his weight causing the massive Haystacks to fall out of the ring and be counted out. Also during this time, while he mostly would wrestle in America, he would make trips to Canada as well as Australia in order to compete in matches and entertain the fans. During this time he would also find himself winning some Tag Team Gold with partners like Don Leo Jonathan and Amazing Zuma. In the late 1960’s the WWF was having issues, as they were having a very rough time and the money was not coming in, but thanks to the returning Haystacks Calhoun and a handful of others they helped bring in the business and helped make the WWF one of the biggest and best territories. Haystacks would stick around WWF until 1979 and after leaving we would go back wrestling around the territories before retiring in 1980, and during his career he would win a few belts but was another example of a true icon of the sport that didn’t need a title to draw money and become one of the biggest well loved wrestlers of all time. And I should also note he did have some runs as a heel. Haystacks retired in 1980 due to his health declining bad and his weight was getting out of control, in 1986 he even lost his left leg from diabetes and sadly he would pass away on December 7, 1989 at the age of 55. After his death in 2017 the WWE (WWF) would put him into the Hall Of Fame.

Growing up a wrestling fan I knew the name Haystack Calhoun not just because of the old wrestling magazines and books my brother and I had, but because I remember by dad talking about him! And whenever fans who make lists of top big men of wrestling Haystacks is almost always on them, and help keeping his memory alive as well as making him be apart of my fandom. For me as well Haystacks Calhoun is one of the best Hillbilly characters to step in a WWF ring only rivaled by Hillbilly Jim and I loved that Haystacks would wear a horseshoe on a chain around his neck and Jim would do that same thing later in his career. Haystacks really was a larger then life wrestler who weighed over 600 pounds and was so massive that he was a sight to behold and he was smart as he knew he was limited and his style would wear thin fast if he stayed to long in one area so he made himself an attraction that fans would pay to see in action. Plus promoters and Haystacks was super smart as he would hardly loose matches cleanly and he was protected in order to keep his stock high in wrestling, and this also once more made him seem like a big deal in fans eyes. And during his career he would also only hold Tag Team Titles in the territories, as they never felt he could be the face that runs the place in any territory. One other cool thing about Haystacks was that he played himself in the 1962 film “Requiem For A Heavyweight” that was written by Rod Serling and starred Anthony Quinn, Jackie Gleason, Mickey Rooney, Jack Dempsey and Muhammad Ali! And that’s one other thing about Haystacks as besides wrestling his appearances on TV Shows, Movies as well as other forms of media made him an even bigger star. While Haystacks might have been very slow, not technical in the ring, a massive human being and a over all a attraction wrestler he hands down is a true legend and icon of the sport and I think all wrestling fans would agree with me on that.

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

Best Of Haystacks Calhoun

Match 1: Haystacks Calhoun vs. Buddy Rogers

Before the bell rings Haystacks is upset that Roger’s manager is in the ring and makes the referee kick him out of the ring so the match can start. Once the bell rings Haystacks shows that he has the power, but Rogers shows that he has the skills and even angers Haystacks when he out maneuvers the big man. But once Haystacks gets Rogers into a headlock its hard for him to escape the bigger mans grip, he is finally able to break free once he stops on Haystacks bare foot. And then after some moving around Rogers is able to get Haystacks into a chin lock and tries to wear the big man down buy putting as much pressure as he can. When the referee is not looking Rogers will change the chin lock into fully chocking Haystacks as the crowd works themselves up over the cheating. And even when Haystacks tries to fight out of the lock, Rogers quickly gets the move back on him. Once the hold is broke both Rogers and Haystacks attack each other’s eyes, with Haystacks getting the better of the exchange and almost getting a couple of pin falls that are only broken up thanks to Rogers getting his foot on the ropes. In the end Rogers is able to dropkick Haystacks who falls into the ropes breaking the middle rope and getting counted out. This is a great match as both are very entertaining, and Rogers is able to work around the limitations of Haystacks and is able to make the big man look good as well as himself. This match is one of the most legendary of Haystacks career and while he lumbers around the ring and lands your typical big man moves, he still shows that fans loved him and that he was really an attraction in the ring that you paid to look at and his wrestling ability was secondary to his larger then life appearance. This is a solid match mostly due to the work of Rogers and because Rogers this match will get three stars.

Grade: ***

Match 2: Haystacks Calhoun vs. George Cannon

This is the battle of two big really big men as Gorge Cannon himself weighs almost 400 pounds making this a pure attraction as it becomes a “Big Splash” match and the pair exchange words in the ring and then a coin is tossed to see who splashes first with Haystacks winning the coin toss and as Cannon goes down to the mat for the splash he is attacked by Haystacks to drops a lumbering knee to his neck and then uses his horseshow chain to beat up his opponent. He then delivers two terrible looking splashes to Cannon and leaves the ring as this match is thrown out. This is TERRIBLE as the “match” is more of just a jumping and the moves that Haystacks uses look bad and his splashes are awkward and very poorly done. It’s clear that Haystacks is the heel in this match up and this is so bad that I am done righting about it. Nothing really good to say about this “match” at all besides Cannon is slightly good on the mic. and that Haystacks is clearly way past his prime as he looks bad and his in ring work is even super sloppy.

Grade: ½

Match 3: Haystacks Calhoun vs. Dick Cole

This match starts with Haystacks getting booed by the fans and when the bell rings he gets Cole tied up into the ropes and unloads kicks and punches on him knocking him silly. He then untangles Cole and bounces him off the ropes and hits him with a standing elbow, once Cole hits the mat Haystacks lands a big splash and gets the three count in this 100% one sides squash match. This is another match that clearly Haystacks is way out of shape and is having a very hard time moving around the ring as all of his kicks, punches and even his big splash just look really bad, so bad that at one point the commentator makes a remark that all his moves look like they are being done in slow motion. Dick Cole is clearly just a jobber who does his job well as he gets beat up and pinned. It’s a shame that this match I selected is another bad example of this classic big mans work.

Grade: ½

Match 4: Haystacks Calhoun vs. Bill Steele

Steele tries to start the match off by charging and then body slamming Haystacks and this does not work in his favor as Haystacks just goes off on Steele and starts pummeling him with kicks and punches. Haystacks then knocks Steele to the mat and sits on him causing the much smaller man much pain, and then Haystacks ends the match with his massive big splash for the pin. This is once more a total one sided quick squash match that is ended fast in order to save Haystocks the stress of a longer match as he was clearly not in the best of health and shape. But unlike the last two matches I reviewed he does seem to be getting around better and is able to make his moves and punches look more strong and powerful. I give Bill Steele some credits as he tried to do his best to put on a good TV match with Haystacks that was clearly just a throw away opening contest.

Grade: *1/2

Match 5: Haystacks Calhoun vs. Nicolai Volkoff

Before the bell even rings Volkoff tries to attack Haystacks and this only angers the big man as the bell rings Volkoff who is the faster of the two goes on the attack and the both of them exchange hits and brawler moves. And even though Haystacks is the way bigger man Volkoff is able to hold his own and even able to land some hits that rock the 600-pound hillbilly. But of course during the match Haystacks would use his weight to gain the advantage. In the end Volkoff backs Haystacks into the corner and hits him with punches and kicks to the face, but Haystacks dodges a charging knee strike and as Volkoff falls to the mat Haystacks lands a big splash and gets the three count. This is a pure brawling match that allowed both men to throw massive hits and neither looked super weak in the fight and Volkoff’s style masked the limitations of Haystacks ability. Most of the match is Volkoff working, but Haystacks does what he needs to do in order to draw the fans into the match. Over all while it was just a sloppy brawl it was very entertaining and was a fun watch.

