From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: Alien 3 (1992)

Posted on April 2, 2026 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink. For this update we are going to travel to the outreaches of space and where no one can hear you scream and the terrors of Xenomorphs are all around you! And for this “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” update we will be talking about Alien 3 and the adaptation comic series done by Dark Horse Comics who did a great job of delivering great comics based around the Alien series as well as many other movies when they had the licenses. To be honest, I was really torn on what Alien film to choose to cover for this update as I could have gone with Heavy Metal’s graphic novel adaptation of the original 1979 film, or the Aliens adaptation done by a Turkish publisher or lastly Alien: Resurrection that of course Dark Horse Released…but I chose Alien 3 as this was the one series I had when I was younger so it holds a special place with me. So if you are ready, get into your space suit and let’s head out to see what terrors and chaos this Xenomorph has in store for us.

Let’s start by taking a look at the Xenomorph (also called Dragon) from this film and its way of dealing death to those who cross its path. This Xenomorph was born when a face hugger attached itself to a Rottweiler dog on a planet that is filled with prisoners who have turned religious, but some are truly still bad people. This alien takes on the characteristics of the dog host the birthed it and walks on all fours and moves very fast when charging at its prey. This Xenomorph is also very stealthy and can hide in the shadows as well as small places in order to sneak up on its prey. Let’s not forget about its strange and monstrous appearance that can frighten a person to death as its blackish, grey in color has a skeleton looking endoskin, long fingers and a small mouth that extends from his normal mouth that it can used to puncture the skin of a person putting a whole right through them. This Xenomorph also has sharp teeth that, if it chooses, could bite and rip flesh, and it will use them and its claws to shred a person like a wild animal. It also has a long tail that it can uses to impale a person as well as can whip it around causing injury. The Xenomorph can also spit acid and its blood is also made of acid and this will burn the flesh of humans straight through and will also burn through metal. The Xenomorph is also very strong and can lift a person up into the air very easily and it can also climb on walls and ceilings. It can also make weird hissing noises and when attacking sometimes will go into a frenzy slashing and biting its human prey. But while this dog Xenomorph is very dangerous and deadly, it is still a living thing and that means it can be hurt and killed with being shot being a big way to end its life, you can also drop boiling hot lead onto it and then cold water as this will cause it to explode. But while it can die, this Xenomorph is very dangerous as if it is able to breed and create more of its kind worlds could truly end and become overrun with its species.

So now that we looked at this canine infused Xenomorph, I think that it’s time we took a look at the film that spawned him and that of course is Alien 3 that was released in 1992 from Fox. Like always, I will be taking the film’s write up 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 run around this isolated planet and see if we can stay one step ahead of this Alien.

Alien 3 (1992)

“Ellen Ripley is the only survivor when she crash lands on Fiorina 161, a bleak wasteland inhabited by former inmates of the planet’s maximum security prison. Once again, Ripley must face skepticism and the alien as it hunts down the prisoners and guards. Without weapons or modern technology of any kind, Ripley leads the men into battle against the terrifying creature.”

20^th Century Fox was very much behind making more sequels to the 1979 hit Alien and with the 1986 film Aliens being a big hit for them a third film in the series was put into motion, but that was after going through a ton of scripts and ideas as they could not find the right one they felt would take the story to a new place and not just repeat the actions of the previous two films. Some of the ideas pitched would have had the Xenomorphs being used as weapons to keep people in line by the Weyland Corporation with Ripley and Hicks having to fight them in a epic battle. Another idea would have the Aliens invading Earth with another being that it would take place on a prison world…the latter is what Fox ended up choosing. So with many rewrites and drama, the film’s screenplay would be written by many writers that include David Giler, Larry Ferguson and Walter Hill ,and after a big search and rehires the directors chair ended up going to David Fincher, who was a music video director. The casting would see Sigourney Weaver and Lance Henriksen return to play Ellen Ripley and Bishop and new names to the cast included Charles S. Dutton, Charles Dance, Pete Postlethwaite, Tom Woodruff Jr. and Holt McCallany to name a few. Fox would give the film a budget of $60 million and would be shot in England, and the film had a stressful shooting schedule and time, but once done Elliot Goldenthal would do the film’s score and it would be released in theaters on May 22, 1992 and would do well for Fox as the worldwide box office bringing in $159.8 million and would end up being #28 for the year out of 200 films. The film was meet with very mixed reviews from critics and movie goers and it would gain its following over the years, mostly thanks to home media releases. In 1992 Alien 3 was released alongside such other horror films as Army Of Darkness, Candyman, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Dr. Giggles, Demonic Toys, The Lawnmower Man, Hellraiser III, Dust Devil, Mindwarp, Tale Of A Vampire, RAAT, Critters 4, Waxwork II, Severed Ties, Stepfather III, Split Second, The Vagrant and Buffy The Vampire Slayer to name a few. Alien 3 is a film that still gets some hate over all these years but has found its fan base as well and is worth a watch if you enjoy the Alien film franchise.

I am going to start off by saying that I am a fan of Alien 3 and have never understood the hate that the film would get from critics and viewers who trashed the more dark tones and complained about the downbeat mood of the film. I do understand one complaint about the film and that’s the death of Hicks and Newt in such a lackluster off screen way from the start, as we all would have liked to seen them continue on, but instead we got to watch Ripley once more be the hero she is and help a group of prisoners try and survive as well as sacrifice herself in order to kill the baby alien that was growing inside her. The film also gives us one more scene with android Bishop played masterfully by Lance Henriksen who also appears briefly as Michael Bishop Weyland, a man who clams to have been the creator of the androids. But one thing that I noticed that stands out like a sore thumb in this film is many of the digital effects look bad, and I mean really bad now as sometimes the alien looks like clip art made into a gif and placed in the film. But while the digital effects are questionable, the practical effects look really good and the Xenomorph looks as scary as ever. Speaking of the Xenomorph, I really like that they hint that the alien takes on much of its hosts traits and in this case a dog as the alien behaves at times like a wild dog! One thing that kind of stinks is that the film’s own director David Fincher is said to hate this film as do many of the past cast who think Fox did the whole series dirty with this one mostly by killing off the characters from the second film early all with off screen deaths. I saw the film when released on home media and at this point had already played and beat the Sega Genesis game based around it, read the adaptation novel and had talked about the Alien films with family and friends all the time…and after seeing it the first time, I really enjoyed it, a feeling I still have about the film to this day. While I get that the film is not as scary as Alien nor as epic as Aliens, it was a nice follow up that pushed the story forward and try something new with Ripley and the universe this series was building. Don’t just follow the trends of hating on films before you even see them, and check this one out and make up your own mind as you might just find yourself enjoying it.

So now that we have taken a look at the Xenomorph as well as the film Alien 3, we should get to the adaptation comic of the film that was released by Dark Horse Comics who for many years made some very cool comics based on films and shows as besides Alien they had comics based on Predator, Godzilla, Starship Troopers, The Terminator, The Thing, Gamera, Pumpkinhead and Darkness Falls to name a few. I would like to thank Bell Book And Comic for having these issues 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 walk around the passage ways of the foundry located on Fiorina and see if we can stay out of the reach of the alien lurking around in the shadows.

Alien 3 # 1 **1/2
Released in 1992 Cover Price $2.50 Dark Horse # 1 of 3

A spaceship floating through space crash lands on the prison planet called Fiorina 161 with Ellen Ripley being the only survivor as Corporal Hick and Newt died, but an alien has also arrived on the planet via the crash. Mr. Andrews runs the prison planet and is not happy that a woman has arrived on the planet and order Doctor Clemens to keep her in the sick bay and not let he roam among the prisoners. A group of prisoners are sent out to retrieve the bodies and the wrecked ship, and their pet dog acts strange after making some noises. When Ripley wakes up, she finds out about the deaths of her friends and has Clemens take her to the ships wreckage and then learns that there are only 25 prisoners and one dog on the planet and they just work maintenance at the Weylend factory they all live in. Ripley asks Clemens to perform an autopsy on Newt as she tells him that it’s cause she wanted to make sure of the cause of death claiming it could have been from a sickness, but really she fears that the young girl could have an alien inside her as the wrecked ship had marks of acid blood being split. After the autopsy she finds that Newt really did pass away from the wreck and Andrews allows the Doctor to cremate the bodies and all the prisoners attend with one named Dillon saying the prayer. But while they all pay respects to the dead, the pet dog is sick and an alien is born from its torn apart body! Ripley shaves her head and finds that the prisoners really do not want her around as many of them in the past were killers and sexual predators of females, and she also has a bond with Clemens who is called out to look at a body of a prisoner that was knocked into a giant fan by the Xenomorph who spit acid in his face unknown to all of them. As Ripley goes to the scrapyard to find the body of android Bishop who would have the flight recorder of the crashed ship three prisoners on repair duty are attacked by the Xenomorph and only one is able to make a escape.

This adaptation comic from Dark Horse Comics starts pretty strong as it does a good job of staying true this far to the films plot and yet speeding up some of it in order to not only fit the film into three issues but also to keep it a little faster paced. The plot for the first issue to sum it up has Ellen Ripley waking up in a prison planet after the ship she was on wrecked and killed her friends, now she is stuck there with convicted killers and attackers who have now turned religious. But unknown to her the convicts are not the only threats that she has to worry about as a Xenomorph that was born inside a dog has also arrived and is looking to kill. While Ellen Ripley is tough, she is around some very dangerous men who nearly all have a history of violence towards women, so she really needs to be on her toes. Doctor Clemens is clearly a prisoner as well who seems to have changed his ways, but is not yet ready to share his dirty little secrets with Ellen who he has been treating. Clemens also seems to be respected by the fellow prisoners but also is on the annoyed side of Andrews who seems to not be filled in on all the goingson in the prison. And while Dillon is a dangerous man, it’s clear that he is trying to stay very loyal to his religious oath, and while he don’t like Ellen being there, he clearly has no want to hurt her. The Dog Xenomorph is very mean and quick and in this issue claims three lives that we see with one getting acid spit into his face! The issue does have some blood being spilt and violence making it a fun spooky read. The cover is really cool and eye-catching as it showcases a Xenomorph, and the interior art is done by artist Christopher Taylor and is good stuff and truly has that 90’s Dark Horse Comics look, and I have to praise his ability to draw the Xenomorph…and for those wondering the characters do not look like the actors who played them. A good issue for sure and is your average horror comic read based on a film, so if you are ready, let’s head to issue two and see what scares await us.

Alien 3 # 2 **1/2
Released in 1992 Cover Price $2.50 Dark Horse # 2 of 3

Ripley heads to the junk pile and finds the body of Bishop, but before she can get it back to the medical bay, she is attacked by some of the prisoners who are looking for a good time…but she is saved by Dillon, who beats up his fellow inmates with a crowbar and sends Ripley out of the area. Meanwhile Clemons is getting yelled at by Andrews for spending to much time with Ripley and not sharing any information with him as they have gotten a call that members of a very powerful corporation are on their way to get her. While at the medical bay Ripley learns from Bishop that a alien was on board the ship when they crashed and that all this information as been sent to the Weyland Corporation, he then has her terminate his life. The surviving prisoner of the Xenomorph attack is blamed for the murders of his fellow inmates and Ripley tries to warn Andrews and his assistant Aaron of the horrors that is roaming their prisoner factory, only for her to be mocked and ignored, as Andrews does not respect her at all and can not wait for the Weyland company to get her. Ripley goes back to Clemons and he comes clean to her that he was a drug addict doctor for years and that is what landed him there, but out of nowhere the Xenomorph attacks knocking Clemons’ head off and Ripley runs away to the mess hall where Andrews is holding a prisoner meeting and is his grabbed up into the ceiling by the Xenomorph. Ripley takes control and gets all the prisoners to set up a trap tat will seal the Xenomorph away from them all, and during this time she also learns that she has an Alien Queen in her chest! And also the crazed prisoner is free and thinks the Xenomorph is his friend.

The second issue has Ripley being attacked by some of the prisoners, being hated by the warden, finding out that a Xenomorph is in the prison factory, finds out that a company has interest in her, she is feeling sick and she watches as her only friend on the planet gets his head knocked off…so in other words she is having a very bad time on this planet! While Ripley is having a rough time, she is also a fighter as she does what she can to survive as well as try and warn the others of what kind of terror could be waiting for them around every dark corner. The one bad thing is that she also learns that the planet does not have any weapons as they do not want the prisoners to get ahold of them, leaving her pretty much defenseless against the alien. And when things get really bad Ripley also steps up and becomes the “leader” of the prisoners when they have to find a way to bring down the Xenomorph. Speaking of the Xenomorph, this alien is on a killing spree and is taking down the prisoners one by one and is doing so in such bloody ways, as that’s right this issue brings the blood and violence with the best kill being Clemons getting his head knocked off. The Prisoners seem very lost when their warden and boss Andrews is killed, and while some are for following Ripley others are not, but when Dillon puts his foot down that she is the one with leadership skills they all fall in line. The issue ends on a cliffhanger as Ripley discovers that she has an Alien Queen growing inside her, not to even mention that the Xenomorph is now on the attack causing panic with the prisoners. The cover for this issue is my favorite of the series as it really is a great cover that features the comic/movies monster. And like the last issue the interior art was done by Christopher Taylor, and again is good stuff if you like that Dark Horse Comics art style of the 90’s. And like before this, comic does a good job of staying close to the source material of the film and has some changes that makes it seem like a slightly new experience in that film’s universe. With that, let’s get to the third and final issue in this adaptation comic mini series.

Alien 3 # 3 **1/2
Released in 1992 Cover Price $2.50 Dark Horse # 3 of 3

Ripley discovers a message from the Weyland Company that alerts that they want the Xenomorph alive, and worse the Xenomorph has been captured but is set free by the crazed blamed prisoner who gets himself as well as another prisoner killed! The remaining prisoners all rush to the cell block and talk if they want to try and fight the Alien or just hide for the next 10 hours until the rescue ship arrives. Ripley meanwhile finds the Xenomorph and learns that it will not kill her cause of the Queen growing inside her, she makes a deal with Dillon that when they kill the alien he will in turn kill her to end this things bloodline…he agrees. After some harsh words with the fellow prisoners they come up with a idea that would have them trap the Xenomorph again and this time drop molten lead on it! The plan starts off smooth but soon goes into chaos as the Xenomorph starts catching and killing the prisoners until only Ripley, Dillon and one other are left alive…they are able to trap the alien and drop the lead on him, but during this time it is able to kill Dillon. The team from Weyland show up just in time to see Ripley drop water onto the melting Xenomorph and it explodes! And as the Weyland people try to convince Ripley to follow them to the ship so they can help her, she does not trust them and as the Queen in being born she leaps into the molten lead ending her life as well as the new Queens.

The saga of Ripley comes to an end…well at least until the next film and comic based on that film was released. In this issue’s plot Ripley and the remaining prisoners come up with an idea to kill the Xenomorph before the rescue team can arrive as they all know that the company wants to save the aliens life to use it as a weapon in wars. And while most of them all die they are able to kill the creature and Ripley is able to end her own life and destroy the Queen that was being born, ending the terror for now. Ripley really does want to die in this issue as she fears what will happen if any of the aliens are taken to Earth and knows that her death is the only thing that can stop it from happening as if they get their hands on the Queen growing inside her they could have an armor of them in no time. Dillon becomes a hero for sure as through this series he is the one who stops the other prisoners attack on Ripley, gives his life to try and bring down the Xenomorph and seems to truly be one of the prisoners who have found religion. The Weyland people are very much liars as they even send the creator of the android Bishop in order to try and get Ripley to follow them to their ship to “save” her and get ride of the alien baby…its clear they do not care about the people on the prison planet and really just want the power of the Xenomorph. And speaking of the Alien it really is a killing machine as it makes quick and bloody work out of many of the prisoners and while it is very dangerous it dies a painful death as hot lead and cold water don’t mix! The comic stays pretty close to the film and does change Dillon’s death as here he is dragged into the molten lead as in the film he is trapped with the alien and demands they drop the lead to try and kill the alien. The issue has lots of blood and kills and this helps add to the Horror of the comic, but to be honest lots of the scares comes from the dark mood and atmosphere. Like before artist Christopher Taylor does the interior art and its good stuff and the cover like before as well is really cool and eye-catching. Over all if you like the film Alien 3 or just the Alien films and comics in general, you should check this one out. Take a look at the artwork below to see the style used by Christopher Taylor in this comic mini series.

Alien 3 really is one of those films that you either love of hate, with much more being very negative about it…but if you like a more dark mood outing for the Aliens, then this is one I think you will enjoy. Plus once more I have to stress that I miss the days of Dark Horse Comics when they would make some amazing comics based on horror films, they seem to be lacking in that department lately. But with all that said our time with Alien 3 is coming to an end so I think that before we head our separate ways I would like to tell you that the next update of course will keep us in the world of horror films as we will be talking about the 1965 film Two On A Guillotine and the Dell Comic adaptation of the film. 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 time for a evil magic show in a haunted house!

From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: Little Shop Of Horrors (1986)

Posted on September 23, 2025 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink. Our countdown to Halloween 2025 continues! Horror films come in all types of sub-genres, and one that is often over looked and not talked about is the horror musical. One of the best hands down for me was the 1986 film “Little Shop Of Horrors” that truly set the bar for all those that followed. And of course this film was base off the Off-Broadway musical that was based off the Roger Corman film from 1960! And as you noticed, this is another PG-13 film and ends our updates for September. And with that I think it’s time that we start this long overdue “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” update that is all about that mean green mother from outer space named Audrey II, and the Little Shop Of Horrors he’s hiding out in.

So let’s start off by taking a look at the killer plant from this film named Audrey II and it’s ways of dealing death to mankind. Audrey II is an alien from outer space. When it first lands on our planet during a total eclipse of the sun, it is very small in size, but grows in size when it gets fresh blood and human meat to eat. The more blood it eats, the bigger it can grow and it can grow to be Kaiju size as well as can sprout more of its kind. Audrey II when small is cute and can draw people into its trap, but as it grows the more frightful it looks and can truly shock the weak. Audrey II as well has a mind of its own and is super smart and can use it to plot out evil plans, it can also talk and sing and can uses its words to get one simple minded florist to do its bidding of bringing him blood and people to eat with the promise of fame and fortune. Audrey II has razor sharp teeth that can rip apart flesh, vines that can grab and pull plus grow smaller heads with teeth and a mouth big enough to eat a person in one or two chomps. Audrey II also has a very mean temper and a wicked attitude and has goals of taking over our planet and does not care how many humans it has to eat to complete this goal. But while Audrey II is a big green mother from outer space that is bad, it can be hurt and even killed as it needs blood to live and without it will shrivel up and die, you can also crush it, burn it and possible chop it up into little pieces but that is only before it grows to Kaiju size. The main way to destroy Audrey II is use high voltage electricity, as this will cause the alien plant to explode, and end its reign of terror. Audrey II is a truly dangerous alien plant from outer space and if not put in check his species could easily take over the planet.

Now that we see just how dangerous that Audrey II is and just how easily it could take over the world and make every human dinner, I think we should take a few moments and talk about the film its from and that of course is the 1986 Musical Horror Film Little Shop Of Horrors that was a remake of a cheesy 1960 fright film. And I would like to remind you that I will be taking the film’s plot from our friends at IMDB and then I will write about the film’s production and then my thoughts on the film. So with that, let’s avoid becoming plant food and head to this little shop of terrors.

Little Shop Of Horrors (1986)

“A nerdy florist finds his chance for success and romance with the help of a giant man-eating plant who demands to be fed.”