Grade: **1/2

Haystacks Calhoun was a massive man who had a larger then life personality and was a perfect attraction for the Golden Age of wrestling, while he was not super skilled in the ring and by the end of his career was a shell of the superstar of his early day he still was a draw and fans loved to see him in action. He was loved as a baby face and was hated as a heel when he had a brief run as one and while if Haystacks Calhoun was around today he would be booed out of the building for his sloppy and limited move set, he is a great throwback attraction wrestler who was a star in the simpler days of wrestling. But the matches are over and the clean up crew have started their jobs so I think it’s time for us to leave the arena, but before we do I would like to let you know that for the next update we will be travel to the world of Marvel Comics and Tyco Toys and take a look at the super underrated Dino Riders! So until next time read a comic or three, watch a wrestling match or two and as always support your local wrestlers. See you next time as the war machines of dinosaurs will be coming our way as we countdown to Christmas Eve.

From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: Survive This! (2005)

Posted on June 3, 2023 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink. As you can see, we are here to talk about the 2005 direct to DVD Horror Film called Survive This! and the promo comic that was given away with it. This is one of those films that very few people know about as it went under the radar when it was released and is long out of print now. And with that if you readers are ready for this “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” quick update, we will head to Pirate Island and see what erotic horrors await us. I do have to take a moment and say that I miss the days when home media would place mini comics inside as an extra and I think companies like SOV Horror and Scream Team Releasing should do this from time to time with their releases.

The Captain and his Ghost Zombie Pirates are the dealers of death in this movie and they have ways of killing off those who cross them on their island. The Ghost Zombie Pirates first use their swords and sharp tools and weapons in order to slash and stab flesh and are skilled with these weapons. Being ghosts, they can appear and use their grisly appearance to strike fear into the hearts of their victims and make them panic and easier to stalk and kill. They also have super strength and can rip people apart with their bare hands. They also can swarm and attack, but are also just as deadly on their own. They are also very quiet and can use this silence to sneak up and attack their attended target. They also can use the water to travel around as well as land making them deadly on both. The only weakness shown by them is The Captain’s love for his bride and if her stolen and removed heart is returned to her body, the Ghost Zombie Pirates will return to the sea and unharmed anyone left and by all accounts defeated and will not return. The Ghost Zombie Pirates and their Captain are a deadly lot and know how to murder and kill any foolish living human who makes the mistake of being on their island.

As you can see, these Ghost Zombie Pirates mean business and sure do have zero issues on taking a life! And now that we talked about them I think we should now take a look at the film that spawned them, and as always, our friends at IMDB will be the movie’s plots and I will write about the film’s production as well as my thoughts. So with that, let’s set sail and see what this film is about.

Survive This! (2005)

“Cory Lodge is the supreme scam artist, who put his world on the line when he baits the multi millionaire television producer Mr. Jillbralta into putting up 500K for a new reality TV show… “Survive This…” Cory and his beautiful assistant decide to film their show from the legendary haunted, Pirates Island. Soon Cory and the contestants learn the hard way why this island has be deserted… As the show’s super sexy contestants begin to die… one by one. Tune in and see just who may “Survive This…”

Survive This! Is your typical low budget direct to DVD release that flooded the mark in the early and mid 2000’s that mixed both Horror and “Erotic” elements together and would add a dash of bad comedy always with a loud soundtrack from bands most have never heard of. The film was released by Regain Records on home media and was co-written and directed by Ed Wahl who was coming off a kids show called “Zebby’s Zoo” and would bring together a strange collection of actors and performers together as cast in the film are such names as The Naked Cowboy, Gina Lynn, Sharissa, Dale Resteghini and Jennifer Pedersen among many others. The film’s production was the normal low budget fare and when released on home media it pretty much went unnoticed by Horror Fans. The film was pretty much meet with negative reviews. I should also note that Udi Harpaz was the man behind the score for this film.

This film is not great, but you can tell that the creators and actors behind this film did have a blast making it so that goes a long way, and I like that at least they ended up giving their film the comic book treatment so credit for that. I watched this film the same night I watched Nightwing, Rattlers and Willy’s Wonderland and this by far was the film that got lost in the shuffle as it was pure cheesy stuff that’s main highlights was the topless women and some of the bad dialogue, some of the gore effects are good and I have to say the score was not terrible and had its charm. But while the film is really bad on almost all most accounts it tried hard to bring at least the Erotic elements but failed on the Horror as the Ghost Pirates pretty much are just guys with cheap grease paint make-up smeared on and fake scars on their faces and just kind of lumber around. This is the type of film that would have played late night on Cinemax and would have been hosted on USA Up All Night and I think you know what I mean. Not much to say about this film besides dental floss this plot, boring characters, no Horror and is an indie film that I didn’t enjoy but I am sure it has its fans.

Well now that we talked about the Ghost Zombie Pirates and their killing ways as well as the film they are from I think we should now take a look at the promo comic based on this film. I want to thank an Ebay seller who had this DVD and Comic in stock and made this update possible and would like to also 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, I can see some undead Pirates down the beach here on Pirate Island and we should start walking the other way and chat about this comic.

Survive This! # 1 **
Released in 2005 Cover Price FREE Wallrocker # 1 of 1

A couple are running for their lives on Pirate Island late at night and both meet a fate at the hands of the Ghost Zombie Pirates. We then join Cory Lodge and his assistant Jillian as they are pitching a competition reality TV Show set on the haunted pirate Island to producer Mr. J who agrees to help but will only fund half the million dollars that would be used for production and Cory has to come up with the other half that would be the prize money. Cory don’t have that money but cons his way into the show going into production and even picks up a guide named Ralph who will work for free, the set up crew on Pirate Island find themselves being killed by a Ghost Pirate. Its cleat that Jillian and Mr. J are fooling around, and Cory starts crushing and a contestant named Amanda all the while Ralph seems to be getting nerves and talking redemption to himself. As the all make it to the island Jillian is picking on Amanda who does not fit in with most of her fellow cast mates and when looking around the castle they are staying in Amanda sees a painting of a young woman and Ralph gives her a book to read about the history of the island and how a Pirate Captain fell in love with the woman from the painting (Elizabeth) and he wanted to marry her, but she has to stop as the show has started and Amanda has to play volleyball as well as tug of war and she keeps looses and is picked in the bottom three and has to spend the night buried in the sand neck down with a bucket on her head, but when the crew prank her again she quits the show. Meanwhile all of the celebrities who are suppose to guest on the show and who are lost on the island are killed by the Ghost Pirates are as well two local ladies who wanted to find the shooting location of the Survive This show and Ralph tried to shave but could not. The shows production is falling apart and Jillian is mad that Cory is paying attention to Amanda and calls in Mr. J who pulls the plug on the show, meanwhile Amanda finds out the rest of the Pirate Island history from the book and finds out what happened to Elizabeth and The Pirate Captain who were set up and killed on their wedding night by her father and the people of the island, they even removed Elizabeth’s heart. And Amanda finds out that Ralph is the spirit of Elizabeth’s father who wants to make right his wrong, but as night time falls the Ghost Pirates arrive in full force and attack and kill most of the contestants, Jillian and even Mr. J! But Amanda has an idea to save her and Cory as she finds Elizabeth’s missing heart behind the picture and they rush to the beach and throw it in, the heart finds the rotten corpse of Elizabeth and she can be happy again with her Captain husband and this as well stops the attack and the Ghost Pirates return to the see and the night of terror is over. Ralph fades away a sad spirit as Amanda and Cory embrace on the now peaceful beach.

First thing I have to say is that I liked this comic adaptation better then the movie as if cuts out lots of the long dragged out parts of the film…but it is flawed as well as all of the nudity and most of the bloody kills have also been removed for the comic. And I wished that they at least had kept the bloody kills in and even maybe amped them up a bit! The story as you can see is very basic the restless spirits of pirates are tormenting an island over being wronged and if the heart of the Captain’s bride is returned they terror would stop, and a young woman who is kind of an outsider is the one to find the heart and stop the madness. Cory Lodge is a con man who wants to make quick money and uses a terrible crew and a lack of ideas to bring what could be the worst reality game show the world would have ever seen, and even though he is kind of scummy he gets the lady in the end. Amanda is a woman who enters the contest, is picked on, quits, learns the history of the haunted island and is the one who unlocks the secret to stop the Ghost Pirates from showing up and attacking. Amanda is the only interesting character in the comic and film as at least she shows some emotions. Ralph is the spirit of a father who back in the day had his daughter and her pirate husband and friends killed, and he is kind of a ego driven kook who things that his daughter in death should come back to him even though he murdered her! The rest of the characters are just filler and around and are not flushed out at all with Jillian and Mr. J being shown to be scummy people as well. The Ghost Pirates who is the comics main bad guys show up very little and when they do its just glimpses in panels for the most part. The comic is not scary, but does have a classic spooky campfire tale feel to it and that makes it a fun read. The cover is cool but is also just the cover for the DVD so not much thought put into the DVD cover as I feel that it was the comic cover idea first, but I could be wrong. The interior art is done by “The Zombie” and is pretty good stuff and has a very cartoony look and I do like the way he draws the Ghost Pirates. Over all a cool promo comic that was slightly better than the film it was based on and if you like tales of Ghost Pirates and Haunted Islands then check it out. See the artwork below to see the style of “The Zombie” used in this comic.

Survive This! is a low budget film that tried to cash in on the world of Horror and Erotic and really did fail on both accounts, even though I have to say the ladies in the film are all very lovely. And while the Pirates in the film come off more like Ghost Zombies and in the comic they are pure Ghosts they have their charm in both. And with that I think if you like no budget films that has a sub plot of a reality TV Show then give this a read and a watch, or if you like adult film actress Gina Lynn checkout the film for her cameo. But with that, let’s leave Pirate Island and head to the world of Pro Wrestling as we get to see the Master Of The Heart Puncher himself Ox Baker be in the main event! So until next time, read a Horror Comic of three, watch a Horror Film or two and as always support your local Horror Host! See you next update as our year of Wrestling continues.

From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: Eating Raoul (1982)

Posted on September 3, 2022 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink! For this “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” we will be doing something a little different as the film and comic we will be talking about are not fully a horror film but a very dark comedy that has some major horror themes and is also one of those gems that I feel gets over looked and I am talking about the 1982 film Eating Raoul that was written and directed by Paul Bartel and would become a cult classic over the years. And Paul and the crew of this film did the right thing when they made a promo comic to go along with their move as I have always said Horror Films and Comic go hand and hand and comics are a great way to advertise for the film. With that said again I think it is time that we have dinner with The Blands and hope that it’s not human meat we are having for dinner!

Before we dive into the movie Eating Raoul we should first understand The Blands and their personalities and their ways of dealing death. Paul Bland is a highly intelligent man who loves wine and wants to open a restaurant with his nurse wife Mary who stumble into becoming killers by accident when they kill a swinger and learn that he has money that they need. Mary uses her sex appeal and good looks to draw in strange men and once she has them at the apartment Paul uses a frying pan to bash them on the head killing them, and yes even Mary used the pan to deal out death as well when she must. The two are super skilled and can only hit their victims once in the head with the pan to cause sudden death. They also have ways of getting away with the murders by hiding the bodies in the trash shoot as well as later given the bodies to lowlife conman named Raoul who sells the bodies, and yes even has helped them in a murder by using a neck tie to strangle the victim to death! Besides the Pan also at times things like a metal comb with a sharp end is used to stab into victims guts, and even electronics thrown into water tubs are used. And when in a tight spot to hide a body they have been known to eat the human meat! They are nice semi snobby people who are determined to open their dream restaurant and this also allows them to go under the radar, as no one would expect them to be killers. But while they are becoming skilled killers they are just human after all and run the risk of being caught and taken away to jail, and they can be killed by stabbing, shooting, burning, crushing and all other ways a normal human can die. Also Paul’s over protection of his wife can make him rush into things, and Mary’s want for sex can also cause some issues and drama. While not as psycho, unstoppable and brutal as other killers we have covered Paul and Mary Bland are still dangerous when they want to be and swing one mean frying pan.

So as you can see, Paul and Mary Bland are dangerous with a pan and are killers when money comes into play as nothing with stop them from getting their dream restaurant opened. But now let’s take a look at the film they are from the dark comedy horror flick Eating Raoul. Keep in mind that the film’s write up will be taken from our pals at IMDB, and after that I will write about the film’s production as well as my thoughts on it. So with that, let’s pull up a seat at the Country Kitchen and see what is on the menu.

Eating Raoul (1982)

“When a Paul enters his apartment to find Mary fighting off a swinger who has gotten into the wrong apartment (and thinks that Mary is just playing hard to get) he hits the man with a frying pan, killing him. Their dreams of running a small restaurant seem to be in jeopardy until they decide to dispose of the body, keep the wallet, and to advertise for other sexually oriented visitors who are summarily killed, bagged, robbed and disposed of. This goes along quite well until one night a burglar named Raoul breaks in and cuts himself in for a piece of the action.”