David Geffen was a music executive that was producing a off-Broadway musical show based on the 1960 Roger Corman film Little Shop Of Horrors and he had the want to turn the stage show into a big production musical film to release in theaters and even at one point in time had big names like Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg and John Landis attached to the film, and this was causing it to have a big buzz around it. But the film stalled for a while due to Charles B. Griffith, the original film’s script writer and voice of Audrey Jr. tried to sue Geffen in a failed attempt. And once the lawsuit ended, Frank Oz was hired to be the director and he even helped writer Howard Ashman with the script to bring the Broadway show to the big screen and this meant adding and subtracting some of the songs to make it have that big theater event film feel. When casting the film, Rick Moranis was hired to play Seymour Krelborn with Levi Stubbs from the musical group The Four Tops being the voice of Audrey II. Other names attached to the film in supporting as well as cameo roles include Steve Martin, Vincent Gardenia, Jim Belushi, John Candy, Bill Murray, Christopher Guest, Vincent Wong and the trio of Tisha Campbell, Tichina Arnold and Michelle Weeks acted as the singing chorus who act as the stories guides. When it came to casting Audrey, it was given to Ellen Greene who had played the part for the stage, but the roll was also offered to pop singer Cyndi Lauper and even rumored to Barbra Streisand. The film’s main villain Audrey II took many puppeteers to control and filming would take place in England at the 007 Stage. The film was given a $25million budget with Warner Brothers stepping in to distribute the film in theaters and home media. The film’s ending had to be re-shot after the test screens did not like the original downbeat ending of Audrey II growing to giant size and taking over the Earth as Seymour Krelborn failed in the final fight and was killed. The film would be released on December 19, 1986 and would bring in $39 million and was well loved by fans as well as critics and would become an even bigger hit for Warner Brothers when it was released on video. The film was released along side such other Horror Films as Class Of Nuke’Em High, Demons 2, Friday The 13^th Part VI: Jason Lives, The Hitcher, Maximum Overdrive, Night Of The Creeps, Psycho III, Rawhead Rex and Trick Or Treat to name a few.

Little Shop Of Horrors is a film that was a big part of my childhood as it was one I watched all the time and I knew almost all the songs by heart as they are just so damn catchy. I can remember seeing the film’s TV spots for coming to the theaters and also remember the poster being printed in the newspaper and really wanted to go to the theater to see it. My parents did not take me but to hold me over till it came out on home media, they did buy me the trading cards and candy based around the film. And when I finally did get to see the film, I was a fan as the acting, songs, special effects and monster were all fantastic and helped draw me in as a viewer. The film’s star Rick Moranis was a big star of the 1980’s and 1990’s as most people know him for his roles like Bob McKenzie from Strange Brew (1983), Louis Tully from Ghostbusters (1984), Dark Helmet in Spaceballs (1987), Wayne Szalinski from Honey I Shrunk The Kids (1989), Barney Rubble from The Flintsones (1994) and the voice of Rutt in the Brother Bear franchise to name a very few. As you can see, Rick Moranis was a big star for kids of that time and was one of the big draws for the young Monster Kids of 1986 to want to see Little Shop Of Horrors. The puppet used for Audrey II is amazing and the puppeteers who controlled it are masters of their craft as he really does seem like a living thing! I should also note that Levi Stubbs, the voice actor and singer for Audrey II is known of course for being the lead vocalist for the group Four Tops but I also should point out that he was the voice for Mother Brain for the cartoon “Captain N: The Game Master” that ran from 1989-1991. And this is the movie that made me have a crush on Tisha Campbell that would continue when she was also on the sitcom Martin were she played Gina, and in fact she is still a very beautiful woman to this day and one talented actress. If you have not seen this film, I really thank that you should not only for the great songs, a top-notch lead cast, amazing special effects but also for all the cameos from some of the top comedians going at that time. And really this is one of my favorite films and is one I have watched so many times over the years and of course own on home media. And over the years the film has been slated for a remake that never gets out of the talking stage, and I for one say if they cast it they should have Lady Gaga play Audrey, Rami Malek as Seymour, Jared Leto as Orin Scrivello DDS, John Leguizamo as Mr. Mushnik, Poppy, Mya and Charli XCX as the Chore Ladies and lastly Bruno Mars as Audrey II…just saying.

Little Shop Of Horrors was slated to be a big film and with that when released lots of cool merchandise was made to promote it before, during and after the film’s release as cool items are still being made based around it to this day. When the film first came out, you could buy the soundtrack on CD or cassette, trading cards from Topps, DC Comic adaptation, a paperback adaptation, posters and a very cool candy dispenser of Audrey II, and I had many of these things with my favorite being the Audrey II candy holder. After the release and through the decades the film has also gotten shirts, art prints, buttons, cups, bed covering, Funko Pops and so much more as this film’s popularity is still very strong and it has a huge cult following. So if you are a fan of Little Shop Of Horrors, there are lots of cool things for you to collect and add to your collection.

So as you can see, Audrey II is a very dangerous plant from another planet and the film it’s from Little Shop Of Horrors was an awesome film that spawned some great merchandise and was a big part of so many kids lives in the late 1980’s and also showed that Musicals and Horror can really mix! And I am really happy that DC Comics gave this film the comic book treatment as you readers know I always say that comics make great promo items for films, and I wish more companies would see this and make more in these modern times. I would also like to thank Mavericks Comics and Cards for having this comic in stock those many, many years ago to make this update possible. 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. So let’s head into Mushnik Florist and see what that strange and unusual plant in the window is all about.

Little Shop Of Horrors # 1 ***
Released in 1987 Cover Price $2.00 DC Comics # 1 of 1

Seymour lives and works at Mushnik Florist owned by the grumpy Mr. Mushnik who also employs Audrey who comes to work late this day and is sporting a black eye that he boyfriend gave her, and after Seymour trips and breaks some flower pots and its now 6pm and they have not seen a customer all day Mushnik threatens to close the shop down for good. But Seymour and Audrey have a plan and that is to put some strange plants in the widow to attract new customers and Seymour brings up a flytrap of sorts that he calls Audrey II and once in the window a customer comes in asking about it and Seymour tells the story of how he bought it after it mysteriously appeared at a sidewalk plant shop after a total eclipse of the sun. And Audrey II does its job as more customers keep coming in asking about it and before they leave they are buy flowers and plants causing the shop to make some money! But after the store closes and Audrey and Mr. Mushnik leaves for the night Seymour has to stay behind as Audrey II is sick and that is when he learns that the plant needs human blood to feed in order to grow. A week later Seymour and Audrey II are a guest on a local radio show in order to promote the shop, and at the shop Audrey and Mr. Mushnik listen as it’s clear that her boyfriend once more beat her up. Once back home Audrey thinks about a life she could have if only she would be dating Seymour. Days pass and Seymour is tried as he has to keep feeding Audrey II his blood, and while the shop is packed and the money is coming in Seymour just cannot build up the nerve to ask out Audrey. Meanwhile her boyfriend the motorcycle-driving dentist Orin Scrivello who torments his patients and huffs the nitrous oxide as he enjoys causing living things pain, and that night he heads to the shop to pick up Audrey for a date and Seymour witnesses how bad he treats her. That night Seymour sits next to Audrey II all sad about Audrey being treated bad when he learns that Audrey II can talk and needs fresh blood, and promises Seymour fame and the two decide that Orin will be the victim after they see him smack Audrey after their date. And when Seymour goes to the office of Orin Scrivello to kill him the dentist dies from an overdose of nitrous oxide gas and Seymour drags his body to the shop and chops it up to feed to Audrey II but unknown to Seymour his boss Mr. Mushnik witnesses him chopping up the body! The next day Audrey finds out her boyfriend is missing and she and Seymour bond as they both let their feeling for one another be known, but once Seymour gets back to the shop he is confronted by Mr. Mushnik who in turn is eaten alive by Audrey II. The days that follow lots of pressure falls on Seymour and he buckles under it all as in order to keep up the fame that means he needs to get more blood for the now massive planet, but when he finds out that Audrey would still love him even if he was broke he comes up with an idea to marry her that night and for them both to run away. Later Seymour heads to the butcher shop to get Audrey II some bloody meat, but while he is away Audrey II uses the phone to call Audrey into the shop with the idea of eating her…Seymour arrives just in time to save her and then knows what has to be done Audrey II must be destroyed. Seymour goes inside the shop and tries using a gun first and it does nothing but make Audrey II mad and he brings down the walls but this exposes an electrical wire that Seymour uses to zap and fry Audrey II killing the man eating plant. In the end Seymour and Audrey get married and but a little house together…but unknown to them another Audrey II is in their very flower garden.

The comic adaptation of the 1986 Musical Horror film Little Shop Of Horrors is a very fun read but it does lack something that makes it amazing and that is well the musical numbers as all the songs as well as many characters are missing from this comic and the changes are very noticeable. And for me the biggest missing element from this comic is the characters of Crystal, Chiffon and Ronette as they are not around to move the story forward nor are they even around to interact with the characters…they are just gone. But while this is just one of several changes the comic is still a fun read and captures the story of the film with out the musical numbers. The plot is this a man working and living on skid row has a crush on his co-worker and after finding a strange plant after a total eclipse of the sun his life turns hectic but also more positive as fame and money start coming his way, but he soon finds out that the plant is really an alien who eats blood and human meat and grows and has world conquest on its mind! When it comes to the hero of this comic you would have to give that role to Seymour who is the one in the end that stops the alien plant, but to be fair he is also the one who ended up given it the human blood and meat it needed to grow into the super dangerous creature all because of fame and wanting to try and get the attention of his crush. Audrey is a sweet woman who sadly has poor taste in men who abuse her, but her sweetness and caring nature is what helps Seymour stand up and finally defeat Audrey II who of course is the evil alien plant who was sent to Earth with the idea of taking over once he can get large enough as well as sprout offspring. Audrey II is very smart as well as manipulative as he can use his words in order to get Seymour to do what he wants him to do and that includes feeding him the dead body of Audrey’s boyfriend! And when Audrey II gets big enough and finds out that his hold over Seymour is weakened he decides to kill him and start his quest to take over the world! This film has some blood but nothing major and it of course has death as several characters find themselves plant food. The cover for this comic is pretty dang cool and has the main cast around a baby Audrey II with the interior art being done by Gene Colan being great stuff, but I also have to say that the characters sadly do not look like the actors who play them. This is a pretty great comic adaptation and while there is big changes the spooky and fun nature of the core of the film are here and make for a great read for fans of the film as well as Horror Comic readers in general. Checkout the artwork below to see the style Colan used in this comic, and I have to say make sure to grab yourself a copy of this comic for your collection.

The 1986 Horror Musical version of Little Shop Of Horrors was a very odd choice when you think about it to be turned into a comic book as the musical songs just could never be done well on the pages of a comic, but somehow DC Comics made it work here. And it’s a shame that DC did not do more comics based on Horror Films that their parent company Warner Brothers was making at the time like it would have been great to get comics based on such films as Deadly Friend, The Lost Boys, A Return To Salem’s Lot, It’s Alive III: Island Of The Alive to name a few from 1986-1987 from them and all would have made for some very cool and creepy comics. While our time at this little shop of horror has come to an end, we will be staying in the world of horror as our next update we will be taking a look at Horror Host Jeepers the host of Jeepers Creepers Theatre out of California. So until next time, read a horror comic or three, watch a horror film or two and as always support your local Horror Host. See you next update as we spend time with a true icon of Horror Hosting.

From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! (2015)

Posted on August 14, 2025 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink and another “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” update. I am in the mood to talk about sharks, and not just any kind of sharks, ones that travel thanks to tornados and storms and act more aggressive than a hive full of killer bees! And of course I am talking about Sharknado, a film series that has lasted for years thanks to being made for TV films that have built up a huge cult following. Did you readers know that the third film in the series got a promo comic that had the Sharknado storm going through Riverdale and was released by Archie Comics? Well there is one released called “Archie vs. Sharknado # 1.” It was a very cool crossover that was made in order to help build excitement for the TV premiere of the third film in the series, and it worked as I can remember the buzz around the comic shop for this one. So if you are ready, let’s take a journey into the world of Sharknado and more importantly Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! as well make a pit stop in Riverdale. And for those keeping track, we are still in our countdown to Halloween 2025!

Let’s start this update off by looking at The Sharks that make up the Sharknado, who are the death dealers in this film and series. The sight of a shark is its first tool as many people who see one freak out and are filled with fear. The main way of killing for The Sharks comes from their razor sharp teeth that can shred human flesh, remove body parts and even can sometimes chomp down a human whole. Not to mention that their bites can also cause a person to bleed to death and at the least can cause severe crippling pain. The sharks also have a massive weight and when dropped from the sky by a Sharknado, they can smash a human body into a bloody paste. The Sharks are fast moving in the water, sky and space (yes, Outer Space) and seem to adapt to any location they are in when it comes to breathing. They travel in tornados and are dropped into cities when a massive storm rages, and the storm with the flash flooding, high winds and lightning helps add to The Sharks’ abilities to deal death, and they are also very aggressive and show some limited brains making them also a little more dangerous to humans. But while The Sharks are threatening and very deadly, they do have weaknesses and can be killed pretty easily as you can shoot them, stab them, blow them up, freeze them, run them over, chop them up and any other normal way of killing a living thing. They are a little slow on land and cannot move very fast at all once they are on solid land, making them easy to kill as they flail about. Also if you use the right explosives on the Sharknado itself, you can stop it and cause the Sharks to fall to the ground and be picked off by survivors. The Sharks also are blind with rage and the urge to eat and kill their victims also makes them sloppy and open to be killed before they can taste blood. But while they do have weaknesses, The Sharknados are very dangerous and can deal lots of pain and death when they appear.

Now that we have taken a look at The Sharknado and the killing power they pack, I think it is time that we take a look at the film that spawned this crossover promo comic that we will be reviewing and that’s “Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!” and like always we will be taking our film’s plot from our friends at IMDB and after that, I will write a little about the film’s production as well as my thoughts about the film. So if you are ready, grab and umbrella and maybe your chainsaw as I hear that the weatherman is calling for sharks!

Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! (2015)

“A monstrous tornado unleashes ravenous sharks from Washington, D.C., all the way down to Orlando, Florida.”

The Sharknado series was gaining lots of steam and building cult status so of course the SyFy Channel wanted more so a third film was put into production shortly after the second film was completed, with the script being written by Thunder Levin and it being directed by Anthony C. Ferrante once more who had directed that past two films, and on a cool side note also played a zombie in the 1987 classic “The Video Dead”! The film was shot all over the place from Florida to Puerto Rico and of course was being done on a low budget as The Asylum and SyFy only wanted to put a little over $2million into it. Both Ian Ziering and Cassie Scerbo returned playing Fin Shepard and Nova Clarke, and like before the film was crammed pack full of cameos an guest stars in roles like Frankie Muniz, Bo Derek, Mark McGrath, Mark Cuban, David Hasselhoff, Michael Winslow, Chris Jericho, Lou Ferrigno, Lorenzo Lamas, Jerry Springer, Penn & Teller, George R.R. Martin, Kathie Lee Gifford, Maryse Ouellet, Josh Barnett, Chris Kirkpatrick, Maria Menounos among so many others. And also I should say Tara Reid also returned playing April Wexler. During the production it is said that the film came under a lawsuit attack by Donald Trump, who was upset when a part he was asked to play was recast, and keep in mind, this was when he was gearing up to run for President. The film would have its premiere on the SyFy Channel on July 22, 2015 and was meet with mostly negative reviews as both critics and fans started to think that the series was out of steam in this third flick. Other indie Horror Films released that year included Hell House LLC, Howl, Bone Tomahawk, Maggie, #HORROR, The Final Girls, Human Centipede 3, Headless, 3-Headed Shark Attack and Lavalantula that was a spin-off series of Sharknado.

The Sharknado films are something I never fully understood when they started as they were so poorly done and the digital effects were so bad that at times it was hard to try and look past them as both the sharks and the storms were laughable and because they looked so bad it would take me many years before I would watch them. Plus the cult fandom for them slightly annoyed me as viewers would flock to watch films like this, but I feel over look the horror comedy film works of talented directors like Chris Seaver and David “The Rock” Nelson. But when I finally did watch them, I learned to understand what they are and that’s a super over the top action horror film series that is in on the joke, and they cram in cameos from celebrities as well as at times uses some decent practical effects. The plots are filled with holes and part three is really bad for holes, but I do get these films’ appeal now as they are so bad they are entertaining. Plus seeing all the Pro Wrestlers and aged TV actors who have parts in these films is fun, and I am not ashamed to say I have always been a fan of Tara Reid since I first saw her in the 1999 film American Pie, and I think she is just as lovely as she gets older and to be honest next to the cheesy cameos is the only reason I watched all the films in this series as her character April Wexler gets more over the top throughout the series and Tara Reid just rolls with the punches and looks beautiful doing so. And something else I have to say is I can remember friends of mine having parties at their houses when the new film would be released and it was a big deal for them to have Sharknado parties! Over time and the lack of any new sequels Sharknado is losing steam when it comes to being chatted about in the Horror world, but it will forever have a massive cult following complete with having Halloween Costumes that turn you into a Sharknado.

Now that we have talked about Sharknado and the way it kills as well as the third film in the series, it is now time that we take a look at the comic crossover that the world always wanted and that’s The Archie Universe mixing with the Sharknado Universe to deliver a strange Horror Comic that no one ever thought they would truly see. This really does give me joy as what a strange crossover to promote a cheese Indie Horror Film Series. I would like to thank Lone Star Comics for having this comic in stock and making this update possible. 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. So if you are ready, grab an umbrella as I heard its going to be raining sharks this evening!

Archie vs. Sharknado # 1 ***
Released in 2015 Cover Price $4.99 Archie Comics # 1 of 1

Betty and Veronica and in Washington D.C with Hiram P. Lodge the rich father of Veronica as he is there to talk politics over the Sharknado storms! As Betty and Veronica tour the capital the visit all the monuments with the final one being the Washington Monument, but soon find themselves trapped inside as a Sharknado has arrived and during this storm Mr. Lodge is killed by the sharks and this causes Betty and Veronica to escape the wrath of the storm and kill as many sharks as they can, and know that they must warn Riverdale as it’s the night of the big dance and who knows how many lives will be lost and who Archie will take to the dance now that they are both stuck in D.C. Meanwhile back in Riverdale Archie is at the beach with his friend Jughead when they get invited to a yacht party by Cheryl Blossom, and while they are having fun and swimming in the ocean they are all attacked by sharks as the Sharknado is near and as panic runs crazy many of his classmates are being attacked and eaten! Meanwhile Betty and Veronica are on a motorcycle heading towards Riverdale when they find a crashed helicopter and decide to fix it up to head home and save their friends. Meanwhile back in Riverdale Sabrina The Teenage Witch and her cat Salem are the lifeguards at the beach and as they try to use magic to save they day, they are eaten by the sharks…and this leaves Archie to be the hero of the day. As the yacht sinks Archie is able to get the boat Sabrina was driving and save many of his friends including Jughead, Moose and Cheryl and they rush to the school to warn the others, all the while Betty and Veronica have fixed the helicopter and are heading toward Riverdale High School as well. Meanwhile at the school the teachers are shocked as hardly no one is attending and the band Josie And The Pussycats are playing, but things get bloody as Archie and the others arrive at the school and so does the Sharknado and the sharks go on the attack killing many and being killed themselves. And during this fight Betty and Veronica crash in and help kill the sharks as well. Archie comes up with an idea to make a bomb and toss it into the eye of the Sharknado to bring it down, and after they are armed with chainsaws thanks to the schools janitor they set out to fight the sharks. One ends up eating Cheryl, who has the bomb, and Archie has to cut the shark in two to save her and using team work they get the bomb in the right spot and when it explodes it brings an end to the Sharknado and the town of Riverdale is safe!

This is such a great and cheesy crossover that just works so well as having Sharknados touchdown in Riverdale is a very cool idea and the concepts of the likes of Archie, Betty, Veronica and Jughead killing sharks is pure comic book crossover magic. Who would also ever think that we would get a comic where Reggie, Sabrina, Mr. Lodge and so many other characters from the Archie Comic Book universe would be brutally killed by sharks as I have to say I was very shocked about the amount of blood used in the comic as characters get ripped apart and body parts go flying, plus even the sharks deaths are pretty bloody! Now that I am thinking about it I would say this comic is way bloodier and gory than the film series it’s based on. The Horror elements of the comic of course come from the sharks that are chomping on human flesh and because it’s Archie Comics, the humor comes from the character like Jughead who bites one of the sharks and also loses his crown to one that he goes on a small quest to get back. The comic also has lots of inside jokes towards other Horror Films like Jaws and Evil Dead, and they even poke fun at the fact Tara Reid played Melody Valentine, the drummer for Josie And The Pussycats, who plays April Wexler in the Sharknado films. For me reading this I have to say that the real heroes of the story are Betty and Veronica who kill more sharks and do more over all to stop the Sharknado, but of course Archie in the end seems to get most of the credit for being the hero. The most shocking death in this comic is that of Sabrina The Teenage Witch as she does not even get a chance to use her magic before she is ripped apart by sharks as her friends watch on in horror. Who ever came up with this idea was very wise as this was a cool way to promote the third film in the Sharknado series as I can remember this comic getting some press when it was released and even Horror News sites talked about it. The cover I have is very cool and captures the spooky elements of the crossover as it has Archie fighting off sharks in a flooded street, and the interior artwork by Dan Parent is great as its that cartoony look but in panels done very bloody. Over all this is a really cool one-shot issue that did its job of promoting the film and entertaining the reader. Check out the artwork below to see the style of Parent used as well as some of the panels that captured the mayhem.

Archie vs. Sharknado is a great colorful, funny and bloody Horror Comic that should be remembered as I think it’s truly a must read crossover comic that deserves to be praised for all its weirdness. And in fact all the strange Archie crossover comics should be remembered and if you readers have not checked them ou,t you should as Archie has also met The Predator, The Punisher and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, to name a few. But with that I think it’s time we leave the world of Sharknado and even Archie Comics behind as our next update will keep us into the world of Horror Films as our countdown to Halloween 2025 continues as we take a look at the 1989 released vampire film To Die For. So until next time, read a Horror Comic or three, watch a Horror Film or two and as always support your local Horror Host. See you next update as we spend some time with Vlad as he looks for a new home in L.A.

From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (1978)

Posted on January 13, 2025 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink and to another “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” update. This time around we will be taking a look at a Sci-Fi Horror film, Invasion Of The Body Snatchers, from 1978 that was a remake of the classic 1956 film of the same name! This is a truly classic film and was one that I can remember watching when I was a young kid and being freaked out by the Pod People and their weird screams as they pointed at people that were not one of them yet. And while Marvel or DC Comics did not give the film the comic book treatment, the mad geniuses at FotoNovel sure did. This is the third FotoNovel we have covered here on Rotten Ink with the first being Love At First Bite that you can read HERE and the second being Nightwing that you can read HERE. This is one that I have been looking forward to doing as I am fan of this remake and this will be a first time read for me, so if you are ready let’s dive into the world of Invasion Of The Body Snatchers and see what this photo comic novel has in store for us.

Let’s start off by taking a look at The Pod People and their ways of dealing death to humans! The Pods are from outer space and once they get a person in their grip, they clone a version of that said person that acts with the others in a hive mind state of being. They travel from planet to planet as seeds and once on the planet can spread very quickly, as at first they attack the plant life on the planet before moving onto the humans. The Pod People act very strange and not like themselves, they stare and watch the normal people and are gathering in meetings to gain more people into their ranks with plans to take over the world. They chase follow and attack people in groups and they do secret strange business all around under the noses of the normal people. Their odd behavior is very unsettling to people and makes them feel confused, scared and can cause them to make mistakes that can lead to their deaths. The Pod People clone living people and once they go to sleep they do not wake up and the Pod Person will take over their lives, and the Pod Person is a perfect clone besides when it comes to behavior, but even then some have mastered even that. The Pod’s themselves use vines and flower buds to create the clones, and they can grow very quickly and take over the life of the person they appear as. The bodies of both the humans and the failed Pod People are crushed in a garbage truck in order to cover up the invasion. The real versions also cave in on themselves and turn to dust. The Pod People can use such things as guns, knives and other tools to deal death if they choose, and because they have a hive like mind they will also attack in packs. The Pod People also have a shrieking screaming that they will let out that will chill the blood of the people they are after, they also will use this shriek to alert the others to the whereabouts of a normal person. The Pods can also create weird hybrids of animal and human and these oddities cause shock in those who see them. Those who are aware of The Pods and The Pod People are often very paranoid, as they do not know who they can trust as family, friends and strangers could all be out to turn you. The Pods and The Pod People are very dangerous as they spread across the land very fast, but they can be killed like any living thing so being bashed, shot, stabbed, burnt and crushed will do them in. Super deadly and super wide spreading the Pod and the people that come out of them are very dangerous to the survival of mankind.

As you can see, The Pods and The Pod People are very dangerous to humans as they could easily wipe out towns, cities, states on continents very quickly. Now it’s time that we take a look at the film that spawned them, and like always, we will be taking the film’s plot from our friends at IMDB and after that I will write about the film’s production as well as my thoughts about the film. So if you are ready, try and avoid the pods and be aware of the people they spawn, as you don’t want to be apart of this hive mind.

Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (1978)

“When strange seeds drift to earth from space, mysterious pods begin to grow and invade San Francisco, replicating the city’s residents one body at a time.”

The 1956 film Invasion Of The Body Snatchers was a huge cult classic as viewers really enjoyed its creepy nature and a fan of that film was director Philip Kaufman who jumped at the chance at directing a remake or reimagining of the film for United Artists in 1978. The film of course was based off the novel “The Body Snatchers” by Jack Finney with W.D. Richter doing this versions screenplay with Robert H. Solo coming in to produce the film that has a modest sized budget. This newer version would take place in San Francisco, California and would be set in the then currant time, and the film would play up on the Horror elements and would bring a very uncomfortable feel to the mood. The film would cast some amazing talent that include Donald Sutherland, Leonard Nimoy, Jeff Goldblum, Veronica Cartwright, Brooke Adams and would have a cameo from Kevin McCarthy the star of the original film as well as it’s director Don Siegel. The film was your normal and yet stressful shoot with Russ Hessey and Dell Rheaume doing the special effects and once done Denny Zeitlin was brought in to score. The film was released in theaters on December 22, 1978 and was a hit at the box office bringing in a total of $24.9 million and was a hit with both viewers and critics (well most of them) and over the years has found even more of a fan base and respect. Like Complex ranked it as one of the best Sci-Fi Horror Films of all time, Rolling Stone Magazine named it as one of the greatest remakes of all time and The Chicago Film Critics Association ranked it # 59 out of 100 for their Scariest Films Of All Time. The film would be released on home media and would find even a bigger audience of new viewers and still to this day is a well respected and loved remake that adds its own spooky touch to an already spooky classic. The film in 1978 was released along side such other Horror and Sci-Fi Films as Halloween, Jaws 2, Mardi Gras Massacre, Toolbox Murders, Patrick, Laserblast, The Curse Of Bigfoot, Attack Of The Killer Tomatoes and IT Lives Again to name a few. If you have not watched the remake of Invasion Of The Body Snatchers make sure to do so as it can easily be found on DVD, Blu-Ray and some streaming sites.

This is a film that I can remember my Dad trying to scare my brother with when we were kids as he acted like the Pod People were real, and as he had my brother and I going of course my Mom made him stop…but what a fun memory that was as he did this right before I seen the film for the first time. I can also remember him telling us that Spock was in the film as we all use to watch reruns of Star Trek. The film had me glued to the screen as I was really drawn into the world it was created and the freaky screaming and pointing that the Pod People did really creeped me out! And I am pretty sure that for weeks after seeing the film my brother and I would mimic the point and yell at each other, and that is one of the best part about this film is the memories like these that I have. When I was a kid I had already seen the original 1956 film and was shocked when in the remake Kevin McCarthy showed up warning people of the Pods, and I always wondered was he playing Dr. Miles Bennell again? And was Donald Sutherland’s character of Matthew Bennell related to Miles and is this film really a sequel and the events of the first film covered up by the government hence why the people were not ready for this invasion…makes you think don’t it. While the film is only PG it still packs some spooky moments into the film and the atmosphere adds for some tense and creepy parts that will surely make you jump. Plus you cannot go wrong with watching a naked Brooke Adams playing a Pod Person shrieking at the site of Donald Sutherland. I feel that this remake often gets over looked when people talk about remakes of Sci-Fi Horror Films as most are so hung up on The Thing directed by John Carpenter being the best, but I feel they over look this one badly as it is a great take on its source material, brings spooky moments with cool special effects and adds its own scares and charm like The Thing did (I also think The Blob remake is great). If you have never seen this version of Invasion Of The Body Snatchers make sure to check it out as it’s a great slow burn that builds to a flame by the end and is one heck of a watch.

So now that we have talked about the 1978 film Invasion Of The Body Snatchers as well as The Pods and the People it creates we should now review the photo comic paperback based around it that was released by those creative minds at FotoNovel. I would like to thank the Etsy seller who had this paperback in stock and made this update possible. I want to also remind you that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, it’s entertainment value and it’s art and story. So if you are ready, let’s see if this FotoNovel does the film justice.

Invasion Of The Body Snatchers # 1 ***
Released in 1979 Cover Price $2.50 FotoNovel # 1 of 1

In space seeds float across the galaxy on their quest to Earth and they land in San Francisco, California and like a parasite they attach themselves to the plants as a light rain helps them grow into little pods with flowers. Elizabeth Driscoll on her way home picks one of the pods and takes it home, were her boyfriend and dentist Geoffrey Howell watches basketball, and at bed time they talk briefly about the pod as she explains that it is something rare. Meanwhile at a very expensive restaurant health inspector Matthew Bennell who finds rat droppings in the food, and for this he returns to his car to find a worker has busted a cheap wine bottle on his windshield. Before bed he calls Elizabeth to ask her to come to work early in order to look into his finding, she agrees and heads to bed. The next morning her boyfriend Geoffrey is acting very weird, and once at work she tells Matthew about his strange behavior, who wants to be their for his friend. That night Elizabeth returns home and is once more blown off by Geoffrey who goes to a late night “meeting” and she finds herself having dinner with Matthew telling him how different her boyfriend is with him suggesting they meeting his psychiatrist friend Dr. David Kibner. The next day Matthew on his way to work notices strange things as even the old man at the dry cleaners tells him his wife is acting weird. And after trying to call Elizabeth all day she finally shows up at Matthew’s office with tears in her eyes, as the two start driving she tells her friend about watching her boyfriend meet with strangers and just how odd it all ways. While driving a man runs into the front of the car screaming about things coming and watch as he runs away and then be hit by a car. Matthew takes Elizabeth to a bookstore were his friend Dr. David Kibner is doing a meet and great for his newest book, and things are very strange as the police on the phone seem to have no care nor have any information on the man who was just hit for Matthew and Elizabeth watches as a woman is speaking to Dr. Kidner about her husband acting different…and this is what is going on with her and her boyfriend. Later Dr. Kidner talks with Elizabeth and Matthew and tries to smooth it all over and put her mind at ease that nothing is truly wrong. But after Jack Bellicec a friend of Matthew’s and Dr. Kidner arrives to the Mud Bath Spa that he owns with his wife Nancy they find a un-hatched pod person that looks like Jack, things get crazy as the body goes missing and it’s clear that the town is being over taken by these Pod People and Matthew, Elizabeth, Nancy and Jack all stick together to try and get out of the city when they find that they are all in danger with some of them like Jack and Nancy already having clones that are ready to hatch, and they will awaken if the real versions end up going to sleep! And when the Pod People find their hideout they must split up in groups of two to try and survive. And later Matthew finds that Dr. Kidner is a Pod Person and soon Jack as well as Elizabeth becomes one. Matthew finds a warehouse were the Pods are being harvested to be shipped all over the world and does what he can to destroy as many as he can, before having to run away for his life. In the end Matthew shows up to work like normal as everyone keeps looking at him strangely, and when his workday is over he starts his walk home and runs into Nancy who calls him over, but to her horror Matthew has became one of them.

First thing I have to say is that this was such a fun read and did a pretty good job of capturing the mood of the film on the pages. While in my opinion, it’s not as spooky this FotoNovel tried really hard to bring the scares. The one major complaint I do have about it is that at times the dialogue’s color blends in with the backgrounds and makes it hard to read in some panels. The plot is this a group of friends in San Francisco have to come together to survive when they find out that their city is being over ran by space pod created people clones that are hell bent of taking over the Earth one person at a time. The hero of this paperback is Matthew Bennell a health inspector who loves his job, crushes on a chemist he works with and must stay logical, quick witted and strong when he finds out about the aliens coming to kill them all. Matthew also does what he can to survive and will do whatever he can to protect the love of his life. Elizabeth Driscoll is that love of his life a young pretty chemist who is the first to really discover that something is wrong in their city when her boyfriend becomes a soulless shell, she tries what she can to survive and while prone to slow the group down she is very sweet and caring. Jack and Nancy Bellicec are a couple who own a mud bath health spa and who find a pod person in their spa and help Matthew and Elizabeth and are also the ones who get the ball rolling on becoming the target of the Pod People who want these troublemakers cloned and out of the way. The Pod People and The Pods that spawn them are all over the city and are looking to clone people and take over the world, they are creepy soulless, emotionless beings that screech and chase around those who are normal. The Photo Comic Paperback does not bring its scares from blood and gore but brings the Horror with mood and atmosphere. All of the nudity from Elizabeth Driscoll is cut from this FotoNovel as well and in one panel they have a well placed dialogue box to block her breasts. The cover for this FotoNovel is cool but also kind of puzzling as it showcases the cracked car windshield and the crazed face of Kevin McCarthy looking in, plus they added small pictures in the corner of three of the films main characters. The photos used in the paperback are cool, but I do have to say that some are a little blurry and as I said before some of the dialogue is hard to read due to color. Over all this is a really cool photo comic paperback book and if you are a fan of the movie you should check this out. I do also want to stress that Photo Comics are not for everyone as they don’t like that the panels are done with stills and not artwork. Check out the photo panel below to see the style use for this FotoNovel.

I truly think that Invasion Of The Body Snatchers from 1978 is one of the great remakes that was made in the 70’s and 80’s that spooked movie goers, and while I know that FotoNovels and Photo Comics are not for everyone, I still am glad that they are made and gave films like this a chance in the world of comic books. And while this FotoNovel could not capture the full spooky mood and atmosphere of the film it did do its job of delivering a creepy fun read. As you can see, this “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” update is coming to an end and for the next update we will be taking a look at a short lived Horror Host who aired his show Weird Web Theater on YouTube and his name was Mod Ghoul! So until next time read a Horror Comic or three, watch a Horror Film or two and as always support your local Horror Host! See you next update as you know its always fun to chat about Horror Hosts!

Bucky O’Hare The Master Of Croaking Toads

Posted on December 14, 2024 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink. The Holiday Season is in full swing as the air has that chill and Jack Frost is really nipping at our noses, so I say we grab a hot chocolate and put another log on the fire as we need to talk about another iconic hero character from my youth that was a star in comics, cartoons, toys and even video games. This hero is the one and only Bucky O’Hare who was very popular for a very short time in the 1990’s. I am sure many of you readers grew up being a fan of Bucky O’Hare, and this update I am sure will flood you with memories of reading the comics, watching the cartoon, playing with the action figures as well as playing the video game and that is a good thing as the holiday season should make you feel like a kid again! So with that, let’s travel to space and see what Bucky O’Hare and his crew have in store for us this winter’s day.

Bucky O’Hare is a character that was created by the team of Larry Hama and Michael Golden and who made his debut in 1984 in the Continuity Comic series called “Echo Of Futurepast” and would appear in that series throughout its run even gracing the cover a few times. And Bucky’s adventures in that series were a hit for readers who enjoyed his space themed adventures as the popularity of Star Wars and Star Trek was still very high around this time. And when Echo Of Futurepast came to an end after 9 issues in 1986, the character would finally get his own comic series in 1991 in order to help promote the character who was now getting his own cartoon, toys and merchandise, and it was clear that around this time toymakers were looking to cash in on the big success of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as they had taken the world of comics, toys and cartoons by storm and was making many companies big money. Bucky O’Hare was already a comic star way before the TMNT were around, and he was a wise choice to try capture some of that talking fighting animal money. But while Bucky O’Hare was able to very briefly capture a big following, he quickly faded away and his comic series, cartoon and figures all came to an end and his popularity started to fade. But in some positive news, Bucky O’Hare stayed popular in England longer, and the comic series released alongside the cartoon ran for 20 issues! But while Bucky O’Hare never was able to climb to the popularity of the TMNT nor was he ever able to make that impact in culture like they did, he still to this day has a very loyal following for those who grew up with him and his crew and this to me makes Bucky a true icon of the mid 80’s and early 90’s in both cartoon and toys.

Bucky O’Hare And The Toad Wars! started in 1991 and would be released by Claster Television for First Run Syndication and would run for one season and a total of thirteen 30 minute episodes. For this series Jason Michas voiced Bucky O’Hare, and Jay Brazeau would voice Toad Air Marshall, the main villain of the series behind KOMPLEX, the computer program that would be voiced by Long John Baldry. And I should also note that Marvel Productions was a part of this cartoon series production as well, and it’s odd that Marvel Comics never did a comic series for the cartoon as it would have made a great series for Star Comics if they would have kept that branch running. The cartoon would followed Bucky O’Hare and his crew as they would be at battle with the Toads, and crazy during this battle among the stars Earth kid Willy DuWitt who travels via portals to help in these battles. The cartoon when put out on home media would only be released on VHS here in America, and sadly not all the episodes would get an official release making fans have to get the series on the Grey Market…but overseas the complete series would get a DVD release. And when the episodes aired, I watched every episode during its run as I was a fan of this fun and silly cartoon, and a cool fun fact the first episode aired on my 12^th Birthday! This cartoon was also a big hit at school as almost all my friends watched it, just like most of us also had the action figures. While the cartoon was very short lived, it made an impact on the kids of the 90’s as it was very popular at least in Waynesville, Ohio in the early 90’s.

In 1992 and after the cartoon series would come to an end, Bucky O’Hare made the leap into the world of video games, and more importantly into the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), as a very fun side scrolling action game. The game would be released by Konami and would have you play as Bucky O’Hare as well as many members of his crew on a quest to bring down the Toads and the game offers a pretty good challenge for players and when released was pretty popular among my group of friends as many of them watched the cartoon and collected the action figures. The game is one that I own and have played over the years and even beat when I was a teenager. Now the game is considered rare and sells for around $120-$200 loose and depending on shape. Also I should say that Bucky O’Hare has gotten the Konami Handheld game treatment and also had a arcade cabinet version that could have had up to 4 players going at once. So say what you will about Bucky O’Hare now, but in the early 90’s he was super popular.

Back in 1991 when the cartoon was going strong, Bucky O’Hare and his crew would of course be made into action figures and they were done by Hasbro who at the time was a very iconic toy company as over the years they have done such series as Transformers, Pound Puppies, Cabbage Patch Kids, Battle Beasts, M.A.S.K., G.I. Joe, Inhumanoids, WWF Superstars, Rom The Space Knight and so many more. The figures would be in scale with the Playmates TMNT figures and would feature Bucky O’Hare and his crew members Dead-Eye Duck, Willy DuWitt, Commander Dogstar, Bruiser and AF.C. Blinky and the baddies in the series included Toad Air Marshall, Al Negator, Storm Toad Trooper and Toadborg. The series would also have two vehicles released, the Toad Croaker and the Toad Double Bubble. The series would only last one wave and I can remember them being on the shelves at Hills and Hearts as a kid. I had Bucky and a Toad Trooper as a kid and I can remember my friend Jeremy having way more of them. I always wanted Bruiser but could never find him, as I can remember I even asked for him for Christmas one year. And as I have grown up, I have gotten more of these figures as I really do like the Hasbro Bucky O’Hare figures as I think they did a great job on these figures and capture the look of the characters really well. So how many of you readers grew up with these figures? Check out the middle picture below as it shows what figures were supposed to be in Wave 2 and that included for the Good Guys, a new version of Bucky, Jenny, Pit Stop Pete, Rumble Bee and Kamikaze Kamo! And for the Baddies it would have added Total Terror Toad and Sly Lee-Zard.

Bucky O’Hare once the cartoon and action figures was released also had a flood of merchandise released for fans to collect over the years and this includes Home Media, Shits, Coloring Books, Lunch Box, Watch, Stickers, Video Games, Colorforms, Sleepingbags, Shoes, Watches, Puzzles, Halloween Costumes among other cool items for fans to collect and add to their collections. But sadly because the cartoon did not last very long nor did the toy series the merchandise would stop being made pretty fast. But thanks to Bucky O’Hare building a cult following over the years newer merchandise has been made about him showing that classic character never truly go away. And growing up, I had the toys, coloring books as well as the NES Game.

It’s crazy to think that in 2024 that Bucky O’Hare is not as popular of a character for the days youth and to be honest he pretty much just has a following with those kids of the 80’s and 90’s who grew up reading his comics as and watched his cartoon. But to be honest I did see a young lady that came into my job buy Bucky O’Hare toys and she was super happy to get them, so maybe the modern generation will discover and become fans of him. It is now time for us to get to the review part of this update and I would like to thank both Game Swap Kettering and Lone Star Comics for having these issues in stock an making this update possible. 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. So if you are ready, let’s head to space and watch as Bucky and his crew croak some Toads!