Paul Bartel was a name in the horror and cult cinema scene throughout the 1970’s through the 2000’s and was a jack of all trades as he was a director, actor and writer in many films during his career including such films as “Private Parts (1972)”, “Death Race 2000 (1975)”, “Piranha (1978)”, “Rock ‘n’ Roll High School (1979)”, “Killer Party (1986)”, “Chopping Mall (1986)” and “Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)”. And around the 1980’s he wanted to make a dark comedy film with a dash of horror and wrote a script with Richard Blackburn and had to raise the money that was put in by his parents and himself and they got around $230,000.00 raised. Paul Bartel, besides writing and co-producing the film, was also on board to direct and star in the film as one of the lead characters Paul Bland. Producer Anne Kimmel came on board as well, building the budget up to $350,000, and the film would be distributed by 20^th Century Fox. Other names brought into the cast included Mary Woronov, Robert Beltran, Ed Begley Jr., Buck Henry, John Paragon and Susan Saiger, I should also note that Paul Bartel and Mary Woronov ended up being casted together in many films after this film. When the film was done it was released in theaters on March 24, 1982 and brought in around $1.1 million dollars making the film profitable. The film was released the same year as other Cult and Horror Films as “Jekyll And Hyde…Together Again”, “Cat People”, “Beast Within”, “Amityville II”, “The Beastmaster”, “Halloween III”, “Death Wish II”, “The Thing”, “Creepshow”, “Blade Runner”, “Tron”, “Friday The 13^th Part III” and “Conan The Barbarian” to name a few. The film was also well received by critics and moviegoers alike and over the years has become a Cult Classic Film that is well loved by fans of Dark Comedies. And one thing also that I have to point out is that Paul Bartel hired underground comic artist Kim Deitch to make a single comic issue based on the film in order for promotion, and this is something that I think modern filmmakers should be doing to this day!

Eating Roaul was a film that I had always heard about and always wanted to watch, but never got the chance to sit down and watch it until I was much older. I think a part of me put it off due to the fact it was not 100% Horror and was a Dark Comedy and it just always seemed to fall down my to be watched list because of this and it’s a shame as I really enjoyed the film lots and I think it has just the right amount of humor and horror killer elements blended together to make it just work as a whole. The writing and acting by Paul Bartel, who was prefect as Paul, and actress Mary Woronov was the right choice as Mary as she is sexy and also just so good at playing the role of a housewife who has to turn sex object. Growing up I do remember that this movie use to play all the time on Cinemax and I also seem to remember that my parents watched it as I seem to remember them talking about it with my Mom not liking it. I also remember when I worked for Blockbuster Video people renting the film out on VHS and I always saying to myself I should use one of my free rentals to check it out. To sum it up I sadly do not have any past memories of seeing the film as I waited way to long to see it and now that I have I really enjoy it.

So now that we have talked about Paul and Mary Bland as well as the film Eating Raoul, I think we should dive into the promo comic about it and see what it has in store for us. I first want to thank a seller on Ebay for having this comic in stock and making this update possible, and then I would also like to remind you that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. I am very much looking forward to reading this comic as it will be a first time read for me and after seeing the film and liking it I want to see if the comic holds the same magic, so let’s dive in and see.

Eating Raoul # 1 ***
Released in 1982 Cover Price $2.00 Mercury Films # 1 of 1

Paul Bland is working at a liquor store and watches as his boss shoots a robber in the head killing him and then start yelling at Paul for the type of wine he ordered. Meanwhile his wife Marry is working at he job as a nurse and is sexually harassed by a patient who is really scuzzy. After their shifts are over the two drive home and talk about the idea they have of opening a restaurant that Mary would like to call “Paul And Mary’s Country Kitchen”. As the arrive home they get stuck on the elevator with a bunch of people who are heading to a swingers party that is happing in their apartment building. Once inside Paul alerts Mary that he has lost his job just as they have a knock at the door and busting in is a man who thinks he is at the swinger party, and when he goes after Mary he is punched in the stomach and gets sick and almost drowns in the Bland’s toilet! Paul walks him to the right apartment and is surrounded by people making out and he himself is trapped by Doris The Dominatrix, and while this happens the creepy man returns to Mary and tries to attack her but he is brought down by the returning Paul with a frying pan! Worse is James their relator shows up as they have a dead body in the kitchen that they latter drop down the trash suet, and James has a place for their dream restaurant but they need $20 grand as a down payment in order to get the spot! And after Paul gets ripped off selling some of his wine from his collection and Mary does not get a bank loan approved they find that killing swingers might be the way to get the money after a creepy patient from the hospital follows her hope and they kill him with the pan! Between the first two murders they have already made over a grand from looting the wallets. And that’s when the talk to Doris and come up with a scam to lure people in and take their money after they kill them with the pan, but they are discovered by Raoul a man who changed the locks on their apartment door but really is a thief and they make a deal that they Blands keep the money and he will take the bodies and sell them to a dog food company and make extra money! One night Mary is attacked by a late customer as Paul has left to get them dinner and its Raoul who saves her, and before Paul gets back Mary and Raoul smoke a drug and end up having sex, and do it again the next day at her work. Paul while leaving a shop is almost ran over by a car that was being driven by a masking wearing Raoul and Paul gets revenge by given in saltpeter via Doris acting as a nurse so that he could not make love. But bad news comes when the place for their restaurant has another offer and they need $25 grand by Friday to get it! So Mary and Paul have an idea and they go to a swinger party and electrocute everyone there when they get into a hot tub and steal the money as well as sell all the cars. Once back home Raoul with a gun is waiting as he wants to run away with Mary and kill Paul, but Raoul is the one killed with the pan and is later survived as dinner to James as they sign the papers and the restaurant is theirs!

This comic is lots of fun and does a good job of capturing the characters and the dark humor of the film on its pages. The story follows the films pretty close and is about a couple who kill swingers and perverts with a pan in order to get their money to buy a home that they want to turn into a country restaurant and along the way they meet a sleazy thief who helps them but also gets a crush on Mary and ends up becoming dinner one night. Mary and Paul Bland are two people who live a simple life and work hard and have a dream to open that restaurant together and stumble on being serial killers by accident and when they learn that they can make quick money and ride the world of creepy sex perverts they get into their kills as it almost becomes just a normal job for them. And even though they are killers they enjoy wine, food and good talks and by all accounts are your normal boring married couple. Raoul is a scumbag who is always working a con and trying to get money fast and easy, and he also sets his sites on another mans wife and will do anything to get the husband out of the picture so he can have her. But because he is so slimy this is what leads to his head being bashed and his body being used for an important dinner meeting. James and Doris are around and add that extra background characters to the Bland’s life that makes their journey into killing a little more interesting. The comic does add way more nudity and does cut out characters and kills like the Bank Manger and lots of the kills in the comic are fast paced and are not bloody. The dark humor is there are some parts of the comic or so over the top that I found myself chuckling a few times. The cover is odd and yet great and eye catching and the interior art by Kim Deitch and while the characters don’t look like the actors some how his art does capture their personality very well. This comic is by no means a blood bath, but is a great read for fans of Horror themed comics based on films. Checkout the artwork below to see the style used by Deitch in this comic, and if you are a fan of the film track down a copy as its lots of fun.

Eating Raoul is a great Dark Comedy Film that has Horror elements to it that I feel people should checkout as while the humor is very dray in spots it just some how works so well and I truly think that it has the perfect combo of a good script and fantastic actors that make it as good as it is. While the comic is most ways follows the film the changes do make the comic fly by and in a faster pace to the murders and delivers a highly entertaining read. But with that I think its time that we leave Paul and Mary’s Country Kitchen as our next update will take us to the world of Silent Cinema as we will be chatting about the 1925 Sci-Fi with a dash of Horror classic The Lost World! So until next time read a Horror Comic or two, watch a Horror Movie or three and as always support your local Horror Host. See you next update as we have tickets ready and the Rotten Ink Cinema doors will be open to watch some dinosaurs running wild.

Have Yourself A Very Mighty Max Christmas!