Bucky O’Hare # 1 **1/2
Released in 1991 Cover Price $2.00 Continuity Comics # 1 of 5

A fleet of Toad airships are on the tail of Bucky O’Hare and his crew opening fire on them and causing Bucky to have to give the order for his crew to get to their battle stations. As Bucky and Jenny are in the cockpit Dead-Eye Duck mans the guns as Blinky and Bruce are in the engine room trying to make fast repairs. The Toads make a direct hit and this kills Bruce The Ape and leaves the ship in really bad shape and as Dead-Eye Duck and opens fire back at the Toads, Bucky rushes to the engine room to see if he can help Blinky get it fixed so they can high tail it out of the battle, but there is no time and they must make a decision fast to try it not knowing what will come of pushing the ship to warp drive. Meanwhile on Earth in the city of San Francisco were young Willy DuWitt is working on his science fair project as the youngster loves science but seems to get picked on by fellow kids for being to smart and even his own parents give him a hard time as they are hippies and want him to protest the world…and all he wants to do is work on science stuff! Back in space Bucky makes the decision to flip the switch to warp just as Willy turns on his experiment on Earth and something big happens!

This first issue is a very fun read and drops us right in the middle of the action as Bucky and his crew are under attack and must make a decision that could kill them all…but they are already pretty much dead if they don’t choose, so it’s very much a double edged sword. And at the same time super smart Earth kid Willy is working on a science fair project that seems to match up with Bucky’s warp drive issue and you know this is leading to the meeting of the minds! Bucky O’Hare is a great Captain and his crew clearly respect him and its crazy that he finds himself in a situation that could leave them all dead all because the Toads hate all things mammal! He clearly trusts his right hand gal Jenny and respects the heck out of the shooting skill of Dead-Eye Duck and even values the words of Blinky his robot friend. Poor Bruce the ape is killed dead pretty early in the issue when he takes a blast, and I will say Bucky does not seem too sad about the loss. The Toads seem to be having fun tormenting Bucky’s crew and yet also know that they are a threat and are very skilled. The issue is filled with lots of spaceship fighting action as well as drama as Bucky O’Hare must think quick on what to do to try and save his crews life, and really you can tell it’s very stressful for him. Poor Willy DuWitt is a youngster who is smart and loves science, but seems to not be able to catch a break in the world as he is mocked and picked on by his fellow youngsters and even his own parents don’t understand him as they are protesting hippies who want him to join their causes. Of course my favorite character in this issue is Bucky O’Hare cause he is a true hero, but if I had to choose another sidekick character I would say Dead-Eye Duck cause he seems to love to kill Toads and is very skilled with his gun. The cover for this issue is fun and showcases the moment Bucky and his gang meeting Willy for the first time and is eye catching. The interior artwork is done by Michael Golden and is really solid stuff and I dig the way he draws Bucky O’Hare as well as all the ships. Over all a great first issue that does it’s best to introduce the readers to the cast and starts off the story running, and with a cool cliffhanger ending makes me want to see what’s next!

Bucky O’Hare # 2 ***
Released in 1991 Cover Price $2.00 Continuity Comics # 2 of 5

In the room of Will DuWitt, things get really dark and very odd as the darkness is like a gelatin outside his windows and when he hears a noise he heads towards it as on the ship of Bucky O’Hare a gelatin like doorway that leads to the bedroom door of Willy appears and as they investigate Bucky and his crew run into Willy and everyone is shocked and slightly scarred as it’s clear a dimension has been crossed and has caused chaos in both dimensions. Willy and Blinky figure out that the the science project and their damaged engine warp is what caused this rift and is also somehow protecting Bucky’s ship from the Toads attacks. This causes the Toads to leave to get bigger ships to attack with and Willy comes aboard and says that he can build them a new warp unit that way they can get away safely as Willy heads back to his room for parts he is followed by Bucky and Dead-Eye as Jenny and Blinky stay behind to guard the ship and the portal. As Willy gathers the parts the Mother Toad Ship appears and they storm the ship and take Jenny hostage, a short time later Blinky appears and tells Bucky of the attack and capture and this causing Bucky to spring into action! Now Bucky O’Hare along with Dead-Eye Duck, Blinky and Willy DuWitt band together with one cause and that is to save Jenny from the Toads.

This second issue is lots of fun as the plot has Bucky meeting Earth kid Willy who is their only hope to fix their warp drive and to save their butts from being blown up, but also we get the drama of Jenny being kidnapped by the Toads! Bucky O’Hare finds himself now being faced with having to trust a young Earth kid with the maintenance of his ship as well as that he is not really a spy or a danger to his crew, as they kind of just bump into each other thanks to a weird dimension portal door. And like any good Captain Bucky also makes sure to get his crew to their stations and when one is kidnapped and taken he has a call to arms to rescue her. Willy DuWitt himself as well shows that he is noble as he jumps right in to help the crew by repairing the engine and as well going with them to fight the Toads to rescue Jenny. We also learn for sure that Bucky and his crew are out numbered by the Toads who are doing what they do on the orders of Toad Commander who wants all furry lives to come to an end in their galaxy. The issue also has more ship battles to add to the action and we learn that when the dimension door is open the ship can be protected by a force field of time and dimension pieces. The cover for this issue is pretty cool and has Bucky and his friends in a small ship trying to fight off the Toads…this does not happen in this issue but it’s still a great cover. The interior art is once more done by Michael Golden and is very solid work and fitting for the subject that is Bucky O’Hare. I feel that the second issue is slightly better than the first as we are now into the heart of the story while issue one was more of a introduction to our cast of good guy characters. So now lets see what issue three has in store for us, and if Bucky is able to save Jenny and croak some Toads in the next issue!

Bucky O’Hare # 3 **1/2
Released in 1991 Cover Price $2.00 Continuity Comics # 3 of 5

Bucky O’Hare along with Willy, Blinky and Dead-Eye are back on their ship and are trying to track down the Toad Mother Ship so that they can come up with a plan in order to save Jenny…but they are having to luck! Willy DuWitt asks for a history lesson on the Toads and Blinky is happy to help as he projects it and Willy learns that the Toads were a peaceful race until they became greedy for goods and made the mistake of creating a super computer called Komplex that ended up mind controlling all the Toads and turned them into it’s army of foot soldiers with the goal to conquer the galaxy. And that the mammals of the galaxy is why Bucky O’Hare and his crew was created to fight back and stop them from killing as well as stealing the planets they conquered natural resources. And soon Dead-Eye Duck spots the ship that is feeding off a small planet for energy, and Bucky lands the ship on the other side of the planet and they wait for Jenny who uses her powers to beat the heck out of the Toads and makes her way to her rescue.

What a fun issue as the plot of this one is mostly about what has caused the Toads to turn into such a war hungry and evil race and it all came down to them being very greedy and trying to but all types of things and trusting a mega computer to solve all their issues…but the computer in turn just takes over their brain and makes them fighters for it’s own conquest for power. With the smaller plot being the rescue of Jenny who we learn is one badass lady as she has some very powerful powers an uses them in order to knock out a wave of Toads before calmly walking out of the ship. I also like that in this issue we see Willy DuWitt get his space costume that is really a Berserker Baboon’s outfit and that is a good thing as we also find out that Toads fear the Baboons! This issue also gives us our first look at Toad Commander who is the one threatening and questioning Jenny when she was a prisoner. While this is a good issue it really is more of a history lesson and the action is slowed way down and the rescue of Jenny happens way to fast, but while it is kind of a slow issue the fact we get more of a background on the world the comic series is building makes it a very solid read. The one thing that I have to say is that we are now three issues into a comic series that only ran for five issues and the biggest letdown this far is that we have not gotten to see Bucky O’Hare kick some Toad ass in hand to hand or even gun to gun as of yet. The cover for this issue is the best so far and has Bucky and his crew being surrounded by the Toads and is super eye-catching. And I am sure you guessed it Michael Golden once more did the interior art and like before it’s great stuff. With that lets see what issue four has in store for us, and if we finally get to see Bucky in action and bring down some Toads!

Bucky O’Hare # 4 **1/2
Released in 1991 Cover Price $2.00. Continuity Comics # 4 of 5

On this unknown planet Bucky O’Hare and Blinky must find the person in charge to sign some papers giving them permission to fight against the Toads while Dead-Eye Duck and Willy get on a jet scooter to scope out the Toad Mega Ship and see if they can find Jenny. As Bucky meets the strange owner of the planet a Mouse like creature who lives in a utopia room, Dead-Eye and Willy have Toad Fighter Ships aware they are there and Jenny is trying to find her way off the massive ship without exposing to much of her powers. Dead-Eye and Willy are in deep trouble an they come up with an idea to crash land inside the Toad Mega Ship as this would make it so the Toad Fighters can not open fire on them, and in horror Jenny watches as her friends come busting in as does Bucky who can see what is going on thanks to a magic mystical ball that the mouse has.

What a cliffhanger as this issue leaves you hanging on wither or not Dead-Eye Duck and Willy DuWitt survive their crash landing inside the massive Toad Ship all the while their friends can not do a thing to help them! We also get a look at Komplex who has now made himself a robotic body and is watching Jenny as he is intrigued by her witch like powers and wants to learn all he can about her and it. Bucky O’Hare and Blinky are stuck this issue dealing with the odd ball owner of the planet who will not grant them permission to fight, but does spend his time trying to give them things and even allows them to see what their friends are doing. Commander Toad wakes up after being knocked out and is still talking about his fear of Baboons and when he sees the suit on Willy he gets scared and sends out tons of Toad Troopers to protect the ship. Dead-Eye Duck does his best to try and get he and Willy out of trouble and once more shows that he has skills as he is able to out move the Toad Ships as well as at least make it in once piece to crash land inside the big Toad ship. While I enjoyed this issue I once more have to point out that we get a chase in ships, but no action as Bucky himself is trying to get a paper signed instead of fighting alongside his crew to rescue one of his own that is in danger…just very odd as the main hero in this series this far has gotten to do very little. The cover is ok and once more just showcases a space ship chase, and the interior art by Golden is good. It is crazy to think that we only have one more issue to go an this far the creative team has kind of just putted along and have yet to showcase what Bucky O’Hare and his team can do, so lets hope the final issue gives us the action we need.

Bucky O’Hare # 5 **1/2
Released in 1992 Cover Price $2.00 Continuity Comics # 5 of 5

Bucky O’Hare and Blinky soon find that the Mouse has control of reality and that the lavish utopia they were just in was not real, while Dead-Eye and Willy survive the crash but the suit of Willy’s has caught fire and Dead-Eye shoots him with foam to put the flames out. The Toad Troopers show up just in time to see Willy who looks like a Baboon be foaming around his mouth and they think he is mad and the Troopers run away in fear. The Toad Commander ends up sending a Void-Droid out in order to kill Dead-Eye and Willy who are looking for Jenny as well as a way out, and the Void-Droid is very dangerous…but Willy is able to destroy it with one shot from his squirt gun! Shortly after Dead-Eye and Willy find Jenny and the three end up in a workshop an see a Toad Ship and know that this is their way to escape. Meanwhile Mouse is flying Bucky and Blinky on a rock to their friends all the while talking about the universe and it’s secrets. While inside Toad Troopers are on the heels of Dead-Eye and friends as we end on that cliffhanger.

Whelp, as you can see, this comic series just never got finished as the terrible Continuity Comics never released the rest that was just a reprints of a over priced 1986 Graphic Novel that was around 48 pages that they charged $40.00 for. And if Continuity didn’t fill every issue with a mountain of ads this series could have been fully released. And I am not sure why the comic was not finished, but if I had to guess maybe low sales or even just pure laziness from the company. The plot of this issue has Dead-Eye and Willy surviving the crash inside the Toad Ship and finding Jenny all the while Bucky is stuck with the Mouse who just babbles on about how smart they are and the secrets of the universe…like Bucky never makes it to the Toad Ship in this issue…so silly. One part of the comic that was really awesome was the Toad Troopers running in fear when they think Willy DuWitt is a rabid baboon due to the foam he was sprayed with to put out the flames as his suit was on fire. I feel that if you were a reader who was a big fan of Bucky O’Hare or even just discovered the character thanks to the toys and cartoon this unfinished mini series did the character dirty as he never gets to showcase why he is such a bad ass green fur rabbit captain from outer space. As this whole series besides the first issue they do not showcase him as the hero we the fans know he is. Plus I feel that they make Dead-Eye Duck, Jenny, Blinky and Willy DuWitt seem more like the heroes as throughout the five issues they see more action and bring down more Toads than Bucky does. While the pacing is off from issue to issue it makes sense as the comics are just taken from the old Graphic Novel and it was clear Continuity put zero time and care into these single issue reprints as they took this chance just to over kill the comics with ads and the same ads in almost every issue at that. The cover for this issue is really cool and shows Bucky, Dead-Eye and Willy all looking like they are ready for action as a portal is behind them. The whole comic series interior art was done by Michael Golden and his style is pretty cool and very fitting as I feel he draws not only Bucky O’Hare great but also space in general. I really did enjoy this series up to the unfinished end and think that Bucky O’Hare deserved better than how Continuity Comics treated him and that publisher would close up in 1994 after many years of legal issues, poor sales and readers pointing out just how poorly their comics were done. To sum it up a fun read for sure but unfairly treated by a terrible publisher who clearly had no respect for their readers nor creators. Checkout the artwork below to see the style use by Golden in this series.

Bucky O’Hare was a great character who entertained his fans through the 1980’s and early 1990’s, and some could say even to this day as new fans have found his comics, cartoon and toys and have discovered just how cool he and his crew are. I really wish that at the time of his cartoon’s release that a company like Marvel Comics or Archie Comics would have gotten the comic rights as I truly think that they would have done him justice and would have more than likely given a true final issue and not pulled the plug before the story was even finished. And for those who have never read or watched Bucky O’Hare, give it a shot this holiday season and see if you become a fan. Well with that, our Bucky update has come to an end and our next update will be our big Christmas Eve one and will be about the Greek God Zeus! So until next time, read a comic or three, watch a film or two and as always support your local Horror Host. See you next update as we spend some time on Mount Olympus with the father of such heroes as Hercules!

Remco’s Forgotten Toys: ManTech

Posted on December 7, 2024 by bloodlinematt

The Holiday Season for 2024 is in full swing, and as you can see, we find ourselves already in December and ever so close to our Christmas Eve update that will be a very fun one and I will give you a little clue to what it will be about. The clue is this it’s a film series that spawned a TV series and is considered one of the best Sci-Fi series of all time. But for this update we will be taking a look at a toy series that spawned a comic series, both of which were released in the 1980’s. I am sure this is a toy series that many of you readers never heard of or have not thought about in years, and I am talking about ManTech, a very short lived figure line as well as comic line that was pretty cool and yet seemed to not have caught on with the youth at the time. So let’s put another log on the fire, make a cup of hot chocolate to drink and let’s talk about an 80’s toy!

The 1980’s was a great decade to grow up in as were the 1990’s, and I was lucky to have my youth in both. One big thing in the 80’s was robots made popular of course by Star Wars, Transformers, Go-Bots, Robocop and Voltron, and with these popular franchises and figure lines came the cheap cash ins like Robo-Force, Starriors, Robotix among a sea of others. But one toyline that has seemed to have been forgotten was one called ManTech that were released in 1983 and had six figures and two play sets released. The figures were released by Remco and were the heroes known as ManTech that was SolarTech, LaserTech and AquaTech. Their base was Battlestation Laser II and the baddies released were DoomTech, NegaTeh, TerrorTech and their ship called the Terrorizer. The figures were different for the time as while they came with weapons and helmets, they also had interchangeable parts as you could mix and match them to create your own character or repair you favorite if they were injured during one of your toy wars. The toy series was not very successful and found itself being cancelled with a series two never seeing the light of day. And it was clear that Remco was hoping that this series would have been a big one for them hence they teamed with Archie Comics to make comics to help promote them. Growing up, I never had one of these figures and only kind of remember a neighbor when I was in Kindergarten having one, but never remember playing with the figure. And when in Waynesville I knew zero kids that owned one and cannot even remember seeing them at any garage sales or discount stores. The figures for many years sold very cheaply on Ebay but over the years have found a fanbase and have risen in price but nothing to crazy as they can go around $25.00-$60.00 loose.

Remco Toys was a powerhouse in the world of toys back in the 1950’s-1970’s and brought youngsters such toys as Big Max, Movieland Drive-In Theatre, Baby Laugh-A-Lot, The Beatles Figures, Hamilton Invaders, Batman Wrist Radio and many more. They were responsible for many must have toys when they were at the top to the toy chain. But by the late 1970’s, they did start to slip as companies like Kenner, Mattel, Mego and Tyco started taking over the toy market and by the 1980’s Remco was around but was struggling to find their next big thing that would put them back as a contender in toys. They tried and stayed alive with many cool lines including Conan The Barbarian, AWA Wrestling, Universal Monsters, Dukes Of Hazzard, Sgt. Rock, Saga Of Crystar, Mighty Crusaders, Karate Kid, Lost World Of The Warlord, Warrior Beats, Pirates Of The Galaxseas and ManTech all flooding the shelves at toy stores and more important discount drug stores like Woolsworth. Growing in during the 80’s, almost every kid I knew had at least some of these Remco Toys mention with Crystar and Mighty Crusaders being the most popular two at my school but I should also say that Warlord and AWA were also pretty popular, and I had figures from almost all the toy lines mention above with Conan and ManTech being the only ones I never had…and I keep in mind I always wanted the Conan toys. By the 1990’s Remco was in trouble, and while they were releasing toys, none of them were sticking with the youth at the time with their only semi success being the figures based on the cartoon series Swat Kats. By 1994 Remco closed its doors, and it would be in 1997 when Jakks Pacific would buy the Remco name and such from Azrak Hamway International who were the original owners. Jakks did really nothing with the name or properties owned by Remco. And that’s a quick history lesson of Remco a company who slowly, over decades of being in business, fell from the top to rock bottom and is mostly known for their Universal Monster toys with collectors. And again I have to say that growing up I was a fan of many of Remco’s toy lines and it’s a shame that they are no longer around bringing smiles to kids and collectors faces.

So as you can see, while Remco lasted for decades ManTech would only last for one series and never made it to become a cartoon and only more recently has it even gained a kind of cult following of sorts. ManTech is also one of those toy series I thought about collecting in the last few years, but have decided not to as while I find them cool and interesting I just don’t have a connection to them like I do other figures I have been picking up more recent. But before we get into the Archie Comics series based on the Remco toys, I should remind you all that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. So if you are ready, let’s head to another planet and see what ManTech is up to and if they can truly save the world from the robot invasion.

ManTech # 1 **
Released in 1984 Cover Price .75 Archie Comics # 1 of 4

The base station of the ManTech is under attack by robots, and AquaTech, LaserTech and SolarTech are doing their best to say alive as well as bring down the robots that are attacking by land and air. As they fight they are able to get a call out to Doctor Jaxon Goode, the area’s top scientist, to stay safe in his base that is located at the bottom of the ocean. And after the call Goode thinks back to when he and his now evil partner Tyranik found the secrets of robots and Goode found three nearly dead astronauts from Earth and has to give them robotic bodies in order for them to survive. You see, this planet is Meeka, and at first when they awaken, they are mad, but decide that they will help in the fight against the coming evil bots. Back in present time, the ManTechs are doing what they can to hold off the robots, and out of the blue AquaTech takes off running and jumps into a ship and heads to the seas, making his teammates think he has turned coward. But really he has figured out that Tyranik is in the water attacks the base of Goode, and after a brief scuffle, the villain leaves and calls off his attack to plan a new attack later. After the battle LaserTech and SolarTech are happy to see AquaTech and Doctor Goode and now know that their friend was the hero that stopped the battle. As Goode is talking to his team a busted up robot tries to take a kill shot on the Doctor and it’s LaserTech that is able to block the shot and finish off the robot…and from their Goode shares the history of his planet with his new team that was a massive war between mankind and robots.

This series is not starting off very good, and while it kicks off with lots of action the fact that the characters say each others names over and over is very annoying and each of the ManTech heroes just kind of come off like complainers who bicker with each other and do more arguing then fighting at the start of the issue…and this makes it almost impossible for me and I am sure most other readers to choose a hero that we even like. The ManTech team is SolarTech, who is Colonel Soloman Sun who is the leader of the team and is the master of things to do with the solar system. LaserTech is Lt. Ray Larson who is a expert on using and making lasers and lastly is the water loving AquaTech who is Cliff Stone and their friend is Doctor Jaxon Goode a scientist who understands how to make half human and half robot warriors. Meanwhile the villain Tyranik is kind of sinister as he does not value human life and would rather his planet be ruled by him and his robotic army, and he is even willing to have his one time friend killed in order to achieve his goal. The downside to him being super evil is that when only one member of ManTech goes after him he retreats and ends the battle that his robots had been on the winning end…it makes no sense and shows he kind of lacks a backbone. I do like the idea that our heroes the team known as ManTech can take injuries to their arms and legs and can just take an arm or leg off one of their robot foes to replace it. The cover is pretty good and is eye catching, and I did really like the interior art done by Dick Ayers as it has that 80’s kid comic look. Over all it’s kind of a letdown of a first issue, but does a good job of at least giving the readers the basic idea of the characters and the planet they live on.

ManTech # 2 **1/2
Released in 1984 Cover Price .75 Archie Comics # 2 of 4

Tyranik is on his moonbase with his three robot warriors DoomTech, TerrorTech and NegaTech and they are doing repairs after the battle they just had with ManTech. And Tyranik has an idea to attack his foes while their guard is down as they have taken one of the robots ships to their second base that is located near a sea of lava. While our heroes are looking at the ship and its tech Tyranik remotely activates the ship and it attacks the heroes and LaserTech even gets hit hard by the ship injuring him, and finally the ship is taken down by LaserTech who jumps on board it and drives it into the lava. After they win against the programed ship, SolarTech sends a taunting message to Tyranik to anger the madman hoping that it will cause him to act out. But things get scary for the ManTech team as they get word that the ship of Doctor Goode has crashed, and once to the sight and they make the mistake of taking off their helmets the team end up all falling asleep due to knockout gas the plants around is releasing. All of the ManTech members are dreaming about being back on Earth and being fully human once more. Doctor Goode however is okay and fixes his ship and knows that ManTech are in danger and goes out to find them, and one by one he puts the helmets back on his team and they wake up to find that while the dreamed Vampire Plants were attacking them! They would have all died if not for Doctor Goode who once more saved them from death’s grasp. On their way back to one of their bases Doctor Goode shares more history of the planet as NegaTech is now fully repaired and wants to kill all the members of ManTech for revenge.

The second issue is a step above the first issue and while the members of ManTech still just are moody with each other they are a little less annoying than before and I think at this point they are all becoming all right, and I am starting to like them as heroes with SolarTech being my favorite this far as he is smart and brave but also understands that he is flawed and still does not understand his own powers nor the new planet he is on. I do feel that LaserTech is a little too cocky and kind of an asshat, even though he is a hero. Tyranik tries his best to once more kill the ManTech team, but fails in this issue but one thing we do learn about him is that he is ego driven and even his own robots hate him and know that he is more evil then them and that they kind of fear him for that. I like the idea of the sleepy part of the planet that thanks to gas from flowers can put people to sleep and let them dream some of their biggest wants. Plus the main baddies in this issue have to be the Vampire Plants who in fact almost kill the whole team and would have if only they had a little more time. Its also clear that NegaTech who is the meanest of the evil robots is repaired and wants to get his hands on our heroes as I think murder is in his robotic brain. Over all this is really a good issue that does a great job of promoting the Remco Toy Line has a pretty rad eye catching cover, and the interior at by artist Dick Ayers is once more very good stuff. I have to say this second issue is making me more of a fan of ManTech and would have really had me drawn in as a young reader if I would have read it and also would have made me want the toys, in other words this issue did its job of promoting.

ManTech # 3 **1/2
Released in 1985 Cover Price .75 Archie Comics # 3 of 4

Tyranik’s evil robots have found a full Warbot army that have been shutdown for decades, and once they find the units old commander OctoBot, they are able to bring them all back online, and they are asked to be ready to destroy mankind and take orders from Tyranik that is until OctoBot learns that his old leadership is long gone and that they must face a new enemy called ManTech and their creator Doctor Goode and he wants nothing to do with Tyranik either as he is made of flesh and blood! Once back to base, Tyranik tells his robots good work as the plan all along was from OctoBot to not join them but to really continue his orders of killing mankind, with the army’s first sight being the city of Enclave City! While at the ManTech base, they get a read alert from Raveena who is asking for help due to the Warbot invasion, and once our heroes get to the city they find that Raveena is the sister of Tyranik and she is dating Doctor Goode! LaserTech rushes off to get a headcount of how many Warbot’s they are up against and quietly AquaTech follows him while SolarTech tries to figure out a way to build weapons for the city alongside Dr. Goode. After taking out some of the Warbots and about to be killed, Lasertech is saved by AquaTech and they rejoin their allies and prepare the city for the next morning. And with newly created solar powered laser weapons in place and even a sewer bomb ready ManTech is able to beat OctoBot and his warbots and save this city from destruction and show that they are truly heroes.

This is another good issue that does a great job of promoting the toys as well as delivering a very entertaining kids comic that’s only major flaw is that at times it’s a little to talky at the start, and I could see how some younger readers might have lost some interest, but when the action kicks in the comic becomes very entertaining. The plot has Tyranik waking up an army of robots that were leftovers from the robot and human war that rocked the planet decades ago in order for them to attack a city of humans to bring more death to mankind with the hope that ManTech would get involved and be killed in the attack as well, and worse of all Tyranik sent these killer robots to the city his own sister Raveena lives in! But of course the robots fail as ManTech takes them down before any human life is taken. This issue shows that while Doctor Goode is the over all mastermind behind ManTech it’s SolarTech who is in control, and we also see that LaserTech can kind of be a loose cannon and is pretty sloppy at times that could lead to his death if not for his teammates looking out for him. Raveena, who runs the city under attack, is a pretty interesting character that sadly is not flushed out and by the end comes off as just a background player, plus I do like that they worked in that just maybe AquaTech has a crush on her even if she is Dr. Goode’s lady. The OctoBot and his army of warbots at first come off as scary foes, but quickly fall apart and are defeated by homemade weapons. While the issue starts off a little bland, I do have to say stick with it as it turns out to be a pretty good read. The cover art for this issue is ok and the interior art by Dick Ayers is good stuff like before and helps bring these characters based on toys to life. Well up next is the final issue in the ManTech comic series, so let’s see if it goes out with a bang or if it fades away with a whimper.

ManTech # 4 **1/2
Released in 1985 Cover Price .75 Archie Comics # 4 of 4

The Orion Company from Earth have arrived on Meeka via a portal and are quickly greeted by ManTech who are shocked when these Earthlings know who they are and also offer to take them home back to Earth! Aquatech is the only one who takes them up on this offer as SolarTech and LaserTech stay behind as they want to help Doctor Goode in the fight with the robots before they leave the planet. But as soon as his fellow ManTech members are away the people of Orion knock out AquaTech and talk among each other how much they could make off him due to his robotic body. Meanwhile Doctor Goode who is with LaserTech and SolarTech get a call from Tyranik who calls on them for a temporary truce and asks for them to meet him in the city that is ran by his sister Raveena, and once they rush to the city they find out from Tyranik the Orion Company is stealing the planet’s oxygen an sending it back to Earth and soon Meeka will be left a wasteland and that ManTech and the Robots need to come together and stop this hijack! And while they are going to keep an eye on Tyranik, they agree to come together in order to save the air as well as check on AquaTech who is missing from the quickly formed Orion base. As ManTech and the robots attack the base from the air Doctor Goode an Tyranik tunnel underground and into the base and save AquaTech who was being dismantle and the three of them is able to bring down the base from the inside and both ManTech and Tyranik’s Robots are able to save their planets air and send these criminals back to Earth with their tail between their legs.

This fourth and final issue is really cool and is the best issue in the series as the stakes feel high and we also get a very cool team up between the heroes and the villains for the greater good of their planet as its air supply is under attack thanks to a bunch of scumbag Earthlings who want to steal the planets oxygen to sell on Earth for high profits! The ManTech team in this issue also has way more tension with each other as both LaserTech and SolarTech want to stay on Meeka to help Doctor Goode with the fight against the robots while AquaTech wants to return to Earth with a promise of being turned back fully human, and of course this promise is a trick an the Earthlings just want to sell the secrets of the ManTech technology. And the heat is mostly between LaserTech and AquaTech as Laser looks at Aqua as a coward and a deserter during a war. Of course by the end, the three comeback together and find that while they have different ideas and wants they still are a team. Also we see that Doctor Goode and his lady Raveena are doing what they can as well to stop these oxygen thieves from making their planet a wasteland. Tyranik while a madman still understands that what the Earthlings are doing is wrong to his planet as he wants to rule it and not destroy it and knows that his forces and Goode’s forces need to come together in order to save it. The evil robot NegaTech is awesome and all he wants to do is kill and destroy his enemies and he is a true berserker robot who even hates his own master! And yes of course a rich corporation from Earth is the real bad guys as to make money they are willing to kill thousands of people, and when they get caught red handed of course they run from the planet likes cockroaches when the lights come on. I have to say that the creative team at Archie Comics who made this series did a fantastic job of making these characters get personalities and did a good job of promoting this toy series from Remco and I wish that the series would have lasted a little more issues as it was clear that a issue five was in the works. For those wondering I think SolarTech was my favorite ManTech member and NegaTech was my favorite evil robot as he really is just a killing machine. The cover for this issue is pretty good and eye catching as it shows action and the interior art by Dick Ayers is good and I like the way he draws his backgrounds as well as crazy eyes for the bad guys. Over all, a good series based on an 80’s toy series that you should checkout if you like the toys or just comics based on toys. Check out the artwork below to see the style of Ayers.

Who would have ever guessed that a low key 80’s action figure line from Remco would have made for a pretty entertaining comic series, and you really do have to give credit to Archie Comics and the creative team for making these comics entertaining. While it started off a little shaky they quickly got the comic on track and did a good job of making the characters have a personality. Well I hope some of you readers enjoyed this update lots and it gave you a flashback of having these toys back in the 80’s and just maybe you got some of them for Christmas. Our next update will stay in the world of toys and will take us to space once more as we take a look at Bucky O’Hare the rabbit hero who went from comics to cartoon and had action figures made. 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 time as we croak us some toads!

Star Trek The End Of The Kirk Generation

Posted on January 13, 2024 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink. This update is something very special as it will be the final update about the Star Trek films that featured members of the original cast, and of course, the film is Star Trek: Generations that was released in 1994 and featured Captain Kirk along with a few other members of his crew in small rolls as they passed the silver screen torch to Captain Picard and the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation. I have had a very fun time covering these adaptations of the Star Trek films as they were ones I grew up watching and they kept Captain Kirk and his crew alive in media as their show was long over with on TV. So I think it’s time that we come aboard the Enterprise and set off with the final film adventure of Captain Kirk as this is truly the end of the Original Star Trek cast updates here at Rotten Ink, and I hope that you readers enjoy it.

Okay before we get to deep into this update, I want to also now take a brief moment to introduce the crew that made up “Star Trek: The Next Generation” as they are the main focus of this film as well as comic adaptation. First up is Captain Jean-Luc Picard, a very smart and strategic Captain who comes off cold at times but is truly a caring person. He is played by Patrick Stewart. Commander William T. Riker is second in command on the Enterprise; he as well is very smart, is a ladies man and has a sly attitude. He is played by Jonathan Frakes. Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge is the ship’s chief engineer and is blind and must use a visor to see. He is played by LeVar Burton. Lieutenant Worf is the ship’s chief of security and is a Klingon and is the muscle of the crew. He is played by Michael Dorn. Commander Data is the operations officer and is an android that battles with wanting to be more human. He is played by Brent Spiner. Lieutenant Deanna Troi is the ship’s counselor. She is half human and half Betazoid and is the love interest of Riker. She is played by Marina Sirtis. Doctor Beverly Crusher is the ship’s chief medical officer and semi love interest for Picard, and she is played by Gates McFadden. Other returning characters include Wesley Crusher, the annoying son and acting ensign for the Enterprise played by Wil Wheaton. Guinan, the ship’s bartender and advice giver played by Whoopi Goldberg. Lieutenant Tasha Yar was the original chief and security before the character was killed and she was played by Denise Crosby. Miles O’Brien was the ship’s conn officer and transporter chief; he would be later transferred to the Deep Space Nine base and he was played by Colm Meaney. And lastly Doctor Katherine Pulaski who was the ships doctor for a short time when Crusher was away, and she was played by Diana Muldaur. This is just a really fast crash course of the crew of the USS Enterprise-D as to really dive into each crew member would be a massive update of its own.

So now that we have briefly talked about the crew, let’s now take a look at the 7^th film in the Star Trek movie series and the final movie voyage for the Original Star Trek cast. Like always, I will be taking the film’s plot from our friends at IMDB and then I will write about the film’s production as well as my thoughts about the film. So if you are ready, let’s beam up to the Enterprise and take a look at Generations.

Star Trek: Generations (1994)

“With the help of long presumed dead Captain Kirk, Captain Picard must stop a deranged scientist willing to murder on a planetary scale in order to enter a space matrix.”

The films starting the Original Star Trek cast were coming to an end due to them all getting older as well as the box office dropping for them, but on TV, Star Trek: The Next Generation was a big hit and fans wanted to see Captain Picard and his crew on the big screen and so did Paramount Pictures and plans began to make a film staring them in production. Paramount Pictures ended up having Brannon Braga and Ronald D. Moore write the screenplay for the film as they both were working on Star Trek: The Next Generation at the time and were the perfect pair to handle this task. And when the story was coming about, the studio had some requests as well: the film had to have a funny Data subplot, that the film have an epic bad guy and that the original cast only appears shortly at the start of the film with Captain Kirk being the one that would come back in the end as well. The film’s plot went through many different ideas that also included having at one point a member of The Next Generation Crew dying, and one of the early ideas would have had Captain Kirk and Captain Picard along with their crews at odds with each other and having to battle one another with one Captain having to die…this would have been an epic film and would have really ruffled the feathers of many Trekkies as it’s clear that Kirk would have lost as Paramount wanted Picard and crew to be the new stars of the films. But after going back and fourth, the script was locked and a budget of around $35million was given, with David Carson coming on to direct after Leonard Nimoy turned it down. The cast of Star Trek The Next Generation Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Michael Dorn, Gates McFadden, Brent Spiner, LeVar Burton, Marina Sirtis and Whoopi Goldberg made up the main cast with Malcolm McDowell being cast as the main villain named Soran and Jacqueline Kim playing Demora Sulu the daughter of Hikaru Sulu a crewmember of Enterprise-B. The original cast brought in was William Shatner playing Kirk and James Doohan returned as Scotty with Walter Koenig once more as Chekov. The filming took place toward the end of Star Trek The Next Generation’s run on TV, and this allowed them to rough up the set more as the set was planned for demolish to make way for Star Trek Voyager that was on its way to TV. Once done the film was scored by Dennis McCarthy who worked on the music for such shows as MacGyver, Dynasty and V to name a few and also did the score for the 1980 Bigfoot Horror Film called Night Of The Demon. The film would be released in theaters on November 18, 1994 and was meet with good reviews from critics and fans as many liked that blending of the Original Cast with that of the Next Generation…plus Trekkies loved seeing Captain Picard with Captain Kirk fighting to save the Universe. The film ended up making over $118million worldwide and would rank at # 15 for the year. The film would also beat out such other films as Ace Ventura Pet Detective, Stargate, Wolf, Beverly Hills Cop III, The Shadow, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Wes Craven’s New Nightmare to name a few. The film would also be a big hit when released on home media and would gain even more of a fan base.

When Star Trek Generations was first announced I was both excited and also a little sad as this was clearly the sign that Captain Kirk and the original crew’s film series was truly at an end and that the films were now in the hands of Picard and his crew. Now keep in mind, I grew up a big fan of the original series thatI can remember watching in reruns with my Dad and Brother, but I also have great memories of watching Star Trek: The Next Generation on a small black and white portable TV I had when I was a kid, as the show would air before reruns of Tales From The Crypt on FOX. Many critics and even some fans for years had been mocking the age of the original cast and this became more and more of a chatter and it was clear that the box office drop of the films as well as the age chatter was sealing the fate of Captain Kirk and his crew…and this was gearing up to be their final adventure on the big screen. In 1994, I was super busy at school and was also at this point moved to a new school so I was not able to see the film in the theater and had to wait for the film to be released on home media and rented it from the local small video store and can remember enjoying it as I liked that the film made Captain Kirk the hero in the past as well as the future and they worked around any limitations that William Shatner had and delivered one heck of an entertaining film and a fitting send off for Captain Kirk. While I enjoyed the film, I also have to say that I was a little disappointed that Spock, McCoy, Sulu and Uhura did not appear in this film as it would have been great to have seen them all together that one last time. The film is one I would end up buying on VHS and later would upgrade to DVD and is one I have watched at least every three years or so. I will say that also when this film was released in 1994 it had a buzz going as the Trekkies I knew seemed to be really excited about Captain Picard being the new focus of the films, and for me while I was looking forward to seeing Picard, I cannot stress just how sad it was to see Kirk go away. Over all I am a fan of Star Trek: Generations and have to say that it was a nice send off for the original cast even though not all of them appeared in the film. I will get more into my thoughts in the review of the comic so be prepared for that.

Like all Star Trek films that came before it, Star Trek: Generations had a great amount of cool merchandise released for fans to collect. Such things as books, magazines, posters, home media, toys, model kits, trading cards, shirts, soundtrack, stickers, buttons, pins, comic book and so much more! And of course over the years I have had many of these things in my collection as of course I have the comic book, the film on VHS and DVD, the soundtrack on CD, action figures and I had some of the trading cards. So if you are a big fan of Star Trek: Generations, make sure to track down some of this merchandise as they are worth having if you are a collector.

So as you can see, Star Trek: Generations was Paramount’s attempt to try and breath new life into the feature length film series for Star Trek and you can tell that while they cheaped out on the budget, they really did want these Star Trek films to continue with this new cast. Now for those wondering, Juliet has reviewed this comic before on her big update about Star Trek: The Next Generation and if you have not read it, make sure to do so here. I would like to thank Bell, Book And Comic for having this comic in stock and making this update possible, and 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 comic stays to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. So with that, let’s head to the bridge and see how Captain Picard and Captain Kirk will save the galaxy this time.

Star Trek: Generations # 1 ***
Released in 1994 Cover Price $3.95 DC Comics # 1 of 1

Captain Kirk has jumped from a ship and as he lands he meets up with Scotty and Chekov and the three the next day the three are at a press event for the new Enterprise and meet the new Captain named Harriman as well as Demora Sulu, the daughter of Hikaru Sulu who is a member of the crew. And as the Enterprise heads off into space they get a distress call from The Lakul, a ship holding refugees and among these refugees is Guinan and Soran who are among those able to be saved and beamed aboard, but Soran seems to want to go back to the ship that is being ripped apart by time…and worse the Enterprise is being torn to shreds, but Captain Kirk comes up with a plan and saves everyone on board besides himself. Now 78 years later, the Enterprise is run by Captain Picard and he and his crew are on the Holodeck as they are promoting Worf and doing so via a classic navel way, but the fun is cut short when they get a distress call and find Soran as one of the survivors who informs them that the attacks was so quick and he has no clue who did it. Meanwhile the android Data is having an Emotion Chip implanted in order to understand humans better and gets the help of La Forge to install it. Once more Soran is wanting to head back to the destroyed lab ship and begs Captain Picard to let him return to it. Meanwhile the crew have discovered that Trilithium might have been used to blow up the ship, and when Data and La Forge are on the wreckage looking for it they are attacked by Soran. Picard seems very distracted and his crew has noticed and Counselor Troy speaks to him and learns that his brother and nephew have died in a fire and he is now thinking of death and legacy. But things quickly turn deadly as Soran has caused a Level 12 wave that will destroy everything in its path and as Worf and Riker beam down to the destroyed lab and are attacked by Soran who has La Forge hostage. We learn that Soran is working with the Klingons to create a weapon of mass destruction and as Picard learns about Soran from Guinan as well as a place called the Nexus that once you enter you do not want to leave as well as an event called The Ribbon that will rip through the galaxy. Meanwhile Soran is forcing La Forge to tell him all that the Enterprise knows. Picard and Data figure out that Soran wants to use The Ribbon in order to get back to the Nexus but this will also cause another shockwave that will kill nearby planets and they have to stop this and head to the projected planet that the event will hit. At the planet The Enterprise and The Klingons are at a standoff as Soran and Picard are on the planet having talks to try and stop this destruction as La Forge returns to the Enterprise and later the Enterprise must destroy the Klingon Bird Of Prey but they also suffer some serious damage and must split the ship in order to save lives and they crash to the planet below banged up but alive. Meanwhile Soran is able to set his plan in motion and Picard is taken into the Nexus and there he has a family of his own and they are celebrating Christmas together, but while there he sees Guinan who breaks the Nexus’s hold on Picard who ends up finding Captain Kirk and talks him into leaving the Nexus as well to stop Soran and close the Nexus for good. Captain Kirk and Captain Picard do just that and stop Soran as well as The Nexus opening via The Ribbon…but Kirk passes away being the hero. In the end the Enterpirse is gone but Picard and his crew live on and will get a new ship to have more adventures.