Posted on December 24, 2021 by bloodlinematt

Merry Christmas Eve! I am sure you are like me and are shocked about how fast 2021 has flown by, and after the terrible 2020 I think we are all just happy to have life back to somewhat normal. And like the updates before, for this countdown to Christmas Eve I decided to have some fun and take a look at a comic that was based on a toy series and cartoon from when I was a youngster, a toy that had many playsets released and all of them featured something like a monster, madman, alien and even dinosaurs…and I am talking about the one and only Mighty Max! It’s a very cool toy series that started in 1992 and spawned a cartoon, video games and more and helped bring tiny mini figures with playsets to the boys. And thanks to Game Players Comics, Mighty Max also got a comic book based around the toys, cartoon and video game! So if you are ready, grab some eggnog and let’s sit around the Christmas tree and wait for Santa while we talk of Mighv Max and his adventures in all things nostalgia.

Now let’s talk about the figures in the Mighty Max series as Bluebird really made these figures to cash in on their success with the Polly Pocket line that was super popular with young girls in the UK and later America. You see Bluebird started in 1980 as a toy company created by Torquil Norman with their first major hit being the “Big Yellow Teapot House.” While they had some major hits, by the mid 80’s they started to struggle and it was Polly Pocket that saved them from closing their doors! They had the girl market but they needed something to capture the boys, and that’s when they created Mighty Max in 1992. It was a major hit as it brought the tiny figure playset craze to kids who liked monsters and aliens. And this helped them even more stay afloat and many sets were released. Sadly by 1996 Mighty Max toys came to an end, and by 1998 Bluebird was bought out by Mattel who carried over many of the company’s toys. It’s crazy to think that Mighty Max was so popular when I was a kid and many of my friends had them, but now it’s unknown to modern kids! Growing up for some reason I never had any Mighty Max figures but I really wanted them and can remember seeing them on the shelves at Big Bear/Hearts, very cool figures and a great idea for kids to take on trips. I do remember my Mom saying that the figures were too little and we could lose them easy.

Following the success of the toys, Bluebird Toys teamed with Bohbot Entertainment to deliver to the fans a cartoon series that would follow Mighty Max, a young box who travels trough time to fight evil all the while being stalked by the henchmen of the sinister Skullmaster. During his adventures, Max makes friends with Virgil, a humanoid who has a fowl look, Norman a warrior who will protect Max with his own life as well as his family, friends and pet iguana named Thor. The cartoon was well liked by fans of the toys and brought a story and new characters into the Mighty Max universe with many of them making it into the toy series. But some parents were not as keen on the cartoon as it was filled with reference to death, characters died and at times it had a very grim outlook, and like all annoying parent groups, they had to complain and cause issues for the cartoon. But these sticks in the mud did not bring the toon down as it ran for 40 episodes and a total of 2 seasons. Episodes of the cartoon have been released on VHS and weirdly enough has never been released on DVD or Blu-Ray and no official release of the full series has ever been made. You can find the series on the Grey Market as well as episodes on YouTube.

Like any great toy and cartoon series from the 80’s and 90’s, Mighty Max got the video game treatment thanks to Ocean who delivered a fun side scrolling game for systems Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis, heck even a Tiger Handheld game was made featuring Max having a pixel adventure! The cool thing about the SNES and Genesis release was that Ocean packed them each with a different VHS episode of the cartoon, making players get more bang for their money spent. I have played the Genesis version of this game as I can remember renting it from K&L Video many years after it was released. The Genesis game had you trying to fight and bring down the evil ways of the Skullmaster and was a pretty fun play. So if you are an old school gamer and enjoy the Mighty Max toys, I would say give the game a play. As far as the Tiger Handheld version, I am sure it plays just like every other Tiger game…and that is both a bad and amazing thing.

Plus like all good toys Mighty Max has had its fair share of other cool merchandise that includes comic magazines, posters, board games, card game, a puzzle and even his trademark red hat with the M was sold to fans! Max even had his fair share of bootleg merch showing and proving just how popular the character was around the world as fake stuff was being passed off to fans. Sadly I never had any of these cool items growing up, but as I have stressed before I wanted them! Oh I should also say that some of this merchandise was released overseas only like the comic magazines.

But in 2020 I finally cracked down and decided that I needed to collect the toys, keep reading for my collection breakdown, and man its going to be a long one. The first Mighty Max playset I want to chat about I own is called “Hammers Ax Man” and this one is really cool and plays up a slasher killer theme! The compacts look is that of a monster with green skin and wooden handles and a blade sticking out of his flesh! He has bloodshot eyes and purple teeth and looks like he is ready to eat your face off. It’s a medium sized playset and is called a Horror Heads release and is from the second series of the lines release. Below is a look at this playset closed and open that is from my collection, give it a look!

The top part of the set has a man chained to a wall and he looks super skinny and while I think he is alive, he could also be a zombie! It’s clear that he is in a dungeon and is being held captive by the sets bad guy and is clearly his next victim if Max fails to save him. The bottom part has a massive blade trap as well as a metal trigger that Max can set off to chop up the bad guy! Also there is a massive wooden pillar and almost all the floor and walls are green. A very cool over all set in the Mighty Max Horror Head series. Take a look below to see the layers of this playset.

The figures that came in the Hammers Ax Man set of course is Mighty Max who is in an almost flexing pose, and he has a goofy smirk on his face. And the sets bad guy is Ax Man aka Spike is a Viking warrior who was buried alive and has now returned with murder on his mind and is armed with an ax and a chainsaw! Very cool figures and Ax Man is badass and one of my favorite figures in the line! Check them out below.

Next lets take a look at the set called “Brain Face” and is from the Shrunken Head series and this set is a little different as its smaller and comes with only one figure and that’s Mighty Max who in this set is holding a pair of wire cutters as he will need those to bring down the playsets villain! The compact is a face one what looks like a surface of a brain and is a light green in color and he has bronze probes on his head and silver teeth! His eyes are red with his pupils being green. When opening the compact we get the sets bad guy who is called Brain Face and he is brownish in color and well has a brain for a head and is wearing a white lab coat as he was a scientist who’s experiment went wrong and now wants to use his knowledge in electricity to fry Max! A pretty cool bad guy and it’s a shame he is built into the set and never got his own mini figure. The bottom of the compact has a trap for Max that has wires connected to a metal floor plate. A pretty cool mini set that showcases a fun scenario for you to try and get Mighty Max to safety and stop the evil Brain Face from frying his brains with his trap. Check out the pictures below to see what this set looks like.

Next up lets take a look at the some of the mini figures I have and two of the loose figures I have are the good guys Norman the warrior who is rocking his green and grey armor and humanoid Virgil who has his purple robe on, these figures are really cool and where sold in figure packs that where tie-ins for the cartoon. These two are really great and if I were a kid they would have been helping Mighty Max on his adventures! Again I really wish I had got some of these when I was a kid. Take a look at Nathan and Virgil’s mini figures below.

The next playset we will take a look at is called “Totally Toy Holiday 93” and was a playset that was given away in McDonalds Happy Meals in 1993! This compact has the face of the Yeti on it and for a fast food toy the design is really cool and is the Yetis face! Once opened the top of the compact has two Yetis on ice and snow and hidden away is golden treasure. The bottom of the compact is Max and a massive Yeti surround by a blue ring of ice that appears to have eyes! This playset is also very different as its figures are both attached to the base as Max runs around the Yeti that’s in the middle. Max is very generic in appearance and is all yellow with a green cap on, while the Yeti is really cool and is all white with a snarl on his face. This is a really cool novelty item for fans of Mighty Max to add to their collection. Check out below to see what this Happy Meal toy set looks like.

I also have the set called “Battles Skull Warrior” and is a pretty cool little playset that’s compact show cases a weird green teethed mutant with a big green eye and a nose and a ears like a bat humanoid, he looks like a comic book bad guy! This is a medium size playset and is form the first set of Horror Heads line. This ones theme is a bounty hunter from space, so basically an alien attacks feel. This was one I was able to get off Ebay for a good price. Here is the compact closed as well as opened to show you the style of this set and what you had to work with during play.

The top part of the compact has gears and a platform for Max to stand on and with some skill you can remove the platform and make it into a flying board for Mighty Max or Skull Warrior to ride! The top part of this set is a little boring and is not all that exciting of a place for Max to battle Skull Warrior! The bottom of the compact is also not all that eye catching as its brown in color and just has a few broken robots on the ground, its clear that this set wants you to take the villain Skull Warrior and place him on his flying board and to chase Max outside of this so-so playset. To sum that up when closed the compact looks really cool…when opened its kind of bland. Check out below to see what the top and bottom halves look like.

The figures in this set is of course Mighty Max who is rocking a purple hat and has a really awkward side pose, but he does have his hands in fists so just looking for a reason to punch a baddie in their eye. The bad guy for the set is Skull Warrior a green skinned mutant cyborg bounty hunter from the Skull Territory who thinks Max is a fugitive and uses his sky board and his pistol to try and deal out intergalactic justice! Skull Warrior by all accounts sounds like a generic throwaway baddie, but I think his look helps bring him to the level of cool. Over all this is not my favorite set, but is a good one to own. Take a look at Skull Warrior and Max below.

The next Shrunken Head mini play set that I own is called “Vampyre” and the Mighty Max figure in this set is holding a massive wooden stake, he is a very cool figure for Max and breaks the norm of his generic posses. The compact has a purpled skinned, red-eyed vampire with bloody fangs! A cool little compact for fans of classic monsters like Dracula as if really does play up on the look of a vampire that we grew up with on cheap Halloween decorations. When opened the top part of the compact is our villain who is the vampire called Von Viesky who looks like Sesame Street character The Count strung out on blood from an addict! Really Von Viesky looks like a pissed off Muppet, and he is awesome for that reason! The bottom of the compact is an open grave, very spooky and once more packs that classic horror movie feel into it. Over all a cool tiny playset that youngsters and collectors of vampire and Dracula merchandise will love. Check out the pictures below to see Max and Von Viesky in all their tiny glory.

The next figures I have that I would like to take a look at is Skull Master and his evil fire henchman! For those who do not know Skull Master is the main villain of Mighty Max and is a super bad guy who wants nothing more than to kill Max! Skull Master’s figure is pretty cool and has him wearing a purple cape and looks like he is ready to jump out and scare anyone foolish enough to enter his Mountain base. He is a living skeleton as well and was created for the cartoon and latter shows up in the play sets as seen here with this figure. I also have one of Skull Master’s Orange Lava Henchmen who is pretty dang cool as he has a sword and shield and is ready to slash Max’s head off! Check out the figures below and see these two villains.

I also have another of the McDonalds Happy Meal Mighty Max releases and this one is called “Totally Toy Holiday 95” and this one is pretty cheesy and hands down the worst of the Mighty Max play sets! The compact has a cool look as it is a blue ice skeleton and really does have a cold horror look to it. The compacts upper layer has nothing, and the bottom has our figures that are built into the set and is an ice maze that has a bottom pit that is filled with stolen Christmas gifts! Mighty Max is in a running pose with as cheesy smile on his face, and also features Ice Creatures that are the sets villains. Over all this one is just kind of blah and wish they would have had mini figures and not things built into the toy. Check it out below and see it in all its lameness!

The next major set and in my opinion one of the most iconic in the series we will be looking at is called “Escapes From Skull Dungeon” and is from series one of the toys. The compact looks like a giant skull with sharp fangs, has one red bared out eye with the other being a yellow and red in color. The color of the skull is grey and looks like concrete and it also has the Mighty Max classic MM logo on its forehead! A very cool looking set and really has a creepy Halloween horror look to it. The theme of the set is Mad Scientist in a creepy castle dungeon and surly is inspired by classic Universal Monster films. Check out the over all look of this set below and see how cool it is, oh yeah and the jaw of the skeleton also opens!

The top inside of the compact has many levels with the top being a study that is filled with a desk, books and lab stuff, the next level has a hidden door as well as a skeleton chained to the wall, and the final level has stairs that lead up stairs as well as the front door. The bottom of the compact is the lab that has electronic equipment as well as the table for the Monster as well as levers and desks. I am missing two parts of this set and it the two rods that go next to the table. Over all a very simple and affective design for this play set that really does bring a classic monster feel to the toy series.

The three figures in this set include of course Mighty Max who is rocking a blue cap, has big bug eyes and is given the arms up victory pose like he just ate a bowl of Wheaties. The bad guys of the set are Dr. Gore a mad scientist who has a hunchback and is wearing a white lab coat, the other is a green skinned Frankenstein’s Monster looking creature that is named Smasher! The figures are really cheap looking and not as detailed as the figures in later sets but this lack of detail also gives them some charm. Check out the picture below to see what the figures look like.

The next Shrunken Head mini play set I want to talk about from my collection is called “Head Case” and the compact has a melted zombie look with two shades of green and purple skin with an eyeball out of socket. When opened the top of the set has the villain known as Dr. Toxin standing among lab items, he looks like a melted green skin zombie, as he loves toxic chemicals! Max from this set is holding a flamethrower and looks like he knows that he is going to torch Dr. Toxin and still have time to go to McDonalds for a kids meal! This Max figure is really cool and one of the best in the series and Dr. Toxin is a great looking villain who reminds me of the 80’s film Return Of The Living Dead! Very cool set and make sure to give it a look below.

The next solo figure I want to showcase is a very cool one as it’s a double-headed orange dragon that was apart of the “Trapped In Skull Mountain” play set! This figure is really cool as beside having orange skin and two heads he also has green eyes and is looking for Max so he can end his adventures once and for all! This was a must have figure for me when I started my Mighty Max collection, check him out below.

Next up is another from the Horror Head series and was called “Survives Corpus” and has a cemetery theme! The front of the compact has two openings and has a face of a zombie with green goo coming out of his noise and worms coming out of his eyes and crack in his skull. The face also has tan skin and brown metal plates screwed into his skull. He also has a weird purple color around one of his eyes and crack in his skull! This one has a creepy look to it and is pretty dang cool over all, check out the pictures below and see what I mean about its creepy cemetery vibe. Wait now looking at it again it also has a generic b-movie Frankenstein’s Monster look as well!