I have to say it first thing DC Comics and the creators of this adaptation did a great job of bringing this film to comic pages and keep the story going fast and showcase all the main characters from the cast. The plot has Picard and his crew responding to a distress call at a starship lab only to pick up a survivor who is really a madman and wants to use a natural solar event as well as a powerful bomb to open a path to another dimension, but in order to do this millions of people will die! And it’s up to Captain Picard and his crew to stop it as well as find Captain Kirk who was lost in the other dimension for over 70 years! The issues villain is Soran a brilliant scientist who has turned mad after his family was killed by The Borg and after finding a place called The Nexus were time does not matter he is willing to kill millions to return to it after being taken away from it via Captain Kirk in the past. He is cold very cold and does not care who he has to kill to get what he wants and is even willing to work with the Klingons by building them a weapon of mass destruction in order to get to his destination. The Klingons this time around are lead by The Duras Sisters who want to cause war and bring the Klingons back to their glory of being feared around the galaxy. Captain Picard is a great leader to his crew, but his a little shaken when he learns that his brother and nephew have died in a fire and this causes him to question death and how we all die, but he like always fights through his mental struggle and is able to save millions of lives with his quick thinking. The rest of the crew as well do what they can to help stop this massacre as well as help Picard, and Data himself has some major issues when his Emotion Chip goes wrong and causes him to have breakdowns and overloads with feelings. The true hero of this story is Captain Kirk who in the past saves many lives from an explosion even though he was retired from Starfleet, and his heroic act causes him to be stuck in the Nexus for over 70 years and once talked out of the Nexus by Picard he ends up given his life to stop the explosion…showing once more that Kirk is the best Captain. The comic also features Scotty and Chekov as they appear in the past events along side Kirk and it was also cool to see the daughter of Sulu. The cover is very eye catching for fans of Star Trek: The Next Generation as it showcases Picard and his crew and the interior artwork for this issue is really good and captures the likeness of the actors who played these characters and the artist behind it was Gordon Purcell. To sum it up this comic adaptation is very well done and does the film justice. Checkout the art bellow to see the style used by Purcell.

Star Trek: Generations is truly the passing of the torch from one crew to another and after this film Captain Picard and his crew would have three more films before they would end up being replaced with a reboot series that would feature a younger version of Kirk, Spock and McCoy. And I am not sure what Rotten Ink has in store for the future when it comes to Star Trek as I might end up covering the Next Generation movie series and the comic adaptations of them or I might even just cover the comics based on Deep Space Nine and Voyager, or does the Enterprise dock for good here at Rotten Ink…but only time will tell really on what I choose to do. But one thing is for sure is that I had a blast covering all these Star Trek films as they were apart of my childhood and it was fun revisiting not only the films but also the memories of the films and re-reading the comics. Our next update will take us away from space and will instead take us to the world of Horror as we take a look at The Screaming Skull. So until next time read a comic or three, watch a Star Trek film or two and as always support your local Horror Host. See you soon as I am sure this skull has lots to scream about!

Voltron Defender Of The Comic Universe

Posted on December 24, 2023 by bloodlinematt

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Toys That Time Forgot: Dino-Riders

Posted on December 14, 2023 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink! Christmas 2023 is just around the corner, and I know that many of you friends and readers are thinking about many of your past Christmases and all the memories you had being around your loved ones as well as some of the cool gifts you got under the tree those years. And for some of you kids of the 1980’s and early 90’s I would think that Dino Riders made their way under your tree from Santa and made that years holiday just a little more cooler! And that is why I think it’s been long over due for me to cover Dino Riders as growing up they were pretty popular for a short time and a friend of mine to this day loves all things them! So let’s drink some Eggnog and have some cookies as its time to gather around the Christmas tree and talk about a classic toy series that spawned toys, comics and more. Let’s travel to that time when Dinosaurs were decked out in weapons and when aliens wanted to take over the Earth.

Dino Riders was a cartoon TV Show that lasted for one season and a total of 13 episodes with the first episode being VHS releases before being aired on TV via syndication as part of the “Marvel Action Universe” block. The production company behind the show was Marvel Productions who was owned by media company New World Pictures, and they had the idea to try and dominate the Saturday Morning Cartoon market by making toons based on their films as well as some popular properties that also included Robocop. The cartoon started in 1988 and would end just as fast as it started and while the show was semi popular with the kids, it just failed to gain the attention it needed to keep it going. In 1990 they did one direct to VHS animated special to promote the change in the toy series Ice Age, and it as well made only a minor splash. Besides a few episodes being released on VHS in America, the cartoon never got a DVD or Blu-Ray release and can only be found on the Grey Market on physical media or on different region releases. The cartoon was about a race of humans called The Valorians on the planet of Valoria who are being attacked by an alien race called the Rulons and each use armored dinosaurs as their war machines once both sides get stuck on prehistoric Earth. Growing up I remember this cartoon and would watch it from time to time as I found it to be entertaining and like all kids I liked dinosaurs, let alone dinosaurs with weapons attached to them!

In 1988 Tyco Toys released the first series in the Dino-Riders figure line that was pretty awesome stuff for the time of their release as you could buy the figures of the Valorians (humans) or the Rulons (monster men) that each came with their own weapons and armor, or you could buy the sets that include a figure as well as a dinosaurs that came with all kinds of attachments to weaponize them out. The figures themselves are the size of Mattel’s M.A.S.K., just slightly smaller and bulkier, and are pretty cool with many of the Rulons figures having the same insect or snake head with different outfit paint schemes. Meanwhile the Dinosaurs are very well done and very detailed and some even had mechanical parts that would make them walk and move and that made them must have toys for a while among my group of friends. The toys’ first two series all were about the dinosaurs and the third series would be more about the Ice Age and would feature mammals like the Woolly Mammoth and Sabre-Tooth Tiger. The human figures as well would be cavemen and are really cool! The figures would run from 1988-1990 and would only have the three series before disappearing from toy shelves. The only rebirth for the series as of this posting was in 2020 when Mattel released a very limited set of Dino-Riders that are in scale with the classic plastic green Army Men. Growing up I had some of the figures and would only have one of the dinosaurs that was the Torosaurus and I had him fight with my Imperial Godzilla and King Kong figures. And like I said before, for a short time Dino-Riders was popular at my school, but they were very short lived in popularity as my friends and fellow classmates quickly moved onto the next big thing in toys. I think what hurt the toys the most was the price point for the bigger dinosaurs and figures in the series scared many parents from getting them, and toy stores didn’t want to give those big figures that much shelf space so in my area they were very short lived at the box stores making them out of sight and out of mind. Tyco was bought out of Mattel in 1997, and the fate of Dino-Riders are now in their hands, so who knows if new toys will make their way to stores worldwide anytime soon.

I just want to take a moment to chat slightly about the third line in the series called “Ice Age” as I remember when these came out but could never find the figures at the stores my parents went to. I really wanted the Sabre-Tooth Tiger as well as some of the human Cavemen figures as to me they were really cool looking figures as even around this time I had some of those Playskool “Definitely Dinosaurs” figures of the Cavemen and they were fun but cheesy and the Dino-Riders Cavemen figures would fit into the M.A.S.K. figures I had and they could be added to the Toy War that I had going on at that time. Now these figures sell for super high prices and the market for them seems to not be lowering so having one of these Caveman figures for my collection just seems not to be in the cards. Well who knows, maybe one day I will find one cheap at a garage sale or at a flea market. Do you readers and friends remember the Ice Age set from Dino-Riders and did you have any in your collection?

Dino Riders really is a toy series that was pretty big when I was a kid that sadly over time has been pushed more and more into the forgotten zone and that’s because unlike so many other 80’s toys, it never got a film nor re-release of the toys making it never again in the eyes of new collectors. My friend Garrison Kane is still a big fan of the series and use to have a massive collection of the toy series, and I can remember him talking about Dino Riders all the time whenever toys came up in conversation. But now we are at the time for the comic review and I have to say that if Marvel Comics would have had Star Comics still open in 1989 this would have been a great series for that kids’ branch! I would like to thank Bell Book and Comic as well as Lone Star Comics for having these issues in stock and making this update possible. And I of course would 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, their entertainment value and their art and story. So if you are ready, let’s take a trip to a place were dinosaurs and technology mix.

Dino-Riders # 1 **1/2
Released in 1989 Cover Price $1.00 Marvel # 1 of 3

On the planet of Valoria, a war is going on and inside a base Questar is working on a machine and orders Serena and Tark to get onto a nearby ship…this order does not set well with Tark who is mad that he and Serena’s relationship has fallen apart. Questar has gotten 200 of his people on the ship and the countdown starts as the enemy The Rulons are getting very close, but the ship is able to get past their ships and to safety for the time being, while Lord Krulos the leader of The Rulons wants his men to follow them and take prisoners. Questar on the ship installed what he is calling The Space-Time-Energy-Projector that will allow them to jump to a new dimension and away from their enemies for good, but when they make the jump Lord Krulos’s ship is also pulled through and they land near Earth in the time of Dinosaurs! And of course on the planet as soon as they land Lord Krulos orders his men to capture some of the dinosaurs to use them as a battlewagon as he still wants war with Questar’s men. Meanwhile Questar is having issues as some of his people do not like his leadership and they are fighting among themselves, all the while Questar is trying to get dinosaurs on their side to help fight. Tark challenges Questar to a battle for leadership and as the two are fighting by their old law The Rulons appear and are ready for the attack and the two have to put their differences aside for the time and mount up on their dinosaurs for battle. Questar and his brave men defeat The Rulons in this battle, but Questar has to shoot Tark who was going to shoot him in the back and those on the side of Tark arrest Questar for murder!

This is a pretty good first issue to kick off this comic series that is based on a toy line as well as a short-lived cartoon. The plot is very simple as it as a race of humans having to flee and dimension jump in order to get away from their alien enemies only for them by accident to be swept into the jump and they all find themselves on Earth during the time of Dinosaurs and the two sides are still at war and use these amazing creatures in their battles now. The main hero is Questar, a wise leader who has chosen by his father to lead his people. He is very smart but also does not like killing or endangering living things for this war…but he will kill if he has to. He is respected by many of his people but small section do not like his leadership as they think his more take charge brother Tark should be in charge. Tark however is a man filled with rage as he thinks he should be the leader due to his age as well as he blames Questar for losing his girlfriend Serena who know is in love with Questar. Lord Krulos is the leader of The Rulons, a race of aliens who look like insects and serpents and who love war and want to rule the galaxy. They use mind control on other living beings to make them take part in their conquests of planets. Lord Krulos is very cold and loves to see his enemies die…in other words he is one bad dude. This comic does a great job of bringing a story to these characters and while it’s based on the first cartoon episode, it still packs a fun read punch for those kids who enjoyed this toy series. The cover is very cool and eye catching with the interior art being well done by Kelley Jones. Over all a great issue that makes me look forward to reading the next as the cliffhanger of Questar being arrested for murder makes you wonder how he can prove it was self-defense and is Tark really dead!

Dino-Riders # 2 **1/2
Released in 1989 Cover Price $1.00 Marvel # 2 of 3

Questar is on trial for murder and people are split on if he killed his brother in cold blood or self-defense with even those not at the trail arguing with each other. While Lord Krulos has found himself a large T-Rex that he wants as his new ride into battle and The Rulons attack the beast to get it under mind control they are unaware of the trail of Questar who has been found Not Guilty and can return to leading his people…this does not set well with many. As Questar is riding around on his dinosaur to clear his mind he is attacked by Lord Krulos and his T-Rex and its Serena who saves him from being killed and they two talk about the trail as well as the powers Serena has and most important how they can not let The Rulons get their hands on The Space-Time-Energy-Projector as this would give them way to much power and make it easier for them to take over planets. As Questar and Serena return to base they find it is under attack by Lord Krulos and his T-Rex and they know this is a fight for their lives and after tripping up the T-Rex a very angry Lord Krulos fires a shot at Aries that Questar jumps in front of wounding the leader but saving the life of Aries who was a Tark supporter who now has a change of heart. Lord Krulos ends up retreating when the mind control box falls off the T-Rex and now the beast is mad. And once more Questar leads him people into victory and as well gets the respect of some of his doubters.

Not Guilty! Is the verdict on if Questar killed his brother in cold blood and this makes many of the people happy but also drives those who were friends of Tark further away from supporting their leader who they think only got freed of the chargers cause of his ties to the court and those who were the Judges. Questar in this issue goes from having to prove he is innocent, to almost being killed by Lord Krulos twice, to being mentally blasted by Serena and finally proving that he is a leader for his people as he would even take a laser blast for them…Questar is your typical 80’s cartoon hero and I dig him as I think he is truly strong willed but also has a side to him that’s frustrated on how he is viewed by some of those he protects. I also need to say that Questar and his people have these telepathic powers that allows them to talk mentally to the dinosaurs as well as look into the minds of each other. Serena is also a hero as she saves not only Questar, but also has more of a raw power that allows her to send a power blast to a persons mind that can kill them on the spot. I also have to say I like that Lord Krulos gets a T-Rex as his ride and feels so powerful that he heads toward his enemies base in order to show out as well as try and kill a few people. It’s crazy to think that we only have one more issue in this series as it looks like Marvel pulled the plug on it really quick and did not allow it to find it’s readership, and that’s a shame as this comic should have been apart of the Star Comics line and it could have been a solid series for young readers who not only liked the toys/cartoon it was based on but also liked dinosaurs. The cover for this issue is okay and has Questar looking like he is in pain and it’s not all that eye-catching. The interior art is done by Kelley Jones again and it great stuff as his style fits really well and he draws dinosaurs really well! Another great issue and I think they could have really kept this series going if they only would have given it time to grow.

Dino-Riders # 3 **1/2
Released in 1989 Cover Price $1.00 Marvel # 3 of 3

Tark has been found by The Rulons and he is hurt badly but Lord Krulos wants the human broken and used as a slave to get to Questar and his people and Rasp takes Tark and infuses dinosaur DNA into him causing Tark to become a humanoid monster on a rampage and he is able to hold off The Rulons army even lifting the dinosaurs with ease and not feeling any pain. After beating up The Rulons the now humanoid Tark rushes off into the jungle where he meets a baby Triceratops who takes him to his mother that was attacked by a T-Rex and as Tark morns with the youngster he then has to rush off as The Rulons have tracked down Questar and Serena and they fire a shot that hurts her and this causes Tark to throw a big rock at the T-Rex they control knocking off the mind control box and causing the beast to chase the baddies away and Questar to get to Serena. Trak then returns to the young Triceratops and fights off the T-Rex that has returned to kill the young dinosaurs…Tark is able to kill the giant beast and as he stands there the dinosaurs gather around him and he is now The Lord Of The Dinosaurs.

This is a very interesting way to end this series as our heroes Questar and his people are hardly in it as it more follows Tark who is found alive by is enemies and after having experiments done to him turns into a half human and half dinosaur humanoid who is super strong, un-hurt, able and now is the master of all the dinosaurs on the planet. And yeah that is the plot as we truly do just follow Tark as he comes to grips with his new powers, beats up The Rulons and a T-Rex and knows that he cannot return to his people looking the way he looks now. I like that Tark stays loyal to his people and is able to break free before he can get mind controlled and he knows that he needs to be an outside protector to not only his people but also the weaker dinosaurs that are being used and even killed by the predators of the planet. Lord Krulos for once shows fear as he clearly sees that his race has created a fighting machine that has good in it’s heart and could defeat his army and himself in minutes! Its great to see this warlord be scared as he has struck fear into many people’s hearts. While this issue is very interesting I also wish the final issue would have had a final showdown between Questar and Lord Krulos as the way the series ends we get no real closure to the war as well we have zero clue if Tark ever lets himself be seen by Questar. With this issue as well I feel that the creative team had plans for more issues and it was Marvel that pulled the plug in the middle of their story arch. The cover for this issue shows a T-Rex scaring young Triceratops and is pretty eye-catching for readers who like dinosaurs, and Kelley Jones returns to do the interior art and it of course is great stuff. While I am a little disappointed as I feel this issue while good does miss the mark of being attached to the Dino-Riders as it has very little to do with the cartoon or figures and is more about a building a new player in the world. And to sum it up I have to say this is a good series that for the most part does do justice to the source material. Check out the artwork below to see the style of Jones that he used in these issues.

Dino-Riders is truly a very underrated toy series as well as a cartoon series and it was a perfect fit for comic books and I really do wish that Marvel Comics would have given it more of a chance besides canceling the series only after three issues and never given it a full ending as the final issue really is more of a set up for a returning character that we never do get to see play out. And again this should have been part of the Star Comics branch that Marvel foolishly gotten ride of in 1988 a year before this series was released. And I hope this update triggered some great memories of Tyco’s Dino-Riders as with this being the Christmas season it’s always fun to remember back to ones youth. And with that, the next update will also be a great one to look back on as it as well was a cartoon and a figure line and is still a very popular character to this day and I am talking about Voltron The Defender Of The Universe! So until next time, read a comic of three, watch a cartoon or two and as always support your local Horror Host! See you next update as we talk more robots of the 80’s!

Tube Toons: Incredible Hulk (1966)

Posted on September 4, 2023 by bloodlinematt

Do you remember waking up early on Saturday Mornings to rush to turn on the TV in order to watch your favorite cartoons? Or maybe for you it was rushing home from school to catch a few cartoons before prime time TV started for the evening. As if you grew up in the 1960’s-1990’s I am sure you have memories of the cartoons of your youth and just how much they meant to you at that time, I mean heck many of these cartoons also helped shape what toys we bought as well as at times what comics we read. And while Comic Book reviews will always be the Bread and Butter of Rotten Ink I do have fun branching out and doing other media themed updates like “Horror Host Icon”, “R.I.W Wrestling Legend”, “Wild West Round Up”, “Made For TV” “Forgotten Reels” to name a few and that is why I have decided to add “Tube Toons” to Rotten Ink updates that allows me to look back and review classic cartoon series from the past. And we are going to start with a cartoon series from 1966 that was based on the Marvel Comics character The Incredible Hulk! So grab some cereal or a soda from the fridge as its time for use to go back to the past when Cartoons was king in kids entertainment.

In the 1960’s cartoons was very popular as stations tried to get more kid friendly programs on the air in order to get viewership up and to build the market. In 1966 Marvel Comics was gaining popularity and Grantray-Lawrence Animation decided to turn the comic heroes into cartoon heroes and so “The Marvel Super Heroes” was created and was a 30 minute show that would feature 7 minute chapters for the hero that was the subject of that episode. The Heroes that made up this series was Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Namor and The Incredible Hulk and the show would last for 1 long season and a total of 65 episodes and would be syndicated. The cartoon was very odd as it was very cheaply done and was really just copied images from the comics crudely moved around to tell the story, but with that said it was also very cool as they used the artwork of such iconic comic artists as Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and Don Heck. And from all accounts Marvel’s publisher Martin Goodman is the one who made the deal with Grantray-Lawrence Animation and is the one who selected what heroes they got to use. And Jacques Urbont was hired to write the theme songs and they became super iconic and in these modern times out shadow the cartoons themselves. The cartoon was liked by kids at the time and over the years has built a cult following with fans like the simple nature of the animation and cheesy voice acting and theme songs. And an interesting side note is that when this cartoon aired on WNAC-TV in Boston the station shot live action segments that features actors as Captain America, Hulk and others and they were scripted by Jerry Siegel who was the co-creator of the DC Comics superhero Superman! And for this first Tube Toons update I choose to cover The Incredible Hulk cartoons from The Marvel Super Heroes series as you long time readers know that Hulk and Captain America are two of my all time favorite Superheroes. The Hulk was voiced by Max Ferguson who was a Radio DJ while the voice of Bruce Banner was Paul Soles who is best known for voicing Hermey in the 1964 TV Special Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer as well as voiced Spider-Man in the 1967 cartoon series. And other voice actors involved included Vita Linder as Betty Ross, Paul Kligman as Thunderbolt Ross and John Vernon as Major Glenn Talbot. And growing up I had some of these episodes on old VHS tapes and loved watching Hulk as it captured the classic feel of the first few issues of the comics.

So we are now at the point of this review that we will be reviewing the 13 episodes of this cartoon series and this is going to be a fun ride to the past when cartoons was more simple and were must watch TV for kids. First I would like to thank an Ebay seller who had this and other Marvel Cartoon series in stock and made this themed update possible. For these Tube Toons updates I will be telling the plot and then reviewing each episode as well as giving the episodes a star rating of ½ – 4 stars. I will also be showing screen grabs from the episode to help give you a look into these cartoons. So with that lets turn on the TV sit back and see what kind of adventures we are going to go on with The Hulk!

Incredible Hulk
Year: 1966 Type: Animated Brand: Marvel Episodes: 13

Episode 1: The Origin Of The Hulk

Bruce Banner along with fellow scientist igor are watching a test on a gamma bomb and General Thunderbolt Ross is growing impatient on the delays of the test and starts to get lippy with Bruce, that is until Ross’s daughter Betty enters and calms him down and apologizes to Bruce for her fathers manners. As the general and his daughter leave Igor lets his rage be knows that Banner should have shared the secrets of the bomb with him. Right before the gamma bomb is to explode Banner notices teenager Rick Jones driving into the test site and rushes off in a jeep to try and save him, but Igor does not tell them behind the launch to stop the bomb as this is his way to get Banner out of his way. Banner is able to get Rick to safety but he himself takes a big hit of radiation. Banner wakes up in a doctor office alongside Rick and later in the night he turns into a green skinned beast called The Hulk who is ragged that he is locked in a room and busts his way out with his super strength and even attacks some of the army men on his way out. Rick follows the Hulk as he wants to try and help the confused creature. The Hulk heads toward the military cottage of Bruce Banner and inside he finds Igor who is looking for all the gamma bomb notes of Banner and when seeing the Hulk he pulls out a gun and fires. The Hulk takes down Igor as Rick finds the gamma bomb formula notes and wants to turn it into the army as Hulk tries to remember who Bruce Banner is, not remembering he is in fact Banner. And when the Hulk gets angry he attacks Rick and just before he is about to smash him he turns back into Banner just as the army comes in looking for the Hulk. Once the army leaves Rick and Bruce try and figure out what happened and why he turns into the Hulk as Igor is taken to a jail cell and is thinking of revenge and sends a message to the evil Gorgon about The Hulk and this makes the strange super deformed being mad that one in the world might have the same power as he. The Gorgon makes his way to America while Banner turns back into the Hulk and makes his way towards the home of Betty Ross and when he finds her outside she faints just as the Gorgon shows up with a gun that shoots a will destroying pellet! The Gorgon fires two bullets and both The Hulk and Rick Jones are now his mindless minions who follow him back to his ship, while Betty wakes up Thunderbolt swears he will find and stop The Hulk. When The Gorgon gets to his base The Hulk has turned into Banner and he know knows that the two are one and the same, this also makes Gorgon sad as he does not want to be like he is and wishes he could turn normal. Banner turns the Gorgon back to a man using gamma rays and then he and Rick are sent back to America as the now human Gorgon blows himself and his army up in their castle base.

Review: This first episode is awesome and does it’s best to capture the first issue of The Hulk but man do they make changes as they cut the fact the Banner turns into the Hulk at night like a werewolf and they also do not use the grey skin at first as they go straight to the green. And while the animation is very crude by todays standards I for one love every cell of it as it brings be back to the golden age of comic collecting and made me feel like a kid all over again as it was the origins of Hulk done as a cartoon using the comic panels moving around to do so. The main villains in this episode are the jealous and scientist spy Igor who is the one that gets Banner struck by gamma radiation, the deformed and monstrous Gorgon who wants to control The Hulk and as well bring down America and lastly would be Thunderbolt Ross who is in control of the US Army and views the Hulk as a monster that must be destroyed. And if I had to choose who the most dangerous one in this episode would be I would say Gorgon mostly because of his pellet gun that weakens the minds of those he shoots and turns them into his slaves. The love spark between Bruce Banner and Betty Ross starts in this first episode as does Banner’s friendship with Rick Jones the teenager who had no one in life. I have to also point out that Max Ferguson’s voice for The Hulk is clearly inspired by Boris Karloff’s voice for The Monster in the film Bride Of Frankenstein and that makes it even more awesome. Over all I have to say that this is a great first episode for the first every Hulk cartoon every made.

Grade: ***1/2

Episode 2: Terror Of The Toad Men

A spaceship filled with Toad Men aliens is making its way to Earth, while The Hulks is causing chaos in a town just by his appearance as the police are warning people to get off the streets and are even firing their guns at him and this makes Hulk go on the attack and Rick Jones has to sneak in and lure him away before anyone gets hurt. As the sun comes up The Hulk turns back into Bruce Banner and he and Rick figure out that the transformation takes place at night and set out and find an mountain cave that will act as a research base for them as well as a holding spot for The Hulk. The Toad Men have arrived at Earth and use a beam to hold Bruce and Rick in place as they have came for the mind of Bruce and they kidnap them and head back to space, but they have no use for Rick and send him in a capsule back to Earth as Bruce is relived that his friend is at least safe. Once night falls Banner turns into the Hulk and beats up the Toad Men and even uses one of their own guns against them before locking them up to explore the ship. While on Earth General Thunderbolt Ross notices the Toad Men ship just above the Earth and sends missiles to blow it up and when it crashes to Earth the Toad Men escape and Hulk turns back into Banner and is accused of being a spy by Ross. Meanwhile a fleet of Toad Men spaceships are now invading Earth as Betty begs her father to let Bruce Banner out of his cell as she knows he is no spy nor traitor to his country. But when the night comes Banner turns back into The Hulk and goes on a rampage and heads back to the home of Betty and kidnaps her as Rick follows Hulk to try and rescue Betty as well as get Hulk to safety. The Toad Men’s attack on Earth starts as they use the moon to cause destruction and chaos, and this even knocks The Hulk out until morning. Once back as Banner he attends to Betty and gets her home safe, then uses his gamma ray bomb gun to shoot the Toad Men’s ship that sends them all away. In the end Thunderbolt Ross thanks Banner for his work with some pushing from Betty and Banner and Rick hurry back to their mountain cave base to lock Banner up for the night.

Review: This second episode is a fun one as it pits Bruce Banner and his monstrous side The Hulk not only against the Army lead by Thunderbolt Ross but also the invading aliens The Toad Men who are hell bent on destroying and then ruling the Earth. The Hulk in this episode wants to straight up kill people and threatens the life of Rick Jones as well as Thunderbolt Ross and even uses a gun at one point to shoot some of the Toad Men. Meanwhile as Bruce Banner he hates his life as The Hulk and fears what he might do when he is no longer in control, as it’s more and more clear that he has major feelings for Betty. Its also cool to see the gamma bomb now a ray gun being used to defeat the aliens showing that good things can also come from that invention. Rick Jones keeps up on trying to watch over and protect both Bruce Banner and The Hulk while Betty Ross tries her best to protect Banner from her own fathers judgment. The episodes baddies are of course Thunderbolt Ross who once more wants to use the army’s might to stop The Hulk and uses his own opinions to try and belittle Banner as it’s clear he is no fan of the scientist. And the Toad Men are the other villains as they are mean men from outer space who have no issues killing, kidnapping and destroying and have the weapons and means to do so. Both of the episodes villains are on equal ground for me as they both try and ruin things for Hulk as well as Banner, but I guess I would have to give the edge to Toad Men as they have the bigger and badder weapons. Over the second episode is good it just lacks a little something that would make it as good as the first, and in this one you can also notice lots of re-used animation in order to save on the budget.

Grade: **1/2

Episode 3: A Titan Rides The Train

The Leader is sitting in his lab and we see that he was once a normal man who after being hit by gamma rays in a accident has turned him into something beyond human and highly smart and has created humanoids that he will use to take over all the governments in the world and wants to start first at the military base that Thunderbolt Ross is in charge of and the one Bruce Banner lives on! While on the base a new nuclear device needs to be delivered by train and Bruce Banner is sent along with Major Glenn Talbot to make sure it gets delivered safely, while The Leader sends one of his humanoids to fetch the device and bring it back to him. As the humanoid drops from a helicopter to the train Talbot locks up Banner and the stress turns him into The Hulk and starts to attack The Humanoid who is made out of a kind of rubber that he can not hurt. And during the fight the nuclear device breaks free and is in danger of exploding and The Hulk knows this thanks to the memories of Banner and after he defeats the Humanoid Hulk is able to get the device safely on the sand and turn back into Banner just as Talbot shows up and puts him under arrest. Banner is later let out in order to supervise the test of the nuclear device under the strick watch of Talbot, while The Leader is mad and wants to pit his mind against the power of the Hulk and is building an army of his humanoids to do so and even gets information from super villain and master of disguise The Chameleon on were Banner is now. While on the test island Banner gets nerves and runs away to turn into the Hulk as Talbot is now alone with the monster, and unknown to the both of them The Leader has the island surrounded by the humanoids. As Talbot hides inside the test lab behind steel doors, The Hulk is outside being attacked by the Humanoids who have orders to capture him and bring back to The Leader. The army shows up on the island as well and attacks Hulk who is already got his hands full with the Humanoids who are shrugging off his hits. The Hulk falls into the ocean and swims away as he is about to turn into Banner and the Humanoids return to The Leader as the army is confused. Once the Hulk turns into Banner he is kidnapped at ocean by enemies of America and is going to be forced to work for them that is until he turns back into The Hulk and these fools learn not to mess with him after he uses his thunder clap to knock them all away. Meanwhile Talbot gets word that Banner was spotted on an enemy ship and he now really thanks he is a traitor to America.

Review: This episode ends on a cliffhanger as Bruce Banner is looked at by the army as a spy and a traitor to his country, all because he cannot let them know he is The Hulk and because of this he has been kidnaped by baddies and is being seen as one himself. Meanwhile The Hulk is being hunted by not only by the American Army but also by The Leader and his humanoid men and this is why The Hulk hates everyone as they all seem to always want to cause him harm. The baddies in this episode are The Leader and his humanoids as well as Major Glenn Talbot who for some reason really seems to hate Banner and wants any reason to lock him up and call him names. And you would have to be crazy not to think that the episodes main threat is not The Leader as he is fueled with a big brain and the means to bring nations down and even be a pain in the side of the powerful Hulk. The animation of The Leader at times had me laughing as the mouth movements and the animation made him at times look very silly. Over all I just feel that this is a good solid episode and brings one of The Hulks biggest bad guys into the world of cartoons and the fact we now have both Hulk and Banner as fugitives of America makes the next episode be even more important in this saga.

Grade: ***

Episode 4: The Power Of Dr. Banner

Thunderbolt Ross is having a big conference with fellow military and government workers about Banner turning on his country and Talbot volunteers to go behind enemy lines to get him back, Ross shoots down the idea for now. Meanwhile The Hulk has destroyed much of the enemy’s base and the evil Captain armed with a powerful proton gun and when he misses The Hulks rampage continues that is until he turns back into Bruce Banner and now fighter plans and tanks are firing at the scientist who must run for his life. But after the bad army kills innocent people the rage comes back to Banner and once more The Hulk comes out to smash, while back in America Thunderbolt Ross gets the location of Banner and he and Talbot stick to the idea that Banner is a traitor while Betty tells them they are wrong. Meanwhile The Hulk destroys all the baddies tanks and uses his thunderclap to destroy many of them, and then Hulk tries to leap his way back home to America, but gets tired and takes a break in the Himalaya Mountains. Once Hulk is turns back to Banner he finds himself taken hostage again and this time the new kidnappers want ransom money from America and Ross ends up having to send Talbot with money to pay it and get the scientist back. Talbot arrives and gets Banner and as the two flee the area rocks give way and Banner falls off the side of a mountain, but lucky for Banner he turns into The Hulk and is also able to save Talbot who as also fallen over now. Talbot blacks out as The Hulk leaps away and when the Major awakens he thinks that Banner is dead from the fall. The Hulk is able to find the home of Bruce Banner and when he rests he turns back into the scientist and is found in the home by Thunderbolt Ross who once more has him arrested, but the Pentagon calls and tells Ross to let him free. Meanwhile Banner is ragging mad that Talbot is telling the press that he is a spy when in fact he is not and before he is freed from jail he once more gets mad and turns into The Hulk and busts out ready for another rampage on the army base and this time he takes Talbot as a prisoner and heads into the nearby mountains that Ross then has blow up with a sun beam blast. As Thunderbolt along with Betty and soldiers head to recover the believed dead body of Talbot they are shocked to find him alive as well as Banner who is with him and this truly clears Banners name as they all think he saved the life of Talbot.

Review: This is another fun episode that has poor Bruce Banner being put through all types of stressful situations from being kidnapped twice, to being called a traitor to his country, being arrested several times, turning into The Hulk after mass amounts of stress and finally looking bad in the eyes of Betty. The main baddies in this episode are the kidnappers as well as Thunderbolt Ross and Talbot who I think are the more dangerous as they want to not only kill The Hulk but also ruin the life and reputation of Bruce Banner. And I think out of the two army men its Talbot who has a more weird hatred from Banner as he almost seems gleeful to have him arrested as well as he is so wanting him to be found guilty at a trail. Both of the kidnapper groups are just into power as well as money and Banner is just the means to obtain both and The Hulk is just an annoyance to their plane. And The Hulk is shown in this episode that if he gets to tired from battle he will return back to being Banner and that leaves him open for some bad situations. Over all this was a good entertaining episode that allows Thunderbolt Ross and Major Talbot to shine at being the main pain in the side of both Banner and The Hulk.

Grade: ***

Episode 5: Micro Monsters

Bruce Banner and Rick Jones have a chat about The Hulk and how Bruce must travel back to the island to work on his nuclear device and needs to be safe doing so. Meanwhile The Leader has set his eyes on the device and wants to sell it to a foreign terror and use the money he gets to help his goal of running the world, and to get it he shrinks his humanoids to micro size and sends them to the island and when he zaps them from affair they will grow and do his bidding. Once on the island Banner finds the micro men that look like an odd sand all over and also finds that Talbot is once more on duty to watch over him as he still does not trust Banner even after he thinks he saved his life. But once the humanoids grow they knock out Talbot and attack Banner who turns into The Hulk and starts the brawl with them all to the delight of The Leader who also wants to capture his foe and they do so when the use lots of knockout gas. Back and the secret mountain base Rick Jones gets worried when he does not hear from Banner and knows that something must have went wrong on that island, as the army from the sea watch as The Leader uses a beam to zap up the nuclear device and The Hulk and they try to blast them out of the sky…and they fail. And once on the island the army find Talbot and they all think that Banner and The Hulk are working together and stole the nuclear device. Once back at The Leaders base he starts running tests on The Hulk that he keeps knocked out with the gas, as he want to control him and his power. When The Leader leaves his lab The Hulk turns back into Banner who thinks quick and uses some gadgets to send a Morse Code message to the army that is heard by Rick Jones as well as the army who trace the massage and lead by Thunderbolt Ross and Talbot the whole base heads to the location as does Rick Jones. Meanwhile The Leader returns to find The Hulk missing and in a few moments thanks to the returning gas Banner becomes The Hulk again and destroys the nuclear device and the lab catches fire and traps The Hulk as The Leader escapes via his little aircraft ship. The army enters the base and opens fire on The Hulk as Rick Jones rushes in to try and save his friend as Talbot tells Rick that both The Hulk and Banner are traitors. Meanwhile Hulk escapes and starts to track down The Leader who is talking to powerful dictators about the destroyed nuclear device and how he can offer them something better a Giant Humanoid and to prove its power he sends it to destroy the military missile base and as the army tries to fight off this Giant they are joined by The Hulk who goes after it as well. The Army uses a Super Missile and kills the Giant Humanoid with it and they think The Hulk as well, but he got away as he grabbed Rick Jones and leaps away.

Review: This is another fun episode that has The Hulk and Bruce Banner once more in the sights of The Leader who wants to take over the world using not only his Humanoids but also Banner’s nuclear device as well as The Hulk himself and of course he fails at this task, but what he does do is get Thunderbolt Ross, Talbot and the rest of the army to once more turn on Banner and think he is a spy. It’s like Banner just can not catch a break in this cartoon series as no matter what he does the villains always seem to manage to make him look like scum to the military. The Leader and his Giant Humanoid are super dangerous in this issue and do cause destruction, and we should also not rule out his micro growing Humanoids who also are a pain in the butt to whomever they are sent after. Rick Jones is as always a loyal friend to both Banner and his monster side The Hulk and even almost dies, but some how The Hulk’s transformation back to Banner heals him…strange stuff. Talbot and Thunderbolt Ross are as angry as ever and just seem to get joy at being bitter and rude towards Banner. What a fun and silly episode and has enough Hulk fighting action to bring the entertainment.

Grade: ***

Episode 6: Brawn Against Brain

Thunderbolt Ross is in his office telling his daughter that Banner is really missing cause his giant red robot he built is a flop, but Banner shows up and starts working more on the robot as it has a showing the next morning. The Red Robot is more like an armor that will allow who ever is inside it to withstand even an atomic bomb and if this can be perfected it will be a game changer for the army. As Banner works on the robot late into the night he notices a shadow watching him and gives chase fearing it’s a spy, but the excitement triggers the change into The Hulk who leaps away allowing the unknown person not now get inside the robot on the test day and uses the robot to attack the army who all think its Banner inside. When The Hulk arrives back he and the Robot have a big fight, that leaves Hulk turning back into Banner and being found by Thunderbolt Ross and cleared of being in the war machine Robot that is wondering away into the desert, and who finds Banner’s hidden mountain cave base. Meanwhile Banner is in his lab trying to find a way to bring down the Robot as Thunderbolt Ross and Talbot are having a meeting about still trying to pin Banner for a spy. Banner heads to the mountains and tracks down the Robot, as Betty and Talbot also show up an the Robot flings a big rock at them that is smashed by The Hulk after Banner gets worked up and Betty thinks Talbot is who saved her life. The Hulk and The Robot start fighting again and The Hulk stops a missile that his foe as launched in order to blowup the army base, and when doing so he also knocks the Robot into a bottomless pit! The Hulk is knocked out by the missile blast and the army shows up and takes him prisoner, and Thunderbolt Ross wants answers from our chained hero. The Leader meanwhile does not get word back from his agent that he sent to steal the Robot so he sends in the master of disguise The Chameleon to find him, and once at the base Chameleon makes himself look like Thunderbolt Ross and sets out to meet The Hulk who has now turned back to Banner and has escaped the chains that held him. The Chameleon next knocks out Banner and makes a mask to look like the scientist to try and get more information, and when Betty visits the lab and figures out he is not the real Banner he starts to attack her and this triggers the real Banner to change back into The Hulk who saves Betty as well as many of the soldiers on the base as The Chameleon sets off a bomb in order to escape and The Hulk takes the blast.

Review: This is a pretty fun and entertaining episode as we have The Hulk going up against not only a Robot created by Banner and now controlled by a enemy spy but also that’s sinister Chameleon who can look and act like anyone! And The Hulk being the monster hero he is somehow out smarts and beats them both with the poor Robot spy falling into a hole that he will never return from. Plus we also get a very small cameo from The Leader who is still a pain for Banner and The Hulk and of course Thunderbolt Ross, Talbot and The Army are around with one strange thing being is tat in this episode Ross acts as if this is the first time really meeting Talbot…very strange. Betty Ross is around but we do not see Rick James at all. The fights between The Hulk and The Robot are great as this is the first time we see Hulk having to outsmart his enemy as his punches are not doing anything. Lots of reused animation in this episode and I really think that while cheap it does help give this cartoon its charm. I also like that this episode plays up on the fact that The Hulk is a hero but yet never gets the credit he should, plus we also kind of set up the romance tension between Betty Ross and Talbot! Over all a really great episode and has two really good cheesy fight scenes.

Grade: ***

Episode 7: Within This Monster Dwells A Man

The Leader is looking via a view screen around the army base and spots Banner working in his secret cave lab, but this villain is looking for The Hulk. Banner meanwhile has figured something major out but his excitement turns him into The Hulk and a bullet that ricochets from soldiers target practicing hits him in the head given Hulk a bad and painful headache and he passes out. The Leader uses a beam to zap The Hulk to his lab so that he can study him and his power. Once at the lab The Leader and his Humanoid henchmen remove the bullet from The Hulks head saving his life, but The Leader has to use sleep gas on Hulk and keep him prisoner when he turns down leading his army in world domination. When The Hulk wakes up he starts destroying the lab and even fights with the Humanoids who are blasting him with rainbow rays, The Leader rushes to stop them as he during the bullet removal placed a device that will help him mind control Hulk. Once saved The Leader puts The Hulk through all types of tests he sends Hulk to another world to steal from a powerful being named The Watcher who welcomes Hulk on his arrival and allows him to walk around as The Leader tells The Hulk to steal a sphere that he thinks is going to be the ultimate machine, but Hulk is attacked by a big red alien who as also been sent to steal that object! The Hulk and this alien fight as The Watcher sends them to another part of the planet so their fighting does not destroy his machines, after a hard fought battle The Hulk beats the red alien and is able to grab the ultimate machine and return to Earth, The Leader is happy and thinks he will have all the knowledge of the galaxy but its to much and The Leader “dies” from it all, The Watcher comes to Earth and takes his machine back and The Hulk is now free of The Leaders control.