The top part of the compact is a creepy stairwell with a tiny door, boards, a green goblin head, a torch and lots of skulls and bones. This is clearly the steps that lead to our bottom part of the compact that is a crypt! In the crypt are some bones that have been left behind as well as an old wooden coffin that is broken and busted! This graveyard theme is very classic and creepy and will remind you of classic horror movies as well as Halloween ghost stories. Check out below to see this play set open!

This play set as well came with three figures with one being Mighty Max of course with this figure having him rocking a red cap and a weird stance! The bad guys are Mort The Gravedigger a short chubby guy with a shovel who likes to dig up bodies, as well as a massively tall zombie who wants to drag the living into the grave with him. Great figures for Mort and the Zombie as he looks great with purple skin and red eyes! I will say the Max of this set is just ok…but give them a look below!

Let’s take a look at another Shrunken Head set I own, this one is called “Mummy King” and the compact is a purple skinned Mummy with brown wrappings and blood shot eyes and reminds me of old Halloween decorations in appearance. When the compact is open the top part is the bad guy mummy named Thanatos who is in pyramid and is standing with a snake and scorpion and has a true undead look to his face! The bottom of the compact has sand and some treasure and has a very generic Egyptian horror look. The Mighty Max figure of this set is pretty cool and has him holding a torch and ready to use it to not only light his way but also to also use it against the Mummy, snake and scorpion! A very cool set that features a classic monster, check out the pics below and see what this set looks like.

Next up let’s take a look at another loose figure from my collection and it’s from the “Skull Mountain” play set and his name is Rock Monster and he is a henchman of Skullmaster! He is made of solid rock and wants nothing more to bring down Mighty Max and will do whatever it takes to do so! This figure is really cool and has red eyes and looks super mean! Hands down this was a must have figure for me to add to my collection.

The next play set I have is called “Trapped By Arachnoid” and is from series one Doom Zone set! The compact of this set when closed looks like a massive spider with six green eyes, a furry back complete with a batch of purple spider eggs, has two fangs and eight legs. It also has the massive MM (Mighty Max) logo as well. A great and creepy looking compact that surly fits the mood and style of this toy series. This is another of the sets I remember the most being on toy shelves as well as friends having on the playground, with Escapes From Skull Dungeon being the biggest one from my childhood. Give it a look below and see how cool and creepy it is.

When open the top part of the compact has lab equipment that is also covered with purple webs as well as skulls, also a massive circle window is present. Clearly this is where the sets villain does his evil deeds. The bottom of the compact has a stone floor that has well has bones as well as a purple teleporter and a small web cage. Also some blood splatter covers the floors showing that many of people have lost their lives in this lab. A great looking set that fits the theme of this release.

The three figures of this set are of course Mighty Max who in this set is rocking a blue cap and has a go-getter pose, very fun and cheesy Max figure for sure. Next up is Arachnoid a four armed, green-eyed spider person mad scientist, he is pretty dang cool and a great bad guy for this set and he reminds me of a monster from a 50’s sci-fi film. And last is Creep a massive spider and creation of Arachnoid who is also like his bloodthirsty pet! This really is an amazing set with some great figures and leads to some great adventures you could have with Max.

Let’s take a look at another Shrunken Head set I have that’s called “Rat Trap” and sadly is one of my least favorite mini sets I own as it over all feels very lazy. The compact when closed does look great, as it’s a yellowed sharp toothed, dark purple furred rat with red and silver eyes with a patch of red fur on his forehead. When opened we get a look at the sets bad guy the giant rat himself Rat Trap who is standing on a silver shelf and looks awkward and poorly thought out, one of the worst bad guys in the Shrunken Head sets. The bottom of the compact has a dirty floor and is ok looking and the Mighty Max figure of this set is also pretty cool as he his holding a lantern and a sword! So what the best thing about this set being is the Max figure and the compact when closed…the main villain and the rest are at the bottom of the barrel in the Mighty Max world.

Next up I want to take a look at some more loose figures I own and these figure are from the “Takes On Terror Talons” large play set that sadly I don’t own fully. I have from this set Space Aliens # 1-4 with each having their own look and Space Alien # 2 being my favorite as he has a sharp yellow teethed grin! Alien # 3 and 4 are small red guys and are pretty dang cool with one being dinosaur like. Very cool figures and check them out bellow.

The next Horror Head set I will be looking at from my collection is called “Defeats Vamp Biter” and is a creature themed set. When closed the compact has the appearance of a massive grinning bat with razor sharped teeth and red eyes, to be honest he is very menacing looking and a very frightful looking playset. The ears of the bat for this compact are also made up from the bad guy figure from this set. This is a great looking set that once more almost has a classic Halloween feel to it. This is a medium sized set and features two figures so take a look below to see just how cool this set is.

The top of the compact when opened not only acted as a perch for the massive bat, but also has stones, slime and stairs. The bottom of the compact is rocky and has bats as well as a pool of blood! Very cool and fitting for the style of this playset and is what I would imagine a lair of a giant bat would look like! A very cool compact for this set and makes good use of the medium size.

This play set comes with two figures with one of course being Mighty Max and this time around he is rocking a blue hat and a stance that makes it look like he is going to punch you in the face! The sets baddie is the giant bat that is called Nightwing and this massive guy is looking super mean and is flashing a sinister grin with a mouth full of teeth! And his backstory is that Nightwing is not only a blood drinker but also is super smart! While only consider a minor villain Nightwing really is a cool looking bad guy!

Next I want to take a look at a single figure I have and that’s Lava Lord who was from the “Blasts Magus” set and to be honest is the second biggest villain in the world of Mighty Max as he was once a minion who rises up with a goal to overthrow Skullmaster and be the one to capture and kill Mighty Max! Lava Lord is a cool looking figure and is lumpy and red and green in color and looks mean and ready to smash the face of Max, check him out below.

I want to next take a look at another medium sized Horror Head set I own that’s called “Pulverizes Sea Squirm” and this is a cool ocean monster compact when closed and like before the bad guy figures help bring the look of the compact complete making up the creatures tongues, eyes, horns and nose! The blue color of the compact is also very eye catching and to be honest when seeing Mighty Max sets used at toy and comic stores around here in Ohio this is the one I have seen the most showing that it had to be a big seller and a well liked one among Max fans. Check out the pictures below to see what this set looks like closed as well as opened.

When open the top part of the compact showcases a underwater cave look with some sea creatures around the walls, nothing to special and a little bland in look but fitting for the set. The bottom of the compact is like the bottom of the oceans floor and has shells, bones, sea creatures, an anchor, slime and a treasure chest all things you would surly find one any water based floor bed! I like the treasure chest as kids could use it as to the main reason of why Max is wondering around in the water. This set is well thought out and while not the flashiest or even the coolest set in the series it’s a solid one with a basic and yet super fitting design.

The Pulverizes Sea Squirm set comes with three figures with one being our main man and hero Max and in this set he is rocking a green hat and is standing looking like he is scared our of his mind, I am guessing he is scared of drowning as he is not wearing any diving equipment and is probably wondering why he has made such a poor life choice. The first of the sets villains is the black and blue skinned, red teethed Sea Serpent a wicked creatures that wants to kill the foolish Max for entering his watery home. And the sets main baddie is the massive Krillor that rocks blood stained claws and bright red eyes who is the protector of this cave as well as the watery graveyard…so you can see he wants to kill Max cause he is in the cave with the idea of stealing money and jewels from the treasure chest that belongs to those who are buried there…in other words Max is being a real drag! Check out the pictures below to see what they all look like.