Review: First thing I have to say is that the colors used in this episode are great as they are bright and give life to the animation. This also has a great plot that has The Leader saving as well as controlling the life of The Hulk and forcing him to fight a Red Lizard Skinned Alien as well as steal from The Watcher who all you Marvel Comics fans will know from Fantastic Four and What If comics, and having The Watcher in this episode made it feel a little more epic and as well opened up the world as we know that aliens and other worlds are now out there. I like that The Hulk knows that The Leader is a scumbag and even when forced to work for him you can tell he does not care for him, plus The Hulk and the Red Alien fight was great and also reminded me of Star Trek for some reason. The episode also marks the death of The Leader who’s brain shuts down, even though us comic readers know he will be back. We do not see Betty Ross, Thunderbolt Ross, Rick Jones or Talbot in this episode as this one is mostly all about The Hulk and we even get very little Bruce Banner and this was a nice change of pace and made for one very fun watch. Really enjoyed this one and I would say The Leader is the meanest and most heartless of the villains we have seen this far in the cartoon series.

Grade: ***1/2

Episode 8: The Space Phantom

The Hulk is at a meeting for The Avengers at Tony Stark’s mansion and on hand is Iron Man, Thor, Giant Man and Wasp and unknown to them the Space Phantom has came to Earth looking to take it over and even takes on the appearance of a normal man of the street that he sends to limbo. The Space Phantom makes it to Stark’s Mansion as he was watched them from space and knows their secrets and is greeted by The Hulk who is zapped and sent to limbo as well so that Space Phantom can look like him and get close to the other Avengers members and when doing so he causes them all to fight among themselves by acting out as Hulk. Still looking like The Hulk the Space Phantom is roaming the streets and causing chaos when he is stopped by Rick Jones who The Space Phantom alerts to the truth of who he is and leave Rick stranded out in the middle of nowhere as he goes back to cause more damage to The Avenger’s friendship and first he starts a fight with Iron Man and as the fight starts The Space Phantom runs away and this makes Iron Man attacking the real Hulk who is back from limbo, just as Rick Jones is able to send a message to Giant Man and Wasp about The Space Phantom and his powers. Giant Man breaks up the fight between Hulk and Iron Man as The Space Phantom attacks Wasp and then takes the identity of Giant Man and then jumps to looking like Iron Man causing confusion for The Hulk and the other Avengers. Wasp goes and gets Thor and they take down Space Phantom who is still acting as Iron Man, and soon Space Phantom finds himself in limbo after failing to take over the look of Thor who is a God. After it’s all over The Hulk quits The Avengers as he thinks all his teammates hate him.

Review: This episode brings The Avengers into the cartoon world and features The Space Phantom doing his best to break up and bring down the team and while he mostly fails he does lead to The Hulk leaving the team, so I guess he kind of wins in the end. The Space Phantom can take the appearance and gain the powers of who ever he chooses as well as they are human and the real person is sent to limbo until he changes his look again. And because of his powers Space Phantom is one very dangerous alien who really wants to take over the Earth. The Avengers are around and Giant Man and Wasp are the ones trying to keep it together and the egos of Iron Man and Thor are out of control and lack of trust and respect is what makes them think The Hulk is a monster on the loose. The animation in this episode is the weakest it has been the whole series and at times characters are not even colored in right and also the episode has kind of a dark tint. And something about the pacing just feels off to me, with the highlight of the episode being the brief fights between Hulk and Iron Man that sadly do not last long. While it was a fun watch and it was awesome seeing The Avengers I do think this far this is the weakest episode in the series, but again have to stress it is still a good watch. Plus this episode did also make me look forward to watching and covering the 1966 cartoons for Iron Man and Thor, and yes in the future they as well will be getting the Tube Toons treatment.

Grade: **1/2

Episode 9: Incredible Hulk vs. Metal Master

Thunderbolt Ross is angry that Bruce Banner is late to test a missile launch as his daughter Betty and Rick Jones try to calm him down, The Hulk is around and is trying to figure out how to get to the mountain cave base without being seen by the army that is out on patrol. The Hulk is getting frustrated as the army gets closer and he knows that he needs to turn into Banner, but for some reason he cant. The army gets a code red alert and head back to base as The Hulk enters the cave and uses a ray to turn back into Banner and for a brief moment Banner gets the body of a bodybuilder before it fades. Once back at Banner he checks in on his missile only to see it melting at the hands of Metal Master an alien who is from another galaxy who can damage and destroy anything metal that was banished by his world and has set his sites on ruling the Earth! To show off his power Metal Master destroys a tank as well as army helmets and as he leaves he makes a point once more of his power, Rick Jones who was at the scene the whole time rushes to the cave base to try and get The Hulk to help. But things are bad for The Hulk as well as when he changed this time he has the face of Bruce Banner and must wear a rubber mask to hide his appearance, and then sets out to find Metal Master. The Hulk finds Metal Master who throws tons of metal at him but the Hulk keeps on smashing the objects, and its only by tricking him that Metal Master is able to knock him out. The Army finds the knocked out Hulk and take him to a cell that he cannot break free from as Rick Jones tries to tell Thunderbolt Ross that The Hulk is their only chance of beating Metal Master. Rick Jones tries to enlist in the army and is shot down by Thunderbolt Ross for being to young and when seeing Hulk he is threatened as Hulk thinks Rick told the army about his mask. The Hulk ends up escaping and returns to the cave lab and turns back into Banner and Rick Jones joins him and they use his CB Radio club the Teen Brigade in order to following the movements of Metal Master who is destroying cities. Banner turns back into the Hulk and is now caring a massive gun that is made out of plastic and with the help of Rick and the Teen Brigade they lure Metal Master to them and when he can not melt the fake weapon the stress gets to him and after a threat from Hulk he turns things back to normal and rushes back to space. After returning to the cave and becoming Banner again he knows he must see Betty who has been worried sick about him.

Review: This is a very interesting episode as not only do we see The Hulk fight Metal Master and use a mixture of his might and brains to defeat him, but we also see that his transformations between Hulk and Banner is getting more out of control and unpredictable and even at times he becomes a hybrid of his two sides. And The Hulks mood as well is very up and down as at times he even threatens his friend Rick Jones with a beating and death. Poor Betty Ross who cares about Banner is also left in the dark so much by her love who disappears and puts himself in dangers way and yet never goes out of his way to alert her of his safety. Thunderbolt Ross who loves his military life you can tell is at his wits end with both Bruce Banner and The Hulk and he wants both to go away. Metal Master is an alien who can destroy all things metal, and while dangerous he is also not very bright as he was scared of plastic…a plastic gun painted to look like metal. I also like that this episode introduced the Teen Brigade the friends of Rick Jones who uses their radios to help him and The Hulk on cases an to avoid the army. This is a good episode and man I really am enjoying re-watching these cartoons.

Grade: ***

Episode 10: The Ringmaster

Thunderbolt Ross really wants to stop The Hulk from having anymore rampages and even tries to get Rick Jones to tell him the location of the green skinned hero. When Rick will not tell him, he has the army follow him to his home and try to break in as Rick tells the Hulk to get to the cave base. Meanwhile in a nearby town two FBI Agents find that everyone in town is frozen in place like statues and that some one has robbed the town of all its wealth, while The Hulk saves kids on a bus that has stalled on train tracks. Meanwhile we meet The Ringmaster and his band of evil circus workers who have an idea of kidnapping Rick Jones in order to gain control over The Hulk who would come looking for his friend. Rick meets Hulk at the cave base and tells him good work on saving the kids and then heads to the circus that has just gotten to town and this leads to Ringmaster kidnapping him and leaving many of the towns people under his trance. Word gets around that Rick Jones is missing and Thunderbolt Ross alerts the army to be on the look out for him as Hulk turns into Bruce Banner and he and Betty also worry about the missing young man. Bruce then rushes back to the secret cave base and turns into The Hulk to find Rick as the circus keeps up its crime wave. Finally The Hulk finds the circus and makes quick work of many of the performers who try and attack him, but finally he is blasted with a very high-powered water cannon and is chained up. The Hulk breaks free and lets Rick Jones go who goes to get the FBI as Hulk plays along in being an attraction for the circus. As the FBI shows up Hulk helps capture Ringmaster and then is swarmed by the army lead by Thunderbolt Ross and has to leap to escape capture himself.

Review: This is another great episode of this cartoon series that has The Hulk going after The Ringmaster and his circus that have been robbing people blind from town to town and make the mistake of thinking they can use him as an attraction by kidnapping his good pal Rick Jones! The Hulk and Rick in this episode have a bond that allows Hulk to hear the thoughts and screams of Rick to alert him when he is in danger, this is odd and yet is the key to make this episode work and allow Hulk to find his missing friend. The Ringmaster can use his hypnotizing ways to steal, and the voice actor playing him is fantastic and brings charm to this otherwise cheesy comic villain. I also like that the circus has many weird performers like a lion man, a guy dressed as the devil and one who looks like Tarzan Lord Of The Apes! Thunderbolt Ross and the army are also thrown in to be a pain in the butt for Hulk. Some of the animation for Betty Ross is terrible as they glued one of her eyes on weird and it makes for some humors moments. Over all an action packed episode that could have had a slightly better ending as Hulk makes way to quick of work of Ringmaster and his goons.

Grade: ***

Episode 11: Enter Tyrannus

Thunderbolt Ross is showing video of The Hulk to Bruce, Betty and Rick and tells Banner he needs his help to capture Hulk! Meanwhile in another world Betty is being watched by Tyrannus The Lord Of Darkness who has a plans on kidnapping her to force Banner to not use his nuclear bomb knowledge against him as he tries to take over the world, and after taking a drink from his fountain of youth he starts working on his plan that has him act as a scientist and get Betty to escort him around and then he lures her into a cave and keeps her prisoner. But Banner follows and turns into The Hulk to go into the cave and try and get her back, while Tyrannus sends Thunderbolt a message that if he fights back against his approaching army that he will kill Betty. The Hulk and Rick Jones find Betty but they are quickly defeated when Tyrannus uses a gas to knock them out and then keeps them prisoner as well and Hulk is turned into a gladiator and must battle his fire-breathing robot for his amusement. The Hulk destroys the robot and then goes after the crowd who watched the fight, only to be zapped by Tyrannus he threatens to once more kill Betty if Hulk does not listen to orders. Days pass and Hulk is now being used as slave labor but Tyrannus has grown bored with him and gives the orders that he is to be killed, but Rick is able to get Betty and they rush to Hulk’s cell and tell him he must fight back as this is the only way they will all survive. The Hulk does just that and after beating up guards he is able to get Betty, Rick and himself back to the army base. But just as quick The Hulk is taken back to Tyrannus’s castle to find him old and needing his help as he is dying of old age as Mole Man has taken the fountain of youth! The Hulk takes the job after he once more finds that Rick and Betty are captured by Tyrannus who is dying and goes after Mole Man who’s army puts up a good fight, but soon learn that nothing can stop Hulk! And as the armies of Mole Man and Tyrannus go to war The Hulk turns back into Banner and watches as Tyrannus finds some water from the fountain and turns young again, he also learns that he sent Betty and Rick back home. And once turning back into The Hulk he finds his way home as the war between the two sides continue underground.

Review: This is a cool episode mostly as I find the underground war between Tyrannus and the Mole Man over the fountain of youth to be interesting as both men are driven by ego and have mindless followers that will die for them. And what makes it even more amazing is throwing in The Hulk, Rick Jones and Betty Ross in the middle of this war and even seeing Gladiator Hulk for the first time outside of comic media! While Tyrannus is evil as he wants to rule the world as well as threatens to kill a woman in order to get his way, you do have to feel for him once he starts to turn old and death is at his door and he tries to bribe and use those he tormented to help him live longer by getting the fountain back. I also like that Thunderbolt Ross is also put into a bad spot when he is threatened not to fight the invasion or his own daughter is dead…very cruel move by Tyrannus. While this episode is very entertaining it is also flawed in spots as some of the animation is terrible and looks like construction paper being used to animate arms and hands, plus I think the ending is a little lackluster as its Hulk returning to the surface world and screaming for Rick…just a little anti climatic as we do not see Hulk fight Tyrannus nor Mole Man. But with that said, while it might be one of the weaker episodes in the series I still very much enjoyed it.

Grade: **1/2

Episode 12: Terror Of The T-Gun

Thunderbolt Ross and Talbot are getting frustrated with Bruce Banner as they need him to test his newest invention the weapon called the T-Gun, but that night the stress gets to Banner who turns into The Hulk and has the army after him as once more he goes on a rampage and starts to figure out that he is truly stronger than any man or weapon, and Hulk finds himself alone in the desert thinking about things. Thunderbolt Ross is given the task to test the T-Gun with or without Banner around and he has even put Rick Jones in a jail cell do to the youngster’s connection to The Hulk, Rick begs them to let him go as he knows he is the only one who can get stop The Hulks rampage who now is on the hunt for Rick who is his only friend. The Hulk makes it back to the military base and Thunderbolt Ross shoots him with the T-Gun that sends Hulk to another place that is destroyed and the only thing he can see is a statue of himself that looks hundreds of years old. The Hulk finds himself being attacked by futuristic knights who have laser guns, and he must use all his power and strength against them. The Knights end up capturing Hulk as they want to study him as well as know of the legend of him, while back at the army base Thunderbolt Ross is in trouble when his superiors find out he used the T-Gun on Hulk, as they knew it was a Time Gun. King Arkham is the leader of the knights and when Hulk awakens he is taken to see The King who tells his captive that he would like for him to join him in the fight against The Executioner a man who has been killing the knights, Hulk refuses and Arkham has his knights attack; once more The Executioner sets an attack on the Kingdom and The Hulk brings down his robot war machines and challenges The Executioner to a fight and the two start to have an epic battle. Meanwhile back in our time Thunderbolt Ross is questioning Rick Jones on the location of Banner, and Thunderbolt rips him apart and sets him free all the while calling him names. The Hulk ends up being a pain in the side for The Executioner who ends up sending him back to his normal time, while Rick Jones makes the mistake of telling Major Talbot that Bruce Banner is The Hulk! The episode ends with The Hulk now back in his own time and he is very mad and wonders if he should challenge the whole human race.

Review: This is a odd episode as The Hulk finds himself in the future being attacked by futuristic knights as well as the Thor villain The Executioner all the while trying to find a way back home, while Thunderbolt Ross in our time is in trouble for using an experimental weapon that caused the time travel for the green skinned hero. This episode also shows that no matter what time it is The Hulk will always be hunted and attacked by people and that his anger toward mankind is well warranted. The biggest plot twist in this episode is that Rick Jones spills the beans of the Banner and Hulk connection to Talbot after he thinks his friend is dead, as now Banner is in even more danger as Talbot has always had it out for him and now knows his terrible secret. The fight between The Hulk and The Executioner is fast and yet very fun as both are super strong and will now allow themselves to be defeated, and its cause Hulks power that The Executioner is the one to send him back to his time as he did not want to put up with his might. It was cool to see Major Talbot back in a episode as he has been gone for awhile, plus it was cool to see a Thor baddie being the main villain in this episode with The Executioner. Over all a pretty entertaining and good episode that added action, drama and sci-fi elements together well for a cartoon from the 1960’s based on a comic book from Marvel Comics.

Grade: **1/2

Episode 13: A Man Called Boomerang

The Secret Empire have gathered for a meeting and watch video of The Hulks attacks on the base ran by Thunderbolt Ross, but why they are watching is cause they want a powerful missile that is at the base to use in their own evildoings. And to get this missile for them they hire the super villain called Boomerang who is paid a very large sum of money. Meanwhile at the army base The Hulk is once more annoyed as the army attacks him, while Thunderbolt Ross alerts Major Talbot that his daughter Betty is missing and that he thinks The Hulk is who has done it and wants him and the other soldiers to get her back…unknown to the Rick Jones over hears this plan as well as claim and is able to tag along with Talbot. A short time later Talbot and Rick find Betty who was just out for a walk, but Boomerang is also watching and gets an idea that he will kidnap Betty himself to use as leverage to get the missile, and he does just that as Talbot and Rick are helpless to save her. Once back at the base Thunderbolt Ross is beyond mad that his daughter has been kidnapped and is even more mad at Talbot and Rick for allowing it to happen. As Boomerang makes his escape with Betty she is able to beg Hulk for help who does just that as he goes to rescue her from this super villain who throws discs with perfect aim and speed, and The Hulk finds that his foe will not be a pushover as Boomerang finds out that nothing can stop The Hulk! The army spots the fight and heads that why as Boomerang in order to escape Hulk gives him Betty and then gets into a secret helicopter that shows up piloted by The Secret Empire. The Hulk is please that he has rescued Betty and as it starts to rain he even makes a shelter for them on the side of a mountain in order to get her out of it, she asks him to now take her to her father Thunderbolt Ross, Hulk refuses as he reminds Betty that her father tries to kill him and she agrees that he has never given him a chance. After the rain stops Hulk leaves to get Betty and himself food, but runs into the army who attacks him even after he tells Thunderbolt where he can find his daughter who is now safe, and its Rick Jones who once more defuses the situation from getting worse and The Hulk brings Thunderbolt Ross and Rick Jones to Betty. Meanwhile Talbot is able to bluff and save the missile from getting into the hands of Boomerang who leaves after a threat of Talbot blowing up the whole base killing them both is played. In the end The Hulk is brooding on a mountaintop when Rick Jones joins him and lets his friend know that he is a hero.

Review: The final episode in this cartoon series is a good one and has The Hulk proving to Betty Ross and even the army to a point that he is not a monster but a hero as he not only saves Betty but he also helps delay and stop the stealing of a missile by Boomerang who is working for a terrorist group called The Secret Empire. The main baddie in the episode is Boomerang who uses his discs to try and keep Hulk at bay, but soon finds out that he is out matched and is forced to retreat and even once back on track he is force to leave again by Talbot who stands his ground. Rick Jones is once more tries to be the voice of reason as he tries to bring Thunderbolt Ross and The Hulk together in order to defeat a common enemy and get Betty Ross to safety. And really while Hulk is a hero in this episode so is Talbot as both of them together is who bring down the plan of Secret Empire that could have spelled doom for America if they would have gotten their hands on that missile. The final episode was a cool one to end on as well as The Hulk is able to somewhat redeem himself in the eyes of the army as well as all the baddies are defeated and all ends well for our cast of characters.

Grade: ***

The was such a blast to watch again after all these years and I have to say they held up very well for me as I found myself loving every second of these very basic cartoons that where as cheesy as one would think they would be coming from the 1960’s! Sure at times the animation is bad and reused in spots that do not fit, and sure the series is very disjointed as major plot developments seem to disappear from episode to episode as do some characters…but these elements add to the charm. Some plot points that come and go with no explanation from episode to episode are Banner’s transformation to The Hulk starts off as only doing so at night to being stressed to even having to use a gamma ray gun and this sometimes changes from episode to episode and I could see being confusing for young viewers. Talbot as well comes and goes and the fact he finds out that Banner is The Hulk never comes into play and that’s also odd. Some of the animation parts that made me laugh out loud is when Betty Ross’s eyes were put on mis-centered making her look like Sloth from the movie The Goonies as well as when at times they would use what looked like green construction paper with crude thumbnails drawn on them to act as Hulk’s hands…funny stuff. And Tube Toons will be here to stay for awhile as I really want to cover the 60’s cartoon series of Captain America, Thor, Iron Man and Sub-Mariner as well here at Rotten Ink so over the next few years look for those updates. I also and here to say that these theme updates will also break off and cover a few more cartoon series in the future. But with that, let’s leave cartoons behind as the next update will take us to the lab of Dr. Frankenstein as we take a look at the 1994 film Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and the Topps Comics adaptation of it! So until next time, read a comic or three, watch a cartoon or two and as always support your local Horror Host! This next update should be a spooky good time as we get closer to Halloween 2023.