Another of the Horror Head Series I have is called “Hounds Werewolf” that is really cool as I am a massive fan of werewolves in pop culture and Horror. The compact when closed is a werewolf face that has red eyes, yellow teeth and blood coming from his mouth. The ears of the werewolf is made up from the wings of the sets bad guy figures and he has like a purple/grey fur and this is a really cool looking set. Take a look at the pictures below to see the Werewolf in all his glory as well as open so you can see it fully as it has a kind of castle theme.

Once open the top part of the compact you see grey stones, green stairs, an iron gate as well as a dead rotten tree and a tombstone. Some of the stones at the top also have blood splatter on them and this has a classic spooky Horror vibe. The bottom part of the compact has more grey stones as well as more graves with one cross tombstone being broken and on the floor. Also a gold iron cage is present as is more blood splatter. This really is a cool playset and has lots of danger for Mighty Max to face.

The Hounds Werewolf set comes with three mini figures with one being our hero Mighty Max himself, this Max is rocking a red cap and is in a flexing pose like he is showing off his massive muscles…that he has none of. The other two figures are the Horror Hounds a pair of winged purple skinned wolves that are ready to attack and maul our hero. The Horror Hounds are cool and help make the ears of the werewolf compact, but I do wish they would have just had a normal werewolf in the set and not these winged hounds. Check out the pictures bellow to see them in all their glory.

Ok this is getting out of hand as you readers and friends can see I went on a Might Max shopping spree so I am only going to cover one more from my collection and its my favorite and is from the Doom Zone sets…and this one is called “Tangles With The Ape King” and is hands down one kick butt set! The compact when closed is a very angry looking gorilla who has black fur, purple skin and blood on his fangs! Truly a menacing looking creature who plays on the old Jungle Adventure movie vibe. The set when open as well has a great jungle them and really is one of my top picks when it comes to Mighty Max sets!

When opened the top part of this set features green thick vines, a golden cage, bottles and even shrunken heads! A part of the vines also swings out and make a platform for some of the figures to stand on, this is really well done and designed. The bottom of the compact is also fantastic and features the jungle floor, a dead warrior, a pot filled with with bones simmering over a fire, bloody skulls and even a massive purple cobra snake! Great classic Jungle Adventure stuff here.

The playset comes with three figures with one being of course Mighty Max who is wearing a red cap and has a pose and a look on his face of being surprised. It also comes with a native who looks like he is ready to fight both Max and the Gorilla and last of course we have Ape King a massive gorilla who is looking to eat some human meat and deal out some death…very cool figures and some of my favorites in the toy series. Check out the picture below to see them.

Mighty Max is as classic 90’s toy that while I never owned in my youth but as I said always wanted to, and in 2020 as you can see I went a little crazy and ordered so many of them! It’s crazy to think that kids of the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s had so many amazing toys that are now in days very collectable. Thanks for taking that walk through my collection as its crazy to say at the age of 42 I find this toy series to be really cool and just wanted to share with you my readers and friends.

So now that we have taken a look at the Toys, Video Games and Cartoon of Mighty Max we need to now get to the Promo Comic that was released by Game Players in order to promote the video game that was being released of the Sega Genesis and the Super Nintendo. I would like to thank an Ebay seller Holiday Comics for having this comic in stock and making this update possible. I want to also remind you all that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, it’s entertainment value and it’s art and story. So if your are ready lets jump into the portal and go on a adventure with Mighty Max, Norman and Virgil as we all try and save the day.

The Adventures Of Mighty Max # 0 **
Released in 1993 Cover Price $0.00 Game Players # 0 of 0

Easter Island is being plagued with earthquakes and the cause is coming from Skullmaster who is using his lava men to try and open a portal so that he can return to the above world from his underground prison. Meanwhile Mighty Max and his friend Felix are at a baseball game and enjoying their time, when a home run is hit Max’s way he catches it only to find a message from Virgil that he is needed and where to find the portal that will take him to his destination. Max rushes to the portal that is located on the ball field and finds himself at Easter Island along with Virgil and Norman and find that the Lava Men are hard at work working on the hole that would bring Skullmaster back! But after Virgil reads old scrolls Max gets an idea and jumps onto one of the Easter Island Statue Heads that triggers them to come alive and use the near by ocean water to cool off the Lava men that’s now dead bodies seal the hole trapping Skullmaster even more. After the fight is over Max along with Norman and Virgil return to the baseball game being the heroes of the day once more.

This Mighty Max promo comic was just ok and while entertaining it also was very uneventful as Max does not really fight any monsters and the only danger he finds himself in is when a Lava Man throws a rock at him. The plot has Skullmaster trying to escape his underground prison only to be easily stopped by Might Max and his friends. Mighty Max in this promo comic is a very young ego driven lad who is kind of a brat, but does rush to be the hero of the day and even figures out what the scrolls mean in order to stop the plot of one of the worlds super villains. Norman is shown to be on alert and takes his bodyguard statues of Max very serious and leaps into action when ever he thinks he is in danger and that means when a rock is thrown or even a foul baseball is coming his way. Virgil is around and mostly just makes the call for Max and reads the old scrolls, a cool character that is just not given much in this comic. Skullmaster besides causing the earthquake doesn’t do much besides scream orders at the Lava Men who as well don’t do much. I do think it was a wise choice to also feature Baseball in this promo comic as MLB was very popular with the youth of America in the early 90s as Baseball Cards had a major boom. I am not going to lie and act as if this comic is fantastic, while I do think it does justice to the Mighty Max toys and cartoon I do find this promo comic to be very underwhelming and nothing special at all. And it’s really a shame as to be honest there just is not much of a plot nor a threat to really write about. The cover is eye catching and is just the reused cover for the video game. The interior art is really good and captures the Mighty Max vibe is done by Gary Hartle who worked on may Marvel Comic titles like Thor, Daredevil and Conan The Barbarian. Over all this just an ok kids comic that is a fun read for fans of Might Max…but will not change your life. Check out the artwork below to see the style of Hartle.

Mighty Max in the early 90’s was a to series that I am sure made many of kids Christmases brighter when Santa brought them their most wanted play set and that is why I truly enjoyed writing this update for Christmas Eve 2021! That’s one great thing about doing this blog as it not only brings back memories of my youth for me but I hope it does the same for many of you. While Mighty Max is no longer a toy nor cartoon being made it’s still a very iconic one from the 90’s that helped make so many childhoods awesome. For the next update I will be of course talking about my favorite films that I seen in the theater in 2021 and I hope you will all return and join me for that one. And again I would like to send a heartfelt thank you for joining me this Christmas Eve and because of you this blog has been going for 10 Years!! That’s right 2022 marks 10 Years of Rotten Ink and next year I will be covering many things that I find near and dear to my heart and has captured my imagination in youth and even some more modern day discoveries that have got my attention. So until next time enjoy this Holiday Season, spend some time with a friend or two and as always support your local Horror Host. See you at the movies!